If you're reading these words, it means I managed to publish the second version of this report. Version one had just been finished on a sweltering tube when, moments after I typed the closing line, "No drama encountered otherwise," the entire text was swallowed by a wrong slip of a finger on my phone screen, never to be retrieved again. Thanks to the unexpected wonders of 21st-century technology, I was gifted the opportunity to rewrite history from scratch and practise mindfulness in the face of frustration.

It wasn't an easy week for Ms F, who suffered from the hot temperatures to the point that she had to cancel her medical appointment. She also found it difficult to get a good night's sleep, so she was pleased to hear that I'd be coming slightly later than originally planned, giving her a little more time to rest during the day.

I happened to be off work that week, showing my family around London, and a 40-minute midday shopping mission was a perfect break from crowded touristy places. For Ms F, however, hearing that I'd be coming before 6 pm on a weekday caused a little confusion.

To provide some relief from the heat, I was asked to buy a six-pack of Buxton still water and a little treat: a bottle of refreshing ginger beer. One more summer delight came in the form of a healthy snack.

"Last time Louis brought me some delicious strawberries. They're called No. 1. You'll know when you've found them because they cost four pounds."

And off I went for a successful shop, with all the items located without difficulty. The only event worth mentioning was the outer packaging of the Buxton water dramatically ripping apart just as I left the till, allowing two of the bottles to attempt an escape.

Now, this is the part of my original story v1.0 where I wrote "No drama encountered otherwise", but I feel that if I finish it on this note, something ominous will happen again, and I'll end up writing the third version of this story.

So let's close it with me going to the British Museum to look for my not-so-distant ancestors - and I don't mean the ancient residents of the sarcophagi here! My family and I glanced through the Greek excavations before heading off. As entertaining as they looked, the figurines of ancient pigs didn't feel relevant for the closure of this story either, as Ms F is much less of a fan of pork than she is of fish.

Another thing I haven't mentioned in my original report was that, on the way back west, under very rare circumstances, I happened to bump into one of Mission Control's stars while they were on a break. I think that truly closes the loop of this story.

Hopefully, this is a worthy ending, and all the ancient and modern gods of fate, together with the muses of GoodGym report writing, will allow me to publish this version and won't turn it into a Sisyphean task.

If anyone tells me that burdock removal tasks throughout the summer can ever get boring, I'll ask them to think twice! Last Tuesday evening's session started like an action film, with three runners: Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash, galloping at race pace and adding an extra kilometre and a half to retrieve a mission-critical item for the evening: the tool store keys that Kash had forgotten at home. What this extreme heat does to our brains!

Fortunately, the legs coped better with the heat than some of the brains. The racing trio arrived only two minutes late, while cyclists Amy and Scott and walkers Yonas, Harvey and Richard were already waiting at the task. The action-film atmosphere continued as Kash navigated the site's complicated security system and finally liberated the tools.

Eight GoodGymers grabbed a pair of wheelbarrows, a couple of spades and a collection of loppers, then set off to face all the burdock in Elthorne Park they hadn't tackled at last month's session and which had had time to grow. Many of the plants had already started producing sticky burrs. Amy and Kash, with hair a bit longer than the rest of the group, could testify to that.

"Actually, those burrs don't stick to my hair. It's my hair that sticks to them." – Amy.

Hitching a ride in people's hair and clothes or dogs' fur is burdock's prime strategy for travelling long distances and colonising new territory. And that's not its only trick. A single plant can produce thousands of seeds, allowing it to spread rapidly and outcompete surrounding plants for sunlight, water and nutrients. That's why GoodGymers regularly visit Elthorne Park in the summer to keep its expansion in check.

This time, the ranger asked us to focus on the outliers - not the dense patches where burdock was already established, but the lone plants and small clusters threatening to spread across the fields and along the paths.

After clearing the path on the way to the main burdock patch, the team spread into smaller groups across the large field, venturing almost as far as the Bambi statue. Everyone did a tremendous job, greatly reducing the spread of burdock across the park. A special thanks goes to Yonas and Scott, who tirelessly wheelbarrowed the cut plants to a pile away from the main visitor routes.

It was Scott's very first GoodGym session, but you'd never have guessed it - he tackled burdock like a seasoned pro. Well done, Scott, and welcome to GoodGym! We're hoping to see you again soon.

After another successful evening keeping Elthorne Park's burdock under control, we're already looking ahead to the next adventures. This weekend we'll be back in Hanwell helping HANGOT maintain their community fruit orchards, and next Tuesday Sevan will lead us to Perivale to support Impact Theatre by sanding walls ahead of painting. We are hoping to see you there!