5 Goodgymers made their way to the gardens of St Margaret's House on a clear November evening. Emily (Operations Manager) and John (Head Gardener) helpfully directed us to the tasks that needed doing, primarily giving the ivy bushes a haircut and loose leaf gathering.

Shout out to Jo who was the the first goodgymer on the scene and promptly got to shearing the ivy after a consultation and shampoo (or so I can only assume - I wasn't there).

John arrived stealthily and joined Jo on the job, which was at the very least a two-hander given that it had been a while since the ivy's last trip to the salon.

Soon enough, the darkness drew in (thanks to daylight saving) but it wasn't all doom and gloom - Ilana and Kareem arrived and happily got involved in the ivy/leaf sweeping business.

By the end of the session, the ivy bush was looking very sharp indeed, just in time for the weekend.

In the backdrop of the majestic mulberry tree (which keeps the leaf sweeping trade booming by raining leaves every time the wind sighs) we finished the task by taking a customary group photo.

Before leaving the premises we popped into the chapel which was holding a dazzling exhibition of film noir-inspired block prints, painted ceramic tiles and pots.

This task operated a staggered start system with 4 Goodgymers making their way to St Margaret’s house on a balmy Thursday afternoon.

After some confusion over entrances, the correct one was located (helpfully signed ‘Main Entrance’) where we were met by Operations Manager Emily.

The task was to remove all weeds in sight (but not touch the nice mossy bits) and sweep up any loose leaves and debris.

Emily helpfully provided us with everything we needed to complete the task and more – we were even spoilt with knee pads.

Ilana was second on the scene and got to work removing weeds like they’d gone out of fashion.

Around 5pm the Goodgym baton was passed from Ilana to John. John remarked on the outdoor seating area being the easiest sweeping surface he had ever experienced. High praise indeed from a man who must have swept countless surfaces through myriad Goodgym tasks.

Last but by no means least, we were joined by Sam, a longstanding Goodgymer who has recently moved from Richmond to Tower Hamlets. A very welcome addition to the Tower Hamlets contingent! Sam was eagle-eyed at picking out litter camouflaged amongst the natural debris.

We ended the session by tackling the front area by the café, surrounded by the soothing scent of lavender bushes and a lovely sunset.

Storms becoming the norm

Storm Brendan was no match for 31 robust Tower Hamlets runners this evening, who gathered in wind and rain to warm up for this evening's three-task bonanza...

But we were still doing the TRIO

• Bryon was leading the task to Cranbrook Community Food Garden, to help Eileen and Janet with some much needed clearing, and fixing of vegetable beds.

• Leo and Isabelle, in the meantime, were tasked with leading a team through drenched, congested streets, to shout from the rooftops about the wonderful activities neighbouring St Margaret's House have coming up, in a big leafleting job.

• And I led a team back to Hollybush where Margaret met us with tasks galore, from de-weeding paving stones, to planting pots, to shoveling mulch and sweeping leaves.

It was a night-and-a-half. But I'm afraid Storm Brendan's pelting rain and howling winds were no match for this lot. As bin liners were filled, leaflet piles emptied, compost shifted, the evening's work got done regardless. And with smiles.

The usual incredible stuff.

And a CHOICE of workouts no less.

And then Chi headed 'round to our favourite basketball court to prep for this evening's session. And so with two trainers on board, the lucky group got to pick from a running session led by Yours Truly or conditioning work led by Chi. We finished with a little balance and cardio work before running back through slippery streets to our hotel steps for a final calf stretch.

A wrap or what.

And so to tonight's shout-outs...

Here's what I want to highlight tonight: every session I thank our Task Force, because they do so much to enable our lovely, growing sessions to run the way they do. When we need to accommodate three tasks, they appear like fairy godmothers of fitness. Here's how it looks to a trainer:

• Task Force member Leanne got in touch over the weekend to ask if the group needed any help for today.
• Bryon stepped forward today to lead the Cranbrook Task.
• Leo stepped forward earlier today to lead the leafleting task.
• Isabelle stepped in to lead the walkers.
• All our regular task force (Kat, Lieke, and those above) help me to make decisions like whether to relocate our fitness session (weather exception needed); who gets what lighting equipment; route navigation; backmarking...the list is endless.

...And other thank you's tonight go to Chi, for yet again helping to deliver the group some really fabulous, effective fitness content, catering to all abilities. Thank you from us all.

What's coming up

Now. Do you want the good news or the great news? Next week, we're at a brand new task! And it's indoors. Yep, we're heading to Limehouse Town Hall for Week 1 of a two-week task helping the Limehouse Town Hall Consortium Trust prep for a bold building makeover...More details and sign up can be found here.

Oh, and the even better news, you don't have to wait that long for more GoodGym Tower Hamlets activity: on Sunday, Leo and Isabelle are leading another Junior parkrun event, where you can take your pick from a range of volunteering roles. The details and sign up for that one are here.

Until next time, have the most wonderful of weeks. Stay warm, stay well, and hope to see you very soon.

THREE TASKS NO LESS!

What a busy night: three tasks, three beautifully organised task owners.

We met in our lovely hotel room where Torie headed up the lighting operation: attaching straps to our new head torches, and together with Emma, Isabelle & Kat, helped figure out the hows and whys of transporting our new spangly lights.

We headed out for some quick warm up exercises, welcoming late arrivals before forming three highly competent crews…

Task Force save the day again

• Kat and Isabelle led one team to Meath Gardens, where task owners, Friends of Meath Gardens, including Joanna, Julia and Jane, were ready and waiting with carts, spades & litter-picking kit for mulch moving, digging aaaand litter-picking.

• Lieke led the St Margaret’s House posse – a team of 5 taking to the streets of Bethnal Green to distribute newsletters and flyers about some exciting events this fab arts centre has coming up.

• And I led a third team to the Parkview Estate, where Catherine and little Liam greeted us with bundles of the estate’s newsletters, and the best instructions and organisation in town. The team was dispatched to all four corners of the estate, leaving no stone unturned as we distributed the newsletter to all residents, letting them know of a forthcoming litter-pick, and the new basketball hoops.

Busy bees or what.

The team at Meath were shovelling mulch, and collecting every last bit of litter, while Lieke’s leafleting posse distributed every flier given, and my team at Parkview covered the development like pros.

And then we met at our favourite fitness tree (although, according to Emma, as it’s fallen, it’s the Fitness Log. Hmmm.) The runners were led through some lovely moves, such as our boxer crunch, scorpion push up and our favourite Bulgarian Split Squat, all to Apple Music’s Summer Vibes playlist. And Chi’s encouraging words…

Shout-outs and thanks

• Welcome to our first time runners, Liz, Charlie, Adam and George (by no means new to GG, just to TH) - thanks for a wonderful session; for being so calm and productive on a very busy evening. We hope to see you really soon!

• And thanks to our wonderful task force, Kat and Isabelle for leading to the Meath task; to Lieke for helping to plan in advance, and for enabling the St Margaret’s task to happen.

• Thanks to Torie for brilliant help with logistics: with planning and light assembly, and for being a much appreciated early arrival this evening.

• And thanks to Chi & Leo for some great pics this evening!

• Lastly, thank you to the legend that is Ed Field who fast-tracked our new head torches (when yours truly had been a bit slow on the requesting front), meaning we were able to commit to the Meath Gardens task.

What's coming up...

Now, there is just one thing you need to know about coming up this week…

On Thursday evening from 7-9 we’re heading to Powerleague in Shoreditch (location here) to support our first 5-aside match as GG regulars Kat, David, Chris, Bryon & Steve take on The Young Foundation!

Come and spend some time with us: they’ll be playing, I’ll be cheering and you’ll be eating the beautiful food that’s being laid on for us all.

A lovely night out, and you can come for as little or as much as you fancy. The event details can be found here.

Until then, have a wonderful week everyone, and we hope to see you very soon!

Small but perfectly formed

It was a small crew that gathered for tonight’s task this evening.

We were pleased to be leafleting the busy Bethnal Green area for St Margaret’s House, a charity that supports creativity and wellbeing in the borough. After a quick pic to celebrate our fabulous partnership with Team GB’s Nation's Biggest Sports Day at the weekend, we headed around the corner (yes, we ran the 0.2 miles around the block) to meet Tony Hardie, director of the charity, and tonight’s task owner.

Connecting buildings, events and people

Tony explained a little bit about the charity; what they’re looking to achieve in the weeks and months ahead, along with some info about the events we were leafleting for this evening.

Despite being a reduced number of runners, we soon adopted a splendid strategy to cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time: Bryon and Jo headed to nearby Hollybush and Teesdale developments; Tom and Clair meanwhile headed south down Cambridge Heath Road hitting up everything and everyone from park pedestrians to local businesses. I headed up a team of 1 moving north up Cambridge Heath Road to local businesses - flourishing, independently owned, busy local traders who were unbelievably supportive in taking leaflets, displaying them prominently and listening intently to what this wonderful charity has to offer the community.

It struck me this evening that although a Bank Holiday may not offer the best run turnout, and the city may feel a little sleepier than usual, it’s a wonderful opportunity to take a little more time to meet people on pavements and truly terrific local traders, and help to connect buildings, events and people.

Pilates in the Park

And so we met back at St Margaret’s at 8pm, with just the smallest stash of leaflets remaining. We then headed up Approach Road to the beautiful Bonner Gate entrance of Victoria Park where we found a perfect spot by the canal for tonight’s fitness. Tonight’s session of Pilates in the Park involved the use of kit: yes, the runners were lucky enough to benefit from exercise content using resistance bands and tubes, tailored to tackling dormant glutes and comatose cores.

We wrapped shortly after 8.30, after some great use of the steps and railings back at the hotel showing our quads and calves some love after a warm run.

A great evening’s work: we blitzed the local area for a wonderful charity, and enjoyed the last of the Monday sunshine conditioning our hardworking muscles.

And so to next week

And of course we’re back at it again next week: off we head for our first visit following the break to Oxford House, where task owner Deborah has some exciting work cut out for us…Don’t miss out – check it all out here.

This was a lovely afternoon in East London where 6 runners supported St Margarets's house to set-up a free storytelling event in the backyard of their vegan cafe. This evening was all about secrets, where where 9 people have up to 10 minutes each to tell a real story from their own lives.

There were about 50 people coming and we had 1,5 hours to organise a variety of tasks. To maximise efficienctly the group split into pairs and each had ownership of a different task. One pair did all the set up of tables and chairs in the garden (50 people were expected to come), another pair did the sound and also some last minute weeding happened to create a clear garden! Unfortunatley it was forecasted to rain a little later in the evening, so the event organisers also had a contingency plan in place in the venue next door.

It all happened so quickly that we finished well on time - 45 min prior to the event.

We hope everyone enjoyed the event and we'll be back soon!