The increasingly chilly evenings are proving no match for the might of GoodGym Hounslow! It might mean cold fingers and toes (except for shorts and tshirt loyalist Stef!) but there's always a job to be done...

The task in question last night was at Cavendish School, a task which in fact turned out to be no less than three separate jobs. But first it was a question of a quick warm up, a swift run down to the site and then finally to crack the code of the missing tools.

We managed to gain access, which given past history was no means a given! We then made our way to a new storage area, used the complicated set of numbers and letters to make our way in only to find the cavernous space....empty of tools! (although there were some exciting scooters that everybody was itching to get their hands on).

Next stop, the tools cupboard. That too was devoid of resources. Just as we were searching through an old cardboard box and starting to wonder how we were going to get anything done, business manager Jacolyn came round the corner and to the rescue! She brandished a shiny key which unlocked the gleaming portal to The Cellar of Many Tools.

From then on it was action stations! Team One grabbed brooms, trolleys and bags and got cracking clearing the carpet of leaves that covered the carpark and grass, a job which seemed never ending but which they managed to make an enormous difference. Meanwhile Team Two were tackling the overgrown mass of nettles and thistles, and at the same time figuring out just the who the heck was gen X, millenial and alpha. There are some very satisfying before and after shots to check out which show how much they pulled up.

Over on the pavement Team Three were lopping, trimming, cutting and clearing their way through an enormous hedge. They were simultaneously deciding who in the group, if our teacher was Mr Scott Francis, would be the naughty one, the good one, the one in detention and the one in the top set! No names named here...

Finally all three jobs were completed, so we warmed up with a run back to base. There is loads coming up, including this community mission to help plant spring bulbs at Harvard Hill which is a little short on sign ups so far! If you can make it I know the local group will be really appreciative of the help.

Don't forget that our festive social is on 13th December following our last group run of the year - I hope you can make it!

I don't know about you, but I'm finding all these fallen leaves are getting to be a bit of a pain. Wet, slippy, getting our sparkling trainers all mucky. If only something could be done about it.

Enter GoodGym! Last night we ran down to Berrymede School to help Romina of Cultivate clear up masses of leaves in their huge playground. And when we say masses, there were piles of leaves as far as the eye could see.

Romina had already cleared a lot of them into helpful mounds, but there were still great drifts of them behind trees, in corners and generally making a nuisance of themselves across the whole area.

Not only are they dangerous for all the kids running about as they get wet and slippery, but they could actually be useful. Cultivate London uses the leaves that are collected and turns them into mulch, which in turn is used at their nurseries where young people are trained in horticulture. Everyone's a winner.

Before we got started we each took a guess on how many bags we would end of collecting, and with estimates ranging from 20 to 52, it was clear there was plenty of work to be done.

Each group got busy raking, collecting, shoveling and bagging and it was interesting to walk around and eavesdrop on all the different conversations that were happening at the same time. Like who was extolling the virtue of long socks whilst running cross country, who had visited every country in Europe, and who amongst us could have been in a Carry On film...

Job done, we counted up the bags and with Emily as runner up, there was one clear champ - well done Michelle with a very close guess of 52 bags! The final tally was 50 full sacks , which is pretty amazing going.

Watch out for our cameo on Sky, as on our run back we stopped by the set where something was being filmed, and even got a glimpse of some very exciting fight scenes. Last night Berrymede, tomorrow Hollywood!

We're soon going to be starting regular Thursday lunchtime drop ins at the amazing Hounslow Community Foodbox - if you can spare an hour to help make a real difference, please sign up here.

Next week we're back at Cavendish School to help with various jobs there, and we also have a community mission at Harvard Hill coming up. There's loads of GGing to be done, so get signing up!

Last night we celebrated seven brilliant years of GoodGym Hounslow in our usual style - completing a local task which would have taken the volunteers many hours, some silly fitness which saw us running about like mad people, a trip to the pub and of course, many laughs. Long may it continue!

We started off by meeting Jan of Friends of Turnham Green, to scarify and rake a huge area ready for bulb planting. Rakes in hand we formed an efficient line along the grass and took turns getting the soil ready and picking up the waste. Jan was impressed with how much ground the team covered, remarking how much time we have saved the volunteer group. Great work everybody. We even had a surprise visit from Beth, fresh off the plane from NYC with her marathon bling around her neck - amazing job Beth!

Next we moved on to fitness, and a typically chaotic game. This year we played something I like to call 'Now We Are Seven', a challenge which consisted of two teams fighting it out to see who knows more about GG Hounslow and the local area. Taking it turns to grab a clue, the idea was that every does seven reps of whatever exercise was on the paper, and answers a tricky question. These included posers such as 'how many good deeds have been completed in Hounslow so far?' (an enormous 4545), how many underground stations are there in Hounslow, and how many bulbs are there to plant at this Saturday's mission. In a nail biting final, it was Team Awesome that won by a hair, and magnanimously chose to share their prize with everybody.

A huge thank you to each and every one of you for all your efforts and enthusiasm. Even when it's wet and cold, there aren't enough tools to go around, it's dark and we don't know what we're doing and I make you do some ridiculous fitness challenge, you always have a smile on your face and bags of energy. Thanks for being a great team that really support the local community. Here's to the the next seven years of GoodGym Hounslow!