On a Sunday afternoon Sevan and Kash visited Mr G for a tech support quadrathlon, featuring:

• printing important documents from a Samsung tablet
• setting up alarm clock on a mobile device
• helping with WhatsApp data download settings
• showing Mr G how to create photo albums on his temperamental iPad.

While Mr G managed to resolve some of his problems (queued emails) on his own, before the GoodGym mission this week, he still had plenty of queries. He shared how overwhelming the technology has been, and how he's been minimising the number of notifications and disruptions caused by his multiple devices. On occasions, Mr G had been solving such problems by using different, but similar devices to the troublesome ones, just stripped down of some features or not using his login details. The latest cure for his smartphone going walkabouts was an old-school Nokia with its own SIM card. It looks like switching to old, simpler phones for certain purposes is not just a trend seen in the younger generations these days!

For Ealing GoodGymers' second session at Care4Calais this month, there were more newly arrived donations from other charities and storage units to sort through. There were new requests too from beneficiaries and some admin work to complete.

Kash prepared packs for new requests that had come in. Finding everything that was needed mostly went smoothly, except an unusual request for orthopedic shoes that couldn't be sourced in the stock room. When the pre-prepared medium clothing packs for men ran out, small packs were substituted in their place with the hope that recipients would be on the slimmer side. Kash finished the session with record keeping, noting down which requests had been fulfilled for beneficiaries.

In another room, Penny, Maria and Sevan were working through the incoming donations. Most of the clothing was for women and children, including a bag full of tiny, cute baby clothes. There was a lot of variety in the other boxes too, with some upmarket women's clothing, children's football boots that went straight back out to a recipient and some unusual olive coloured cloth. It took a while to figure out what the olive material should be used for. Was it an enormous comedy bow tie? Was it a blanket? Maria eventually got the gold star by figuring out that they were trousers that tied together at each hip ⭐.

With the new clothes sorted, it was time to move them into the stock room. Here, the team found a problem as there were more women's clothes coming in than were being given out. Netball and basketball skills came in useful as clothes were shot towards the sky, landing on top of tall piles of stock (there was a sense of déjà vu with this). Where no more clothes could fit on or above the shelves, there were overflow bags dotted around the room, which also filled up. Thankfully, the men's and children's clothes didn't have the same problem.

The next trip to Care4Calais is on the 12th of April, where Sevan offered to help task owner Tamzin clear out some of the excess stock.

After a long day and a succesful Quiz night, the Goodgym crew were in full speed to clear and clean the Hobbayne centre once the hall was emptied. Rubbish cleared from the tables, tables folded, chairs packed and pots all cleaned to eventually calll it a night. Sevan was quite creative when we found some small pots of sauce left but no more lids or containers left to close : runner glove was used(see picture). we all left with some curry and rice take aways. The Grime Reapers disappeared in the streets of Hanwell to go and find their beds.

Did you know that the first pillar postbox in mainland Britain was erected in Carlisle? Or that the first pop band to feature on Channel 5 was the Spice Girls? Neither did we. We learned some pub quiz-style trivia from the "backstage" of one of the favourite community events in Hanwell: the Quiz Night at the William Hobbayne Centre!

Halfway through the quiz, we were summoned to the kitchen for serving. We rolled up our sleeves and started dishing out compostable plates with butter chicken and veggie chilli for the guests, who praised the meals cooked by chefs Sue, Mandie and Sue. The dinner for roughly 90 guests meant 7 kilos of onions to peel, and not a single tear shed by the relentless Hobbayne team!

After the dinner, came the time for the traditional raffle, in which GoodGymer Maria won a set of lotions and creams. Maria decided to donate her prize to another volunteer and walk home with the takeaway chilli with rice and naan in her hands. Meanwhile, the rest of GoodGymers ate their own portions in the centre, to restore energy before the final task: the clean-up.