During my semi-regular weekly shop for Ms F, the Wednesday evening at Waitrose had just the right amout of drama: enough to produce an extra paragraph in this report, but not severe enough to turn Ms F's shopping list upside down.

Shortages of beans and peas, shortages of staff in the fish and cheese counters and a breakdown in card payment system at all the tills - all happened at once. While the latter event made the otherwise quiet cash machine the most popular kid on the block, it had no impact on the mission. Missing round beans were swapped for tenderstem broccoli, and unattainable Cornish yarg for grated cheddar cheese. There was no immediate resolution for the gone breaded haddock problem, but Ms F claimed she'd be ok for food this week.

Ms F and I exchanged our plans for the upcoming trips to change the scenery and our views on open communication and assertiveness in close elationships and beyond. It was nice to see the lady well and in good spirits today.

Since GoodGymers totally obliterated the woodchip pile next to the Ealing Transition Orchard in February, Lammas Enclosure hasn't seen a new mulch delivery until said GoodGymers put themselves forward for a special mulching task. Having practised woodchopping tree saplings in Walpole Park during winter, they were ready to spread a decent layer of chips in the hidden part of the Transition Garden.

The team of five: Harvey, Kaja, Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash found and opened a secret gate to the newly planted area - something like the wardrobe leading to Narnia - just with a fox in place of the lion.

It was the first session for Kaja, who astonished everyone with how prepared she was. Not only did she bring gardening gloves, but, noticing a few brambles obstructing the way, she quickly pulled her own pair of cutters and snipped the thorny stems. Impressive! Welcome to GoodGym, Kaja.

The fresh woodchip pile delivered for the mulching task, when disturbed with shovels, released an abundance of steam and a cherry liquor aroma. If you asked Steph, though, he'd tell you the scent was more like black forest cake.

Regardless of how good (or how bad, according to those who didn't enjoy the booze-like fermented notes) the woodchip smelled, by the end of the session, the heap disappeared. Once again, GoodGym destroyed the whole mulch pile in one go, and laid a good woodchip cover in the whole area of planted whips. Fantastic work, everyone!

Next week, we are staying near Ealing Broadway again, and - after an optional hill running session - we are litter picking at Haven Green, as part of LAGER Can's Great British Spring Clean. Steph, who is leading the session, would welcome a few more hands to cover the area. Sign up and make it happen!

Today a team of five GoodGym volunteers helped out at a clothing shop by preparing winter clothes for storage. We worked together to sort and pack the winter garments carefully into large boxes so they would be ready for storage. Along the way we also collected wooden and plastic hangers and packed them into boxes, helping to clear and organise the shop floor. It was a great team effort, with everyone pitching in to lift, sort, and pack. By the end of the session the space looked much tidier and more organised, and it was great to see how much we achieved together. Another productive mission completed by the GoodGym team! 💪