As the title implies, this was kinda game of tag without actually seeing each other...

Tina found the time & energy to clean up / tidy up the garden of a vulnerable local, only to discover that LB Newham paused their green waste collection to March... and not even clear when in March!

So she tagged me in a sense to have a look at clearing some of the bagged up leaves & grass & bits of tree.... and who can one ignore a lady in distress?

So after the mouse adventure at the foodbank I popped down and managed to make 6 bags of garden waste 'disappear'. Just missed the green waste collection at home, so it will go out next week.

Another Tuesday, another wonderful evening of doing good and getting fit! This week, we returned to the Care4Calais' East London storage facility, continuing our mission to transform a mountain of generous donations into neatly sorted boxes of clothing, ready to reach those who need them most.

Thanks to our collective efforts over the past few sessions, we’ve made some serious headway—what once resembled a fabric avalanche is now an increasingly organised space. This week saw more great sartorial discoveries, with some standout pieces that would make even the most seasoned thrifters jealous!

Of course, no GoodGym session would be complete without our Random Weekly Question. Courtesy of Graham, we asked: What’s your favourite game? The responses were as varied as ever, ranging from the classic (tennis, football) to the less conventional (Sushi Go, Ticket to Tobago, Frogger and the intense long-term activity of trying to complete the parkrun app).

A huge well done to everyone who came along and put in the hard work. See you next time for more running and doing good - I think we've got a task lined up at Chandos Rd, details to emerge in due course...

Today we headed to the south of the borough to Silver Town to meet for the first time the team from REinsTate.

After a brief introduction to some of the team and what the vision is for this wonderful old building we were given a demo of the best way to remove the nails from the old dance floor boards.

We discovered the boards are made from Canadian Maple and after some research it is believed they are nearly 100 years old.

Nails knocked in at an angle are difficult to remove but we impressed one of the building team that we actually knew how to use a hammer.

A quick break for some wonderful home made soup to warm us to tackle the next pile of boards.

More volunteers arrived and dry space under the gazebo was becoming tight we said our goodbyes.

As we left the impressed builder asked us to bring more friends next time if they work as hard as we did.

Last night, GoodGym Newham took on another epic task—this time at Hackney Marshes Adventure Playground, where we helped dig out soil to create an access area for some new planters (at least, we think so… it was a bit dark to be sure!).

Most of us enjoyed a scenic run up the River Lea, while Martin met us there, ready to get stuck in. As we shoveled away, we were treated to some Whitney Houston belters, which naturally led to a chat about our favourite karaoke songs.

Among the classics mentioned*:

• I Wanna Dance With Somebody
• I Believe in a Thing Called Love
• Daydream Believer
• Smooth Operator
• Wannabe
• And the intriguing choice of "Anything Instrumental"...

A huge well done to everyone who took part! Next week, we’re back at Care4Calais—see you there for another feel-good mission! 💪🔥

*With apologies if I (very likely) mis-remembered any of these - more than happy to edit in the interests of accuracy!

Well done everybody for this week’s task helping care4calais organising their donations.

Four of us met at the start point, with two joining us at the task.

Great fashion find this week was a pair of half leopard print jeans. Why would anyone give them up?! (Kitten/pirate tshirt is still there in case anyone’s wondering).

Two volunteer police officers amongst us making sure we felt super safe, with some discussion of getting the tasers they’re now entitled to.

Favourite national days was the thought provoking random weekly question this week, prompted some discussion of whether pancake day counts, world book day was a contender and no trousers on the tube got honourable mention. It was actually national homemade soup day on Tuesday… so.. y’know….wow.

Hackney adventure playground next Tue evening, so if you’re up for some adventure…

Made good progress and arrived safely on time... Such a warm welcome and a really appreciated hot cuppa at half time. Blinding !

Mrs C is a welcoming individual suffering from arthritis and is sadly unable to maintain the lovely garden as she used to.

With a little trim of the Fire Thorn perturbing over the garden fence and a good old rummage of the Birtch leaves nestled along the fence line all was looking good for the oncoming summer months.

Such a nice lady too.

Kevin.