A straightforward lunchtime mission to help Mr T with some shopping - his list neatly planned out with only a couple of clarifications required (particularly, what is a "Chicken Steak"? As a veggie, not wanting to come back anything too rogue from the meaty section) and instructions to source the longest lasting spinach possible.

A short trip round his local aisles, handy trolley in, er.. hand, and I was back at his flat with all shopping broadly successfully sourced. Unfortunately Mr T only has 3 days to eat his spinach, but I suppose that's better than 1 or 2! Great to have a little chat - covering a surprisingly wide range of topics given the time available - before heading back to the desk.

10 GoodGymers completed the final winter shelter shift of the season!

We've been helping build beds and set up dining rooms at the American International Church's Winter Shelter since November, and this week we arrived for our final shift of the season!

And we had a wonderful group for the task 👉 Caitlin, Charlie, Denzel (on their first GoodGym task — welcome!), Emily, Ivar (on tour from Greenwich — great to see you!), Paul, Steve, and Thierry !!

Having been welcomed by our fabulous host (and fellow GoodGymer!), Brooke, our experienced crew knew exactly what to do, and together (and with ease!) they:

❤️ Assembled, positioned, and dressed 11 beds ready and waiting for the evening's guests

❤️ Set 20 spaces for a (delicious-smelling) volunteer-cooked dinner

❤️ Did everything while connecting and chatting aplenty :)

Thank you, everyone! We will be back in the autumn!

Had a really nice catchup with Ms F this evening. I gave her an insight into what I’ve been up to at work. She talked me through a trip she has coming up. In terms of the shopping the cheese counter was still out of action but got everything else. Had nice chats with the lady behind the fish counter and the lady on the till.

Strangely all the shelves were bare of sardines in olive oil this week - surely this can't be blamed on what's happening in the Gulf? Fortunately Mr T's request for just one onion was more easily fulfilled thanks to his local Tesco - a stickler for not wasting food (I went home with two carrots), he was firm in his instructions that one was all he wanted, otherwise it would end in tears...

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.