You might think spending the hottest day of the year at the local open air swimming pool would be ideal but there's a snag - Cleveland Pools is currently closed following flood damage.

The only creature who got to have a dip was a visiting bird who fancied a bath.

Our job was to keep the site looking shipshape and Bristol fashion ready for the moment it is brought back into use. This time Meyrick and Ruth pulled weeds and poured compost around plantings to discourage further growth. Meanwhile Paul oversaw all the volunteers who were also helping out and also made a number of trips to the compost heap for us.

We managed to complete our task, despite the heat.

The promise of more homemade cake (it was delicious) will go a long way to tempting us back to the historic lido for another session.

Sort of… It was our monthly visit to Bath Community Gardens, doesn’t the time fly. Bennath, Meyrick and Kate spent a lovely couple of hours working hard in the glorious May sunshine. Meyrick dug some good holes in the poly tunnel beds and Kate filled them with manure and water, for Meyrick to then top them off with a little mound of soil. Finishing off the dirt sandcastles with a little stick flag. The idea being cucumbers will be planted in the mounds. Meanwhile Kate continued to load up the wheelbarrow with manure and added it to a second bed in the poly tunnel, prepping the soil for further planting. Bennath escaped the warmth of the tunnel and was very diligently removing weeds and hoeing beds that were already sporting their planty wears. Naturally we got called to stop for break time and we had a lovely chat with some of the regulars. Always a pleasure and we look forward to seeing everyone next month.

There were bells on a hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
'Til there was you

There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
'Til there was you

So sang a young Paul McCartney in 1963. The link between GoodGym Bath in 2026 and the Beatles is that we were ourselves using a 'Till' today, to till the ground. It's a tenuous link driven by the need to find a decent pun but I'll take it.

I have attempted to add to the lyrics with my own, describing the task that drew Ruth, Aaron, Bennath and Meyrick to Bath City Farm on such a surprisingly sunny and warm April morning.

There were four on a hill
But I never saw them planting
No I never saw them at all
'til there was you

Fifteen Hazel trees
But I never saw their saplings
No I never saw them at all
'til there was you

Then there was digging
And wonderful poses
They tell me on steep sunbaked hillsides
Of brawn and hew

There were spades all around
But I never heard them digging
No, I never heard it at all
'Til there was you

(And just for the purposes of copyright, lyrics by Lennon-McCartney-Williams)

OK, rubbish pun - I've done better. However, what a wonderful mission this was. It's beginning to feel like spring is here now, and this evening was dry and mild if slightly wanting for a little more sunshine.

We always love missions at St John's Court, we meet a few of the residents every time (and they are lovely). Their response to our presence is so warm and welcoming we really feel like we are making a difference to people's lives. These life-changing individuals were Ruth, Tanya, Emily, Bennath and Meyrick.

This mission was all about weeding, exactly the same section as we do every spring, the patio outside the common room gets overrun by the all manner of nasties and it's our job to remove them. Supplied with some awesome tools to complete the job, including a battery powered crevice tool (which to our credit we shared amongst us all before it's battery died).

We did a lot in the hour that we were there, didn't quite get all of it done but we are back in a month for more!!