We were back at the lovely Gunnersbury Park last night after a little time away. It was great to help out again and as an extra positive we got to welcome Thiago to his very first group run - great to have you join us! However, on the down side the weather was not playing ball...

We managed to start off the night relatively dry, doing our warm up underneath the shelter of the Town hall entrance. However, there was a job to be done and we couldn't stall any longer, so, after a quick discussion about our favourite cakes and biscuits (choc chip, carrot cake, red velvet and brownies all came out on top) we set off. Just a minute later we spotted Sarah running to join us, and not breaking her stride, she slotted right into the run.

A couple of miles and some increasingly heavy rain later we arrived at Gunnersbury Park to find head gardener Spencer waiting for us with our job for the evening. It was a combination of sheer muscle, and a more tactical approach. First stop was to move the huge pile of logs, before shifting and spreading mulch from one of the biggest piles we'd ever seen. Before long we were working seamlessly, with Chris, Thiago, Mahan and Divya shoveling and transporting the woodchip and Pippa, India, Tish, Michelle, Sarah and Florian employing various techniques including rolling, hefting and barrowing the logs into their new home. Then came the raking, which turned out to be an exercise in Zen mastery.

By now the rain was really coming, so after a group photo we decided to ditch the fitness and make a run for it. We were more than sodden at this point, and it was futile to avoid the growing puddles on the way home. Still, the feeling of a job well done kept us warm. Well done on all the effort last night team! Next we're back at Harvard Hill - hope to see you there. There will be an optional three minute plank challenge for any keen takers!

Tonight we were back to a regular Hounslow community task, helping out at Chiswick House and Gardens.

Eleven of us made our way to the usual meeting point, gathering just inside the entrance gates on Dukes Avenue where we met up with one of the gardening team.

A big warm welcome to India joining us for her first Goodgym session, it was great to have you along and we hope you can make it to another task soon.

Jon, Madhan and Kash were first to arrive and gave India the rundown on Goodgym in the West London area.

The rest of the group began to arrive and we headed over to the area we had previously started to clear a few months ago. Tonight we were using a combination of brute force, and keeping our eyes peeled for unwanted bramble roots, preparing the soil for planting. We also stumbled across some retro looking 1970s throwback underpants buried in the ground 😆

We filled a bag within 45 minutes and called it a day satisfied with our efforts.

Next week we are back helping out on the Gunnersbury Park Estate and our usual weekly group run to the task, starting from Chiswick Town Hall meeting at 18:30.