Outfox a thorny issue

Paul and David arrived at their mission in Tower Hamlets to discover a bumper crop of brambles that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. In fact the first objective was for David to chop away enough of the thorns to gain sufficient access for the large white sacks that had been provided to collect them.

Luckily on this mission we were joined by Dave from Poplar HARCA and once we had cleared a path he set to work with his array of power tools. A good system was soon established with Dave and David cutting and chopping while Paul gathered everything up into the sacks with his thorn-resistant gloves.

After a couple of hours we had bagged up all of the brambles and managed to lift the sacks over the fence for collection by HARCA. A planned follow-up visit should ensure that all the roots are taken care of so the brambles don't return. In fact the only loser in the whole endeavour may be a local fox as it sounds like we may have uncovered the den that he has been spotted using; he may just have to find a new home tonight.

Goodgym missions are always rather special as you get to meet directly the people you are helping out - and this was no exception. Ms F was a particularly jolly host with a great sense of humour. She very kindly accompanied us on the piano from the adjoining room, including a fantastic Singing in the Rain tribute to Debbie Reynolds. I'm not aware that this has ever happened on a mission before and I will take away some great memories of this extra specially musical one.

A special mention also to Ms F's neighbour who met us all today and has apparently been helping out by cooking meals and looking after the couple - definitely a day to remember that there are some very lovely people in the world.