After a brief warm-up at the heart of bustling Ealing Broadway, five GoodGymers set off for a sunny run to Acton. Among them: a guest from Barnet, Jacqui, who came to celebrate Steph's 1004th good deed with the Ealing team! We couldn't keep up with Steph's tasking pace, and hadn't managed to update the celebratory red-and-gold cape, so our Frenchman had to fly to Acton with merely a "1000" on his back!

The mighty cape turned out to have a mind of its own, and - maybe aware of incompatibility with the extra 4 good deeds - tried to fly away before the runners reached Ealing Common. Luckily, Sevan backmarked the group, while Conor and Kash obliviously pressed ahead, so no capes have been left behind.

The running team stopped opposite Acton Park (known to GoodGymers mostly as a junior parkrun location) to meet cyclist Maria and runner Harvey. The mission brief was simple: post flyers through houses' and flats' letter boxes to promote Movement on the Mount - a programme supporting women facing challenges accessing exercise, for example, women with low confidence, caring responsibilities, limited income, or from diverse cultural backgrounds. The execution of the task was less straightforward.

The seven leafleteers entered the so-called Acton's Bermuda Triangle: a treacherous area around Birkbeck Grove, Mansell Road and Beardsley Way, where GoodGymers had been lost in the past during flyering tasks, especially after splitting and venturing to a nearby estate. Having covered that part of Acton multiple times since then, our team learned how to navigate those streets - but this time it led to overconfidence as we ventured into forbidden postcodes!

"W4... Hmm, isn't this Chiswick?"
"The leaflet says the eligible attendees are women living in W3."
"Uh-oh!"

Feeling like outlaws, we scrambled to get out of the Hounslow Borough, trespassing on Southfield Recreation Ground - also mostly within W4. It was a nice extra run, though! The route took us back to W3, but we landed in a primarily industrial area and had to wander around looking for residential streets. Eventually, we finished off the leaflets and emerged back on the main road in Acton.

A short run via Uxbridge Road took us to ActOne Cinema - not for the movies, but for a pit stop at their lovely, quiet cafe to celebrate Steph's milestone. Having refilled ourselves with light refreshments (and a box of popcorn on the house), we ran back to Ealing Broadway.

Next week's Tuesday session is at Cultivate London's plant nursery at Popesfield Allotments to continue tidying up the space - sign up here to join us!

I have a confession: when I ran to Hanwell for the litter pick around St Mellitus Church and the local bus stop, I had a crisis of faith in the impact of my solo task. By the looks of it, the area didn't seem as untidy as it used to be during our winter group runs there. I started picking really, really small stuff: mostly plastic wrappers from cigarette packs and a few from chocolate bars. Not even a can, not a bottle. What was I doing there? Inhaling cigarette smoke from the bus stop, listening to people shouting at the nearby petrol station. People and buses came and went. And I kept picking. I cleared the drain grate blocked by layers of plastic. Then I found a bottle of Red Stripe or something similar. And then a car mat. And then...

Sorry, is this GoodGym?

Then I found Santiago, who joined me for his first session! Or rather, he found me. I followed his zest in the pursuit of true GoodGymming... and litter! Being so close to a church, it seemed fitting to adopt the Biblical seek and ye shall find approach. We scoured for rubbish around the fence in front of the church, and then decided to look for a way to enter the church yard - and we've found an unlocked side gate!

On the other side of the fence, in the shade of the church, things looked more magnificent and messy at the same time. Chatting away about life in London, religion and the weirdest findings from our runs or litter picks, we started discovering beer cans, single-use vapes and drinking glasses. It was definitely worthwhile to hang out a bit longer at the litter pick and scan the church yard for trash - we've collected a full bag of litter that had been hiding from less watchful eyes.

Well done for showing up, Santiago, and welcome to GoodGym!

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.