This evening we returned to the oasis that is Barracks Lane Community Garden. We did the usual Goodgym flashmob effect - trimming back brambles, weeding, sorting plant pots, moving bulky rubbish, sprucing, composting etc etc.

We left the garden looking cleaner and tidier than when we arrived. And we had the splendid treat of not one but TWO dog pals on the task - dogs make everything better.

The main thrust of this report however is to celebrate our area activator; the amazing Anwen.

Today she reached the awesome milestone of 500 good deeds. These include litter picks, foodbank shifts, library and prescription deliveries, race marshalling, gardening, tree care, bulb planting, the list is endless. She also creates a welcoming and safe space for us, allowing us to be ourselves, providing a listening ear when needed or a pep talk! She selflessly makes her community a better place and brings us all along for the ride, for which we are endlessly grateful.

With the help of AI and Katie we have the following ditty in celebration of QUEEN ANWEN.

Anwen, gentle soul,
Spreads kindness with every step,
Good deeds, her heart's goal.
Furry friends adore,
Anwen, a cat person true,
Purrs bring her much joy.
Swift as a gazelle,
Running with grace and power,
500 deeds done.

GoodGym Oxford and the Mystery of the Missing Task Owner :-)

What do you do when you turn up to a task to find the garden all locked up? Luckily for us the hubbub of 19 GoodGymers chattering attracted some curiosity from the Barracks Lane Community Garden's neighbour, who also happens to be someone we've helped out with gardening at Flo's cafe in Florence Park. Fortunately she was able to let us in, and then came back a little later to open up the tool shed, which only left us to figure out what needed doing around the garden!

After the recent drought and heat wave it was fairly obvious that watering would be on the agenda, plus chopping back any plants completely burnt and frazzled by the unusual heat. We decided to mostly leave alone the taller sculptural-looking plants as they could look quite attractive through autumn and winter even though they've finished flowering. Stepping a bit further into the garden we found that there was plenty of weeding to be done, particularly between the cracks in the paving, and there were sneaky brambles along the edges of the garden which definitely needed lopping. The lower garden has plum, pear and apple trees, so we picked up the fruit that was dropping and sorted it into edible or compostable, and then Annie (our rescuer) requested we trim the hedge back a little at the entrance. At that point our task owner arrived and confirmed that we had guessed the task list pretty accurately, just asking us to also break down some rotten fence panels to make them easier to get out of the garden. Always happy to use sharp tools and brute force, a combination of axe-wielding and good old-fashioned muscle got that task completed in no time.

Knowing that we needed to be out of the garden by 7:30pm we filled our pockets and tummies with plums and scarpered out onto Barracks Lane bang on time.

Congratulations and big kudos to Bethan for reaching a whopping 250 Good Deeds!

Welcome to GoodGym Abi - lovely to meet you!

Sorry for the access issues everyone!

We love a new task location! It's an excellent way to explore the hidden gems around Oxford and spread Goodgym love about.

Barracks Lane Community Garden is hidden away off the Cowley Road and is BEAUTIFUL. A tranquil space full of plants, trees, a bathtub full of flowers and some beautiful art.

Greeted by Hannah and Jenny we did the register stating our favourite ice cream flavours, ranging from strawberry to bakewell tart, and had an introduction to this gorgeous space.

Our tasks were weeding around some flower and herb beds, painting and sanding a shed and cutting back some unruly grass. We were supplied with overalls which did rather make Alice look like she should be on a gritty BBC crime drama!

As usual the time zipped by and after a very welcome cup of tea and cake we skipped off into the light evening. ****This was a gorgeous task, we hope to come back soon!

Welcome to Laura, so lovely to have you along this week!