This Tuesday, five GoodGymers arrived at Carriers of Hope for our regular monthly visit. We were warmly greeted by the lovely Gloria. It was good to see Natalia coming again on her first visit to the Carriers of Hope !

It was a very hot day, with temperatures soaring, but we got stuck in straight away. There have been lots of generous donations recently, which is fantastic, but it has created a new challenge — finding space to store everything! Our main task was to take all the sleeping bags down from the shelves, rearrange them, and create as much space as possible. We also tidied up and organised all the crates.

Monday 6th July. A very warm and sunny day enjoying a lot of these days lately! I wasn't necessarily looking forward to the 5-mile each way bike ride, as I had been up till 4 watching England win against Mexico, so I wasn't feeling it. Once I get going though, I love it! I arrived at Mrs D's on time. After introducing myself and talking to Mrs D, she is receiving treatment for a heart condition, so she was glad for the help. Mrs D showed me out the back garden, which she wanted mowed and strimmed. It is a big area, so I set up the necessary tools and got started, first trimming some of the long grass back so I was able to mow it, and strim the edges. After getting it raked, cleared, and the waste put in the brown bin, I wheeled the bin round to the front of the house for collection.

I did what I could and guzzlied 2-3 litres of water during! absolutely scorching! It will need another visit and Mrs D was very grateful for my efforts and thanked me, and I made a slower ride home, getting a coffee on the way to break things up.

Another enjoyable morning at the Lillington Library Community Garden, where the little patch of green continues to flourish.

This week's tasks included giving the garden a much-needed watering to help everything thrive during the warm weather, planting more flowers into the border to add colour and biodiversity, and spreading a generous layer of mulch to help retain moisture, suppress weeds and give the beds a neat finish.

We also rolled up our sleeves for a sympathetic border extension, carefully expanding the bed we created last week to make room for even more planting while keeping it in harmony with the existing layout. With the border extended, there was plenty of space for new plants, and it was incredibly satisfying to see the garden grow a little larger with every spadeful of soil.

Week by week, this new community garden is becoming a vibrant and welcoming space, and it's wonderful to see what can be achieved through a couple of hours of teamwork.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along, great to see James & Goodgym newcomer Mlaykah who helped to dig, plant, mulch, water and chat. Every session leaves a lasting mark, and we're excited to see how the garden continues to bloom over the coming weeks.

🌸 Here's to many more Sundays of growing together! 💚

I cycled 3 miles and arrived at Mrs V’s at 7pm on another lovely warm, sunny evening — not too hot and perfect for a bit of weeding. I met Mrs V and introduced myself. She said “Jim?”, to which I replied “James”. She laughed and told me that when she spoke to GoodGym on the phone she thought I was a gardener called “Good Jim”! We both had a good laugh.

Mrs V showed me where the tools were kept round the back of the house. I brought them to the front garden, which was in need of weeding. She told me to do as much as I could and that she really appreciated the help. She kindly offered me tea, coffee or water, but I had brought my own drinks. She then offered some melon — knowing she was a definitely a feeder, I accepted and said I’d have some when I’d finished. I got stuck in, digging out weeds, removing roots, and clearing around the roses. Once finished, I swept up, returned the bin, and put all the tools back. I managed to get the front piece cleared and it was looking a lot tidier.

Mrs V had prepared the melon for me, it is Piel de Sapo Spanish for “Skin of the Toad”). Mrs V told me and I was glad I had accepted the melon offer It was delicious 😋 She also offered me a cherry which were very sweet I accepted, and it was so good !

While I was eating, Mrs V shared some lovely stories about her life. She told me about her husband, a wonderful Italian man she was married to for 64 years . . She also mentioned her own work as a translator for Spanish, Italian and French. ! I was very grateful for the refreshment and the lovely conversation. A wonderful evening task all round 🙏