How many good deeds were done In an English Country garden? I’ll tell you now of some of the jobs at one Those we miss you’ll surely pardon Pot moving, patio sweeping, bramble bashing Ivy cutting, hedge trimming Rose re-potting, scrub land slashing Tree loopering, table laying, wheelbarrowing In an English country garden.

Four intrepid GoodGym Bristol members set off for the chocolate box cottages of the Cotswolds to assist Mrs R, whose garden had grown to almost be unmanageable and needed GoodGym's assistance. As the Cotswolds’ was outside our usual bailiwick we piled into cars and drove the hour to her aid.

We arrived to a delightful house with an amazing history and a lady to match, and as Mrs R recounted stories and warned us of the job we were served the famous Cherry Shortcake. It was marvellous.

Eventually we set about tackling the garden, firstly we cleared the patio so that it could be used again and managed by Mrs R, we also re-potted some roses into fancier pots. Fiona was an expert at removing all the roots and checking the quality of the soil from the pots. Matt also found a wheelbarrow which would make PB snr. weak at the knees. After the patio was transformed, we moved onto the second task, this involved Fi and Richard clearing the ivy from some trellises and Matt and Ian clearing out the scrub from under an apple tree, so Mrs R could get to the compost heap and shed again. Then Matt set off with a saw and tried to cut his way into a tunnel so Mrs R could once again walk along a path again.

The next challenge which was a patch of land which needed saplings removing and plants cutting down, Matt grabbed the sickle and quickly cleared the plants, whilst Ian chopped at the saplings and Fi made the compost into logs for burning and greenery for compost.

Finally, it was time for *lunch*.

Mrs A had made a cornucopia of food to reward our efforts and she lay the table cloth out on the table on the lawn (apparently it was a tennis court once) and we quickly fetched the bowls, plates, and chairs. Then the feast of carrot and coriander soup (with double cream and sherry!) and freshly baked bread was brought out, and we ate like the champions.

Then we said our goodbyes and headed home, slowly (because the cows were loose on the common...)

Well done all, we made a lady’s life a little easier and now she felt she could enjoy her English country garden again.