This time, we had a plan. A five-point plan! Complete with a treasure map!

Point 1:* Clear bindweed from the flower bed*. Once Ilana had found out what bindweed is, she joined Emma (new Emma), Jo and Lucinda in untangling said weed from the greenery

Point 2 : Litter collection. There wasn’t any litter. So we didn’t bother with that one

Point 3:Lawn maintenance: Identify and fill in any holes in the lawn and make the ground level and safe to walk on. Sam and "tree-hugger" Darren made themselves useful, identifying so many holes that they hadn’t got enough earth to fill them. But the ones they did fill, did indeed make the ground very safe to walk on. No-one was tripping over holes at all

Point 4: Path Clearing: sweep the paths. We let Dan use the big broom, to celebrate his 50th good deed. He also used a trowel to de-weed the edgings. This was something we were working on last week, after which the Bishop of Stepney, no less, remarked on how tidy the gardens looked!

Point 5: Woodchip removal: clear loose wood-chippings off the lawn surface. This was as a result of a tree which had been chopped down after becoming hollow inside. I undertook this task, along with enthusiastic young Ivo, who’s looking for new outlets for his enthusiasm and is planning to take the necessary training to join GoodGym Tower Hamlets Task Force!

Because one of our number (a Task Force member!!) arrived late, I had to keep everyone behind for an extra ten minutes’ detention at the end.Or more truthfully, they were so engrossed in their tasks, it was hard to get anyone to finish. But we eventually got people together for a photo, taken by a random passer-by who enthusiastically took a GoodGym promotional flyer away with him. So maybe he’ll be around for his first good deed, when Dan moves on to his 51st!

A new task took GG Tower Hamlets to St Paul's Church in Shadwell to join their Saturday morning session. it was the first part of a project to give the church a makeover. Lots of members of the church were there and it was nice meeting Briget, Jo, David and Rachel to name a few.

One of the tasks was giving the beautiful stained glass windows a first major clean in a decade to make them shine again. GoodGymmers Sam and Sree both set up at a section of the windows with soapy water, window cleaning spray and cloths, and step ladders to reach the high points. It was a really nice task with music playing, new community faces to meet and coffee and croissants to keep us fuelled.

The second phase of the refresh takes place in July and it'll involve some work in the gardens. https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/gardening-and-diy-at-st-pauls-shadwell-39b5abb8-33bd-4a05-92f5-2d1ae443755b