It was a bitterly cold evening, with frost clinging to the ground, but that didn’t dissuade 13 Tower Hamlets diehards, wrapped in many layers, gathering for our first group task of 2026. Breath hung in the air as we pulled on gloves and got to work, determined not to let the temperature dampen our spirits. The Cranbrook garden was still carpeted with wet, fallen leaves, somehow unhardened by the icy conditions

Despite numb fingers and stiff muscles, the group worked steadily, gathering leaves into large piles, bagging them, and Chris even repeating his Cranbrook party trick of jumping into the wheelie bin, to stamp the debris down and create more space for the seemingly never-ending flow of leaf piles. Periodic bursts of laughter and much conversation helped to break through the chill, and the physical effort brought a degree of warmth

By 19:45, the thick carpet of leaves had disappeared, just a few clinging on between blades of grass, and the lucky 13 felt proud, rosy-cheeked, and energised. There only remained the logistically difficult problem of getting everyone in a selfie, and the difficult negotiation of the frozen pavements outside

7 goodgymers travelled to Ocean Youth Connexions for a festive evening of painting and leaf collecting. The ever 'elf-ful' Ilana and Rohan painted the shutters silver (bells); John and Kareem aka the two wise men, painted two doors: one gold, reminiscent of sleigh bells and one black, matching Santa's belt. Emma , Fiona and myself were on leaf picking duty. Kamal was no grinch and supplied us with excellent leaf grabbers to get the job done. Emma finished the task by channelling Santa, carrying big sacks (of rubbish) down to the wheelie bin. The key for the bin was triangular, resembling the green triangle chocolate often seen during the festive period - coincidence? I think not.

Once the tasks were complete, we all rolled merrily along to The Star of The East for a celebratory drink. That's a wrap for Gooddgym Tower Hamlets for 2025.

It's not just Christmas Firs getting beautified this December - this week we were put to work on the front garden hedge which had spilled over onto the public footpath and was preventing light from getting into the house. Armed with loppers, secateurs and gloves we managed to strip it back into shape and ensure easy access to the gas meter too.

A return visit to a large back garden with plenty still to tackle. Thorny brambles were lipped, shrubs were pruned back and weeds were cleared, making a big improvement to the space. The garden is now tidier, safer and much more manageable for Mr D.

We gathered in dribs and drabs, some delayed by work and others having joined a group run from the Town Hall Hotel. It wasn’t our last Monday task before Christmas, but there was much talk of exciting festive trips to warmer places as distant as Australia and India, before we instead spread out to various parts of the Parkview estate

There were chairs to be sanded and painted; Anna, Rohan and Jo displaying their artistic talents in adding shades of brown or a kind of light green (not really lime – we were wondering what whimsical description a paint shop would give it)

Mile-End-Emma waved to us from the other side of the street, then decided she might as well cross the road and join in - after all, it was her 75th Good Deed! She bundled tree branches into a wheelbarrow and over to the bin, branches which myself, Ilana and Nia had cut back so people might perhaps be able to notice what’s on the notice board

The three of them then went to pull nails out of some old wood, so it could be recycled for carpentry and shelves in the glasshouse. Meanwhile, Bethnal-Green-Emma seemed to be graffitiing a perforated fence, but closer inspection revealed she was actually doing a great job of removing an unsightly tag from the barrier

Somehow we all re-convened for the group picture - deciding this time it might be a better idea this time to take the photo in a lit-up area...

5 of us headed to Rocky Park (4 by bike and 1 on foot), greeted by the lovely Margaret, Ash, Rose, Basil (canine) and Wicket (canine). The task was to move a small mountain of mulch that had been dropped off earlier in the week. We settled into two teams - one shovelling mulch into wheelbarrows and the other emptying these onto the ground by the planting beds. The mulch pile was steaming hot - not because of the powerful sunshine rays hitting it nor the friction of speedy shovels but due to heat generated by microbes breaking down organic matter. We were all fascinated by this (some more than others). Science truly is magic. Logs/big twigs were separated out and salvaged for use elsewhere. Within 50 earth minutes, the pile had disappeared. This was a satisfying, enjoyable task. Margaret returned from walking the dogs with some sweet treats to reward us for our efforts - completely unnecessary but very gratefully received!

Pun credit: Rue Most wheelbarrows carried at once (2): Emma R