How did a rosy start of the mission go down the toilet?

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Sevan and Kash rolled their slightly battered bodies from Ealing to West Kensington. After a 9km run, none of them had fallen apart, which was a good sign, especially for Kash, who hadn’t done that distance in one go since late June.

Mrs J had two types of gardening tasks for GoodGymers: one at high altitude and another at ground level. Sevan, who took the first kind of the job as the taller person, was unsure how he was going to reach the rose bushes - or should I say trees - to deadhead them, four metres or so above the ground. Mrs J had an answer for that: a long-reach telescopic pruner, which she couldn’t wield herself. Kash, on the other hand, started spot weeding flower beds, then moved onto quite a peculiar task of kneading forget-me-nots. According to Mrs J, the carpet of forget-me-not plants kept a little fence around the beds up and kept the neighbours’ cats away from the flower beds. It made sense to Kash that soil obscured by creeping greenery wouldn’t resemble a litter tray anymore. That was a first hint of the toilet coming later into the picture.

After the first round of deadheading roses in the sky, Sevan swapped with Kash and helped her locate more flowers to prune. They worked just like a spotter and a sniper, taking down one rose after another. Quickly, they moved into trimming a tree, whose branches ventured into the neighbour’s territory despite a very tall fence. Kash, usually averse to precision work in a garden, enjoyed long-distance pruning so much she didn’t notice when Sevan cleared all the remaining weeds she had left behind and started bagging the trimmings.

Just when almost all the green waste was packed up, Mrs J surprised the GoodGymers with a question:

Would you be able to install a toilet seat?

The query was primarily aimed at Sevan, as Mrs J seemed to associate masculinity with the loo know-how. Sevan accepted the challenge and learned about Mrs J’s reckless relative after whose visit the toilet seat lost its structural integrity. While Kash entertained herself by stroking Mrs J’s cat and viewing the photos of Mrs J’s late beloved dog, Sevan quickly swapped the old, broken seat with a new one. Mrs J was very grateful for all the help in the garden and restroom.

Thank you so much for your help today - Mrs J
You can think about us while sitting comfortably on the new seat! - Sevan

Just spent my Sunday morning volunteering at the Paddington Recreation grounds helping organize a 2K park run for 4-14 year olds. It was lovely to see the enthusiasm of so many kids running their laps and getting their finish tokens. For my part, I volunteered as a marshal, helping make sure the kids were safe and cheering them on with some well-earned high fives :) I'll definitely be joining them again next weekend and hope to see more friendly GoodGymers there!

Our small but mighty team of GoodGymers tackled the Norland Open Space once again, using twisting techniques to pull out weeds and making great progress on another section. The area is looking much tidier thanks to our efforts! 🌟

As we gardened, we had some great chats - from foraging for mushrooms and nettles to make homemade ketchup, to the possibilities and pitfalls of AI. The soil looked particularly healthy, with plenty of worms wriggling about - a great sign! 🐛

We managed to get back from our run just before the daylight disappeared, and it's a good thing - next time we'll definitely be heading indoors!

Ms E has a reputation as a sociable beneficiary. A chatterer and someone who likes to make GoodGymers a coffee. Today was no different and coffee was offered before Sevan even did any work! Sevan wanted to earn the coffee and cake, so first it was time to start the mission.

First up was trimming a small tree in the front garden that Ms E's upstairs neighbour had partially cut back, then left the branches in the flowerbed. As Sevan was chopping the upper branches, some neighbours from a few doors down started talking to him about "his garden" and asking how long he'd lived there 😳, so Sevan set them straight.

Once the front was complete, Ms E strongly suggested a coffee break, so the pair sat and spoke about Ms E's past and present. She said that she'd always had a good memory and been strong willed since she was young. She told Sevan that she'd recently surprised her doctors with the speed of her recovery after a recent operation. Ms E was determined not to have to sit down any longer than necessary, so mastered using crutches at record speed.

After coffee and cake, the last bush to trim in the back garden was an overgrown hydrangea. It was planted behind something else, so Sevan cut back the sides of both. Reducing the height was more difficult as the loppers could only reach so far without the now sharp branch ends poking Sevan in the chest and face.

Sevan cut and bagged what he could, ending up with 5 black bags of cuttings. There's still a bit more to do to in the garden, plus Ms E is now thinking ahead to planting new flowers in the spring 🌻.

Staring by greeting Ms C at 4pm sharp, I understood quickly what was at stake: this was already the second week and clearly it will not be finished at once. Getting to work quickly I cleaned the full front area before taking a look at the vast back garden. As i would not be able to clear it out i focused on the area near the avocado and rhubarb to let these plants grow better. then did a broad sweep to make the remainder look nice, until the next goodgym Mission there. Mission accomplished!

Last minute drama! 😱 Our original task got cancelled, but luckily, we had the opportunity to lend a hand at the amazing Tiny Forest instead! 🙌 Chau and I geared up for a quick run 🌟 to get there and got straight to work.

Our mission? To tackle those pesky weeds! 🌿 We pulled out a bunch, including one mysterious plant that had us scratching our heads 🤔. A quick reverse image search later, and we discovered it was a sneaky mallow plant! 😳 Who knew they could be so stubborn? 💪 Those roots were deep, and we were determined to get them out. We ended up on our bums a few times 😂, but at least we gave it our all! 💥

The soil, on the other hand, was looking fabulous 🌸! We spotted plenty of worms wiggling around, which is always a good sign 🌿. However, there was one mallow that decided to put up a fight 😤. Even after some serious stone bashing 💪, we deemed it a 2-session weed 🤯. Don't worry, we'll be back next week to finish the job! 🔥

We managed to dash back in time before the sun dipped too low ⏰. The run back was just what we needed to cool down 😎. The real takeaway from our session? We're both inspired to start growing our own herbs 🍃! Mint cocktails, anyone? 🍹