A wonderful evening to be by the picture-perfect riverside in Richmond as we headed to Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts to continue work on the driveway. The driveway sees a lot of action at this very popular scout base. Over time the cars that pass over it have created holes where puddles form so it was our job to help fill them in!

This was a real all-body workout with shoveling sand mix, wheelbarrowing it around, pick axeing the compacted ground, drilling drainage holes and carrying equipment.

All this was accompanied by a 5km round trip run by the river where our red t-shirts caught the eye of many locals who shared a 'hello' or a 'thank you'. We even had three people run alongside us for a section, in sliders!

We are back at the Sea Scouts this Saturday and next Monday, https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/helping-to-lay-a-path-at-the-sea-scouts-hq-5b739871-f0b8-479d-bd34-2438ea6df5b9

Dearly beloved, there was no early morning wake-up call required for the 10am start for this task beside the Petersham Road and the grey skies and rein added to the funereal atmosphere.

Whilst passing motorists may have mistaken GoodGym to be oddly-outfitted gravediggers, the rectangular hole excavated wasn’t a gaping tomb but the foundations for a new horse trough. This is one of two new stone horse troughs planned for the borders of Petersham, a village that has plenty of equine activity including Ham Polo and the temporary home of Park Lane Stables.

Taking the bit between their teeth , Ken Sam and Anita took up picks and spades and hacked out a grave-shaped pit and, after lining it with a water permeable membrane, took a brief pause for horsing-around and irreverently playing dead.

The maw was then back filled with hard core which was tamped down and topped with a further membrane and a layer of sand to provide a solid foundation to the concrete slabs which will support the new trough. It was a bit of a nightmare trying to level and align the slabs but measuring carefully meant they were cemetrical with the Petersham Common sign and ready for final levelling.

With task accomplished, Ken and Anita saddled up to cycle away while Sam galloped away, already in training for next years London marathon.

An unexpected Canada Day celebration this evening when task owner Ken sprung out with a flag, maple syrup and waffles!

But that's getting ahead of ourselves as the evening started with a run session at Richmond Green, welcoming first timer Steve for a warm-up and then five laps around the green. Those who wanted to added in two short sprint sections and those who didn't went for a steady pace that kept everyone pretty much together.

A very short walk from the green, we met Ken at the St Mary Magdalene war memorial for some weeding around the monument and a few dodgy looks from the pigeons who have built nests at the top!

On completion, Ken went full Canada and served up the snacks, followed by a few seconds stroll to the nearest pub! A relaxed evening altogether, just the way the Canadians are! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Taking stuff down is always easier than putting it up. Especially fuelled by the last lonely sausages and drinks from the BBQ stall and cakes from the baking competition. Volunteering to finish up food - what's not to love? Luckily, although there were just 2 of us from GG, Petersham Horticultural Society stall holders and organisers got the job done quickly and we left the school ready for classes to resume, as if we'd never been. And, as with Chelsea Flower Show Saturday...the plants had to go, so many a bargain was to be had once the take down was complete. In summary: easy peasy take down, satisfaction on leaving the place looking clean and tidy, free cake, free bbq, reduced price plants, lots of fun and laughter. Diarising this one for next year?

Five fine fare GoodGymers made their way to the Russell School to help set up the Petersham Horticultural Society Summer Fair. We welcomed first timer Harry to the team at the start. It was a day of pole holding, bunting putting up, table lifting, marquee raising and general fair making by the fairest of fair makers ever seen. In no time Rosie, JP and Harry were in charge of polishing the poles for the coconut shy which was a very challenging task indeed and intrinsic to the success of the fair. Instructions of stand here and hold a pole were duly given and they complied with expert GoodGym proficiency. Joanna was then directing others into the table and chair arrangement and popping up marquees whilst others were skilfully erecting bunting everywhere. Soon the fair was laid out and the entries came with loganberries, Battenberg cakes, knitting, Cos lettuce, spuds, peas, beans, flowers and onions were some of the many entries that befell the GoodGym tables and marquees

Thanks to all that came out and helped set up for the 118th Annual Petersham Horticultural Summer Show! Next year GoodGym will need to enter a Three Pigeon Plot entry!

7 little ducks went swimming one day...that was one of the the aspirations of our mission. Unlikely to find ducks in the woods, but there were 7 of us and a smidge of perspiration to add to the aspiration. 💦The team had to think like water for this one. What would you do as a water droplet running off Richmond Hill? What route would you take?Today's task of digging the shallow catchment area will slow down the water, which would normally run full pelt across and down the common. Running water that fast takes the organic layer with it, depleting essential nutrients on the common. We learned from Ken about soil horizons (layers)...e.g. O = organic layer of leaf litter. 🪻We also had conversations about the bluebells which are just setting seeds and the huge Hornbeam casting it's shadow over our little group of pond makers. 🌳 🦆Let's hope any ducks finding their way into the wooded common appreciate our work. 🦆