On a blissfully cooler day after the recent heatwave, the number of children at Acton Juniors was down on the usual, with 53 finishers. The organisers were talking about the return of a local school next week, which as we saw last time, brought a huge influx of runners and the need for extra volunteers, so if you can help, please sign up directly with Acton Juniors on the 5th of July.

While the number of runners was down, there was a strong showing of 6 GoodGymers. Maria led by running the warm up, Kash was mopping up those at the back as the tail walker and in between, Alan and Steph were marshalling, Sevan timekeeping and Divy scanned the finishers' barcodes.

Steph had a fun time dealing with sausage dogs that were off their leash. At one point he had to funnel the runners past one dog that was blocking their path to make sure that all people and dogs safely enjoyed the park this morning and no sausage dogs were made to roll.

We have 2 sessions listed with Acton Juniors in July. If you're free on either the 12th or the 19th, please join us to help this family event run safely and to make it a fun morning for all of the children taking part.

4 Goodgymers met at Ealing Broadway Station to run and chat towards Acton park as volunteering at Acton Junior Parkrun. Slightly cooler than previous days but still hot 🔥

Some people use spray-on tan ahead of the summer. But not GoodGymers. GoodGymers don't like fake tans. They prefer the real thing - those awkward tan lines on your wrist from your watch, or around your socks - every mark earned during a task on a hot summer's day.

What makes a beautiful GoodGymer, you may ask?

GoodGymers come in all shapes, sizes, colours, genders and ages. Rather than an even, sleek fake tan, the true symbols of beauty are bramble scratches, nettle stings, a bit of mud sprayed across your legs (or maybe even your face) and the occasional thorn caught in your arm. But the most beautiful thing is the smile. The smile when you show up as your true self, with a genuine intention to do something good. And the even bigger smile after the task, when you see the impact of your efforts reflected in the smiles of the people you've helped. That's the most beautiful thing.

Sevan and Kash wanted to see the smile on Ms B's face again. They had visited her before, tackling all sorts of interesting jobs: from throwing old toilets into a skip to dismantling old wardrobes, and they may even have built some furniture along the way. Ms B was indeed delighted to see them again and recognised them immediately. Her dog, Rosie, must have remembered the GoodGymers too, greeting them at the door in the hope of earning a few cuddles.

Although the mission had only been confirmed at the last minute the previous day, giving Ms B little time to prepare, she was full of enthusiasm and eager to get started. She and her carer had already made some improvements around the garden, but there was still plenty left to do. The first priority was the patio (which consisted of two parts). Ms B wanted to clean it but needed some help setting up her new pressure washer, whose pronunciation became the subject of a debate. Sevan pronounced "Kärcher" the British way, while Kash insisted on the proper German pronunciation - as authentic as Germany's eastern neighbour could make it.

While Kash assembled the Kärcher following the instructions, Sevan sorted out the new hosepipe. Soon it was time to test whether Ms B's two latest purchases would work well together. Thankfully, they did. Although Ms B had originally said she might leave the pressure washing until later with her carer, she became so excited after a short demonstration that she grabbed the spray lance herself and started blasting the patio slabs with great enthusiasm. Occasionally, she sprayed the GoodGymers as well, which, on such a hot day, was a welcome bonus after a week of sizzling and sticky summer tasks. She also thoughtfully soaked the area where Sevan and Kash would be weeding. Without the extra water, the ground would have been rock hard, so that small act made a huge difference.

Before the pressure washing could properly begin, Sevan and Kash cleared the patio of everything that stood in the way. They moved heavy bags of rubble and soil that would eventually go into a skip, carried old dried branches to one side, and shifted pots to create a clear working area. With the patio finally prepared, they turned their attention to the lawn (without grass) in the middle. Armed with a spade and new hand trowels, they dug out dandelions and other stubborn weeds, working through the freshly watered soil, which was soft and muddy despite the scorching summer heat.

After just over 90 minutes, everything and everyone in Ms B's back garden looked more beautiful: the lawn, with fewer weeds; the patio, much tidier after its first round of pressure washing; and Sevan, Kash and Ms B, all three sprinkled with hundreds of tiny muddy freckles after Ms B's joyous slab spraying. Even Rosie got her paws into the freshly watered soil and proudly left a trail of muddy paw prints across the living room carpet - that, perhaps, was a little less beautiful.

What a beautiful summer afternoon mission it was!

Kash and Sevan were back to help Mr F in his front garden today after tackling the back last time. Weeding the all concrete, sloped front garden sounded simple. There were lots of cracks and uneven surfaces that the weeds had gotten into though and the south-east facing from garden was catching lots of sun too, draining the team's energy. There was a lot more work than Mr F and his wife expected.

Pulling the weeds was the most rewarding and most difficult way to clear the concrete. Seeing the roots rip out of the ground was satisfying, knowing that they wouldn't be able to grow back quickly. If the wouldn't pull out, then Kash and Sevan resorted to cutting or scraping, which wouldn't last as long.

As the GoodGymers were working hard in the heat, Mr F's wife brought them some cold water with elephant shaped ice cubes. After a couple of minutes, the cubes had vanished in the heat and elephants were extinct, or maybe they were actually mammoths and their ice age had come to an end. Mammoth ice cubes for a mammoth task?

After an hour, the front garden was clear, so work moved to the back. Kash twisted more weeds from around Mr F's prized rose bushes and Sevan cleared the area in front of the shed. They achieved a lot and there was plenty more work still to be done. They left Mr F really happy with the result, especially the transformation at the front, before Kash and Sevan ran off to their last mission of the day.

The last two sessions in the Grove Farm woodlands have, rather oddly, coincided with the May and June heatwaves at the end of each month. This latest conservation day seemed even hotter than the one over the May bank holiday weekend. On the positive note, the temperature had dropped to "only" around 32°C, a welcome improvement after a truly scorching midweek!

Maybe the heat was the reason behind the lower-than-usual turnout? Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash still showed up after quite demanding morning runs and, together with Mike, sought to cool down in the depths of the woods. There, upstream of the dried-up Costons Brook, the task awaited. Picking up from last month's unfinished objective, the team continued their journey into the wild green yonder, hacking through brambles, ivy and nettles, and removing fallen logs blocking the way - all while keeping a careful eye on dangerously leaning, half-rotten trees towering overhead.

Mike was hoping to get closer to the lair of Japanese knotweed, which was due to be treated by the rangers (given access to the site was provided) as a highly invasive non-native species threatening Grove Farm's ecosystem. Although the team wasn't expecting to uncover the knotweed by the end of the day's expedition, the adventurers made a few eclectic discoveries along the way. Their collection of woodland litter ranged from a shopping basket and a running shoe to a hi-fi stack system and even a wasp nest. One of the wasps took a particular dislike to Kash and made its feelings known with a sting, leaving her with a painful ankle that hindered both her walking and running for the rest of the day.

At the end of the corridor they had cut through the undergrowth, awaited "a house" - a wild camping site complete with a carpet, a table and seating. In the middle of that house, Sevan discovered another "house", and a rather bizarre one: a bird cage, which was an unusual sight in the middle of the woods, where one might expect freedom rather than confinement.

After reaching the "house", Mike suggested cutting an alternative route back, making sure both banks of Costons Brook were cleared in case the stream started flowing again with the arrival of autumn. The fallen logs and trees along the return route had to be carefully removed, one by one, until the team reached the main cleared path again.

"Grove Farm doesn't want to let you leave." - Mike.

Eventually, the nature reserve released the GoodGymers to do good elsewhere. But they promised to return in July to continue their mission, hopefully without any more heatwaves!