Like many gardens around London, Ms C's was looking thirsty. If you'd seen Sirat in the cinema recently, the scene was similar. A parched mini-desert with a thumping dance music soundtrack, courtesy of a festival in Boston Manor Park half a kilometer away.

Ms C asked the GoodGymers to water all of the plants in her garden. She especially prizes her roses and today, her fern and tomato plants were also important to hydrate.

"My plants will love you because you're feeding them" - Ms C
"I hope they remember it" - Sevan
"They will. Once you do a good turn, it comes back to you in buckets" - Ms C

The buckets worked in 2 directions. Kash and Sevan were emptying them to water the plants and in return, they were being refilled with good vibes.

With the watering completed, the second task was to trim some of the roses back as they'd grown too tall. Secateurs and loppers were used by the pair as they tried and failed to avoid getting hooked on the thorns. Eventually, they managed to unhook themselves and complete the cutting back to Ms C's standards.

There was a side quest with Ms C's airer. The lines were tangled, so Kash and Sevan straighted them out. Next, it wouldn't lock in place in its open position. The second problem the GoodGymers couldn't solve, so it might be time for Ms C to invest in a new one.

The end result was a well watered and much neater garden, which, with the rain forecast on Sunday, should keep Ms C enjoying her outdoor space for a few weeks.

As the theme tune says 'Come out to play in Waterman's Park', and for that the stage needs setting up!

In its fifth consecutive year, The Friends of Watermans Park organised a summer bandstand every Saturday of July for local legends/residents (your pick) to come and play.

A mighty crew was assembled this Saturday made of Brenda, Emma, Kash, Sevan, Kymm and Gus.

Gazebos and shade were setup in no time. Bunting creativity was at its pick and seat arrangements have been so inviting.

After a job well done, it was time for a few Goodgymers to enjoy the fruit of their labour and stay for the show!

Captain's Log, Stardate 4623.7.

GoodGym arrived at Grove Farm on the very edge of Ealing space. Not a single raindrop has been seen here for weeks. It's now the third month Admiral Mike has been stuck in the dry Costons Ditch in search of Japanese knotweed, an invader from a faraway land, threatening the fragile Ealing ecosystem.

Having chopped, trimmed, sawed and broken their way through the dense vegetation, the landing party, instead of knotweed, encountered ruins unlike any we had seen before. The settlement included a makeshift table, a birdcage, and a baby cot wedged into the ditch.

"It's kind of creepy to see this here," commented Medical Officer Gus, who joined the research party from faraway GG Hounslow to study the impacts of nettle stings on blood circulation.

No one had a hypothesis for why the colony had been abandoned, since the wild fruit and traces of water in the ditch suggested the location could sustain life.

Officers Afshin and Steph pressed forward with their hedge trimmers set to kill any bramble and hawthorn on their way. The tricorder pulled out by Science Officer Sevan to perform environmental scans started recording inexplicable readings. The officer figured out the GG Ealing crew was approaching the Harrow Neutral Zone.

Uncertain whether a potential violation of Harrow space could be interpreted as an act of war, the crew quickly collected samples from the ancient civilisation and evacuated the site. They carried with them the birdcage, the table and the baby cot, along with an oversized crowbar, a pallet, a bathroom tile and a variety of ancient glass vessels.

Among the artefacts was a mysterious Żywiec Trade crate, which only Captain Kash could identify. She hailed from an entirely different galaxy, in fact, from one of the moons of Planet Żywiec, whose inhabitants reached the pinnacle of civilisation, having developed industrial beer production and shipped their crates with goods all the way to the Ealing system.

Although the landing party had to beam themselves out of Grove Farm, Admiral Mike will closely monitor the location and dispatch another expedition of redshirts there in August. If you want to enlist for that voyage, watch this space for a new mission next month!

15 minutes wondering round the garden revealed 1 butterfly. Fewer than I've seen on other occasions, but perhaps started a little late in the day. Sammy (my dog) clearly thought I'd gone crazy, and was much relieved when I stopped staring at the undergrowth and recorded my grand total. A quick and easy thing to do - I've now added the app, so will probably count butterflies again!

Since last year's cutback session at Hobbayne's Half Acre Woodland, the GoodGymers doubled in numbers, while the brambles, nettles, hawthorn and other nasties encroaching the public paths seemed to weaken. Our task owner, Dee, believed the drought was the reason and that a bit of rain would make the overgrowth explode as it had in the previous years.

Six GoodGym runners met in front of Ealing Broadway station for a 3.5km run to Hanwell and the same distance back. Among them was a new joiner, Kristian, who had thought the 7km would be a good challenge for him. While running in a group with Steph Ducat, Conor, Sevan, Chris and Kash, the distance turned out not to be such a challenge after all - Kristian kept a good, consistent pace all the way. Welcome, Kristian, and congratulations on your first GoodGym run!

Maria, Scott and Amy cycled, and Harvey walked to meet Dee and the runners under the Wharncliffe Viaduct near the Hanwell station. You may not know that the viaduct is quite a big thing in British industrial history - constructed in 1837, it was the first major design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer responsible for the rest of the Great Western Railway and the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.

I couldn't resist that bridge tangent. Let's get back to Hanwell.

After a short ice-cream themed icebreaker, Dee handed the GoodGymers shears and suggested the best section of the path to tackle would be the tarmac way closest to Station Road. Doomed were all the brambles, nettles, hawthorns, ivy, and, surprisingly, bamboo plants that dared to grow through or over the fence. The most ambitious GoodGymers even cut tree branches with shears (and some solid willpower) alone! A sackful of rubbish was uncovered while cutting back the unruly plants, bagged, and diligently binned before the end of the session.

Shortly after 8pm, most of the team disbanded to make their way home. Conor, Kristian, Sevan and Kash decided to run back to Ealing Broadway. Little did they know, they were racing the Elizabeth line, which Chris decided to take. And they won! Was it a testament to GoodGymers' prowess, Hanwell station being underserved, or Lizzy's unreliability? I'll let you decide.

Next week, we are off for a similar route to reach the Stables in Brent Lodge Park and help sort the festival equipment after the Hanwell Hootie fever finally settled down. Sign up now to join us!