This Saturday evening, Steph Ducat, Mourad and I met on the Strand to help Gurseva dish out their food. This evening it was a delicious smelling veggie biriyani.

It was wonderful to welcome Mourad to his first Goodgym session, and chat a little before the van arrived. Then we set to work, alongside the other volunteers, to dish out the biriyani, sandwiches, snacks and drinks. The queue was long today and we were a little worried we might run out. But I don't think anyone left empty handed in the end.

Once the food was gone, we very efficiently packed up. Until next time!

Haven't seen Mr R in a while and I was back to freshen up his front garden. The reason none of us were back is that he had a spinal operation and was in recovery. He is feeling better and wanted his front garden sorted as the weeds came back. I noticed that the strimmer was still in the entrance and when I asked if it was working, Mr R replied do you want to use it and can you check. I did and the battery still had some juice. I took the usual tools on top of the strimmer in order to dig roots etc

When I finished and buzzed Mr R, he was astonished what I did and just repeated a few times "What have you done?" - he was surprised that I did the whole garden on my own in one go. The Strimmer effect!!!He now will have the strimmer fully charged for us as seen the result of using it. Until next time for the back garden.

Back at Mrs I who has been in hospital the last week for an operation, so we said we would take it easy, but at the end we realised that we achieved a lot. More sorting and loads of bags ready for collection at the end of the month. One more session to seal the deal with the bag collector. This also means Mrs I will have loads of space in the conservatory : she can already walk freely in it...was not the case a few session ago.

Finally, the GoodGym team got to experience a proper spring day at Western Road this year! Everything seemed perfect: the morning was glorious, Janpal was back - after having to miss a couple of community days - with his trademark joviality, hospitality and refreshments. Ash brought his usual engineering insights and a vision of what the urban garden could become. With his head full of improvement ideas, we could never get bored at WRUG! Today's two projects had a lot to do with levelling and enhancing surfaces: around the polytunnel and the outside toilet.

The space behind the privy needed to be paved, and although the area wouldn't be immediately visible to the visitors, the slab laying deserved Swiss precision. Due to a lack of Swiss people, two French men, Maxime and Steph Ducat, volunteered to complete that technical task: laying a membrane, a layer of sand and carefully arranged slabs: heavy, but fragile. Armed with high spirits and a spirit level, they've done a tip-top job!

Meanwhile, GoodGym's Ash, Afshin, Sevan and Kash removed the weeds from the side and back of the polytunnel with shears and hoes.

"What should we do with the green waste?"
"Give them to the Dalek" - WRUG's Ash.

The designer of the Dalek-shaped compost bin at Western Road must have been a Doctor Who fan. Now, that begs a question whether at the next session we'd be repainting the outside toilet to look like TARDIS!

After levelling the ground by the polytunnel, the team was going to lay and peg down a 1 metre-wide sheet of Terram. The challenge was that Terram didn't come in that size. GoodGym's Ash, known as "good with the saw", volunteered to saw a thick piece of Terram roll, held in place by Afshin and Sevan. It turned out to be tough work...

"It's like cutting an anaconda" - WRUG's Ash.

...and a hazardous one.

"Sevan, don't breathe in this dust. Later, you might be growing a moustache... in your lungs!" - WRUG's Ash.

While we're still waiting on the development inside Sevan's lungs, our Ash didn't saw off anyone's finger. He made an even, clean cut in the Terram, which was then pegged down on the long side of the polytunnel. While Afshin and Ash cleared the back of the polytunnel and Sevan started spreading the last layer - woodchip - over Terram, Kash went to dig out some soil to fill the uneven ground.

"This soil is a bit lumpy." - Kash.
"It's perfect. The best soil for filling is a bit lumpy. Just like the best custard, a school dinner classic." - WRUG's Ash.

We took a break to enjoy delicious samosas, tea, coffee and fruit, including those big, sweet blueberries that no one knows where Janpal gets them from.

After the refreshments, the energy levels spiked. We completed levelling, Terraming and woodchipping the back of the polytunnel - more than WRUG's Ash anticipated. What an impressive result!

Next month, we will finish the work around the polytunnel to prevent the weeds from creeping in. There will also be also weeding as all the plants - wanted or not - feel the spring in the air and start growing like crazy! Sign up now.