After Halloween night, when a horde of ghouls had haunted Northfield Allotments, wreaking terror in the hearts of young and grown-ups alike, a five-person Ghostbuster crew returned the following day to solve the allotment scare problem.

First, Jo, Dora and Kash exorcised the demons of drinking by removing the caps from empty wine bottles, releasing any intoxicated ghosts and preparing the glass for recycling. They then moved on to stacking chairs, while Nima and Sevan wheeled the foldable tables away to the event shed. The two later dismantled a gazebo (or was it a marquee?) and packed it away to rest in peace in the shed until the next occasion.

The exorcists then set off with wheelbarrows on a hunt for fluffy spiders, rubber bats and fake pumpkins, all of which needed sorting before being stored in the Halloween shed alongside the plastic skeleton crew.

The final tour around the allotment involved collecting carved pumpkins. After removing the lights from them, they were ready for smashing at the communal compost bin. Dora spotted a couple of small, intact pumpkins and decided to save them from the barbaric ritual. They escaped the smashing, only to end up in a red Thai curry. Yum!

12 goodgymers assembled to help the Northfield allotments team prepare the petrifying pumpkin trail for locals. We were planning to help out for 3 hours, but after little over an hour we'd checked off all the tasks on our list to great applause. Many hands really do make fright work!

We started the morning by moving the marquee/gazebo (not table) into position and getting the tables out. A mega cleanup mission then commenced as we wiped numerous tables and chairs to get them "allotment" clean. We then got the tables and chairs into position, hung up the pumpkin decorations and popped some lights into the portoloos. A small but mighty team went on a side quest to fill any pot holes along the path with woodchip.

As we finished in record time, we headed to a local coffee shop to refuel. Some of us came back later to make the most of our complimentary entry and refreshment kindly offered by the Northfield allotments team for our efforts.

Did you ever hear of waxcaps? These colourful wild mushrooms love to grow in old, undisturbed grasslands and make a spectacular appearance in autumn. They belong to a group of fungi known for their smooth, thin stems, widely spaced gills and waxy-looking caps, which can be red, yellow, orange, green, pink or white.

Eleven curious GoodGymers were tempted enough to learn more about these incredible mushrooms to forgo their usual Sunday afternoon plans and head to Walpole Park instead. In particularly windy conditions, the GoodGymers joined Richard and two other Ealing Greenwayers for a fungi survey in support of Plantlife – an organisation whose mission is to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi.

Any activity in Walpole Park this autumn wouldn't be complete without an air of controversy thanks to Ealing Council’s plan for a temporary, 1,200-seat Troubadour theatre, which has sparked strong local opposition. Among the campaigners’ concerns was the loss of green space, whose ecosystem they believe should be protected rather than sacrificed for a large-scale theatre development. Since waxcaps are a rare, species-rich grassland indicator, heavens knew what would happen if the GoodGym and Greenwayer expedition found these fungi in the park!

Armed with flags to mark the locations of the fungi we discovered and litterpickers (to expand our impact beyond mushroom-spotting), we formed a line abreast, standing shoulder to shoulder. We marched forward, eyes firmly fixed on the ground not to miss even the tiniest fungi. Tiny they certainly were - and not quite waxcap-looking.

Our line-abreast phalanx swept through about three-quarters of the park's grassland (and woodchip-land), discovering a variety of fungi and collecting about a bag of litter that hadn't yet been blown away by the wind. No waxcaps, alas!

Walpole Park may not be an ancient grassland, but the hope is not lost. During our quest, we bumped into a shroom-savvy Selborne Society member, who pointed out that the dry summer had been rather merciless to fungi and that he wouldn't expect to find waxcaps in Walpole Park. He gave us some hints about other promising locations, so you may yet see another mushroom survey this autumn, before the first frosty days arrive.

We were back at Blondin Park tonight to do some mulching around the trees that we prepared recently with digging around. Despite the damp, wet and dark evening a small group of 5 people took their courage and braved the weather. In no time, the team mulched around 12 trees with trips back and forth. Wheel barrows guided by head torches 🔦. Yes its head torch season!! Then we made our way back to the cafe where Linda welcomed us back with some lovely hot chocolates. The conversation went around music tonight and what we listened to when younger or now. Tonight we were a small team of 5 but achieved alot. Was it Girl Power as 4 ladies and 1 man tonight? All I wannabe is a Goodgymer !! 🎶 🎵