It was our first visit of 2025 to the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park this evening!

Ken, the Park’s manager of over 22 years, greeted us, and it was great for new and regular members to have a catch-up with him before we headed out for our task.

Welcoming the group one by one, we slowly made our way over to the tool shed to grab loppers, rakes and wheelbarrows.

As Ken loaded the wheelbarrows, GoodGymers took the opportunity to stash bags in the office, before meandering across the North West side of the park our task location for the evening.

Tonight we were clearing ivy from headstones and chopping back brambles in an area that needs a bit of preparation for a new footpath that’s being established.

Ken divided us into two teams to head back into the park, away from the headstones.

Barrows were filled quickly, and a dent made in the area in no time.

GoodGymers emerged time and again from the undergrowth with armfuls of ivy and brambles, pausing only to pose patiently for a photo, which seem to take an increasing amount of time, thanks to an ageing phone.

At two minutes to eight, we wheeled the last barrow around to the vegetation heap and gathered the tools.

We made our way back through the park and headed to the tool shed, and then to the front of the fence, for our final last photo.

It was a great start to the week. After a chilly few days, it was still a real treat to get together and lend a hand in one of our borough’s prettiest places.

And the shout-outs tonight to:

• Ruby, who joined us for her first task! Great to see you, Ruby and hope to see you again soon.

• Lobo, who brought doughnuts for the whole team, as part of his post-task, January Challenge pep talk.

• And to our brilliant task owner, Ken, who gave us another fun Monday night and a splendid pun.

Until next time.

It was our October visit to the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park this evening, which is always good fun.

At our last visit in September, we'd raked hay and grass around gravestones and monuments close to the entrance of the park.

Tonight, Park Manager Ken's plan was for us to plant crocus and camassia bulbs around this area, to produce an array of colour by the Spring.

With everyone arriving close to 7pm, we were ready to head to the well stocked tool shed shortly after, to grab trowels and barrows, bulbs and gloves.

We welcomed Sal to his first GoodGym session, and grabbed head torches and lights for the ground.

Making our way to tonight's spot, Ken proceeded to tell us a little bit about the area of the park, the purpose of our planting mission and the best planting know-how.

Wasting no time, the team divided into small teams, taking care to cover the entire area, distributing both types of bulb evenly. Returning to the wheelbarrows to restock buckets and occasionally relocate to a new planting spot, as always, the time flew.

Several broken trowels - and one spectacular pun - later we were calling it a night.

Wandering back to the Soanes Centre and tool shed, we concluded it had been a handy little upper body workout, and that we're looking forward to returning later in the Autumn.

Another fun night in the borough - well done team, and a big shout-out to Lucinda for this evening's pretty awesome pun.

Writes Emma,

"On a rather muggy Monday evening, a determined group of GoodGymers gathered at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park ready to tackle a task that was nothing short of monumental: raking the cut grass from the meadow site near the Soanes Centre.

Ken from the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (an independent charity) kicked things off with a quick intro, sharing the park's vital role as an urban sanctuary for both nature lovers and local residents.

But this wasn’t just your average raking session. We were on a mission to create the ideal conditions for a wildflower meadow to thrive - working like ‘a swarm of locusts’ to clear the cut grass (as enthusiastic and methodical, but with better vibes).

Armed with rakes, wheelbarrows and a can-do attitude, we set to work. It was a lively, albeit dark, scene - grass flying, barrows wheeling and everyone chipping in to create a landscape where wildflowers can flourish.

Each sweep of the rake felt like an effective addition to a workout.

By the end of the hour, we were tired but satisfied by the HUGE mound of raked grass we had created. I would say that the meadow looked fantastic, but to be honest, we couldn’t really see it. We’ll take Ken’s word for it.

The night wrapped up with a big thank you from Ken, and a reminder of our celebration on Thursday for our work with Larry at the Yurt Cafe for the Foundation of St Katherine.

A huge thank you to the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for leading the charge. And to the fantastic GoodGymers, as always.

Here’s to more meadow missions and green adventures in the autumn months ahead."

And one by one our little group grew tonight, until there were no fewer than 13 GoodGymers working on the new hazel fence at the pretty St Leonard's Priory Park up in Bromley-By-Bow.

We said hello to first time GoodGym-ers Gurprit, Anton, Anna, and a warm welcome to Tower Hamlets to Anna!

Starting with four teams (one chopping hazel, one weeding, one digging fence-holes and one repairing our less-than-perfect previous hazel fence), it was definitely a case of learning on the job as we pruned, stripped and chopped; weeded and wove, blitzing multiple jobs at one time.

With the team working flexibly, rotating out of one task to another, particularly as time sped on ("Hazel! We need more hazel!"), it was a busy but sociable evening, with the countdown to sunset well and truly on.

A decent workout was had by all, whether digging up weeds or sawing tough branches.

It was after 8 before the team were generously stacking up the kit, and wheeling barrows to the back of the park.

With Kareem providing decent tech assistance, the all-important group pic remained in tact, despite the lack of light.

A great effort, everyone - and a final shout-out to Charlie, who came up with tonight's belter of a pun.

Next week

...we're back to Hollybush Gardens, for our first visit of Autumn with Margaret and Ash.

Until then.