Last night our trusty crew tackled a truly rewarding task, proving once again that a little sweat and a lot of smiles can make a big difference. Our mission after running to the Methodist Church was to extract the sunflower seeds from the flower heads, retrieve the last tomatoes from the plants in the greenhouse, pulverise the sunflower stalks with a mallet (Jo particularly enjoyed this) and generally tidy and prepare the garden for the colder months. By the end of the evening everything was shipshape and there were heaps of green tomatoes ready to be transformed into chutney. Now that's something to relish.

Tonight, the team faced a colossal challenge at Critical Support: as we split into two groups, diving into the chaos. Crate by crate, transforming the overwhelming sprawl into organised piles - first completing the fresh food deliveries, followed by large stacks of clothes, shoes, homeware, and more.

Then came the heavy lifting as we hauled full crates upstairs and carefully tackled a quick round of repacking. This was crucial for maximising the space and ensuring the crates could be safely stacked.

With a final push and an "all hands on crates" effort, the job was done!

The warehouse was almost spotless and impressively organised - far exceeding what most of us thought possible in the time available. A huge welcome to Tori on a fantastic first task! Well done, everyone; the teamwork was absolutely amazing. We were truly "crate"!

It might have been blowing a hooley but that didn't deter our hard-working team, including Isabella who was joning her first Merton session. Maggie set us to work clearing leaves (the wind had already made a start) and planting, while Williams spent his second day in a row taking care of compost! The local residents are all super appreciative and one even donated a chocolate cake. As the evenings are getting shorter, we ended the session in head torches. This may be our last evening here for a while but it will be lovely to see the fruits of our labour come spring.

The tranquil garden is looking lovely and we were able to see how the log work we did last time has been transformed into seating. Tonight we were tasked with painting the wooden planters green and gold, as well as moving logs and clearing some brambles. It was great to see Georgina, who popped by while doing a litter pick. With her arm on the mend, hopefully she will be back at sessions soon. The nights are drawing in, so we were working in darkness by the end of the task but hopefully the results will be brush-taking! Thanks to Maggie, who lives nearby, for kindly donating some post-session chocolate, meaning that team green and team gold were transformed into team mint and team orange.

This was our first time helping 1st Merton Park Scouts at one of their working parties. There were plenty of tasks to be done under Emma's guidance and it was interesting to explore the two wartime air raid shelters where camping equipment is stored. As well as sorting and carrying, and collecting rusty saws, we were tasked with putting up an 8-person tent in the field. This was quite a challenge, especially as the poles turned out to be the wrong length. I don't think we'll be winning the Krypton Factor any time soon!