Last night, GoodGym Hounslow returned to Baron’s Ponds, turning an overgrown tangle into a future beautiful bluebell glade. A warm GoodGym welcome to Ealing member Scott, who joined us for his first session in Hounslow!

Baron’s Ponds sits in a historic corner of Gunnersbury, but, as nobody had been caring for it for some years, it risked becoming simply overgrown, derelict space. Thankfully, a passionate team of local volunteers stepped up to take over its care, aiming to increase biodiversity and sustainability.

We got straight to work pulling up and hauling away mounds of the invasive ivy. The volume of growth was immense, but we soon got stuck and started making a difference. A special shout-out has to go to Chris and Florian, who spent the evening fighting the good fight against a truly colossal, knotted ball of ivy. It was a real wrestling match — check out the photos for the unbelievable scenes and ultimate victory.

While we worked, Mark (the head of the volunteer team) filled us in on a bit of local drama. It turns out the pond is currently being plagued by a lone terrapin. This rogue reptile has been terrorising the local ecosystem, eating up all the frogs and other tiny pond creatures. Apparently he’s quite intrepid and frequently commutes between here and the main ponds at Gunnersbury Park. The ultimate plan is to safely catch and rehome him - unless he makes a speedy getaway first. 

With the ivy cleared, the area is one step closer to being turned into a blue vision come spring. Next week, we are teaming up with Wild Chiswick for more green-fingered tasks that deliver a real environmental impact. You can find the details here.

It was our monthly trip back to Doddington last night. This former multistorey car park has been transformed into a thriving community garden, providing a valuable growing space for local people who might not otherwise have access to a garden of their own. We also had some very special reasons to celebrate: a huge congratulations to Jason on his 100th Good Deed! 🎉 And a very happy 30th birthday to Annabel! 🎂

We kicked things off with a warm-up and the evening's quiz question: how many dimples are there on a golf ball? There was some doubt over the answer, but I'll leave you to decide whether to trust the quizmaster…

We arrived to find a whole host of jobs waiting for us: clearing mallow and teasels, laying down cardboard and mulch, shifting mulch into the raised beds and transporting soil. Before too long everyone was busy getting stuck in. 💪🌱

There was also an added incentive for the evening: whoever collected the most teasels would win the famous Tromboncino!

But what exactly is a Tromboncino? This wonderfully weird looking vegetable is a variety of butternut squash which is used like a courgette — and if you leave it to mature, it can grow into a long, curved, trombone-shaped fruit of up to around a metre!

Once we'd done our bit at the garden, it was time to head down to the square for some fitness. This week's challenge was 130-themed: working in pairs, we had to complete a series of exercises which cumulatively added up to 130. Plenty of counting, plenty of reps and plenty of teamwork. Congratulations to Katie and Catherine, who completed the challenge first! 🏆

Then, of course, it was time for cake and the grand presentation of the Tromboncino. After her impressive teasel-gathering efforts, the prize went to Annabel — who immediately demonstrated the true versatility of this magnificent vegetable by wearing it as a rather beautiful neckpiece at the pub quiz. 🥒✨

A brilliant evening of community gardening, celebrations, questionable golf-ball trivia, fitness, cake and vegetable couture.

Huge congratulations again to Jason for this huge milestone - 100 good deeds shows massive commitment, energy and effort which has had an unquantifiable positive impact.

Next week... We're off to Balham Nursery to help with some jobs. You can sign up here

It was a warm welcome to Tom, joining us for his very first GoodGym Hounslow session! Great to have you along, Tom — and hope to see you at many more!

We also had something else to celebrate - A huge well done to Breda, who has now clocked up an incredible 50 Good Deeds! 🎉 That is an amazing show of commitment and a brilliant positive impact on the community. And through all those good deeds, Breda is always there with a smile on her face. Congratulations, Breda — 50 Good Deeds is something to be very proud of! 👏

Last night we were back at Chiswick House, where the gardens are definitely feeling the effects of the dry spell. The trees are looking distressed and shedding their leaves, so our main mission for the evening was weeding, watering and more watering. The camellias - a popular attraction for visitors - in particular needed some TLC to make sure their bulbs don’t flower too early.

So we got to work tackling the drought, hauling heavy watering cans around the gardens and making several rounds to give the plants a much-needed drink. Full of water, they doubled up as a great workout — plenty of lifting, carrying and walking to keep the arms and legs working.

And because no GoodGym session is complete without a little extra opportunity for fitness, we squeezed in a squat challenge during a short break. Just what everyone needed between rounds of watering!

Once the plants had been thoroughly hydrated, we turned our attention to the weeds. We battled our way through alkanet and bindweed, before getting the rakes out to tackle the dry fallen leaves. Rather than simply clearing them away, we redistributed them around the beds so they could do their bit as natural mulch, helping the soil retain precious moisture.

With the gardening jobs complete, it was time for our final feat of endurance: a five-minute plank! We mixed things up with different plank variations, and gave our cores a good all round session. 💪

Next week I'm just waiting for the task to be confirmed,so watch this space (and look out for my weekly email which will have all the details). Hopefully see you at the next one! 💚

We have an exciting opportunity this Sunday to get out on the river on a paddleboard to help clear litter. You can see all the details and sign up here

Finally, good luck to all those racing the Big Half this weekend!