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!

It's hard to believe that GoodGym Hounslow is a whole eight years old! Yet, with

5,426 good deeds

completed, we've certainly got a lot to show for it!

Over the years we've planted more bulbs that we can count, cleared more bags of rubbish than you can shake a litter pick at, and pulled an unimaginable amount of weeds. Not to mention all the miles we've covered!

We were treated to an indoor task last night (it was our birthday after all) which was just as well as the temperature was definitely dropping. So after a very short run we arrived at the church and community centre on Sutton Court Rd for a big painting job.

We were met by Carol who handed out brushes, and without any dilly-Dali-ing around we got straight into it. There were some excellent fashion choices on display, with the soon to be patented 'bin bag chic' range.

With no tape on hand for neat edges and some patchy paint we had a challenge on our hands, but I would say we did an Emin-entely good job. It just shows what you can do with a Kandin(sky) attitude. Ok, that one didn't work...

Job done, we headed off for Turnham Green, where Michelle debuted her excellent GoodGym Hounslow pass the parcel. Cue the music! Whilst doing squats and other conditioning exercises we passed the parcel, which was stuffed with sweets and questions such as 'who has done all the parkruns within the M25' and fiendish anagrams of past tasks. It was Tish who finally won the prize, which was full of amazing things like magnetic race number fasteners. What a bonus!

We just had time for an egg and spoon race and a ball between the knees relay which showcased some amazing techniques, before retiring to the pub for cake and memories.

Amazing to see all we've achieved over the last eight years, all the friendships made and the good done in the community. Happy Birthday and here's to you GoodGym Hounslow, and long may it continue!

A regular task with regular runners, but not our regular area activator… we had Ana-lternative run lead tonight in Lucy to get the gang of GoodGymmers down to Chiswick House safely.

We met Chris the gardener, who let us into the grounds after hours and led us up to the grounds to grab our gear for tonight’s task and off we headed to the spot where the action would be occurring. The exciting thing about Chiswick House is that every time we visit there always seems to be a new area to discover, and a different task to be done.

Tonight, we were shown a mountain of woodchip and mulch, with the addition of a few autumnal leaves sprinkled atop. Our task was to move this woodchip from its pile below cedar tree A to a new spot below cedar tree B, about 100 yards down. So we got to work, forking down and shovelling the organic matter into wheelbarrows, moving it across the grounds and then dumping the load in the correct place for Chris to rake out. The relocated woodchip and mulch is full of nutrients for the soil and tree roots below, and helps to increase the biodiversity of the ground below, which is, Chris explained, a really good thing.

So we had done good and learnt some good! Cedar tree B had a new ring of woodchip, finished just as our time was up. Wheelbarrows, shovels, forks and rakes were safely located back by the kitchen gardens and Chris unlocked the gates and let us escape back into the wild once more. The walkers went off, followed by the running group, and we all happened to meet at the pub at the same time following our cool down. Timed to perfection once more!

GoodGym Ealing were raising the stakes today at the new Feeding Ealing site in Greenford. The stakes in question were marking out the locations of polytunnel poles that they'd measured out last month and they were now being raised to dig holes where the real, metal poles would be placed.

For some, they were experienced hands with constructing polytunnels and for others it was their first time. Today's jobs didn't need any polytunnel expertise though, only how to use a spade. Eight arches would need 16 holes to hold the each end of an arch. Polytunnel architect Joseph had made a start on the corners, so there were only 12 more intermediate pockets to excavate.

Joseph works with imperial measures, with everything being in feet and inches, so he gave the team a shock when they asked about the hole depth.

"How deep do the holes need to be?" - Gus
"30" - Joseph
"Inches?!" - Sevan
"No, centimetres" - Joseph
"Oh, phew!" - Sevan

Twelve big holes doesn't sound too hard, unless you're digging London clay soil which is heavy and sticky. Spades struggled through the dirt, trying to scoop the space out. One thin, saw toothed spade - Joseph's prized possession - was the perfect tool for the job, able to slide through the dirt and slice tree roots. It was much in demand.

Despite the hard going, the team used their muscles and determination to dig 11 and a half of the required pockets, only being stopped on the last one by available time and some really thick roots.

As a thank you for their huge efforts, task owner Jatinder gave everyone a Diwali treat at the end of the task. Everyone was offered a box of freshly made Indian snacks to take home as well as some samosas to nibble with the full volunteer group.