During Christmas 2023, inspired by two CAMHS volunteer elves, Christmas for CAHMS ran a paper chain making project. It went down so well in CAMHS units (CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) that they’re going to do it again in 2024, and this time we got involved!

The paper chains are a team effort - they will be started by members of the public (like us), and then the young people will connect them together when they arrive in the CAMHS units. Each paper chain will have a cheesy cracker joke written on the inside to add an extra bit of fun during assembly.

We all gathered at City Hall and set up in the reception area. Drinks (some more fortifying than others.......) were provided by Markand we set to work.

After an hour of trimming, writing and chatting we managed to produce 138 slips and a packet of blank ones for other elves to use.

A lovely wholesome, and WARM, task!

Last night was our third painting session at OXSRAD disability and sports hub. The whole centre is getting a refresh inside, which is a mammoth task for just the staff to take on!

We've helped repaint the studio, corridor and around the reception area previously, and last night we moved to the entrance lobby and the other side of the corridor. Lucky for us the painting has coincided with the clock change, so it's been a treat to have a regular indoor task. It's also surprisingly satisfying seeing the progress from aging cream walls to smart new blue and white.

This week we had the joy of Nelson the bulldog-beagle mix along for the session - we always enjoy a dog at a GoodGym task! With one more painting session scheduled this year we're determined to have OXSRAD spruced up and looking fabulous in time for Christmas.

Thank you for bringing the delicious waffles Shati!

We had a triptych of tasks last night at the Marston Community Allotment:

• With warm, dry weather forecast for the next few days eveything needed a good soaking.
  
• One of the raised beds needed clearing of an assortment of weeds, including the dreaded bindweed.
  
• Woodchip and compost needed shovelling and barrowing over from the site entrance.
  

The weeders unearthed parnsips amongst the weeds, the waterers to-d and fro-d around raised beds and polytunnel making sure everything was well hydrated, the woodchip was used to level out the pathway, and compost to earth up potatoes (after they'd been freed from their bindweed and bramble companions). With parakeets in the trees and some warm late-summer sunshine it was almost Costa del Oxford.

Honourable mention for Mark's cameo towards the end of the task - just in time time for plenty of selfies and eating all the fresh veg he could lay his hands on ;-)

While riots rocked the UK we kept well out of the way of any trouble by heading out along the river to clean up a litter-ally enormous amount of trash in Rose Hill.

Rivermead Nature Park and the river path to Sandford have long been litter hot spots, and we usually do a big clean up there each year. This time our main focus was a lot of dumped clothing and rubbish under the ring road bridge, and Trev also brought tools to remove plastic embedded in the ground further along the footpath.

In a return to GG Oxford litterpick tradition we found plenty of underwear - mostly bras rather than pants this time - as well as a plethora of litter pick favs. We would definitely have done well on our litter bingo cards tonight!

We finished our evening with some blackberry foraging, birthday cake, a paddle in the river, and with best wishes to our long-time GoodGymer Sarah who is moving to Costa Rica on Friday. Best of luck Sarah!!

Bayard's Hill Primary School garden is taking shape, and having filled up the raised beds on our last visit, today it was time to sow some seeds. GoodGymers generously brought along some seed donations to add to Lucy's stash. We were able to sow 2 beds of salad (spinach, lettuce, radishes, herbs), a bed of sunflowers, build climbing frames and sow 2 beds of runner beans and one of peas, sweet peas in the small triangular bed, and finally carrots and turnips together in the last raised bed. Finally, we distributed wildflower seeds in the area beyond the raised beds.

We hope there will be signs of things growing (other than thistles!) before the end of the school year and that will get the staff and pupils keen to take ownership of their garden plot next academic year.

Welcome to GoodGym Heidy!