As ever, we set off from Glasshouse Table Table raring to go! The chill in the air only serving to increase our effectiveness at fast running. We were to be litter picking in the Victorian park this evening, in the dark dark cold bushes and beyond. Upon reaching the park we were (mostly) all warmed up. We headed for the store to retrieve an extra litter picker and then ventured into the bushes. There were no other folks in the park tonight. Well apart from a fellow headtorch clad runner darting around like a glowworm. After spending a good 30 minutes rustling around picking out shiny items from the gloom shrouded, slippery,leaf laden ground we tied up the bags of trash and took them to a bin on a nearby road.

We then ran back down to Glasshouse to stretch off and warm up.

A drab evening in Barnsley was spruced up by a sprightly sprint up to Locke Park. Once at the park we accessed the shed near the sculptures and murals to retrieve some tools for a spot of grounds maintenance . The plan was to walk around the park inspecting beds and removing litter as needed. Armed with some bags, pickers and a trowel incase we saw any weeds, we skillfully circumnavigated the park. The darkness of the 'parkmess' made this task even more challenging!

The darkness of the parkmess

Two whole bags of litter were picked in and around the park, and a couple of pesky weeds that really stood out to us in one of the beds were pulled up too. After around 50 minutes in the park it was time to call it a day. A fitness activity was forgone, with it being agreed that the run up to the park at some pace was enough of a workout alongside the pick itself. Patting ourselves on the back we trotted back down the hill to Glasshouse to stretch off.

Tonight we were off to litterpick in Locke Park. The park in the dark can be a scary prospect. What might be lurking in the shadowy bushes?! I'll tell thee what, a terrifying amount of trash. Being in the depths of winter now we were on our own as Anne is hibernating.

Arriving in the dark park, bags and pickers were deployed and thusly used to remove litter from the bushes in the central area. We removed cans, bottles, wrappers and cigarettes. All of the usual gubbins. After 45 minutes of picking we started to wind up, depositing the bags of bits in nearby bins.

As the run up to the park is a constant uphill affair and we were persistently picking for an hour, an extra fitness session was forgone in lieu of just running back to base. Once back at Glasshouse, we stretched off and parted ways.

The task tonight was to clear up litter and de-weed some beds near the Serpentine Walk. When we reached the park we headed to the store cupboard to obtain the necessary tools for the tasks given to us by Anne- bin bags, compost sacks, pickers, trowels and gloves.

We then headed up to the beds, finding some stashes of litter in the bushes on the way there which we cleared up. Arriving at the beds opposite the Joseph Locke statue we set to weeding them before the fading light foiled our attempts to pinpoint the unwanted plants.

When the light had truly foiled our efforts, we headed to the exercise equipment to do a set of upper-body workouts before setting off for a steady run back down the hill to Glasshouse to stretch off.

We were hoping for a new volunteer tonight but it wasn't to be. My support team had come out in force though. Big thanks to Annie and Andrew! Hopefully they'll be along another time. I'm sure they would've had a great time if they'd come this evening thanks in no small part to you two.

The three of us met Anne, Zak and two other Friends of Locke Park at the shed to gather up equipment for the tasks lying ahead of us in the park. We wheeled up large and small pairs of secateurs, rubble bags, gloves, sweeping brushes, and a leaf blower with two sets of batteries to the top of the Serpentine Walk. Here we were tasked with cutting down vegetation which was obscuring the view down the valley from the bench at the top. There were huge brambles to be tangled with; James dived into the fray to tackle the spiky vines, Anne got to work blowing leaves off of the path, Andrew started snipping away at smaller branches, Annie pottered about doing some topiary and Zak kept watch from the bench whilst the FoLP tended to other bits and pieces in the general area.

Take a bramble on me

The branches were all cut down to the desired level in this small area of the park. As our time was drawing to a close the cuttings thrown over the fence were gathered up and snipped into smaller pieces then placed in the waiting rubble sacks. When all the cuttings were safely in the bags we started to shut up shop. Just before taking the equipment back Anne showed us another bed that will be wanting our attention. I mentioned to her that we can do bits on the occasional weekend too which may be a good option for some folk who find attending on a weekday evening challenging.

After doing work for our alloted time (and a little extra in lieu of a fitness activity) we said our thanks and goodbyes to the others and set off back to Glasshouse to stretch off.

So on our run tonight we were excited to have a new member attending; unfortunately they were taken ill and had to cancel. They have confirmed that they will be attending the next gardening session though. Ultimately this may have worked out rather well as I was unable to get my usual support team along to welcome them in anyway. They had 'helpfully' planned a GoodGym social outing at a clashing time so hopefully next time we have a new attendee things will all fall rightly into place for everyone involved.

Tonight we met Anne and Zak up at Locke Park to assist with some gardening. Our task was to cut away plants obscuring the view down the serpentine walk from the path above it. We were also to clear the pathway just on the inside of the fence bordering the top of the walk; many plants had overgrown onto this area and needed pruning back to keep them in check. There had been some concern over our safety when venturing down the slope to prune the plants. The situation was risk assessed and deemed to be within our remit (with members always only taking part in what they feel is safe for them of course). We hopped the fence like rabbits and started snipping away the overgrowth from the path. We used long loppers for the skyward reaching large plants and secateurs for the low lying shrubs. Care was taken when moving anywhere because of the steep slope behind us and the aggressive brambles lurking in the undergrowth ready to spring out when branches in their vicinity were snipped. Alongside clearing the pathway, we were also asked to chop down anything obscuring the view down the valley from the bench to the height of the border fence. Alongside the odd bits of rubbish that had found their way into the bushes we found a large plastic box with lid that Anne wanted to keep for storing things in in the shed. All of our cuttings were thrown over the fence onto the path to be put into the two rubble sacks we had with us. Meanwhile Anne was busy with the leaf blower clearing the surrounding paths of debris and Zak was keeping an eye on everything from his vantage point on the bench. Every now and then a passer-by would give us a cheerful comment on what good work we were doing which is always very motivational.

Tip chop work

When our time was up, we could clearly see a big improvement to the area, enabling easier access and the desired views of the valley from the bench and path which were the objectives. Our last task was to bag up the branches and leaves on the path. We filled two rubble sacks full and left the sacks to the side of the path for the gardeners to pick up the following morning.

After this we wheeled the tools back to the lock-up, said our goodbyes, and headed off down the hill for some stretching back at Glasshouse.