On the way to their early mission on Sunday, Sevan and Kash had a discussion about how they interpret trimming hedges in the task description. Sevan suspected that things could have been lost in translation between Miss L, the referer, Mission Control, and mission runners. For example brambles might have disguised themselves as hedges and bashing might have been translated as trimming. Armed with experience, Sevan packed his brambleproof gloves, just in case. Kash misplaced hers anyway.

The path to Miss L's garden seemed impenetrable. There were... brambles and a tree that looked like it shouldn't have grown there blocking the way. Sevan and Kash entered the garden through the house and learned that even without the vegetation, the way onto the street was off-limits, barred by an impenetrable gate 🔒. Miss L gave them 11 keys to try out but none matched the padlock.

Kash made the first cut through the jungle to reach that gate from the back while Sevan ran to a shop to buy green waste bags. Kash was not sure why would they need the bags. There was a green bin in the garden which looked perfect for packing the bramble cuttings. But was it really perfect?

The bin colour-coding in Southwark gave the Ealing folk a headache 🤯! The bin that looked green was actually the black bin and the green bin was actually brown in colour. So many things can be lost in translation in this part of the world 😱

The green bin wasn't a real green bin and was stuck behind the impenetrable gate 🔒 anyway. Sevan and Kash decided to split the effort between front and back. Sevan stayed in the garden, chopping and bagging as many brambles as he could and taking ivy off the walls. He also uncovered the eighth Wonder of the World: the Hanging Gardens of Nunhead. The engineering feat of Nature had ivy and other creeping plants climbing into gutters. Sevan tried to clear them out but couldn't do much, not out of respect for the Wonder but because of the lack of a step ladder. Another GoodGym visit to Miss L would benefit from a step ladder before the power of Nature blocks the gutters completely in the summer.

While Sevan was making impressive progress at the back, Kash chose a more public-facing job: clearing the brambles at the front of the house.

It was a shear delight, she said later.

Having left the loppers with Sevan, she couldn't do much with the tree that should not be growing in the middle of the path to the garden. Anyway, it would have been difficult to pack the branches into plastic bags. Or maybe, there was another option?

Excuse me, said a lady from a neighbouring garden. Do you want to use my garden waste bin?

Kash wouldn't reject such a generous offer. She had only 15 minutes before the wrap-up and decided to make the most of the newly acquired green... erm, brown, bin.

The Ealing expedition didn't manage to connect the garden with the street in 90 minutes but made significant progress and paved the way for the future explorers... if only Miss L finds the right key for the padlock at the impenetrable gate 🔒!