A mega turnout for GoodGym Hounslow on Wednesday evening - clearly everyone was very excited for Lucy to lead the group run! Or maybe something else was bumping up the numbers?

Welcoming the group, including John and Jacqueline from Camden who were visiting, we warmed up (not that we needed it with the heatwave), and made our way to Strand on The Green School. Claire from the school had a quartet of tasks lined up for our masse of GoodGymmers, and under Lucy’s leadership, the group split into four to take on each of the jobs.

Emily & Eloise were joined by Michelle and Leticia to touch up the paint job around the picket fencing on the children’s playground, but also a good excuse for a catch up over brush strokes, as Tish was back visiting from the far South West. Once a Hounslow GoodGymmer, always a Hounslow GoodGymmer!

The second group were made up of four of the biggest, bravest and strongest of the gang: Jonathan, Kash, Ariane and Augustin. They stepped up to the challenge of moving heavy and bulky wooden blocks and boards up the winding stairs and to one of the outdoor classrooms upstairs. A couple of ‘pivot PIVOT’s later, and some flexing from Kash (she’s a MACHINE), the goods were moved from A to B.

Group three were team weeding; clearing the overgrowth around the sides of the paths, which was made all the nicer by being perfectly in the golden hour sunlight. Kymm, John, Jacqueline and Maxime got to it, whilst the final group with the rest of the rapscallions made their way back to the entrance gates to take on some overgrown bushes. Chris, Matt, Steph Ducat, Alan, Breda, Jon and Florian armed themselves with choppers, before being joined by Bethan and Divya with brooms and tarpaulin, and started to attack the out of control shrubbery and move the cuttings into the waste skip.

With such bumper numbers, we smashed the tasks out the bag tonight. There was even some time for games (Matt had found a cow whilst bush bashing, and Steph almost a complete building bricks set!), and more importantly a fashion show from our very stylish Gus. He proved that sometimes fashion is fast, when you’re as efficient at completing good deeds as him.

We tidied up, took a group snap and Claire waved us off into the sunset to make our way back to the Town Hall. Once we’d had a cool down, it was off to the Packhorse for a very special post-task pub session.

Our fantastic turn out might have had something to do with the fact that we had Emily & Eloise helping out, and for Emily, it will be her last official good deed for a while, as she is due to have a baby girl next week! Eloise (& I should say Matt too!) are following suit with their little bundle of joy coming in September.

In true GoodGym Hounslow style, we wanted to give our Mumma’s to be a proper send off. So much so that even friends that couldn’t make the task had come for the celebrations! GoodGymmers are known for doing good and getting fit, but we decided to add a dash of creative flair into the mix. A handful of the gang had been squirrelling around, and meeting up to learn how to knit (or in Remy’s case, take out her emotions onto 23 little crocheted squares). Holly had led our contrive, and had somehow made all our little stitched squares into two beautiful baby blankets for the impending arrivals.

Presenting the soon-to-be parents with home made gifts really did show us what GoodGym is all about. The community, the friendships, and of course, the cake (deliciously made by Michelle).

Emily - we all wish you the best with the future and your new little bundle of joy. Eloise & Matt - we will see you next week at GoodGym, where Steph is leading our task to Harvard Hill! We can’t wait to meet the newest members of our GoodGym family.

On the last Tuesday of July, the temperatures didn't seem to drop at all, but neither did the number of GoodGymers at our regular weekday evening session! Maybe the holiday season hasn't quite kicked in yet, or perhaps Hanwell is proving just as hot a destination as Ibiza.

Another week of tasks in Hanwell brought ten eager GoodGymers ready to tackle whatever challenge awaited. We were delighted to see Kristian returning for another 7 km run after his GoodGym debut the previous Tuesday, joining Sevan and Kash for the journey. Hanwell brought together locals like Harvey and Richard, alongside regulars living in neighbouring boroughs, Afshin and Ash, making the journey for a Tuesday night workout. Steph Ducat, meanwhile, arrived looking battle-worn after an unpleasant encounter on the road, but wasn't about to miss the task, swapping running for some fresh air and volunteering while he recovers. It was great to see Freya again, and Maria, who cycled all the way from the eastern edge of the borough.

Arriving at the Stables in Brent Lodge Park, the team met Andrea from Hanwell Community Centre, one of the organisers of the Hanwell Hootie - a free, volunteer-led music festival celebrating Hanwell's legendary link to Jim Marshall, "The Father of Loud". Andrea had been rummaging through the Stables' attic in search of a set of rubbish bins that had gone missing in action, but they were nowhere to be found.

Missing bins weren't Andrea's only problem. Huge stacks of boxes had been piled tightly together, blocking access to the Hootie festival furniture. The collection of vintage chairs and sofas is always the first thing we pull out and clean when preparations for the festival begin each year. Now the furniture was completely inaccessible, setting up a headache for whoever needed it next, whether for the Hootie or another community event. Our mission was to undo the chaos caused by another team's haphazard storage of ten drum kits and to save future volunteers from the same predicament.

With twenty keen hands, we quickly rolled up our imaginary sleeves (it was far too hot for actual sleeves) and got to work. After shifting the boxes of drum kits from the first pallet wedged in the doorway, we finally managed to peek into the blocked room and saw... drum roll... even more mountains of boxes. Still no sign of the furniture.

"You know, this is impossible. I think we need to call it off," Andrea admitted, having a moment of doubt.

Impossible? There's no such word in the GoodGym Ealing dictionary! Sevan squeezed between the wall and the towering stacks of boxes to reach the back of the dark, packed room, where he finally spotted the hidden sofas and chairs. The question was: how do we get them out? Sevan reckoned that if we cleared enough space, the team could attack the task from both sides. That's exactly what we did.

Meanwhile, others removed another pallet of drum kits and freed the first sofa. The chairs and another couch soon followed it. The seemingly insurmountable challenge quickly turned into child's play for our large, well-coordinated team. Oh, and did I mention that Harvey found the missing bins?

We finished well ahead of schedule, neatly reorganising the furniture into an accessible space in the middle of the Stables and returning all the drum kits and amps to the side room. It was a solid functional workout, with enough lifting to get everyone sweating but enough teammates to make it fun and surprisingly easy.

Next week, our run heads to another corner of the borough for a mulching session. Expect plenty of shovelling, wheelbarrowing and teamwork. Sign up now!