Back to Mrs A to carry on works in the back garden : more brambles to tackle and berries to collect. The back garden is opening up and berries are still being ready to collect and eaten. Mrs A son was outside and was surprised how brambles take over and how tough they are....but also amazed how GG cleared alot of space in a small time. The berries collected always as nice to eat and hopefully Mrs A will appreciate this batch. Found loads of golf balls ...see picfure and understood that both Mrs A husband played golf and her son carried one too.

On a summer Sunday morning, six GoodGymers joined Ben Morris from Clean Up River Brent for a very strange burial. Instead of mourning the dead, we were celebrating life. Instead of saying goodbye, we were welcoming a new beginning for the River Brent.

It wasn't a complete beginning, to be frank. The fourth GoodGym visit this year to Sixty Trees Way in Gurnell was all about planting. Ben brought the leftover hemp agrimony we hadn't finished planting last time, along with some new, lesser-known plugs. A totally new addition was a coir mat with a layer of water-loving grass growing on it.

"We are going to dig a shallow grave here," Ben announced, having chosen a fitting spot on a terraced riverbank.

But before its burial, the mat had to undergo a bit of ritual soaking. The GoodGymers gently placed it in the shallow water at the river's edge and got to work digging and turning the soil. With only one shovel, Kash became the chief gravedigger, while James - a GoodGymer and Himalayan balsam basher in one - diligently broke up the soil with a fork. Scott and Sevan loosened the soil with forks to prepare it for the smaller plugs, while Steph Ducat trimmed the dried reed stems to encourage fresh growth. Meanwhile, Ed ventured into the river to fill a bucket and water the previously planted juncus and iris.

Did I mention that it was Ed's very first GoodGym task? Curious about river conservation and balsam bashing, he showed up bright and early to experience the campaign against invasive species first-hand. Digging, planting, watering, clearing up, and untying bindweed from the reeds gave him a good taste of what Clean Up River Brent is all about. Well, apart from the famed Himalayan balsam bashing. Welcome, Ed! We hope there'll be a next time, and you'll get to find your balsam - although we've been pretty happy to see it's been kept at bay this year!

Once the coir mat's roots had absorbed enough water from the river, Steph and Ed carried it to the terrace, laid it in the shallow grave, covered the edges with soil, and then pinned it down with metal poles to stop it slipping into the river.

Post-burial, the final half-hour of the session was dedicated entirely to planting and watering. Ealing hadn't seen proper rain for almost four weeks, so the new plants were in desperate need of moisture, especially with the forecast for the coming week offering little hope.

Not many burials end with everyone hoping that what's in the grave grows as quickly as possible, but this one certainly did. Now all that's left is for the rain to play its part - or for keen volunteers with buckets and wellies to give the new plants a helping hand.

I was back at Ms M for gardening of the front garden. Knocked several times : no answer but i could see all the windows were open and hear some of her boys chatting. Rang her, she answered and said ah ok, then her young daughter opened the door in PJ's...seems that the children were all napping late afternoon. I got the tools and the children went back to their naps. I picked up the rubbish to avoid it getting stuck in the mower, used the secateurs to cut some thick weeds, removed all the bindweed that invaded the corner of the wall/house. Then mowing a very dry front garden, but as Ms M doesn't have the grass bag on the mower it just sprayed it all on my legs and the walk way - very dusty!! I picked all i could and filled 2 bags, then sweeping time with a traditional brush(see pic)