It's been a season of shears, loppers and secateurs in action, particularly at our Tuesday sessions supporting the William Hobbayne charity in Hanwell. Only a week ago, we had cleared a footpath at Half Acre Woods, and now we were back at the Community Gardens to finish off the job we started a month ago - clearing an overgrown area to make room for a new community space.

To reach the Community Gardens, Sevan, Freya, and Harvey ran 3 km from Ealing Broadway. Nishy, Jamie, and Jamie tried to find their way to the task, coming from the canal and getting stuck (thanks, Google Maps!), but were fortunately discovered by Kash and Harvey before they lost hope. Chris, a regular at Hobbayne's sessions, had more luck (or experience) finding the entrance, where Anna, today's task owner, awaited with the tools.

It was the first Ealing group session for Jamie, who was glad he didn't have to work in extreme heat, unlike at his first-ever GoodGym task. GoodGym Ealing not only booked a nice breeze for today but also perfectly dodged the evening rain. We are really good at ensuring top working conditions! Welcome, Jamie - we hope you enjoyed the weather, the task and our company! We're looking forward to seeing you again on another occasion.

The brambles we had removed in June from the overgrown area hadn't started properly growing back yet, so it was an excellent opportunity to clear the other half of the future community space. There was serious hype built up after our previous task in the gardens as we had found a canoe paddle, a tennis ball and a shed hidden in the brambles. This week's findings seemed less exciting.

Kash: "What did you find in the brambles? Anything interesting?"
Freya: "More brambles."

Sevan found particularly long bramble stems that made quite an impression on our newest team members. Little did they know, they'd be pulling equally intimidating blackberry plants themselves if they stuck to us. One of the Jamies already upped his GoodGym game, trying out a new tool: a small slasher to cut through the jungle. He'd love the larger slashers we used for chopping nettles and brambles near Pear Tree Park!

West London brambles are particularly nasty with their oversized, sharp thorns. They were a cause of many ouches today. We all have been bramblestruck! To alleviate the pain from the scratches, Nishy thoughtfully brought us a snack to enjoy at the end of the session: popcorn. Thank you, Nishy! While the real reward was seeing the whole garden space finally cleared of overgrowth, we enjoyed the gift from Anna: freshly harvested radishes from the allotment.

Next week, we are heading towards a different part of the borough. Sign up now to join us for a leaf sweeping and collection task at a school in Acton.

The second Tuesday of July saw four GoodGymers assembling at Bodyline Fitness in Ealing Broadway for a run to Hanwell, led by Steph Ducat. Today's run leader was joined not only by the regulars: Freya, Harvey and Sevan, but also by a special guest, Bassam Mahfouz. While not everyone might know that Bassam is a keen runner and a volunteer, many residents recognise him as a Member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon, currently focusing on matters such as environment and transport. When the five ran through Ealing, every time they stopped, someone said hello to Bassam.

The team arrived at Wharncliffe Viaduct to meet the task owner Dee from the William Hobbayne Charity, who looked after the Half Acre Woods. Kash, who walked to the task, was already there. Dee, concerned about the mosquitos lurking in the woods, offered the GoodGymers an unassuming lotion in spray, reportedly used by the Forest School people to repel insects. We think the mysterious mist has worked as by the end of the task, we've earned only plant-based stings from nettles.

Today's job was the summer classic task - something we had done almost exactly a year ago - cutting back the overgrowth on the path along the viaduct. Harvey and Steph tackled the brambles and nettles encroaching on the entrance to the woods from the Station Approach road, and Bassam, Freya, Sevan and Kash dealt with the growth on the River Brent side. Dee swapped shears for a litter picker and collected cans, bottles and even dog poo bags revealed by the chopping squad.

While we worked to widen the path, passers-by genuinely appreciated what we've done. Walkers, runners, parents with a pushchair, and an exceptionally grateful cyclist enjoyed using the path, no longer worrying about being caught by a rogue bramble. Even without all the thank-yous we heard, we could tell that in just one hour we were making a visible difference in the local community.

Next week, we will be back in Hanwell, again helping the William Hobbayne Charity with cutting back undesirable plants. Don't worry, the brambles and nettles in the woods won't grow back that fast. We will be tackling the area we started clearing last month in the Hobbayne Community Gardens. Join us next week!

On a beautiful summer evening, four GoodGymers set off for a run from Ealing Broadway to Hanwell through quiet back roads towards the Hobbayne Community Gardens.

The space is the result of transforming derelict land beside the Grand Union Canal into 55 mini allotment plots for local people to grow fruit and vegetables. It also serves as a community space and a place to support wildlife, thanks to its pond.

At the destination, Freya, Steph, Sevan and Kash met Christos and tonight's task facilitator, Eli, who manages one of the plots at the site. Eli let us into the allotments and offered a range of tools for our session. The job was to clear an overgrown "secret garden" hidden behind a difficult-to-open gate.

With shears, loppers, rakes, and an hour to spend on intense chopping, we discovered the garden's secrets:

• a shed (with a strimmer locked inside)
• an oar (it was actually a paddle)
• a tennis ball
• a dirty washcloth
• a plum tree growing horizontally
• that the space to clear was three times bigger than we anticipated!

We cleared almost half of the space of grass, brambles, nettles and other undesirable plants. Eli said we've done a brilliant job. Fantastic progress towards transforming a jungle into a newly reclaimed community space!

Next week we'll head towards the opposite side of the borough to show the "wildflower trail" in Acton some love. We will be watering thirsty plants and litter picking. Sign up now!

The William Hobbayne Centre is where the magic happens! The wild Burns Night, the fun Quiz Night, and the artsy Christmas Fair - GoodGym Ealing knows all those fantastic community events where Hanwell folk enjoy themselves in the most relaxed atmosphere you can imagine while taking part in fundraising for local causes. We support running those parties, after all! But a different kind of magic happens behind the scenes, or should I say, behind the wall. Tucked behind the centre is an unassuming backyard covered by concrete where the weeds keep growing endlessly. On many occasions, that backyard has been an arena for Ealing GoodGymers to test the weapons of moss destruction: hoes, brushes and even snow shovels! It was no different tonight.

Sue from the Hobbayne Charity welcomed five GoodGymers to the centre and equipped them with tools, gloves and waste bags. We were ready to show the weeds and moss where their place was! A side quest included removing obstructions: moving bricks from the fence to the centre's wall. That task was handled by Freya and Lenka - the latter returning to GoodGym after a few years of hiatus. Great to have you back, Lenka!

Lenka made sure the bricks were cleaned before being stacked again as they were covered in dirt, cobwebs, leaves and snails. The more layers of bricks Freya and Lenka moved, the more wildlife they uncovered: spiders, slugs and even earthworms that must have felt very well in the rotten leaves turned into compost. At the destination, the pristine bricks formed the Great Wall of Hobbayne or the Hanwellian's wall - maybe not as much of a landmark as the Hanwell Viaduct or the Clock Tower, but we were proud of it anyway!

Steph Ducat and Sevan scraped and swept the moss from the ground, accompanied by the sound of violence: the doleful song of a hoe against the concrete. Despite the sun finally coming out in the late afternoon, the snow shovels came in handy - to scoop the waste into the bin bags. In about 45 minutes we were done! If the weather permits, the charity will be able to do a nice send-off for one of their retiring trustees in the back garden.

Next Tuesday we will be supporting the William Hobbayne Charity again - but in their community gardens! We will free as much of the overgrown area as possible to make it accessible again! Sign up now!

Task owner Dee met team GoodGym at Half Acre Field in Hanwell. She was very apologetic as the wheelbarrow that she'd promised to bring to help move logs had gone walkabout. In fact, some of the logs had been stolen too, the "best" ones, according to Dee. Kash, Steph and Sevan were intrigued to see the sub-standard logs that were left for them to move.

"I'm sorry about the wheelbarrow" - Dee
"Are we going downhill?" - Sevan
"Yes" - Dee
"We'll be fine then" - Sevan

And fine, they were. 6 logs were rolled down the hill, then hung a left into an area used by a forest school. The logs were mostly straight, making them easy to guide, though a few were a bit lumpier and needed more steering to not wipe out some recently planted saplings. Despite the fact that the GoodGymers weren't log grading experts, they all seemed like perfectly good logs 👌.

Twenty minutes later, after a natter, the task was complete and the forest school had some new tables and chairs 🪵🪵🪵.

The William Hobbayne Charity looks after Hanwell folk for around 600 years. They raise money to support schools, help those who cannot afford to pay for accommodation, and assist the victims of domestic violence. While the work the charity does is serious, each season Hobbayne brings to the local community something fun and lighthearted. In the early Spring it's usually a fundraising quiz.

Cherian from GoodGym Barnet visited the William Hobbayne Centre for a second time to help Liuba, Sevan and Kash prepare the venue for the quiz and curry night. They started with setting up thr tables. This year's improvements involved new green tablecloths and new ambient lights which made the hall resemble an enchanted forest with glowing mushrooms!

With the first task completed, Sevan started wrapping naan breads in tin foil before heating them up in the oven, and the ladies began wrapping one hundred sets of knives and forks in napkins. Another improvement this year involved moving away from single-use cutlery (obtained by the Charity through donations) in favour of the steel option. Because the metal knives and forks had been most likely donated, almost all of them looked like they had come from a totally different set. That's called dine-versity!

The situation with the plates was quite different.

"You'd be glad to hear this year we have compostable plates" - June
"Did you say 'combustible'?" - Kash

Before taking a break ahead of the second task if the night, Liuba went to procure some ice for the drinks for the event, and Sevan did a shop run for snacks and drinks for toe GoodGymers, sponsored kindly by June from Hobbayne.