Task Force member Fiona writes:

Summer's here!

...And so were a large group of Goodgymers to help Larry finish the final landscaping task at the Yurt.

Welcome to all those new to Tower Hamlets Goodgym! (Michael, Matt, Anna).

When we arrived there was a mound of gravel towering high to be spread over the rocky path.

We split into teams, shovelling the gravel into the barrows and raking in all directions to cover all the larger stones.

After an hour and a half we could see a smooth, beautiful gravel path leading all the way down to the monastery garden. Good effort team!

We also had our painting team,Lucinda and Victoria, who worked their magic with the brushes and painted the entire fence at the back of the garden.

Having smashed through our allocated tasks, many hands then made light work loading up the skip with panels and planks.

We definitely got a good workout in the sun! And it was great to see the Yurt garden space looking lovely for everyone to enjoy, thanks in part, to our efforts on this project over the last few months :-)"

Tonight a good-sized group of GoodGymers headed to the Yurt Cafe at the Royal Foundation of Saint Katharine in Limehouse to help in the exciting last few weeks of this new community garden.

The garden is taking shape nicely, with a new pathway along the side, the monastic garden now housing benches and fruit bushes, and the sides of the garden clear and ready for more planting.

Having started work on this garden at the start of the year, it's been great to see it take shape as the months have gone by: from demolishing sheds and old planters on cold January nights to laying the final barrows on gravel on a balmy July evening, visits to the project in Limehouse, overseen by brilliant task owner Larry, have been a 2024 staple here in Tower Hamlets.

Tonight three teams worked on shovelling gravel, spreading gravel and weeding in-and-around the monastic garden.

By the end of the evening, we weren't sure which was the best workout.

Having assumed weeding would be the gentler task, we realised very early on that tough, well established weeds combined with dry soil meant a claw hammer came in very handy. But then a sidelong glance at wheelbarrows of stones being upended wasn't such an easy gig either.

It was certainly a physical evening, and a fun one too. Welcoming John​ to his first session, it was a splendidly sociable start to the week as usual.

A great effort, team, and I look forward to the next time.

Until then.

Al fresco fitness

Our group slowly grew this evening, until there were more than a handful of us gathered around the picnic tables outside the Yurt Café, working on our balance and core.

In this evening’s short workout, we ran through some familiar moves, with a couple of additions such as the lunge-on-tiptoes, to focus on calves in preparation of a summer of additional mileage.

Tonight's task

Larry, our task owner, came to join at 7pm, ready to brief us on tonight’s activity.

We’ve been lucky enough to work with Larry on this community garden project since its start, at the beginning of the year.

Part of the Royal Foundation of St Katharine charity, this new phase of the community garden has seen the creation of a new monastic garden, trellises and planters.

Tonight’s job was to continue the distribution of various types of gravel in-and-around the monastic garden.

Divided into raking and shovelling teams, this was truly a workout-and-a-half.

No rain!

The evening sun was surprisingly warm but no one was complaining (tbh, we were relieved to enjoy a downpour-free evening).

We achieved a surprising amount in a relatively short space of time (hopefully our gravel mound before and after pics do the GoodGymers’ productivity justice).

We started to wrap shortly before 8, before heading back to the tool shed to collect belongings, discuss puns (well done to Lucinda and Ilana for tonight’s offering) and bid each other farewell.

Off we strolled and cycled into a still-warm Monday evening, pleased to have enjoyed another companiable, productive evening together.

Next week, it’s back to the pretty Columbia Road gardens, with the brilliant Columbia TRA.

Until then.

We arrived one at a time, after Sree's bus was delayed by two men delivering election speeches on the bus. Or maybe they were just confused homeless people.

Larry's task for us this time was to weed and then shovel clear an uneven area of earth, so the material could be relocated to where it was needed. The aim was to level the original area, so a black sheet could be laid and new gravel laid on top.

After more than an hour's hard shovelling, we joined Larry for refreshment at the Yurt cafe, where we sorted out the general election, the "left-behind" Leave voters, and the state of British agriculture. All over one cup of lotta-mocha-coffee

Tonight we helped Larry to resurface a key area of the outdoor space for the Yurt cafe and Foundation of St Katherine's. Our mission was to remove the old gravel, cover the patch with fresh underlay then add the new gravel. Simple in theory, but the task was not to be underestimated in just over an hour. A big welcome to Tyler who completed his first Goodgym task and definitely got stuck in shovelling the gravel into wheel barrows and securing the new underlay. We worked diligently to finish our patch which went from looking tired to a welcoming space with new white gravel. We even had a DJ to power us through the task thanks to the Limehouse cafe garden where we gathered for a post-task pizza and drink. Thanks everyone for all your hard work!

Once again we gathered at the Yurt café, even though it had closed two hours earlier. But we were here for a good deed, not a good feed. I arrived quite close to the start time and wondered if anyone else was going to appear. But GoodGymers are known for their precise timing (except Sree and Emma, of course), and nearly all appeared within seconds of the start time, notably Martin who times his pre-task runs to perfection.

Welcome especially to Beth, doing her first ever good deed, and who we hope to see a few more times before she relocates to meet the equally lovely folk at GoodGym Islington.

It was great to be good-deeding in daylight, and to discover there’s a short cut to the Yurt from Limehouse station, until dusk. Some people were still delighting in Fulham’s win against some team from Stratford as we selected gloves: relatively mud-free, and neatly divided into four different sizes.

We were tasked with raking gravel, to be wheelbarrowed away to another spot. One barrow was earmarked for pure gravel, while another was reserved for gravel-mixed-with-earth, which must have got a better name than that. The difficulty came when shovelling up what looked like unadulterated gravel, as we sometimes inadvertently also dug up the earth concealed below, which risked messing up the whole system.

Despite fifteen people wielding spades and shovels (once again trying to ascertain the difference between the two), and long sharp rakes, and pushing wheelbarrows in a confined space, not a single GoodGymer was injured!

Task Force regular Emma​ demonstrated her worth as a photo snapper extraordinaire, then demonstrated how to use a wheelbarrow as a sofa. As Ilana watched the sun set over some indistinguishable writing on a nearby tower block, we gathered for a few final photos. I headed for Limehouse station with Fiona and Alisa, as we looked forward to returning for one or more of the following:

On Saturday lunchtime, join Maddie and Robert sorting food for foodbanks at the Felix Project https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-afternoon-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-6df11c33-e39a-4480-a244-6b041986663c. Or join the earlier session at 9:30: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-morning-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-7fd69d30-ee3a-47cb-8268-3c6b48d2ccd5

Next Monday evening we’re heading for the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park – always a fun task. https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-big-monday-night-task-gardening-at-the-tower-hamlets-cemetery-park-pre-task-workout-4fd663a8-d032-4189-8e78-e0c1adb73052

On Thursday 9th May, there’s a social at the Monument pub in Whitechapel. Myself, Lucinda and “Southern” Emma have already signed up: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-social-in-the-city

On Sunday 2nd June, join us for a great day out on the stunning Seven Sisters walk: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/seven-sisters-walk