Small committee tonight probably due to no cake day 😅😅🎂🎂. Of course not : holiday period so people are away or busy. Some of us did a small run the Harvard Hill, shortly to be joined by the walkers feon various locations. Tonight's task was to do some weeding but also some litterpicking. we found loads of empty cat food containers hidden in the bushes : the local seem to be having a feast. During the task there was a long funny conversation around badger as Augustin mentionned he spotted one after our race last Friday in Bushy Park. Did he really see a badger or was it something else. 🤔 Then it went to translating into French and depending on the tool you use you get different words like Badger(with a French accent) or Blaireau which is also a familiar or slang word in French. We all had a good laugh and did good progress with the weeding and litterpicking. Can you spot the badger in the group photo?🦡🦡

World Cup fever had reached its peak with England’s semi final just hours away, but that meant plenty of time to fit in a good deed before kick off.

We met with tonight’s Manager, Jan from Friends of Turnham Green who gave us a briefing and a tactical run down of the big game and the goals for the evening. There was a trimming and clearing at the edges of the wildflower meadow to be done, litter to be picked, and the plants around the rockery needed a good watering following the wave of warm weather.

Time for kick off. No time to sit on the Spence! Kash and Gus tackled the strimming, whilst Max, Florian, Alan, Michelle and Steph raked up the trimmings, ready to go into one of the big blue Saka’s supported by Lucy. The other rubbish bags were taken on by Breda and Fran, also armed with the infamous Turnham Green tongs, as they Rice-d to defend the area from litter. Emily took it a little bit Eze-r, Pick(ford)ing rubbish and sharing the joys of GoodGym with the locals. Finally, playing up top on his own was Jon and the hose, giving the plants a good old hydration break on the rockery.

Captain Ana called for full time. A team photo to Marc (Guehi) the occasion was taken, and a shout out to the Birthday Boy Alan, who celebrated a big shiny birthday on Monday. Hopefully a big shiny World Cup trophy coming back to England will also celebrate 60 years soon too!

The green was looking a lot less Messi, and Jan was pleased with the results. All that was left was to get ready for the real kick off at 8PM. Kane we bring it home? COME ON ENGLAND.

UPDATE: We in fact did not bring it home, much to our disappointment and now join our French counterparts in feeling miserable because of 11 grown men kicking a ball around. Euro’s in 2 years anyone?

It was time for our regular visit to Chiswick House, one of our favourite local tasks. The grounds are run as a charity helping to preserve and maintain the historic estate for everyone to enjoy, with volunteers playing a huge part in keeping it safe and welcoming.

We met at the Estates Yard, where we were greeted by Philippa, who manages the volunteers, and Hugo, a handsome spaniel who had appointed himself Head of Operations for the evening.

Hugo wasted no time 'helping'. Within moments he had acquired a pair of gloves and was proudly doing the rounds and leading by example.

Our destination for the evening was appropriately enough the dog play area, where we were soon joined by a healthy contingent of West London's canine community. The task was to shovel and spread wood chip across the area to keep it in good condition.

We got to work raking, shovelling and transporting. It soon transpired that some of us were better protected from the weather than others (see photographic evidence). As the evening progressed, we became steadily wetter yet no less determined. Despite the conditions, the two piles steadily shrank as the play area improved.

In half an hour we were pretty much done and Philippa was impressed with the speed and efficiency of the group. It's amazing what a GoodGym team can achieve when presented with a task and a deadline.

With the task completed and the dog play area looking much refreshed, we headed back to base for stretches and a chance to dry off slightly.

Thanks to everyone who came along and braved the rain. Next up: our mission at Waterman's Park this Saturday