A landline was something that Mr C depended on. He felt much more at home with his cordless phone rather than peering down at the tiny screen of his mobile. For the last month, his landline was giving him the silent treatment, meaning that he couldn't use it to order in his prepared meals. He couldn't dial out and no one could dial in.

Mr C had his current and past landline phones set out for Kash and Sevan. He'd tried all of 4 of them without any luck and 2 of them brought back memories for Sevan as he remembered the same models being at his home many years ago. Nostalgic or not, no matter which phone was plugged in, there was no ring tone.

The GoodGymers searched the TalkTalk website for some way of getting help. Most routes ended up with them needing to log in to an online account, which Mr C didn't have. After a few attempts on the customer service phone line where the automated flow hung up on them, they eventually found themselves number 27 in a queue to talk to an agent. They waited... and waited... and waited... and nothing happened for over an hour. There was no TalkTalking with TalkTalk.

In the meantime, Sevan checked out the phone socket and looked up how it should be wired to see if something was wrong. Everything was in order, so the problem seemed to be somewhere outside Mr C's home. Without being able to talk to TalkTalk, there was no way of making any progress through them or OpenReach, so all 3 of them were a bit stuck.

Tonight's group run had GoodGymers from Ealing and Hounslow fliering. Not in Acton though. Today the team was in the streets near Ealing Broadway Centre and The Library of Things that's based there.

"Is that a church?" - Anonymous GoodGymer
"No. That's Ealing Broadway Centre" - Sevan

Today's goal was to stop people worshipping at the altar of retail and spread the word about the Library of Things. Instead of buying items that people would use rarely, it offers items for rent to save people money and also reduce consumption and waste.

As well as Ealing Broadway Centre, there were real churches and grand buildings on the route too. On the way, the team snaked or leapfrogged (depending which GoodGym area was "home") along the streets of large houses, converted flats, steep stairs and dark passages. There was even an open gate to a private estate that was taken advantage of.

By raising the visibility of the Library of Things, perhaps Ealing's altar has been altered. Next time you walk past, there'll be people worshipping the locker and the items inside instead of the shop windows. 🙇‍♀️🙇🙇‍♂️

Did you ever hear of waxcaps? These colourful wild mushrooms love to grow in old, undisturbed grasslands and make a spectacular appearance in autumn. They belong to a group of fungi known for their smooth, thin stems, widely spaced gills and waxy-looking caps, which can be red, yellow, orange, green, pink or white.

Eleven curious GoodGymers were tempted enough to learn more about these incredible mushrooms to forgo their usual Sunday afternoon plans and head to Walpole Park instead. In particularly windy conditions, the GoodGymers joined Richard and two other Ealing Greenwayers for a fungi survey in support of Plantlife – an organisation whose mission is to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi.

Any activity in Walpole Park this autumn wouldn't be complete without an air of controversy thanks to Ealing Council’s plan for a temporary, 1,200-seat Troubadour theatre, which has sparked strong local opposition. Among the campaigners’ concerns was the loss of green space, whose ecosystem they believe should be protected rather than sacrificed for a large-scale theatre development. Since waxcaps are a rare, species-rich grassland indicator, heavens knew what would happen if the GoodGym and Greenwayer expedition found these fungi in the park!

Armed with flags to mark the locations of the fungi we discovered and litterpickers (to expand our impact beyond mushroom-spotting), we formed a line abreast, standing shoulder to shoulder. We marched forward, eyes firmly fixed on the ground not to miss even the tiniest fungi. Tiny they certainly were - and not quite waxcap-looking.

Our line-abreast phalanx swept through about three-quarters of the park's grassland (and woodchip-land), discovering a variety of fungi and collecting about a bag of litter that hadn't yet been blown away by the wind. No waxcaps, alas!

Walpole Park may not be an ancient grassland, but the hope is not lost. During our quest, we bumped into a shroom-savvy Selborne Society member, who pointed out that the dry summer had been rather merciless to fungi and that he wouldn't expect to find waxcaps in Walpole Park. He gave us some hints about other promising locations, so you may yet see another mushroom survey this autumn, before the first frosty days arrive.