GoodGym has been supporting the Hollybush Estate for years, and the wonderful Margaret and Ash have transformed every bit of spare space in the area into a thriving green oasis.

On a drizzly Thursday we were continuing to shift soil from old planters which had been demolished, ready to be planted in brand spanking new ones!

Most of the team were on shovelling and wheelbarrow duty, moving the surprisingly heavy sold, from huge containers to other huge containers.

The green fingered among us (Nada and Theresa) started work on planting saplings in some of the filled bags.

After a swift 40 minutes we had emptied the last bag, before packing up the spades and heading off into the cold December afternoon.

One by one the GoodGymers arrived at Rocky Park this evening, ready for a big lifting task.

We've been enjoying regular sessions with Margaret and Ash this year, on this particular project which has seen old planters demolished, new ones built and filled with new soil.

Margaret and Ash, on behalf of the Estate's TRA, support the Estate gardens, which, over the years has seen multiple sites transformed into allotments, orchards and play areas.

We've enjoyed sessions right through from the summer, with Task Force leading many weekend sessions, and throughout the Autumn too, which has seen us shovelling and wheeling in some pretty rainy conditions.

Tonight we were continuing with the emptying and relocating of tonne bags of soil in Rocky Park.

With a short briefing from Margaret, the team soon dispersed throughout the garden emptying large bags at a great pace. It was heavy work, but rewarding to see the bags speedily empty with a good bit of teamwork.

It was fun, it was fast- and it was fab to see some familiar faces. And as usual, the time flew.

As we approached 8pm, Margaret indicated which bags we were to finish up with, and then the team gathered shovels, rakes and brooms to load into wheelbarrows, ready to be packed away.

It seemed like no sooner had we arrived were we gathering for the final pic, before leaving several members in the capable hands of Chris and the Central team for some final GoodGym pics and soundbites.

A great evening's work, and particular shout-outs to Team Pun, headed up as usual by the legendary Lucinda and Ilana.

Next week, it's another big leaf clearance over at Cranbrook.

You snooze, you lose…

Until then.

The rain started during the afternoon, so it wasn't unreasonable to think it might have fizzled out by 7.

No such luck.

But a great-sized group of GoodGymers nonetheless donned waterproofs and head torches and headed out to Rocky Park, in the heart of the Hollybush Estate, to join Margaret and Ash in the big garden makeover.

Why were we here?

• Margaret and Ash are are part of the Teesdale and Hollybush TRA, an active, productive Tenants and Residents Association working across the two estates. Since 2008, the TRA have transformed 13 disused sites, with the help of volunteers, 'creating a mini Eden where local nature can thrive.'

• There's a big project underway at the moment: the redevelopment of the planters in the communal garden areas, park and allotments. Over the last few months, GG TH Task Force and Margaret and Ash have worked hard to redistribute a whopping 96 tonnes of soil!

• Tonight we were carrying on that tough task - emptying old planters of soil, redistributing the soil, and demolishing the planters (as fun as it sounds).

The teams were divided into four initially, which then became five, spread out all over Rocky Park emptying planter after planter with the rain not taking a break. The bags were filled, to be moved another day ("That's something to worry about another time.") and a lot was achieved in a mere 45 minutes.

With just a small corner of a planter remaining at 7:45, we called it a day, making our way back to the centre to grab bags and leave gloves to dry.

Posing for that all-important final pic, we said our cheerios to Margaret and Ash, tentatively making a plan for a December visit.

The shout-outs

A big shout-out to the whole team tonight, who showed up ready for a big physical task, despite the wet night. And a huge shout-out to Vanessa, who joined for her first ever GoodGym! Amazing work, and we hope to see you again soon.

Next week we're Limehouse-bound, ready to crack on with the painting and leaf-clearing with Kamal down at Ocean Youth HQ.

Until then.

Monday night is Margaret night, quite often. She’s the cheery lady we help at Rocky Park, an urban growers project. This time we encountered a severely reduced number of planters, and instead, many larger-than-usual soil bags filling the area. Our task, simple but typical, was to fork (and shovel, and spade) the high-quality soil from the remaining planters to the bags, to facilitate a more methodical arrangement of planters to which the soil can eventually be returned.

As well as a strong workout, this provided the chance to catch up with everyone’s news. Danya is still recovering from a party to celebrate the “last year of her youth”, while Louise has moved house and is currently lodging in someone’s kitchen sink (or something like that). Dan has been mixing with celebrities – he was recently chatting to no less than Basil Brush! And welcome to his first Monday night task Alejandro, who, unlike Paddington, never returned to Peru after arriving in London five years ago.

Meanwhile, another Basil joined our group picture – he’s the one wearing orange. I don't think he'll join us at the Felix Project on Saturday (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-morning-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-5b0a18c7-38fd-4390-b56d-ef4bef0243da or https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/saturday-afternoon-session-at-the-felix-project-s-poplar-depot-ad18c1d2-b2e1-4c22-aea3-371481b26272, but you can..

And we’ll be back at the Cranbrook Community Centre next Monday https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-big-monday-night-task-november-garden-clearing-at-cranbrook-community-food-garden.

Also - don’t forget to sign up for the BIG SOCIAL on Thursday 14th https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/celebrate-goodgym.

Happy Good Gymming and Keep Pets Indoors!

Four intrepid GoodGymers joined Mags and Ash for two hours in the Rocky Park garden and made impressive work in emptying two raised beds and freeing lots of potatoes. Spades in hand, we made short work of filling numerous enormous sacks with earth. Most impressive of all was Kitty, Lucinda and Oliver managing to empty a whole bed. Well done, guys!

We were delighted to be joined by Wicket and Basil who helped keep us all entertained. We’ll be joining Mags and Ash on the Hollybush Estate on Monday, 4th November.

We embarked on the archetypal GoodGym task - moving something, so it can be moved back later.

What's happened is that the planter beds at Rocky Park were laid, many years ago, in a diagonal formation. But if only they were squarely aligned with the park walls, there'd be room for eight more.

Which, of course, is where GoodGym came in. We were needed to shovel the earth out of the beds, so they could be re-aligned later, then re-filled with earth.

Like a grabber machine at an arcade, Emma's spade dug deep and occasionally came out with a prize - a small potato. Enough attempts, and she'd got enough spuds for a Sunday roast. When added to the aubergines and peppers provided by our hosts at the end, there was enough for a tasty curry!

After two hours, we'd shifted EIGHT TONNES of soil, and additionally Oliver and Lobo had pulled down an unwanted ropey/wooden roof. It only remained for us to check the progress made following our last visit (see pavement picture).

Hmmm, I wonder whether there's a fitness/volunteering organisation who could help at a later date with shovelling the earth back into the beds...