Rachel and Sheila cycled to Windsor to go and help the lovely Sue with tidying up Vale Road cemetery. Our task was to clear the areas bordering the fence of ivy and small maple sapplings trying to establish themselves. The ivy is much improved since a Goodgym session last year, so it made our job much easier. For a while we worked away, with the peace only spoilt by the squeaking of my secateurs! By the end of the session we had filled a large hippo bag with cuttings and left the cemetery much tidier.

Tessa, Sheila and Amanda joined two local volunteers to tidy ip Vale Rd Cemetery. The ground was soft and the trees were bare so their job was to scrap up as many leaves as possible. With Key and Sue they managed to fill 2 building bags plus 5 bin liners. Now the paths are clearer enabling people to come and visit this peaceful place.

I met Jess, Steve, Sheila and task owner Sue at Vale Road Cemetery on the morning of All Souls day. The weather was surprisingly pleasant after a ghoulish storm on All Hallows' Eve. Kudos to Sheila who cycled to the session from Maidenhead and to Steve and Jess who had been/were going for runs before and after the task respectively. I'm recovering from an injury so the task itself - planting a host of golden daffodils - was workout enough for me.

Sue directed us where to plant and we set to work digging up the turf, laying the bulbs in and tucking the turf/mud back over them. Sheila suggested we should plant in clusters of 3, 5 or 7, but even Steven thought that was just odd, so when Spring comes you'll be able to identify his clusters as the 4s and 6s.

Once we had ploughed through the bags of bulbs, which had been kindly donated by Tesco, we celebrated with some brownies. In a moment of madness we did consider planting some brownies to see if they would grow brownie trees, but we soon came to our senses and decided they were best used as snacks. Besides, everyone knows, Brownies grow into Guides!

As always it was great to get out in the fresh air, catch up with friends and to work together to get lots done in a short time. We look forward to seeing the fruits of our labour in March when the daffs come up. Hopefully the pollinators and other local residents will enjoy them too.

Sue was thrilled to have our help. Through her hard work and with the help of GoodGym and other volunteers the cemetery has changed a lot in the past year. It means a lot to her as her little cousin's grave is located there, but it is also benefiting other locals, who are starting to come more often to enjoy this peaceful spot.

Steve, Amanda, Michelle and Tessa joined forces with local volunteers to tidy up Vale Rd Cemetery. You wood not believe what they achieved in just 90 minutes!

Some GoodGymers were logging up their second visit to the cemetery having participated in a previous clean up. This time they got to the root of the problem and tackled large trees and shrubs that have previously looked impossible. The team hacked and chopped until they were able to bring an old grave back into the sunlight.

As we think this week about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it feels all the more important to do something to care for the final resting place of those that have come before us. The work to transform Vale Road Cemetery isn't complete yet but it's looking so much better.

Eleven Goodgymers signed up for tonight’s task to continue the clear up of the Vale Road Cemetery. We met in the car park at the Pirate Park in Windsor slightly dismayed by the inclement weather, but that soon passed as we greeted Michelle to the group.

From the car park we moved ( some more reluctant than others !! ) towards the Clewer Recreational Ground where we spent the first part of the fitness session doing fun exercises including the ministry of funny walks and some dance steps, lots of laughter was had by all.

We paired off and ran or walked the inner circuit of the park, meeting our partner with 10 squats or 3 burpees.

Then we were off to the mission, we all decided to walk the short distance; the dead giveaway that we were in the right place was the mountain of black bin bags full of ivy and brambles.

Sue, the task owners met us and led us to the end of the cemetery where we split into groups, one clearing ivy from graves and the other filling large hippo bags of ivy and brambles. After a hour of weeding with no grave mistakes and all the ivy covered our time was up!! We were all twigger happy and lined up for a team photo.

With our spirits risen we returned to our meeting point to say our goodbyes and wish Amy a very happy holiday.

After some rather changeable weather, Jen, Jess and Sheila turned up to Vale Road Cemetery in Windsor, prepared in wet-weather gear. The intrepid trio had come to continue the good work started on a previous community mission. There we met taskowner Sue, who had been working there since late afternoon as well as Helen, a local councillor. We were quickly set to work. Jess was moving large branches from one end of the site to another, whilst Jen and Sheila were picking up small branches and sticks from the ground, to enable the mower to pass through safely. Luckily the area was sheltered by trees and the weather cleared up very quickly. Sadly, there has also been fly-tipping of garden waste onto the site. We then moved on to clearing the leaf litter from the beds along the fence. As the end of the session approached, Jess, Sheila and Sue rose to the challenge of each filling a bag in the final 4 minutes, and another 3 bags were added to the pile. We tried to count the total number of bags filled, but each came up with a different answer, so we can confirm that the result is somewhere between 26 and 30 . It was the end of a long day!