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!

Ms E has a reputation as a sociable beneficiary. A chatterer and someone who likes to make GoodGymers a coffee. Today was no different and coffee was offered before Sevan even did any work! Sevan wanted to earn the coffee and cake, so first it was time to start the mission.

First up was trimming a small tree in the front garden that Ms E's upstairs neighbour had partially cut back, then left the branches in the flowerbed. As Sevan was chopping the upper branches, some neighbours from a few doors down started talking to him about "his garden" and asking how long he'd lived there 😳, so Sevan set them straight.

Once the front was complete, Ms E strongly suggested a coffee break, so the pair sat and spoke about Ms E's past and present. She said that she'd always had a good memory and been strong willed since she was young. She told Sevan that she'd recently surprised her doctors with the speed of her recovery after a recent operation. Ms E was determined not to have to sit down any longer than necessary, so mastered using crutches at record speed.

After coffee and cake, the last bush to trim in the back garden was an overgrown hydrangea. It was planted behind something else, so Sevan cut back the sides of both. Reducing the height was more difficult as the loppers could only reach so far without the now sharp branch ends poking Sevan in the chest and face.

Sevan cut and bagged what he could, ending up with 5 black bags of cuttings. There's still a bit more to do to in the garden, plus Ms E is now thinking ahead to planting new flowers in the spring 🌻.

A rapid 3 minute mission for Kash and Sevan this afternoon. All they had to do was:

1. Turn Up: Find their was through the maze of Mr R's block of flats to find his front door. Once in Mr R's bedroom, they found an undressed bed topped by a single mattress with sturdy handles. Perfect 👌
2. Flip In: 10 seconds later the mattress top was on the bottom and bottom on top, leaving Mr R very happy. He was too frail to do this himself and said he'd be back in touch in 6 months for the reverse flip operation.
3. Step Out: Then it was time to step out and onto the next task. Southall for Kash and Hammersmith for Sevan 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

In all, taking the photos took longer than moving the mattress.

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.

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.

The September Grove Farm conservation day was a little bit like a rock star arriving late at the stage. The sense of anticipation started to build up when the GoodGymers received a message that Mike, the Grove Farm task leader, was running late.

The suspense didn't last long as Mike showed up only 2-3 minutes after his set time. But the support band was still playing! David Lloyd's forklift was dancing around the Friends of Grove Farm container after we had pointed out that pallets with cement had been blocking the entrance to the tool store.

When Afshin, Steph, Sevan, Mike, and Deborah set off to the top of the lane, near the Sudbury Hill tube station, Kash and her bass guitar (guess what tool was that) disappeared backstage (in David Lloyd's bathrooms). Later, she claimed something nasty had stuck to her backpack and hand, and the delay wasn't a case of fixing the stage makeup.

The Saturday's gig was all about chopping and raking the brambles and other weeds that (again!) overtook the patch that we had been preparing for the wildflower seeding last year. The clearance of the green stuff was quick, so the next part of our set was a litterpick. Among the ubiquitous beer cans and vodka bottles, we found three boxes of cereals of unknown provenance and known best-before date: the past. No one dared to claim the shady Cheerios and Coco Pops, so sadly, they went to the bin.

The next opportunity to get involved in the conservation work at Grove Farm will be next month - sign up now!