A great turnout this evening on our second visit to the team at INUF on the Romford Road - welcome to Abdul on his first GoodGym mission, and a welcome back to Miguel after a two and a bit year GG hiatus - it was also great to see Steven and Bianca again, along with Brad, Hilary, Adam and Nick. We also welcomed Dilly who was here to take some "action shots" for the various social media feeds.

We weren't quite sure what was in store for this evening's activity, but we knew it would involve the garden...and probably not involve (sadly) any more wooden chair destruction.

Except it didn't, at least not initially, as we were tasked with moving wooden frames and panels from their drop-in kitchen area round to the back of the building where the Chair Smashing Olympics had taken place a fortnight ago - this time an added hazard had been introduced in the shape of a car that was now parked a lot closer to the footpath and made access just a little tricky.

With the wood disposed of, we split into smaller groups to declutter the garden - one group was heavily into branches and sticks, whilst the other got seriously knee deep into the weeding, and if ever proof were needed that with 10 pairs of gloved and motivated hands we can get a lot done, by the end of the session (just as the rain drops were starting to fall), we'd largely cleared the garden per our leader's instructions - 8 black bags full of weeds, and enough kindling to light a large bonfire were proof of our collective efforts - a very productive Tuesday evening's work all round.

Our first weekday evening community mission, but at one of our regular tasks.

This week Sybil had over 200 bulbs for us to plant in the long flower bed at the front of the church.

Mark joined us for his 2nd GG good deed while Bianca joined us for her 3rd and Steven joined us for a 2nd tourist visit to Newham.

Sybil had clear instructions
* clear leaves
* dig in compost
* make holes
* plant bulbs (make sure they're the right way up)
* refill holes
* leaves back to act as additional mulch

In less than forty minutes all 200 bulbs were planted and covered.

Some light refreshments as a thank you from the church for our hard work before we headed off home.

On Tuesday evening last week (apologies for the delay), a brave band of GoodGymmers took on a task that was part DIY makeover, part arachnid diplomacy, and entirely brilliant.

Our mission: transform a small room in a local church into something a little less “spider sanctuary” and a little more “welcoming space.” Armed with rollers, masking tape, and nerves of steel, we got to work.

First up—taping. The edges of doors and skirting boards were treated to a precision masking job worthy of a crime scene investigator. No paint was going rogue on our watch. Special mention and welcome to Steven who worked wonders with the tape!

Then came the floor protection phase, where we laid down cardboard and paper like we were preparing for a Jackson Pollock session. The room looked like it was about to host a very cautious picnic.

But before any painting could begin, we had to face our eight-legged co-tenants. Cobwebs clung to corners, and spiders the size of small dogs (okay, maybe not that big) peered down from the rafters. We were assured they wouldn’t bite, but that didn’t stop a few squeals and some impressive ladder acrobatics as we cleared the high-up hideouts.

With the room de-spidered and the floor safely swaddled, we got rolling—literally. About half the room got a fresh coat of paint, and while we didn’t quite finish the job, we left it looking brighter and cleaner.

Big thanks to everyone who came along and brought their best brushwork, bravery, and banter. Same time next week—unless the spiders file a complaint.