When Sevan and Kash signed up for a task described as tidying and sorting after a recent move for Ms D, they weren't quite sure what to expect.

Is it decluttering? - Kash wondered.
I think it will be unpacking - Sevan reckoned.

When they eventually entered Ms D's home and promptly took off their shoes, caked with mud after their previous ground levelling job, the lady, to their surprise, led them to the garden. Shoes back on then! The duo didn't anticipate another gardening task that day, but they've always been ready for any job and, luckily, had their gardening gloves with them.

The garden had a slightly whimsical feel to it, with dozens of water-filled pots and pans, broken crockery and fruit peel scattered around, and ridiculously steep stairs, unseen in continental Europe (at least according to Kash). Ms D asked the two GoodGymers to sweep the leaves and remove rubbish from the paved area. It was not always clear which pieces were classified as junk and which were worth keeping, so Sevan and Kash didn't enter full-throttle clearance mode and asked Ms D for advice when in doubt.

As the area to tidy up was small and the number of items Ms D was willing to part with scarce, a lightbulb moment struck and additional tasks ideas emerged: emptying the stale water from the plant pots and dishes, pruning a rose bush and removing ivy from the garden wall. It also turned out that Ms D heard about the latest bug hotel trends and asked the GoodGymers to move some old timber to decompose at the back of the garden for the benefit of beetles and pollinators.

Although Sevan and Kash felt they could have achieved much more in 90 minutes, Ms D thought she received exactly the help she needed and felt that she regained some control over her garden.

Miss J moved back to her place at the beginning of the year, following a fire that had devastated the house two years ago. The tragic event that took Miss J's beloved cat and most of her belongings resulted in an unexpected number of furniture donations for her, which she wasn't able to fit inside the house. Miss J was also worried about the state of her garden, where the firemen apparently dropped the burning things from the house. The debris has been mostly removed by now, and there were good things that happened there this year: the pear and fig trees finally fruited after a couple of years!

My garden must have missed me! - Miss J.

Miss J had a big garden project in her mind: a 4x2.5m shed. The parts had already been delivered, but the ground where the shed would be constructed was uneven and full of roots. GoodGymers Sevan and Kash visited Miss J one Sunday afternoon to remediate that problem. Apparently, Mission Control had told the beneficiary that they were experienced in levelling ground (they weren't, really!), so the stakes were high.

First, Sevan and Kash squeezed through a narrow corridor to take bin sacks with the garden waste and debris out, then they pulled up fake grass in Miss J's back garden to uncover a kingdom of worms. The reclaimed 12 square metres of soil now needed to be levelled. With a new spade and fork that Miss J had purchased, and the incredibly soft soil (thanks to the overnight downpour), the GoodGymers easily dug out the roots and even a block of concrete. The debate between Sevan and Kash on whether to bury it back was settled by Miss J, who concluded she could use such a piece of concrete for something. The final polishing touches to the levelling job included a plank challenge (involving laying a piece of wood flat on the soil, not the exercise!) and flattening the ground with a rake Miss J had borrowed from her neighbour.

When it was nearly time to go, the grateful Miss J appeared with a tray with Spanish coffee in a cafetiere and Italian panettone. What a treat! And not only that. The lady also offered the GoodGymers as many fruits from her fig tree as they could pick - the fresh figs were delicious! Fingers crossed that next summer the Miss J will see plenty of fruit again - and, of course, her shed will be built! Mag-fig-icent job!

Today's Penn Road Gardens session involved a lot of leaves. A whole 90 minutes of raking for the team. First up was clearing leaves from under the benches to uncover any hidden litter. Bottles, vapes and food packaging was pulled out for the litter picking team to bag, while bags full of yellow and brown leaves made their way to the compost heaps.

Some unexpected finds glittered at the GoodGymers from the leaves. There was a silver teaspoon and a golden bracelet with diamonds that had been lost under a bench. Well, actually, the spoon was from Ikea and the bracelet still needs to be professionally valued, but it was shiny 🤩! Either way, they were stashed in the Penn Road treasure chest, along with all their other plundered valuables.

Once the bench areas were clean, the big win was to clear the lawns of leaves. The GoodGymers speed raked with one of the regular volunteers and managed to clear the largest grassy area before a tea break was called and it was time to leave for their next task.

The next community session at Penn Road Gardens will be on the 30th of November, when they'll be planting bulbs to flower in the spring. There will also be a thank you to all of this year's volunteers as they'll give out a Xmas decoration and a hyacinth bulb to each of the attendees, in case you needed any more incentive to help this wonderful, community maintained garden.

Over the past few weeks, GoodGym Ealing have been clearing up after the growing season in a few different community allotments and gardens around the borough. Today was no different as at Feeding Ealing, Kash, Beck and Sevan worked away in the polytunnel to clear out this year's produce and prepare for next year's planting. That was lucky as they stayed pretty dry while rain showers came and went outside.

The team were asked to say "toma-go" to the tomato plants and "bean-ough already" to the beans. Everything removed was to go onto the compost heap to provide nutrients for next year's crop. After discussing the best tools to use and choosing their favourites, they discovered that everything could actually be pulled out by hand, no tools required, making the task a bit easier.

Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say, and there was a cloud too to the simplicity of pulling the old plants. They were tied to bamboo stakes and other supports using nylon string and that needed to be removed. Who may have done such a dastardly thing as using non-biodegradable string? Well, that might have been Sevan... only because there was nothing else available back in July when he and Gus were asked to tie the crops up. Much effort went into destringing the plants to not pollute next year's compost.

Towards the end of the session, Joseph decided that any remaining crops could also be pulled as it was too late in the season for them to ripen, with the weather overnight being too cold for the chillies. So, the group said "chillio" to the chilli plants as they were also pulled out of the soil. A few green chillis were recovered that Joseph said would be added to his chilli chutney. In fact, there'd been a bumper batch of chutney this year. The earlier green chillis had also gone in the pot as well as 60kgs of green tomatoes, producing 16kg of tomato chutney. Nothing's gone to waste from the urban allotment's growing this year.

As everyone wrapped up for the day, Joseph said that the next cycle of fruit and vegetable growing will start in December. There are plans to create deeper beds and to start enriching the soil with manure and other nutrients, so we'll be back next month to make 2026's harvest an even bigger success than 2025.

The first day of November 2025 didn't feel like mid-autumn at all, with the blue skies and warm sunshine welcoming us at Horsenden Farm. Apart from the yellow and orange leaves on the trees, the Halloween-themed craft market stalls that suddenly appeared at the farmyard were a gentle reminder of which season we were in.

The day was supposed to be a big milestone for the Horsenden cows, particularly for the young ones. The farm kept five rare-breed Shetland cows: three adults and two calves born this year. The eight-month-old baby cow and baby bull were to be weaned in the evening, so the task owner, Elsa, asked us for help in preparing the calves' new room in the barn, right next to their mum, but behind a barrier to discourage sucking.

Afshin and Penny came prepared with their own wellies, so they were ready to give the slightly mucky job a go. Simon joined them in moving straw bales into a trailer and hay bales into the space created after removing the straw. As a result, a spacious bedroom has been created for the calves.

In the meantime, Christos, Diana, Gaby, Victoria, Sevan, Kash, and a new Horsenden volunteer, Sam, rolled or carried the scattered logs onto a single neat pile, following Elsa's safety advice.

We don't want any logs or bodies in the ditch.

Everyone was cautious not to trip over or strain their backs when lifting, so all seven happy volunteers marched up the hill for their final task: a bramble bash! The seemingly never-ending effort of cutting back massive patches of blackberries with slashers, shears and loppers was slowly paying off with reclaimed meadow space. The reestablished grassland will be seeded with wildflowers and become a new grazing area for cows.

Speaking of grazing, after the task, following the GoodGym custom, the team gathered at a bench in a sunny spot to enjoy pizzas, baked goods, coffee or local beer. We are looking forward to keeping the tradition alive next month, even if it may get a little bit colder. If you'd like to join us, sign up for the December Horsenden session! We are hoping to see you there!

When the world was still waiting for the Black Friday sales at the end of November, Greenford Park Residents Association came up with their own version of the Christmas shopping season kick-off: earlier and more sustainable! The Baby & Kids Table Top Sale, organised by a group of local volunteers, is a response to the shopping madness and gives the residents a chance to buy and sell preloved children's items. Ealing GoodGymers couldn't say no to supporting such a great event!

The Table Top Sale prep night happened to be on Halloween, so Sevan and Kash ran 5km to Greenford, dodging herds of scares and spooks in the dark on the way. Dressed as a pair of GoodGymers, they brought some tricks with them to the GPRA Hall. Steph Ducat was already there, unfolding the tables for tomorrow's stall holders. The trick was to make the tables stand safely, which involved fixing or replacing the clips securing the legs. Brains and muscles were equally in use to complete this task.

Next up, the trio cut out the stallholders' names and labelled their tables, then strategically placed QR codes for donations to the GPRA Hall. After making labels for pastry items on sale and putting up boards with GPRA Hall history, it was time for the last two tasks.

When the task owner, Emma, asked for a volunteer with a creative flair to design a price list of muffins, cakes, cookies and pastries, Steph and Sevan declared their allegedly ugly handwriting. They have been transferred to the kitchen, where they have shown talent for making reusable dishes shiny and sparkly at the sink. In the meantime, Kash awakened her inner Michelangelo to develop the commissioned price list with four coloured pens, with her favourite red running out of steam.

With their various talents and tricks, the GoodGymers earned not only Emma's and other GPRA members' respect, but also real treats: chocolate muffins - yum!

That was not the end of GoodGym's collaboration with the GPRA Hall this year. Even more fun is coming next month! Sign up now to get involved in decorating the GPRA Hall for Christmas. We are hoping to see you there!

Sevan went on an uneventful shopping mission for Mr G tonight, which was packed with his shopping list greatest hits. As always, the eventful part was the chat before and after the shopping.

Today Mr G's stories included his past adventures to Barcelona, Latvia and other destinations when he was younger. These days, online travel booking and how the flight and the hotel and the transfer in between and them working together despite all being booked separately... they were totally incomprehensible to him. Sevan tried to explain, but Mr G still struggled to get it.

A holiday booking mission was suggested, if Mr G ever gets around to booking a trip to some winter sun.