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.

Ms F is a regular and when arriving at her block of flats noticed something different at the entrance. Yes they have a new intercom nd works like a treat - the previous one made its time and needed to be replaced. Ms F had her list ready for me and some coupons on her loyalty card. She was happy to see me and we spoke in Frenglish : a lot of French with some English words as she could not remember some of them. Ms F shopping list is pretty straight forward, but today had a twist as she added a few different things and had some freebies...so my mission was to get the groceries with the discounted coupons and the freebie. I was quick to fond all the items as starting to know her local shop. Got all the items with discounted vouchers and the free item(Bonne Maman jam - cheery flavor). Also got her some battered haddock on top of the usual list. Nothing missing despite some empty shelves in the store. At the till. I double checked that all the items had their discount and the jam was not charged. I went back and Ms F, said that i was super quick and was happy to have all the items. She was even more joyful when i told her she go all her discounts, the free item and an extra discount on something she forgot about - Super Saver day!!!Saved her £7.60 on her shopping today. We had a chat, wished each other Merry Xmas and said see you next week as I will be back for another shopping trip on the week end.

Six vans. Countless crates. And lots of people with positive energy.

We teamed up with the Camden food bank crew to unload crates of food, drink and toys from six different vans. We made a human chain, passing crates of all shapes and weights across two floors, then stacked them into neat towers.

Best part? The banter and teamwork. There’s something very uplifting about meeting new people while doing something practical that really matters - and with Christmas around the corner, this mission definitely got me in the spirit of giving back!

There is a large — possibly huge — tree at Cecil Sharp House.

It must have looked over Camden Town for more years than is possible to count.

It certainly has more leaves than is possible to even imagine.

But our friendly and hardy group have been raking, sweeping, grabbing, and packing this tree’s leaves all season.

And last night — just in time for Christmas — was our final leaf–tackling outing until next autumn 😊

Chandrima, Jackie, John, Lydia Siobhan, Steve, Susannah (our brilliant host), and Victoria didn’t waste any time in donning gloves and getting to work.

First they raked and swept and grabbed and packed, and second they hauled a GIGANTIC number of heavy bags (choc with leaves) to the front of Cecil Sharp ready for collection and composting 😊

Thank you, everyone! Here’s to… 2026!

7 GoodGymers made a festive difference in Camden

This wonderful group — Emilie, Harvey, Louise, Olympe, Suzie, and Steve — congregated in a very festive room at Compton Lodge Care Home in Camden.

We were there to help the residents decorate umpteen baubles, and the only limit was our dexterity and creativity!

Emilie's wonderful daughter, Olympe, was our standout bauble artist in residence. She turned a whole array of crafting materials into beautiful creations. Thank you, Olympe!

After 90 minutes of laughter and connection with Compton's residents, we headed out into some very special winter sun :)

Thank you, everyone!

6 GoodGymers caught some good deeding vibes amidst London’s festive fare!

Settled in the heart of Piccadilly sits St James’s Church.

At this time of year, it is a favourite of tourists and Londoners alike (arriving for carols and services aplenty), and we had to bustle our way through the crowds to arrive on time last night.

Yet we were soon off and away to a peaceful garden, where this special group — of Alex, Charlie, Imogen, Kush (new to GoodGym — a huge welcome!), and Steve — made a wonderful difference.

Huge and bountiful trees border this green space, and they’ve been shedding their summer coats since October. Our task was to rake the lawns and sweep the paths, clearing the leaves for good for another year.

The brilliant Catherine from Green City Projects was our host, and alongside her we turned a leaf strewn garden into a clear, safe, and tidy spot in just 60 minutes.

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