GoodGym Tinnie-Blowing finalist 2020
131 Month Streak
Sessions listed
Sessions led
Sessions backmarked
Walks led
Sessions photographed
Reports written
Tower Hamlets
📍Saint Matthew's Row E3 6DT
Improve this oasis between Bethnal Green and Whitechapel

Mon 1st Jun at 7:00pm
Tower Hamlets Report written by Lucinda
Taskowners Emily and Margaret greeted us on approach, at Approach Gardens - a lovely community food garden in the heart of Bethnal Green, home to bees and frogs. They helpfully divvied up the various tasks that needed doing between our large group. These included:
This was a task where we split into little sub teams, working away in our own areas, wheelbarrows full of foliage going back and forth throughout the hour. It was only at the end we could stand back and appreciate how much had been achieved. Well done all!
A big shout out to Emma for completing her first Goodgym task!
We also said goodbye (for now!) to Kat and Asad, as they move to the Chilterns. Some of us headed to The Camel post task to toast them with a drink. You will both be very missed (un-frog-ettable some may say...) but I'm sure our paths will cross again soon.
Sun 31st May at 11:00am
Tower Hamlets Report written by Lucinda
This Sunday morning, we headed to Epping Forest (home to 55,000 ancient trees!) where we were met by the brilliant Robyn, Conservation Officer at Epping Forest Heritage Trust. This was no usual gardening task. Instead of shovels, trowels, and rakes, modern gardening equipment was forgone and we went back to basics. The weapons, I mean tools, of choice, were big sticks. As we made our way to the task site - a large open area dense with bracken - we kept an eye out for the best ones. Robyn advised they needed to be reasonably long, and sturdy, but not too wide, so that they could be wielded in a whip like fashion. Where bracken grows, not much else does, so our task was to bash as much as we could to give other plants a chance.
Big sticks acquired, we set about, in a somewhat zig zag direction, clearing all the bracken we could. Many different bracken beating techniques were employed - everyone seemed to have their own unique style:
This was such a fun, (and cathartic!) task - a lot of bracken was successfully bashed, and no-one got hit by errant stick swipes.
Post task, Robyn led us to Ambresbury banks, an Iron Age hill fort, thought to be constructed in 700 BC. Legend has it that this might be where Queen Boadicea fought her last battle in the uprising against the Romans...We stopped to have a picnic lunch here before setting off through the woods towards Chingford.
Shout out to Emily for completing her first Goodgym task!
Sun 31st May at 8:45am
Hackney Report written by Nick Moore
parkrun (the junior version or otherwise) is most certainly not a race, but occasionally you do have to doff your cap to one of our Sunday morning runners who clearly had more than one weetabix for breakfast this morning. Our first finisher, on a first time visit from his usual course at Leyton, crossed the line in an awe inspiring 6:56, more than a minute clear of his closest "pursuer" - chapeau m'sieur, as they say in bike racing. The maths is easy to work out his per km splits!!
Thanks as ever to our very helpful GoodGym volunteers who arrived at the big tree this morning and made sure everything ran smoothly - Hilary, John and Harvey were deployed as Course Marshals at key spots around the course, whilst Sooz and Nick kept it all largely under control at the start/finish line by barcode scanning, marshalling, encouraging and run directing, and all of our 40 finishers, including 1 absolute first timer, and 2 who received their half-marathon wristbands for each having completed 11 runs, crossed the line smiling (if a little red faced and out of breath), although a few needed to be guided towards the finish funnel...
More of the same under the big tree next week (super speedy times not guaranteed...) - join us if you can!
Thu 4th Jun at 7:50am
Early morning interval session accessible for all!
Read moreSun 7th Jun at 9:30am
A fun trail racing challenge in Buckinghamshire- all abilities!
Read moreSat 4th Jul at 10:00am
Help with a refresh of the site at St Pauls church Shadwell
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