Two dedicated Goodgymers met to cut grass for Mrs E then had lunch at the E5 Bakehouse.

Not having gardens ourselves we were both new to the art of lawn mowing! But the sun was out and it started well. Sree mowed the first vertical strip with confidence and I watched on proudly as freshly cut grass flew back behind the mower. It was then that I remembered I had hayfever! I powered on through mowing the second half of the garden and Mrs E was very pleased with the end result. We bagged up the grass, said goodbye to the two little robins who had watched on from the tree and headed off for a well earned lunch.

Three dedicated goodgymers ran walked and cycled through the snow to help on the afternoon shift at Bethnal Green Foodback today. We worked with the regular team of volunteers at the Foodbank to pack and sort a large number of food bags (in particular the pescatarian bags) ready for collection on Wednesday. Well done everyone!

• Teams were divided into two this evening, for a fantastic couple of activities at the Royal London hospital.

• We were joining the Barts Volunteers team, to help assemble activity packs, and distribute surveys.

• Tonight's report was written by Task Force members, Áine and Fiona (who also came up with tonight's pun).

Writes Áine, "Laura and Richard gathered a GoodGym gang of 9 to head to the 7th floor and the Paediatrics ward. The group split into pairs and after a quick intro from Richard, each pair had a chat with a patient and their family to get some feedback and fill in a form. This process is essential so that the Trust can gather feedback from all of their patients.

The conversations were wide ranging and interesting: Simon even recruited one dad to join GoodGym. We covered all wards on the 7th floor in good time, (including a detour to retrieve two GoodGymers from 7D) with the group managing to return safely with completed surveys to our arts and crafts comrades for a final group photo."

Writes Fiona, "Downstairs the activities group worked diligently to put together small craft packs, which can bring a smile and help patients to feel calmer and pass the time, particularly during longer hospital stays. The group also made up packs of food- themed communication cards. These are a vital tool at mealtimes for patients for whom English may not be their first language, or for those who have difficulties with hearing or speaking.

All this was accompanied by an epic soundtrack of film songs, provided by the Barts team, to motivate us through. Top points go to Sree and Mona who were strongest at guessing the artist and film!"

Slowly our little group grew this evening, gathering by the Cranbrook Community Centre, for some pre-task body weight moves.

The team did fantastically speeding through bundles of challenging lower body balance work, some wall push-ups and the odd stretch in a short space of time.

By the time Task Owner Laura had briefed us on our work tonight, we had grown to a respectable size of 14.

GoodGymers busied themselves with filling bag after bag of leaves, of which there was a huge build up around the borders of the garden. Another team headed to the compost bays, and as the leaves were quickly cleared, members proceeded to head out to all four corners of the garden to bag the last of the leaves, rake a collapsed vegetable bed, shift containers..You name it.

By 7:40, we were looking for new jobs, such was the pace at which members worked. It was a fantastic - and chilly - effort.

By 8pm, we were sweeping the last of the leaves off the path, locating gloves and garden tools, and getting ready to say our goodbyes.

We posed for the all-important final photo before heading in various directions, glad to have got the week off to a good start.

A big shout-out to the whole team tonight, to Oana and Moona, whose first GG Tower Hamlets this was (hope to see you again soon) and to Fiona, for tonight's lovely pun.

Next week we return to the Royal London Hospital for a variety of interesting tasks with Nancy and the Barts Volunteers team. Details and sign-up are here.

Until then.

A good-sized group gathered around the corner from tonight's task to speed through a short workout.

Balancing on the wall, we sped through incline push ups, leg lowers, tricep dips and the toughest single-leg squats. The team did great. You could have heard a pin drop, but they didn't falter, finishing with the fantastic curtsey lunges.

We then made our way around the corner to the garden entrance to meet Kieran of charity GET OUT, our task owner for the night.

What is GET OUT?

GET OUT is a local charity that believes 'all young people should have the same access to the natural world'. The organisation's programme of surfing, outdoor education and food growing project is designed to 'help overcome the disconnect between young people and the environment'.

Tonight, following a long winter, we were playing gardening catch-up in this well-used local space.

Two teams spent their time on each end of the garden, clearing weeds and preparing the ground for planting and other use by the garden's users. Working tirelessly to pull up weed after weed in poorly-lit areas, the before and after pictures of both areas of the garden were impressive.

Meanwhile at the other end of the garden, three strong participants were keen to tackle the relocation of some seriously heavy paving stones (despite my initial hesitance) and did an absolutely great job. They lifted, wheeled, and broke up slab after slab, speedily moving them to the opposite end of the garden. Having completed the task early, they proceeded to turn a bit of compost as a nice cool-down.

8pm came and went, and by ten past, we were emptying the last of the weeds into the compost, packing up equipment and heading to the fire area (better than it sounds) for our final group shot.

We then said cheerio to Kieran, and made our way back out onto peaceful Harley Grove for a few final stretches after this tough task.

What a great night!

Shout-outs

A big, warm welcome to Davide, whose first GoodGym task this was, and to Alan, whose first Tower Hamlets task this was! A brilliant debut from you both, and we hope to see you again very soon.

...And to our Rosie, who tonight reached her 50th good deed. Well done Rosie!

Next week, we return to Cranbrook Community Food Garden!.

Until then.