What a difference a bit of daylight makes! After what has felt like a very long, dark winter, it was a joy to head out while it was still light — a sure sign that spring (and lighter evening runs) are finally here. We were off over to Forest Gate Community Garden to meet our host Fiona, one of the volunteers from the garden. A small group of us, including first-timer to Newham Ambra, jogged over from Freaks and Geeks to the garden, where we met the rest of the team — including very first-first timer, Gavin, who’d cycled over.

The garden’s story is really interesting — the site was once a hostel, but abandoned and then left to overgrow in 2006 (think buddleias aplenty). A group of determined locals began the transformation in 2013, securing a lease in 2015 and bringing together over 70 volunteers to clear the space, build raised beds, dig a pond, and get planting. By 2016, the garden was open to the public — and it hasn’t looked back since. It’s a great example of what sustained volunteer effort can achieve.

With that inspiration in mind, it was time to get to work. After gathering tools and bags at the garden, we headed over together to a set of community planters along Upton Lane that the Forest Gate team also look after. Being a little distance from the main site makes them trickier to maintain, and so our help is particularly valuable.

We weeded, cleared rubbish, and gave the beds a much-needed refresh ahead of a community garden trail coming up in early June. These planters sit right out on the street, so the difference is immediate — helping make the area feel greener, brighter, and more cared for for everyone passing by and living nearby.

Huge welcome to Ambra and Gavin — it was great to have you both along and making a difference from day one!

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There’s no session next week as we take a short Easter break, but we’ll be back on 14th April with a visit to a community garden in Plaistow. After that, we’ve got a fantastic line-up every Tuesday evening over the next few months, plus some weekend tasks on the 18th/19th April, soon to be listed.

And of course, we’re at London Fields Junior parkrun most Sundays if you fancy getting involved.

Great work everyone — see you soon! 🌱

Tonight was group run meets community mission with Graham leading a small group from the Aquatic Center while the rest of us made our way from home.

Tonight we has been asked to remove and unsafe fence for one of the allotment community,taking things apart is always fun and we had some extra helping hands from a couple of the other allotment tenants.

This is a wonderful little community and as our friend Sybil from Emmanuel Church also has a plot here she made sure after task refreshments arrived for us.

Sunday we are having a party to celebrate our 11th Birthday

Ten of us assembled tonight for a return to Care4Calais East London, this time to help them move out of their storage space. Over the winter and spring we’ve got to know this place well — a jumble of coats, shoes, sleeping bags and other essentials that make their way to refugees and asylum seekers in need.

True to form, the evening began with the classic Care4Calais conundrum: what exactly are we meant to be doing? A couple of detective-like phone calls to long-standing volunteer Andy gave us a few clues, with some further reliance on instinct and common sense. Before long we were stacking, bagging, and squeezing items into boxes and bags ready for them to be loaded into a van and shipped elsewhere.

By the end, the place looked pretty different — something closer to neat piles than to chaos and I'm confident we’ve saved Care4Calais' volunteers a whole lot of time and effort in our short stint there.

Massive congratulations to Chris for hitting the 50 good deed milestone (well actually 51 now... and thanks for bringing the sweet treats!)

Next week, we're off to Hackney Marshes Adventure Playground and can't wait to see what Ange has lined up for us.

The start of a new era at GoodGym Newham with our first group run as a community led group.

Paige joined us for her first group run which was excellently led from the Print House by Hilary following completion of her fitness leader training.

We have retained the random weekly question and this week was 'favourite weekend activities' - answers included trips to the seaside, city breaks, cinema, brunch, being out in nature and Im sure some you can guess who gave these replies: paintball and parkrun.

A gentle evening run to Emmauel Church where we meet Sybil and some of the parish leadership team.

Planting was the job of the evening, some of the plants had seen better days but looked better after a good water and we are sure Sybil will look after them.

As usual refreshments had been provided by the Sybil some fruit and ice lollies.....a welcome cool down before we headed off into the setting sun.

Next week we are heading to Newham Hospital to help tidy their Globe garden

Swansong session yesterday, with a tremendous turnout of some of my favourite people, a lovely conclusion to a job that gave me so much.

It transpired that I've run out of Random Weekly Questions, trying to refrain from a deeper enquiry about change or anything of the tear-jerking variety, hence I was blank; so we rolled a positive and somewhat sentimental question: "Favourite GoodGym organisation ?" Turns out there were loads, no clear winner, an indication of how broad our church is and how many remarkable local projects there are.

I then proceeded to say a few words, delving into what GoodGym has given me. For those who know me know that discussing and interrogating my emotions isn't what I consider a night out, I'm a huge advocate for the dated practice of bottling things up, but the occasion was worthy.

To reiterate what I may have mumbled, I'm mostly grateful for the lifelong friendships, enforced by the experiences of volunteering, running, British weather, travelling, racing and drinking. With a special nod to a lovely couple, whose relationship was forged by a series of Wednesday evening connections. Proud, for the impact we have had on the locality, the number of messages I get saying "how amazing your volunteers are". Equally, proud for the transformational change many of you have undergone through running. Loss, because I will miss you all. But I always end with this positive feeling; I think because it's now left in a very capable set of hands; arise Task Force.

Amongst this milestone, we did actually do some good yesterday, in the form of my least favourite task, flyering. The morale was high, so it was hit easily absorbed. With the return of some long-serving sisters, Mel and Ruth (and later Charlotte), it felt like 2019 again, what a treat to see you, appreciate the effort to come. With big numbers comes big effect, and we managed to get our flyering done in no time, leaving many moments to loiter and talk curb-side.

With the realisation I can't summarise nor do justice to my thoughts on my tenure, I'll wrap this up now. But not after a huge thanks to my lovely photo-book compilation.

It's not bye, but see you later.

Till next time,

B

Good squad out again yesterday, with Rebecca back from over the pond, Ryan making a special gust appearance for a hatrick of Princes and the newly engaged Dimple getting stuck into some celebratory landscaping. Nice.

But first, for those who made it to the Print House, we were presented with an RWQ of much scope; "What's the most anticlimactic or over-billed thing?" New Years Eve (no one's disagreeing with that), Taylor Swift (some might disagree with this), a Paint Ball competitor (niche info win), McDonalds (my answer was anticlimactic in itself), Endinburgh Xmas Fare (plausible) and this weeks winner...Art (all of it, but with a nod to new stuff).

Our numbers increased at Abbey Gardens, where we met the supple trio who had just done some yoga on site. Fully limbered up to work on levelling the ground for the greenhouse, laying the timbers and stones, clearing the weeds, and sorting the dead hedge. It also included a date with an unpredictable and stiff sink that we had to wedge in and out of position with a well-synchronised display of muscle. All in an eve's work for East London's premier do-good and get-fit outfit.

Next week we whip down the Romford to assist Super Sybil with the gardens (probably), she's upset we weren't there last week as we had some crossed wires, so get me out of trouble with a big number showing of GG grunt please. Sign up here

Till next week,

B