Great turn out tonight

It was lovely to see Roxy and Anne back today after recovering from a combination of injury and illness 🤒

Joining them was Sarah and Ryan, Paul, Gillybean and John

We had been asked to do an Autumn tidy up and in all honesty that's exactly what it was in this well cared for, pretty courtyard garden.

Leaves and pruning were the theme tonight. Most of the team were sweeping and gathering up leaves and weeds but I did turn round and find Gill stuck into some pruning too ( never misses an opportunity! 😍)

Tonight was a fairly short but satisfying tidy up whilst chatting with each other.

John missed the final photo as he is on extended nurse duties for Mrs R who is recovering from 2 operations 😍

Thanks everyone and see you all next week 😊

Julia xx

Lend a hand at Haviland

We returned to this task today and had a lovely warm welcome from Kirsty. She asked us to work our magic on the flower bed just at the back of the home overlooking the car park. When we arrived it looked very sad. One hour later it looked pretty again!

Many thanks to the team Gillybean Belinda Daisy Roxy and John who worked hard to weed, rake and fill 2 green bins plus 3 bags of debris. We were super proud of the results.

We were blessed with lovely warm sunny weather and great company 🥰

Thanks everyone !

Julia xx

A new task venue for us tonight

Another Monday - a new venue. Tonight we went to another Guild Care project - a nursing home called Caer Gwent. It offers 24- hour expert nursing care, supporting individuals with complex health conditions, particularly focusing on palliative (i.e. end of life) support.

We had been asked to work on the long sweeping drive entrance to the home with a much needed weed and tidy.

it was lovely to welcome back Paul to reunite withRosalind after they have both been travelling in France. Lots to catch up on!

John took no time at all to get on his knees and down to weeding and tidying. Anne got straight on with pruning and weeding whilst having a lovely catch up with Paul.

Paula got stuck in with the same and when Daisy arrived she got straight into debris removal into the green bins.

Rosalind poised on her 99th task did a great job on muti tasking across all the flowerbeds catching up with all the news ! Next week is her big 100 !

With a make shift broom made from foliage Daisy and Anne had a great tidy up before we had a lovely group photo.

Next Monday we are back at Heene Cemetery followed by The Brew House from 7:15 to celebrate Barbara's 200th and Ros's 100th together with my Birthday with a quick drink. All welcome to either or both :)

Have a great week !

Julia X

A happy evening at Linfield

On a very warm September evening Gillybean and Barbara arrived at the task first and immediately set to work on pruning and tidying the pretty courtyard garden in the Linfield dementia care home.

When Paula and I arrived we were swiftly joined byBelindaand John who were fresh from their invigorating sea swim.

Shortly after arrival we were all redirected to the two 'secret' gardens beyond a very tall padlocked gate! Armed with a wish list of tasks from the manager we proceeded to weed, prune and tidy.

It was at this point that Gil and I took several bites of the forbidden fruit from the mini apple orchard - no regrets - yet! ha ha!

Fifty minutes later we had chatted and done good and some of us had taken more forbidden bites ( or more) from the luxury biscuits that had been kindly gifted from a member of staff for us to enjoy.

Happy days !

i'm sure you will all join with me in sending Barbara all our good luck vibes for her ultra 100k walk this Saturday ! We cant wait to see the photos and hear the replay of every kilometre.

Go Babs !!

Have a great week one and all :)

Julia xx

To rain or not to rain - that is the question!

With an accuweather forecast that wasn't accurate we got the best of the weather on offer this evening with hardly any rain until we were just finishing.

It was nice to meet Kirsty, new to Guildcare, who showed to the area that the gardener at Haviland had requested we work on.

The bed was just outside some of the residents rooms and one that definitely needed some TLC with rubbish and weeds strewn all over it. The team wasted no time in getting on the gloves, grabbing a tool and getting down on their knees and digging in.

It was lovely to see Craig and Sarah back this evening bringing their usual level of both physical and mental energy! I will leave you to decide who brought which element!

Paul, Gillybean,Belinda and John cracked on enjoying some pruning, weeding and the usual banter as we worked.

1 hour later and we were mission accomplished!

Apologies for the delay in sending this report out - our 1st baby grandchild made a slightly early appearance and put my head into a whirl as well as some sleep deprivation thrown in too! IT's A BOY !!!

Next week we will be at St Botolph's Church garden and then to the Brew House to celebrate Sarah 50th good deed !

Hope to see lots of you there !

Have a great week

Julia xx

Six of the team either ran, walked, cycled or drove to Linfield House to to lend a helping hand and improve the Richmond garden's appearance. Our primary objective was to tidy up the space and tackle the persistent weed problem.

My team today consisted of

• Duncan plus Olly, his cousins son who was shadowing Duncan for 2 days of work experience ( life changing for Olly !! )
• Gillybean
• John
• Daisy
• Ricky

The team enthusiastically undertook various tasks to transform the garden. First and foremost we had been asked to clear the unsightly dead leaves in a large bed just near the entrance to the garden whilst carefully leaving the green shoots underneath to grow again. Once this was done the team moved to other areas of the garden which, overall, was looking overgrown and in need of some tlc. Gill was particularly good a taking a deep dive into the back of the undergrowth armed with her pruners pulling out armfuls of debris. Olly was also a great help using his height to reach and remove dead branches of the cordyline palm tree. John did a stirling job sweeping up and filling the green bin, also assisted by Ricky. Daisy was particularly great at weeding the pond area.

I also took a moment to look at the courtyard garden that we have previously worked on and admired all the plants and shrubs that are in full bloom. Particularly pretty and fragrant was the honeysuckle featured in the photos.

With plenty of social banter about subjects ranging from Ricky's proposed social event in September, Duncan's dream camper van or Daisy's practical joke on her husband together with Ollys work experience with Duncan, it was a great atmosphere whilst achieving a lot in a short amount of time.

With a very much appreciated box of chocolates given to us, we always feel appreciated at our visits at Linfield. The collective efforts of the group tonight will, in my opinion, have a significant impact on the residents at the home. The tidying and weeding activities not only enhanced the garden's visual appeal but also provided a safer and more comfortable space for the residents to enjoy.

Next week we are meeting at Worthing Leisure Centre - hope to see you there.

Have a great week.

Julia xx