Once again we gathered at the Yurt café, even though it had closed two hours earlier. But we were here for a good deed, not a good feed. I arrived quite close to the start time and wondered if anyone else was going to appear. But GoodGymers are known for their precise timing (except Sree and Emma, of course), and nearly all appeared within seconds of the start time, notably Martin who times his pre-task runs to perfection.

Welcome especially to Beth, doing her first ever good deed, and who we hope to see a few more times before she relocates to meet the equally lovely folk at GoodGym Islington.

It was great to be good-deeding in daylight, and to discover there’s a short cut to the Yurt from Limehouse station, until dusk. Some people were still delighting in Fulham’s win against some team from Stratford as we selected gloves: relatively mud-free, and neatly divided into four different sizes.

We were tasked with raking gravel, to be wheelbarrowed away to another spot. One barrow was earmarked for pure gravel, while another was reserved for gravel-mixed-with-earth, which must have got a better name than that. The difficulty came when shovelling up what looked like unadulterated gravel, as we sometimes inadvertently also dug up the earth concealed below, which risked messing up the whole system.

Despite fifteen people wielding spades and shovels (once again trying to ascertain the difference between the two), and long sharp rakes, and pushing wheelbarrows in a confined space, not a single GoodGymer was injured!

Task Force regular Emma​ demonstrated her worth as a photo snapper extraordinaire, then demonstrated how to use a wheelbarrow as a sofa. As Ilana watched the sun set over some indistinguishable writing on a nearby tower block, we gathered for a few final photos. I headed for Limehouse station with Fiona and Alisa, as we looked forward to returning for one or more of the following:

On Saturday lunchtime, join Maddie and Robert sorting food for foodbanks at the Felix Project https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-afternoon-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-6df11c33-e39a-4480-a244-6b041986663c. Or join the earlier session at 9:30: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-morning-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-7fd69d30-ee3a-47cb-8268-3c6b48d2ccd5

Next Monday evening we’re heading for the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park – always a fun task. https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-big-monday-night-task-gardening-at-the-tower-hamlets-cemetery-park-pre-task-workout-4fd663a8-d032-4189-8e78-e0c1adb73052

On Thursday 9th May, there’s a social at the Monument pub in Whitechapel. Myself, Lucinda and “Southern” Emma have already signed up: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-social-in-the-city

On Sunday 2nd June, join us for a great day out on the stunning Seven Sisters walk: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/seven-sisters-walk

A relatively mild Monday evening saw 11 GoodGymers join Ken from the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (FoTHCP) for a big ivy-removal session this evening.

Having gathered at the park entrance from 6:40 for tonight’s Standing Abs Workout, shortly after 7pm we were gathering the last of the loppers and lining up the wheelbarrows ready to make our way around to tonight’s task location.

The best health and safety briefing ever

Following Ken through what appeared to be a particularly dense section of the park, we arrived at our designated spot, where Ken proceeded to run through ‘the best health and safety briefing ever’.

Tonight we were pulling ivy away from graves, headstones and undergrowth, allowing gravestones to be visible and ground to be clear of this densely-growing climber.

Ken ran through the ivy removal basics, from the role of the lopper to the whys and wherefores of controlling this pretty plant, after which the team promptly grabbed gloves and head torches and chose a spot at which to start.

Stubborn stems

We were relieved to have the additional lighting, as, although only a few days from the next full moon, without head torches and work lights, locating and plucking the ivy could have been a tricky task.

As the first five wheelbarrows were piled high with ivy, a willing wheeling team quickly assembled. Ken accompanied the barrows to the park’s green waste pile, returning with some pungent bin bags.

With a ten-minute countdown given at 7:50, GoodGymers proceeded to move far behind the gravestones for a final push.

At 8pm, we gathered tools and trash and made our way back through the dark park, excited for our next visit.

A big shout-out to everyone for a productive and fun night with the FoTHCP team.

Next week, we head up to Bow Road, for another fun and varied evening with Frankie and Kieran at the GET OUT garden.

Until then.

One by one GoodGymers arrived at the Stewart Street Community Centre on the Isle of Dogs.

(Thanks to Martin, and later Chris's, interventions, the postcode and address were accurate-ish come meeting time).

Meet and Greet

With a greeting team consisting of Ricardo and Chris​ on Stewart Street; Matt and Sam from Thames21 inside, it was a good-sized welcome for those joining us as we approached 7:15.

Partnering with Thames21

Matt from Thames21 led the briefing, giving the team a little background on the charity’s activity; their work on the Isle of Dogs, and an outline of where we’d be heading tonight.

Forming two groups (those who wanted a longer run heading off with Matt; those opting for a shorter run and a little warm-up with me) we made our way out onto the river front, admiring the scenery.

Stopping at ‘The Beach’/Kelson Beach/Folly House Beach, to collect a decent amount of litter, GoodGymers wasted no time putting together hoops and bags and dispersed along the shingle, gathering a good amount of debris as the tide headed in.

Making their way along the front, clearly visible by head torches, hi-vis and of course the distinctive red t-shirt, it seemed like we’d only been at the Beach a short while, before it was time to head back to base, empty bags, and head on with the run.

...A little more mileage

A small group opted for a walk-run along the river, and the larger group impressively headed out with Matt, who took the team through the foot tunnel no less, to catch a quick glimpse of the Cutty Sark the other side of the river, before running speedily back to base.

As we said our cheerios, we were busily planning the next meetup, looking forward to another productive river run.

Next week

...we’re back to Bow, to see Kieran and Frankie at the GET OUT garden.

Until then.

GoodGymer by GoodGymer, tonight's group slowly but surely increased in size.

It was a decent-sized group who ploughed through tonight's workout (as many standing body weight exercises as we could think of, in 20 minutes).

As we focused on every-type-of-lunge, task owner Ken prepared tonight's kit: the best collection of rakes and working wheelbarrows in East London. At 18:58 we were gathering for tonight's briefing, before donning head torches and gloves galore and making our way through this beautiful-but-dark park.

Raking basics

Arriving at a fantastically well-lit spot, Ken proceeded to talk us through tonight's raking basics.

Our job was to clear leaves from 100m of chalk wildflower banks on the southern boundary of the park (the fallen autumn leaves can prevent fertility returning to the meadow, which would make the meadow less suitable for delicate wildflowers and grasses. If left unraked, the conditions could change enough to 'better suit nuisance plants such as Nettles, Bindweed and Cow Parsley, thereby losing the wildflower diversity').

Our task was to work along the bank, methodically raking the leaves off the meadow, gathering them into barrows and relocating them to the park's green waste site for shredding.

The team wasted no time in getting down to work. Spread out along this pretty bank, the raking soon commenced, and it wasn't long before large piles of leaves were being wheeled over to the huge green waste pile.

We made it to the end of the bank in good time, counting no fewer than 24 trips to the compost heap!

Way to go team!

A great night enjoyed by all.

Shout-outs to Lily and Dorota who joined us for their first Monday night task! Great to see you and we look forward to seeing you again very soon.

Thanks and well done to Emma, who was tasked with 'Dropped Pin-duty' again tonight and a fabulous joint effort for tonight's fun pun from Millie, Lily, Esme and Emma.

Next week we head back to the gorgeous Town Hall Hotel and Cranbrook Community Garden for gardening, running, and a post-task stretch. Don't miss out!

(And don't forget, Friday sees the return of the London GoodGym Social!)

Until then.