We returned to the lovely Town Hall Hotel last night for a short run to our task on Columbia Road.

It was a gorgeous evening to sit on the steps and catch up on the weekend news: all the latest from Shindig, and what we would be doing this evening.

At 6:45 we ran through a couple of warm-up exercises on the steps before heading out on tonight's run.

Ivo and John led the route this evening, taking us down Old Bethnal Green road, a quieter route, perfect for a leisurely run. As we turned the corner of Gosset Street into Columbia Road, we found Ed waiting patiently for us with a large bag of woodchip.

Our task for tonight

Tonight we were joining Ed and Ed (not a typo) from Columbia Tenants and Residents Association to help distribute the new woodchip around the borders for the new trees and plants in the Orchard area. (Woodchip can help soil retain moisture, deter weeds and acts as a boundary between plant and mower).

Having been introduced to the two types of woodchip this evening, we moved to the Orchard area to meet the other Ed who was busy distributing cardboard around the plants to be woodchipped.

Having received great instructions on the plan, we divided into three teams: one shovelling woodchip into barrows; one wheeling the barrows around to the orchard and the third distributing the woodchip around the young trees and plants.

There was quite the variety of bushes and trees with edible produce here, from strawberries to gooseberries; pears and blackcurrants.

As the first woodchip pile was finished, a small team was then assigned to planting, while a new watering team proceeded to wet all the newly-laid woodchip and plants.

At shortly after 8, we started the task of wrapping up, culminating in a group shot inside the woodchip bag (not a typo).

Going our various ways, we said our goodbyes, thanking Ed and Ed for a lovely evening in Columbia Road orchard.

Heading slowly back towards the Hotel, the running group chatted and ran at leisurely pace, stopping at the lights for a final stroll.

Shout outs A shout-out to the whole team tonight for some brilliant work, but especially to Ivo and John for leading tonight's run.

Next week

...we return to the Parkview Estate on the edge of Victoria Park, to see Catherine, Liam and Seb, who will be guiding us through a big tree-watering task.

Until then.

We returned to one of our favourite venues, Cranbrook Community Centre, to assist Janet and her team once again. We knew the garden edges needed tidying - there was a lot of green clutter - but what to remove and what to leave? The wisdom of the crowd won through, with a little help from Janet.

Once again we didn't take a "before" picture, but we all remembered how messy it was before we arrived, and noted how smart it looked at the end, after a vigorous, energetic hour by our fabulous fifteen.

A special welcome to Danya, veteran of GoodGym Richmond who's moved to East London and was keen to carry on the good work at Tower Hamlets.

Thanks Emma for the heading, and for taking some of the pictures (and Janet for the group picture). Also Chris for leading the pre-task run.

We all missed Laura, but she'll be back next week!

With the earlier showers a distant memory it was a good-sized group who headed out to sunny Bethnal Green this evening.

The fitness

Chris had organised a great pre-task run, so a small group met at 6 to head off to London Fields to top up this week's training.

At 6:40, our pre-task workout commenced. (This consisted of a lot of balance moves in the middle of Middleton Green, an activity the group did fantastically well with).

The task

At 7, we headed around the corner to meet Margaret on Ellsworth Street (Margaret is from Teesdale and Hollybush Tenants and Residents Association).

Ellsworth Street is home to some pretty borders and planters in front of the houses but the weeds have got a little tall. Our job tonight was to remove the weeds, take them to the compost bays in Rocky Park and retain the poppy heads. (Weeding plants of this size and abundance on a regular basis is important, as they compete with other plants for light and nutrients).

The GoodGymers worked speedily, and it wasn't long before we had a few fantastic before and after pics. Taking it in turns to wheel weeds and tackle the borders, it was a job efficiently and speedily completed.

Breaking only for an ice pop rest, we finished the job with a thorough sweep of the pavement.

After posing for one final picture, courtesy of Margaret, we proceeded to head our separate ways: some home, some to the pub - and some to the park for a little more running!

It was a fun and useful night, and a thoroughly good way to start the week.

Well done everyone.

The shout-outs

Big shout-outs tonight to:

• Nick, who joined us for his first GoodGym! Well done for a great evening's gardening, Nick - hope to see you again soon!

• Chris, who led the pre-task run.

• Margaret, who led our task brilliantly, and who took some fantastic photos.

• ...And to our Rohan, who tonight celebrated his 100th good deed. Well done Rohan, thanks for being such a big part of GoodGym Tower Hamlets.

Next week we return to the Cranbrook Community Food Garden for a big gardening catch-up.

Until then.

A gorgeous night for it.

16 GoodGymers gathered together at The Soanes Centre this evening, ready for an active, useful task in the beautiful Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

What we were doing?

We met with the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park team first, to collect wheelbarrows and gloves – and instructions. Park Manager Ken whizzed through the park’s fascinating facts, covering everything from wildlife to top cow parsley-plucking tips.

We then made our way through the centre of the park, to the area near The Big Green Pile (as it sounds) where we covered the basics of tonight’s task: pulling out cow parsley.

Why were we doing it?

Cow parsley can be invasive, taking up light and space. Without any control, the plant and its seeds spread quickly. Removing the flowering stem in late Spring helps manage this plant in this huge, much loved, historic cemetery and nature reserve.

How we got on

The team worked - you guessed it – tirelessly as usual. Getting to grips very quickly with these tough stems, the area started to look transformed very quickly. Working in groups on both sides of the park path, GoodGymers filled barrow after barrow with armfuls of the cow parsley.

With all that squatting, plucking and wheeling, it proved to be quite the Monday night workout. The time sped by, and before we knew it, it was well after 8 and we were wheeling the final barrow back to The Big Green Pile, to pose for one last picture.

We strolled back to base, grateful to Richard from the FOTHCP team for taking barrows and gloves off our hands.

Another fantastic night - well done everyone.

The big shout-outs

…To Giorgio, Yelda, and Alex who joined us for the very first time. You did such a great job, and we hope to see you again very soon.

To Emma who worked hard at Cow Parsley pun research.

To our Task Force (John, Chris, Fiona, Aine and Emma) who project manage-d tonight; helped plan the next few weeks, and who generally do loads behind the scenes.

…And to the whole team tonight, for such a fabulous start to the week.

Until next time.

It was a lovely evening to gather in the bright, spacious atrium of the RLH this evening for our monthly visit to the hospital with the Barts Volunteers team.

Background to our task

We've been coming to the Hospital to join Nancy and the brilliant Barts Volunteers team for a while now.

For 2023, we have set up monthly visits to the hospital, in which our tasks have focused on two areas: making up activity packs and menu cards for the Patient and Family Contact Centre, and visiting the wards to gather essential feedback from patients and families.

Tonight’s teams were divided into three: one remained in the Atrium, under the careful eye of Nancy, to make up activity packs, while a further two teams headed upstairs with Richard and Tom to visit the wards, gathering vital feedback and distributing newspapers to patients.

The activity pack team worked at a fantastic pace, buoyed on by Nancy’s film quiz (“guess the artist and film to this song”) and a few tasty Lindt.

The ward teams also worked at a fast pace, engaging in many useful and meaningful conversations with patients of all ages.

Essential survey feedback was gathered, which helps the Trust in delivering effective, current, care and treatment while copies of evening London newspapers were distributed to patients, always a much-appreciated, well received bit of reading by all accounts .

Finishing at varying times gave us an opportunity to enjoy a catch-up with one another, and with the Barts Volunteers team, finding out more about what we will be involved with in the months ahead.

At just gone 8:15, we were deciding where and how to pose for this week’s group shot, headed up by Ritchie!

A huge team effort tonight! Special shout-outs to:

• Abie, whose first GoodGym event it was. Great to see you Abie, and hope to see you again soon!

• Abie and Alice who came up with tonight's pun.

• And Olivia, who reached her 100th good deed at tonight’s task (Olivia reached her 50th good deed at this same task at the end of October!). Congratulations Olivia!

Another brilliant Monday evening with the team!

Next week, we head to a brand new task in Columbia Road, to join some great gardening activity!

Until then.