GoodGym Ealing already cemented their position as speedy and resourceful engineers when they replaced a row of rotting wooden posts with new bollards within a short group run task at the Hanwell School of Boxing last year. Impressed by the concrete evidence of solid delivery, Linda, the task owner for both the boxing club and Blondin Park, rehired them for another construction-type task. This time, the job was to erect two new boot scrubbers in front of the Blondin Pavilion and lay woodchip on a muddy area serving as an overflow car park for the pavilion.

On a chilly Tuesday night, one walker, one cyclist, four runners, and one late runner landed on Blondin Park’s tarmac path, famously lit like a runway. In front of the pavilion stood a wheelbarrow with spades and shovels prepared by Linda. It was time for everyone to choose the tasks. Our close neighbour from GoodGym Hounslow, Breda, for her first Ealing group run, decided on the shovel+wheelbarrow action, accompanied by Sevan. James, Conor, Harvey, Steph Ducat and Kash were more in the mood for DIY and opted for the unique boot scrubbers installation experience.

Linda, experienced with larger construction projects, knew that for quick jobs involving securing fences or posts, there was nothing better than GoodGymers and Postcrete. We all know how GoodGymers work - but what’s postcrete, you may ask. It’s a rapid-setting cement solution that requires only the addition of water, and no mixing, making it ideal for occasions when you’re short on time.

The five GoodGym builders first dug four narrow and knee-deep holes, then tried the boot scrubbers on them, testing their evenness with a spirit level. The levels turned out to be perfect, and the GoodGym spirits were pretty high, so the team enthusiastically poured generous amounts of postcrete and water into the holes. And waited. And waited. To be frank, the mixture was set within 10-15 minutes, which may seem like no time in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, seeing Sevan and Breda still racing their wheelbarrows and raking like there was no tomorrow, made the builders' team feel pretty idle.

With the scrubbers literally set in concrete, there was not much else to do on the night than claim the delicious refreshment Linda prepared: sweet and dense hot chocolate! After warming up in the pavilion with a hot beverage, the runners set off for the run back to Ealing Broadway, which was the location of our following week’s group run: a gardening session in Walpole Park.

On a windy Tuesday night, six GoodGymers came together for an (unintentional) Winston Churchill-themed litterpick. Little did they know about what they'd find in South Ealing, where they ran from Ealing Broadway. Armed with litter pickers and bin bags from their allies, LAGER Can, they were determined that they would fight in the alleyways and on the streets, and they would never surrender.

The GoodGymers' main enemy was rubbish dropped along the alleyway splitting the South Ealing Cemetery into two, but, under a cover of leaves, the group found things that were hardly classified as litter. Next to a small collection of pots and vases, Conor found a bust of Winston Churchill, and Harvey discovered a toy British Bulldog! Or was it just a pug?

Rather than cigar butts, the team kept finding single-use vapes, which Churchill would surely disapprove of. Neither would he endorse the cheap beer cans and four laughing gas canisters which Harvey carried out of the alleyway for collection.

Walking through a lane of birches raised some questions about the white sheet-shaped deposits found in abundance on that stretch. Some GoodGymers would have sworn that it was paper (which, according to a quote often attributed to Churchill, was the enemy of action) or even wallpaper. Others, maybe better versed in dendrology, explained it was bark from the birches and didn't need to be collected.

The battle against litter ended on South Ealing Road, at the first available bin, where it was appropriate to leave two blue bags of collected mess. Those who hadn't tried it ahead of the group run had the last chance to taste Maria's home-baked coconut puffs that she brought today - what a treat! Having accomplished the task in about half an hour, half of the team ran back to Ealing Broadway to either catch a bus or a train or... run back to South Ealing.

It's been three weeks since minced pies were a thing. Now, it's minced Christmas trees that are trending. And what do you do if you have a pile of ex-Christmas trees dropped in your park in the form of woodchip and a sizeable puddle at the edge of a path? You call GoodGym!

Linda from Blondin Consortium knew exactly what to do and arranged for a team of eight GoodGymers to come and help spread woodchip along a regularly flooded path to the community pavilion in Blondin Park.

Steph, Conor, Sevan and Kash ran to the park from Ealing Broadway, Freya walked, and Andy and James cycled. Ash was determined to come all the way from a distant part of the neighbouring borough, which was not an easy route, but he still made it to the session!

In less than 40 minutes, a small crowd of people, equipped with head torches, wheelbarrows, spades, shovels, and a rake, dealt with the entire woodchip pile and covered the problematic path edge with a moisture-soaking layer.

Traditionally, after the session, Linda invited the GoodGymers for a short break in the pavilion to recharge their energy with a cup of hot chocolate before their run back. Just as if there wasn't enough sweetness in the hot beverage, Steph brought a double treat to share! Ms F, an older lady whom Steph supports with groceries, donated pink champagne truffles to GoodGymers. What a lovely gesture!