Brace your ‘elf

Well, we're out of lockdown and into Advent: the Christmas countdown is on!

The food parcels we deliver on Wednesdays for Oxford Mutual Aid show no sign of reducing in number. This week we had a few extras on the list - a whopping 30 parcels to get to people.

Our parcels comprised 29 deliveries to regulars, and 1 emergency parcel for someone self-isolating to ensure they don't go hungry this week. The food parcels comprise a mixture of fresh and tinned goods, bread, pastries, and pre-prepared meals from the Oxford Mutual Aid Kitchen Collective. Not everyone has cooking facilities, so we do our best to ensure they still have a variety of options to see them through the week. We always also send out several packs of nappies, baby formula, baby food and baby clothes in Wednesday's parcels.

These are a lifeline to people. It's about sharing what we have as a community, not charity.

We have a policy of not sending any GoodGymer out on a delivery on their own, so most pair up, with our largest group a team of 6 - making sure we adhere to the Tier 2 rules. It's an important bit of social interaction for all of us as we are missing the day-to-day camaraderie of our workplaces and socialising with family and friends.

Welcome Heather. We're so happy you came to join us today, but really sad about your bike being stolen.

Big round of applause to Rob for reaching 100 Good Deeds tonight - 50 of those done in Oxford (largely with Oxford Mutual Aid) since transfering to us from Bath in September! Thanks for the celebratory flapjacks Bethan, and thank you to all of you who brought donations tonight - they are very much appreciated.