A bit of a change this week, switching to the Monday crew. New set-up styles were adapted to, and the van was quickly unloaded. The foodbank volunteer team was a bit short-staffed this week, so I stayed for an additional 30 minutes to run food parcels out to clients.

It's been less than 4 weeks since Kash's solo visit to Mr M for back garden maintenance. This time she was expecting to tackle the side passage and the front garden, together with Sevan. Imagine her disappointment when she saw an explosion of lush bindweed and alkanet on the lawn she had weeded a few weeks ago! It looked worse than before her July mission for Mr M and felt like her attempts to pull or dig out the roots had been ineffective long-term.

Mr M's typical tactic when it comes to the lawn, was to simply mow it, and that's what Kash decided to do this time. She also pulled out some bindweed, especially the vines creeping on the paving, which could have been a trip hazard for Mr M, who had become increasingly unstable on his legs.

Sevan, never scared of painstakingly detailed work, disappeared behind the corner to pull out weeds alongside the path between front and back gardens. Kash joined him part-way, and together they reached the gate leading to the other side.

The front garden was easy and satisfying to tidy up, but offered quite a different experience. The backyard was filled with birdsong (quite unexpected in the centre of Shepherd's Bush), neighbour's dramatic music with intense flute parts, and the sounds of the tube trains announcing that the next station was Wood Lane. In the front garden, in contrast to that magical place behind the house, you could hear conversations of passers-by, tick-tocking of abused Lime bikes, and infernal screeches of a hoe against the paving slabs. The sounds alone could inspire a modern Hieronymus Bosch to come up with another interpretation of the Garden of Eden and the Last Judgement!

While Sevan returned to the purgatory of meticulous weeding - the side path between the heavenly and hellish gardens - Kash, who stayed in the Last Judgement garden, has been indeed judged. "Good Work!", Mr M's neighbour said. Mr M himself was also delighted with the result. Two GoodGymers were absolved from their sins against bindweed (cutting it instead of pulling) and free to go home to enjoy the rest of their Sunday.

Judging from the map, Sevan and Kash expected that their Sunday morning mission to help Mr P would be within an earshot from a prison. They were wondering what kind of gardening support Mr P needed. Would they be asked to dig a tunnel to rescue his brother who had been unfairly jailed? Would they be throwing contraband through the fence?

It turned out Mr P needed to mow the grass in his back garden and didn't even own any digging tools. He had gone full electric with his two hedge trimmers, two strimmers and one new lawn mower. Sevan opted for the battery-powered mower, that, luckily, had been charged. Kash chose the strimmer that worked - a powerful beast with a wire - and adjusted the cutting line before kicking off the engine.

The task took less than 40 minutes, including unpacking and choosing the tools, collecting old cuttings from the lawn, and sweeping the grass off paved area. The GoodGymers didn't have to do anything illegal related to the prison. Oh, and there was no rake.

The GoodGym team are becoming set-up pros now they're a few weeks in, and discussion has turned to timing themselves to see how quickly they can get everything done! Crates were stacked, tables arranged, and the van packed up again in a very respectable half hour, leaving time for a coffee and a catch-up with the food bank volunteer team.

Another busy Thursday set up for Hammersmith Food Bank. Mark and Ariane finished setting up tables and crates. Once the delivery van arrived, Mark made quick work of bringing in the new boxes of food, while Ariane chopped and bagged up loaves of bread. Having had a couple of weeks practice, everything was ready to go within half an hour, leaving time for a coffee and a natter with the food bank volunteers!

On a gloriously sunny Wednesday, a team of GoodGymmers gathered at the ever-inspiring Tiny Forest for an afternoon of green-fingered TLC.

The task? Wrestle with some seriously overgrown creeper weeds that had taken over parts of the site—and these were not your average garden variety. These giants were determined to stay rooted, but luckily, so were we.

After a solid weeding session, we turned our attention to the litter that had snuck its way into the undergrowth. In true GoodGym style, bags were filled, odd items unearthed (a half-buried shoe may have made an appearance), and by the end, the Tiny Forest looked loved once again.

With the hard graft done, we didn’t stop there. Taking full advantage of the sturdy benches and that blazing sunshine, we rounded off with a bonus fitness session—think tricep dips, step-ups, and a good stretch, all with smiles and a side of sweat.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along and gave their time and energy. The forest (and the local wildlife!) are grateful—and so are we. 🌳☀️💪