On a summer Sunday morning, six GoodGymers joined Ben Morris from Clean Up River Brent for a very strange burial. Instead of mourning the dead, we were celebrating life. Instead of saying goodbye, we were welcoming a new beginning for the River Brent.

It wasn't a complete beginning, to be frank. The fourth GoodGym visit this year to Sixty Trees Way in Gurnell was all about planting. Ben brought the leftover hemp agrimony we hadn't finished planting last time, along with some new, lesser-known plugs. A totally new addition was a coir mat with a layer of water-loving grass growing on it.

"We are going to dig a shallow grave here," Ben announced, having chosen a fitting spot on a terraced riverbank.

But before its burial, the mat had to undergo a bit of ritual soaking. The GoodGymers gently placed it in the shallow water at the river's edge and got to work digging and turning the soil. With only one shovel, Kash became the chief gravedigger, while James - a GoodGymer and Himalayan balsam basher in one - diligently broke up the soil with a fork. Scott and Sevan loosened the soil with forks to prepare it for the smaller plugs, while Steph Ducat trimmed the dried reed stems to encourage fresh growth. Meanwhile, Ed ventured into the river to fill a bucket and water the previously planted juncus and iris.

Did I mention that it was Ed's very first GoodGym task? Curious about river conservation and balsam bashing, he showed up bright and early to experience the campaign against invasive species first-hand. Digging, planting, watering, clearing up, and untying bindweed from the reeds gave him a good taste of what Clean Up River Brent is all about. Well, apart from the famed Himalayan balsam bashing. Welcome, Ed! We hope there'll be a next time, and you'll get to find your balsam - although we've been pretty happy to see it's been kept at bay this year!

Once the coir mat's roots had absorbed enough water from the river, Steph and Ed carried it to the terrace, laid it in the shallow grave, covered the edges with soil, and then pinned it down with metal poles to stop it slipping into the river.

Post-burial, the final half-hour of the session was dedicated entirely to planting and watering. Ealing hadn't seen proper rain for almost four weeks, so the new plants were in desperate need of moisture, especially with the forecast for the coming week offering little hope.

Not many burials end with everyone hoping that what's in the grave grows as quickly as possible, but this one certainly did. Now all that's left is for the rain to play its part - or for keen volunteers with buckets and wellies to give the new plants a helping hand.

Back to Mrs A to carry on works in the back garden : more brambles to tackle and berries to collect. The back garden is opening up and berries are still being ready to collect and eaten. Mrs A son was outside and was surprised how brambles take over and how tough they are....but also amazed how GG cleared alot of space in a small time. The berries collected always as nice to eat and hopefully Mrs A will appreciate this batch. Found loads of golf balls ...see picfure and understood that both Mrs A husband played golf and her son carried one too.

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!

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.

I was back at Ms M for gardening of the front garden. Knocked several times : no answer but i could see all the windows were open and hear some of her boys chatting. Rang her, she answered and said ah ok, then her young daughter opened the door in PJ's...seems that the children were all napping late afternoon. I got the tools and the children went back to their naps. I picked up the rubbish to avoid it getting stuck in the mower, used the secateurs to cut some thick weeds, removed all the bindweed that invaded the corner of the wall/house. Then mowing a very dry front garden, but as Ms M doesn't have the grass bag on the mower it just sprayed it all on my legs and the walk way - very dusty!! I picked all i could and filled 2 bags, then sweeping time with a traditional brush(see pic)

My 2nd coach weekly visit - normally run or walk but today it was mountain biking for a change. Pedal power today