We were back at Hollybush Estate on Monday night, joining Margaret and Ash to shift the mulch we laid down several months ago, now rotted and ready to nourish a fresh round of bedding plants.

We were also joined by Michael from the Hollybush team, who came armed with a surprise for later in the evening. And a big welcome to @Dan Baker, newly arrived from Liverpool but already well at home with GoodGym thanks to his TaskForce experience. Thanks for the extra pair of hands, Dan! We also had a furry visitor, Missy the Beagle brought by Emma, perfect for the role of GoodGym mascot I must say!

With so many willing volunteers, the mulch was swiftly cleared and replaced with fresh material, leaving us plenty of time for the real highlight of the night: celebrating Margaret’s 70th birthday. Sparklers were lit and a caterpillar cake (expertly sourced by Lucinda) presented.

Margaret has been a constant, warm presence at Hollybush Estate for years. Anyone who’s volunteered here will know her trademark “How are you, darling?” and her tireless commitment to the gardens and community. GoodGym Tower Hamlets and Hollybush itself wouldn’t be the same without her.

On a dark and damp Monday evening, GoodGymers gathered at Cranbrook Community Centre - fresh back from weekends as far-flung as Liverpool, Hertfordshire, Rye (in Sussex, not the bread), Argentina(!), and of course, Newham.

Cranbrook’s lovely garden had been completely overtaken by soggy, slippy leaves - turning paths into skating rinks and corners of the garden into no-go zones. Armed with two rakes, a broom, and plenty of optimism, we set to work, clearing and sweeping until the place looked recognisable again. John even spruced up the community notice board, ready to display this season’s offerings.

We joined forces with the brilliant Janet and Eileen, who’ve been helping out at the centre for “over 20 years – I’ve lost track, it’s been so long!” Eileen had previously vowed not to come once it got dark, but the lure of GoodGym proved too strong, and she ended up getting stuck in herself.

After an hour of raking, sweeping, and gathering, the paths were clear, the leaves were bagged, and the community garden was once again safe for all the local groups who use it.

We rounded off the evening with some Alfajores that Caterina had bought back from Argentina (soft, crumbly South American biscuits sandwiched with dulce de leche), although Janet and Eileen, in true east-end fashion, insisted on calling them Wagon Wheels - and to be fair, they weren’t entirely wrong!

See you all next week 🍂

Winter has truly arrived. How do we know? Well there are the leaves, the GoodGym tasks in the dark, but mainly: the return of Anna’s signature sleeping-bag coat, ready for many months of constant service

She was soon joining forces with Tom (once he’d found us), Lobo and Mile End Emma, carefully sifting earth from holes in the concrete ground, in the style of the BBC’s ‘Time Team’. After rehousing several worms, they replaced the earth with new concrete, freshly mixed by Lucinda, who was adding another skill to her cv

Elsewhere Ilana, newly-Eastern Emma and Kevin were using paint to bring new life to some sad-looking chairs. By the time they’d finished, the chairs were transformed, two of them a pleasing shade of green and another now bright light blue

At the other side of the estate, Josh, our new signing from Liverpool, climbed ladders with Chris, Rohan and Ryan to work on a large tree, trimming numerous thinner twigs and then many thicker branches, using loppers and saws, to prevent any pedestrian-tree confrontations, while carefully preventing any debris landing on a car parked under the tree. Four wheelbarrows were groaning under the weight of our detritus, and two huge white bags were considerably over-filled

No-one seemed keen to leave, and we stood nattering for some time before deciding we really ought to get going, or we’d miss next week’s trip to Cranbrook. See you there: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-big-monday-night-task-november-garden-clearing-challenge-at-cranbrook-community-centre