Englands Green and Pleasant Lands are looking a bit arid and sun scorched at the moment and our two GoodGym sponsored beds in Beuccleuch Gardens, Richmond aren’t looking their best. To the rescue were 6 awesome GoodGym Richmond Runners Ken, Lucy, Adam, Susannah and Anita who gave up their Monday evening to wield watering cans (of burning gold) and trowels (of desire).

The strife was more physical than mental but hands did not falter until we had:

Prepared the ground and planted donated verbena, snapdragons, cosmos , geranium, saxifrage, Japanese Anemone and Quince (donated by Homebase and GoodGym volunteers).

Completed lots of Watering at The Three Pigeons, Chitty Hole and The Arcade.

Harvested and utilised some of our ‘home-made’ compost

Removing the hypericum and other growth sprouting from the brickwork at the back of The Arcade using a long-arm tool.

Completed a group ‘Plantain Pull’ on The Arcade lawn.

We would appreciate if the clouds did unfold with a bit of rain to help keep our riverside gardens green and pleasant. But if this doesn’t come to pass over the next few days, do consider signing up to an ‘anytime session’ . Two watering cans are now hidden at the back of the compost heap on the left hand side so there is now no need to bring your own bucket.

Three Pigeons Plot & Arcade Rockery: Anytime session week ended Sunday 14 August 2022

And if you we wondering why ‘Jerusalem’ has been played for winning English athletes at the Commonwealth Games, here is the answer: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/parry/jerusalem-england-commonwealth-games/

Good weather! In summer! In England!

It's the season of village fairs and we're lucky to be able to help out with lots of them in the Richmond area. Today's fair was an extra special one as it is the 115th Petersham Horticultural Society Summer Show, at it's core it is a long standing show where gardeners can show off their home grown fruit and veg, check out the pictures of it all.

Today's tasks ranged from building gazebos, setting up seating to putting up bunting (a lot of bunting); we smashed through this in no time at all and had plenty of time spare before the fair started so went for some lunch and refreshments at a local pub!

Another great day out helping the local community and enjoying the weather. Great job all.

A balmy summer evening saw 5 GoodGymers gather in Teddington for a second visit to the Certitude house we had been to once before. Last time was furniture-building, and on that day they had pointed out the fence that needed painting which was to be the focus of the evening's task.

Certitude provides support across London to people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health support needs, helping them to develop new skills, meet new people and live the life they want – so they can bring their own unique brilliance to the world. GoodGym has helped out at houses in Petersham and Teddington which are home to some wonderful people, supported by caring staff.

The task was to get going on painting the garden fences, which stretch some considerable length along the side we were working (and there are other sides to come!). We were armed with two giant pots of paint and 4 brushes between the 5 of us, meaning we had one person rotating out to entertain (?) the others. The paint was a very grey shade of grey, but to our dismay we found it did not deliver the "one coat" effectiveness promised on the tubs - instead seeming to soak into the wood of the fence and not change the colour that much.

We ploughed on regardless, enjoying the evening and the attentions of two of the residents who had come outside to help supervise the task, talking excitedly about their upcoming holiday. By the end of the session we had created a bit of a grey area, but in a positive way :-)