Wednesday Autumn evening and 3 runners Jon, Maxime and Steph Ducat ran together from Chiswick Town Hall to Dukes Meadows Community Centre with Jalal cycling alongside. Alanna and Michelle walked there to meet Rodgers and Karen who were looking forward to welcoming GG Hounslow. We had a massive pile of soil to move in order for Rodgers to have the space clear and setup some beds for future planting. we had spades, forks, 2 wheelbarrows and one of Stephs favorites a matlock which came in handy!! During our task, a lady from the Community centre came out to give us cookies that the youngsters made. Our motivation went up a level and we agreed to eat them at the end 😋. We definitely enjoyed them. In no time the small team moved the pile of soil - roughly 200 kg. Rodgers will be able to start his beds. No fitness session as this was a good workout for all, but the runners did have a stretch at the end of the run back to the town hall.

The cookie Monsters are not that scary and did a great job tonight.

We were back at Chiswick House last night for another lovely GoodGym Hounslow session, and what a treat we had in store: two tasks, both indoors! It was especially good timing with the evenings drawing in.

Chiswick House is a wonderful local resource and the team keep our green spaces thriving, protect their heritage and make them welcoming places for the whole community to enjoy. By helping with the behind-the-scenes jobs, we’re doing our bit to support a special place for local people.

We met up with Poppy and split into two teams to tackle our tasks for the evening.

🌱 Team Seeds

Half the group headed inside to sort through seeds collected from the garden and carefully pack them into pouches. These seeds will either be resown to help grow more beautiful plants or sold to raise funds for the charity. It was peaceful, chatty work, with plenty of time to catch up and discuss everything from the Pope to our upcoming birthday! Proof that chatting while GGing throws up some of the most interesting conversational topics.

🌿 Team Willow

Meanwhile, over in the barn, the other team got busy stripping willow branches before carefully manoeuvring them into arches. These will be planted to support the flowers in the herbaceous borders, helping them grow securely.

This task took a fair bit of skill and dexterity, but GoodGym Hounslow were more than up to the challenge! There were expert demonstrations of willow stripping, along with a spot of country dancing - anyone else remember the Stripping the Willow formation?

It was a thoroughly wholesome and productive evening, with plenty achieved and lots of good company along the way.

🏃 We rounded off the evening with a run back to base, breaking it up with a variety of fitness stations. A little extra exercise to finish off a brilliant session — and some very impressive pictures to prove it!

Next week: We’re heading to Duke’s Meadow to clear a space for young people. Another great opportunity to give something back to our local community, get moving and have a good chat along the way.

See you there, GoodGym Hounslow! ❤️

On Sunday afternoon, Sevan and Kash ran from Greenford to Isleworth to visit Mr A and his wife, who lived in a flat near Syon Lane. Mr A was bedbound and used a large hospital bed in his bedroom, which he wanted to rearrange to suit his needs better.

Both spouses had slightly different ideas about the most practical setup. Mr A needed easy access to his bed and the fridge, where he kept cold water, while Mrs A needed to reach the window to change the curtains regularly.

Sevan and Kash first put their brains to work, mentally shifting the furniture around the room and testing different layouts to work out how everything might fit together. Then came the real-life Tetris: moving the actual furniture and gradually making the room more spacious and practical.

However, once the room had been cleared a little, Mrs A asked whether a large recliner chair from the living room could also be moved into the bedroom. Sevan and Kash went to investigate and found a very large, heavy recliner armchair that didn't look as though it would fit through the doorway.

Mr A recalled that when the chair had originally been delivered, the delivery team had managed to get it through the door in one piece. Encouraged by this useful piece of historical evidence, the GoodGymers measured the chair and the doorways. The measurements didn't provide much reassurance, though: the doorways weren't wide enough for the armchair to pass through upright. Sevan and Kash would have to try turning the chair on its side to see whether it would fit.

Sevan, Kash and Mrs A cleared the route from the living room to the bedroom, and the GoodGymers began their manoeuvre to move the monster chair all the way to its new home. Success! They got it through.

The team rearranged the furniture once more, and this time the transformation was quite dramatic. The recliner chair, hospital bed, kettle table, chest of drawers and wardrobe all found their new locations. The GoodGymers prioritised access to the fridge over access to the window, but Mrs A should still be able to reach it when it's time to change the curtains.

The only downside - something the GoodGymers couldn't have predicted or fixed - was that the recliner chair's remote control, or perhaps the chair's power supply itself, didn't work! Mr A decided he would contact the seller about the issue, so hopefully he'll soon enjoy a comfortable bedroom with a fully functioning recliner.

Mr D struggles to write due to his health so he had some items on the shopping list and had kept some labels for other items. Ham hock and mustard sauce meals were a favourite. Excuse the blurry pic.

As this approach works a treat in another part of west London, maybe this lulled me into a false sense of misplaced confidence because the two items I added to the list for Mr D, I forgot 🤦🏽‍♀️

Hopefully there’ll be another opportunity for me or another kind Goodgymer to bring home the (smoked back) bacon and Richmond sausages I failed to procure!

Helping Mr T out by taking his recycling waste to the relevant bins.

As the autumn evenings rapidly draw in, the GoodGym Hounslow crew gathered for some energetic warm-ups to get the blood pumping before heading into the twilight. Headlight season is officially upon us!

Warmed up and raring to go we headed down to Staveley Road where we met up with Michelle and Alanna. Last night's mission was to support Wild Chiswick, a fantastic local charity dedicated to increasing awareness of local wildlife, conducting vital citizen science, and creating robust urban habitats. This includes building hedgehog highways to managing a dedicated wildlife allotment plot - and this is where we working last night to help it get ready for winter.

With tools in hand, the team split up to tackle a variety of tasks across the plot:

• The Artichoke Excavators: Steph and Maxime took on the Jerusalem artichoke beds. They dug deep and found absolutely loads of bulbs which will be planted in spring
• The Weeding Wizard: David took charge of the first bed, meticulously weeding it until it was completely clear and ready for its next phase
• The Hedgerow Heroes: Jon and Michelle tackled the (currently mini) hedgerows, weeding between them to ensure they grow back stronger
• The Allium Avengers: Alanna and Gus teamed up to chop down the alliums and dig out the dead matter, tidying up the debris to keep the patch healthy

With the tasks successfully completed, we switched our headlamps to high beam and headed back to base. The return run offered plenty of interest, including a stop to admire a charming local attraction—a tiny diorama nestled right at the Chiswick traffic lights! We chatted along the way, discussing the old philosophical paradox: why bad news is actually good news. GoodGym sessions are nothing if not varied!

It is never too early to get into the festive spirit. Next week, we are escaping the autumn chill and heading indoors for a lovely seasonal task. We will be helping out and getting everything ready for Christmas at the beautiful Chiswick House and Gardens. Don't miss out on the indoor festive fun—go ahead and sign up for next week's session here!