Diya and Kanika filled in for this week's regular watering and odd jobs at the community allotment. We filled the water butts, watered all the beds and did some weeding (🤞) in the Asparagus bed.

Welfare visit for Mrs D

4 Goodgymmers went to mow...went to mow a meadow. 4 Goodgymmers and - Ranger Tom - went to mow a meadow!!

We returned to the Braywick Nature Reserve for chapter 2 of meadow mowing!

Part 2: Honing our skills and blades Having learnt how to set up our scythes yesterday, we jumped straight in and fixed our handles and blades into the right places. Kelley was awarded a pinned blade as her skills topped the class yesterday! This blade had an extra‑sharp edge, and she earned it for mastering the basics.

We then took a lovely stroll through the nature reserve to the meadow and returned to where we had left off yesterday. Without too much instruction needed, we set about mowing another section — each of us practising and improving our mowing and honing skills.

Ranger Tom also helped finesse the setup of our scythes by sharpening our blades and adding wedges or adjusting the tang location to alter the blade angle. This prevented ploughing instead of mowing and helped us achieve a smoother movement.

Overall, we had another lovely session in the meadow and thoroughly enjoyed the time outdoors. It meant the result of the semi‑final was much easier to swallow as we were mellowed!

Next year, we’re going to aim to start learning to mow at the beginning of the season, and hopefully we’ll have a whole trained GoodGym team in the classic art.

5 GoodGymmers Went to Mow… Went to Mow a Meadow! 5 GoodGymmers — and Ranger Tom — went to mow a meadow!!

A different twist on our GoodGym mission this week: it’s a two‑parter special.

Part 1: Learning the Basics Ranger Tom kicked off the session by explaining why hand‑mowing the meadow is so beneficial. It gives a closer cut, lets wildlife safely move around, and helps wildflowers thrive because the soil isn’t compacted by heavy machinery.

We then learnt the parts of the scythe: the snath (the long handle), the tang (the part of the blade that connects to the snath), the lower and upper handles, the clamp, and the blade — which has multiple named parts of its own!

When you put your scythe together, it’s customised for each user. The snath comes in different lengths, and the handles are attached in the right spots based on your height and forearm length — your very own tronchantor stance.

The Dance of the Meadow Mower Once our scythes were built, it was time to practise the movement. Strong stance, light feet, and a smooth swinging motion: the Dance of the Meadow Mower. Then we added the scythes, practising keeping the blade on the ground and sweeping through the grass.

The final skill was honing the blade. Using a special wet stone, you push it along the blade to sharpen it — something you do regularly while mowing to keep the cut clean.

Into the Meadow We Go After practising, it was time to head into the meadow. We learnt that you mow in lines, working against the bend of the grass (otherwise you just skim the top), and you deposit a windrow as you go — the cut grass always falls to your left, away from the uncut section, forming a neat line across the meadow.

We spread out and practised our mowing and honing techniques, with Ranger Tom on hand to give tips and tweaks.

A Snath‑isfying Evening Overall, it was a brilliant evening learning a new skill, and we’re looking forward to returning tomorrow for more mowing — it’s a big meadow!

At Ray Mill Island this afternoon Sheila and 3 other volunteers focused on watering the plants that had been planted this year, as well as the ones in the nurser. Sheila also dead-headed all the plants in the window boxes, hoping for a second show of flowers

Welfare visit for Mrs D