A large group of Goodgymers gathered for our first November task in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. We started with introductions, biscuit preferences and a brief history of the park. Then it was time to get our gloves, tools and head torches and we headed off into the darkness.

Our task was to plant over 400 snowdrop and daffodil bulbs along the side of a rediscovered footpath among the graves. We planted randomly to add to the wild, natural feel of the park which is a managed nature reserve. Come back early next year to see these beautiful flowers in bloom!

Many hands made light work of the planting and a fun time was had by all. Conversations flourished and new friendships were formed. Ken also imparted his knowledge of cemetery celebrities (including William Perkin who invented an affordable mauve dye and has family buried there) and natural wonders such as the picturesque purple fungus on the stump of a horse chestnut tree.

A big shout out to Iona and Peter for completing their first ever Goodgym tasks. It was great to have you and we hope you’ll join us again soon. Also, a big hello to our visitors to the borough including Hannah!

It was great to welcome Diana for a first GoodGym task, Charlie for a second, Šana who's no stranger to GoodGym, but new to us in Newham, and Kirsti, visiting from GoodGym Tower Hamlets and swapping choir practice for a spot of Crisis management.

We set off from Freaks and Geeks with Graham, Adam, Kirsti, Charlie and me, running down to the warehouse in the somewhat industrial part of Canning Town. We met Šana there, followed by Diana, while our host Chris was delayed in the logistical challenge of getting stock distributed across Crisis’ London shops. All was forgiven, though: Chris is such a passionate advocate for the amazing and much-needed work Crisis does, and his enthusiasm for the cause is infectious. It was a good reminder that, behind all the bags, cages and warehouse logistics, there’s a bigger purpose to what we were helping with.

Tonight’s task was getting Christmas stock ready to go out to the shops. That meant keeping up the proud (and occasionally questionable) GoodGym tradition of moving things from one place to another and then moving them back again. We moved a mountain of bags from one big pile into lots of separate piles. Then we moved some of those piles into cages. Then we moved the piles back again. Job done, and the warehouse is a little more ready for the beginnings of the festive rush.

With the bags sorted and the stock suitably shuffled, we called it a night. A satisfying bit of teamwork, some useful lifting, and another contribution to the work Crisis does supporting people experiencing homelessness.

We’ll be back on 24th November, and there may even be a bonus task or two on 28th November at a Crisis pop-up event on Savile Row. Apparently, donated designer clothing helped raise around £100,000 at the last event. It’s hard not to wonder who buys it all, apart from other celebrities and wealthy people. Perhaps the same designer jackets just do laps of the same circle of wardrobes...

If the pop-up task goes ahead, we could be helping load the fancy stuff in Canning Town, with a separate team on hand to unload it at the other end. Watch this space!

A big well done to everyone who came along and helped get those bags moving. Join us for the next round? See what else is coming up with GoodGym Newham — there’s always room for another pair of hands (and legs).

We were all set for tonight’s task – confirmed yesterday evening..But then, well into this afternoon, I was told there’d be no-one to look after us at the canal club. A substitute task was set up at St Matthews, and I sent round a message and an email, All this took me away from my work-work, so if you hear that the Government has missed its housing targets, it’s because we missed going to the canal club

St Matthews is a handy reserve venue; Lady Andrea said we can drop in any time, recklessly entrusting me with the gate key as well as the top-secret code for the shed. I left a hand-written notice at the site of the original task, in case somebody didn’t get the message, but I think everyone picked up on the change. Unless Northern Emma is still waiting vainly at the canal club gates now

Having the key is one thing. Successfully navigating the heavy, rusty old gate is another. Thankfully, this panic was soon over, thanks to Emmanuel who helped me unlock it, and then later Sam who assisted with locking it up again

No-one seemed keen to weed in the dark, but never mind, there were plenty of leaves to be gathered. Unfortunately we only had one - admittedly very large – bag, and the capacity of the bin by the gate was well below our leaf-gathering potential. But we soon found what looked like a composting area, with abundant room for fallen fronds

Everyone chipped in to help. Ilana held a spade to stop it falling over. Kate set a 2026 course record for the largest leaf volume collected by a single leaf-grabber. Lucinda sent a proxy but still arrived with nearly half the task remaining. Adam helped both Ciarán (with his survey) and Emma (with her furniture). And the latter indulged in her unique style of aerial photography to capture the group photo

Seriously, it was fun meeting you Isabela, hope to see you at many more, better organised tasks. Good to see you back, Kate and Kirsti. Get well soon, Northern Emma. And best wishes to Lady Andrea of this parish, who is recovering well from a serious operation. And has been short-listed by Tower Hamlets In Bloom for best balcony!