Shift 3 of the Lantern Parade felt like a breeze! Angela and Jess stayed back from the previous shift to help (thank you!).

The seven of us working alongside the Norden Farm staff and other volunteers, made light work of the post-event clean up. After reclaiming lantern sticks from the public, we grouped them into batches of 10 per their colour. These were efficiently taped together and transferred to the library side of the road where a van was parked to load 'em up. We also helped gather discarded lanterns, remove signs from lampposts and Anne-Laure even did some heavy lifting to help the Stage crew.

Everyone - including task owner Kayleigh - was surprised at how fast things got done. The new high-vis vests courtesy Viv, got a good outing (and photographing) and we all walked away satisfied and happy to have been part of this joyful annual event once again!

One of our favourite events in the GoodGym calendar, and the turnout of GoodGymers did not disappoint. Sheila and Georgeta stayed on after the set-up shift, joined by Frances who so enjoyed her first GoodGym mission that she returned 2 seconds later for her second! We were also joined by Jess, Angela, Roberta and Diya, and after a briefing by our taskowner we went to our assigned spots. We handed out lanterns to the excited children, switching on their lights, and handing out the spares to anyone else who wanted them And then the parade was off to the sounds of the Beatroot Drummers at the front and the Bollywood Brass Band at the back. We were dazzled by the ladies on stilts and the hundreds of animal lanterns. Its such a joyous event, put on by Norden Farm for the community. They are so grateful for the support from GoodGym, and we are grateful to them for putting it on for us!

Viv, Sheila, Mike and myself met at the Maidenhead Town Hall and welcomed Frances to her first GoodGym deed. We were the first shift out of three GoodGym shifts today at the Norden Farm Lantern Parade. We were tasked with preparing the lanterns, attaching them to wooden sticks with batteries and wiring, ready to be connected and handed out to the children before the parade would start. The theme this year was Animals and each school made their own paper lanterns, each school featuring an animal. Anything from swans, badgers, ladybirds to cats, foxes and some other hard to identify creatures... Along with other voluteers, we made light work of that, and the lanterns were ready in no time. Next we placed some posters on lampposts, as instructed and, finally, we had a moment of respite before the public was due to arrive, and the handover to GoodGym shift 2. Good time for a cuppa and a group chat. We hope Frances has enjoyed her first GoodGym session and looking forward to seeing her on many more to come.

Welfare visit for Mrs D

Another busy morning sorting clothes at the Baby Bank. Sheila was doing a second check on clothes already checked once and putting them away in the boxes or overflow bags. Another 35 referrals came in during the morning and several pyjama appeal bags were given out. It's all go before Christmas!

Mrs S has a large garden but can no longer tend it as she woukd like. A large part of the garden is a wildflower meadow, which needed cutting down. Jen and Sheila set- to with shears, cutting back the old flower stems. Although the job looked daunting at first, we were pleased to be able to finish the task, filling 2 wheelie bins with the cuttings. Mrs S was very grateful, and I'm sure that come the summer her garden will look blooming wonderful!