In 1845, archaeologists uncovered Roman remains and artifacts near Bethnal Green, giving Roman Road its name. 181 years later, a legion of GoodGym gladiators set up camp at one of our nearest tasks – it was Home Sweet Rome as we marched on the colosseum known as Roman Road Square

The planters supplied by the council aren’t exactly mosaics – Rome wasn’t built in a day you know - and needed some attention which local senators can’t afford to carry out. We hadn’t got a pair of "Caesars" with which to cut the foliage, but much of the dead and dying debris gave way easily, just like Gaul

Darren had recovered from a bout of Legionnaires disease, or something, which had kept him from carving his tablets of code, while consul Sam played Brutus as he tried to depose Emperor Johnus and take charge. Lucinda brought lights, but we didn’t need even Roman candles

I’d returned from a mission to check on Germania Inferior while Governor Pieke is on manoeuvres in London, and I was pleased to report that the province is at peace with the GoodGym empire

When the weeds and rubbish had been conquered we compared red togas. Emma, wanted to know what the “M” on the label stood for: surely a Thousand, in Roman numerals. It should be a ’C' though, as she’s about to become a centurion…

Don’t forget we’re going for a Triumph in the Approach Tavern on Friday (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-november-drink). Expect bread, circuses and ale, but probably not any Rome-ance

We were all set for tonight’s task – confirmed yesterday evening..But then, well into this afternoon, I was told there’d be no-one to look after us at the canal club. A substitute task was set up at St Matthews, and I sent round a message and an email, All this took me away from my work-work, so if you hear that the Government has missed its housing targets, it’s because we missed going to the canal club

St Matthews is a handy reserve venue; Lady Andrea said we can drop in any time, recklessly entrusting me with the gate key as well as the top-secret code for the shed. I left a hand-written notice at the site of the original task, in case somebody didn’t get the message, but I think everyone picked up on the change. Unless Northern Emma is still waiting vainly at the canal club gates now

Having the key is one thing. Successfully navigating the heavy, rusty old gate is another. Thankfully, this panic was soon over, thanks to Emmanuel who helped me unlock it, and then later Sam who assisted with locking it up again

No-one seemed keen to weed in the dark, but never mind, there were plenty of leaves to be gathered. Unfortunately we only had one - admittedly very large – bag, and the capacity of the bin by the gate was well below our leaf-gathering potential. But we soon found what looked like a composting area, with abundant room for fallen fronds

Everyone chipped in to help. Ilana held a spade to stop it falling over. Kate set a 2026 course record for the largest leaf volume collected by a single leaf-grabber. Lucinda sent a proxy but still arrived with nearly half the task remaining. Adam helped both Ciarán (with his survey) and Emma (with her furniture). And the latter indulged in her unique style of aerial photography to capture the group photo

Seriously, it was fun meeting you Isabela, hope to see you at many more, better organised tasks. Good to see you back, Kate and Kirsti. Get well soon, Northern Emma. And best wishes to Lady Andrea of this parish, who is recovering well from a serious operation. And has been short-listed by Tower Hamlets In Bloom for best balcony!

A group of us gathered on a still warm October eve to help Ken with some bulb planting. We worked in a small area of the cemetery park and planted over 250 crocuses. These will flower in the new year and enhance the wild beautiful look of the park.

A light mist descended on us as we took up our trowels and starting digging deep (as deep as the trowel to protect those bulbs from hungry squirrels)! It was dark as we started, but we were equipped with our headtorches and spotlights, diligently gardening among the grass and graves as the bats flew overhead. Some worked so ferociously that even the tools were no match for their pure strength!

A big welcome to Jo and Beate joining us for your first task! It was great to have you there and an enjoyable Monday evening. Hope to see you again soon!

St Peter’s was looking really nice this evening, especially with the lights we put up during our last session now all lit up!

We split into two groups, with one group outside collecting up the leaves and clearing them away. Once we had gathered them all up, they were put into the compost, giving them a chance to eventually go back into the ground and give something back to the garden.

The other group definitely had a more hands-on job, getting stuck into taking things down, unscrewing bits, carrying boxes and helping to clear and reorganise the space inside the church. There was plenty to get involved with, and everyone was happy to get stuck in.

Lucinda was also busy giving one of the benches a fresh coat of paint, while a few cats made an appearance outside too!

With so many people coming along, it made for a really enjoyable evening with plenty of teamwork, good vibes and lots getting done.