Another very warm and sunny day. I set off on my bike for the 10-mile round trip to Mrs J’s for my second visit to tackle the long grass in the back garden. I arrived 15 minutes late, which surprised me as I thought I had made good time. It was hot and there was quite a lot of traffic on the way slowing me down I guess.

The lovely Mrs J kindly got the tools ready for me and we had a quick chat. She commented that I was looking slimmer than last time — which I’ll happily take! 😊 Must be all this cycling in the heat! I got straight to work mowing and continued for a full hour. I filled the brown bin and, as I was starting to fade in the heat, I decided to call it a day. I said goodbye to Mrs J and let her know that one more visit should finish the

James and nigel joined the springboard team for a morning of watering all the plant's in the greenhouses and raised beds. We weeded area's as well as digging up the bed of potatoes 🥔 😋. We cultivated the elephant garlic. Some reaching over 6ft tall. We finished off with a drink, biscuits and cake, and a lovely sociable time in the sunshine under the Zen pergola.

Georgia and James visited Mr J this afternoon to help him sort through his belongings ready to move next week.

They made quick work of cleaning the garden, before moving inside to tackle the kitchen. Items were sorted into keep, charity donation or bin!

Monday 6th July. A very warm and sunny day enjoying a lot of these days lately! I wasn't necessarily looking forward to the 5-mile each way bike ride, as I had been up till 4 watching England win against Mexico, so I wasn't feeling it. Once I get going though, I love it! I arrived at Mrs D's on time. After introducing myself and talking to Mrs D, she is receiving treatment for a heart condition, so she was glad for the help. Mrs D showed me out the back garden, which she wanted mowed and strimmed. It is a big area, so I set up the necessary tools and got started, first trimming some of the long grass back so I was able to mow it, and strim the edges. After getting it raked, cleared, and the waste put in the brown bin, I wheeled the bin round to the front of the house for collection.

I did what I could and guzzlied 2-3 litres of water during! absolutely scorching! It will need another visit and Mrs D was very grateful for my efforts and thanked me, and I made a slower ride home, getting a coffee on the way to break things up.

This Tuesday, five GoodGymers arrived at Carriers of Hope for our regular monthly visit. We were warmly greeted by the lovely Gloria. It was good to see Natalia coming again on her first visit to the Carriers of Hope !

It was a very hot day, with temperatures soaring, but we got stuck in straight away. There have been lots of generous donations recently, which is fantastic, but it has created a new challenge — finding space to store everything! Our main task was to take all the sleeping bags down from the shelves, rearrange them, and create as much space as possible. We also tidied up and organised all the crates.

I cycled 3 miles and arrived at Mrs V’s at 7pm on another lovely warm, sunny evening — not too hot and perfect for a bit of weeding. I met Mrs V and introduced myself. She said “Jim?”, to which I replied “James”. She laughed and told me that when she spoke to GoodGym on the phone she thought I was a gardener called “Good Jim”! We both had a good laugh.

Mrs V showed me where the tools were kept round the back of the house. I brought them to the front garden, which was in need of weeding. She told me to do as much as I could and that she really appreciated the help. She kindly offered me tea, coffee or water, but I had brought my own drinks. She then offered some melon — knowing she was a definitely a feeder, I accepted and said I’d have some when I’d finished. I got stuck in, digging out weeds, removing roots, and clearing around the roses. Once finished, I swept up, returned the bin, and put all the tools back. I managed to get the front piece cleared and it was looking a lot tidier.

Mrs V had prepared the melon for me, it is Piel de Sapo Spanish for “Skin of the Toad”). Mrs V told me and I was glad I had accepted the melon offer It was delicious 😋 She also offered me a cherry which were very sweet I accepted, and it was so good !

While I was eating, Mrs V shared some lovely stories about her life. She told me about her husband, a wonderful Italian man she was married to for 64 years . . She also mentioned her own work as a translator for Spanish, Italian and French. ! I was very grateful for the refreshment and the lovely conversation. A wonderful evening task all round 🙏