Tonight’s mission had everything a cat lover could possibly hope for, and I was thrilled! Alan on the other hand was not quite as keen on four legged friends of the feline variety, but managed valiantly all the same.

We arrived at Mrs R’s in Feltham after a 40 minute cycle in glorious sunshine. It was a much needed leg stretch for the two of us, since we have picked up injuries and aren’t yet back to running as often as we might like.

Moving furniture

The furst task was to clear items from Mrs R’s home to help her move around safely while she is recuperating after knee surgery. We discussed which items Mrs R needed or wanted to keep nearby. As a former member of staff at the RSPCA Mrs R loves to care for cats and kittens and her home is devoted to her cats, with many play towers, cushions, and places for them to snooze in the sunshine.

Once we’d moved various items into the garage and front room so Mrs R could get around more easily, we agreed we had enough time to move onto the back garden. As we cleared weeds and brambles, all five cats slowly but surely became less nervous and came to survey what was going on.

Mrs R chatted while we cleared and the time flew by. Before we knew it the garden bin was full and it was time to set off home again.

Suns out, spades out!

It was the loveliest day of the year so far, which always fills us with Vitamin D fueled energy. Which was good news as we had a big task to reclaim some overground areas in Chiswick.

After a very short run we arrived to meet Karen from Abundance London, who had brought with her a barrow full of tools. There is a set of beds right by the busy A4 that have become really neglected. Abundance have cleared one and planted it with lots of pollinators, o there was a stark difference between the cared for space, and the overgrown, litter strewn area we were there to tackle.

We wasted no time (and I even managed to remember to take a 'before' shot, so you can really see how much we got done) getting stuck in. Out came bindweed, cans, bricks, some wrangled metal, a broom head and more weeds than you can shake a fork at.

We were doing so well that a splinter group featuring Chris, Alan and Gus even moved over the road to work on pulling up grass and clearing another area. While we worked we remarked how just a little care makes a big difference. If passers by see well-loved, neat and flourishing beds they are much less likely to chuck their litter there and much more likely to want to take some ownership for its upkeep. So well done everybody, it really is time well spent.

After finishing up we made our way back to the green. Thanks to the rain it had been a while since we'd had an opportunity to do a proper core session so we took advantage of the lovely weather to knock out a series of exercises aimed at strengthening our abs. Just look at those happy faces in the photos!

On Saturday there is a great community mission to plant at Harvard Hill. So far we have no sign up so it would be wonderful if you had a short window to spare to lend a hand! Here are all the details you need.

Happy GGing everybody!