I was meant to come earlier but delayed between previous mission and bus to Brentford due to Hanwell Carnaval etc...met the GG Crew in place and went for a bit of a walk with Maria around the festival. Cutest before 6pm , met with Sam and was given orders with other volunteers to bring down gazebos and fold tables etc. The team noticed that I know how to pack gazebos and also give hugs..see pictures !!!We smashed this and got everything done in less than 2 hours with everything back to base. The gazebos hug became a thing and everyone hug a gazebos. While going ar around, on one stage we heard the song Come together which was appropriate for bringing down all the stands etc....Sam thanked us as it was so smooth and said that the setting up and dowm was the back bone of the festival : the festival would not be smooth with all the volunteers. Happy days and we all went for a cold beer and listen to some music.

On this very summery Saturday, nine GoodGymers joined Janpal and Ash at Western Road Urban Garden in Southall for a community day. As usual, our favourite Southall task owners left the most exciting, most technical and most physical tasks for our brilliant team!

The main task of the day was to pick up where we had left off during our previous sessions at the polytunnel and finish transforming the area around it.

Before we started, we got to see what had been happening on the path we created a couple of months ago on the less visible side of the polytunnel. Ash proudly showed us a new beehive that had been installed there and told us he had already tasted honey produced by the Western Road Urban Garden bees, harvested not long ago.

Janpal also gave us his famous tour of the urban garden, showcasing the many ways it supports the local community, from the vegetable plots and raised beds used by community groups and schools to the exotic produce grown in the polytunnel, which is supplied to local food banks, where fresh fruit and vegetables are often among the hardest items to source through donations.

The tour was especially valuable as we welcomed not one, not two, but three new joiners: Keise, Barnaby and Mandeep. With gardening backgrounds ranging from years of farming and flower-growing to complete gardening beginners, they all quickly got stuck in. Alongside regulars Sevan and Steph Ducat, and the legendary walking duo Danny and Kat - who had already covered 10 kilometres before the task even began - the team got to work. Together, seven GoodGymers tackled the main task, battling through hard, dry soil to remove weeds and the old membrane before laying a layer of terram (stellar work on that, Kat, Mandeep and Keise!) and finally covering the area with woodchip, laid at speed by Sevan, Barnaby, Danny and Steph.

This left Freya and Kash to take on a very different task: digging and moving dried mud. However strange that combination of words may sound, it was needed to reinforce the base for a new water tank. As Janpal and Ash explained, they have been struggling with water pressure at the urban garden, and watering the many plants during such hot weather has become a demanding task that Janpal has had to undertake every other day. To help solve this issue, we had previously assisted with digging the hole for the foundation for new large water tanks that would be installed.

Freya and Kash spent most of the session filling the sides of the frame with soil and securing the area by pegging a membrane around the edges. Along the way, they had great fun putting a landscaping tamp into action and discovering that it's slightly larger and heavier than the ones used to make an espresso.

To get ahead of the water tanks' installation, Barney and Keise took on the satisfying task of smashing bricks and other construction debris unearthed during previous sessions into smaller pieces. Far from simply letting off steam, they were creating ballast for the concrete base that will support the new tanks. At Western Road Urban Garden, nothing goes to waste!

As always, the GoodGym team was treated to the generosity of Southall Community Alliance and enjoyed plenty of fresh fruit, along with some amazing samosas freshly baked by a local shop that Janpal had brought along.

Before leaving Western Road Urban Garden, we completed one final task: emptying a small water tank by abundantly watering the plants in the polytunnel. We then helped Ash fix the filling mechanism and secured the tank with wedges to level it properly. What a fulfilling Saturday morning it was!

We're now getting close to the final stage of installing the new water tanks, which will involve a bit of concreting and hands-on engineering - no prior experience required! The project will make a huge difference, helping Janpal and Southall Community Alliance tackle ongoing water pressure issues and reducing the need for time-consuming manual watering during the summer. To help the polytunnel produce survive and thrive through the hot months ahead, we'll be scheduling this task soon, so watch this space.

Back at Ms F for some shopping. As her local Waitrose is re opening on the 24th of June following a refurb, we have to wonder to other stores. I offered last time to go to the little Waitrose, which is further away but only a 10min walk. When I arrived Ms F said as it is hot and much further she did not mind if i did not go there. Plus she didn't need much or wanted something slightly different due to the heat. So we agreed it would be the Tesco Extra. She had discovered some products she likes at the Tesco like the Halloumi cheese, the gem lettuce(tastier than at Waitrose) and the red grapes(much better here too). I even got her usual Buxton water)much needed in this heat). She was grapeful for Goodgym coming in this heat. As it was quicker due to the fact the Tesco is closer, i also helped her unfold her hoover(Dyson style) as she could not unlock it and pack it away.

Thursday is normally Achilles Guided run for me, but as I could not make it on time after work, decided to do a mission near my flat in the evening. I went to Southall for some garden weeding. Upon arrival, said to myself you have been here before but it was not this hot as it was winter time. Ms P welcomed me and said welcome back. Back garden weeding was on the program and also the front garden if I had time to spare. Had the 2 flower beds to weed and the slabbed area(7 x 10 metre). Ms P stayed outside and was moving the bin with the bag closer to me when I was moving area - think she needed also company and a chat plus probably enjoyed the lovely shade in the back garden. Amongst the weed in the flower beds, I found some gifts left by the local cat crew. Cleared the unwanted gifts and swept the court yard before clearing the weeds in the small front garden.