It's been a little while since we were last at Cavendish school, so it was great to be back last night. The long term plan has been to transform a pond area next to the school into a wildlife learning space for the kids, but the project has been stalled. However new caretaker Andre has joined the school and is keen to get it cleared and safe to use asap, which is where we come in!

So after a nice steady run to the school, followed by the inevitable struggle to get access (GG Hounslow's success with locks and codes is not unblemished!) we met with Andre who gave us our instructions. They mainly involved an enormous skip positioned helpfully right next to the garden, and an even more massive pile of leaves. The idea was that one was deposited into the other, with the aid of some big brown bins. On top of this, the pond had to be de-scummed and some bin bags dispatched.

We immediately jumped into action, with Emily and Stefan raking the pond surface, Chris immersing himself in the skip, and the rest of the group tacking the wet leaves.

It truly seemed like the leaves were multiplying by the minute, but after half an hours hard work, there was definitely a significant dent.

We waved goodbye, and set off for Turnham green by foot and two wheels for our fitness session. We tried something new last night, a drill which focused on acceleration and pace. The tic, tac, toe element proved somewhat challenging, not helped by the dark conditions, but before long heads and tails were chasing each other across the grass. We finished off with an incremental acceleration around the loop, and some much needed stretches.

Great work everybody! Next week we're off to Gunnersbury park see you then.