For the main course of a 4-task Saturday, Kash (5ft 2 inch) left herself a hedge (100 ft long) to trim. And how high was it? Sky-high! It didn't look like a hedge anymore but like a very dense forest of thin trees. And all of that for herself as a solo GoodGymer? Well, not exactly. Kash found herself a worthy mission companion: Mrs M's son.

Mrs M was a 91-year-old lady with dementia. She lived with her son, Mr J, who struggled to divide his time between being his mum's carer, having a full-time job, and his mum's massive back garden to maintain. He would welcome any help with getting the front of the overgrown hedge back into shape.

"I know it's a five-man job... or a five-woman job!" - Mr J.

Despite not expecting miracles from a single GoodGymmer, Mr J equipped Kash the best he could: with good quality tools, eye protection and ice-cold water. He'd also join Kash for the full mission duration, and diligently raked and collected all the cuttings Kash trimmed. And there were plenty. When Mr J filled two green bins and three green waste bags, he started heaping the cuttings on a pile in the back garden. Kash did not take breaks which kept him busy and active.

"Now I know why it's called GoodGym! It's a good workout, isn't it!" - Mr J.

In less than two hours Kash cut the whole length of the hedge and Mr J scooped all the green waste. It was a mammoth job and both were proud and happy with the result. Mr J could not thank Kash enough.

"I would have never done that without you! That's an amazing job!" - Mr J.

Kash could not take the top of the hedge out - even the tallest GoodGymers wouldn't without a ladder. The important part was that the outcome was beneficial to the residents - now, they could walk on the pavement between the hedge and parked cars, without fear of the Predator hiding in the wilderness. Knowing the neighbours were safe, Kash decided it was time to run back home, totalling her distance to over 20 km that Saturday. Now, it must have been time for rest... until Sunday!

Saturday morning : Guilford and Godalming were invaded by some very unusal species in the area...not the Foxes but runners. Loads of them to come and test their trail endurance. Godalming started first with the ultra runners like Simon and Steph Ducat : tackle the hills on a 62km race. Then the all mighty Michael did his bit with the marathon distance. The 3 goodgymers tackled the hills, muddy routes, tight areas invaded by brambles and other know plants they normally have to deal with on their community missions. They dodge cars as open road race and some areas they play the 80's arcade game "The Frogger" with the help of the brilliant marshals. The end was also very tricky as damp, slippery logs and attacking bushes. All made it safe and sound to the finish line to enjoy their medal but also the food like pizzas and burgers. Well done Goodgymers!!

A 5km run took Sevan and Kash to Trinity Road Tiny Forest, which, within a year and a half, transformed itself into a Tiny Jungle!

The session was part of the Wildlife Survey that takes place each year in May.

😱 The GoodGymers could tell the place might have been a Tiny Forest, but it was clearly run by weeds: long grass was everywhere and the unwanted plants were generally taller than most of the saplings
📝 Sevan conducted the butterflies timed count and sadly reported no butteflies in the zone
🐝 During the pollinator survey Sevan and Kash spotted two bumblebees - a good sign!
🐞 There were plenty of ladybirds, but they didn't want to pollinate anything - or were too shy to do that in the GoodGymers' presence
🪱 Kash wanted to do a ground dwellers survey, but could not find any biodiversity tiles - were they hiding under the grass or someone had stolen them? She could have sworn she had seen them while conducting the wildlife survey last year
🗣️ Kash had a chat with a local resident walking her dog, who asked: "Are you looking for the saplings?", to which Kash responded: "I'm looking for tiles". The dog walker claimed she had not seen any tiles in the Tiny Forest since last summer.

Despite the state of Acton's Tiny Forest, the GoodGymers collected the data and took photos, which, hopefully, will help Earthwatch evaluate the next steps for the Trinity Road site.

Sevan and Kash were then ready of another 5km run - this time to another Tiny Forest to survey!

Three GoodGymers decided to start their Saturday morning by combining activity in fresh air with a calming, slow-paced task in nature.

Harvey made his way to Hanger Hill Park after a far away parkrun, while Sevan and Kash did their second 5km run to get to their second Tiny Forest survey of the day.

The session was part of the Wildlife Survey that takes place each year in May.

3️⃣ Harvey, Sevan and Kash conducted pollinator timed count, butterflies timed count and ground dwellers survey
🏵️ there weren't many flowers for pollinators except rogue yellow wildflowers that made it to Tiny Forest through the fence
🪰 Harvey counted one fly landing on a flower - that was our hero pollinator
🙅 Kash and Sevan spotted no pollinators or butterflies
🀦 Hanger Hill Tiny Forest's biodiversity tiles didn't resemble the typical slabs, but wavy roof slates
🐜 under each slate the GoodGymers found woodlice, slugs, ants, spiders and beetles, but also a layer of woodchip
🛠️ following the advice from the Earthwatch survey materials, they GoodGymers cleared the woodchip so that the tiles laid on a soil, which would make future surveys easier

Wow, that's been a second Tiny Forest survey GoodGym Ealing performed at Hanger Hill within a month, following the carbon storage measurement task. Go, citizen scientists!

Donations that come in to Care4Calais are mysterious. GoodGymers don't often know who has donated sacks of clothing. Sometimes members of the public, sometimes a church or mosque. Today, task owner Tamzin had a surprise for the team. Two crates full of shoes that had been donated from the set of a TV series called Heads of State.

Rainu and Sevan spent most of the session untangling and pairing shoes, then grouping them by size. Once they'd worked out the UK to EU size mapping, they made good progress through the shoes and sandals. The second crate included 3 zipped bags and when they were opened, they were filled with slippers and Ugg-style boots. Great for the winter, not as useful in summer, so they were put to one side. Upstairs, Kash had paired up with Tamzin to prepare standard clothing packs for women in different sizes.

Rainu had a great time, saying:

Just so rewarding...back breaking ha ha. Well worth it. Luved it. Great team work..felt so part of team thank you Tamzin and GoodGym guys

At the end of the session, everyone came together to prepare requests that had come in, with trousers, tops and newly restocked shoes being bagged up for beneficiaries. New clothes, shoes and packs were organised in the stock room, before everyone wrapped up for the day.

After a few weeks away on Fridays, I was back to Mr G to provide him with his usual supply of cavolo nero, baked beans and quality chats. As I was planning to hit the cinema right after the mission, today's chat revolved around film screening venues: from Portobello's Electric Cinema (whose atmosphere, according to Mr G, used to be quite different to the one I knew) to Scala Cinema which used to feature shocking Bad Taste films. That sparked my interest, but - having to leave soon for tonight's film - I had to leave the conversation and more of Mr G's movie posters for another time!