My trek from Royal Docks Pharmacy to Miss S's flat with medicine bag in hand, provided I follow the "usual" route, takes me past a front garden containing a quite surreal collection of gnomes of all shapes and sizes. As a reference point it's useful as it shows I'm close to the drop off point, as a source of amusement it brightens the walk every time!

A short list today as Ms D admitted her freezer is full and she's still working her way through last week's treasure, but top of the list today was Kitchen Roll, although she then did go out of her way to mention the Mint Chocolate too...it's always important to know her priorities!

After I dried out a little from this morning's downpour, the friendly and chatty Ms L pointed me to the box in her kitchen containing the bookshelf she needed building, with the words "It's easy, it only took Paul 5 minutes last time...", so no pressure then Ms L.

She wasn't wrong though, as this particular bookshelf needed no tools (watch out IKEA), and proved straightforward to construct through a series of shelves and screw together plastic poles, and some easy to follow instructions.

I didn't threaten Paul's world record time, but did have a very enjoyable chat with Ms L whilst on the building site, and felt pretty well informed about all the overnight news by the time I'd finished.

Last night, GoodGym Newham headed out to support the Friends of Chandos Road Gardens, clearing autumn leaves from the streets and litter from the children’s playground.

Nick arrived first and got straight to work on litter picking, setting the pace for the session. Graham walked over despite recovering from a football-related injury — we wish him a swift recovery! Kev arrived after a run, and then Rosa, Eugene, and I did a little group run, taking the scenic route from the Aquatics Centre to join in.

Armed with rakes, bags and shovels, we tackled the leaves lining the street and rubbish scattered around the playground. Among the items collected were stray wrappers, cups, and even a lonely teddy bear!

We were also joined by volunteers and local residents from Chandos Road, who continued the cleanup after we left, finishing the job and collecting all the bagged leaves and rubbish for the council. Great to see the community come together to make the streets and playground cleaner and safer.

📅 Upcoming Tasks

We don't currently have anything lined up next Tuesday, but we do have the following brilliant tasks coming up not long after:

Saturday 8th Nov: Parkrun and then gardening at Emmanuel Church

Tuesday 11th: Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground

Thanks to everyone who came along today — with our combined efforts, Chandos Road is looking brighter, tidier, and ready for everyone to enjoy! 🌿