GoodGymers arrived from all parts of Bethnal Green and Mile End. And not just from there. Nia came all the way from India, partly to do the task, but also because she was greatly missing our lovely January weather. Mile-End-Emma arrived from Australia, quite recently, and new-boy Gabe (welcome Gabe) claims to live outside Tower Hamlets altogether, over there in The City. Even though nobody lives in The City. And we all arrived bang on time - except for the usual tardy suspects, of course...

Nia, Lobo, Gabe and Bethnal-Green-Emma, were using their artistic talent to paint chairs (Bethnal) green, as well as varnishing a table and chair. Lucinda and Mile-End-Emma were filling gaps in a brick wall, doing a great job (according to Mile-End-Emma). Several miles away, at the other end of the estate, Ilana, Ciarán and Bethnal-Green-Emma were restoring a graffiti-covered wall. Closer to home, Rohan and I practised for our future potential careers as dentists pulling teeth, as we yanked nails from planks of wood, using the back ends of hammers

All this vigorous work was our best bulwark against the cold. But January isn’t over yet - there’s still a special Tuesday task at Ocean Youth tonight, then Saturday lunchtime at Rocky Park, and the usual Felix Project tasks the same day. Be there or be somewhere else!

We had a lovely day out in the sun in Ms A's back garden today. Kevin, a former professional gardener was the man with the plan. Myself and him got to work on uprooting the many tree stumps in the garden while Ilana took on the prickly task of putting part of the large pile of thorns and branches into garden bags so they can be removed. Several stumps later and with 3 full garden bags Ms A treated us to some lovely coffee and biscuits to top off the mission. Some return visits will definitely be necessary.

So many people turned up to Tuesday's task, I actually lost count! Ocean Youth Connexions became Goodgym Connexions with people travelling from all corners of the city - Goodgym Newham, Camden AND Greenwich kindly joined us at Limehouse. Shout out to Lobo who led an enjoyable scenic run before the task.

Task owner Kamal quickly organised us all into smaller teams. Some donned overalls, others grabbed litter pickers. Painting was a major task - it seemed like more or less everything was covered in a new coat of paint. Walls, walls, shutters, more walls. Ladders and extendable rollers were used to reach high places though most of us remained at ground level. The outdoor team tidied away bags full of rubbish and leaves.

A great evening, with new connexions made with pals across borough lines. We return here next Tuesday for more....painting!