So, our first GoodGym “mission” in Swindon took place this week. A mission is where we help out an older or isolated person with a one off task that they are no longer able to do on their own. On Sunday (16 Aug), Mike and Helen met at an isolated person’s house in Westlea, Swindon. Miss S was a lovely, bubbly lady and was so excited about the work GoodGym do. The main aim of the mission was to help her to see the memorial to her son, which was hidden in her overgrown garden.

Miss S was keen to show us into her amazingly decorated kitchen and told us how she had got to hear about GoodGym whilst chatting to a friend in a café in Swindon. She was no longer able to garden herself due to various health conditions but did love to sit in her garden when she could.

We set about clearing the most important corner of the garden first – the willow tree with the memorial underneath. We found an array of garden ornaments which helped Mike on the pun front – “well, well, well” as he uncovered a wishing well, along with a number of gnomes, elves, rabbits, pots and bottles of water (to scare cats away of course)!

We added topsoil to the garden and Miss S was already thrilled with the work we had done. “Mike the mechanic” then tried to get the mower going but the blades appeared to have been mislaid! Settling for the strimmer, we strimmed and raked the grassy area. We also uncovered the wooden seat by the memorial so that Miss S could enjoy her garden sitting in the sun. Helen meanwhile had to test out the swinging hammock (just to make sure it was working ok of course)!

Lastly, Mike braved the heights and changed a lightbulb indoors, making such a difference in the kitchen. Miss S was so grateful as she could not have managed to climb up on a chair herself. She then chatted to us about how she had also volunteered in her community in the past and tried to set up a crossing to improve safety in the area.

We tidied away the tools and Miss S told us how happy she was with our work and how keen she was to tell everyone what a good job GoodGym had done. I have a feeling we will hear from Miss S again one day…….