Writes Charlie,

"We gathered for yet another memorable evening of volunteering at this well-known urban community garden in the heart of Bethnal Green.

What started as a routine mission to move soil and wood chips quickly turned into an unexpectedly lively and fun event—complete with record-breaking attendance, a pink-hued sunset, and the kind of teamwork that would make even the busiest ant colony jealous.

We were all hands on deck right from the off.

As soon as the shovels hit the ground, it was as though we collectively tapped into some sort of communal rhythm. A human chain formed, with everyone passing, digging, and moving soil with the efficiency and focus of, dare I say it, a swarm of ants. You could almost hear the theme music to a heist movie playing in the background. (Instead of robbing a bank, however, we were enriching the earth and helping the garden flourish).

Emma, assumed the role of our unofficial forewoman. Her managerial oversight was crucial to the operation—spurring us on from a comfortable vantage point. (We’ll pretend the regular supply of snacks and much-needed pep talks didn’t help that much).

We also welcomed a couple of new and familiar faces into the fold: Ramón, the rookie of the group, stepped into the gardening scene with admirable enthusiasm. And then there was Anton, back for his third round of soil-shoveling glory.

As the evening progressed, the sun began its slow descent, offering one of those final summer sunsets you wish you could bottle for the darker months ahead.

The sky turned a brilliant pink, casting a soft, warm light over the garden, a reward for our hard work.

Hard to say what felt better: the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of our labour come together, or the stunning sight that marked the end of the day.

And the best part? We finished everything double quick. Whether it was the accompanying breeze, our ‘swarm-of-ants’ approach, or simply the record turnout, we blitzed through what should’ve been an all-day task in less than an hour.

Of course the evening wasn’t complete until we wrapped at a pub nearby. What’s an evening’s productivity without a pint to celebrate. So a few of us found our way to local favourite, The Approach Tavern. With (garden) gloves off, dirt-free pints in hand, we toasted to an evening well spent and a garden well nurtured.

Cheers to all who came out. Here’s to the first of some fabulous Autumn evenings, both in the garden and down the pub."

Tonight's big shout-outs

• To Charlie, and Emma, powered by ChatGPT, for tonight’s splendid report.

• To Gurprit for tonight's ace pun.

Next week we're back to the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for our first Autumn visit!

Until then.

This was our first task with Ocean Youth Connexions (OYC), a Tower Hamlets-based provider of youth provision, over at their new base in E14, alongside Tower Hamlets Community Transport, a small charity based in Limehouse, set up to provide transport to voluntary and community groups in Tower Hamlets.

Kamal, tonight's task owner, greeted us with brand new equipment and a choice of jobs: outdoor gardening, or start the paint job?

The team opted for the outdoor clean-up.

We spread out all over the outside yard, pulling up weeds, chopping back branches, sweeping and bagging leaves, and collecting large amounts of rubbish.

The 'after' pic was certainly a stark contrast.

This was a brilliant start to our first task, here with OYC at the Community Transport Hub.

This clearing and decorating activity, both today and planned for the coming weeks, means that:

• The Community Transport area will be ready for when services are up-and-running on a larger scale.

• Both indoor and outdoor facilities have benefited from a bit of a makeover, enabling the organisations to focus on delivering services, existing and future.

Sree’s report

“The breakaway Hollybush Team consisting of Chris, Tyler, Michael and Sree were met by Margaret and Ash to assist with shovelling 4 enormous sacks of soil via wheelbarrows to the adjoining children's play area.

The four of us soon made light work of the task - much to the gratitude of Margaret and Ash. We headed back with 10 minutes to spare, to aid the Patriot Square team with the pruning clean up.

It was a pleasure to meet Michael for the first time and likewise catch up with Stephen who has GoodGym’d with Tower Hamlets in the past.”

Chris’s (ChatGPT-tastic) report

“In the quiet dusk of evening's fall, GoodGym gathered, answering the call. Margaret's garden, with tasks to share, Found helping hands and hearts that care.

One Margaret stood with soil to move, Her hopes entwined with every groove. The earth was heavy, yet spirits light, As GoodGym dug through the fading light.

Another Margaret, hedge in hand, Pruned the branches as they’d planned.

She trimmed with care, the evening still, Her garden shaped by gentle will.

The team worked on, with laughter near, Each task a joy, each word sincere. For in this simple, steady toil, They found a bond through hedge and soil.

As stars emerged and moonlight glowed, They packed their tools, their hearts bestowed.

With Margaret's gardens, now renewed, GoodGym departed, spirits imbued.

In every leaf, in every root, Echoed the sound of kind pursuit. For in the twilight’s tender hue, GoodGym's light of giving grew.”

A huge shout-out to the team tonight:

• To Chris and Sree for leading the second task; to Rue for leading the Patriot Square Task.

• To Sree and Chris for tonight's splendid report, and to Sree for tonight's pun.

• To Sree and Tyler for some splendid pics.

Until next time.

A sunny evening in Tower Hamlets saw a nice-sized group of GoodGymers gather round a large woodchip pile it turned out they would clear in no time.

Background to tonight's task

The Teesdale and Hollybush TRA are probably GG TH's longest standing task. Headed up by brilliant Margaret, and now Ash, GG are invited once, twice a month to join the dynamic duo to lend a hand with various projects on one of the Estate's many pretty garden areas.

Tonight we were helping redistribute old planter wood and spread a rather large pile of woodchip.

An early arrival time for some saw Ash and Margaret instructing the first arrivals on how best to distribute the woodchip.

With project management promptly handed over to John and Chris, the team wasted no time whittling the large pile away.

A flurry of late arrivals provided the perfect opportunity to introduce the second task - transporting a large stash of planks over to another part of the estate gardens, Rocky Park.

Trolley- fulls of logs were flying toward Rocky Park at a speedy rate: lats and delts got a workout to rival the finest upper body session.

The rest of the team joined this breakaway task, by which time it was game over for what was initially a large pile of planks.

Posing for a quick pic in the planters (as it sounds), we then headed to the pub for a self-congratulatory pint. Another superb night of productivity.

The shout-outs

• A big warm welcome to Priscila who joined us for her first Monday night task.

• Well done to Michael for a FANTASTIC GoodGym debut.

• Massive thanks to John for organising tonight's post-task drink.

• And a huge round of applause for Rohan, who co-wrote tonight's report; to Fiona for delivering another splendid pun, and the rest of the table at the Bethnal Green Tavern for chipping in for tonight's report.

You all rock.

Next week, we're pruning and bagging The BIg Hedge in Bethnal Green's Patriot Square.

You snooze, you lose...

Until then.