With the earlier showers a distant memory it was a good-sized group who headed out to sunny Bethnal Green this evening.

The fitness

Chris had organised a great pre-task run, so a small group met at 6 to head off to London Fields to top up this week's training.

At 6:40, our pre-task workout commenced. (This consisted of a lot of balance moves in the middle of Middleton Green, an activity the group did fantastically well with).

The task

At 7, we headed around the corner to meet Margaret on Ellsworth Street (Margaret is from Teesdale and Hollybush Tenants and Residents Association).

Ellsworth Street is home to some pretty borders and planters in front of the houses but the weeds have got a little tall. Our job tonight was to remove the weeds, take them to the compost bays in Rocky Park and retain the poppy heads. (Weeding plants of this size and abundance on a regular basis is important, as they compete with other plants for light and nutrients).

The GoodGymers worked speedily, and it wasn't long before we had a few fantastic before and after pics. Taking it in turns to wheel weeds and tackle the borders, it was a job efficiently and speedily completed.

Breaking only for an ice pop rest, we finished the job with a thorough sweep of the pavement.

After posing for one final picture, courtesy of Margaret, we proceeded to head our separate ways: some home, some to the pub - and some to the park for a little more running!

It was a fun and useful night, and a thoroughly good way to start the week.

Well done everyone.

The shout-outs

Big shout-outs tonight to:

• Nick, who joined us for his first GoodGym! Well done for a great evening's gardening, Nick - hope to see you again soon!

• Chris, who led the pre-task run.

• Margaret, who led our task brilliantly, and who took some fantastic photos.

• ...And to our Rohan, who tonight celebrated his 100th good deed. Well done Rohan, thanks for being such a big part of GoodGym Tower Hamlets.

Next week we return to the Cranbrook Community Food Garden for a big gardening catch-up.

Until then.

A gorgeous night for it.

16 GoodGymers gathered together at The Soanes Centre this evening, ready for an active, useful task in the beautiful Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

What we were doing?

We met with the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park team first, to collect wheelbarrows and gloves – and instructions. Park Manager Ken whizzed through the park’s fascinating facts, covering everything from wildlife to top cow parsley-plucking tips.

We then made our way through the centre of the park, to the area near The Big Green Pile (as it sounds) where we covered the basics of tonight’s task: pulling out cow parsley.

Why were we doing it?

Cow parsley can be invasive, taking up light and space. Without any control, the plant and its seeds spread quickly. Removing the flowering stem in late Spring helps manage this plant in this huge, much loved, historic cemetery and nature reserve.

How we got on

The team worked - you guessed it – tirelessly as usual. Getting to grips very quickly with these tough stems, the area started to look transformed very quickly. Working in groups on both sides of the park path, GoodGymers filled barrow after barrow with armfuls of the cow parsley.

With all that squatting, plucking and wheeling, it proved to be quite the Monday night workout. The time sped by, and before we knew it, it was well after 8 and we were wheeling the final barrow back to The Big Green Pile, to pose for one last picture.

We strolled back to base, grateful to Richard from the FOTHCP team for taking barrows and gloves off our hands.

Another fantastic night - well done everyone.

The big shout-outs

…To Giorgio, Yelda, and Alex who joined us for the very first time. You did such a great job, and we hope to see you again very soon.

To Emma who worked hard at Cow Parsley pun research.

To our Task Force (John, Chris, Fiona, Aine and Emma) who project manage-d tonight; helped plan the next few weeks, and who generally do loads behind the scenes.

…And to the whole team tonight, for such a fabulous start to the week.

Until next time.