After a couple of months off, GoodGym Ealing returned to Care4Calais to find a huge stack of new donations to be sorted. It's like they'd been kept waiting and adding up for the next GoodGym session.

First though, all of the children's clothes had been through the wash, so they were recategorised and bagged first to clear space. Then it was onto the new donations, most of which were supposed to be women's clothes. As always, the expectation of what was in the bag and reality didn't always match, so the team needed to figure out what was what.

"This is XL, but I can't decide if it's men's or women's." - JP
"Does it have the bum design for women?" - Task Owner Tamzin

If there wasn't a clear women's or men's size on the labels, the arm lengths or the bums were a good steer on which gender the clothes were meant for. Even then, it wasn't totally clear in some cases. Cue some puzzled looks over these and also what did or didn't qualify for the winter coat category.

As well as the expected dresses, vests and cardigans, the team found:

• Men's and children's clothes, of course
• Donations in unusual sizes from a film set
• Toys, which turned into a distraction for the big kids
• An ashtray (clean, thankfully)
• Bucket hats
• Lots of items that went onto the "to wash" pile

After almost 2 hours of solid sorting, it was time to find space for the clothes. The store room was thankfully not bursting at the seams like during the last Care4Calais session, so putting away was fairly straightforward with everyone chipping in.

The next Care4Calais session is in 2 weeks and you can sign up here to help the charity, its clients and also critique other people's fashion choices.

After Halloween night, when a horde of ghouls had haunted Northfield Allotments, wreaking terror in the hearts of young and grown-ups alike, a five-person Ghostbuster crew returned the following day to solve the allotment scare problem.

First, Jo, Dora and Kash exorcised the demons of drinking by removing the caps from empty wine bottles, releasing any intoxicated ghosts and preparing the glass for recycling. They then moved on to stacking chairs, while Nima and Sevan wheeled the foldable tables away to the event shed. The two later dismantled a gazebo (or was it a marquee?) and packed it away to rest in peace in the shed until the next occasion.

The exorcists then set off with wheelbarrows on a hunt for fluffy spiders, rubber bats and fake pumpkins, all of which needed sorting before being stored in the Halloween shed alongside the plastic skeleton crew.

The final tour around the allotment involved collecting carved pumpkins. After removing the lights from them, they were ready for smashing at the communal compost bin. Dora spotted a couple of small, intact pumpkins and decided to save them from the barbaric ritual. They escaped the smashing, only to end up in a red Thai curry. Yum!

12 goodgymers assembled to help the Northfield allotments team prepare the petrifying pumpkin trail for locals. We were planning to help out for 3 hours, but after little over an hour we'd checked off all the tasks on our list to great applause. Many hands really do make fright work!

We started the morning by moving the marquee/gazebo (not table) into position and getting the tables out. A mega cleanup mission then commenced as we wiped numerous tables and chairs to get them "allotment" clean. We then got the tables and chairs into position, hung up the pumpkin decorations and popped some lights into the portoloos. A small but mighty team went on a side quest to fill any pot holes along the path with woodchip.

As we finished in record time, we headed to a local coffee shop to refuel. Some of us came back later to make the most of our complimentary entry and refreshment kindly offered by the Northfield allotments team for our efforts.

Unfortunately the Crypt kitchen at St John’s Church is still not functioning. Once again the chefs (Gayle and Nigel) used the upstairs kitchen and transported food downstairs by trolley. It’s not ideal but it means the clients get a hot meal. Chicken pasta bake (or vegetarian option) was very popular and this week there was plenty leftover for takeaways. I was on washing up duty for the first hour then switched to serving and clearing up. Both tasks kept me pretty busy but, as always, it was great to be there.

On Saturday afternoon, after a long break following a surprisingly efficient Pumpkin Trail Setup task, Nima, Michelle, Maria, Sevan and Kash reconvened at Ealing Common. There, they met Barnet GoodGymer, Cherian - a frequent guest at the Ealing tasks.

The mission was to cut overhanging branches obstructing the view from The Common road and the path inside the green space. Loppers and saws were in operation for 90 minutes, and the results were stunning! The whole stretch of trees between Grange Road and Uxbridge Road had their crowns lifted.

In arboricultural jargon, crown lifting means removing lower tree limbs to create more space underneath. This allows more light through, makes it easier for pedestrians to pass and improves visibility. As a result, the area looks more open and welcoming, feels safer and can help discourage antisocial behaviour.

Who would have thought GoodGym had so many naturally talented tree surgeons! Great work, everyone!

Halloween month and its trickle treat time but for Goodgymers its not sweets or chocolates they are interested in but the trash that they find in the borough. Scary scenes in our boroughs with the usual cans, fast food, bags of crisps and the laughing cans