Kash and Gus were tasked with moving one hospital bed from one room to another.

Unfortunately even after trying at different angles and the bed lowered to its most compact form, the bed was too big to fit through the door. After thorough investigation of the frame, trying a disassembly (not finding an instruction manual on the internet) the best they can (without any tools at their disposition), Kash and Gus decided it was better to put it all back together and where it was.

Perhaps next time with tools!

David arrived at Ms B’s house ahead of time, where he met Ms B, the beneficiary, her dog Rosie, and GoodGymer Kash - all three of whom had already been involved in furniture assembly an hour earlier.

Once Ms B and Rosie had gone downstairs, David and Kash swapped a sofa with a divan bed between two bedrooms, then used the remaining time to build a bedside table to complement the drawer unit Kash had finished during the previous task.

By furnishing the new bedroom, the GoodGymers helped Ms B create a sleeping space in a warmer part of the house and, hopefully, avoid feeling uncomfortably cold during the winter nights.

On Saturday afternoon, after spending the morning at a conservation day at Grove Farm, I had a double Acton act booked with Ms B: first gardening and, later, a furniture-moving mission.

When I explained why I had come alone (my second task was the only one confirmed as a two-person mission), Ms B asked me about assembling the furniture. Since I had been expecting to start with the gardening, I probed her about it.

“The garden is a challenge,” Ms B stated.

I love a good challenge, but this one was of a different kind from the usual. The culprit was a large fig tree that, in late September, had no intention of dropping its leaves. With no leaves on the ground to sweep, Ms B decided that the garden was neither a priority nor worth tidying up yet. She apologised for the misunderstanding, as the task had probably been requested and confirmed too soon, but she had an equally exciting alternative for me.

We moved a few items out of Ms B’s new bedroom ahead of the second mission to make space for the new furniture, and carried an old mattress downstairs. Then I built three drawers to complete the partially assembled drawer unit, while the lovely Rosie, Ms B’s dog, sniffed my Grove Farm-scented legs and vigorously licked my bramble scratches. All that adorable tickling made me slow down as I put the screws into the drawers, pausing to stroke Rosie until she fell asleep and I could complete the build uninterrupted.

Even with the pooch intervention, I still had plenty of time before my second mission for Ms B, this time with GoodGymer David. So I unpacked another piece of furniture and checked that none of the parts was missing.

It wasn’t.

The September conservation day at Grove Farm was a welcome break from a four-session streak at Coston’s Brook, where we had successfully located one of the invasive Japanese knotweed clusters. After our previous captivating escapades in a narrow, overgrown ditch, we moved our operations to an open meadow that needed cutting back.

Nettles, the edges of bramble clusters and dried plants all had to go, ideally cut into scallop shapes, as nature, according to Mike, favours scallops over straight lines. Mike, the lead of Friends of Grove Farm, got to test his newly acquired scythe and scything skills, sweeping through the meadow like a reaper. Meanwhile, fellow Friends Suzie and Joe, along with GoodGymers Scott, Steph and Kash, used hedge trimmers, rakes and forks to trim the meadow and move the dry cuttings under the tree cover to reduce the fire risk. The team was lucky to be joined by two young new volunteers, who quickly learned how to use loppers to cut back the thick brambles.

The next step for the trimmed meadow will be to sow a mix of a special type of grass and wildflower seeds. Maybe we’ll even get to do it at our next session. Sign up to find out!

Just as the baby potatoes were back in stock at Sainsbury’s, Mr G was back in a better mood—even though the large potatoes I’d bought him the previous week had fallen apart when cooked.

I did his usual weekly shop, with one little addition: the cheddar mini muffins I’d introduced him to the week before.

When Mr G said he didn’t know what he’d do without his regular GoodGym shopping support, I reflected that these evening grocery visits are just as valuable for GoodGymers like me. They give us a reason to draw a line under the working week, get outside, and do something useful for a lovely person who appreciates it.

After a stressful week at work, Mr G is my hero.

For her final deed in Hounslow on Thursday afternoon, Kash ran to Mrs H, whom she had visited before for tasks as epic as cutting down an apple tree and mowing both the front and back gardens in one go. This time, however, the heroic aspect was nowhere near the same level. Mrs H had been waiting so long for help that she had tackled all the big jobs herself. And she was ninety!

All that remained for Kash was weeding the concrete areas and a flower bed. But there was also a particularly special weed to scrape off: moss. And moss was the subject of the final Labour of Hounslow Kash had been assigned to complete—or so she thought.

Despite the relatively modest nature of the task, Mrs H decided to help Kash with the sweeping. In reality, she simply couldn't stand sitting indoors watching TV and eating out of boredom. Kash could certainly relate and was happy to welcome Mrs H's contribution. Together, they made a great team and eventually captured all the moss in a bag. Mrs H was very grateful that Kash had come to team up with her.

After a day of more or less challenging, but equally fulfilling labours, Kash felt elated to have swapped a regular workday in front of a screen for a hero's journey. She ran the 6 km back to Ealing, where she sat in front of a screen to write about the labours she had completed that day.

Mr T was a man living near Hounslow Heath, diligent in his recycling efforts: separating glass from plastic and paper from cardboard. Unfortunately, because of poor health and limited mobility, he couldn't go downstairs to dispose of his rubbish and recycling.

The myth claimed that his stables had never been cleared of recycling. This was, in fact, only a myth, as Kash had visited Mr T for recycling disposal two weeks before her third Labour of Hounslow, on a warm Thursday in September. As the day progressed, Kash’s deeds seemed to be becoming less and less heroic, but she was not discouraged and undertook the task.

There were so many bags of recycling to take downstairs that Kash briefly considered rerouting the rivers Crane and Brent to flush all the recycling out of the building. Eventually, she decided against it, as that would have added too much time to the task, leaving her without a lunch break for all her Labours of Hounslow. She then threw three small bags of rubbish down the chute and carried the recycling downstairs, leaving Mr T’s stables free of waste and the gentleman feeling much relieved.