The last group run of August 2025 took GoodGym runners Sevan, Harvey, Freya and Steph Ducat to South Acton in a pursuit of perfection in the art of leaf mulch making. At Berrymede School, they met Kash and Chris, and, of course, Romina from Cultivate London, who would guide them in preparing the finest 2024 leaf compost, continuing their work started in July.

Last year's leaves were well-marinated: dark, moist and rich - easy to tell apart from golden, crispy 2025 leaves that already started falling onto the schoolyard. We had to do our best to finish the 2024 batch before it got contaminated by this season's additions. Chris, Freya, Sevan and Kash positioned themselves at the leaves deposit to dig out the damp organic gold. The lowest layers already had some growth in them. The GoodGymers found peculiar white sprouts and even apples: one edible (presumably, as no one actually tried it), and another - an Apple device! Cultivate London charity could grow rich by growing more iPhones rather than selling leaf mulch to raise funds!

Harvey, in breaks from shovelling leaves, was driving the trolley with half-full tonne bags to Bay 2024, where Steph was performing leaf stomping: an ancient tradition of treading the mulch by feet to release the juices and initiate fermentation. As the time went on, the half-full bags in the bay, topped up with Harvey's deliveries and compressed by Steph, grew fatter and denser. Romina was delighted to see what outstanding results a small team could achieve and gave the GoodGymers a round of high-fives.

Next week, our Tuesday session will take place near Ealing Broadway. We will be pruning and watering at the much-loved Lammas Orchard. Sign up now to join us!

Tuesday evening group run : Freya, Richard and Steph Ducat set off from Bodyline studio to the Willaim Hobbayne Centre on a 3km run to meet Angela and then Jules. June welcomed everyone and we got the tools and cracked on in the courtyard. We normally attacked the weed in the main courtyard area, but this time it was decided we go from the far end towards the courtyard as never have enough light and time to do that section. The team tackled weed, brambles, moss and dead leaves. June was so impressed at the speed we tackled the whole area : aie aie speedy Gonzalez and his friends were present at Hobbayne tonight. We filled 6 bags and even had time to get 6 boxes of old brochures to the bin plus load June's car with 2 boxes and a bag of toys that would be given away tomorrow. Were the Goodgymers in need for speed tonight? Well done to Richard for running 3km as he has just recently started to run.

Lunch service of the ESK was red as 5 Goodgymers volunteering from 1pm to help serve guests. Freya went from the tea station to serving, Iram was on parcel duties and also then helped in the kitchen with the pot wash,both Jamie and Jamiewere serving food and Steph Ducat was in his usual spot ...the kitchen finishing the prep and serving food. On the menu today was lovely Moussaka : lamb or veggetable served with a side salad. Then strawberries with greek yoghurt, a little sprinkle of sugar and some honey.

Busy shift and all the food went to hungry guests who enjoyed the meals. Takeaway service was also a success at the end of the food serving period.

There was a wave of red t shirts in the serving/kitchen area as 2 more voluteeers arrived at 3pm to help cleaning. 7 Goodgymers in total on the day.

Friday ESK hub and Freya who is one of our regulars here was holding the fort at the Tea station. Serving tea, coffee, drinks, biscuits and cereals. One of the guests challenged Freya to chess but she said she did not know how to play and he was ready to teach her, but Freya had to manage the fort as on her own at the station. Maybe next time.

Team GoodGym was tasked by the Ealing Rangers with another impactful mission: a burr hunt in Elthorne Park! The bane of dog owners, the mighty burdock, has returned in numbers to the beloved Hanwell green space to terrorise the walkers and latch onto fur, hair, or clothes of everyone passing by.

Runners, walkers, and cyclists from Ealing and Hammersmith came together to defeat the invader spreading along the main paths. However, first, they had to defeat the tool storage security system to obtain the necessary loppers and bags for the job. While Freya, Steph, and Sevan embarked on the burr hunt, Kash was figuring out how to arm the security system again, only to discover that the unexpected arrival, Divya, needed a pair of loppers and a safe space to store his bike.

While removing burdock encroaching on the park pathways, the GoodGym crew heard a few thank-yous from HANGOT volunteers and dog walkers. Maybe their good work has even inspired one of the passers-by to become a GoodGymer? Time will tell!

If you missed the HANGOT cameo today, join us this Saturday for the full HANGOT orchard experience, followed by GoodGym Ealing 9th birthday!

Next Tuesday's group run will be to Acton to do some seeding, watering and tidying up at the Wildflower Trail. Sign up now!