Needed to cover 4 bases this afternoon for Mr T to ensure I got him everything he wanted on his list. It was warm out, so was glad to get it all done reasonably quickly (although Sardines still remain in short supply...) and back to Mr T's to sit by his wind tunnel power fan and catch up on the week's comings and goings.

10 wonderful GoodGym folk made a green-fingered difference in Kentish Town!

Five of us – Alex, Danny, John, Matt, and Steve – started out from Somers Town yesterday evening.

Matt ran from Battersea Park – John sprinted from Euston Station – Danny ran down from Kentish Town – and Steve wove his usual route up from Bloomsbury!

Together we followed a steady route towards Willingham Terrace (situated in a very hot Kentish Town) and met five others – Alison, Caitlin, Helen, Lydia, and Sarah – each of whom made their own journeys (on foot and bike) to our good-deeding venue.

Hilda has lived on this estate for decades and she's transformed the green spaces – there's a bountiful allotment that was once a verge – and it's all thanks to Hilda's perseverance and creativity.

Yesterday was our second visit and we were focused once again on the communal square's hedgerow.

Weeds were pulled – grass edges were established – and four great big bags of cuttings were collected and disposed.

The difference was huge – and all under an overbearing July sun!

Thank you, everyone!! See you next time!!

This was a marathon hacking task. The small garden essentially just needed hacking and clearing. First I tackled the remnants of last year's hacking that had never been bagged up and taken away, which was a big job itself as it was all tangled up dead vibes that needed to be prized apart before being able to shove in the bags. Then it was a case of tearing up as many weeds and hacking back as much of the plants around the edge as I could manage in the time. I managed to get it mostly cleared although ran out of time to make it look really neat and tidy. But Ms D and her daughter were pretty impressed with how much I got done, if I do say so myself!! A very fun, sweaty and satisfying job.

You know you've done a few of these "move furniture downstairs to be collected" type missions when, upon the moment you arrive, you're already identifying a suitable parking space for the items in question...As we ascended the three flights of stairs to Mr G's, we also took note of the inconveniently located internal scaffolding, a bike, and a few tight turns on the narrow staircase.

Fortunately experience won out, and without too much twisting and turning we soon had both of Mr G's armchairs, plus their cushions, safely down the stairs, much to his delight. Our parking space was created by moving the bins closer to each other, and we left quite pleased with our evening's handiwork!

As a result of last week's heatwave, Mr T had got himself a (very effective) fan. As we sat and chatted about the challenges of finding decent plumbers, last week's cross word (Potatoes - 6 letters...), how the quality of Lidl's chicken legs have definitely gone downhill, and Mr T's former (brief) moonlighting as a chef, the fan provided us with a welcome breeze.

It was only when he got up to show me that it had more powerful settings did I say to him that he could now use his living room to test aircraft wings with the power it was generating...as with most weeks, the shopping (everything bar sardines which couldn't be found in neither Lidl nor Tesco) proved incidental to the amusement we had from today's wide ranging topics of discussion.

The London Permaculture Festival is an annual celebration of natural ecosystems, and it's being hosted at Camden's Cecil Sharp House this Sunday!

Which was why our wonderful group – of Alex, Dani, John, Lydia, Nivia, Sarah, Siobhan, and Steve – assembled for an hour of nature-based volunteering!

Our task was to make sure Cecil Sharp's gardens were crisp and tidy, and ready for London's permaculture devotees!

We started amidst a flurry of brooms, rakes, and conversation – under a July sun we swept the paths and combed the lawn – and we filled bag upon bag in short order!

We then turned our attention – en masse – to the entrance gates.

John, Lydia, Sarah, and Siobhan tackled the main pathway – and they made quick thrift of weeds and leaves – leaving things looking perfectly wonderful!

Dani and Nivia focused their efforts on an area under a large tree – and they cleared the debris (and weeds and leaves!) – leaving an inviting shade spot!

And Alex and Steve helped our brilliant host (Susannah) move a chunk of festival fare down to the basement storage!

We finished by piling up bag (upon bag upon bag) of green waste into the van, before meandering off into a gentle evening :)

Thank you, everyone!!