Sunday 23rd May – happy birthday goodgym Cardiff and the Vale.

What a great way to celebrate by getting stuck in with some tasks, destroying an old compost and leveling out the ground ready to build a new one. And this was good hard work, plenty of things to pull up – oh watch out for the nettles. The original compost heap had been made with pallets and these had to be removed as they were starting to rot down. They were going to be replaced with one made with old scaffold boards which should last much longer.

The heap of weeds on the tarpaulin was growing, lots of insects and arachnids had been rehoused and then we found our wonderful newest friend, a fantastic slowworm – Scientific name: Anguis fragilis.

FACT TIME

With long, smooth, shiny, grey, or brown bodies, slow worms look remarkably like tiny snakes. In fact, they are legless lizards and are quite harmless. Although found throughout mainland Britain, they are most common in Wales and south-west England. They are absent from Ireland. Slow worms like humid conditions and emerge from their hiding places at dusk or after rain to hunt for food. They spend the winter hibernating under piles of leaves or within tree roots. If attacked by a predator, a slow worm can shed its tail to escape, although it never grows back fully. What they eat: Slugs, snails, spiders, insects, and earthworms. Measurements: Length: Up to 50cm.

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With a sudden down pour of rain, we all made our way to the shelter to rehydrate and have a chat, it has been a good old social weekend for the goodgymers in Cardiff. As the rain passed, we said goodbye to Nic who had lunch plans and went to finish off levelling the ground.

Time to down tools and tidy before saying farewells. It was time to get out and complete our virtual 4 for our fourth birthday.