5 Goodgymers descended upon Andrews Street on a sunny Saturday morning: Chloe walked along the canal, arriving first on the scene, Chris cycled, John,Hilary and Lucinda jogged together after completing Mile End parkrun at varying speeds.

We were greeted by task owner Geraldine, fellow gardener Keith, and chickens (!). Huge excitement at there being chickens. We gradually met the rest of the friendly gardening crew as they arrived one by one. Greening Brownfield community garden sits on old tennis courts and is a green, wildlife oasis in the middle of Poplar. Geraldine pointed out a large urn which is home to great tits, who return year after year. Wrens also nest somewhere in the garden. Magical.

Some of the raised beds had become structurally comprised owing to flimsy bases. The task, therefore, was to shovel the soil out of these beds, saw the legs off, and shovel the soil back in. Bags, spades and forks were helpfully provided to aid us in our mission.

Chris wins the shovelling innovation award for sweeping soil backwards with a spade through a gap in one of the beds, direct into a bag.

Sawing experience was gained by all. The chickens clucked away in approval. There were surprise potatoes (no-one knew who had planted them). This task really had it all.