After a recent visit by Michelle, Ms L's garden still needed a lot of work. She had a big list of improvements still to make in her front garden, with removing some long grasses at the top of her list. Looking around, there was a lot of ivy too, which Sevan asked about. Although Ms L hadn't mentioned it, it turned out that she had strong, scary feelings about the ivy.

"Have you ever seen that film, Day of the Triffids?"
"The ivy is coming in through the windows and I feel like it's out to get me!" - Ms L

Well, the triffids had a date with GoodGym today. Sevan and Kash needed to clear the ivy to free Ms L of her post-apocalyptic vibes. The ivy was growing up both sides of the windows at the front, covering parts of them and creeping in through the vents. One side of the garden had a wall covered in ivy too.

Kash started clearing a path through the front garden and chopping the tall grasses that were top of Ms L's list, while Sevan started moving planters and other obstacles to get to the base of the ivy plants. The plan wasn't to remove the ivy today, only to cut the base of the vines to kill off everything above.

Sevan lopped away at the bottom of the ivy next to the front door, trying and failing to dodge a rose bush which he kept getting caught on. He discovered a thick ivy root/branch running under the render that he couldn't reach. Kash generated a huge amount of cuttings that were packed into some giant garden waste bags. Big enough to hold both Kash and Sevan inside.

When the centre of the garden was cleared, Sevan made it to the far side to find and chop the 1 really thick ivy vine that was terrorising that side of the house. Again moving obstacles and pink flamingos was key. Kash tackled the wall shared with the neighbour, doing a superb job of eliminating the ivy there. Importantly, the vines creeping in through the windows and vents were removed too.

The enormous garden waste bag was filled and a second started, leaving Ms L very grateful with the improvement. She'll rest easy knowing that the killer plant had itself been killed (for the moment anyway).

For half of the eight GoodGymers, who visited Western Road on a chilly Saturday morning, the day started with parkrun. The nearby Southall Park event celebrated its 200th occasion and 4th birthday. Sevan and Steph Ducat couldn't miss the opportunity and ran to volunteer at the parkrun, while Richard, one of the GoodGym new joiners, ran the course. Chris also decided to begin the morning with a parkrun, but his local Gunnersbury one, from where he cycled to Southall. Iram also came on her bike, and Kash ran from Ealing along the canal.

There has already been plenty of activity just to reach Western Road, and the 3-hour session ahead would involve even more exercise. Fortunately, Janpal from Southall Community Alliance, the organiser of the community day at the urban garden, came prepared with a fruit bowl, tea, coffee, pastries and samosas to keep the energy levels high!

The January session meant preparations for the next season's food growing, and our team focused on the central veg bed in the polytunnel. First, we removed last year's stakes and remaining chili plants, and then topped the beds with a super-nutritious mix of three layers:

1. Rich magic soil donated by the police
2. Potent manure, marinated for a year
3. Good, old woodchip

While the rest of the team got busy carrying and tipping bags with soil, Iram and Sophie were picking chili peppers from the bush to save their seeds for growing next season's crops. Despite the temperature in the polytunnel being 5 degrees (so noticeably warmer than outside), chili-picking was brutal for the fingers with no gloves on. Sophie later wholeheartedly welcomed the manure-shovelling as a more dynamic alternative, where she could keep moving and stay warm.

Winter or not, the day brought to the Western Road Urban Garden not only the core crew: Janpal, Paul and Ash, along with the eight GoodGymers, but also a group of volunteers from Let's Go Southall and Mr Bhasin from neighbouring Manor Way Allotments. What a turnout! With such a strong team, we finished not one, but all three veg beds - and all the samosas - in no time! It was great to see guests from GoodGym Hounslow, Chris and Maxime, and welcome Richard and Sophie to our Ealing team.

Ash has shared the plans for the first quarter of the year - one of them involves an exciting shed building project! Meanwhile, our February session will feature clearing the space for the shed and for replanting part of the native hedge. Join us next month to get involved in the bold plans at WRUG. We've been working with them from the start for two years now, and know that visiting the garden regularly is the best way to see the astonishing transformations between the seasons!

Ms F greatly appreciated having a GoodGymer visiting her this week, as a few weeks ago she had to do the shopping on her own, without volunteers available, and struggled to breathe carrying groceries home on her own.

She took the opportunity today to stock up on bottles of Buxton water, which I never mind getting for her - carrying them to the 5th floor definitely kept me warm, and I loved the workout!

I was successful in obtaining most of the products, except for the baby sugar snaps and Cornish Yarg. The cheese counter had just closed, but a nice lady from the fish counter checked for me to see if there were any cut pieces available. Sadly, there was no yarg whatsoever! When asked if I wanted any alternative cheese, I mentioned I wasn't shopping for myself, and the lady guessed who I was shopping for! Of course, Ms F must be famous in Waitrose - even when she doesn't often go there in person!

I had good news for Ms Famous, nonetheless, as I managed to secure the breaded haddock, which is often sold out when I shop for her in the evenings after work. Together with discounted tuna chunks and poached salmon, I brought material for a real fish feast!

Before I left Ms F's flat, our Waitrose celebrity shared news about her new singing projects. I was excited for her, impressed by how she embraces creativity and continuous learning, no matter the age!

The new year often means new faces at GoodGym group sessions - it was no different at the first group run of 2026, as we welcomed Conor. He found out about our community from a friend who was once a regular GoodGymer and is now warmly remembered. What a fantastic thing to recommend to someone new to a city, or even a country!

Conor was enthusiastic about the running part, yet our group, after a warm-up, squeezed in only a very short and a bit fragmented jog. Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash were extra careful as the temperatures dropped to around zero, and the pavements became icy and slippery. The quartet spent some time running between the Walpole Park gates, each of which was already closed. Oh no! Eventually, the running team, having met cyclist Andy and walker James along the way, headed to the emergency exit (or, shall I say, the emergency entrance?). It pays off to know your parks after all!

Despite the slipperiness and slippage, we collected a strong team - everyone who signed up for tonight showed up and was ready for some woodchip action! And we needed all hands on deck as we were going to tackle the path between Rickyard and the frog statue, which became totally bare since our woodchipping effort two years ago.

With wheelbarrows, shovels, forks, a rake and soundtrack (early 2000s hits played by a group of girls hanging out behind Rickyard), we accepted the challenge to refresh the path and make it enjoyable to walk on. Unlike our previous session to improve that path, we had to travel quite far to the woodchip source this time - and we were after the freshest of woodchips!

It was probably the first time this season we've had a noticeable snowfall in Ealing - but not enough to make snow angels. We've been considering indulging in the woodchip angels instead - especially as rolling in freshly dug woodchips could actually warm us up. Despite dropping temperatures, the air felt fairly mild, though.

Thanks to the whole team's determination, we've completed the path in just over an hour - and it was a quality one, with a thick layer of woodchip. Great work, everyone!

If you've missed the Walpole Park session, worry not! Next week we're back with more woodchip, more running and more park variety. We will be visiting Blondin Park for a practical workout for the local green space and a dose of hot chocolate at the end. Sign up now!