What a beautiful evening for tonight's task!

Shortly before 7 a good-sized group gathered in the corner of the Royal London Hospital forecourt to speed through tonight's short fitness session.

It was a fantastic area to workout in, complete with steps and small walls, perfect for shoulder-taps and step-ups.

We headed over to meet the rest of the team after a few stretches, delighted to see how steadily our little group was growing.

Following a briefing from Nancy and Richard, we divided into small teams, each tackling one of these large planters.

The planters are a good addition to the A&E area of The Royal London Hospital, but needed a good weeding after a damp and mild start to summer. Armed with gloves and bin bags, off we headed, determined to get the better of some giant thistles, nettles & co.

To say it didn't take the team long was an understatement. The first planter was clear well before 7:30, leaving plenty of time to turn the soil, ready for Operation Planter Part II.

With a new team put to work on weed and rubbish disposal, we were done and dusted - literally - at a quarter to 8!

What a fun evening.

A big shout-out to the team, especially to Ismet, who joined for his first, brilliant task.

Next week, we're back to the Yurt Cafe for one last final push in the landscaping project!

Until then.

A team of three headed from the Town Hall Hotel to the Cranbrook Community Centre this evening, running the leafier route of Sewardstone Road. On arrival at the Centre we became four as we spend the final few minutes before our task on a couple of body weight moves and plenty of stretches.

We started our task at 7-prompt.

It’s been a while since we visited Janet and Eileen at this well-used Centre and after a strong start to summer for both hedge growth and Community Centre parties, our little team were soon put to work.

Making our way along the pavement railings, we chopped hedges and shrubs back so that they no longer posted a health and safety issue, before heading around to the back garden to rescue discarded toys from over the fence. Add in a litter-pick and a bit of fencing TLC, and it was quite the varied task.

As 8pm approached the heavens opened.

With the finishing touches to the hedge makeover complete, the team scurried underneath the Centre roof, waiting patiently for me to miscount choppers and loppers.

A lovely evening’s task – well done everyone. And a great big GoodGym shout-out to Carol for her spectacular first Monday night task.

Next week, we head to the Royal London Hospital, to tackle many large weeds in front of A&E.

Until then.

The team's first GoodGym event of the summer saw a great-sized team assemble in the sun today to get involved with an active, outdoor task.

Today we were helping the Mint Street Music Festival distribute a lot of leaflets around the nearby residential areas.

Mint Street Music Festival CIC provides arts projects and free live music events in Southwark.

This year is the tenth anniversary of the festival, a day "filled with live music featuring an eclectic range of bands, dance performances, children’s entertainment, and food stalls."

Supported by Southwark Council's Cultural Events, the team behind this free festival were happy to have a hand dropping leaflets in preparation for Saturday's big event.

Meeting at the FGS base at 11am, we set out for a short run to nearby Tabard Gardens, before whizzing through a 15-minute, full-body workout.

It was a great effort, from the balance challenges to the seated abs moves, topped off with a few good stretches.

...And so to the task

Hannah, today's task owner, arrived with a big box of leaflets and an interesting history of the festival.

Then, dispersing into three groups, we headed out onto the surrounding streets.

Taking steps and stairs galore, we tried to distribute as many of these little leaflets as we could in a short space of time.

Venturing as far afield as we could, it was certainly a useful addition to the day's step count.

Arriving back at base at various times, we concluded it was a job well done, and a great way to spend a Thursday lunchtime.

After saying cheerio to Hannah, we sped back to base, finishing with 'the best calf stretch in the world'.

Well done, team. (And a big shout-out to Southwark Area Activator, Sam for sourcing and coordinating our task today),

Until next time.

A mild Monday evening saw no fewer than 13 GoodGymers head to the Community Garden, at James Middleton House, in the heart of Bethnal Green.

Tonight we were joining Margaret and Ash for Planters Part II, helping distribute a vast amount of compost into these newly-constructed planters.

This garden forms part of the well-tended Hollybush Estate community gardens. The gardens include an orchard, an allotment and a play area, and offer residents bundles of well-kept space to enjoy.

Forming several teams, we loaded wheelbarrows full of soil and headed over to the planters and other parts of the garden to help get these new areas ready for an exciting bit of planting.

The rain started - nothing new there - but did little to dampen our spirits. With such a large, fun and productive team, superbly headed up by Margaret and Ash, we pressed on until after 8.

After posing for the all-important group shot, the team returned barrows to the Nature Reserve and the Community Centre, already looking forward to next month's visit.

A big shout-out to the whole team, for a fab, fun, effective evening, and in particular to Charlie, who joined for his first task!

Next week, we're heading to the Cranbrook Community Centre for our first visit of summer! Sign-up here.

Until then.

A small but productive crew met on the Isle of Dogs today to help spread the word about local organisation Trapped in Zone One's new NCS programme.

This social development programme will be taking place in-and-around the organisation's new base, the Island Point Community Centre on the Isle of Dogs in the coming weeks, and so today we were leafleting around nearby residential locations.

Somehow managing to head out during the one sunny, warm hour of the day, we headed a little way down Manchester Road and managed to distribute all of our leaflets by the time the rain clouds made their way to our spot.

As the first few drops of a 2pm downpour started, we headed our separate ways, pleased to have made a start on this fun task.

Until next time.

Tonight a good-sized group of GoodGymers headed to the Yurt Cafe at the Royal Foundation of Saint Katharine in Limehouse to help in the exciting last few weeks of this new community garden.

The garden is taking shape nicely, with a new pathway along the side, the monastic garden now housing benches and fruit bushes, and the sides of the garden clear and ready for more planting.

Having started work on this garden at the start of the year, it's been great to see it take shape as the months have gone by: from demolishing sheds and old planters on cold January nights to laying the final barrows on gravel on a balmy July evening, visits to the project in Limehouse, overseen by brilliant task owner Larry, have been a 2024 staple here in Tower Hamlets.

Tonight three teams worked on shovelling gravel, spreading gravel and weeding in-and-around the monastic garden.

By the end of the evening, we weren't sure which was the best workout.

Having assumed weeding would be the gentler task, we realised very early on that tough, well established weeds combined with dry soil meant a claw hammer came in very handy. But then a sidelong glance at wheelbarrows of stones being upended wasn't such an easy gig either.

It was certainly a physical evening, and a fun one too. Welcoming John​ to his first session, it was a splendidly sociable start to the week as usual.

A great effort, team, and I look forward to the next time.

Until then.