Just when we thought we were out.... they pulled us back in! (Name the movie?) That's right we begin our report with a weather based update - it was cold, very cold, and we were due to be outside at Windmill Gardens but then it was pretty icy so tasks were prepared indoors. But then the weather changed and it was marginally warmer so we were back outside again! Still with me??

Anyway we had another two new runners with us this evening - Clare and Aristou (Sadaf's son) a warm welcome to GG Lambeth!! This meant we doubled the dulcet tones of Northern Irish accents, adding them to a smooth New Zealander, a Gibraltese falcon, a super Thai and new Francophone friends, our very own United Nations (plus the English regional accents of course!)

Marie Noelle and Paul agreed to meet us at Windmill Gardens and so did Liz after her open water swim & 10k earlier in the day (I'm exhausted just typing that) so 11 of us introduced ourselves, chose the nursery rhyme that best described us and set off up Brixton Hill. By the way who knew that Little Miss Muffett was doing keto all those years before it became an Insta thing?!!

Once we arrived to meet Jean and Annick our tasks were laid out 1) help sort the planting garden 2) rake and compost the fallen leaves. 4 Runners headed over with Annick to clear the planting garden and remove all the unfortunate plants that had been killed off by the extra cold recent weather - there were blocks of ice around the roots of some! The winter wheat (heritage wheat) looked to be doing well though so fingers crossed for the Beer and Bread Festival later in the year.

The rest of the group headed across the muddy grass to where enormous quantities of leaves were lying on the ground and stopping the grass from getting any exposure to light and air. To be honest we could have spent several evenings just on this part of the task as there were so many leaves to collect. With scrapers, rakes, wheelbarrows and black bags the team got to work and collected as much as possible in the time we had then deposited them over in the 1 tonne builders' sacks (full in no time) to be turned into mulch.

By time up the planting section was looking spick and span and the grassy area much lighter on fallen leaves and so it was time for a group photo before heading off back to base or off home for those lucky enough to live close by.

Thanks to everyone for a fun, chilly and muddy task, exactly what GGers are around for and Jean and Annick were grateful for our help - see you all next time!

Simon was waiting in the Clubhouse with a strong cup of coffee for Sam and he showed up just on time before Kash and Sevan from GoodGym Ealing and Folarin, first timer from Southwark arrived.

It was a pleasure to introduce them all to Thorlands Garden and Simon gave them the history as Sam gathered the tools for today's task.

We focused on weeding the beds as the tulips were coming through and needed support in the first bed. This was a task Folarin and Sam were on as Kash, Lindy, Nathan and Sevan concentrated their efforts on beds three and then two with again weeding and digging a boundary for the mulch to be set.

All this work kept us occupied for an hour and 15 minutes. Lots were done this week and Simon was really impressed with all our efforts.

What better way to start off your Saturday than with a session at Hillside?

There were 10 of us there today, with plenty of jobs to dig into. The winter sun was out, Lindy, Sarah and Joao had come prepared with their shades - cool as cucumbers, and it was a very pleasant morning. Special shout out to Alex and Sophie both for coming to their first Goodgym session (hope we didn't work you too hard!).

Tom started to dish out tasks for groups as one by one our runners trickled in. We had Sophie and Clare take a wheelbarrow to clear leaves on the courts.

Sarah, Michael, Lindsay and Alex together cleared a whole section of bramble and weeds behind the leaf (mulch) pile, which is where the plan is to create fixed compost bins. Next to it, the loose logs were collected by the rest of us - Lindy, Joao, Emily and myself. They were put in wheelbarrows and wheeled over to another site in order to keep a bug home(?) hotel(?) going. With the rent prices in London - they're getting a sweet deal with what we set them up with.

We breezed through the tasks, and as we finished we began to fill the rest of our time digging up the wild garlic bulbs that keep taking over. Good work from all! 👍