Two Ealing GoodGymers, Sevan and Kash, were crossing borders again this Saturday afternoon, supporting GoodGym Hounslow for the second weekend in a row. After proving their worth by cutting trees with a bread knife, the duo felt unstoppable and ran 5km further west to test their skills against Ms H's patio.

Ms H's sister, Ms K, welcomed the two and offered them ice-cold water. What a relief after a run in the blazing sun! Ms K was the carer of her two sisters, both of whom were in poor health. Ms K's age and caring responsibilities left her without energy or time to tackle the back and front gardens of Ms H's house. That's why we have GoodGymers in this world!

The patio in the back garden was the priority, so Sevan and Kash took the challenge to clear all of the weeds in sight and sweep the mess into waste bags. Most of the weeds were easily pulled from between the slabs, except thistles and dandelions that needed a little bit of convincing to let go - a pair of shears was the best argument! The GoodGymers uncovered a colony of bindweed at the far end and dealt with it with utmost delight.

Ninety minutes was enough to finish the transformation of the back garden. The spectacular result surprised even Sevan and Kash themselves! Ms K then introduced the GoodGymers to her sisters, Ms H and Ms M. All three were very grateful for help and hoped to see the GoodGym team again (maybe to help with the front garden?).

Isleworth was the location of K&S Gardeners' first mission of the day. On arrival, it looked fairly simple as the grass in the small front garden needed mowing. K's sharp eyes identified some more jobs that needed attention, spotting some young trees growing on the boundary between the street and garden.

While K took control of the lawnmower - with upside down controls - and started the main task, S was ready to go to cut the trees and asked for some tools to use. While he waited for some secateurs or loppers to appear, Miss R's granddaughter appeared at the door and took an interest in the strangers, offering them her Fruit Shoot.

When Miss R's daughter came back with tools and black bags, she didn't bring loppers, nor a pair of secateurs. Instead, she handed S a bread knife. She explained it by saying that the granddaughter was getting too curious about the chopping tools, so the bread knife was safer all round 🤷‍♂️. The granddaughter asked why the strangers were allowed to use the knife and she wasn't and was told it was because "aunty and uncle" were older than her youthful 21 months 😂.

GoodGym breeds resourcefulness and and this was another one of those occasions. The GoodGymers had never use a bread knife to cut, well, anything as part of a mission. After finding the right technique, the knife was actually pretty good at cutting through the little saplings, struggling with anything more heavy duty. It also did a great job of slicing through the wall of tall grass growing around the wire fence and at edging the lawn.

With 2 very different tools, the pair made a big impact. Six trees were discovered and chopped, plus the grass was neatly trimmed, meaning that Miss R didn't need to worry about her front garden for a while.

Lovely to see Mr K again in my first visit to him for a while. He congratulated me on my team’s promotion to the Premier League and we had a good chat about football and cricket.

Was pleased to get all of his requested items from the supermarket although not always in the optimum size…so while he’s unlikely to run out of coffee or washing tablets in the near future, hopefully the cheddar supply is enough to last him the week.

Last night’s GoodGym session took us to lend a hand at Cultivate London, a charity doing vital work transforming unused urban land into thriving green spaces and training grounds for young people pursuing careers in horticulture and landscaping.

Cultivate London has recently had to relocate to a new site, and our job was to help them get settled in. That meant one thing - some serious heavy lifting! Our Tasks Included:

• Hauling office furniture up flights of stairs into a temporary cabin
• Shifting large furniture pieces into a huge shipping container
• Transporting heavy equipment
• Carefully moving plants and growing materials to their new homes

Given the stairs we had to go up and done countless times and all the lifting, it was a proper full-body workout!

We made a huge dent in what would have taken days for a small team to complete – and Cultivate London were really appreciative. Your energy and effort made a real difference!

A sunday morning spent in a slightly less high energy environment than the previous day's mission marshalling a 10km walk as Michelle and I planted blooms donated by the Chelsea Flower Show. A spot of mindful gardening and plenty of chatting made for a lovely restorative mission at Harvard Hill!

Despite the grey skies and looming threat of rain, nothing could bring down the energy in Hammersmith on Saturday morning. GoodGym was proud to provide volunteer marshals for the West London Queer Project’s annual 10km walk, raising funds and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease, and bringing together communities together in solidarity, colour, and kindness.

As rainbow flags fluttered and everybody got ready for the off, we gathered for a quick briefing. We were assigned our marshalling points and quickly dispersed to get into position before the walkers set off. Our job: to cheer, guide, encourage, and ensure that every walker stayed on course and felt supported along the way.

The route was bursting with positivity—smiles, music, flags and a parade of brilliantly behaved dogs that added even more joy to the day. Rain or shine, the walkers powered on, and we were proud to be part of a movement that radiated acceptance, resilience, protest and celebration.

Once the final walkers had crossed the finish line, we regrouped and were each handed a well-earned medal. From there, it was off to a local pub, where the celebrations continued. We marked not only the amazing fundraising total but also a beautiful milestone: GoodGymers Johnny and Holly’s anniversary. The couple met at the inaugural walk three years ago, and they were rewarded with a shout out and a bottle of prosecco from Beary Poppins.

The entertainment carried on into the afternoon, with incredible drag queen performances, sing-alongs, and plenty of dancing. This mission was a reminder of why community events matter. They bring people together, raise awareness, and make space for everyone to be seen and celebrated. GoodGym was honoured to play a part.