Writes Charlie,

"We gathered for yet another memorable evening of volunteering at this well-known urban community garden in the heart of Bethnal Green.

What started as a routine mission to move soil and wood chips quickly turned into an unexpectedly lively and fun event—complete with record-breaking attendance, a pink-hued sunset, and the kind of teamwork that would make even the busiest ant colony jealous.

We were all hands on deck right from the off.

As soon as the shovels hit the ground, it was as though we collectively tapped into some sort of communal rhythm. A human chain formed, with everyone passing, digging, and moving soil with the efficiency and focus of, dare I say it, a swarm of ants. You could almost hear the theme music to a heist movie playing in the background. (Instead of robbing a bank, however, we were enriching the earth and helping the garden flourish).

Emma, assumed the role of our unofficial forewoman. Her managerial oversight was crucial to the operation—spurring us on from a comfortable vantage point. (We’ll pretend the regular supply of snacks and much-needed pep talks didn’t help that much).

We also welcomed a couple of new and familiar faces into the fold: Ramón, the rookie of the group, stepped into the gardening scene with admirable enthusiasm. And then there was Anton, back for his third round of soil-shoveling glory.

As the evening progressed, the sun began its slow descent, offering one of those final summer sunsets you wish you could bottle for the darker months ahead.

The sky turned a brilliant pink, casting a soft, warm light over the garden, a reward for our hard work.

Hard to say what felt better: the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of our labour come together, or the stunning sight that marked the end of the day.

And the best part? We finished everything double quick. Whether it was the accompanying breeze, our ‘swarm-of-ants’ approach, or simply the record turnout, we blitzed through what should’ve been an all-day task in less than an hour.

Of course the evening wasn’t complete until we wrapped at a pub nearby. What’s an evening’s productivity without a pint to celebrate. So a few of us found our way to local favourite, The Approach Tavern. With (garden) gloves off, dirt-free pints in hand, we toasted to an evening well spent and a garden well nurtured.

Cheers to all who came out. Here’s to the first of some fabulous Autumn evenings, both in the garden and down the pub."

Tonight's big shout-outs

• To Charlie, and Emma, powered by ChatGPT, for tonight’s splendid report.

• To Gurprit for tonight's ace pun.

Next week we're back to the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for our first Autumn visit!

Until then.

A sunny evening in Tower Hamlets saw a nice-sized group of GoodGymers gather round a large woodchip pile it turned out they would clear in no time.

Background to tonight's task

The Teesdale and Hollybush TRA are probably GG TH's longest standing task. Headed up by brilliant Margaret, and now Ash, GG are invited once, twice a month to join the dynamic duo to lend a hand with various projects on one of the Estate's many pretty garden areas.

Tonight we were helping redistribute old planter wood and spread a rather large pile of woodchip.

An early arrival time for some saw Ash and Margaret instructing the first arrivals on how best to distribute the woodchip.

With project management promptly handed over to John and Chris, the team wasted no time whittling the large pile away.

A flurry of late arrivals provided the perfect opportunity to introduce the second task - transporting a large stash of planks over to another part of the estate gardens, Rocky Park.

Trolley- fulls of logs were flying toward Rocky Park at a speedy rate: lats and delts got a workout to rival the finest upper body session.

The rest of the team joined this breakaway task, by which time it was game over for what was initially a large pile of planks.

Posing for a quick pic in the planters (as it sounds), we then headed to the pub for a self-congratulatory pint. Another superb night of productivity.

The shout-outs

• A big warm welcome to Priscila who joined us for her first Monday night task.

• Well done to Michael for a FANTASTIC GoodGym debut.

• Massive thanks to John for organising tonight's post-task drink.

• And a huge round of applause for Rohan, who co-wrote tonight's report; to Fiona for delivering another splendid pun, and the rest of the table at the Bethnal Green Tavern for chipping in for tonight's report.

You all rock.

Next week, we're pruning and bagging The BIg Hedge in Bethnal Green's Patriot Square.

You snooze, you lose...

Until then.

We joined Margaret and Ash from the Teesdale & Hollybush Tenants and Residents Association for our second May visit to help with some gardening tasks.

A group of us gathered at the Town Hall for some stretches and a pleasant evening jog over to the Hollbush Estates. There, we rallied more troops and received our mission brief.

We handed out the tools and started helping Margaret and the team to clear and tidy one of the community allotment spaces for the Hollybush Estate. While some of the group got stuck into weeding, others shovelled soil and dismantled the allotment beds. The wheel barrows raced back and forth to Rocky Gardens where the soil was put back to good use.

Many hands made light work of clearing the space, and it was satisfying to see the signs of our work. Well done everyone for clearing the space and making it feel loved again :-)

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.

It was a later start than usual, allowing plenty of time for the rain to clear away. Our long-time friends Margaret and Ash, from the Teesdale & Hollybush Tenants and Residents Association, were well organised as usual, with plenty of hoes and brushes available for some of our number to embark on weeding and then sweeping the paths of the estate's community food garden.

Another group made their way to the far side of the square to shovel soil from a vast pile and transport it in wheelbarrows to the garden. For once, none of the wheelbarrows had a flat tyre, but one of them was emitting an ear-piecing squeal until Ivo worked his magic on it, and it squealed no more.

Tonight’s task started with a fitness session on Middleton Green, consisting of a short routine of body weight exercises and some running courtesy of Emma and Rohan.

It was a beautiful evening for a few push-ups and a lap of this pretty park.

At 7pm we headed around the corner to meet Margaret who was well prepared as usual. This evening’s task? Filling planters with soil!

A well-organised task

The task started very efficiently with wheelbarrows lined up, bags of soil at the ready, and an efficient system in place.

After a team effort of climbing over the wall with the polytunnel frame, we formed several teams to start on each bag of soil. Shuttling up and down the small path, lifting barrows over the wall and raking soil into planters, we achieved a lot in a short space of time.

At shortly before 8, the whole team gathered to haul one huge back of soil along the path, to position it in an easily-accessible spot for Ash when he resumes this work tomorrow.

Gathering wheelbarrows, rakes and gloves, we made our way back to Rocky Park, via the toolshed and the heavenly jasmine climber.

After posing for that all-important group pic, we finalised the details of our next visit to the gardens on May 20th. (Check out the listing for the next visit here).

A wonderful, sunny mid-week task. Well done everyone.

Until next time.