The last group run of August 2025 took GoodGym runners Sevan, Harvey, Freya and Steph Ducat to South Acton in a pursuit of perfection in the art of leaf mulch making. At Berrymede School, they met Kash and Chris, and, of course, Romina from Cultivate London, who would guide them in preparing the finest 2024 leaf compost, continuing their work started in July.

Last year's leaves were well-marinated: dark, moist and rich - easy to tell apart from golden, crispy 2025 leaves that already started falling onto the schoolyard. We had to do our best to finish the 2024 batch before it got contaminated by this season's additions. Chris, Freya, Sevan and Kash positioned themselves at the leaves deposit to dig out the damp organic gold. The lowest layers already had some growth in them. The GoodGymers found peculiar white sprouts and even apples: one edible (presumably, as no one actually tried it), and another - an Apple device! Cultivate London charity could grow rich by growing more iPhones rather than selling leaf mulch to raise funds!

Harvey, in breaks from shovelling leaves, was driving the trolley with half-full tonne bags to Bay 2024, where Steph was performing leaf stomping: an ancient tradition of treading the mulch by feet to release the juices and initiate fermentation. As the time went on, the half-full bags in the bay, topped up with Harvey's deliveries and compressed by Steph, grew fatter and denser. Romina was delighted to see what outstanding results a small team could achieve and gave the GoodGymers a round of high-fives.

Next week, our Tuesday session will take place near Ealing Broadway. We will be pruning and watering at the much-loved Lammas Orchard. Sign up now to join us!

Arrived at MR R house for another garden weeding session, but not for the front garden this time. It was going to be the back garden. I took one of the wheelie bins, loaded it with the tools as I had to access through the side gate this time. The side passage was also invaded by creepy weeds so drove over some of them with the bin to get to the back garden. We opened the door and I spotted Mr Fox in the garden looking at us. The garden is massive and has been waiting for Goodgym to come and clear it. This will clearly take several sessions due to the size .I had to root through loads of brambles and weed plus dead twigs. Root force attack was the way today. I filled 2 wheelie bins and cleared the main section getting out of the house so Mr R could come out and enjoy the sun and shade. I also cleared the passage leading from the front garden to the back door so we can enter and exit without any issues - UK Root 66 was established for Mr R and the Goodgym team to access the back garden.

What a day it was for the UFO Steelband, who tirelessly rocked the crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival for the whole Sunday! At the end of the long and loud day, the band members had one more job to do: break down their carnival truck and pack up the pans. It can be quite an ordeal after hours and hours of partying, so UFO had reached out to GoodGymers for support. Steph and Kash responded to the call to action and showed up at the storage unit ahead of the estimated time of the truck's arrival. A few band members who had already made it to the disassembly point said that the truck was just behind them. And shortly after - here it was: the UFO carnival vehicle!

Kash hopped onto the truck’s platform to pass down the heavy pans together with the band leader, Jason. And guess who had to catch all of them: Steph! He was scrambling between one descending steelpan and another and hadn’t dropped any of them. That was quite an intense workout! Kash was then trusted with one of two pairs of scissors to snip dozens of cable ties and free the decorative side panels.

After Steph and Kash helped load the steelpans into a van that would transport the equipment to the panyard, they were called to help with creating a giant sushi roll! The huge canvas covering the top of the truck was just being pulled down, and the GoodGymers, together with a big group of band members, ran to catch it. Just before the climax of that operation, it turned out that one cable tie still held the canvas. What a suspense! Ladders were back up, and shortly after, the huge piece of fabric landed in the car park. After the team bedsheet-folding exercise, the time has come for the sushi roll. Kash could certainly tell you how long it took to eventually roll it, and Steph how heavy it was in the end.

Following a slightly awkward moment when Steph and Kash found themselves idly holding ladders they had been asked to bring from the storage, there was time for the band leader’s grand speech. Jason was spectacularly elevated on the van’s lift and delivered an inspiring speech, not forgetting to give a shout-out to our small but mighty GoodGym crew!