One by one the GoodGymers arrived at Rocky Park this evening, ready for a big lifting task.

We've been enjoying regular sessions with Margaret and Ash this year, on this particular project which has seen old planters demolished, new ones built and filled with new soil.

Margaret and Ash, on behalf of the Estate's TRA, support the Estate gardens, which, over the years has seen multiple sites transformed into allotments, orchards and play areas.

We've enjoyed sessions right through from the summer, with Task Force leading many weekend sessions, and throughout the Autumn too, which has seen us shovelling and wheeling in some pretty rainy conditions.

Tonight we were continuing with the emptying and relocating of tonne bags of soil in Rocky Park.

With a short briefing from Margaret, the team soon dispersed throughout the garden emptying large bags at a great pace. It was heavy work, but rewarding to see the bags speedily empty with a good bit of teamwork.

It was fun, it was fast- and it was fab to see some familiar faces. And as usual, the time flew.

As we approached 8pm, Margaret indicated which bags we were to finish up with, and then the team gathered shovels, rakes and brooms to load into wheelbarrows, ready to be packed away.

It seemed like no sooner had we arrived were we gathering for the final pic, before leaving several members in the capable hands of Chris and the Central team for some final GoodGym pics and soundbites.

A great evening's work, and particular shout-outs to Team Pun, headed up as usual by the legendary Lucinda and Ilana.

Next week, it's another big leaf clearance over at Cranbrook.

You snooze, you lose…

Until then.

We've been doing quite a bit of flyering recently, so much so that we must be pretty much experts at it... This evening's session came earlier than expected courtesy of cancellation from Newham Hospital. It probably is a tad chilly for gardening at the moment, so hopefully we can pick up with them again in the New Year. And at least with flyering, you get to keep moving! It also meant we were able to accommodate Mabel the dog in her last session with us for now, but hope it's not too long before she might be able to join us again.

Said flyers were to promote local volunteering opportunities with Food Cycle in case you missed it - they've got a new location just down the road from us in Plaistow and are looking for folks to help with their community dining experiences. Read more about them here.

Shout out to Hitesh for making it - it's been a while, so it was great to see you again. We do hopefully have at least one indoor festive task lined up this side of the Christmas, details to be confirmed as soon as we have them and next week we're back up the canal to Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground - sign up here.

Last night saw round 2 of GoodGym Newham's fast flyering for Cody Dock's Frost Fair, coming up on 30th November.

Firstly though, a congratulations to the Princes, Kev and Sharon, respectively our figurative patriarch and matriarch, on their 30th wedding anniversay! And they would have chosen our group run to celebrate it too, had work and illness not gotten in the way. We'll have to save the OJ & Lemonades till next time...

Back to the task - great to have a few more of us this week, which certainly helped with the pretty substantial stack of flyers we were to post through letterboxes to promote the Frost Fair in the local community. Apparently flyering does make a difference to the number of people attending Cody Dock's events, and we even had a special request to go a bit further north of Star Lane, getting the word out to even more folks than we would usually cover. I think we distributed about 700 flyers between the two weeks, so well done everyone!

Just a plug for the event though if anyone is tempted to go (and we've been to past iterations - they are highly recommended) - the Frost Fair is a free community event with craft stalls, outdoor games, live music, fire sculpture, choir singing, food & drink, a free cycle maintenance workshop and other activities. More details on the Cody Dock website

For anyone tempted by gardening and excellent post-task snacks, we're at Emanuel Church this Saturday, and then off to the Adventure Playground next Tues - deets to follow on the WhatsApp.

Last night we met under the iconic London Eye for a very special session. Not only was it amazing to welcome back Kike and Joe, but we also got to cheer Thomas who was along for his very first GoodGym experience!

We had an extra reason to feel positive. Last night we collaborated with Sport England to raise awareness about This Girl Can's Lift the Curfew initiative, which helps raise awareness about the risks women face running after dark. As a society we can make it safer. So, armed with one enormous flag, we had some photos taken courtesy of Chris (thank you) with the London skyline in the background. The only question is what will we do with the flag now? Double duvet cover? Sail? Tent? Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Our task for the day involved supporting GROAD, a charity dedicated to helping rough sleepers, refugees, and anybody living with financial insecurity in London. GROAD focuses on providing essential items, such as clothes and bedding, which can make a significant difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness.

Rail-y great work

During the session, we transported the donations to the railings to display them to their greatest advantage before sorted and distributed clothing and bedding to individuals in need. It was heartwarming to see the direct impact of our efforts; every item handed out was met with appreciation. It’s a reminder of how vital community support is for those facing tough circumstances.

Thank you all for your incredible effort last night! You made a huge difference. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next session where we'll be handing out hot food.

Hilary led tonight's task and after briefing it was random weekly question time ("What's your favourite country?") - we are truly global group...Canada, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, England and Wales....sorry to those I missed. We headed along the greenway, lots of cyclists and runners out tonight.

Hilary took the lead with Kevin and I making sure nobody was left behind. Richard and Bernadette, who are part of the Barts NHS volunteers coordination team, met us and let us know the task for the evening.

We split into two teams and headed to the two of the hospital's tranquility gardens which needed weeding, dead plants removing, shrubs cutting back and sweeping up. Time does go so quick when you're busy and in no time we had several bags of dead plants and leaves cleared.

Some final photos and off we went and of course now it's September, the sun had disappeared and we headed back down a darker greenway, head torch season is here. Some top quality streches to finish the session before heading inside for quick oj and lemonade to finish of the evening.

Just awaiting confirmation of next weeks task,see website for details later in the week.