It takes two (teams of GoodGym Ealing people) to make a dream come true - the dream of the streets of Ealing free from the signs of an amazing community half marathon. And by the time our teams had finished, indeed, there were no signs! They were all unclipped and packed neatly away in some of those big blue bags that look a bit like the ones from a famous Scandinavian superstore. Ealing - where the streets have no signs, ahaaa...til next year's Ealing half marathon!

4500 runners hit the roads of Ealing to complete 13.1 miles on Sunday. We went, we ran and we finished supported by the locals and looked after by our lovely volunteers. Well done to Harvey, Adam, Alan, Florian and Steph Ducat for completing the half marathon in the borough.

I enjoyed unpacking and placing them ready to distribute to the poor and needy I’d also like to thank all those who assisted with nonverbal instctions any Mary’s and at good gym.,They also kept a good eye on any possible risks to safety as I am quite deaf.,I did note however that most things done at church are spoken so it may not the best place to do longer term or paid work.

On a wet Sunday afternoon, two GoodGymers made it to Southall for the Autumn tidy up of the Featherstone High School garden. Steph sported his Ealing Half Marathon medal (yes, he had completed the Half Marathon in the morning!) and battle scars from being knocked down by an inconsiderate runner at the race. Neither the rain, nor the scratches, nor the race stopped Steph from showing up! Kash was already soaked from running to and from her previous mission and couldn't decide whether to put the rain jacket over her damp clothes. Alex, the task owner, Gurpal from Southall Transition, and volunteer Andrew made up for the deficit of GoodGymers, and together we formed a team of five.

In our absence, the garden had been utilised well, hosting Science, Geography, and English classes. The space was in pretty good shape; however, Alex was a bit concerned about the state of the woodchip path, which had started developing bald patches, although it wasn't that old yet! The path certainly needed a woodchip transplant in the near future, and Alex had been working hard to secure some chips. Once she succeeds, our team will be there for another round of joyful shovelling or tipping tonne bags.

As the woodchip delivery hasn’t been confirmed yet, this afternoon was all about tidying up. We weeded (some of us with pretty bendy mini forks!) and filled the raised beds, picked the litter, moved a heavy metal frame to make space for a new edibles growing project, and cut back tree branches to let more light into the garden. Now people as tall as Steph can walk through - teenagers these days can probably be his height!

Despite the gloomy weather, it was a fun afternoon with a light workout and a positive feeling of contributing to a lovely project that connects youngsters to nature. We are already planning the next weekend session at Featherstone, so keep your eyes peeled for a new listing!

After last week's pram raid, Steph, Kash and Sevan found a free-to-take pushchair on the way to Care4Calais. It was in good condition, so they decided to donate it to someone in need. The only question was who would play mummy or daddy? Steph volunteered and tested out the handling on the way to C4C's West London base where it was gratefully received.

At the task, the trio found that Anita was a late sign up and had found her way to the secret location. Welcome to GoodGym, Anita! 👏🥳🎉 We look forward to seeing you at another session soon.

"It was interesting and rewarding to do something really useful to those like they helped my father a lot when he came to the uk" - Anita

Today's jobs for Tamzin were dependent on the levels of clothing stock, so Steph and Kash started creating womens' small packs, then large, then extra large. No medium? No stock! Care4Calais would love some donations of good quality medium sized clothes if you have any to spare.

Anita meanwhile was sorting clothes with Tamzin and deciding which ones were good enough quality to keep. Big holes and unidentified stains were some of the reasons that donations were redirected to fabric recycling. Once complete, they moved on to preparing requests for male clients.

With building the standard womens' clothing packs completed, it was time to use them. New clothing requests were brought in and Sevan joined the team in adding shoes, handbags and coats for the winter to customise the packs. Kash even managed to pull together enough clothes for a couple of clients who needed medium sizes.

By the end of the task, there was a stack of requests ready to be delivered to needy people. We'll be back helping Care4Calais again next month, so look out for the session listings soon.

As Kash and Sevan crossed the seal in Mrs S' porch, Sevan clocked the layout for her sofa move. Narrow doorway, check ✅. Staircase with 2 turns, check ✅. Big sofa, check ✅. And they were only the challenges that they could see. This was going to be fun.

Mrs S' wise neighbour came to them to read the instructions. Although she was wise, she was also expecting "2 burly men in a van" 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️, so there was still something to be learned. In any case, Kash and Sevan needed to pass 3 challenges to reach the holy grail, having Mrs S' 2 seater sofa in a first floor bedroom.

1. The Breath of Good: Kash and Sevan had to kneel in front of the sofa and take it's weight. Either they were stronger than they looked or the sofa was lighter than it looked. In any case, they picked it up and moved it closer to its final destination.

2. The Word of Good: Kash and Sevan had to follow in the footsteps of the delivery company to get the sofa back out of the narrow doorway. That included taking the feet and cushions off and squeeeeeeezing it through the frame on its side.

3. The Path of Good: A leap of faith was needed to get the sofa up the stairs. The pair picked up the sofa and twisted up up the first 2 stairs with a precarious grip. Then they tilted the couch to slip it under the ceiling above and then a final pirouette at the top of the stairs to complete the perilous path. Mrs S and her friend now believed in GoodGym and that they didn't need burly men to do a good job.

All that was left to do was shift the sofa into the bedroom and have a well deserved rest. Alas, there was no cup of spring water to bring immortality, only a chat with an impressed friend about what GoodGym do and that anyone can get involved, no matter how old they are. Just ask Indiana Jones.