About a dozen earthlings seized the day by taking up the opportunity of partaking in another fun task at Oceans Youth Connexions. Task owner Kamal opened the room divider to reveal a space we hadn't been in since we started our tasks here 2 years ago. The partition removed, we stepped into another dimension - a well sized room which used to be a carpet shop. A bunch of the gang put on some protective overalls and gloves before getting to work here, painting all walls white. Rohan had some unfinished business with an unpainted patch next door so he swiftly sorted that first. In the carpet room, the team started low, gradually moving up. None of the carpets turned out to be magic but we did have ladders to help us reach higher places. Conversations flowed as smoothly as paint rollers on exposed brick. Lots of chat about running endeavours, past and present. Good luck to those running Brighton half in a few weeks! A few drops of paint ended up on some visages but most of it covered the intended surfaces.

Outdoors in the yard, this was a paint free zone. The team here got to work clearing up leaves, other foliage and rubbish. The theme outdoors was South American with two of our group travelling there in the coming weeks. Bon Voyage to those soon embarking on adventures, be they travelling, culinary, or expressed through the medium of dance. Whilst this team mainly worked behind bars, this was no prison. They roamed back and forth, from the smaller yard, to the bigger yard, to the magic circle outside where the leaves have a temporary stay. Once the free-range roamers had finished up, they joined the decorators indoors.

We ended the task with the customary group photo and a somewhat tuneful rendition of Happy Birthday for Anna.

• Shout outs to:
• Anna on her first task, and crossing the Thames to do so!
• Robert for also crossing the Thames (not his first task)
• Anna for it being her birthday week - happy birthday!

We'll be back here next month (date TBC)

We braved the cold and darkness on Monday night to help Ken with some flower planting in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. Trowels and head torches at the ready, we split into groups and set about digging holes and planting hundreds of daffodil bulbs throughout an area of the cemetery park. We worked our way diligently through all of the planting, some even digging so furiously that their tools snapped!

Big welcome to Ariane who joined as from Hounslow. And a big thank you to everyone for a very productive evening. Make sure to take a stroll through the park from February to April to see the fruits of our labour!

12 goodgymers travelled to Ocean Youth Connexion on a chilly Monday evening. Some cycled, others walked, John braved poorly lit towpaths (successfully managing to remain a land mammal). Taskowner Kamal instructed us on the two jobs for the night 1) bagging up leaves in the yard and 2) painting the roller shutter.

Nia and Darren transformed the roller shutters from a muted grey to shiny metallic, almost rivaling the brightness of the jackets sported by myself and Emma. They were meticulous with their paint rollers, trapping us all in the yard at the end just to get the job done. Or one could say, painting us into a corner (pun credit/blame: Darren)... We were all happy to stay to witness the finishing touches of their Rothko-esque masterpiece.

The rest of the gang were busy beavers running around the yard clearing it of loose leaves (which Kamal had already kindly swept into piles). Wheelbarrows, brooms, brushes, leaf scoopers and hands were employed to get the job done. It seems like every time we come to Ocean Youth, Kamal provides a new helpful item - headtorches this time. So industrious were we, there was a constant background rustling sound throughout the hour. Countless trips back and forth were made to the designated leaf drop off zone for the leaf fairies (aka the council) to pick up at a later date.

Bang went the clock tower, and with jobs complete, a cheery gang made their way to the pub round the corner.