Block or report Oliver Sanders
Tue 25th Jun 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
On a humid June evening, 13 GoodGym runners ran along the canal to help at Cleveland Pools. We did lots of weeding, sweeping and cutting to help keep the grounds safe and tidy. We loved being outdoors getting some exercise and helping to develop a historic part of our community at the same time.
Welcome Lucy!
We met at the leisure centre and welcomed a new runner, Lucy, to the group. Thanks for coming along and helping us out! We hope you come back again soon!
Before the warm-up I shared the latest news with the group. On Thursday we are going to St James Wine Vaults for their pub quiz. This is a great way to meet other GoodGymmers and everyone is welcome, even if you haven't been coming for long. We also have an exciting Community Mission at the weekend where we are helping out at a Scout Campsite in Weston.
To get to Cleveland Pools we took the scenic route along the Kennet and Avon canal path. Our host, Sally, gave us a warm welcome and then gave an introduction to the Pools to those of us that haven't been before. Cleveland Pools is the UK's oldest surviving Lido. It hasn't been in operation since 1980's but team of volunteers are working hard to open it up again so the public can come and swim in it. They have just received some lottery funding and are not far away from their final fundraising target. We have been before to help out around the site and there was lots of jobs for us to do again!
Our work tonight was all about tidying and maintenance. Lots of people visit the site for inspections and planning meetings and we worked hard to make sure the grounds are free of weeds and hazards to keep it safe.
Pooling our resources
Max, Libby and Tim used a variety of tools to weed the area near the entrance, including what will soon be the refurbished children's pool. There were lots of weeds growing in the cracks that they pulled up. Good work team!
Mos(s)t of the weeds were hard to get rid of!
Emily and Pascale focused their efforts on removing slippery moss and weeds around the edges of the main pool. A major health and safety point is to prevent people falling into the water and their hard work means that the walkway is safer for people to work on. Great stuff!
A treeific job!
Mark and Rob spent their evening cutting back shoots and growths on one of the larger trees. These trees are starting to get out of hand and are quickly taking over the space at the back of the grounds. It was hard work because the branches were wet and slippery but it was even more satisfying when they were done!
The name's Pond. James Pond. License to volunteer.
To remove the algae and weeds from the pond area (soon to be the centrepiece swimming pool!), Ollie and Alison used long hooks. The weeds were quite long and they found that the best technique was to 'spaghetti' the weeds and wrap them around the hooks as one would with a fork. They filled up several wheelbarrows which left the pond much clearer which Sally was really happy with.
Out of Scythe, out of mind!
To cut back the grassy areas, Lucy, Alison and Allie learned how to use a scythe to deadly effect. We were lucky enough to have one of the volunteering team there to instruct the runners how to use the scythe to rhythmically cut back the grass. Apparently you has to 'let the scythe do the work' and focus on using your core muscles. The runners managed to clear a huge patch of grass in only a short amount of time. Nice work!
'Hi-ho, Hi-ho'!
At the end of the evening Sally got us shoulder our tools and reenact the Seven Dwarves from Sleeping Beauty singing "Hi-ho, Hi-ho, It's off to work we go ...". We were delighted to help produce this for the team's marketing efforts although none of us could sing or whistle very well ... or march in time. But we had smiles on our faces and that's what's important!
Sally was really pleased with how much we managed to get done in such a short space of time. We are really proud to be a part of restoring this fantastic community asset and we can't wait until it is open in a few years time to go for a dip!
Thanks!
Thanks to Sally and her team for hosting us for the task last night and thanks to Ollie for backmarking for us. Also, thanks for Alison for the double pun this week!
Upcoming runs
Tue 18th Jun 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
17 GoodGym volunteers ran to Victoria Park to tidy the play area and the skatepark. We did some litter picking and raked the sand in the play areas. Lots of people and young families use this space and we were proud to help keep it safe and clean for all to use.
All hail Clean Mary!
We met at the leisure centre and crossed our fingers that the rain wouldn't come back! Firstly, we awarded Mary a custom t-shirt to celebrate her 200 runs milestone that she recently smashed. Now she has two 'Clean Mary' t-shirts to wear when she goes out running! Well done Mary! Keep up the running!!
I then shared running news from the past weekend. Several of took part in a fantastic Running Omnium that was part of the Top of the Gorge festival in Cheddar. It was great fun and we got really cool medals! Hopefully see some of you there next year.
We also got involved in a great Community Mission at the weekend where we ran to help out at the annual Sunday Funday organised by the team at St James and St Phillips' church.
The Great Get Together
I talked about The Great Get Together which is a project that GoodGym groups across the country are partnering with this week. The project was set up to remember Jo Cox who was killed three years ago. The aim of the initiative is to celebrate the things that bring us together and what we have in common and to reject divisive politics that tear our communities apart.
We all reflected that although we are from different walks of life the one thing we all have in common is a love of running and helping our community. We wore some stickers and wristbands to show our support for coming together and being part of an inclusive community.
After our warm-up we took the scenic route to the play park. We ran through Bath city centre, around The Circus and past the Royal Crescent. What beautiful city we get to run in!
The Rake Get Together
We made it to the park and surveyed the task ahead. After passing out the pickers some of the runners got on their way picking litter from all around the park. There hasn't been too much rubbish dropped lately because of the poor weather ... but there was still too much for us to bear and so we took action!
In for a penny in for a pound
Some of the more interesting things we found were a £1 coin, half of a lego person and a bike chain. We also found a plastic 'skate' on wheels in the bushes. Unsure exactly how this got there (or even what it is for!?) but we dug it out and safely removed it anyway!
Come and give us a sand with this work!
Lots of sand escapes from the play areas out onto the path which can make it slippery and dangerous to walk across. We shovelled a load of it from the path back into the sand pit and then raked it in.
At the end of the task we admired our hard work from the vantage point of one of the climbing frames. We climbed up and had a picture looking out across the sands.
Upcoming runs
Wednesday 15th May 2019
Oliver Sanders completed 25 good deeds with GoodGym.
Oliver has already done 25 good deeds with GoodGym. Instead of doing anything else, they've used their run to go and help people that need their help; digging, lifting, scraping, clearing, planting and weeding. Stuff that makes this a better place to be.
Tue 14th May 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
A group of runners ran along the river Avon to St John's Court to paint some outdoor furniture. We painted 10 chairs, a bench, a table and also varnished a bench ... all in one evening! It was a lovely sunny evening and we enjoyed being outside helping our community.
After meeting at our usual spot outside the leisure centre we were on our way. This is one of our shortest runs at just over 1km away, so we got there with lots of time for volunteering.
The task
We met our hosts for the evening and they gave us an overview of the building complex and the task. St John's Court is a shared living space in the centre of Bath. There are lots of different groups of people who live there, including vulnerable adults and people who have mobility challenges.
The Committee and the Resident's Association make a great effort to build and maintain a community and one of the ways they do this is by maintaining a welcoming outdoor space for all to enjoy.
There are several areas where residents and their guests can sit outside and enjoy being together, and these spaces need regular maintenance. We came last year to paint some furniture that lives outside on their decking, and we were back again for more painting!
Last night, we moved furniture from storage cupboards to the back of the complex overlooking the riverside. The team had already kindly jet-washed the furniture for us and we were ready to get going!
We got off to a rough start ... I should sand down from my position, as these puns are awful!!
The first step was to sand down some of the rough edges of the wood. This roughness can come from where things like moss has grown on the surface over the years.
Don't paint on my parade!
After the sanding we mixed some paint and let our artistic talents shine!
We wern-table to leave without finishing!
We worked in teams to make sure we covered as much of the surface of the chairs as possible. The chairs were painted a smooth cream colour and the table was painted in a calming eggshell blue. The colour we added makes the furniture look so much fresher and really brightens up the garden area. Also, the paint will help to weather-proof the wood which is important as it exposed to the elements by the river path.
I should also benchun how much fun we had!
A group of our runners used their skills to varnish a bench. The bench needed freshening up and our work here makes the bench look as good as new. This will help keep the bench protected and help extend its lifetime.
We finished the task paint-splattered and worn out from all the kneeling and bending but we were really proud with our work. Our hosts were extremely happy with what we had achieved in just over an hour and were extremely grateful. We are heading back to St John's Court to do some more painting later in the summer so sign up now to reserve the spot in you diary!
Thanks!
Thanks to Emma for backmakring for us and for also the pun last night!
Upcoming runs:
Tue 7th May 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
15 of us ran to the Community Gardens maintained by Bath Organic Group. We did some composting and create a new bark chip path that ran around half of the garden. We had lots of fun being outdoors and were really pleased with how much work we got done.
Well done Alison!
We met outside the leisure centre and I shared the latest news with everyone. A massive well done Alison for running and doing so well in the St Illtyds Way Ultra Marathon at the weekend! I also shared a summary of a recent Community Mission where some of us ran to help set up Larkhall Community Festival. It was a lot of fun and we will be back to help them out again soon!
After a warm-up we were on our way. I lead the group through town and along Upper Bristol Road. It was a short run meaning we had more time for volunteering at the task.
We love gardening ... it really grew on us!
We met our host Tim at the gardens maintained by Bath Organic Group and he gave us an overview about the space. The garden has been running for nearly 30 years and is run completely by volunteers. They grow a variety of fruit and vegetables. Anyone is welcome to help improve and maintain the garden. They have volunteering sessions each week, on a Tuesday and a Saturday. They are a really friendly and welcoming group of volunteers who are always looking for more people to get involved.
Tim gave us an overview of our tasks for the evening and I split us into teams as we had lots of work do to!
A chip off the old block!
A big task was to create a new bark chip path around part of the allotment. There was some fantastic GoodGym team work on display here to make sure we managed to get the job done in time!
Taking a break with a rake!
Some of the volunteers were loading up wheelbarrows with chipping and whizzing them around to be laid. A team spent the evening weeding and clearing the path ready for the new chips. The final part in the production line was a team of volunteers using rakes and spades to shape and mould the new path on the newly-cleared ground.
We glove to do gardening tasks!
Our hard work here was really useful. The chipping makes the pathway clearer to people so they can see where to go (and to not accidentally walk over any plants!) and makes it safer than walking on the mud which can get slipper.y Also, the path makes the space seem much more tamed and reminds people that it is a tended community garden and not just a patch of land.
A big heap of work!
The other big task last night was sifting and working the compost heaps. There are several areas of the garden dedicated to creating compost to help the garden grow. One team worked on the compost bins by the entrance.
We learnt how there is roughly a 1-year lifecycle for the Bath Organic Group compost where any discarded vegetation usually takes 1 year to mulch down into usable compost. Our task, specifically, was to shift all of the most 'mature' compost into a separate container and separate out any roots and shoots into the 'less mature' container.
We managed to move an enormous amount of earth in a very short space of time and this means that other volunteers can focus on other areas of the garden when they next come to volunteer.
Many hands make light work!
Another composting team had a similar task of moving compost into a separate container. Their pile was sightly different in composition and it was a lot harder to dig in and shift the earth! Their target was to reach an elusive carpet which marked a dividing line between two different sections of compost. They didn't quite manage to work all the way down to the carpet but they got super close and managed to move a huge amount of earth!
Tim was really pleased with the hard work we had done and he very generously offered us some apple juice that was grown and pressed at their orchard last Autumn. In fact, it was made with apples that we helped to pick back at the end of last year! We appreciated the sugar boost for the run back home.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot to Tim and the volunteers at Bath Organic Group for organising for us to come down for this task. We will return! Thanks to Emma for backmarking for us and thanks to Una for the pun this week!
Upcoming runs
Tue 23rd Apr 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
On a humid April evening 16 volunteers ran to Donkey Lane near Perfect View in Bath. We did lots of useful cutting and weeding at the community gardening project there. We had lots of fun and did some great hill training!
Welcome!
We met outside the leisure centre and I shared the latest news and notices. We have organised 2 fantastic Community Missions for this weekend. See the bottom of the run for details! After a warm-up we were on our way.
"H'ill stop us running up hills one day..."
We ran up Walcott Street and up the steep steps in Hedgemead Park. This really burned the quadriceps and was a fantastic workout for us all! We paused at the top to catch our breath and (did some tricep dips in the meantime!) made it to Donkey Lane with plenty of time.
No foaling around!
Our host, Sue, was ready and waiting for us. Donkey Lane is a community garden that is managed by Transition Bath. The garden is run entirely by volunteers and anyone is welcome to come and help improve the garden and enjoy the produce. They grow an assortment of fruit and veg, including apples and kale!
There was lots of work for us to do and Sue split us into groups.
Nettle the devil you know!
Some of the runners were using shears to cut down nettles and large weeds on the side of the path. With all the good weather we have been enjoying recently they have started to run wild! This useful work helps keen the pathway clear and safe which is good for the gardeners and also other members of the public using the Donkey Lane foothpath.
We'ed never give up!
Another group spent the evening on their hands and knees with an assortment of tools to improve the path that runs inside the garden. The GoodGymmers were using trowels and even knives and forks to remove weeds from the path. To make sure we didn't damage the path, we made sure to use our tools to cut the weeds at their base instead of pulling them straight out from the root. Our hard work made a massive difference to the look of the path. The path is clearer and safer for gardeners to use and it also makes it clear to the public that the area is a tended community garden and not an overgrown patch of land.
A forkin' hard bit of work!
Other runners were using pitch forks to turn over some ground to make it more suitable for planting later in the year. This was tough work as the ground hasn't been worked for a while!
WELL DONE QUEEN MARY!!
We took a moment to honour a well-travelled member of our group. This task was Mary's 199th good deed and her coach run later this week will be her 200th. This is a massive achievement that we wanted to recognise, so Steph, in classic GoodGym spirit, presented Mary with an amazing '200' t-shirt complete with buttons and rubber gloves that she had made at home. And of course we insisted that Mary wore the top on the run back! What an inspiration to us all.
On our run back we paused to watch a group of Morris dancers in the centre of Bath. There was discussion about combining our cool-down into some kind of dance procession to match them as a rival group...
Thanks!
Thanks to Emily for backmarking for us last night and making sure no one got lost! Thanks to Joe for another brilliant pun! Thanks to Steph for helping me take pictures and thanks to Sue for hosting us at the task. We had lots of fun and we will be back soon (hopefully at harvest time!!!).
Upcoming runs
Tue 16th Apr 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
A massive group of 21 runners ran along the canal path to Cleveland Pools. We did lots of jobs to help keep the grounds clean and safe. It was really exciting to contribute towards a historic and important part of Bath! We ran 3km in total.
Welcome Anni!
We met outside the leisure centre and I gave the introduction talk. We welcomed Anni to her first GoodGym run. It was great to have you come and join us, we hope you come back again!
After a quick warm-up we were on our way. We took the scenic route and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the canal path. I encouraged the runners to do some exercises by the side of the canal and we formed a conga line of walking lunges!
You don't pool me!
Our host, Sally, met us at the pools. The building and swimming areas at Cleveland pools date back to the Georgian period. In fact, it is the last surviving lido (outdoor swimming pool) that still exists in the UK. It fell into disrepair and hasn't been used since the 1980's. We have been to help maintain the grounds of the pool before, but since we last visited the team there have worked tirelessly to secured a game-changing amount of National Lottery funding. Hopefully with a further bit of fundraising the team can look to get regeneration work started and open up to the public again in the next few years.
Sally had lots of work for us to do and we split into teams.
Pool me once, shame on you. Pool me twice, shame on me!
A group of us donned our gardening gloves and tidied the grassy banks around the pool. We removed lots of sticky weeds, ivy and general weeds from the grounds and disposed of them. This is to stop them taking over the whole area!
We have hidden depths
A duo of runners worked together to 'fish' various weeds and plants out of the pool. They filled two wheelbarrows full of their treasure! Great work! Luckily we had Mark, our trained lifeguard, keeping an eye on things on this task! Thanks, Mark!
Another team were trusted with hand-held scythes and saws to cut down some aggressive stinging nettles that were taking over a patch of land. Their removal will make it easier for builders to eventually get work started.
Better great than never ... April pools!
A few of our number picked sycamore seedlings from the ground surrounding the buildings. If left, these seedlings will grow into fully-fledged trees which can disrupt the foundations of the buildings. It was an important job to nip in the bud!
Some of the runners worked together to clear other weeds and old tree roots that surrounded the old changing rooms. These pesky roots were starting to disrupt the brickwork and removing them means more of the buildings can be salvaged.
An old bra came to support us!
The rest of the runners were hunting in the disturbed ground near the entrance to the pools. They were acting like Indiana Jones and searching for any ceramic pieces of pottery that has been swallowed by the mud over the many years that the pool was used. We filled several tubs and the plan is for them to be made into a large mosaic by schoolchildren. Some of the odder things we found were half of a Lego character, a small rubber monkey and a very old and very disgusting bra!
Overall, it was great to spend the evening outside in the fresh air and make a valuable contribution to an important piece of our heritage in our wonderful city. Sally was really pleased with how much work we got done and we were really proud of our efforts.
Thanks!
Thanks Steph for backmarking for us and thanks to Sally for hosting us. Thanks for the pun this week, Catrin, and thanks to everyone for all the other puns included in the report!
Upcoming runs
Tue 9th Apr 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
A group of volunteers ran along the canal path to the community garden at Alice Park. We did some fun tasks to help improve the fantastic community-led gardening project that is based there. We had lots of fun and enjoyed being outside in nature for the evening.
Well done on 100, Joe!
We met at our usual spot outside the leisure centre in town and I shared the latest news with the group. The first item on the agenda was a massive congratulations to Joe (our very own 'Master of all things punny') who was going to be earning his 100th good deed that evening. Well done, Joe! This is an incredible achievement and something for us to all aspire towards.
Welcome Alice and Richard!
It was great to welcome Alice and Richard who were 'on tour' from GoodGym Bristol. Thanks for coming over and lending a hand at the task last night and please come back soon!
In other news I have a meeting with some of the team from GoodGym HQ next week so please let me know if you have any feedback or questions you want me to pass on. Emily also shared news about a fantastic race/event coming up soon at Cheddar Gorge that some of us have signed up to; see the link below at the bottom for more info! I then introduced the task for the evening, we did a warm-up as a group and then we got on our way.
It was just the one swan, actually!
We are blessed in Bath being based near a beautiful and peaceful canal path. We chose to run along this route (pausing to do some walking lunges on the way) where we spotted some swans in the canal. We were speedy and made it to Alice Park with plenty of time.
We met our host, Kathy, at the park and she gave an introduction to the project for those who hadn't visited before. A group of volunteers transformed a section of Alice Park (off to the left behind the hedge) into a community gardening project over 10 years ago. The team of volunteers have cultivated the land and grow a variety of produce including fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Absolutely anyone can get involved and help with the gardening tasks and also everyone is welcome to enjoy the produce of the garden that is grown for free (although a small donation or some time to help out in the garden is really appreciated!)
We had 3 main tasks last night and we split into groups to make the best use of our time.
Will(ow) they or won't they?
One group spent the evening organising and preparing willow branches. There was a big pile of them left to one side of the garden and the team had to find some decent-sized branches, use some loppers to cut off the smaller shoots and then neatly pile them up.
Old sage and wisdom
Another team used the willow branches to make a fence around a bed of flowers. There have been lots of excited dogs that like to jump into the flowers and herbs that grow in the bed and it is hoped that the new fence will act as a barrier to stop them! Kathy showed the group of runners how to weave the willow together around some stakes in the ground to make a secure barrier using the tension in the wood. This required patience and team work from the volunteers to make sure that there were no gaps and that the fence had structural integrity. Nice work team!
I'm not mud, I'm just disappointed
The third team were sieving compost (yes, that is actually a thing that people do!). This was a fun (and muddy!) task to get involved with. The compost has been maturing in a container since the last time we visited and 'turned' the compost before Christmas. Our task here was to use a mesh net and a bucket to sieve out any sticks, stones, large pieces of mud or snail shells from the compost. We then spread it over a flower bed to make the perfect environment for growing new plants. Among the compost we found a rather large grub that we think will turn into a beetle (which is really good for the health of the garden) and we made sure to tuck him back into the remaining compost.
Thanks Kathy - we shall return!
We sad goodbye and thanks to Kathy for taking the time to host us for the evening. We had lots of fun and we will be returning again in a few months time. Thanks Kathy!
Thanks!
Thanks to Ollie for kindly offering to backmark for us and thanks to Joe for the awesome multi-dimensional pun this week!
Upcoming runs:
Tue 19th Mar 2019 at 6:15pm
Bath Report written by Sam Ollason
Not letting the steep hills get in our way, 12 of us ran up Bloomfield Drive to clean and organise some of the community spaces at St Phillips and St James's Church. We cleaned children's toys and completely reorganised the youth sports cupboard. In total we ran a very hilly 7.5km!
Well done to everyone who ran the Bath Half!
Firstly, on Sunday it was the 2019 Bath Half Marathon where over 12,000 people took part. We got really lucky with the weather and it was a fantastic day! Well done to Emily, Sam P, Emma H, Chris L, Chris D, Tim, Mary, Dora and Lydia who took part in the race (apologies if I have missed anyone!).
If you missed out or want to run again, entries for the 2020 Bath Half marathon are now open with a small discount! See more information here.
Thanks GoodGym cheer squad!
It was great to see so many GoodGym members on the way round the course shouting encouragement and brandishing signs with messages of support. Thank you very much to everyone who came out to support us. It really helps!
Welcome Andy!
Andy was our host for the task last night, but instead of waiting for us to run up and meet him he joined us at the leisure centre and ran up the hill with us. What amazing commitment to volunteering! Thanks for joining us for the run as well as hosting us, Andy!
The task
When we got to the church Andy and his team had very kindly laid out some much-needed refreshments. This really helped us get going again after the long run!
St Phillips and St James' Church has several rooms that are used by a variety of community groups. They are used very frequently so the team of volunteers who manage the room always really appreciate some help with cleaning and organising. There were 2 tasks for us to do and we split into two teams to make sure we got everything done in the short time we had available.
Taming the Youth Sports cupboard!
I lead a team to tidy and completely reorganise the youth spots cupboards in Manna House, one of the community rooms at the church. First, we formed a human chain to completely empty the cupboard. It hadn't been decanted in a long time and there was lots of equipment in a disorderly state. We then put on our gloves and gave all of the sports equipment a thorough clean.
Some of the more interesting things we came across were: A VHS copy of The Office, several Guitar controllers used for video games and lots of shiny paper!
After sweeping the floors and shelves in the cupboard we filled it back up again in a neater and more organised fashion. Good job team!
Just playing around!
Emily lead a team into the 'play room' that is used by various toddler groups at the Church. There were lots of toys that needed a thorough clean and tidy up. Making sure the toys are clean and safe is a really important task, and the volunteers at the church really appreciate the hard work done by our runners here. Also, the painting of 'Dumbo' on the wall inspired this week's pun - thanks Alison!
Legs 11!
This week is the launch of the 50th GoodGym group in the UK. Every group is taking a picture with their runners aligned to be the number of their GoodGym community. Since we were the 11th group to open, we lined up in the shape of a number 11 in Manna House where we had been working. You can see the picture attached with the run report.
Thanks!
Thanks to Ollie for backmarking for us on the way there and the way back from the task last night. Thanks again to Andy for organising the task! We will return on the 30th April!
Next runs
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