Autumn is the perfect time for a spring clean, isn’t it?

A beautiful rainbow on the way to the farm showed we may be in for sunshine this morning, although we were all in waterproofs just in case.

Connell saw us coming and asked if we could weed and tidy around the front and side of the reception building - weed love to! (See what I did there?)

Hoeing and sweeping and scooping and scraping, the transformation was great to see. And then coffee - perfect.

We were quick off the mark setting off for Brunswick Cemetery with new recruit Chloe joining the runners who'd taken enough hand forks to start pathfinding on the spiral - totally normal in Bristol to run with small gardening implements.

We all thought we'd only have a short time before the rain was back so even more enthusiasm than normal and Richard B's determination to find wooden edge finally paying off, though it was disintegrating so were still not entirely sure where the edge is.

Helen and Frances also found edge at the end of the spiral which may be the start of the spiral on one side. its all so exciting...

With lots of soil shifted, and still dry, we were back off to Workout for many intriguing conversations of philosophical merit, if you can remember any of them, leave a comment!

A fabulous turnout of four GoodGymmers alongside Jo from the Friends group meant huge progress in a corner of the park that we hadn’t tackled for a while.

Big buddleia chopping, bundles of bindweed and buttercups bagged, discarded sharps boxed and general important conversation including whether insect repellent works on spiders or is it only 6-legged creatures? Probably doesn’t work on octopuses.

Transformation complete, it was time for coffee for those not dashing off to other fun Monday activities - a great start to the week.

A lovely day greeted us at the farm. Today we had a task to move compost from the heap to an accessible area to be used to bring this haven into even more beauty. Adopting a conveyer wheel barrow system we made a wheely big indent into the pile. A final photo and off to the cafe to contemplate the day. 👏

Some of the residents overlooking Hebron Burial Ground will wake up this morning to find they are actually overlooking the Burial Ground and not just an overgrown hedge blocking out the daylight. Topiary challenge accepted, where the look we were going for was a "hedge".

Giby joined us for the first time and got stuck into the bramble bashing after joining the walking group - welcome!

A few blackberries were eaten before the spiky stalks joined the growing compost pile via the now-slick "rake and tarp" technique, a few graves were tripped over, a lot of puns proposed (I just wish i could remember them) and it was soon time to hide behind the (much lower) hedge for the final photo and the walkers and runners to race back to Queen Square/Workout and on to Las Iguanas for Eats, taking advantage of the Tortilla Tuesday offer and discussing the racism/merits of Speedy Gonzales - its always deep and meaningful at GoodGym Bristol!

A bumper Monday morning or brambles, buttercups, moss and other weeds that were an easier task than usual due to the occasional torrential rain we’ve had over the past few days - even the dandelions were pulling out!

Lots of chatting between the friends and GoodGymmers, too, so a good way to start the week all round. Mand a new plant learned - Garlic Mustard - can be used to cook but also known as an invasive plant as it likes to take over…