13 GoodGymers welcomed some wonderful good deeding into Camden this Wednesday!

It was the day of the ice. When Londoners slipped and slided. And most (sensible) folk tried to stay inside...

...but this wonderful group bucked that trend!

Charlie, Hassaan (on their first good deed — welcome!), Helen, Jack, Jackie, John, Kareem, Loz, Lydia, Rohan (on their first Camden good deed — welcome!), Steve, and Tam turned up ready and willing to be outside and active :)

After some meeting and greeting and a swift group warm up, we split into two groups to get moving with our task for the evening.

FoodCycle are a special charity. They use donated and throw-out food to make FREE community meals each and every week. They're a lifeline for many and a community for more.

We were out spreading the word for their weekly meal in Camden. A huge pile of leaflets awaited us. And with them in hand...

...off we went!

One group stayed local and targeted estates around Somers Town, and one group went a little further and targeted roads in the southern tip of Kentish Town :)

By the end we had delivered over 700 flyers and enjoyed some lovely connection and conversation!

Thank you, everyone! Here's to next time!

The Kentish Town Congregational Church foodbank is a warm and friendly affair, with no shortage of tea, biscuits and conversation. So the hour I spent waiting in line, passed very quickly. When my turn came I was pleased to have brought the right-sized rucksack to contain all the food and toiletries (30 litres - spot-on!). Then onward, further across Camden, to deliver everything directly into Mr D's kitchen. A bit of a chat in his warm flat, and I was then on my way back into the grey and cold day.

Ms F greatly appreciated having a GoodGymer visiting her this week, as a few weeks ago she had to do the shopping on her own, without volunteers available, and struggled to breathe carrying groceries home on her own.

She took the opportunity today to stock up on bottles of Buxton water, which I never mind getting for her - carrying them to the 5th floor definitely kept me warm, and I loved the workout!

I was successful in obtaining most of the products, except for the baby sugar snaps and Cornish Yarg. The cheese counter had just closed, but a nice lady from the fish counter checked for me to see if there were any cut pieces available. Sadly, there was no yarg whatsoever! When asked if I wanted any alternative cheese, I mentioned I wasn't shopping for myself, and the lady guessed who I was shopping for! Of course, Ms F must be famous in Waitrose - even when she doesn't often go there in person!

I had good news for Ms Famous, nonetheless, as I managed to secure the breaded haddock, which is often sold out when I shop for her in the evenings after work. Together with discounted tuna chunks and poached salmon, I brought material for a real fish feast!

Before I left Ms F's flat, our Waitrose celebrity shared news about her new singing projects. I was excited for her, impressed by how she embraces creativity and continuous learning, no matter the age!

New Year, New visit, New shopping list, New items - grocery shopping for Ms F. Another visit to Ms F in Camden and this time we wished each other a Happy New Year 2026. After some catching up, was given a list with a twist - new items on the list as Ms F had some discount vouchers but also a free item to collect. She also wanted some slightly different items to cook and was in need of some clothe washing liquid(not critical but helpful as heavy for her). Got all the items including more vegetables than usual, but no battered haddock once again from the fish counter. Is the haddock vanishing? Got the salmon and the veg so all good. Different cheese today : Wensleydale cranberry cheese. No Boxton water, but got Evian as spoke to Ms F to see if ok for Evian. It was also discounted today. After getting the items, had to find the free voucher item : Waitrose Pink Champagne Truffles - what a treat. Another mid winter saving trip to the shops as the truffles were free, had 3 discounted vouchers and did savings on the day with the Evian water(- £1.50) and the the laundry liquid(- £3). Total saving of £13 between the vouchers and the products I found cheaper. Ms F was delighted and was also very curious with the truffles as did not imagine "truffles" like this. Before I left, helped Ms F retrieve her winter hats and a bedquilt from above a massive cupboard as she could not reach them and didn't want to fall over like she did last year which ended Ms F with injuries. As I am tall, got them so can stay warm during these cold days. She will be able to have a warm sleep with her warm quilt and go out to the local park with lovely warm hats.

Mr T happily regaled me with the various challenges he had to deal with over the festive period (his heating failed, a challenging visit from a nurse practitioner, the mystery of the Christmas lunch that never arrived...), and all this in the first five minutes of me arriving.

After a catch up that somehow went from black pudding (definitely not in the dessert section) to the joys of mackerel fishing, onto fisticuffs (not his, but a former sergeant) outside a Glasgow pub, and the beauty of the Isle of Arran, today's shopping trip proved largely trouble free, albeit sardines needed hunting down along Tottenham Court Road, and the Lidl queue was its usual semi chaotic self.

Another week and another visit to Ms F for some shopping. This Saturday, Ms F was more chatty than usual, maybe because she went out during the week with friends and socialized more than usual. We spoke about her lunch with friends during the festive period : seems very happy to have met her friends around food and drinks. Then we spoke of a gift she got which she put on the sofa as matching colors, but she did not look at it properly and thinking it was sheep as it was a gift from her welsh friend. I said its highlands cows which she then put her glasses and said oh I did not realise. Then we went through the shopping list : usual with extra's this week but we both knew that some items might be out of stock or short dated due to the bank holiday. I went and the store was busy, the shelves were empty including the fish counter(half the products missing and low in staff compared to the usual shopping days. Got nearly all the products apart from the battered haddock and none at the fish counter and know that Ms D does not like cod which also had only a few pieces left, so did not get some but got her salmon pieces she normally gets. After my visit, I was back at Ms F flat to help her unpack the groceries and move the heavy items like the 6 bottles of water to the kitchen. Then I also shown Ms F how to get her iphone out of mute mode which she mentioned to me before I went to the store. She did not know how she put it in mute the day before and waited for my visit to resolve this small but annoying item for her. All resolved and will now be able to resolve in the futur if it happens again. We wished each other a Nouvel An celebrations as New Year is in a few days. Bonne Annee and see you soon.