Five of us — Cherian and me from GoodGym, plus three of the regular Stephens House & Gardens volunteers — got stuck into a fairly substantial job at the Friday morning gardening session.

Our task was down in the Dell, where an area of around 30 square metres needed to be completely cleared of grass. We first marked out the triangular-shaped plot and then set about removing the turf.

Armed with sharp spades, shovels, rakes and a wheelbarrow, we gradually stripped the whole area back to bare soil. It was pretty physical work, so the occasional pause for a chat in the lovely sunshine was very welcome.

As often seems to happen at Stephens House, the subject of celebrities came up — helped along when one rather well-known face happened to stroll past us. He shall remain nameless, although he’s known for playing a particularly London character!

Gus supervised proceedings, briefly considering getting involved before deciding that watching the squirrels in the trees was a much better use of his time.

After about two hours, we’d cleared the whole area and left it ready for the next stage of the project.

Then it was back for the traditional and very welcome tea and cake. (happy birthday, Alan! )

Another satisfying morning helping the regular volunteers look after this wonderful community garden.

A great turnout of 12+ people for the regular Friday morning gardening session at Stephens House and Gardens.

This time I joined Heather and her team of specialist bramble-busters, trying to keep an area of the park under control. Armed with secateurs, rakes, spades and forks, we cut back the brambles and cleared the weeds.

We were working very close to one of the park’s special trees, a Ginkgo biloba. Sometimes called a “living fossil”, it comes from an ancient line of trees stretching back more than 200 million years, with fossil leaves looking remarkably like those we see today.

Having spotted Benedict Cumberbatch earlier that morning, our conversation topic was naturally close encounters with celebrities — always a good one!

After a couple of productive hours we headed back for the traditional tea and cake, this time with an extra reason to celebrate: gardener Ian’s birthday.

Another lovely morning getting outdoors, meeting people and helping to look after this special local park.

Six Goodgymmers rocked up for a third go at the overgrowth along the East End Road fence of Stephens House and Gardens. Five of us jogged from the Phoenix, and met up with Warwick, Allison and Richard, already hard at work. Theo soon rocked up ready to roll, so we got stuck in, cutting back the bushes, sweeping the brickwork and brushing the pavements.

We bagged things up and carried the full rubble sacks around to the compost pile. On the way back, there was a brief opportunity for some monkeying on the monkey bars, but then back to it, until we had finished the whole of the last part of the fence! Not to worry though, there are other fences in need of some vegetation maintenance.

Meanwhile, tonight's icebreaker asked what was the most recent work of art to have moved you to laughter or tears. From the Weight of Being exhibition at Two Temple Place earlier this year, to Laurie Lee novels and zombie drama - even a facebook video meme (yes it's art!) - we had plenty of food for discussion as we worked. Then, with three of our team living only a few minutes away, just three of us jogged back to the Phoenix to collect bags and be on our merry ways home, feeling fitter and very satisfied with our good deeds.

NB: CONGRATULATIONS SUBHAM!

I completely missed it, so adding this special note! Well done to Subham, as this was his 100th good deed! What a champ!

Three brave Goodgymmers made the run from the Phoenix to Stephens House this week: Rachel, Abdikani and me, where we met the rest of the night's sign ups, Daniel, Abdulkadir, Richard and Subham, already in action.

Andy and Richard from Stephens House got us cutting back vegetation along the fence on East End Road - a follow up to our mission last month, but with much better weather this time. Daniel was behind bars - he drew the 'short saw' and was cutting down thicker branches inside the fence. Abdulkadir and Adbikani took on sweeping and bagging duties, while Richard and Subham manned the barrow, taking away the green waste for composting. Rachel and I chopped and cut along the fence, helping tidy the bigger bits.

We managed another 50+yards of fence and this side is nearly finished. Andy says there's another couple of fences to cut along, so we'll be back again soon to help them keep things tidy while the evenings are light.

Taking a Crack at the Playground Repair

After helping to clean up the children’s playground in the morning, I offered to return in the afternoon to help Warwick repair some vandalism to the tarmac.

In the heat, we gathered the equipment and mixed the ingredients together — rather like making a very heavy cake — before filling the hole and smoothing it over. Neither of us was completely sure of the perfect technique, but hopefully we have done enough to make it safe and durable for the children when the playground reopens.

A satisfying bit of teamwork, although it would be even better if parents could help keep an eye out and prevent this sort of damage happening again.

Hot work in the playground at Stephens House and Gardens. Volunteer Friday.

Stephens House and Gardens was closed for a big event on Friday morning, which gave the volunteers full access to the playground and a great opportunity to tidy it up.

My first job was clearing fallen cypress needles from the paths, before shovelling the scattered sand back into the sandpit. Sadly, we also discovered some vandalism to the playground tarmac, which will cost the Trust money and take a lot of volunteer effort to repair.

It was a very hot morning at around 25°C, but the team worked hard and got plenty done.

You can help keep this wonderful park open by volunteering, visiting the café or hiring one of the rooms at Stephens House. Every bit of support makes a difference.