Oxford Mutual Aid are a wonderful organisation based in Cowley. They provide food parcels and hot meals for a huge number of people across Oxford. We helped them out regularly during the depths of the pandemic, and after a few months off we were back!!

Our tasks were many and varied. Some sorted nappies, some restocked shelves, some cleaned, some sorted recycling, some portioned up dry goods, and some organised a plethora of vegetables!

In true Goodgym style many hands made light work and we left the hall in a better state than when we arrived.

Welcome to GoodGym Suzy.

Round 2 of bulb planting for 2022, and this time it was a tiny bit less of a battle thanks to recent rain. That said, there was still plenty of times when even putting our full body weight on the spades didn't get them deep enough into the ground to get bulbs planted! Cassie the pup kept us all in line, Ben and Simon put on a veritable masterclass in bulb-planting teamwork, racing ahead of the rest of us to plant up about 30% of the area, and Sophie showed off expert spade-balancing skillz.

We've now filled the gap in the daffodil planting on the Marston Road, and also got all of Marsh Lane planted up, as well as several residential roads in the area. We know that the spring display is very much enjoyed by local residents, and on some of the streets it has inspired the residents to supplement our planting with their own, which is a lovely result. We had a few thanks from passing residents last night and we're all looking forward to the cheery sight of the daffodils along this busy route into Oxford in the spring.

Warm welcome to Zoe and Ellie on your 1st GoodGym sessions!

The GoodGymers came in 2 by 2,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers ran up 2 by 2,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers biked in 2 by 2,
The Aoife and the Shati too,
And they all went into the Ark-T for to clear up human poo.

The GoodGymers came in 3 by 3,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers ran up 3 by 3,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers biked in 3 by 3,
With secateurs ready to lop holly leaves,
And they all went into the Ark-T for to cut brambles and weed.

The GoodGymers came in 4 by 4,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers ran up 4 by 4,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The GoodGymers biked in 4 by 4,
Emily waiting to open the door,
And they all went into the Ark-T for to pick litter and sweep.

Singalong here.

There's a slight autumnal chill to the air, which can only mean one thing - it's time to get bulbs in the ground in preparation for lots of cheery spring flowers. In previous years we've planted bulbs along many of the main roads into Oxford, and they've been one of the most popular gardening tasks we've done. People comment on how lovely it is when the flowers pop up in the spring all the time.

NGL, the struggle was real to get the spades deep enough in the ground to plant bulbs last night!

A summer of drought and heat waves has baked the ground hard, so there was a lot of pogo-ing on spades to try and get holes a few inches deep to give the flowers the best chance of actually sprouting. Despite the challenges we did manage to plant a decent patchwork of bulbs from the OXSRAD entrance up towards the ring road junction on both sides of the road.

Looking forward to seeing them flower in the spring already!

Congratulations on reaching the 10 Good Deed milestone Fred.