Swiss Army Fork

3 GoodGymers arrived on a very wet night to help Cultivate at their DIG site in Hanwell. This afternoon there were 7 people willing to help. That was before the heavens opened.

Romina was happy to see us, even if our numbers were smaller then expected. We decided to concentrate on the "move heavy stuff" part of the task so that we could get warm and dry as quickly as possible. We ended up moving:

• A DIG branded rug

• An armchair

• A desk made of solid wood

• A coffee table

• A garden chair

• A storage footstool

• A fridge freezer

• A blue plastic water butt

Nishy and Kash picked up the desk because Sevan decided that taking a photo for the report was more important. Despite the desk being heavier than expected, Nishy and Kash showed their strength, moving it to the collection point in no time!

The fridge freezer challenge was taken on by Kash and Sevan. Romina had assured Sevan that it wasn't too heavy, but from experience of these appliances, Sevan was sceptical. They wheeled the appliance down the hill towards the waste collection area on a trolley. The only problem was that the trolley's wheels didn't ride the bumps between paving slabs, causing the fridge freezer to slide off. After 3 attempts and only making it half the total distance, Kash and Sevan decided that a new tactic was needed. They picked up the fridge freezer, which actually wasn't that heavy - just a bit awkward to carry - and dropped it at its destination.

Nishy had started on the final items while the fridge freezer move was still in progress. We needed to clear compost out of a water butt that we needed to dispose of and also out of a large composter which would stay. Nishy completed the composter herself. The blue plastic water butt needed more ingenuity however. The dirt inside was stuck fast so we needed a quick way of emptying the butt. We tried different ways of flipping it, but the muddy plastic was too slippery. Nishy then suggested breaking the butt, which sounded very smart. Romina found an existing crack and grabbed the fork, welding it like a giant tin opener until the butt broke in 2. That allowed us to get a better grip and to empty the dirt out of it. Challenge completed!

With the water butt discarded, it was time to wrap things up and head indoors. It was a fun and memorable night, but as we squelched out way home, perhaps not for the right reasons.