As July comes to a warm and sunny end, this evening saw 12 GoodGymers arriving at the Cranbrook Community Centre. A well-used, much loved asset on the Cranbrook Estate, the Centre's cared for by longstanding task owners Janet and Eileen.

Welcoming Caterina and Frankie to their first GoodGym, and Kirsti to her first Tower Hamlets GoodGym, we headed to the tool box to select our instruments for tonight’s task.

Everyone got stuck in straight away. Some of the GoodGymers worked in pairs, others on their own, all tackling a variety of jobs.

Hedges were trimmed, leaves cleared from garden borders, and litter picked.

The notice boards at the front of the centre were cleared of rose bushes, so locals passing by can see more easily the activities taking place at the centre.

As 8pm approached, the team headed around the corner to start cutting back trees hanging over the pavement!

A tidy, cared-for environment that helps to make the centre feel welcoming, our efforts in the garden were much appreciated this evening.

After posing for that all-important group pic, we headed out to the Mace Street wall for our Monday stretching session. A great end to an absolutely brilliant night.

Next week, we’re headed to the Canal Club Community Garden for gardening, cake and swimming…

Until then.

9 GoodGymers made their way to the Parkview Estate on Old Ford Road for an evening of well-organised, hands-on estate gardening.

We were warmly welcomed by Des, a long-time resident who knows the area like the back of his hand.

Des had already mapped out a neat list of jobs, and after a quick intro, we split into teams and got cracking.

The first group headed to the front of the community centre, where pruning shears, loppers and wheelbarrows were quickly put to use.

Shrubs were trimmed, mulch distributed, and before long this small garden area looked more purposeful and less overgrown.

Meanwhile, a determined team of four made a beeline for the green bench in the play area (no ordinary bench - reportedly the pride of the garden). A fresh coat of paint went on smoothly in the evening sun, genuinely giving the bench a new lease of life.

The third team headed closer to the road, where buddleia had taken over and graffiti had accumulated on the community notice board. Trimming the plants back and slowly prising stubborn spray paint made an immediate difference – no dramatic transformation, but the kind that makes things a bit nicer.

As the pruning task wrapped up, John and Leanne shifted roles and headed around the corner, taking on some hoarding opposite Victoria Park. Armed with rollers and steady hands, they covered a surprisingly large section before we had to call time.

As we left Des was still going strong with a paintbrush in hand.

A very satisfying evening indeed: a nice example of those physical tasks with a visible result.

Well done to everyone who came – and thanks to Des for leading the way with thoughtful planning and good humour.

Next week it’s back to Limehouse to see Kamal at the Tower Hamlets Community Transport hub.

Until then.

8 goodgymers braved the heat to come to Columbia Primary school and put some proper elbow grease into Monday's task.

Thanks to Ingrid who kindly provided gloves and equipment. Shout out to Ed from down the road who lent us a few extra spades.

A very warm welcome to Alex for coming along to his first task.

Enter the Sandmen: Chris, Kareem and Alex who got to work clearing out the sandpit which had become full of toys. Once this was done they emptied out as much of the sand as they could, which Ingrid wanted to save for future use, into bags.

Emma joined us (once she managed to find the right entrance) and was hired on the spot to be trolley team leader. The job description was moving sand to the garden down the road. It involved navigating a busy cycle super highway and not mowing down pedestrians (mainly ourselves).

Ilana, Sam and Anna were the planter posse. This industrious team emptied out the soil from two worn out wooden planters. Once completed, they came in like a wrecking ball and forcefully dismantled the planters. The way Anna kicked the planters down suggested a serious background in martial arts.

We all came together in the end to tidy away the wooden shreds of the planters and do a general sweep up of the soil.

An amazing effort by everyone involved