We usually try to get to West Oxford for a litter pick early in the year, and despite the ongoing challenges of accessing the Botley Road, we headed there last night for a clean up.

We split into 3 groups and allowed ourselves an hour to blitz the trash. Given the cold weather we found a surprising amount of discarded clothing (wouldn't you notice that you'd left your coat on the cemetery gate?!), as well as a bags full of the usual suspects (cans, bottles), and more unusual items (a whole block of cheese, part of a car bumper, MANY Christmas trees, a French dictionary).

All in all, a good amount of rubbish got picked and bagged, leaving the area looking a little more loved.

Welcome to GoodGym James!

This Wednesday we had a spooktacular plogging poster distribution challenge.

Here at GoodGym Oxford we like a bit of healthy competition, and nothing quite gets that spirit fired up like a scavenger hunt with a purpose. With Halloween just around the corner we had a ghost-themed hunt this week. We divided into 2 teams: Runners and Walkers. Each team was given a list of haunted locations, 5 GoodGym posters, a litter bag and 2 litterpickers. Points were awarded for every poster pinned up, every haunted location visited, and for spotting a variety of Halloweenesque decorations (ghosts, broomsticks, pumpkins, cats and witches hats). There was also a requirement to clear up litter as you buzzed around the City.

It was neck-and-neck between the teams on posters displayed and locations collected, but the walkers truly spectacular 50 pumpkins had them whipping the win out from under the runners feet.

Our brains got a good workout from the strategising, our legs got moving, litter was picked, we learnt about the history and mythology of Oxford, and GoodGym was publicised...a win on many levels!

Our friends at Flo's The Place in the Park asked for our help to get the word out to locals about their great refill shop. Stocking everything from toiletries and cleaning products to pasta and pulses, it's a great resource for the local area, plus using it saves lots of plastic waste from going to landfill.

We were advised that the best tool for getting leaflets through doors without getting fingers pinched by aggressive post flaps are wooden spatulas. Sadly, we were spatula-less this time, but managed to avoid and leaflet-posting injuries, got all our flyers delivered, admired some ambitious front gardens, and made friends with several local cats.

We have eyes and ears everywhere, and this week it was Axelle's turn to direct us to the litter hot spots of West Oxford. After a pleasant jog the back route to our rendez-vous point we exchanged podcast recommendations as this weeks ice-breaker. For your listening delight here are the GG Oxford Top of the Pods:

• Adam Buxton
• Who trolled Amber Heard
• Gardeners World
• Just one thing
• Dungeons and Daddies
• Changes by Annie Mac
• The rest is history
• My favourite murder
• This podcast will kill you
• The rest is entertainment
• Taskmaster the peoples podcast
• Blank check
• 28 ish days
• Ukraine cast
• Bad women
• Things fell apart
• How to fail
• Duolingo Intermediate French

Then on to the more serious business of clearing up the trash. It's always quite interesting the different litter we find in different parts of town. This is an area full of retail parks, so although we picked up the usual food detritus we were surprisingly low on booze cans and bottles this week.

Welcome to GoodGym Andy! Always a joy to have Django the pup along, and glad to have made Botley a little safer for his paws.

The brief: Plot a route around as many of the Oxford Monopoly board locations as you can in an hour.

The tasks: Take litterpickers and plog as you go, and see how many GoodGym posters you can put on display around the city.

The scoring system: 1 point for every monopoly board location you make it to, 1 point for every GoodGym Task related item you spot along the way, 5 points for every GoodGym poster you put up.

This game/task brought out some serious competitive streaks in our running and walking teams. Sneaky tactics were used, like dividing the group to reach more locations, sprinting to an extra monopoly board square with 3 minutes to go, and deploying the (ex) Lord Mayor as a GG Task related item. Fun and exercise was had, we raised awareness of GoodGym, picked up plenty of litter, and it was a quirky way to plot a walk/run route around town.

Altogether now, to the tune of The Teddy Bears' Picnic

If you go down to the woods today
You’re sure of a big surprise
If you go down to the woods today
you’d better take plogging supplies!

For all the trash that ever there was
Is gathered there for certain because
The woods are where the litter bugs go to hang out

Litter pick time for GoodGymers
The GoodGym crew are having a smelly time tonight
Watch them pick up clothes and cans
On a litter pick in the Magdalen Wood

See them hunt for all the trash
They love to clean it up
They never leave any thing behind
Then plastic and bottles are bagged up and dragged out
And left for the truck to remove
Cos it’s home time for the GoodGymers.

Tonight's oddest litter finds:
A toy helicopter, 4 shopping baskets, sunglasses, a coat.