We were 3 of 743 finishers at University Parks Christmas Day parkrun! A chilly but lovely start to the day ❤

This evening a gaggle of Goodgymers turned into Christmas Elves.

Gathering in a cosy Oxford pub (chips were indeed consumed) we scribed Christmas cards to be distributed around care homes in the UK.

Heads were scratched and inspiration was found in the form of doodles, Christmas Cracker jokes, poems and sharing of favorite decorations and food.

These tasks can feel a bit daunting sometimes, where to start when writing to a stranger? But we amassed a brilliant stack of cards to be sent off for distribution. I'm sure that they will spread a lot of joy at a time of year that can be very lonely for some.

Thank you Goodgym Elves!!

The litter around West Oxford Community Centre has been quite heavy in the past, so we try to get out there a couple of times a year for a clean up. With the whizz-bang of fireworks all around we set off for our autumn session. Despite some Halloween detritus, and some unusual finds (a French dictionary, burglar alarms, mini-bedspread, pants), we were pleasantly surprised by the state of the litter. We collected far less than usual - good job West Oxford!

This evening we returned to the Orchard Triangle. We have a long history with this space, having helped plant and maintain the trees and done lots of weeding and clearing over the past few years.

Over the summer the grass around the fruit trees has got rather long, brambles have started to creep in and some large branches needed chopping and clearing.

Armed with a variety of tools and our usual can-do attitude we cracked on and left the space looking a lot tidier by the end.

A few of us then trotted off into the dusky evening for our post task run, head torches were a must, autumn has certainly arrived.