We had perfect conditions for our return visit to Chiswick House last night, which was good news as we had a huge job to do!

The carriageway into the grounds is lined with beautiful plane trees. Fun fact - did you know London Planes can grow to 35 metres and live for several hundred years? Which means they need a bit of care and attention.

We were met with Chris, Chiswick House's gardener, who explained the job was to cut away the shoots from the trees' trunks. Or epicormic growth, if we're being fancy!

We cleared away the clippings and then got to work giving the trees a good pruning, able assisted by Chiswick House's excellent range of dog visitors.

There were some excellent techniques getting as much as humanely possible into the ton bags, and some very professional lopping on display too. Great work everybody!

Next week we're back to do one of our favourite tasks - washing the Turnham Green mural. Fingers crossed the weather is kind to us...

After a morning community mission in Ealing, Sevan ran 7km southwest to meet Kash again, this time in Hounslow. Two Ealing GoodGymers arrived at Mr A's, who needed help with weeding and trimming plants. Mr A was worried about the state of his garden because of his health and the time-consuming responsibilities as a carer for his disabled wife.

My garden is a mess! - Mr A.
We've seen worse - Kash.

Mr A was able to mow the grass and even cut back some of the bushes himself (although the taller ones were more challenging), but bending to remove the weeds was too much for him. Kash would have loved to trim the hedge, but weeding the flower bed and paving was a priority. It was more of a Sevan-style type of task: one of quality and diligence.

Kash committed to scraping the paved area with an impressive selection of metal brushes Mr A offered her, and Sevan decided to work exclusively in the flower bed, where his skills thrived. Kash later joined him to score some big wins, pulling out massive dandelions from the soil.

The two made such a transformation that grateful Mr A wanted to offer them payment or a lift to the next mission. Both rewards were out of the question, but the GoodGymers appreciated his kindness.

There is still a bit more to do in Mr A's garden - maybe the next GoodGymer will be lucky enough to get their shears on those hedges!

Mr P didn't really explain why he has a large barrow when asked. It was ideal for Kash & Sevan's needs though, to move Mr P's old fridge and his freezer out to the road for collection. There was a surprise to be disposed of too, a small snooker table.

"It's a proper snooker table."
"My son learned to play on that and now no one wants it."
"Not even for the slate. That's where all the money is in these." - Mr P

With Mr P's help to hold doors open, all 3 items were moved outside for council collection in under 10 minutes and the mysterious barrow returned to Mr P's flat.

While the 3 Ealing GoodGymers who helped Friends of Watermans Park this afternoon would have loved to be lazing on a sunny afternoon (in the summertime), there was both work to be done and also the weather gods didn't know about their lazing plans, so it was fairly cloudy. Today was the last Summer Bandstand for 2025 and the first of the year where GoodGym were helping with the set up.

There was less than an hour before the first band would be on stage, so the essentials were quickly moved out of the container and tasks were prioritised. Most important was to put the cover on the bandstand to keep the performers dry, even it no one else would be. Steph took on that task with his extra height as it gave him more reach to clip the cover onto the frame.

Gazebo setup and weigh down was next before Kash and Sevan went to hang the festival's colourful bunting. Finally, seats for the public were laid out and all the jobs were complete with 15 minutes to spare, giving Steph, Kash and Sevan a chance to take a break and enjoy the moment.

Shopping for Mr K, this time featuring Mr Muscle Bathroom edition

Arrived at Mr J house after a short run from a community mission. Welcomed by him, his wife, daughter and grand children not to forget the dog...very friendly. Mr J brought me to the garden and pointed me to the area that needed clearing and tidying up. Loads of items to be moved and sorted, then remove all the leaves. Sorted all the different items from wood logs, bags of soil, flower/plant pots, bricks and various items. Then all the leaves needed to be bagged..full bags!! Then had a a chat with Mr J and his wife who were super nice and happy with what I did. Smiles all around but then time to leaf them and run to another community mission.