Do you remember the times when we used to leaflet for the Reduce and Recycle Hub in Acton? Well, in September 2026, we had a chance to spread the word about its spiritual successor, organised by Action West London. On 26th September, Acton Market was going to host a sustainability-themed community day where residents could book free repairs of household electrical appliances or learn how to mend items with Ealing Repair Cafe. The event would also be an opportunity to understand what happens to what we put in the recycling bins and pick up practical tips on how to reduce waste and save money.

Five Ealing GoodGymers: Maria, Scott, Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash welcomed a GoodGym tourist from Greenwich, JC, who took the opportunity to join our group run as the work brought him to the heart of Ealing. The running team met with the others at the site of Acton Market, overlooked by St Mary's Church and Pokopia Garden - both past or present GoodGym task locations.

The gang worked on their step count, walking through the streets north of Churchfield Road. Leaflets have been dropped into the letterboxes on Derwentwater Rd, Newburgh Rd, Spencer Rd, Cumberland Rd and Maldon Rd. The six GoodGymers enjoyed a small tour exploring several Acton mural locations and saying hi to the local cats. Despite the first properly rainy day since June this year, the evening brightened with blue skies and golden sunshine cheering the team up. No GoodGymers or leaflets got soaked that night, and all the flyers ended up in letter boxes, carefully avoiding the "No junk mail" signs.

Next week we are going to do some walking again, but we'll be changing the theme and the scenery - the Tuesday group task will take us on the route of the Ealing Half Marathon to help put up signs on the lampposts ahead of this year's race. Sign up now!

Next level of litter picking - not on land but on water. Paddle litter picking for 4 Goodgymers. After a small debrief and training at Kew Bridge, they were then set off on the water guided/lead by Sophie from Active 360. Headed out on the river for a paddle around the local islands where we stopped to collect litter along the way without disturbing the local wildlife. Collected the usual rubbish but also found a plate, a sock plus a jacket hanging in a tree and a bubble wand which still worked...Bubbles were made here!!

We paddled roughly 2.5 km before going back to Kew Bridge, but it seemed much longer - what a great session. Nobody fell in the water and we were a bit muddy

Michelle returned today for a second mission for Mr G, with Kash and Sevan joining her. Michelle had told them that there was a big job to do and more hands would help her blitz through the task, making Mr and Mrs G much happier about the their garden.

True to Michelle's word, there was a lot to do. Apparently there was only supposed to be grass in the garden where there were actually all sorts of invasive plants growing. Virginia creeper was a new one on Kash and Sevan, but they'd seen snowberries and hawthorn before. Plenty of them had grown over head height and surprisingly, there were no brambles or nettles to be seen.

With a strimmer and 2 pairs of shears, it was hard to know where to start. Kash strimmed everything on the ground, Michelle attacked the boundary with the neighbour and Sevan started chopping the snowberries and huge mass of sticks in the middle of the garden that kept him busy all the way through the task. It was hard to imagine that the huge lump of growth in the middle shouldn't be there at all.

Part way through, Kash created a portal to the garden next door, so the neighbour came to say hello. He was happy to see Mr G's garden being brought under control and also asked the GoodGymers not to go too far cutting things back as he enjoyed the flowers that bloomed in summer.

After an hour and a half of chopping, strimming and bagging, Michelle, Kash and Sevan had made a big dent. The garden looked much better and it was now more manageable for Mr and Mrs G to look after themselves.

The industrious Athena of Chiswick, patron goddess of heroic endeavour, called upon the heroes of West London for two epic missions in the far reaches of Hounslow on a Sunday morning. Hermes, the cunning god of adventurous missions, answered the call and ran swiftly between Ealing and Hanworth, aided by his winged sandals. Artemis, the wild goddess of the hunt, accompanied him, having transformed herself into a deer to keep up. Together, they ran 10 km and met Athena in Hanworth, where she briefed them on their two missions.

The first adventure required the three to enter Ms L’s back garden, which was in a state resembling the Augean stables: overgrown, littered with rubble and pieces of a greenhouse, with the occasional pile of cat poo lying around. There was even the mostly decomposed carcass of a small bird, which Artemis carefully packed into a black bag, while Hermes escorted the soul of the deceased creature to the afterlife.

Hermes and Artemis ventured deep into the green yonder, cutting through brambles and vines, while Athena cleverly chopped the trimmings into smaller pieces so they could all fit into two brown wheelie bins. From time to time, Artemis would even jump into a bin to compress the cuttings and make room for more green waste. The Trojans would surely have approved.

The three Olympians soon realised that they had encroached upon the domain of another god: Dionysus. An abundance of grapevines hung from the garden wall, and among them they discovered one surviving bunch of grapes. Ms L explained that they were terribly sour and suitable only for winemaking. Athena, Artemis and Hermes therefore decided to cut back all the grapevines, preventing any ritual madness from taking place in the garden and, hopefully, stopping the mess from returning.

I visited Mrs A of Perivale on my way back home from two group sessions at Horsenden Hill. I entered the property using a key from the lockbox and said "Hello" loudly a few times. From the faint sound of commotion, I guessed Mrs A was upstairs.

The lady, in her late eighties, partially blind and with mobility issues, was worried about descending to the ground floor in her chair lift, which had broken at least three times in the recent weeks. She was also unsure which tools she had for the gardening job I was about to start and whether I would be able to accomplish anything at all on the day.

While I reassured Mrs A that she didn't have to go downstairs if she didn't feel well enough, I convinced her I'd find the tools and inspect the garden if she told me where the garage keys were. Mrs A decided to travel to the ground floor in the dreaded chair lift, which turned out to be working just fine. I easily found the keys to the garage and, inside it, I located a rake, a pair of shears and a fork. Wandering around the garden, I found some hand tools I could use for weeding.

The garden itself didn't look too bad. Someone must have been maintaining it until recently. I noticed the roses and fruit trees had been pruned, and that the brambles encroaching from the neighbouring garden weren't as long as they could be. One thing I smelled before I saw it was the fact that the garden served the local cats (and foxes) as a giant litter tray. I decided to tread carefully.

Since Mrs A couldn't see or easily access the garden, I used my previous gardening experience to assess the situation and decide on the best course of action. First, I chose to give mowing a miss. With only a few longer grass blades sticking out of the otherwise short lawn, setting up the lawnmower would have been a waste of time. I turned my gaze towards the brambles and slightly overgrown trees and cut those back.

Afterwards, fighting with the stench of the huge "litter tray", I collected rotten, fallen apples and weeded the flower beds. Having done that part, I swept fallen leaves and took out the hydrangea flowers that had already wilted. With some space still available in the green waste bin, I cut back some of the ivy opposite the garage - but that's when Mrs A decided it was time to stop.

Although she couldn't see the result of my work well, Mrs A was pleased and grateful for keeping the garden in good shape. Funnily enough, Mrs A was convinced I'd do a top job from the moment I opened two gates she found tricky in the back garden and brought in the green bin.

"You did it quicker and better than the men. Actually, I'm very happy I had a lady helping me today as I live on my own." - Mrs A.

Well, I was glad to hear that for a change, after being misjudged by beneficiaries many times when I turned up for missions without a male GoodGymer companion. Perhaps, alongside the foxes and cats, there was a dark horse in Mrs A's garden too.