A relatively mild Monday evening saw 11 GoodGymers join Ken from the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (FoTHCP) for a big ivy-removal session this evening.

Having gathered at the park entrance from 6:40 for tonight’s Standing Abs Workout, shortly after 7pm we were gathering the last of the loppers and lining up the wheelbarrows ready to make our way around to tonight’s task location.

The best health and safety briefing ever

Following Ken through what appeared to be a particularly dense section of the park, we arrived at our designated spot, where Ken proceeded to run through ‘the best health and safety briefing ever’.

Tonight we were pulling ivy away from graves, headstones and undergrowth, allowing gravestones to be visible and ground to be clear of this densely-growing climber.

Ken ran through the ivy removal basics, from the role of the lopper to the whys and wherefores of controlling this pretty plant, after which the team promptly grabbed gloves and head torches and chose a spot at which to start.

Stubborn stems

We were relieved to have the additional lighting, as, although only a few days from the next full moon, without head torches and work lights, locating and plucking the ivy could have been a tricky task.

As the first five wheelbarrows were piled high with ivy, a willing wheeling team quickly assembled. Ken accompanied the barrows to the park’s green waste pile, returning with some pungent bin bags.

With a ten-minute countdown given at 7:50, GoodGymers proceeded to move far behind the gravestones for a final push.

At 8pm, we gathered tools and trash and made our way back through the dark park, excited for our next visit.

A big shout-out to everyone for a productive and fun night with the FoTHCP team.

Next week, we head up to Bow Road, for another fun and varied evening with Frankie and Kieran at the GET OUT garden.

Until then.