A Sheepment of Woodchip

The New

Horsenden Farm is always a popular starting location for the new GoodGym adventurers. The image of volunteering, animals, pizza and craft beer lured many souls to that promised land of rustic pleasures. Today, we must have had a record number of new starters, with Lauren, Louis and Krishna arriving at the farm to sweat hard and feast wildly!

The Old

Steph Ducat and Gus cycled while Sevan and Kash ran to today's task to revisit the familiar potato patch, where the GoodGymers had been previously spreading manure, compost or woodchip on multiple occasions. It was Gus' first visit to Horsenden, but he fell in love with the farm, just like other Hounslow folks before, so we are pretty sure he will become a regular.

The Job

The potatoes from the plot on the hill had been long gone, and the soil awaited a new plan devised by volunteer manager Elsa. She asked GoodGymers to solve a complex puzzle involving creating stripes on the ground with layers of either cardboard and compost or cardboard, wool and woodchip. Some of us imagined the job as even more confusing after mishearing the instructions.

Wool? Oh, I heard wall! I was wondering how you'd fit that between cardboard and woodchip. - Kash

We split into teams that laid cardboard and wool, transported woodchip and compost or raked. We continuously reviewed where more hands (and wheelbarrows) were needed and whether we should be bringing more woodchip or compost. Those calculations led not only to superior efficiency but also to the invention of GoodGym tongue twisters.

How much woodchip can a GoodGym chap chuck into a potato patch? - Gus

Our crew was so effective that we had enough time for a bonus task: laying woodchip on a path from the potato plot to the pizza oven and for the tour around the farm.

Volunteering? Check ✅

The Tour

We had promised our new joiners that they would see farm animals after all the hard work they had done in the morning. There were a few surprises though. The ducks fell victim to the fox (just like the chickens in the past), the pigs were "gone" (you know what that means, salami lovers), and the harvest mice had been all released (partially by GoodGymers). Luckily, the goats were still around, hiding in their latest enclosure that seemed more secure than the paddock we had been making escapee-proof in the past.

Animals? Check ✅

The Main Course

All seven of us gathered at a table in the sun to devour well-deserved pizza. Some of us sampled the "interesting" Gesh pizza famed for gherkin being one of the toppings. A couple of us have proven that the noon can be a happy hour and ordered a pint of zesty craft beer from the microbrewery.

Pizza? Check ✅
Craft beer? Check ✅

The Future

Hungry for another Horsenden visit? Join us in November on the first Saturday of the month. Sign up now!