What a night for Harsheh to decide to join in the fun with Bristol GoodGym!

We were spreading cheer throughout the city as three teams set about a Taskmaster-style scavenger hunt to create three photos, which had to include a team member, one for each of three Bristol categories * Brunel * Cabot * Concorde (not a Bristol person, clarified on the night)

Most of you will have heard of Brunel (top engineering bloke, designed railway gubbins, a ship and a bridge or two, see one of the his best. Cabot is well known to people who grew up in Bristol but is just a shopping centre/circus and tower to some later arrivals, is John Cabot, actually an Italian explorer who went to Canada in 1497 even though they didn't have parkrun then. Lots of Concorde was designed in Bristol, with the help of some other people. Concorde Alpha-Foxtrot now lives at [Aerospace Bristol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_Bristol0, which is actaully in South Glos, not Bristol.

Anyway, three teams each of 5 intrepid GoodGymmers set about town, running and walking and using local knowledge or creative crafting, thanks to the Task Bags provided by Richard B who came up with the whole idea, armed with a trusty GG Bristol rechargeable light to enable better photo lighting on a gloomy and, it turned out, soggy night.

So much creativity, the teams were buzzing (or dripping, I can't remember which) when they returned to base, specifically Workout as it was so wet Melanie didn't have to stand outside to judge the team's amazing entries. Setting aside the task was to create three photos, they had so many brilliant creations it would be wrong to not upload them all for everyone to enjoy.

Stars of the show (as well as Richard B for designing the task) are * Jason for coming up with the idea that the Lego store might have a Lego Concorde, which they didn't but the bloke instore happened to have an actual model out the back which he was more than happy^ to bring onto the shop flower and be photographed with it and Jason * Vaguely Northern Darren lying on a cold, wet bench, dressed as Santa, to be a human Concorde * Paul (who hadn't signed up to the run, surprisingly, so I'm now going back to the register to add him and tag him), Jason and Richard also being human Concordes, at a bus stop with a Concorde sign * Alexis boldly wearing a crafted Brunel top hat in the dark, holding up Cabot's ship, The Matthew * A whole family of Brunels/friends of Brunel down at the SS Great Britain (two of them have beards, not sure of all IDs, I think Darren, Ed, Alexis, Matt and Richard B?) * Tim giving John Cabot a reassuring arm hug (is that a thing?), John also sporting a GoodGym t-shirt and Santa hat in another photo, and a Concorde paper plane in a third * A googly eyed Brunel being looked at by another set of googly eyes (there aren't enough googly eyes in the world, and they're not single use plastic they're reusable) * Googly eyes also featuring on a stylish Cabot rendition with some photo-bombing tourists * The Bristol insitution that is Brunel's Buttery, Brunel being famous for his love of doorstep bacon sarnies, which was up for sale in summer and I don't know if it sold, introducing Harsheh to an important Bristol landmark * A photo of Cabot at Brunel House (the hand holding the phone being the GoodGymmer in the photo?! * Clo, Freya, Roddy and Frances successfully avoiding all photos?

And then time for pizza, chips, snacks, chocolate Christmas Pudding prizes, pink wafers and party rings (GG Bristol staple foods) and few mince pies and festive bakewells for good measure.

Thanks for making it a fabulous GoodGym 2024, here's to 2025 being just as good if not even better!

^he might or might not have been bribed

Storm Darragh had brought down fencing at Redcliffe Children's Centre and they'd had to be closed for the last two days so it was great to get GoodGym there to help out in the playground whilst the governors met indoors.

A small task to relocate a lively Hansel and Gretel style wooden playhouse under cover for the winter as part of the roof had blown off in the storm. It is a BIG playhouse, big enough to host plays.

And we soon worked out it wasnt going to fit under the shelter they wanted, no tape measure, mind, at GoodGym we use GoodGymmers to measure things with increasing heights of GoodGymmers and GoodGymmers with their hands as high up as possible.

After much "1, 2, 3 lift... down" shuffling, we worked out Plan A definitely wasn't going to happen, shelter too short.

Plan B was tall enough! After some "1, 2, 3 lift... down" shuffling, we heard the sound of breaking glass which was "just" a clock but proved Plan B definitely wasn't going to happen, gap between school and adventure playground was too narrow, just.

Plan C was tall enough and wide enough! It was also back past where we'd first started. Andninvolved moving a huge tractor tyre (like the ones used in World's Strongest Man tyre-flippibg) which Vaguely Northern Darrenmanaged all on his own, shifting it at least an inch. But we're GoodGymmers, we don't give up and we like a HIIT workour so more "1, 2, 3 lift... down" shuffling, we shoe-horned the HUGE HOUSE under a shelter that, ironically, was where it had lived some tine ago. The school have promised to write down that this is the only shelter it can fit under.

With some skillful use of litter-pickers, the missing bit of roof was added back onto the apex and we could all run/walk away for some light refreshment at Bar + Block as it was festive speed-dating at Club Haus.

Hope everyone's not too achy, see you next week for fun and pizza!

The ivy was maybe taking a fence but we took offence to this. Our task today was to clear the ivy away from the fence around the church. Armed with a plethora of tools on a gloriously not rainy morning we set to work. A lot of chopping, pulling and chatting and time flew by. A lovely new location for a task and after a quick break for assorted hot drinks and biscuits we had a final chop. Done!

Congratulations to Melanie on her 400th parkrun at Ashton Court just before the task (and Darren on his 450th)

Until next time…