This evening we kicked off February GoodGymming with a trip out to Mortlake where we helped to tidy up the leaves and weeds in the outside area. Lovely task owner Lynne had been trying to get it done but with six extra pairs of hands it was a much faster job and the green bags were soon full.

On top of this, the railway crossing that almost always breaks our stride when we head out this way was up for both the outward and return journeys, what a lucky start to the month!

Sunday morning saw a return to the Girl Guides in Mortlake for 3 Richmond GoodGymers. We have helped out there a number of times and the tasks are always interesting and varied.

On this bright but cold morning the task involved helping the leaders to sort out the contents of their store room and store cupboards, as they looked for items to sell to raise funds for their upcoming building works.

First up there were a number of trestle tables to measure up. We quickly worked out that 6 of the tables were the same type, but measured them all anyway to be sure, like good little cub scouts. Dib dib dob dob.

After the measuring was done we started to empty the small cupboards at the end of the hall, sorting through stationery, craft materials, first aid kits and other bits and bobs. We even found a very old paper shredder (featured in the task photo) which gave us plenty of amusement as we checked that it worked.

In the end we were only there for an hour before heading off to enjoy our Sunday, but we doubt it’ll be long before our help is needed again!

There were spatulas, knives, whisks, pots and pans. The Mortlake Girl Guides were sorting through their collection of cooking utensils and items they have for when they go camping. We were tasked to sort through the items and categorise them. Surplus items that are in good condition will either be donated somewhere else or other items will be recycled. There was fire starting to check the portable gas cookers and there were big meat cleavers for the occasion. Also, a big welcome to Jade, to the first GG mission.

An intent and uplifting Sunday morning mission for JP and Anita, helping Mortlake Guide’s unit leader Lynn check-out some recently donated second-hand camping kit.

With only minimal assembly instructions, progress was initially tentative but once we had worked out the shape and enormity of the task we set to work, first assembling the 7 long fibre poles and then threading them through the outer fly sheet. One by one the poles were anchored at one end, tensioned into arcs and secured in place on the opposite side. As the 3 central poles went into place the whole structure rose up, filling much of the hall.

The end result? Pitch perfect ( give or take missing pegs and the odd stain) and probably big enough to shelter the whole Guide unit.

Deconstructing the tent was a much easier task and we were impressed that such a huge tent could be folded down to fit in a single holdall.

It is strangely satisfying spending the morning tidying someone else's house, or hall in this case. We re-organised the camping equipment, sorted the kitchen utensils, and more tent pegs than a Brownie camping trip.

My personal highlight was a trip down memory lane via a stunning collection of old photo albums and guiding flags (yes I know I get nostalgic at funny times :-))

The guide leader's son discovered "the famous" automatic egg whisk.

Actually, more like the stripes marked the way the poles should be positioned. We were tasked to check the master of all marquees and check that the bags contained all the correct poles, brackets and covers. To Chris’ disappointment, we were unable to construct the marquee fully (it was way too big and would have involved more hands and possibly a bigger room!). We had to be satisfied in getting the roof part together and check the ground poles with the covers. Happy that there were no missing parts, we disassembled and placed items back into the bags for the marquee to be ready to be used for future summer events!