For my last solo mission this Sunday, I chose to help our old acquaintance, Mr R. I've visited him and worked in his vast front garden more than once, and I can tell you that if there is anything in the world more stubborn than the weeds there, it's me.

I arrived a little later than planned, following a 5 km run from my previous task in North Greenford. Mr R was already waiting for me at the front door. And yes, I was right: today's task was once again weeding the front garden! Mr R had quite a collection of tools, from a hand trowel and a bent spade to a mighty mattock and an equally useful rake. I ended up using every single one of them.

Before I got started, Mr R offered me a couple of cold soft drinks. I gladly accepted, as I was extremely thirsty. It seemed as though those two bottles of green juice gave me some extra power, amplified by the shade and a pleasant breeze. After a whole weekend of hot, sweaty tasks, those conditions made a huge difference.

I started with the hand trowel but quickly realised that, as expected, the soil was rock hard. I wasn't going to get very far tackling the weeds one by one with such a small tool. Next came the spade, and I stuck with it for quite a while, snapping and chopping the weed stems just above the ground. It proved quite effective, although it took plenty of effort. I knew the most effective tool would be the mattock - and it's one of my favourites to use. To save my energy, I left it until later for the thickest clusters of weeds. Once I finally got my hands on the mattock, though, I couldn't stop using it. It powered through more than half of the remaining area.

To keep myself motivated and see the progress more clearly, I raked about two-thirds of the cleared area before finishing the rest with the spade. I was pleased to discover I still had plenty of energy left for my final task of the weekend. After two hours of digging, chopping and raking, I eventually cleared all the weeds from Mr R's front garden. As I was scooping the last of the green waste into the green bin, Mr R came to the door looking genuinely shocked.

"What a job! What a job! You stayed longer than you should," he said.

He couldn't express his gratitude enough.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much," he kept repeating.

When I asked if I could take an "after" photo of the garden, he smiled and said:

"Of course. Otherwise, no one will believe what you've done here."
"I don't believe it myself, actually," I replied.

The work was done, and Mr R's garden looked neat once again. Mr R told me he was looking for a long-term solution to those stubborn weeds and planned to apply weed killer over the next few days while the weather stayed hot and dry. I wished him luck in the ongoing battle, although I certainly wouldn't mind coming back for another round against the weeds again.

"See you soon," said Mr R as I was leaving - followed by at least five more thank-yous.

Mrs E's first encounter with GoodGym came with a few unexpected twists. First of all, I wasn't a professional gardener who had come for a scheduled consultation. Secondly, I had come to work in the garden without bringing any tools or a van to take away the garden waste. And thirdly, I didn't want any money for my time. At that point, Mrs E didn't yet realise I had run 6km up the hill to meet her, but I thought that revelation might have been one surprise too many, so I've kept that secret for later.

Mrs E said she was genuinely touched that someone would give up their time to help her and her husband without expecting anything in return. At the same time, she doubted I would be able to make any difference in a garden that had become inaccessible to the elderly couple, who no longer even knew where their tools were.

I didn't want to be too persistent if this wasn't the kind of help they had been expecting. However, sensing Mrs E's distress about the state of the garden she had loved and cared for over so many years, I decided to make use of one of my lesser-known skills: persuasion. First, I asked if I could simply have a look around the garden and see what might be achievable in a short time without any tools. I also asked what made her think I wouldn't be able to improve it. Then I showed her a snapshot of my before-and-after photos from my GoodGym missions portfolio. That did the trick.

Although I was tempted to search the plastic toolbox in the garden for something to trim the overgrown plants, I decided instead to pull weeds from the patio, which required no tools at all.

As I worked, Mrs E asked where I was from and was delighted to tell me that part of her own family roots lay in the same country. She told me about her childhood in continental Europe, how she came to the UK, and how she fell in love both with the country and with her husband, Mr R. We chatted about all sorts of things, and she shared some of her secrets to looking and feeling good at the age of 90: a sensible low-dairy diet, lots of smiling, and simply being happy. Looking at her, I would have guessed she was in her early seventies, so I felt the advice came from a true expert.

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a cat jumping into the garden and loudly announcing its arrival with a series of long, insistent meows, clearly unimpressed by my presence in its territory. That unexpected visitor completely broke the rhythm of our chat, and Mrs E decided to head back inside for a well-earned rest.

In the meantime, I weeded the section of patio nearest the garden entrance, removing patches of grass and bindweed, then swept away grass and leaves. The garden was large, long and quite overgrown, but I was pleased with what I had managed to achieve in a relatively short time.

Mrs E was grateful for the help and pleasantly surprised by what a GoodGymer could accomplish in less than 90 minutes. She topped up my water bottle and invited me to sit with her on the sofa while we looked through a thick stack of printed photographs showing her garden over the years. The transformation was remarkable. The photos captured the garden's evolution from a grassy space to a beautifully paved garden, or from a lush tropical paradise to a space overflowing with flowers. Mrs E spoke proudly of the gardener who had designed and created it, recalling with a smile how he had cheekily photographed his work afterwards to show future clients. I couldn't help but laugh to myself - that was exactly how I had earned Mrs E's trust in the first place.

On a blissfully cooler day after the recent heatwave, the number of children at Acton Juniors was down on the usual, with 53 finishers. The organisers were talking about the return of a local school next week, which as we saw last time, brought a huge influx of runners and the need for extra volunteers, so if you can help, please sign up directly with Acton Juniors on the 5th of July.

While the number of runners was down, there was a strong showing of 6 GoodGymers. Maria led by running the warm up, Kash was mopping up those at the back as the tail walker and in between, Alan and Steph were marshalling, Sevan timekeeping and Divy scanned the finishers' barcodes.

Steph had a fun time dealing with sausage dogs that were off their leash. At one point he had to funnel the runners past one dog that was blocking their path to make sure that all people and dogs safely enjoyed the park this morning and no sausage dogs were made to roll.

We have 2 sessions listed with Acton Juniors in July. If you're free on either the 12th or the 19th, please join us to help this family event run safely and to make it a fun morning for all of the children taking part.

4 Goodgymers met at Ealing Broadway Station to run and chat towards Acton park as volunteering at Acton Junior Parkrun. Slightly cooler than previous days but still hot 🔥

Some people use spray-on tan ahead of the summer. But not GoodGymers. GoodGymers don't like fake tans. They prefer the real thing - those awkward tan lines on your wrist from your watch, or around your socks - every mark earned during a task on a hot summer's day.

What makes a beautiful GoodGymer, you may ask?

GoodGymers come in all shapes, sizes, colours, genders and ages. Rather than an even, sleek fake tan, the true symbols of beauty are bramble scratches, nettle stings, a bit of mud sprayed across your legs (or maybe even your face) and the occasional thorn caught in your arm. But the most beautiful thing is the smile. The smile when you show up as your true self, with a genuine intention to do something good. And the even bigger smile after the task, when you see the impact of your efforts reflected in the smiles of the people you've helped. That's the most beautiful thing.

Sevan and Kash wanted to see the smile on Ms B's face again. They had visited her before, tackling all sorts of interesting jobs: from throwing old toilets into a skip to dismantling old wardrobes, and they may even have built some furniture along the way. Ms B was indeed delighted to see them again and recognised them immediately. Her dog, Rosie, must have remembered the GoodGymers too, greeting them at the door in the hope of earning a few cuddles.

Although the mission had only been confirmed at the last minute the previous day, giving Ms B little time to prepare, she was full of enthusiasm and eager to get started. She and her carer had already made some improvements around the garden, but there was still plenty left to do. The first priority was the patio (which consisted of two parts). Ms B wanted to clean it but needed some help setting up her new pressure washer, whose pronunciation became the subject of a debate. Sevan pronounced "Kärcher" the British way, while Kash insisted on the proper German pronunciation - as authentic as Germany's eastern neighbour could make it.

While Kash assembled the Kärcher following the instructions, Sevan sorted out the new hosepipe. Soon it was time to test whether Ms B's two latest purchases would work well together. Thankfully, they did. Although Ms B had originally said she might leave the pressure washing until later with her carer, she became so excited after a short demonstration that she grabbed the spray lance herself and started blasting the patio slabs with great enthusiasm. Occasionally, she sprayed the GoodGymers as well, which, on such a hot day, was a welcome bonus after a week of sizzling and sticky summer tasks. She also thoughtfully soaked the area where Sevan and Kash would be weeding. Without the extra water, the ground would have been rock hard, so that small act made a huge difference.

Before the pressure washing could properly begin, Sevan and Kash cleared the patio of everything that stood in the way. They moved heavy bags of rubble and soil that would eventually go into a skip, carried old dried branches to one side, and shifted pots to create a clear working area. With the patio finally prepared, they turned their attention to the lawn (without grass) in the middle. Armed with a spade and new hand trowels, they dug out dandelions and other stubborn weeds, working through the freshly watered soil, which was soft and muddy despite the scorching summer heat.

After just over 90 minutes, everything and everyone in Ms B's back garden looked more beautiful: the lawn, with fewer weeds; the patio, much tidier after its first round of pressure washing; and Sevan, Kash and Ms B, all three sprinkled with hundreds of tiny muddy freckles after Ms B's joyous slab spraying. Even Rosie got her paws into the freshly watered soil and proudly left a trail of muddy paw prints across the living room carpet - that, perhaps, was a little less beautiful.

What a beautiful summer afternoon mission it was!

Kash and Sevan were back to help Mr F in his front garden today after tackling the back last time. Weeding the all concrete, sloped front garden sounded simple. There were lots of cracks and uneven surfaces that the weeds had gotten into though and the south-east facing from garden was catching lots of sun too, draining the team's energy. There was a lot more work than Mr F and his wife expected.

Pulling the weeds was the most rewarding and most difficult way to clear the concrete. Seeing the roots rip out of the ground was satisfying, knowing that they wouldn't be able to grow back quickly. If the wouldn't pull out, then Kash and Sevan resorted to cutting or scraping, which wouldn't last as long.

As the GoodGymers were working hard in the heat, Mr F's wife brought them some cold water with elephant shaped ice cubes. After a couple of minutes, the cubes had vanished in the heat and elephants were extinct, or maybe they were actually mammoths and their ice age had come to an end. Mammoth ice cubes for a mammoth task?

After an hour, the front garden was clear, so work moved to the back. Kash twisted more weeds from around Mr F's prized rose bushes and Sevan cleared the area in front of the shed. They achieved a lot and there was plenty more work still to be done. They left Mr F really happy with the result, especially the transformation at the front, before Kash and Sevan ran off to their last mission of the day.

The last two sessions in the Grove Farm woodlands have, rather oddly, coincided with the May and June heatwaves at the end of each month. This latest conservation day seemed even hotter than the one over the May bank holiday weekend. On the positive note, the temperature had dropped to "only" around 32°C, a welcome improvement after a truly scorching midweek!

Maybe the heat was the reason behind the lower-than-usual turnout? Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash still showed up after quite demanding morning runs and, together with Mike, sought to cool down in the depths of the woods. There, upstream of the dried-up Costons Brook, the task awaited. Picking up from last month's unfinished objective, the team continued their journey into the wild green yonder, hacking through brambles, ivy and nettles, and removing fallen logs blocking the way - all while keeping a careful eye on dangerously leaning, half-rotten trees towering overhead.

Mike was hoping to get closer to the lair of Japanese knotweed, which was due to be treated by the rangers (given access to the site was provided) as a highly invasive non-native species threatening Grove Farm's ecosystem. Although the team wasn't expecting to uncover the knotweed by the end of the day's expedition, the adventurers made a few eclectic discoveries along the way. Their collection of woodland litter ranged from a shopping basket and a running shoe to a hi-fi stack system and even a wasp nest. One of the wasps took a particular dislike to Kash and made its feelings known with a sting, leaving her with a painful ankle that hindered both her walking and running for the rest of the day.

At the end of the corridor they had cut through the undergrowth, awaited "a house" - a wild camping site complete with a carpet, a table and seating. In the middle of that house, Sevan discovered another "house", and a rather bizarre one: a bird cage, which was an unusual sight in the middle of the woods, where one might expect freedom rather than confinement.

After reaching the "house", Mike suggested cutting an alternative route back, making sure both banks of Costons Brook were cleared in case the stream started flowing again with the arrival of autumn. The fallen logs and trees along the return route had to be carefully removed, one by one, until the team reached the main cleared path again.

"Grove Farm doesn't want to let you leave." - Mike.

Eventually, the nature reserve released the GoodGymers to do good elsewhere. But they promised to return in July to continue their mission, hopefully without any more heatwaves!

Believe it or not, this was actually my first run of the week because of the hot weather. Fortunately, the run to the shop for Mr G was well worth it - South Acton turned out to be much breezier than South Ealing, while Chiswick was even better in that regard, especially Sainsbury's, where the air conditioning was a welcome relief.

There were no special cooling-down items on Mr G's shopping list, just the usual products, including an additional bag of walnut halves.

In total, I ran about 6.5 km, with a cooling break along the way, and survived. I now feel ready for a weekend full of running and missions. Bring it on!