In-hospitable overgrowth

Feltham was the venue for this morning’s mission and, as this was home to the legendary Freddy Mercury, it would have been rude for us not to include some Queen-inspired puns...

Arriving at our mission recipient’s home (unfortunately roadwork-related-confusion meant that I wasn’t quite dead on time), we were greeted by Dr M’s carer who told us that sadly he was currently in hospital. However, she was keen for us to work on the back garden for him to arrive home to and enjoy once he has been discharged. It turns out that Dr M had been a keen runner and we were shown inspiring photos of him completing a marathon. Despite being in his 70s or 80s at the time, Dr M looked significantly better than the sight of me as a glowing (sweaty) beetroot enduring my long-run on my way to the mission this morning. Knowing that we were doing good for a fellow runner added to our motivation and we got hacking away at the vast overgrowth on what can only be described as a beautiful day.

Remy grew a few feet with the help of a step ladder and did some impressive cutting back (those triceps and biceps certainty got a workout as branch after branch bit the dust), whilst my glutes got some activation by squatting to clear the lower branches and bracken. There was no stopping us now and thankfully we didn’t lose our heads (or limbs) through the shearing.

“The Mercury was rising but the show must go on”

We very much appreciated frequent refills of water and enjoyed the satisfaction of the cutting back and bagging up of the overgrowth. After some battles with brambles that we tried to break free from the bushes and much “hacking whilst yacking”, we emerged with a covering of pollen balls and sneezed our way through the remaining time.

We cleared up the cuttings and rhap(sody)ed up what we’d done - even though it was getting really hot, we hung on in there and showed that Good Gym will rock you.

Good luck tomorrow for the British 10km Remy - and hopefully you can enjoy some lazing on a Sunday afternoon afterwards