The GoodGym Ealing birthday is coming up soon (9th of August). Tonight's epic session with Ealing Repair Cafe was perfect to make some history and generate new GoodGym Ealing trivia for the next quiz! Read on!

Who was the first man in Ealing to achieve 1000 good deeds?

Sevan was the first man in the area to wear the legendary 1000 Deeds cape created by Milly for the overachievers of West London. The cape received Mary's approval! Sevan was also presented with a (rather rude due to ordering mishap!) trophy. Sevan can now show his fingers to counting good deeds (very naughty in a church!) and say he does good for fun and out of a good heart. He's beyond the milestones now.

How did Mary get such a premium venue?

Wait! Was the workshop held in church? Mary and Lone from Ealing Repair Cafe contributed their services to St Mary's Church in Acton, revamping the curtains and providing draught excluders to keep the church a bit warmer in the winter (you can see Mary proudly presenting them in one of the pictures). The grateful church community allowed Ealing Repair Cafe to use the church as a location for tonight's workshop! How cool is that!

How long is a piece of string?

Madhan was busy making threads for the drawstring t-shirt bags. He made two balls of string (the size, not quantity matters!). You may ask now: how long is a piece of string? Madhan has the answer to that - 140ft! Madhan's feet, to be precise, as he unfolded one thread around the church and then diligently measured it with his feet!

Who's not afraid of sewing machines?

While Kash, Steph and Sevan decided to play it safe and stick to cutting t-shirts and jeans or assembling bunting, Gaby was the first one to have a go at the electric sewing machine. She got stuck into it for the entire session, producing 12 multi-purpose bags that others finished adding scraps of thread as drawstrings. Those kind of bags were in the past donated to the Northfields Community Library and Food Cupboard.

Who's the Great Old Dane?

Nishy and Chris got acquainted with the super sustainable Great Old Dane - a classic, portable Singer sewing machine: no pedals, no electricity, no emissions, free arm workout, and 3 lines of bunting for community groups as a result (the last one kindly finished quickly by Lone)!

What happened to Chris' donation?

At the previous episode of our craft adventures with Ealing Repair Cafe, Chris donated plenty of his old sports clothes and trainers. The GoodGymers sent a big box of those running shoes to JogOn for recycling later that week. But what happened to the clothes Mary from Ealing Repair Cafe agreed to take? The sportswear in good condition was sent to the refugees staying in hotels in Hounslow. And the worn football T-shirts? Those ended up even better! At a repair event that Mary ran in Brentford, she made one of the participants smile, getting them a patch with a Liverpool logo - a rare treat!

Who's GoodGym Ealing's go-to baker?

Nishy gave tonight's session an extra flavour - the chocolate flavour! As a part-time pro-baker, she had brought her homemade chocolate cake for everyone to celebrate Sevan's milestone. Thank you Nishy!

What do GoodGymers drink after a session in Acton?

After a break from post-group run socials, we returned to the tradition of grabbing a pot of chaii after the task in Acton. Sevan gave us finally a good excuse for a toast and to stay a bit longer together for a chat.

Next week, we will be running in the opposite direction to Acton, visiting the William Hobbayne Centre in Hanwell to help clear their backyard. Sign up now!

When a bell at the Hanwell School of Boxing rang at 7:15 pm, it announced the start of GoodGym Ealing's match against dry leaves, weeds, a pile of decomposing trimmings, and very much alive ivy. There was a plentitude of opponents to fight against, but we came with a strong team: 8 people warmed up by 3 km run or walk to the session!

The task owner, Linda, let us into the club's building to peek at the ongoing boxing class with young people sparing in the ring or practising their boxing drills. But our battle was outdoors - which we appreciated as the late spring weather was fantastic.

Our job was to tidy up the space outside the boxing school, and the task looked like a big one! Would there be another round - or could we win by knockout? No time to overthink when you are already in the ring! We went straight into action.

A.B. and Madhan swept the old leaves from the vast patch of tarmac leading to the school entrance. Chris, Harvey and Sevan freed the trees from the embrace of the ivy. Freya pulled all the weeds from the gravel area, then helped Steph Ducat, who was shovelling the pile of old cuttings. Kash took a lot of photos - and also loaded the waste into a wheelbarrow and dumped it onto a dead hedge, as Linda had lost hope that the green waste would get collected.

The result? We won with the mess by knockout! Surely, the ivy will grow back and new leaves will fall in the autumn - but we left Hanwell School of Boxing transformed and looking welcoming. We, in turn, felt welcome seeing the friendly smiles of young boxers, leaving after finishing their training session. Our match was over too, so we set off for the journey back towards Ealing Broadway.

Next week, we'll stick closer to the starting location at Bodyline, and will walk or run to the Lammas Enclosure to free saplings from the rule of nasty brambles - sign up now!