Tonight kicked off with me leading my first GoodGym run, kindly assessed by Steph Ducat - while I'm happy to say I got everyone there in one happy piece, I'm a bit ashamed by the short length of it...! Next time, I'm gonna train you harder!

We then returned to the scene of Saturday's pesto-making , continuing on the mission to rid Olden Community Garden of the pesky invasive species: Three Cornered Leek.

Digging the plants out of the rocky, steeply sloped banks of the orchard - carefully ensuring that all the bulbs are lifted from the ground - made for tricky work in the dark, but satisfying too. Once dug, another team carefully separated the leaves from the roots, so that Islington council can safely dispose of the stubborn little bulbs.

We all went home with a bag of Three Cornered Leek leaves, ready for some pesto making back at home. Perhaps we should host a taste-test next Monday?!

3 GoodGymers joined volunteers from Olden Community Garden yesterday in their mission to clear the orchard of a pesky invasive species - the dreaded (but very tasty) Three Cornered Leek.

Olden Community Garden is a 2 acre haven nested by the railtracks next to the Emirates Stadium.

The ground around their sunny orchard is covered in this invasive plant, spreading thickly across the ground like, well, a weed, smothering any other life that tries to grow there.

So on Saturday a group - including none other than GoodGym fan and actor Rob Delaney - gathered to convert this pesky weed into tasty pesto. It was a full team effort, with a production line consisting of:

The Weeders: digging up the Three Cornered Leeks with forks and trowels, separating their bulbs into one bucket, their leaves and flowers into another. The Washers: washing the leaves in buckets of icy cold water, separating any stray twigs, roots, or other leaves. The Dryers: drying the leaves out in a salad spinner, and doing one final sift for stray or dead leaves. The Sous-Chefs: blending up the leaves with parmesan, walnuts, olive oil, and seasoning to make a delicious pesto. The Chefs: cooking up hearty bowls of gnocci and slices of chunky Dusty Knuckle bread to be served with our fresh-from-field pesto.

No GoodGymer went hungry. We all got to take home a jar of pesto at the end of the day, and a bag of leaves to make some more. The Three Cornered Leek bulbs will be collected by Islington Council as it's an offence to knowingly let them out into the wild.

The community spirit was bubbling over, with all generations mucking in together. But despite a huge team effort, there is still so much more ground to clear. So we'll be returning for a group run on Monday evening - do join us!

Somehow Mr R's list of 24 items (ok, that total does include 8 bananas...) came to £29.50 at Aldi today...even now I can't believe he got so much for his money (and that we came in under budget) - the two bags full also gave my arms and shoulders a decent work out on the way back in today's welcome lunchtime sunshine...

A really solid turnout for a Monday evening as 10! of us went gardening in Stroud Green. Quite a few ran from the stadium which is particularly impressive. Eslam was on good form as he talked through all the recent activity in the garden. It was a case of divide and conquer here as half the group shoveled compost into a wheelbarrow while the others offloaded it into a new heap. We got the task done with time to spare which is testament to the turnout. A good mix of old and new.

"Everything's growing so fast with the rain." - Mrs C

...and it was only March. The task that Kash and Sevan had been asked to help with wasn't a burst of spring growth. It had been years in the making. A tree planted before Mr and Mrs C moved into their house was now crowding over their patio and most importantly for Mrs C, getting in the way of their washing line. Mr C used to take care of it. For the past 3 years he hadn't been able to, so a big slice needed to be taken off one side.

"Don't take too much off. A bit less [than the first cut]." - Mrs C
*"We'll make sure we don't kill the tree." - Sevan

Armed with a pair of baby loppers, shears and 2 saws, the branches were cut well back to the point of having no leaves left on the problematic side of the tree. It would still have plenty of strength and life though. As well as the baby loppers, there were mummy, daddy and baby ladders too which were all used. The biggest ladder almost allowed Sevan to reach the top of the tree. On a gusty day, he needed to be careful to keep his balance.

With the cutting and clean up done in an hour (include Kash taking a broom to the tree), Mrs C and Kash saw the opportunity to tidy up more bushes in the garden.

"Can you take a little bit off this?"
"A little bit off this one too...?" - Mrs C

Kash was only too happy to keep chopping.

When Kash and Sevan finished, Mr and Mrs C would not only be able to hang their washing up. They'd also have a lot more sun on their patio, which is perfect for the coming spring, as long as that rain holds off.

At the destination of a 20-minute jog to a mission in Islington stood an imposing mansion with an artistic name, an impressive lobby, and bright, sunlit corridors. Sevan and Kash learnt from their beneficiary, Ms M, who lived there, that a beautiful façade does not always mean a well-maintained, functional interior. The lady couldn't even enjoy the view of her building as she was partially blind. While awaiting a cataract operation, she depended on volunteers to help her with reading the correspondence.

The three assumed seats at the table in the sun-soaked living room and attended to a small stack of papers. The first from the top was a beauty salon leaflet that Ms M planned to visit. Sevan spelt the contact details to the beautician, which Ms M wrote with a sharpie using very large letters on an A4 sheet and filed away. The three envelopes to go through consisted of a political campaign leaflet and two important letters regarding money matters.

"When we get the mail these days, it's not happy news. People don't send love letters anymore.", Ms M observed.

It was hard not to agree with her that the art of composing thoughtful letters to loved ones was in decline.

With all the letters read out aloud, large-letter notes taken and filed, the three spent the rest of the mission time chatting about the impacts of AI on the job market, the diminishing critical thinking skills in modern society and the benefits of healthy, homemade food. Ms M revealed herself as a well-travelled individual and a Chinese medicine practitioner, who strongly believed in the empowering role of mindset in healing.

After the enriching conversation, Sevan and Kash left Ms M grateful for the assistance and hopeful about her upcoming surgery. She was full of a positive outlook about regaining her sight and independence, which was very important to her.