As much as I’d like to say that it’s always sunny in Horsenden, today it would have been a difficult statement to defend. The early morning welcomed Ealing with showers, so we were prepared to face the Saturday task at the farm in pretty damp conditions. Lucky for us, the rain stopped, leaving behind just a grey sky and lots of mud (dangerously obscuring deposits of cow muck!). None of that deferred most of the GoodGymers who signed up for the volunteering day, including two new starters, Ash and Melissa - well done to both for showing up!

Since the regular volunteers managed to complete moving bricks and other items to make space for a farm trailer before 10 am, Elsa from Friends of Horsenden Hill had a different job for us up her sleeve: a bramble bash! She warned us about cows hanging out on the other side of the fence enclosing the paddock where we would be working. The Shetland rare breed bovines, working at the farm in the nature conservation department and grazing the meadows, were supposed to be easy-going gals, but Elsa suggested that we should give them space in case they go for a walk outside their enclosure - which they did!

Just when we moved the wheelbarrow over the narrow gate to the paddock and stopped for the task briefing, the cows appeared on the Horsendens Gruffalo Trail, approaching us cautiously. Uh oh, what now? We made the perfect impression of minding our own business, hoping that the animals would do the same. They got the hint and ventured as a pack to another pasture.

Meanwhile, Ash and Sevan missed the encounter, busy with a bonus task: moving gravel onto the edge of the road to the farm to redirect the rainwater towards the canal to prevent flooding. They joined the rest of the group later for the bramble bash and watched the cattle from a distance.

Having cleared a good section of the paddock and built a higher dead hedge on the other side of the fence, we traditionally returned to the farm’s hub to order pizzas, coffee and beer, then sat in the shelter area for the team lunch. We got to know better the new farm volunteers whom we met at the session, shared interesting things to do in Ealing, and spoke about cycle paths and trails along the green spaces in the borough. The conversation inspired some of us to go for a walk on top of Horsenden Hill and enjoy the view.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Won't be needing the gym today! Everyone was friendly and I feel we got alot done. Somehow ended up with mud inside my wellies lol. - Ash

We will be back at Horsenden next month on the first Saturday as usual - if what we do sounded like fun to you, join us for the task and team lunch with pizza. Sign up here!

Mindset is everything, they say. And we can say that too. Why else would a group of five shun their cosy, dry homes and embark on a quest of shovelling wet woodchip with wet shovels into wet wheelbarrows to spread on a wet path during a wet night? A few of us had a tough day at work, others were fed up with sitting indoors for the whole day. A dose of healthy movement in the rain with our community in mind was exactly what we needed!

A pile of woodchip dropped near the Lammas Orchard (a.k.a. The Garden of Eden, according to our task owner, Trevor) was lying out there idly for weeks, not serving as a moisture absorber on the orchard's paths nor as mulch for the fruit trees. We secured tools for ourselves and came over to challenge the status quo. Half an hour of vigorous shovelling and some wheelbarrow runs after, we had a smooth, woodchipped path leading from the gate into the forest school area. We also ran out of coarse woodchip and switched tactics. Another fifteen minutes or so later, we used the unveiled compressed, decomposing woodchip as mulch, spreading it around most of the fruit trees in the garden.

Satisfied with the results, we closed our eyes for a while and indulged ourselves with a mental trip to a tropical beach. No holiday budget required, no CO2 emissions, but the feeling was there. Magical. Mindset is everything.

Sevan and Kash's last mission of the day was a return visit to Ms L scheduled for the 15:30-17:00 slot. The two were stretching the boundaries with the sunset expected at 16:50. With grey skies and persistent drizzle throughout the day, the daylight was precious.

Kash's previous mission for Ms L was a lot about reaching the sky with Steph climbing the ladder to remove the ivy. This week's task theme, on the contrary, was descending to the underground to remove the root of all evil. Kash was hell-bent on digging out the ivy and bramble roots with a big, trenching spade to prevent growth in the spring as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Sevan transcended to the opposite side of the front garden to attack the ivy where it's been neglected during the last three sessions for Ms L. Trying different cutting tools, he removed the vines from the fence and pulled as much ivy as possible from the branches of a dense snowberry bush. As per Ms L's request, he also dealt with faded plastic flowers and threw them into the bin.

Just before 16:50, the lights in the garden started glimmering with a faint, warm glow. They looked magical as the night set in, and were a sign for Sevan and Kash to wrap up. With the invasive species removed and the bulbs kept planted in the ground, Ms L, after saying goodbye to the fake plants, will enjoy the explosion of proper flowers in the spring!

Big changes had happened in the week since Mrs J's last GoodGym mission. Some plans had moved forward, like the electrician rewiring the house and painting had started in the bedrooms. Other plans had changed and the wardrobes that Sevan emptied of clothes last week were now going to be kept, not replaced by new units. The Swedish death cleaning had also proved to be too much to take on all at once, so some belongings were being moved to storage for now.

The 4 wardrobes now being kept were the main feature of today's mission as they had to be moved into another room across the landing. First, Kash and Sevan, helped by Mrs J's relative, pushed the existing furniture out of the way in the destination room to make space. They found out that the large corner sofa was a big jigsaw puzzle with interlocking pieces, meaning they could lighten it to shift it. They also learned that everything was interconnected. Moving one thing caused a domino effect, with other items toppling over, so they had to be very careful.

Once the destination room was ready, Sevan looked at the wardrobes and thought they wouldn't fit through the doors. Each of the 3 doors was tighter than the previous one, looking like matryoshka, and all but one of the wardrobes were too wide to pass on their back and too deep to pass sideways. That was a puzzler. While Kash and Sevan moved vintage furniture downstairs for donation and clothes upstairs to lighten the wardrobes, Mr J removed the tops of the wardrobes, making them much less deep and they also became much more floppy.

Kash and Sevan helped Mr J and his relative move some of the wardrobes on a trolley, guiding them through the narrow doors. They also moved wardrobes themselves. Those with clothes rails more or less held their shape. The one that didn't have a rail started to bow and disintegrate, taking a lot of care for Mr J to get it safely to its temporary new home.

With the wardrobes moved, it was time for some quick refreshments and to catch up on the next steps of Mrs J's treatment before Kash and Sevan ran off to their next mission.

"I need coffee because my body doesn't make it" - Mr J

Have you ever wondered what happens to the dead Christmas trees Ealing Council collects each January after the festive season's end? They are being sent to a cemetery. Literally.

Just as a year ago, the 2025 trees got minced into woodchip and dropped at the South Ealing Cemetery. We were going to use it to cover the side paths and disguise the sins of the last year: suspicious walkways. A year ago, the woodchip the cemetery received was rough and contained large, sharp pieces of timber, not really classifying as woodchip on which you could walk safely and comfortably. This year, having learnt lessons from 2025, the Council provided fine woodchip, mostly made of fragrant conifer needles. What a treat to shovel!

The rain might have scared off some of this morning's crew, but five GoodGymers showed up and joined Paul and two other volunteers from Ealing Parks Foundation for a 2-hour workout.

Sevan, Steph and Kash knew the drill: shovel the woodchip into a wheelbarrow, transport, tip on a path, and rake, rinse and repeat. Devi joined the shovel & wheelbarrow team with enthusiasm and grit. Despite the cemetery task being only her second session and the weather being a far cry from what we call a glorious day, Devi has proven to be a tenacious GoodGymer, enjoying an intense, non-stop activity outdoors. Great to see such a spirit!

Meanwhile, James found raking the paths thoroughly satisfying - so satisfying that he levelled every single barrow of woodchip dropped on all three paths we managed to do in the two hours allocated. Being a perfectionist and having a special connection to the green space must have helped. Great work, James!

Paul was both impressed and delighted by the number of paths woodchipped, and particularly happy to see a pathway to the Mausoleum being covered, as it was on the route of the cemetery's guided walk.

According to our data scientist Steph, each of the GoodGymers transporting the woodchip covered roughly 5km of walking with a wheelbarrow. That's not only plenty of the daily steps walked by midday, but also a fantastic impact on the calm, historic green space of South Ealing for everyone to enjoy.