When I got back with Mr T's shopping this afternoon, he was deep in conversation at the door with his local councillor who was leafletting and canvassing in advance of the local elections.

Of course this then prompted a lengthy conversation with Mr T on the topic of both local and national politics (isn't that a topic best avoided in polite company...?). Somehow this then lead onto criminal justice, and a few other items in between, before we finally headed onto more familiar turf (literally...he'd had a good week), and the ongoing story of the curtains for which IKEA appears to be the winner...more next week I'm sure.

9 GoodGymers caught early spring vibes in Central London!

On Wednesday evening — at approximately half past six — a special group of altruistic folk could be seen congregating on Tottenham Court Road.

Some wore red t-shirts. Others were jumping off bikes. And everyone was ready for a little good-deeding!

This lovely lot — Al (on their first good deed – welcome!), Alex, Imogen, Philippa, Sarah, Steve, Theo, and Thierry — turned up to get everything ready for the American International Church's winter shelter ☺️

Together we:

💪 Lugged umpteen camping beds into pristine position!

🪶 Discovered the quickest way to pull a duvet cover onto a duvet!

🍽️ Turned an empty room into a dining room!

✨ Left the space ready and welcoming for the evening's guests!

Thank you, everyone!

Nice to see Ms F again after a few weeks away. Had an extended chat about all sorts. I’m about to start a new job so we lit a candle to celebrate that. I’m a well oiled machine at Waitrose now and know her preferred substitutes. Was asked to get a box of 80 tea bags but the 160 was on a significant discount so only 50p more. Always a nice part of town to go to and walk around and also popped into some new rooms at the British Museum.

When I walked through Ms D's kitchen to the back garden, at first I couldn't see what today's ivy removing challenge was, as her patio area seemed quite clear...she then pointed to a very high wall at the end of her garden (accessible through a small "mind your head" shed), at which point my eyes widened..."I'm not that tall" I said.

At the end of her garden is a tall building, and the ivy had grown all the way to the top and encroached onto a small open area at the top, preventing (apparently...Ms D was somewhat sceptical) a door being opened, hence the request for the ivy to be removed.

Unfortunately to do that job required a decent length ladder, which wasn't something that Ms D had in her tiny shed (or elsewhere), so we did what we could from ground level using a step ladder, secateurs and a very useful pair of elbow length gauntlets to protect against the rosebush that was growing amongst the ivy - there was something quite satisfying about pulling at a strand and watching quite a few leaves fall down, but in reality we weren't going to solve the problem today with the tools that we had.

I agreed with Ms D that if she could get access to the building next door, it would be easier to attack everything from the top and let gravity do it's thing...

Today's history lesson with Mr T took us from Robin Hood (was he really the Earl of Huntingdon?), through to famous Scottish army regiments now disbanded, through to the history of the Hussars - and a lot in between. Mr T should do a living history podcast as his knowledge and recall of history would put the internet to shame.

In other news, Sardines in Olive Oil still prove elusive, and Mr T also asked me to hunt for some Colmans Mustard Powder once again, which I'll do between now and my next visit. He's now discovered that IKEA do curtains, so I sense a walk along Oxford Street may be imminent...just before I left, we got talking about Cheltenham (the upcoming horse racing festival, not the city itself) and Mr T said he'd give me some tips...after (foolishly) ignoring his advice for the Grand National, I shall be all ears...

4 GoodGymers joined 3 Community Champions to make a Sunday afternoon difference in Gospel Oak!

Lismore Circus Community Woods is a special patch of nature and seasonal colour, and we arrived to oodles of early spring opulence yesterday afternoon!

This brilliant GoodGym group of DaMarcus, Ralf (on their first good deed – welcome!), and Steph joined local gardeners Chris, Robert, and Suza to form a crack team :)

Together we positioned and filled a new compost bin — swept and tidied aplenty — sawed and chopped and pruned umpteen overgrown branches — and carefully packed everything into compost bags for reusing!

Thank you, everyone!