St Andrew's Toddlers in Bath is blessed with a tonne of toys so it was quite a task to give them all a clean. Thankfully, volunteers from the church in Foxhill - including Marcella on her first GoodGym mission - mucked in and we got lots done, although the ride-alongs will have to wait for a wipe down another day.

Our priority was the cooking stuff, which often ends up in tiny mouths, and we also managed to wash a huge box of Duplo. We used the church's sterilizer for the smaller bits and manually cleaned the toys too big for the machine.

Toddler volunteer Diane put her hands to sorting and scrubbing, while GoodGymer Stephen donned the Marigolds and did his bit.

Ruth was not at all tempted by the electronic toys and was kept busy loading the trays for the washer. Children's worker Claire worked on the puzzles and we even found some missing pieces, which was a bonus.

A lot of water, cloths and tea towels were involved. We had to leave lots out to dry overnight and I hope it wasn't too big a task to tidy them away.

All in all, a successful evening. It's good to know that the children will be playing with safe and clean toys when they come back after half term - and we'll probably be back cleaning them again at the end of the summer!

It was great to be back at the Odd Down Cycle Circuit to help out at the Bath Junior Park Run after a bit of a break.

Tanya and I were issued with hi vis, whistles, lanyards and giant hands and assigned to the far end of the track to cheer on the young athletes as they took on the 2km route.

It gives me such a buzz to see the mini-Park Runners giving their all as they make their way round. A bit of encouragement and hi fives spurred them on and a crazy wig raised a smile too.

Wonderful to see GG Helen taking part with baby Archie - we wish her well with her new buggy running venture.

And thanks to Tanya for helping Park Run volunteer Karen with all the bar codes. All a bit of a mystery to me!

Six GoodGymmers met at Windmill Hill City Farm on a sunny but chilly morning. We did great work shifting compost (didn't get too stuck in it!), chatting and seeing the animals.

It was fab to have Ruth join us from GG Bath. Thanks for the pun! Hope to see you again soon!

*also great to see Jade again, our very own Dora the Explorer!

Storm Herminia cut our workforce in half but three GoodGymers still came out to help the volunteers at Sydney Gardens. Dave, Meyrick and Ruth started with a group run from the Leisure Centre - actually it was more of a leisurely walk but, hopefully, we managed to clock up a mile or so for the January Challenge.

Jane Austen once walked the paths of Sydney Gardens - she lived close by and attended promenades and other events in the park. So when GoodGym turn up to help restore the grade II listed space, they stand in solidarity with the author.

Today however the pleasure gardens weren't quite so pleasant, given the appalling weather. We had actually been due to move (heaven and) earth to fill in a rather large dip in the ground but rain stopped play.

Instead, we were given the job of helping the regular volunteers clear topsoil and vegetation with a view to creating a path next to the railway. Network Rail has recently installed some fencing next to the track to make it safer and Gill, the organiser, wanted to extend a walk alongside.

She pointed out what looked like a recess for a bench for visitors to enjoy the view and watch the trains go by. Who knows? Perhaps the esteemed author sat there once.

Spades, forks, colourful buckets and wheelbarrows were brought in to tackle the piles of soil and brush. You might say, "What on earth were we doing to take it on in the downpour?" But that's GoodGym for you!

We managed to make quite an impact during our session - although more work is needed to see if the famous writer's footprints will be revealed. (Spoiler alert - very unlikely!)