It might have been blowing a hooley but that didn't deter our hard-working team, including Isabella who was joning her first Merton session. Maggie set us to work clearing leaves (the wind had already made a start) and planting, while Williams spent his second day in a row taking care of compost! The local residents are all super appreciative and one even donated a chocolate cake. As the evenings are getting shorter, we ended the session in head torches. This may be our last evening here for a while but it will be lovely to see the fruits of our labour come spring.

The tranquil garden is looking lovely and we were able to see how the log work we did last time has been transformed into seating. Tonight we were tasked with painting the wooden planters green and gold, as well as moving logs and clearing some brambles. It was great to see Georgina, who popped by while doing a litter pick. With her arm on the mend, hopefully she will be back at sessions soon. The nights are drawing in, so we were working in darkness by the end of the task but hopefully the results will be brush-taking! Thanks to Maggie, who lives nearby, for kindly donating some post-session chocolate, meaning that team green and team gold were transformed into team mint and team orange.

It may have been threatening to tip it down but that didn't deter our trusty crew of GoodGymers from walking, running and cycling over to Beverley Park. The weeds have been running rampant since our visit a few months ago, so our job was to pull them out, then cover the ground with cardboard and top with mulch. It was a fantastic effort by everyone before the light faded. Jon kindly rounded off the evening by sharing a bara brith cake brought back from his trip to Wales. Yaki dah!

Before the end of the parade, some of the team raced back along the trail, grabbing any last bits of litter. We found Sevan already at the start and then we got stuck into dismantling the many gazebos! It was a great workout, and we worked quickly as a team finishing with plenty of time to head over to Merton Abbey Mills to see the mayor officially open the event. What a fantastic end to a brilliant day!

This was the church's monthly volunteering session and as ever Abby had lots of jobs for us to do, including weeding, watering, planting out an area under the laurel tree and turning the compost. The latter was tough work but Williams did a great job, while Clare shared her gardening expertise with the rest of us. We were joined by Penny, the very cute schnoodle, and refreshed with squash and banana bread. It's been lovely to see this garden blooming over the past few months.