Home-Start Slough

26 GoodGymers have supported Home-Start Slough with 13 tasks.


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Upcoming sessions
Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 8th April 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 20th May 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 17th June 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 15th July 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 12th August 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 9th September 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm

Stoke Rd Allotment tidy up

Monday 7th October 2024 6:30pm - 8:15pm


Previous sessions
SloughGroup run
Manjit BirkDr Savi AroraKam Atwal
Sandy DhaliwalClare WhitePeter Jewell

Shear joy

Monday 16th October 2023

Written by Manjit Birk

We had a host of activities going on tonight. With walkers, runners and those driving direct to the task all by 6:15 so we could safely get the allotment plot turned over whilst we still had light.

Mehdi, Hamid and I arrived first and got all the tools out whilst the light was on our side.

Jen was our first walker with a sustainable travel plan of walking, trains and walking again.

Soon followed by Clare and Peter.

Next we had an influx of runner vs cars! with the much awaited arrival of Ricky for his 95th task! (not sure why I thought it was your 99th) Good to see you!

Dr and Kam arrived just as a little difference in opinion was taking place. Good job that Savi is a voice of reason.

Just Gimme the Light

The plot we were clearing needed digging over, shearing of the sides, re positioning the blue tarpauling and sweeping the sides to make it all look tidy. We actually managed to get it all done before the day light faded but with the extra light from our lights. Great effort from everyone.

Hot Potatoes

Sarah had kindly offered us some potatoes which the Home Start team had recently dug up. We were boiled over to get them.

Fitness Fun Mash up

As we had a mixed method of arrivals today I thought the team might like a mini PT session using dumbells, kettlebells and med balls!

With deadlifts, woodchops, halos, bent over rows and a killer lunge set! All steamed up! I think the team saute enjoyed it?

We have now finished our monthly sessions at this allotment until next year.

Next week we have an indoor task at St Mary's Church on Church St. Back to normal meet up time of 6:30pm at Upton Court Park.

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SloughGroup run
Manjit BirkAbdulaziz EssePam BangaKam AtwalDevajani SenguptaSandy DhaliwalMaya Sengupta Gledhill

Swede time tonight

Monday 18th September 2023

Written by Manjit Birk

We descended on the allotments tonight knowing that the daylight hours were fading fast and that we would have to be a bit speedy on tonight's task.

With a team of 9 helpers even an overgrown plot was no battle for us! With tools in hand, we got to work - we were all beetrooting for each other! The weeds were very high again, but given the recent wet, dry, sunny, wet weather it's no wonder...we could all loose the plot when faced with these conditions.

Hamid worked very hard tonight and beavered away at all the spickey roots, Mehdi took charge of the wheelbarrow duties, whilst Kam, Jean, Sandy, Devajani, Maya and Pam worked on their little patches until all the weeds had been removed.

By 7.30pm it was getting too dark to do much more, although the plot looked miles better than it did at the beginning.

Great job all round!

Next week we are meeting at Salt Hill Activity Centre for 6.30pm and making our way to Northampton Ave to help Parvaaz Project with their garden space.

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SloughGroup run
Abdulaziz Esse
Devajani SenguptaKam Atwal

A-LOT-MEANT TASK

Monday 14th August 2023

Written by Slough runner

Evening Goodgymers

Thank you for everyone help this evening, its amazing what we can achieve with only 1 hour, Hamid and Mehdi worked super speedy it sure was Two Fast Two Furious in Sutyee/ Jen eyes. Devajani and Maya did an amazing job in weeding the soil looked like branch new. Kam joined forces with Mehdi and Hamid to clear the whole entire section.

Jen and SutYee were at loose end just like the spring onions, they both decided best to plum-it on rather than standing around like scare crows.

Special Announcement : Congratulations Jen for passing your driving test.

See you soon

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SloughGroup run
Manjit BirkClare White
Pam BangaDevajani SenguptaPeter Jewell

Lettuce Be

Monday 17th July 2023

Written by Manjit Birk

When is a weed not a weed? When it’s a flower

It’s been a month since we were last at the Cherry Orchard Allotments on Stoke Rd and what a difference a month can make! Especially when we’ve had such temperamental weather over the past few weeks.

On arrival we went to have a look at the plot to see what we could do and straight away the 3rd bed in took our attention. The weeds were huge! But when has that ever herbed our enthusiasm?

With a 9 strong red army of volunteers tonight we knew we could tackle the thistle in no thyme at all.

Happy Appy

But it was very handy having the plant app on Jen and Peter's phones as we could clearly see the weeds which looked like weeds but what were the ones that looked like weeds yet were not?!

The app told us they were:-

  • prickly lettuce;

  • Beetroot;

  • Mustard;

  • Joseph’s coat also known as Chinese spinach

Phew! At least we now knew what was what rather than leaving it to trowel and error

I took charge of the wheelbarrow today and lucky I had a license to ‘drive’ that! (I had recently parsley the test!)…. With plenty of journeys back and forth, I was too whimpish to offload the weeds using my hands so I used two tools from the shed… but shhhh don’t tell anyone that (lettuce keep that secret)!

Within 40 odd minutes we had removed all the weeds from two beds. Good job everyone.

Next week we will be at St Paul’s church on Stoke Rd helping to tidy up their outdoor space. Our meet up point is Masaani on Shaggy Calf Lane (towards Wexham Rd).

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SloughGroup run
Manjit BirkKam AtwalPeter JewellSandy DhaliwalDevajani SenguptaMehdi

The plot thickens…

Monday 19th June 2023

Written by Manjit Birk

I’m so pleased that three of our friends from Slough Refugee Support English class decided to come along tonight after having enjoyed a volunteering session with us last Thursday.

Mehdi, Mohammad and Ehsan were ready and raring to go! They had already arrived as Jean and I walked up to our meet up point.

With Peter soon in tow, we started to walk down to the task location - The Stoke Road, Cherry Orchard Allotments. This is where our task owner Home Start help women (pre and post natal) to provide a space for connecting with nature, meeting new people , reduce isolation, enhance mental wellbeing and harvest and grow food.

Our task tonight was to turn over the soil in the last two beds and remove all the weeds.

I beg your garden?!

We love helping Home Start on this project as it’s a task where we all get to be in the same locality and talk to each other.

This is one thing that our 3 new participants wanted - to talk to other people and practice their conversational skills. So we split ourselves up and spent some time tonight talking to new people, enhancing our own moods, doing something good and just generally being happy.

We all learned new words today from Parsi to English to Bengali to Punjabi - Slough really is the multicultural center of Berkshire!

Celebrate Good Times

It was Jean's birthday a couple of weeks so she bought along some yummy cakes for us all.

Speaking of birthday's... it's nearly our 5th birthday! I'll be sending out some details soon on our celebrations!

Next week we are helping St Mary’s Church on Church St. This is a new task for us so hope to see you there.

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/st-mary-s-church-garden-space-weeding?legacy=true

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SloughGroup run
Manjit BirkAbdulaziz EsseKam AtwalPam BangaPeter JewellDevajani Sengupta

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here that I wet my plants!

Monday 22nd May 2023

Written by Manjit Birk

What is going on with the weather? It's cold! Far too cold for May. Lucky for us though the sun was out and shining in time for our meet up at 6:30pm. With Pam, Peter and I walking down from the start location and Maya, Devajani and Kam meeting us direct at the allotments there certainly was a-llot to co-ordinate! However, that's easy when you have an organised team in place.

We did have a little hiccup tonight. On arrival at the allotments, my key fob wasn't working so we couldn't get in. I thought, thistle be an interesting task! But after a few friendly shouts of 'hello' to other plot holders, one kind person let us in. Never a dill moment!

Now we were in but had to work out how to get out later as you needed the fob to let you out! Oh well, we had 45 mins to work that problem out!

With today being the first time at this task for Devajani, Peter and Maya I gave them the low down on how we came about this task and our involvement since 2019. Lovely to have Maya join us on her first task.

We do a-llot of gardening tasks and they do grow on you, but it's always great having people who actually know what they are talking about. Peter, Kam and Pam certainly give some sage advice!

When it was thyme to finish, we cleaned down the tools, took our 'after' photos', prayed that someone else would be leaving at the same thyme as us so we could actually get out (there was and we did...), we then took a nice stroll back.

Next week we are meeting on a Tuesday as it's bank holiday on Monday. It's a community mission (so meet at the task location), and we will be helping St Mary's Farnham Royal school was a garden task.

401040

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