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!

With the turbulent weather throughout the day, the GoodGym players who had signed up for tonight's group run kept their poker faces until 18:45. The showdown then revealed the impossible: Four Aces... Four Aces of Spades: Chris, Sevan, Kash and Steph! What kind of card deck can do that? Only GoodGym Ealing deck.

The run through Ealing and Northfields took the three of the Aces to Elthorne Park where they encountered a rabbit. Hungry for pictures of cute animals for the run report, the Aces followed the rabbit down a rabbit hole, which sent them to Wonderland. The Aces were captured by guards resembling playing cards and taken to the court of the Queen of Hearts, the ruler of Wonderland. The Queen thought it would be entertaining to behead the newcomers but Aces gave her a better idea - they could behead the burdock growing by the footpaths in Wonderland! All they needed was... Spades!

The Queen agreed to the deal as she despised the sight of the burrs on the fur of the fluffy rabbits occupying her kingdom. The three Aces discovered that the fourth Ace was kept prisoner in Wonderland too, so they asked the Queen of Hearts to allow him to join their party. The burdock bash ensued! The Aces worked hard, not only decapitating burdock but also digging out the roots as much as they could in the rocky soil. After an hour of labour, the narrow paths of Wonderland have been freed of burdock.

Unfortunately, the Queen of Hearts didn't keep her promise and ordered the execution of the Aces again - not because she was not happy with their job (that was excellent!) - she just thought it would be fun. The Aces dropped their spades and ran for their lives. They caught sight of a rabbit again. The creature, grateful for the decimation of the burdock in Wonderland, led them to a rabbit hole which took the Aces back to the safety of Elthorne Park. Having escaped decapitation and the rain, the Aces of Spades jogged to the nearest chai shop for a Mad Tea Party.

Next week the Aces are heading to Acton to make bunting for the maddest community parties you can imagine! Will you join them? Sign up here!

Two of our gang, Kate and Harvey ran/walked to the task tonight, bumping into another GoodGymer, Caz, on her way for some light refreshments on a warm evening - luck her! Milly and Mike took a long way round to the entrance, after ending up the wrong side of the fence (there's a message in there!). After collecting tools from Linda at Hanwell School of Boxing, the four set about clearing and weeding. Four?! That should have been five! But where was Chris?! With tales of poorly performing maps, Chris found us at last and joined in.

We toiled and cleared, weeded and pulled up ivy, making the driveway up to the club look so much more presentable. After finishing up, a treat lay in store for us - Linda from the club put the kettle on and rustled up five mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Whilst we sipped, we learned about the history of Hanwell School og Boxing, the reason for its strange opening times, and some of the amazing achievements of the young people who learned the fine art of pugilism there. It's a fantastic community resource and it now has an impressive walkway up to the club.

Walpole Park on Tuesday nights can get surprisingly busy. Tonight, the enthusiasts of a stroll in the park after dark were startled by the sight of bikes approaching them - only to find out that the cyclists were actually runners with powerful head torches!

One group of GoodGymers ran two loops around the park while the second, smaller one, decided on a slower, single round. Everyone eventually met near the Rickyard, where Ranger Jon had left a few shovels for the volunteers. He also gave them a task in the walled garden.

The walled garden was originally an ornamental kitchen garden to the 18th century Pitzhanger Manor House, the home of architect Sir John Soane. The practice of growing food and flowers in that part of Walpole Park continues today, and the GoodGymers were about to become a part of that tradition.

A newly built raised bed was waiting to be filled with compost delivered last week in four massive bags spread around the bed. Jon carefully positioned the bags for GoodGymers to make their work the most efficient. Did they stand up to the task?

The team picked up a range of tools they thought were worth trying in a small space they had. Annabel, who just came back to running and GoodGymming, following a recovery, picked up a good, old shovel. So did Miriam and Steph. Sevan opted for the fourth, last shovel. His movements had far more impetus, so he practically had a bag for himself as no one would dare come closer to his deadly, sweeping shovel. Helene was left with a spade which she used to fill a big bucket. Chris and Kash found using smaller buckets the most effective for their bag which was further down from the bed. When the two compost bags which were closest to the bed were empty, the third bag was moved nearer to the destination. Steph and Kash attacked the furthest source of compost with shovels and a wheelbarrow.

The GoodGymers had so much fun that they were surprised to see how quickly they filled the raised bed to the required level. They packed up the three now empty bags and tools to return them to the storage at the Rickyard. Hopefully, Ranger Jon will be happy to see the compost getting comfy in its new bed tomorrow!

Our next task for Ealing Parks is next week - at Elthorne Park. Sign up now!