A different day to usual, but the same familiar routine for Mr R, who was, as always, extremely grateful for the shopping assistance this afternoon from his local Tesco, and the fact he got a pocketful of change back too!

This mission involved helping Ms S, an elderly woman whose recent mobility difficulties and severe water retention had made everyday life at home much harder, especially with narrow stairways. She now relies on walking sticks to move around, so the aim of the task was to begin clearing and decluttering the house to help set her up safely on one level and make space for a hospital bed in part of the room.

The room was extremely cluttered, so the session involved both decluttering and dusting, with items carefully sorted into donation piles, clean clothes, dirty laundry, rubbish, paperwork, plates, belongings to be collected later by her son and daughter-in-law, and toys left behind by her grandson. As part of making space for the bed, 12 heavy boxes were also moved. It was a practical but meaningful task, helping bring some order to a room that had been understandably neglected while Ms S was managing her own health and acting as the sole carer for her husband.

It was also lovely to spend time chatting with Ms S and hearing more about her life, especially her time in fashion design. Her gratitude was clear throughout, and she kept offering kind blessings, which made the whole visit feel especially warm! 🫶🏻

A now familiar list and walk to Aldi for the always grateful Miss N - trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. She'd added at the end of her list "a bowl of Limes" from Church St Market, which proved a welcome diversion, if nothing else to marvel at the variety of fruit and veg on offer at the stalls...and the fact that £1 buys you a lot of limes...

Two for one today, as Mrs S asked if I'd mind going initially to the (shiny new) M&S to get her some beetroot salad (that I'd missed last week), and then onto Waitrose on Oxford Street for the rest of the dictated list. With the sun already out, it was a case of staying on the shady side of the street as I wandered up Tottenham Court Road for part 1, before avoiding a very sunny Oxford Street for part 2 - fortunately both shops had everything that Mrs S needed for another week of healthy eating.

Mr R was hopeful that the 3 for 2 on asparagus was still on this week - it was, which made today's visit all the more worthwhile - to be honest, there were quite a lot of packs on the shelf, so his luck might hold out for a while yet...

Today, wasn't just about moving bags, it was about people showing up for each other. Two GoodGym volunteers formed a human chain with Traid staff on a narrow winding staircase, passing over 70 bags hand to hand with care and determination. Step by step, bag by bag, they helped bring everything up to the shop floor so Traid staff could get clothes back on the rails. A small team, a bif effort and a powerful reminder of what can happen when people come together.