A visit to Emmaus through the tailwinds of Storm Barra was on the books for Bristol GoodGym.

Xanne greeted us and after a quiz described the tasks - sorting rubbish books from saleable (recycling to pulp), sorting good tools and fixings from rusty/surplus (recycling to the metal skip) and sorting vintage/saleable racquets from rubbish (no recycling available yet!).

As ever with Emmaus there were many top finds although the flamingo may have grabbed it this time, and much headgear was found for the final photo before heading back to workout ti experience Vaguely Northern Darren's Liverpool goal declaration/celebration, startling everyone in the bar.

It was a Tuesday evening and it was barely raining at all!

In a variation of going around the circle and saying your own name and number, Melanie almost remembered everyone's name - much to everyone's surprise.

The runners and walkers set off for the jaunt across Bristol to one of our favourites, Emmaus's warehouse for whatever Xanne had found us to do.

Sorting sleeping bags and tents, filing clogs and forks, checking puzzles and games (and the launch of the GoodGym Puzzle Club for Christmas and maybe before, to complete the puzzles in the comfort of your own home), inflating mattresses and testing for leaks, and recreating Christmas Trees and chucking out the duff baubles.

It was Lauren's first ever GoodGym session who took to Christmas Tree checking like a GoodGymmer to cake.

We made sure we had everyone before Xanne waved us off - in fact we had an extra GoodGymmer, our new mascot "Where's you to, Wally?". Can you see him? Watch this space...

After a good old GoodGym powwow in Queen Square, including celebrating Maria and Richard's Green Man Ultra achievements (30 and 45 miles self navigated!), Alice W set off for Brunswick Cemetery, Alice D set off on the longer route yo the SouthVILLE Centre and Maria headed straight to the Centre. Like Pied Pipers, they were followed by red-shirted runners and much chat was had.

Everyone was very impressed by the Sea Shanty Choir Melanie had laid on in the Cemetery* where we met up with the Council volunteers Jo and Di who had dumpy bags and some tools for our bindweed blitz.

We set to in three areas, determined to unearth the (probably dead) tree that was a cascade if bramble and bindweed, make further progress into the triangle bed (halted by the wasps who seemingly quite like bindweed) and a new section of wall of bindweed that stood no chance in the face of Caroline and Richard G who then invented the game of Bindweed Ball - hours of fun.

Vaguely Northern Darren proved that if you grab the same bundle of bramble theee times it hurts you three times, we discovered the the Polish and Czech for "ow" are the same, that sea shanties are a great accompaniment to bindweed bashing but the singers didn't want to come and get the satisfaction of bindweed pulling this evening - adding "I cant get no satisfaction" to their repertoire.

If Alice asks, of course the tree is still alive and will now grow back.

Back at workout, we celebrated Melanie's 800 good deeds and new 500 t-shirt - who will be next?!

*may have been total coincidence

The storm put paid to more sweeping but the leafleting continues!