It really was a (was a was a was a) knife evening. We set off sharply. The blade runners and knife walkers arrived… We picked through every blade… of grass. We carved through the park like a hot knife through butter. We… I give up with the knife puns now. We didn’t get all the litter but I’ll get to the point and cut to the chase…

Thanks for helping write the report everyone, this will only make sense to us. For some added information we went to Spith Street park and Dame Emily park and did some litter picking 👀

What a first session for Michael.

Shanks for the memories.

Until next time…

Urgent wild garlic protection awaited GoodGym Bristol this week with a maior operation planned to stoo the Council accidentally mowing the wild garlic before it could seed and spread.

Sleepers, that had made the raised beds before the big re-build (and accompanying big compost shift), were being moved from one edge of the park to the other with well-laden wheelbarrows and hefty shifting of the wood and a careful plan (make it up as you go along) to create a wall between the cutting grads and non-cutting garlic. Oh, and deadheading the daffodils in the tyre stacks where we'd been called on for emergency bulb-planting so theres space for the to grow and daffodils to prepare for next Spring.

Finishing off with lemon balm and something else tea and homemade nettle and dandelion cake (all foraged from the park and GoodGym were away again, more chat at Workout and Vaguely Northern Darren using his amazing video and audio skills to record the scene for all time.

It was great to welcome Faduma to her very first Bristol task and even better that she already knew Dame Emily Park, this evening's destination, as a lovely place in our city.

With litterpickers in hand and bags stuffed somewhere, the running group set off, led by Vaguely Northern Darren and the walkers sort of led by Melanie until we realised we were walking to ASDA instead of the park so had taken a slightly longer route - but all because we were chatting away and having "fun" on the walk (and it did mean I completed one more street for my City Strides account in Bristol).

We met up with Ursula and family in the park, having already collected a few pieces of litter on the paths and then set about finding as much as we could, recycling separated from rubbish, plus a dog bowl that apparently is left out for visiting four-legged friends. The skate park was surprisingly good for recycling but not nearly so much other litter.

We've been helping out at the park for a few years now and it was lovely to see snowdrops and crocus flower springing (see what I did there?) from the ground, it was the first time Harsheh had seen crocuses (crocii?), he's going to LOVE Spring. He arrived for the start of the academic year so hasn't yet experienced a full years of seasons here and GoodGym is such a good way to see nature.

Lots of chat and 5 bags of goodies for Bristol Waste to collect, we headed up to the community garden for Ursula's lovely blackcurrant tea and homemade rye flour and goat butter cookies (or ginger nuts and rich tea when the homemade ones had run out. On the way, we spotted a TV antenna that had been brought to the park (why?!) and added that to our other finds for Bristol Waste to collect from behind the sunflower tile - always a good way to make sure they can't miss it!

Back at Workout, pots of tea, hot chocolate and other favoured drinks in hand, even more chat continued, weather was discussed, football was on the TV and a lovely time was had by all - same time, same place for another task next week?

It was a lovely, dry evening to celebrate Ed's 50th good deed and imminent new t-shirt - congratulations!

Back at Dame Emily Park for emergency bulb planting, the tyres moved previously had been stacked as planters and filled most of the way with compost.

Our task was to get the bags of sprouting bulbs into the tyre-planters, right way up, then top-up with woodchip and hide some small bulbs in the top. Much carrying of buckets of woodchip and avoidance of buckets of manure (destined for the raised planters) getting mixed up - top science knowledge from Richard B.

Planters filled, we still had more bulbs so started planting around the wicker dome we lovingly tie new growth into - this time the bulbs were going into grass so some L-shaped lawn-lifting was deployed to hide a bulb each time. Or throw them at Richard G.

We saturated the grass with our bulbs and time was nearly up so it was time for Polish wafers from Ursula, end of task photos (we did enjoy it, honestly!) and off back to Queen Square for GoodGym Eats at Suyuan, stopping off at the off-licence for those who wanted to BYO alcohol.

Much food and after some flowering bulb knowledge shared with Harsheh, we were on our ways home, with one GoodGymmer declaring she was rushing to get home as she was on an early shift tomorrow, until Frances saw there was no queue at the Bristol Light Festival swings and she was off in a flash.

Special thanks to Vaguely Northern Darren for run leading (no-one mention bulbs), Caroline for back-marking and Jason for beating me to Workout to meet other GoodGymmers as they arrived.

It was the end-of-year party at the Dame Emily Park Project which meant some litter picking and weeding before enjoying the live music, mulled apple juice and fire-warmed sausages whilst checking out the pond’s amazing fence, HUGE bug hotel development and general loveliness.

Listen up, y'all, 'cause this is it.
The beat that I'm bangin' is delicious.

Frogalicious, definition make them goodgymers go loco.
They want my treasure, so they get their pleasures from my pond yo.
You could see me, you can't squeeze me.
I ain't easy, I ain't waiting in my pond see.
I got reasons why I tease 'em.
Goodgymers just come and go like seasons.
Frogalicious (definitely not delicious).

Word to your mother.

(we also did some planting and made a fence but really hard to fit into the song!)