Lending their hands for the second part of this Bike Shed thriller, Sooz and Matt should be commended for their diligent patience. They were left twiddling their thumbs for a good part of an hour as the dismantling overran. Maybe the timings were over-optimistic given the shed’s size…

Meanwhile, en route fast from the dismantling, Bike Shed originals Audrey, Louise and Md blitzed a sweaty scenic run through Victoria Park whilst Jack lazily took a lift in one of the vans - enjoying the A/C and eating cake whilst doing so, probably.

When the truck finally arrived at the school we carefully worked in teams to lift, manoeuvre and place down the heavy pieces in an organised fashion. Our work mirrored an Ikea instruction manual on the playground.

The trickiest part was moving the perspex roof covers, which bent and wobbled, teasing us that they might crack and make all our work in vain. It took all of us and some chuckle-brotheresque communication skills (to me, to you) to slide them off of the truck’s footbed and stack them daintily on top of each other.

By the time we had unloaded and organised the pieces it was sadly time up for the gang. With no time left to reassemble we vowed to fight another day should we get the call from the parents in need.

The Bike Shed saga, to be continued…

Five intrepid GoodGym regulars travelled across the dusty plains of London Town to meet this morning at St. Dominic’s School in Homerton.

The task was mammoth as was the double Broxap Shelter complete with four lockers, the heaviest sliding doors, the curviest Perspex, and two enormous Sheffield toast rack bicycle stands. We donned our trusty gloves and got to work, helping Bea and her team dismantle, label, and haul (with care) the 1tonne bike shed up the ramps, over the fences and eventually on to the 7.2 Daly truck.

Once the second truck-load was ready to depart Emma jumped back on her trusty steed and cycled home. With incredible will-power (fuelled by lemon drizzle cake, coffee and plenty of water) Audrey, Jack, Louise, and Md made their way to the afternoon task at Sebright Primary School in Haggerston to unload the rack and put it all back together.

With spring just round the corner, there was plenty to do in the Mary Seacole Nursing Home garden and there was a wonderful bumper crop of GoodGymers on hand to help out. Particular shoutout goes to Ishbel, who joined us today for her first ever GoodGym task.

The session started with three working groups. The first were tasked with planting a number of bamboo plants along the back fence to soften the view. John, Audrey, Louise and Yaz soon realised that the soil could have done with some softening up too but with considerable effort and perseverance, they got the ground prepped for planting.

Meanwhile, the second group (variously Sooz, Nathan, Grace and Anne) got stuck in to prepping the planters in the middle of the garden for a fresh lick of paint. This task required a special trip to the local supplier of heavy duty sandpaper and wire brushes (thank you Nathan).

The main event, however, was the grand gazebo assembly, for which there was considerable prep-work. So the third group (which comprised a shifting membership of helpers needing a break from digging and sanding), got stuck in, painting bitumen onto the Gazebo's feet to protect against the wet soil and the elements, while task leader, Varda, diligently studied the instructions to ensure everything was assembled correctly.

During this time, a tug of war broke out in bamboo corner, with several GoodGymers trying to liberate pot-bound bamboos. The comment, 'It's like the turnip story', required some explanation but did ring bells when retold.

Eventually, the point we had all been waiting for came, when bits of gazebo had to be attached to one another. The two 'short' sides (3m long) were assembled first and then moved into location, before the longer beams were added to hold the short sides together. Ladders and chairs were enlisted to give the height necessary to put bolts in place. The morning finished with the dance of the heavy-weight lifters, to nudge and jiggle and ultimately maneouver the now tall, heavy, and rather awkward structure into a reasonably stable position.

It was agreed this was as far as we could progress the gazebo assembly for today (step 5 of 26!) so look out for more listings to play your part in the making of the gazebo very soon!

A big thanks and well done to everyone who who came along this morning and got stuck in. It was great fun and a real team effort.

I had a fantastic time at The Felix Project. I learnt the ropes from Denis, a super friendly and supportive staff member. He helped me assemble my first food order before I moved on to helping others with theirs. The collaborative and friendly atmosphere, from staff to fellow volunteers, made this task both productive and enjoyable. And to add to how good I felt about giving time again, I (unexpectedly?!) got to do some strength training too! What a way to get back to GoodGym!