When the first donor of clothes arrived Anna, our organiser knew this clothes swap was going to be a success. The lady had bags of quality clothes from some swanky brands. We all ooohed and aah-ed then got on with the job of checking for rips and stains, soring and putting out the items. Every new donor was invited to lay their offering at the alter of swaps - it literally was an alternative use of the Methodist church alter! There was a steady stream of swappers. But the pile of donations grew higher each time, despite everyone going away happy with a new heap of goodies. Many people wanted to know if there will be another one. Anna hopes to run it at the end of every couple of months.We hope so- Goodgym will be there!

With our task leader, Penny, resting up post op, Bec, Elle and Mike made short work of cleaning up Planet Food. When Jenna got there, it was nearly all done. In a whirl wind of brooms, cloths and table moving the task was complete ahead of time. We were in for Penny, and left with a pound of blueberries and potatoes. Thanks Planet Food!

GoodGymmers arrived at the monthly clothes swap in varying degrees of smelliness (mostly depending on whether or not they’d done parkrun beforehand or not…)

We were quickly set to work after a brief explanation of our role to first timers and location of name badges. It soon became apparent that it was going to be a bumper swapping session, with people queuing to get in throughout the session. Maybe the back to school vibes of early September prompted lots of wardrobe refreshment.

Anyway, back to the task at hand. There were all the usual questions, from “What colour is this?” to the classic “What actually is this?” to keep us entertained. Mikael and Nicky even got to use the long pole for the window display items, which was very exciting. Although there was plenty to keep us busy, there was also time for tea and biscuits, which is always appreciated.

The swap stayed busy until it was time to tidy up. Some of us who stayed until the end were gifted a bonus turn at the raffle and won a (single) handmade cutlery wrap. Any use to anyone?!

On the way out, Jenna (who runs the clothes swap) introduced us to Anna who’s starting a similar clothes swap in the South Bank area and looking for volunteering. So clothes swappers of York may get to see GoodGymmers at two different courses swap a month in future!

Thanks everyone, I know Jenna and her team really appreciated the extra pairs of hands for this particularly busy clothes swap.