Returning to the canal club, this time we concentrated on weeding the winding paths between the plant beds, alongside the canal. Others chopped and sawed wood. It was a crowded space for the lucky 13 of us, but we spread ourselves into twos and threes and set to work, while catching up with each others’ activities since last we met

Our reward, supplied by lovely task owner Sally, were weather-appropriate home-made lollipops, with even a choice of flavours! So we continued the socialising while exciting our taste buds, then after most people had dispersed, four of us decided that the night was still young, and headed for The Hare in Cambridge Heath Road

The Canal Club, however, is currently proposed as a site for development. It was built for residents of the Wellington Estate and its activities include toddler storytelling, baby dance classes, Tai Chi, knitting and sewing, outdoor pizza making, breakdancing, line dancing, karaoke social evenings, a science homework club, singing, refugee activities, a food bank, arts and crafts, and Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. There is a ball court and a children’s playground

This is not an empty site! If you want the council to remove the site from its accelerated housing scheme, sign the petition at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-our-space-e2-save-the-canal-club

Three GoodGymmers Chloe, Emma and Sam went along to this month's social gardening club for a range of tasks, all designed to make the garden look extra special for a memorial to one of the St Margaret's House founding members and the Discovery week of activities.

We started on the fast-growing bamboo, taking out the very tallest canes. Then we removed some weeds in between the patio before moving onto the wooden seating and flower bed borders which we brushed down and applied a fresh coat of paint to.

The gardening club started just as an arts and crafts session was ending, and it was super peaceful setting to keep fit by doing good!