This was the kind of session that makes my heart happy. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all evening.

A huge team of Goodgymers assembled at Port Meadow to clean up the tow path and picnic spots. A big welcome to Blossom, Thomas and Millie.

The litter was not too bad but as usual we found a random selection of objects - a chair, a very rusty bike frame, various items of clothing and a plethora of picnic detritus.

The main event though, was OBVIOUSLY the pizza social. Last time we attempted this it absolutely slammed it with rain. This time, despite a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms, we managed to descend on The Medley and enjoy delicious pizza and a really good chat.

Heres to more socials - once a month maybe?!?

It is always such a treat to be back at Boundary Brook Nature Reserve. Helen always find us varied jobs to do and today was no exception.

We literally made hay whilst the sun shone.

A few helped with sycthing the meadow and the rest of us raked up the hay and trundled it to the ajoining allotments to be used by the plot-holders.

Along the way we avoided ant hills and wasps nests, teasle prickles and I was in awe of Megan and her ability to shift mounds of hay single-handedly!!

Katie and I debated whether we would be tip-top medieval peasants or whether we would be tried as witches.........

A glorious morning.

Shady Aston Eyot was thankfully cool for a strenuous scything and fence repair task. Ruth assigned our tasks and kept a watchful eye on progress. There are always nettles to chop back; this time we scythed around a fenced in area, cleared an overgrown path and carved out a track to one of the many backwaters. James tackled his first scything task with gusto, quickly getting into the swing of it; for Vicky and Joe it was another battle with a familiar foe. The rest of the team tackled the fence repair. Burrowing animals create holes under the fence big enough for muntjacs to squeeze through, undermining the purpose of the deer proof enclosure. The task was to reinforce the fence posts, cable tie loose sections of wire and block off the holes with sawn up logs. Anja, Henry, Sarah and Steve used their ingenuity to make the enclosure deer proof once more and give the saplings a chance to thrive. Due to the heat, a group run was not on the menu. Thanks to the whole team for another great session and special shout outs to James on his first scything task and welcome back to Oxford GoodGym to Sarah.