Back to Mr P as he had more plants to plant in the back garden but also some rhubarb to be replanted in a different location. First task for me was to move a iron wigwam from the front garden to the back which moved several times until Mr P was happy with new location. Then Mr P wanted to replant his rhubarb plant that was solidly stuck and anchored in a wheelbarrow. I had to move stuff around to dig a massive hole to replant the whole rhubarb plantation next to his rose plant. I relocated also the gnome and its home with the rhubarb as it was also living in the wheelbarrow. As Mr P had some plants to be put in the back garden, it was decided that 6 of them would settle in a colorful bucket under in the wigwam. While I was digging and planting, Mr P who is known for his poems started reading one to me which was based on his "Peace Garden". Once done and new plants watered, I had a new task as Mr P was not decided where to put the other small new plants. Yes I had the impression I was doing Ikea furniture as Mr P had a new wooden bird home...in pieces!!I had to put it together with no instructions, just based on a photo on the box. The birds can now come and rock in their new home.

It's not often a task finishes before it's begun, but due to an early finish to the youth gig and typically efficient work by the Hanwell Hootie volunteers and Goodgym, we were home 5 minutes before the task was meant to start!

Following a successful gig organised by the Terry Marshall Academy, featuring rising star singer-songwriter Michael Hill, Steph and I sprang into action and stacked the chairs in the hall in quick time. Then it was off to the kitchen to put the empties into the bin and tow the leftover drinks to a storage area. Before long, Sevan and Kash joined us to super charge the tidy up and we were done in no time. Everyone was happy to get home early, not least one of the volunteers who had been there since 7am!

Sunny Sunday morning and I went to Mr R, one of our regulars. He was overwhelmed that Goodgymers give up their Sunday to go and volunteer at peoples homes and he was very thankful. I was back to sort his back garden as did the front recently. He has a massive garden : 30 meters on 15 meters which the foxes appreciate. Mr or Mrs Fox was there playing when I went walked in. I started getting rid of all the weed and brambles. This time I didn't see any other animals apart from a fox, bumble bees and birds...no frogs this time. I did find the usual tennis balls from the neighbors. I did go through a lot of string on the strimmer as a lot to go through. No strings attached between the tool and the garden.

Today was also the London Marathon and a lot of people reached personal milestones. I had one for myself today as Goodgym - the mission means I have reached 1000 good deeds in just under 3 years...more to come.

Was it the whopping nine GoodGymers who brought the sun to Grove Farm on April Saturday morning? Or was it the other way around? The long-distance walkers, Danny and Kat, covered 13km to get to their monthly Ealing session. Their early morning walk was a crisp and chilly one - quite a contrast to the scorching, sunny afternoon the same day! Sevan and Kash ran their usual hilly 7.5km run, which never gets easy if you do it only once a month! Thaiza was back to one of her favourite environmental tasks, all bright and clad in GoodGym red, apart from her yellow wellies - proof that sensible GoodGymers who show up prepared with appropriate footwear exist! Shubham, Ash, and Steph, already regulars at Grove Farm, came over as well. But the most exciting cameo, perhaps, was from the former Grove Farm die hard attendee, Christos. It was great to see him back after a longer break, fitting the Saturday session into his busy work and family life. Mike and Portia, Friends of Grove Farm, completed the count of the strong April conservation day team.

Mike took the gang to the hazel patch to cut back everything that didn't look like a hazel tree before Greener Ealing gets there. While the council team was very efficient at chopping things down, we felt they could pose a threat to the hazels, unknown to them and hidden in the overgrowth. We didn't want the young trees to be in danger. We were The Danger… To brambles, nettles and some wonky hawthorns.

Since Mike didn't anticipate such a turnout, more tools had to be brought from the container to supply them to GoodGymers, hungry to make environmental impact. Steph wasted no time in the meantime and grabbed a bag and a litter picker to clear the rubbish next to a tree trunk some inconsiderate people evidently use as a bar stool and leave their drink cans behind.

Mike cleared paths to individual hazel trees so that we could see them and chop things around them. The trimmings were piled up around each hazel tree to protect its roots. We went deep into the wilderness to find our way to the grove of more mature hazels, which Horsenden Farm volunteers were interested in - they would use the trunks for their projects like hazel weaving, provided we created access to the copse. It took a couple of daring GoodGymers with trimming equipment and one with a rake - all wearing shorts - to cut the stinging nettles around that area (I am still feeling a funny stinging on my shins seven hours later as I write this report!). We haven't cleared the full circle surrounding the hazel grove because one of us spotted a bird's nest, so we left that section intact.

Having cleared a large patch of overgrowth and freed the surviving hazel trees, we’re delighted to report that no tools, birds, humans and, hopefully, hazels were harmed during the session. We are looking for another opportunity to help nature at Grove Farm at the May conservation day.

Arrived at Mrs I to be welcomed by some tea and cake to start. I was nicely surprised that the entrance was free of bags and seems that a first collection was done during the week. More space for us to put bags as 2nd collection arranged for beginning of May. We then started sorting and filling more bags. Loads of space in the conservatory and we started sorting the cupboards. Mrs I cant believe the amount of items she has accumulated over the years but happy that we have gone through the decluttering.

Ahead of the Hanwell Hootie main event on the 9th of May, there were 2 warm up sessions today. One was for the volunteers, to brief them ahead of the big day and the second was a Youth Stage, giving a show case to bands from the Terry Marshall Academy. Both were taking place in the Hobbayne Centre and GoodGym were on hand to set up the main hall for the 2 different events.

Cool Runnings

Essential for the Youth Stage was to have a working bar and essential for a successful bar was to have ice. There was no ice, so Iram went on a supermarket run with a Hobbayne member. They stocked up the freezer and the beer buckets, ensuring that perfectly chilled drinks would be served to the gig goers.

Centre Stage

Kash, Steph and Sevan were tasked with setting out seats for the volunteers. they had to guesstimate where the stage, bar and walkways would be. The stage was the biggest problem. One of the organisers imagined where the drummer, guitarists would be positioned and where the singer would stand centre stage. The first row of seats was positioned around that, with the team setting out the chairs in semi-circles, so that it would feel like a mini theatre.

Setting a High Bar

With the bar drinks chilling on ice, someone tall had to put the BAR sign up to attract the punters. As the tallest person on site, Steph took on the job, stretching high to place the sign out of reach of any flying beer glasses.

Voluntees Table

At the other end of the hall, Iram was helping to line up the t-shirts for volunteers. They each had names stuck to them and were grouped by size. It was a great system, except that the tables were way too small for the number of volunteers and t-shirts. That meant that Iram had to organise and shuffle the groups a lot. The GoodGymers made Iram's task a little bit easier by taking their own tees home, freeing up precious space.

Banner Manner

The final task for Kash, Steph and Sevan was to get the freshly delivered banners for the Terry Marshall Academy displayed inside and outside the hall. There were a lot of cable ties available. They still needed to work out how to use them creatively to show off the banners in the best way possible battling to get the hanging without folds or overlaps. Speaker brackets, dumbbells and railings were all called into action to make sure the signs stayed up and stayed visible, with the end result looking pretty professional and not at all put together by a bunch of (talented) amateurs.

Back In Black

After all of the fun today, GoodGym will be back after dark to tidy up again. They'll be removing all signs of the sensible volunteers and wild rock and roll that took place in the hall today.