On a warm and sunny day, I cycled approximately 4 miles to Mrs J’s residence and arrived at 11:00 am. I introduced myself, and Mrs J kindly showed me where the tools were stored. I then began work straight away. The garden was fairly overgrown, with weeds sprouting through the cracks in the crazy paving. I spent the session clearing these areas. Although the weather was beautiful and good progress was made, the job will require one more visit to complete it fully. Mrs J was very appreciative and thanked me for today’s efforts.

On Tuesday evening, six GoodGymers made it to Carriers of Hope for another volunteering session. We were greeted by the delightful Gloria and Andrew. First, it was all hands on deck shifting boxes of baby milk upstairs. Although it didn’t look like there was much there, the boxes seemed to never end! It was a great workout for everyone. Sharon, Georgia, Steve and I carried the boxes up the stairs, while Laura and Lucy stacked the shelves and organised the boxes. Once we’d finished, we headed downstairs and set up three tables to sort oiut different types of flour into bags, label them, and heat seal them ready to go out for donations. It got pretty messy, but we had fun chatting while we worked. Gloria and Andrew led the way brilliantly. We finished with a good tidy-up, cleaned, and mopped the floor. Great work, everyone!

On a beautiful, hot and sunny Saturday morning, I cycled over to Mr P’s and arrived at 11am. I was greeted by Mr P, who I had visited before. After a quick chat, he asked me to dig out the weeds growing between the slabs and clear the weeds from the front garden. I got straight to work and managed to complete most of the job. However, the heat was intense and after just over an hour I was absolutely cooking, so I called it a day.

"On Wednesday, I arrived at Mrs J’s to begin clearing and cutting back the overgrown weeds, bushes, and plants. The garden had become quite unruly, so I knew it wouldn’t be finished in one visit. I started by clearing the centre of the garden to make the rest of the work more accessible. One of Mrs J’s neighbours kindly popped over to check that she was okay and to confirm that I was legitimate, as she had unfortunately been overcharged for poor work in the past. It was reassuring to see neighbours looking out for one another. The work was hot and sweaty, and I made some good progress and plan to complete the job on my next visit."