10 GoodGymers move an ENTIRE GREENHOUSE (!) in Camden!

I often think that many hands really can make light work...

...but sometimes...

I think the work really is too heavy!

Which is what my brain was thinking as I arrived at Cecil Sharp House yesterday evening, where I was met by the lovely and fabulous troupe of Al, Jackie, John, Karen, Lydia, Rose, Siobhan, Theo, and Thierry!

Our task was quite simple.

Pick up that big ol' greenhouse, walk it 60m, and put it down again (in addition to emptying and organising and refilling too!)

And before I could even murmur a hesitation this group were off and working, and just wonderful they were. Together they:

❤️ Made exceptionally light work of this mammoth task!

❤️ Left the greenhouse organised and tidy, and in a prime new position!

❤️ Did even more by repacking two storage crates with heavy bags of gravel and soil!

And while some of the team did this Jackie and Siobhan were busy making a wonderful difference in Cecil Sharp's garden 👉 they collected leaves, strewn twigs, and litter 👉 transforming the lawn and pathways into (surely!) the tidiest green space in Camden :)

Thank you, everyone!

During my semi-regular weekly shop for Ms F, the Wednesday evening at Waitrose had just the right amout of drama: enough to produce an extra paragraph in this report, but not severe enough to turn Ms F's shopping list upside down.

Shortages of beans and peas, shortages of staff in the fish and cheese counters and a breakdown in card payment system at all the tills - all happened at once. While the latter event made the otherwise quiet cash machine the most popular kid on the block, it had no impact on the mission. Missing round beans were swapped for tenderstem broccoli, and unattainable Cornish yarg for grated cheddar cheese. There was no immediate resolution for the gone breaded haddock problem, but Ms F claimed she'd be ok for food this week.

Ms F and I exchanged our plans for the upcoming trips to change the scenery and our views on open communication and assertiveness in close elationships and beyond. It was nice to see the lady well and in good spirits today.

Miss S already had a few of the bags by her front door when I arrived - when she disappeared into her kitchen to say there were a few more, including "one big one", I wasn't sure what to expect - thankfully it was a manageable load and conveniently her bin was right by the front door.

It’s amazing what a bit of sunshine and some solid teamwork can accomplish! the team was lovely, and the energy was high from start to finish. Seeing the final result made every bit of digging worth it.

Of course Mr T backed today's winner at the Gold Cup, and of course I'd taken his previous sage advice which was not to bet on the Gold Cup as it was a "bookies race" - to be fair he wasn't wrong on the latter, as the winner's odds were 11/4, but am guessing wily Mr T got better odds than that...the good thing was there were chicken steaks on his shopping list today, so I do hope he's celebrating in style as I write this.

12 GoodGymers made a difference at the penultimate winter shelter of the season!

We were super fortunate to welcome three lovely new faces this week — a big welcome to Emma, Joe, and Jonny!

And they joined our friendly and fabulous group of Al, Charlie, Emily, Jackie, Jacqui, John, Paul, and Philippa!

Across 35 well-spent minutes, this troupe:

❤️ Assembled, positioned, and dressed 14 beds ready and waiting for the evening's guests

❤️ Set 22 spaces for a (delicious-smelling) volunteer-cooked dinner

❤️ Did everything while connecting and chatting aplenty :)

Thank you, everyone!