The morning stormy weather might have put in question the afternoon session at Bixley Field Allotments. Two GoodGymers, who had already made plans to visit the community allotment in Southall on Sunday, stuck to their timetable and showed up at the main entrance around 2 pm: Clare holding an umbrella and Kash in a rain jacket in which she had run to the task, jumping over puddles on the towpath.

Both GoodGymers were positively surprised that today's session was - believe it or not - held in a dry, covered place, sheltered from the elements. Bixley had recently received a donation of timber which was going to be used to build raised beds for people in wheelchairs so that they could engage in food growing. But who was going to build the beds?

Adel and Jason (Jay) from the Bixley allotment crew were hiding from rain and wind in a polytunnel kindly made available to them by the owner of a neighbouring plot. The two had almost finished constructing the short sides of the raised beds when Clare and Kash arrived. It was the perfect timing for engaging two extra pairs of hands - the team was about to assemble the full-sized beds.

Adel teamed up with Kash to finish attaching the most stubborn wood pieces to hold together the shorter sides of the beds. After a good amount of troubleshooting: changing the screws, screwing in and unscrewing them, trying pre-drilling, changing drill size, breaking one drill, and pre-drilling on both sides of planks, they eventually got the pieces of the puzzle together. It would have been probably much easier if all the planks were of the same thickness and hardness, but in reality, the donated timber came in different sizes and varieties of wood and the volunteers worked with what they got.

The next step was to attach the long planks to the sides, so Clare paired with Jay to balance what Adel and Kash were doing on their flank. Two sets of people on each side, two drills - perfect! The assembly went quickly and two raised beds were soon constructed. The Bixley team got one step closer to making the allotment more accessible. On their next volunteering Sunday, Adel, Jay and Gurpal will be aiming to strengthen one of the beds with additional support on the side, get the beds outside and fill them with soil.

It was a fun and impactful session where GoodGymers not only did something for the community but expanded their knowledge and skills - Kash learned some good DIY tips from Adel and Clare was amazed at how much gardening experience Jay was able to share with her, despite herself being already a seasoned plot holder.

We will be back in Southall in February to support a different food-growing hub - Western Road Urban Garden. Sign up for the next session now and stay tuned for more events at Bixley too!