The roads were glistening white, our fingers were growing blue but our tshirts were red and that means one thing - it's GoodGym Hounslow night!

There was no doubt that the temperature has plummeted which made the prospect of an outside task not particularly inviting. But we had a job to do, and nothing was going to stop us!

We ran down to Strand on the Green school to finish off a job that we have been working on for several sessions. After sanding down the benches in the middle of the school field it was now time to stain them with wood protector.

We located the tins of preserver, grabbed our brushes and got to work.

Gus showcased his speed staining moves, Emily was flipping benches like a pro, Chris was popping the tops of the tins and the whole scene was a blur of activity. After 40 minutes of hard work, the complete set of seven benches was done and ready for winter. It just goes to show that with the right motivation we are highly efficient!

Sub zero temperatures meant that, for once, fitness was not on the cards. Plus we had already had a good workout with all that quick painting and trying to keep warm! So we raced back to base, did some stretches (important when it's cold to prevent injuries) and headed to the toasty pub.

Net week we're back at Chiswick House and there is also a great upcoming mission to rewild the river] (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/rewild-the-river). Happy GoodGyming everyone!

Alan, Chris, Tish and Gus met at Baron's Pond on Saturday morning. After a short wait wondering if the task was still happening, their saviour arrived! Tools in hand and instructions given, it was time to help clear it all up!

Tish went litter picking diligently in the most obscure corners of the little reserve. Finding things of different culinary interests, let's say.

Alan and Chris, loppers in hand, cleared up a whole overgrown section next to the pond. Meanwhile, Gus assisted by one of the local volunteers (and his two sweet doggos) was tasked with clearing out the tree capony to allow space for a little oak to grow.

Cutting amassed quickly and by the end of the task, the pile of green waste had doubled in size and two bags of trash was also picked up.

A job well done once more!

It’s a pity I didn’t set my Garmin today as I’m pretty sure I managed a PB for the supermarket segment of my visit to Mr G. Everything in stock and in place, no queue for the cash tills and a store worker standing right next to me to offer immediate approval for the inevitable unexpected item in the baggage area.

Mr G was back on good form, recovered from his recent illness and happy that his new printer is working. I received rare praise for my clothing - specifically, Mr G really liked my jacket, which I’ll take as a proper compliment from someone with an eye for art and fashion like his. Given the choice of his two potential assessments of my attire - retro 1950s American or 1980s mod revival - I think I’ll take the latter.