The Jurassic Park Royal alleyway had been off GoodGym radar for a while - the times when we used to come there regularly seemed like prehistory. As we made our way through the pathway, we have been astonished by what we found hidden in the bushes: the copious amounts of wrappers, bottles and cans left behind by the visitors... and dinosaurs.

It was a surreal experience to be picking up litter in the presence of such ancient creatures, even rubbery and undersized. Strangely, rather than being chased by T. rexes and other theropods, we had to watch out for single-track vehicles.

"Bike" - was the cry we heard countless times that night.

The Deliveroo and JustEat delivery people were not the only dangers lurking in the distance. We collected some pieces of trash with exceptional care - just as if they were precious dinosaur eggs. You cannot trust beer bottles filled with suspiciously coloured content - something between red ale and stout!

After less than an hour of dedicated work, the alleyway was looking clean and tidy once again. We removed two bags of rubbish and three of recycling which our friends from LAGER Can helped us report to Greener Ealing for collection so that our effort of segregating litter was not wasted.

Cleaning up Jurassic Park Royal was certainly an unforgettable task, especially because it was finished with a bowling social organised by Milly!

Next week Sevan is leading a group run to Northfields to spread The Word About The Log Cabin. Sign up now!

There was a strong showing of GoodGymers tonight to help HANGOT at one of the closest orchards to their base. The weapon of choice for the GoodGymers today would be a pair of shears, so the team grabbed their tools, then the gardener army strode out towards St Margaret's Orchard.

Sevan's empty wheelbarrow acted as a battle drum as it rode over the bumpy ground. It was meant to collect a rogue dining chair and move it to the nearest bin. Christos decided he could handle the chair by himself, so the drum kept beating all the way to their destination.

When they arrived, the army was split into those that didn't pose a health and safety risk and those who did. The GoodGymers were in the latter category, not because they were particularly clumsy. No, it was because there would be 2 reapers with scythes on the loose in the orchard, chopping down the long grass. The GoodGymers were quite attached to their ankles, so instead they were asked to work outside the orchard wall.

The GoodGymers got stuck into their task for the evening, to trim the top and sides of the boundary hedge. The important thing that everyone had to remember was not to touch the rose bushes 🌹. Mirjam, the task owner, was impressed with how quickly the hedge was cut down to size.

There was still time to pull some weeds before the end of the session and wheel the cuttings to a large and further growing compost pile. As the task wrapped up, the reapers caught up with the team. Thankfully, they appeared satisfied with the grass that they'd sliced through and weren't hungry for any GoodGym limbs.

We'll be back to help HANGOT again soon, so look out for the task listing.

The First Grassade, a campaign to recover Friars Gardens from the rule of invasive grasses, dates back to September 2023 when seven GoodGymers stood beside Friends of Friars Gardens in the Battle of Mini-Meadow. The dominion of the grass was crumbled by the manual power of shears and rakes. Nine months later, the grass army was rebuilt, sponsored by sunshine and rains. Juliet from Friends of Friars Gardens called the GoodGymers to join the Second Grassade.

The spies reported that the enemy forces besieged the garden plants, cutting them off from the supply of sun and nutrients. Galium aparine (a.k.a. sticky willy) was choking the last stand of lavender. The huge Monster Grass held its roots tightly in the dry soil of the gardens.

The relief arrived in the form of five GoodGymers: walkers Steph Ducat and Beata, and runners: Sevan, Kash and Anuj, making their way on foot to Acton from Greenford and Northolt. Steph, Kash and Sevan were coming as veterans of some serious grass-cutting missions earlier that day, with battle scars on their legs from hidden brambles and pieces of cutting lines flying off the strimmers.

"I will have dreams about grass tonight!" - Steph

Juliet welcomed everyone with a glass of cool water from a jug (no plastic bottles on her watch!) and cheese twists. The GoodGym team grabbed shears and secateurs and joined Friends of Friars Gardens in careful tactical operations to extricate lavender and other rightful occupants of Friars Gardens from the hold of grass and sticky willy.

After two hours, the balance of power in the inner circle of Friars Gardens has been restored, and the grass retreated to the compost bin. The weeds that didn't want to surrender were thrown onto a wheelbarrow and expelled from the gardens. The 120-minute episode of GoodGym's relief culminated in the removal of the Monster Grass thanks to the joint effort of two tenacious Friends of Friars Gardens and a duo of GoodGym black t-shirt special forces. Juliet made sure everyone could celebrate victory with cake, elderflower cordial and more cold water.

Six goodgymers joined at Bixley Field Allotments for an afternoon of surprises. Kash, Beata, Anuj and Steph had lunch together and walked to the allotment with one thought in mind as had a heavy lunch after a morning community mission : lets have a nap!! Penny cycled and Christos ran to the site. Always a lot and new things to be done at Bixley. The group split and started digging around the pond, digging by the compost pile to make a path, cleared rubbish near the shed. Then it was a game of hide and seek as the weather decided to send confetti from the sky except it was wet and ruins our hair :-)at least for those who have some. Heavy showers : the team had to hide in the shed and in the usual polytunnel for a short while. Once over they wen back to their occupations. The sunglasses came back out. Steph Ducat and Kash started dancing behind the shed : dancing as were being stung by the growing weed, vine and thorns from the fence they were clearing. Christos was giving the tree on the path a nice hair cut in order for Mani and Steph to walk beneath it without needing to bend down. Meantime Penny, Beata and Anuj finished the digging and clearing around the pond. At the end of the session, the confetti from the sky had stayed away and our hair was not wet and did not get frizzier.