You can de-pond on goodgym in a thorny situation

It's been a little while since we've been back to work on the nature area at Cavendish School, so after meeting up at a sunny town hall we ran down together to see how it was looking and tackle some big jobs.

It was difficult not to notice that the evenings are already drawing in, so we got started straight away, keen to make the most of the light.

While half the team started on the overgrown hedge running alongside the drive, the rest of the group ventured into the nature area. There was quite a big difference from the last time we were there - the nettles had launched a bid to take over the whole place, the leaves were creating a new carpet, and the pond had succumbed to algae in a rather alarming shade of green.

We were up to the challenge, however, and soon the scene was a blur of activity with people cutting back, pulling up and clearing at top speed.

After a good stint, we had made good progress so we downed tools and headed back to Turnham Green for the evening's fitness challenge. I had come up with a series of exercises that worked the whole body, with various reps for each one. The idea is that everybody completes the 8 challenges in the fastest time possible. In the next few weeks we will be revisiting to see if everybody can beat their preliminary times. There were some very fast finishers indeed, and some strong steady and controlled performances as well, so good luck!

Next week we're back at Chiswick House, I hope you'll be able to join us there!