It was a gorgeous day for our second visit to Magret’s plot and our link up with Newcastle Parks and Allotments. We made a start on clearing the plot a couple of weeks ago. Sadly there were already some weeds flourishing in the area we had cleared so we spent some time clearing that area, before moving on to the next section.

It seems like our memo about axes from a different task this week has filtered through and Aimee in particular was delighted to see the presence of an axe today! Max put it to good use, breaking up the ground, which seemed harder this time than last time, probably due to the warm sunshine we’ve had lately! Tanya, on the other hand, was less successful with the tools, choosing a spade with the diggy bit (that’s a technical term!) coming off the handle as soon as she tried digging!

There was a spell during the task when we felt like we weren’t getting anywhere, but then it all came together. You can definitely see that we made progress today! And it was lovely to be joined by some local wildlife, although we’re not sure how healthy the bee was! The cat, however, seemed very content basking in the sunshine!

There’s still a way to go though. Fortunately, we’re back again next Saturday. There’s rain forecast for this week so the ground should be a bit softer. We’d love to see you there!

Special announcement: change to GoodGym rules - all tasks must now include an axe!.

That’s a joke of course, and we take health and safety very seriously, but it certainly felt good to release some energy with the axe on some very overgrown and stubborn ivy today!

We were back at the Home Group supported living centre today where we’ve recently done a couple of tasks cleaning windows for residents. Home Group is a charity linked to Gateshead Council that offers accommodation to people over 55 with health issues. As you can see from the photos, today we were in the garden clearing away lots of ivy.

We were well-equipped with various tools, but for most of the time it seemed like hands and brute force were most effective! The two hours flew by, aided by conversations including the safety of vaccines and different types of microorganisms! I think the topic was triggered by coughing caused by the spores coming off the ivy. Although I’m no botanist so feel free to correct me!

I think it’s fair to say we made quite a difference. We filled twelve bin bags (including about twelve years worth of cigarette butts - ugh) but the before and after pics tell the story! More work will be needed before the residents can sit in the garden - perhaps another task for GoodGym!

It was great to see Marie back for her second task - you’re a regular now Marie!

Another gardening task on Saturday when we’re back at the Greenhill allotment clearing Magret’s plot. See you then!

It was a day of meetings today. We met Marie who joined us for her first GoodGym task - welcome Marie! We also met task owner Sue and perhaps most importantly we met Magret who has been allocated the garden we were working on today. A delay in starting caused by a very reluctant, rarely used very large padlock allowed us to learn that Magret arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe around 14 years ago, worked for years as a carer for people with learning difficulties until her eyesight began to fail around five years ago. This is the reason that Magret needs our help with clearing the overgrown garden so that she can benefit from it. We discovered that Adam was able to say hello in one of the languages spoken in Zimbabwe! Together with Marie being French we had a lively conversation about learning different languages!

After a quick trip home, Sue came back with a can of WD40 which did the trick with the padlock so we were able to get started. Two hours in the spring sunshine, discussions about various TV programmes and lots of digging and raking later, and we had cleared the first section of Magret's garden. There’s a lot of work still to do and we’ll definitely arrange more sessions, but for now, Magret was very happy with the start we made and is looking forward to growing some onions! We look forward to seeing the progress in the garden. For now, marvel at our before and after photos!