Nothing to bear but beer itself

The GoodGym Red Team joined forces with the British Red Cross to cheer and clear up Mr M's flat by crushing and recycling more than FIFTY bin bags of beer cans

We met Mr M at his flat on a frosty Sunday lunchtime. He is a very lively, witty and charismatic man. Even before we entered Mr M's flat we could see him peering down from his window and we had a taster of his jollity and dry wit. We later learned that he used to be a gardener for the council but is awaiting a number of hospital appointments.

Mr M was recently discharged from hospital and was able to return home. However, it was clear from follow-up visits that his home was far from fit-for-purpose. There were several-hundred empty beer cans taking up vast amounts of space. This made it difficult for Mr M to navigate his flat, maintain a healthy environment and change his lifestyle.

Thankfully, The British Red Cross stepped in to help and called for reinforcements from GoodGym.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Vicki, Mark and I met Chris and Lois from the British Red Cross. They support patients discharged from hospitals and make sure they return to suitably safe environments to aid their recovery.

We already knew this would be a big task but also knew this would have a massive impact to Mr' M's life. When Chris said he brought 50 bin bags and hoped that would be enough, we had a better idea of what to expect and were ready to take on the challenge.

The Famous Five meet Fifty Shades of Black

Once we arrived Mr M made some quips which lightened the mood but we could immediately see the extent of a serious problem. Unfazed, we got stuck in and split into two teams:

• Vicki, Mark and I took on the bathroom so that Mr M could again access his bath and washbasin
• Chris and Lois tackled the cans in the lounge, kept Mr M company and also took most of trips downstairs to dump the bags in the bin stores.

We crushed the cans to fit more in the bags and had our different methods: Vicki and I did the side crush with (gloved) hands while Mark liked to stomp around (noisily!) and flatten them on the floor. Well, he is a drummer after all so likes to make noise!

We crushed, we stomped, we bagged and we talked to each other: we were catching up and talking about our targets for 2017 and GoodGym deed milestones but we also learned more about the work of the British Red Cross from Chris and spoke to Mr M about him and his life. He likes to play games like dominoes and chess on his hand-held console.

After around one-and-half hours we had FILLED ALL FIFTY BLACK BAGS with empty cans and bottles and all the plastic bags we could find with more recycling and rubbish. We then had a few final runs to the bins.

Importantly, we had cleared and reclaimed the bathroom. Mr M is looking forward to using his bath and washbasin again soon.

Not a goodbye but a see you later

After clearing the bathroom and exhausting our supplies of bags we decided it was time to finish for this visit and said our farewells. However, there is still more to be done in the lounge. Keep your eyes peeled for a second visit...

This must be one of the highest impact and memorable missions for GoodGym for me and it was a pleasure to help. Great work all.