A return visit to the always chatty Mr J, this time to build an office chair for him so that he can sit comfortably at the table that I'd built for him a fortnight ago. Fortunately the instructions were easy to follow, and the pieces all present and correct, so it was very much chatter while you work. It wasn't long before the chair was complete - and I was allowed to give it a quick test drive to ensure it rose, fell, and reclined as expected.

Mr J then asked if I'd mind hanging the picture of Jeff Beck that I'd framed for him on my last visit, and with tape measure and spirit level in hand, he (Mr Beck, not Mr J...) was successfully added to the Wall of Fame, next to Jimi Hendrix.

On a sunny (but pollen-packed) Tuesday evening, a GoodGym duo gathered at Leonard’s Priory to take on the spreading invasion of Green Alkanet - a very pretty but persistent weed. With just me, Chandrima and Larry (now working with volunteers over at Regent’s Park but providing direction on this evening), we got stuck straight in.

The site had become pretty overgrown since our last visit, so Larry fired up the lawnmower while Chandrima and I started on the alkanet, which had taken hold almost everywhere. Larry kept a watchful eye to make sure we weren’t pulling up anything important - not always easy in a historic burial ground! We made solid progress, even uncovering a few hidden gravestones along the way.

As we worked, Larry explained to us that this would be an archaeologist’s dream and told us about a planned exhibition at Bow Church showcasing his finds from the Priory in the coming months. After about an hour and with hayfever well and truly winning the battle for myself and Chandrima, we called it a night.

A great effort from a small team. We made a real dent in the alkanet, and a strong case for returning soon with an army of GoodGymers to finish the job properly.

On a bright morning in the Bethnal Green oasis that is Saint Matthew’s Church gardens, six GoodGymers tackled a sun-drenched task. I got to the church on time after ParkRun, but Lucinda wasn’t going to miss her post-ParkRun coffee. I was going to football, so left the St Matthew’s "pitch", appropriately at half-time, to be replaced by substitute Lucinda

Chandrima, Chloe, Emma and Kareem put in proper shifts and everyone worked hard. There was a large walnut tree in the centre of an earth bed, but if anyone had fancied a walnut, they'd have been thwarted by the mass of foliage surrounding it. It looks a bit like nettle, but it didn’t sting like one. Until someone plunged his thin-gloved hand into a bunch of the green leaves, and got more than a bit stung. That was grasping the nettle all right…

We soon cleared half the area, making sure we got the roots to prevent re-growth. Task owner Andrea was a delight, very grateful for our help, and wanted us back as soon as we could arrange it. She even supplied refreshments, including more bars of chocolate. We’re getting used to this!

Thanks a lot to Chandrima for setting up the task, and Emma for the pictures. And well done newbie Chloe for attending four tasks in six days!

On Monday evening, for the first time this year, Team Tower Hamlets did a full task entirely in daylight! And not just daylight, glimpses of SUNlight! No headtorches, no guessing what that shadow might be, no losing your belongings (unless you're John of course... even the light can't help him keep track of his running backpack)…

We met Des at Parkview Estate and wasted no time getting stuck in across the estate and the Glasshouse surroundings - spreading out so efficiently we left no corner of the estate untouched. Recent newcomers Jack and Chloe got straight into Team Weeding and Raking, two minutes before we were even due to start! Not long after, Team Bench #1 (Ilana, Darren, Kareem, Jo and Leisurely Lucinda) took on the well-loved bench wrapped around a huge tree trunk in the estate play area, sanding and painting it back to life (and a 50th shade of green it seems...).

Over in the community garden, Team Potatoes (John and Emily) were busy earthing up the spuds to keep them growing strong - future chips in very safe hands. Meanwhile, Team Alleyway (Ivo and Oliver, later joined by Anna and others as their jobs wrapped up) tackled moss scraping, weeding and clearing leaves from drains and gutters with some rather interesting-looking, unidentified, medieval tools. It's the kind of job that is oddly satisfying once you get going! Chris kept the whole operation moving, wheeling what felt like an endless stream of barrows to compost or bins depending on their contents - we wouldn't want litter to end up in the compost, especially so close to Earth Day!

And, because apparently word got out that this was the place to be, Team Bench #2 (Lobo, Anna and Jack) formed as more GoodGymers kept arriving - sanding and painting a bench back to life in the community walled garden area. As for me, I mostly roamed between teams capturing the action, the chaos and the questionable cycling techniques (Kareem...) before getting stuck into a bit of weeding myself.

Somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, a resident stopped Oliver to hand over a stash of Penguins and Orange Club bars (big throwback to packed lunches for many of us!). She’d seen the work going on and wanted to say thank you - a small moment that summed up exactly what these tasks are all about - working out for the future, environment and helping out the local community whilst boosting that sense of togetherness

We wrapped up with a “quick” group photo (they're never quick, I can only apologise...), then a good chunk of the crew headed to the nearby Approach Tavern to celebrate the release of the brand new GoodGym Sky TV advert, which has made us all celebrities in our own right.

Des, from Parkview Estate, said "They were a great bunch tonight. They managed to get through all the jobs I'd lined up!"

A brilliant evening: loads achieved, lots of laughs, and a proper reminder of what a difference a bit of collective effort (and daylight!) can make. 🌿

A small but mighty group of runners met at Shoreditch High Street for the first of our borough‑wide leafleting routes to expand our reach to more community organisations.

We ambled across East London, stopping at a predetermined list of community organisations and food gardens along the way, dropping flyers and exploring parts of Tower Hamlets we didn’t even know existed.

Conditions were ideal: blue skies, a steady pace, and an impressive number of cats and dogs spotted en route. We made the most of the sunshine with a brief wander through Columbia Road Market, refuelling with coffees and matcha along the way.

Where we couldn’t find anywhere suitable to drop leaflets, Lucinda dutifully noted down contact emails for follow‑up. And while we weren’t sure whether this new initiative would pay off, by the end of the session we already had two referrals!

With five more routes still to leaflet, there’s plenty of opportunity to spread the word about GoodGym, drum up even more interest, and continue discovering new corners of Tower Hamlets along the way.

Second time lucky at Ms C’s – I was pleased to hear that her power had been quickly restored after last weekend’s outage, which had rather abruptly cut short my previous visit before any actual cutting could begin.

This time, everything was fully powered up and ready to go. With her flymo back in action, I got stuck in and gave the garden a short back and sides, along with a bit of weeding to tidy things up.

An hour later, the job was done without any further interruptions, and I headed off home.

Ms C was very grateful for the support—definitely a cut above last weekend’s attempt.