With spring just round the corner, there was plenty to do in the Mary Seacole Nursing Home garden and there was a wonderful bumper crop of GoodGymers on hand to help out. Particular shoutout goes to Ishbel, who joined us today for her first ever GoodGym task.

The session started with three working groups. The first were tasked with planting a number of bamboo plants along the back fence to soften the view. John, Audrey, Louise and Yaz soon realised that the soil could have done with some softening up too but with considerable effort and perseverance, they got the ground prepped for planting.

Meanwhile, the second group (variously Sooz, Nathan, Grace and Anne) got stuck in to prepping the planters in the middle of the garden for a fresh lick of paint. This task required a special trip to the local supplier of heavy duty sandpaper and wire brushes (thank you Nathan).

The main event, however, was the grand gazebo assembly, for which there was considerable prep-work. So the third group (which comprised a shifting membership of helpers needing a break from digging and sanding), got stuck in, painting bitumen onto the Gazebo's feet to protect against the wet soil and the elements, while task leader, Varda, diligently studied the instructions to ensure everything was assembled correctly.

During this time, a tug of war broke out in bamboo corner, with several GoodGymers trying to liberate pot-bound bamboos. The comment, 'It's like the turnip story', required some explanation but did ring bells when retold.

Eventually, the point we had all been waiting for came, when bits of gazebo had to be attached to one another. The two 'short' sides (3m long) were assembled first and then moved into location, before the longer beams were added to hold the short sides together. Ladders and chairs were enlisted to give the height necessary to put bolts in place. The morning finished with the dance of the heavy-weight lifters, to nudge and jiggle and ultimately maneouver the now tall, heavy, and rather awkward structure into a reasonably stable position.

It was agreed this was as far as we could progress the gazebo assembly for today (step 5 of 26!) so look out for more listings to play your part in the making of the gazebo very soon!

A big thanks and well done to everyone who who came along this morning and got stuck in. It was great fun and a real team effort.

We met from this task outside the Asda supermarket, which was handy as it gave Asad and Kat the chance to grab a late breakfast to fortify themselves for the task ahead.

We were also joined by new-boy Yagiz, who lives a short walk away, doing his first ever Good Deed. Welcome Yagiz, see you again soon! We made our way to the night shelter, which has worked with the local community to provide support to people experiencing homelessness for over 25 years.

They provide emergency shelter and hot meals with structured individual plans to assist guests to move into longer term accommodation.

However, some areas of the shelter were starting to look a bit shabby, and the fearless foursome soon got to work with stepladders, rags to protect the carpets, and plenty of white paint.

We wanted to finish the job, so spent an extra half an hour over our allotted time to make sure the ceiling of two rooms, the door to another and that difficult bit above the door, were all covered in a shiny new coat of paint.

For the first time ever, I completed a painting task without a trace of paint on my clothes! But Kat walked away with plenty of souvenir white splashes on her shirt...