Monday's mission was the last one in March and the first to benefit from the brighter evenings. Our team of 14 GoodGym Tower Hamlets volunteers barely recognised each other in the daylight but were excited by the novel prospect of actually seeing what they were doing. And so, what was it they were doing this time? The GG Tower Hamlets team started the clearance of an overgrown pathway in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

The longer-term project, led by the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery and Park, will restore the former walkway to allow visitors better access to the burial site, as it once was in yesteryear. In particular, visitors will be presented with a closer look upon the tomb of a certain Perkin family, whose famous son William is the chemist lauded for his accidental discovery of a mauve-coloured dye, back in 1856.

In bringing the colour purple to the world through subsequent mass production, William Henry Perkin arguably sparked a fashion revolution in purple attire, sowed the seeds to inspire a book and films dedicated to the colour purple, and has now prompted GG TH to reconnect with the colourful contribution of a bygone celebrity from their home borough. Praise be William Henry Perkin.

Here follows an interlude of more information about the historical context... skip ahead for the contemporary GG action... William was a chemistry student prodigy who accidentally discovered how to make a synthetic dye for the colour mauve, when still a teenager. He set up a Perkin family business to build a factory, which initiated a whole new industry of dye manufacturing and rocketed the Perkin family to entrepreneurial fame and fortune. William dedicated his life to further chemistry research and was made a knight a few years before his death, in 1907, at 69 years of age. William himself was not laid to rest in TH cemetery, but his parents and siblings are interred in the family grave there, the one about which the path clearance work has been planned. And, thus, the roundabout story, close enough link and good enough reason to indulge in some rose-tinted purple prose to document the mauve magic uncovered through this latest GG TH activity...

Fast-forward 170 years from the beginning of a mauve new world and you'll have seen Dan scrambling around to assemble, well, just himself as it turned out, for the widely and fondly regarded, and hopefully soon-to-be more actively supported: GG TH weekly Group Run. A routine option ahead of the task itself, rendez-vous outside the Town Hall Hotel is at 6.30pm. Do come along and join me / us, if you like, with the next group run before our next group mission. on 13th April. All welcome!

Besides the benefit of a little light evening exercise, a steadily-paced run can open your eyes to the streets around, presenting all manner of surprises... Monday's route jogging along Old Ford Road included a thrilling spot: something wrapped around a large tree in an adjacent park area... none other than the bench rejuvenated by our own fine paint work, a fortnight gone, during the Glass House group mission. An extraordinary sight (for those involved, at least!). Said bench is a shade of green less luminescent than the team had imagined / feared; the fresh / lurid tone softening to mix gently / sharply into the surrounding park life. Check out the photo for yourself!

With all runners, wheelers and walkers gathered at the lodge, Cemetery Park Manager, Ken, (whose second name "Greenway" is possibly the most apposite imaginable) greeted us with wheelbarrowfuls of tools for our task ahead. Ken then guided us through the "green", on our "way" (more of this wit to come), soon reaching the site of the evening's activity: clearing a thoroughly rewilded stretch of land running north to south that had previously been a pathway bisecting different sections of graves, including aforementioned Perkin family tomb.

Stopping here to take breath and to celebrate this Goodgym session as the first for both Freddie and Elizabeth. We warmly welcome you into the fold of GG camaraderie, spreading the joy of doing good whilst keeping fit. Do chat with other members and Taskforce (more experienced members), who can answer any questions you may have, or find somebody who can! We encourage you to do as much Goodgym volunteering as feels right for you. Go for it, and enjoy!

A further pause to big up our group mission host, Ken, whose "way" with "green" life (no more name puns, promise) makes him less like a cemetery park manager and more akin to a great, wise tree, replete with countless branches of nature knowledge. With this image in your mind, Ken gave us a helpfully comprehensive and accessible explanation of the work ahead: namely, what plant life to remove with what tool. And, how to do so in the most careful and useful ("green"?) “way” (the last time, really), all whilst enjoying the gentle flow of friendly GG chatter circulating around the group.

Starting off here with a quick trio of Ken's tool tips for the garden gadgets at our disposal...

Firstly, the fork: keep one foot on the ground, push through the other foot onto the shoulder of the fork for a safe and steady descent into the soil. You'll see Hilary, generously sharing her GG energy over from her regular Newham group, bringing with her an exemplary fork technique, worthy of a fork technique demonstration in any popular gardening programme.

Secondly, onto the saw: grip the handle with an ungloved hand for a firmer grip, which is exactly what Dan isn't showcasing in his unnecessarily awkwardly gripped sawing approach, with glove. The branch featuring in the photo did end up snapped in two, but could have been smoother, without glove. Praise for dogged perseverance, and overcoming a little adversity, nonetheless. Subsequent resolve to heed advice and accept useful help.

Finally, the loppers: suitable for branches of girth no wider than your thumb; appropriate application will give you the desired slicing sensation... like a knife through butter. This popular tool was yielded by too many GG TH lopperers to recall and credit fairly. However, special mention to newbies Freddie and Elizabeth, both fully committed to any stooping down and scrambling about required to achieve the perfectly soft snips through the slender tree trunks.

Herewith bonus equipment advice for tackling the tricksy features of any unwanted ivy or nettle, growing separately or in tandem. Kat downed tools, adopting a direct hands-on approach as the most effective method for intercepting the ivy sprawling over and around the gravestones. Great success. Alas, Anna's similar tussle with a single layer of gloves suffered the stinging attack of intertwined threads of nettle. Adding a second and third layer of gloves fortified the hands of a follow-up assault on the ivy, undeterred by the presence of any prickles, thus asserting gallant revenge over the nettles and a clear victory for the path clearance team.

Moving onto Ken's botany knowledge now: the plant life we had sharpened our tools for. Plant life whose time on this historic spot of earth was nigh... whose days spent encroaching onto a precious path from TH past were numbered... whose fate was about to be sealed with a relocation to the compost heap the other side of the hedge.

Specifically, a surge in growth from the cow parsley (part of the carrot family) needed to be removed, slender roots and all. This was a chore embraced by our Emma, keen to commune with the task's edible offering, nibbling bravely at a freshly rooted cow parsley. Has anybody seen or heard from Emma since btw?

Next up, low-lying shrubbery sprouting up amidst the jumbled mix of gravestones and soil needed halting in its tracks; a stubborn challenge requiring careful identification and precise intervention. Yielding loppers with due care and precision, John and Beth covered the nearside of the site we worked on, whilst Jo scouted to the far edges out yonder, ensuring we stretched our resources along to the top end of the path, too. Results were extraordinary.

Lastly on the plant life removals list: lean saplings set to mature into more substantial trees that would disrupt the restoration of our nearly forgot walkway. This mini felling operation soon gathered up substantial debris, requiring the smooth coordination of volunteers ready to bring out tip-top swiftness and agility from their horticultural toolkit.

Gliding into position came our elite wheeling patrol of GG volunteers, Kareem and Lobo, coordinated by Emma, who recently passed her advanced barrowing proficiency course.

Needless to say that countless piles of organic cut-back were sent shuttling away, transported safely and positioned tidily, adding to the mounting compost heap across the way, all before even the chattiest GG volunteer might have had chance to even mutter the recurring mantra heard that evening, "overgrown gravestone no more".

This kind of complex clearance operation requires calm adaptability and reliable illumination (for the last half hour); qualities provided by our final two volunteer stars of the night Ilana stepped in to cover the organiser responsibilities with cool assurance despite another cyclist bumping into her on her cycle over to task. And Lucinda carried the weight of night lights in her rucksack to illuminate the scene of our eclectic efforts, hidden beneath the darkness that had descended by the end.

Looking back at our team effort, not quite as clear as day, but as clear as portable battery-operated night lights could help us discern, was, yes, a rough thoroughfare of barer space starting to emerge and take the shape of a, yes, definitely maybe, a path. Trusted expert Ken confirmed impressive progress l compared to the jungle scenery he remembered from his more familiar experience of the site. So a solid step on the way to opening up this former north-south passage, allowing cemetery park visitors to walk their way into TH histories, revealed again and remembered once more.

Walking to the lodge and glancing back one last time, it seemed, for a moment, that through the later evening air drifted a fresh mist, rising from the Perkin family tomb, casting a mauve hue along the path we had begun clearing. Stopping still, the near silence was broken only by the new sound of a guitar playing somewhere hidden in the trees, a tune that floated into the semblance of some famous song or other, one by Jimi Hendrix, I recognise now, ah yes, a purple haze, that's the one...

Ending this Goodgym Tower Hamlets group mission report with quick confirmation of a completely ridiculous and entirely invented fantasy moment. But, a fantasy moment fuelled with the restorative qualities of a Goodgym group mission: cooperation, fun, achievement, discovery, and a bit of mauve magic to boot? A welcome blend of qualities as important as ever, set against some of the dispiriting ways of the world we live in.

I hope this kind of Monday night adventure, report and reverie refreshes your spirit to take on the week ahead, in ways it surely does for me :)

It was my first time supporting Project Felix, and I really enjoyed it, staying much longer than anticipated. Moving around heavy food boxes, I now feel more sympathy for staff working in grocery shops.

8 of us met in the shadows of Mile End Art Pavilion - a nice flat surface if you ever want to practise riding a bike. Also, a convenient meeting point for a night of litter picking. Shout out to Dan for leading a run from the Town Hall hotel. No doubt more runners will join him in future weeks!

People arrived in dribs and drabs and were kitted out with pickers, bin bags and gloves (all kindly provided to us by Kamal of Ocean Youth Connexions). What a legend. Before we got to the task at hand, we first addressed the question we all wanted to ask each other, but hadn't until now dared to ask: What is your favourite sandwich? Answers included salf beef, cheese and pickle, and coronation chicken. Some loved cheese, others hated it. The latter were asked to leave the task immediately. Only joking, all cheese views welcome. One (John) refused to answer the question entirely, not being a fan of sandwiches (too much bread). Fair enough, though I would argue it's all about the ratio of filling to bread, which can always be increased. Sandwich discussion complete, we got to work seeking out litter in the park (well, most of us did. My contribution was helpfully instructing John to place rubbish in, surprise surprise, a bin bag).

We focused on the Art park which is sandwiched (...) between Canary Wharf and Victoria Park, sometimes venturing towards the towpath. The hour passed swiftly and we ended our clean up at the top of the big hill, the lights of the city twinkling behind us. At that point, it seemed appropriate to undertake some experimental photography, under the guidance of Gabe (teaching some of us how to use the Long Exposure button on our phones for the first time). Then commenced, what onlookers may have mistaken for interpretative dancing, attempts by Darrenand Gabe to write the GG logo with the light of their head torches. Great effort by all (and some impromptu direction by Emma . You can judge the quality of the results yourselves...

Amongst the sandwich chat, and photo shoot, we did in fact fill a few big bags with rubbish. I believe Anna and Gurprit achieved the greatest rubbish haul (results not verifiable as I was not paying that much attention). It was an enjoyable evening spent in good company.

Mr R now has a smart light function in his kitchen. Myself and Chandrima had a great chat. All round job well done. Pleased with the results.

Two GoodGymers, Sam and Chandrima, joined the St Margaret’s House Gardening Club for a late-afternoon session of garden TLC under sunny spring skies. 🌞 Emily and John welcomed the pair and set out the jobs for this month’s social gardening meet-up. 🌿

Sam got stuck into weeding the landscaped beds and pathways in the garden, helping to keep the borders looking neat and the planting areas clear. Then, he assisted John in lifting some heavy gardening equipment. 🌱 💪🏻

Chandrima focused on litter-picking both inside the garden and around the wider settlement, then tackled the chaos caused by the local squirrels by sweeping up stray leaves and displaced soil, and brushing some of the mulch back into the beds to tidy the edges. 🧹🐿️

By the end of the session, the pathways were cleared, the beds looked freshly tidied and weeded, and the whole space felt ready for the next wave of visitors. ✨

This was our latest-in-the-evening task since we were asked to tidy up after the never-ending Cranbrook party. Task owner Des had asked us the day before for a later start, because he had to come down from Yorkshire by boat, or something. And astonishingly all of our crowd played close attention: not one turned up an hour early...

Given the later start, there was little or no hope that the Ides of March would bring a daylight start, we’re two weeks away from a full moon, and our main searchlight-bringer wasn’t with us this week. I’ve got three head torches at home, but didn’t think about charging them until it was too late. Luckily, Emma and Martin did bring headlights, and Nia proved adept at pointing Des’s one light in a useful direction

But as we picked our way around the cramped premises, we somehow managed to achieve a lot. Basically, we shovelled a great deal of earth out of planters. And later shovelled it back in. It’s been suggested that paying people to dig holes and fill them up again can boost the economy, but our sequence included a middle bit I didn't mention: we inserted compost before replacing the top level of earth. Des insisted on me jumping up and down on the compost. I had no idea what was in it, but I wasn’t keen on taking it home on my On trainers.

Elsewhere on the estate, Martin, Dan, Kevin and Gabe were displaying their artistic talents, painting a four-sided bench which encloses a tree in an open and well-lit part of Parkview. In fact it looked to me as if the very luminous green paint being applied, was lighting up the whole estate. Task completed, the Fab Four turned to use their remaining paint to brighten a wall within the yard

All we had to decide after that, was where to take the group picture. Rejecting the yard as too dark, and the steps as lit too variably, we plumped for the circle-from-above option. Sensibly, we used Emma’s phone. Any accompanying pictures where you can actually identify individuals in the gloom, were taken by her. Any which are completely blurry and verging on pointless, are mine