Tidying the gym went well as the setup was very organised so I knew where to put everything.

The event went according to plan and had the expected impact on the youth

Last night was our regular session to pick up lovely food that would otherwise be thrown away and get it to the people who can distribute it into the community.

There are always a few unknowns with this task, but it never fails to have a net positive effect. We don't always know if the cafes are going to still be open and how much food they'll have left to give away. Last night it looked as if it might have been a bit of a light haul, but in the world of GoodGym you never know what good things are round the corner!

I met Laura with an armful of bread just about being held together in a very wet soggy bag. She rescued the goodies just before they hit the pavement and we went off for our first drop.

Locating the UOS team without too much bother, we picked up a variety of big sturdy bags - not knowing just how useful they were going to be!

We arrived at Pret just before they were closing and had a few minutes to wait until the manager let us know what we could take with us to pass on to the rough sleepers. We couldn't quite believe it when we we were finally shown just how much they had for us. More sandwiches,soups, rolls, salads and pastries than we could shake a bread stick at!

We weren't totally sure we could fit it in the bags, but with some strategic packing we managed to get it all in and set off for the queue of people waiting for their evening meal. On the walk we tried to work out just how much the haul we were transporting would be worth, and calculated it was at least a few hundred quid - thank you so much Pret! The impact this short task has is huge. Saving good food from being thrown away and at the same time feeding vulnerable people - what could be better?

Next week we're off to a community garden in central London to give it a bit of GG love - all welcome!

A much milder Monday afternoon in west London today for Mr R's weekly shop - as always he was well prepared and even had in his hand the tin of sardines that he wanted - we do like visual references! For some reason Little Gem lettuces remain hard to find in this corner of London, and Mr R was happy not to have any substitute - and so I was soon back with treasure in hand, which included plentiful sources of vitamin C. We had a good chat at the door about the various (joint related mobility) challenges he's currently dealing with, and I wished him well for another week.

To round off the weekend, Kash and Sevan were shopping for a new beneficiary, Mr N, who suffered with Asperger's syndrome. It made it hard for him to go to crowded places as they made him anxious, so he'd requested help from GoodGym to deliver his weekly shop. As an Iceland shopper, his groceries ended up being quite bulky and heavy. Having 2 people and pairs of hands was actually really helpful to get everything back to Mr N's flat.

Inside the flat Kash and Sevan were curious why Mr N had asked them to buy dog food when they could see cat feeders and litter trays on the floor. It turned out that Mr N didn't actually own any pets at all. He was caring for stray animals in the community, who he found to be much more agreeable (and less destructive) than humans. The dog food was for a local fox that Mr N had taken a liking to and the cat feeders were for a couple of strays that had been abandoned by another resident in his block. Despite having his own problems, Mr N took the time and effort to care for others in his neighbourhood, but only the ones living good lives.

After regularly shopping for Ms D on a Thursday morning for so many months, for various reasons Friday has become our new day to meet, although as she put it "it's fine, I'll always be in". This week she was well prepared, in spite of having to deal with a last minute laundry machine issue that her kindly neighbour had managed to fix. It had turned cold out, so it was a brisk walk up the Edgware Road and around the aisles, and before long I was back with her treasure for another week for which she was, as always, extremely grateful.