A large group of Goodgymers gathered to help Ken at the Cemetery Park. Our mission: To remove cow parsley to make way for more biodiversity.

We set to work, eagerly pulling up the roots. Some of us with more ease than others! We moved methodically from one patch to the next and it was satisfying to see the impact we made in such a short space of time. See the photos!

Among the greenery lurked some goosegrass, very familiar to us from a previous task, so we also pulled up this sticky weed as we went.

Shout out to Jade for her first Goodgym mission and to Kevin for his first Tower Hamlets mission. Thanks for your hard work and dedication to the cause! And well done everyone for a great evening's work!

Having spent his afternoon typing our bumper pack email of Goodgym news, Ivo strode out to lead the GG TH weekly run, from the Town Hall Hotel. There he scooped up a trio of gentle joggers. Praise is due to Lucinda and Fiona who got their trainers on in time to join Dan, making a group of three eager runners, which saw our pre-task running club double in size! Will you be there to join the next Monday run? It is the the fittest and funnest way to arrive at task...

With the rest of the GG TH crew arriving separately at Columbia Road Gardens (much less fit, much less fun), it was over to Ed to kick-off with an introduction to the evening's community mission activity: weeding. As a local resident and leading gardener of the Columbia Road Tenants and Residents Association, Ed has the nous and the kit to ensure we weed well. And weed well we really weedly did 😀.

Divided into two, half the team set to weeding the "race-track" area, so called because of the twisting path that weaves through it, rather than any high-speed racing from the cars parked nearby. The energy was much more shuffle and stoop than the typical Formula One race, thankfully. Time to slow down, even stop, perhaps, and weed your way to better wellbeing.

The team firstly discussed what plant-life classified as a weed in this setting. The term can be a confusing and troubling one, as it is such an amorphous category, determined by both personal interpretation and the specific context. Much like most things then, really.

So, with the evening's weed category formally classified, hand-held trowels and forks were passed around and some grass was pulled up, as were some nettles. Kevin's sharp horticultural eye spotted some clove and wild garlic in the undergrowth, finds that brought on Kat's growing hunger, stimulated by such a fine choice of edible leaves in each and every direction.

Hunger games aside, Kat was most committed to the task when protecting the delicate ladybirds seen roundabout. A common favourite from the insect family, despite urban myth stating quite clearly how red and black can be a mark of some sort of nature danger? And besides, a brave and bold colour pattern combo for even the most frightfully well-dressed of ladies, or birds.

The unearthed weeds soon began to pile up in semi-ordered clumps, ready for collection (proudly displayed in a big, yellow bucket by Emma), with Kareem responsible for lots of the lugging required to get the contents added to the compost heap tucked inside the orchard, where the other GG team had been weeding.

Before delving into the detail of their endeavours, a brief pause for some broader, more philosophical reflection on the topic of weeds. Thank you, Asad, for making the interesting point that the word weed, often used to ridicule somebody's lack of strength, belies the stark truth of the matter: the roots of the weeds encounterd here, just like weed roots we have all known and loved, were resolute in their resistance to any tug or pull, buried deeply and firmly beneath the surface of the soil.

Thus, to be called a weed really signals quite a belligerent force to be reckoned with, does it not?

So, into the weedy orchard arena stepped the remaining GG TH gardener volunteers. Flicking away a few spots of rain, the team braced themselves for a weedly tough challenge: removing the unwanted plant-life creeping around the fruit tree trunks.

Chloe was quick to track down and prize out unwanted dandelions and Anna ensured that little strawberry plants remained firmly set in the soil, should any have been mistakenly taken out, perhaps. Once patted and pressed back into place, high hopes remain for those soft red treats, the perfect complement to a slurp of cream, savoured whilst sat snuggly on a (well-weeded) garden lawn, come the height of Summer.

Jack lifted our minds up from simple weeding work through contemplation of plant providence and the journeys plant species have made to their current home, over the course of time. Did you know: the potato, celebrated carbohydrate of many European countries, was only discovered through the Spanish invasion of Colombia and was first used as cattle feed when it was brought back in about 1600? Not quite a weed, but not the staple food and culinary joy we proclaim now with our chips, mash and baked spuds. A helpful historical reminder, from our GG TH mathematician, how a plant's place in a garden can change according to context and point of view. Orchard anthropology indeed.

Back in east London, Dan was reassured to see how Tom struggled as much as he had, cracking through the dry, hardened ground with the strained prongs of a large fork, trying to release the deep roots of several tall dock plants.

A much smoother ride for the wheelbarrow deliveries of mulch shuttled across by Lobo, and then also by Tom, Chloe, Jack and Dan, delivering a replenishment of bark mulch to secure the reclaimed space now preserved for the trees and not to be taken up by the weeds. For long.

Ed had explained during mission briefing, how high plants and grasses could impinge on air and light for the tree, whilst also risk losing the clear sight lines much needed by overzealous lawnmowers.

Fiona combined her friendly paparazzi role, with gentle encouragement for everybody to wind up their last weeding activity, wheel away the final loads of organic weed waste, and simply wish each other a weedy wonderful week and weedy wonderful long weekend ahead.

The session concluded thus. Ed's tools were all collected in and stowed safely in a garden store along the way towards Shoreditch. Thank you, Ed, for the calm and careful way you guided our weeding ways, for the clearer space and air it shared with every plant and Goodgym volunteer lucky enough to have been there.

And, finally, can you see the rainbow shard, best in show at this week's alternative Columbia Road Flower display (check out lucky picture 13 of the photo reel)? Well, of course you do, and others will now, too, because there's not a weed to be seen on their patch of Tower Hamlets orchard.

No "weeds" to stop their growth, nor block an admirer's view. Stunning, strong and glossy, deep red stalks, with their flourish of curly leaves of dark green. Mighty flashy & fine ♥️ .

On Monday evening, for the first time this year, Team Tower Hamlets did a full task entirely in daylight! And not just daylight, glimpses of SUNlight! No headtorches, no guessing what that shadow might be, no losing your belongings (unless you're John of course... even the light can't help him keep track of his running backpack)…

We met Des at Parkview Estate and wasted no time getting stuck in across the estate and the Glasshouse surroundings - spreading out so efficiently we left no corner of the estate untouched. Recent newcomers Jack and Chloe got straight into Team Weeding and Raking, two minutes before we were even due to start! Not long after, Team Bench #1 (Ilana, Darren, Kareem, Jo and Leisurely Lucinda) took on the well-loved bench wrapped around a huge tree trunk in the estate play area, sanding and painting it back to life (and a 50th shade of green it seems...).

Over in the community garden, Team Potatoes (John and Emily) were busy earthing up the spuds to keep them growing strong - future chips in very safe hands. Meanwhile, Team Alleyway (Ivo and Oliver, later joined by Anna and others as their jobs wrapped up) tackled moss scraping, weeding and clearing leaves from drains and gutters with some rather interesting-looking, unidentified, medieval tools. It's the kind of job that is oddly satisfying once you get going! Chris kept the whole operation moving, wheeling what felt like an endless stream of barrows to compost or bins depending on their contents - we wouldn't want litter to end up in the compost, especially so close to Earth Day!

And, because apparently word got out that this was the place to be, Team Bench #2 (Lobo, Anna and Jack) formed as more GoodGymers kept arriving - sanding and painting a bench back to life in the community walled garden area. As for me, I mostly roamed between teams capturing the action, the chaos and the questionable cycling techniques (Kareem...) before getting stuck into a bit of weeding myself.

Somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, a resident stopped Oliver to hand over a stash of Penguins and Orange Club bars (big throwback to packed lunches for many of us!). She’d seen the work going on and wanted to say thank you - a small moment that summed up exactly what these tasks are all about - working out for the future, environment and helping out the local community whilst boosting that sense of togetherness

We wrapped up with a “quick” group photo (they're never quick, I can only apologise...), then a good chunk of the crew headed to the nearby Approach Tavern to celebrate the release of the brand new GoodGym Sky TV advert, which has made us all celebrities in our own right.

Des, from Parkview Estate, said "They were a great bunch tonight. They managed to get through all the jobs I'd lined up!"

A brilliant evening: loads achieved, lots of laughs, and a proper reminder of what a difference a bit of collective effort (and daylight!) can make. 🌿