What a fabulous day it was for our small team of 6 GoodGymers to be volunteering at the Welcome Home Festival, as part of Luton's celebrations of the National Refugee and Asylum Seekers Week. It was an event that was particularly close to our hearts, as so many of our team have had to leave their homes, families and countries to come and live in the UK.

Gill was on hand to help out and ensure that things went smoothly in the kitchen, but it was down to Mayra and her friends, Kamal, and another group to cook up foods from their home traditions. Mayra was making enchiladas, baleadas and horchata from Honduras while Kamal was busy with a fava bean stew which was being served in pitta breads with a topping of feta cheese and a hibiscus drink from the Sudan. There was also another team cooking up food from Eritrea.

Meanwhile the sub-team, comprising Musa, Yasin and Derick, were outside busily setting up the venue. Sorting out signs, placing chairs and checking that the bouncy castle was in the correct location. The temperature soared so it was no wonder that they needed the occasional sit down.

It was a cracking event and the food went down a treat.

Well done team - we hope you enjoyed the event as much as all the visitors did.

Once again there was another good turn out from GoodGym to support tonight's FoodCycle meal. Martin, Gill and Myra were in the cooking team with Jordi, and although at first our ingredient choices seemed a little limited - we had lots of tomatoes, avocados and peppers but not much else - it wasn't long before they had hatched a plan to create a delicious and nutritious summer menu.

Gill took charge of the starter and was cutting up tiger bread to make large bruschetta bases, which would be piled high with smashed avodao and a cherry tomato topping. Martin started work on preparing cous cous and then chopping tomatoes to be roasted, while Mayra got stuck tearfully into chopping shallots and onions which were also roasted. These were all combined to make a tasty filling for stuffed peppers. They also prepared Jersey Royals and broccoli to put with them for the main.

The two other FoodCycle cooks had not turned up, so we were pleased that there was plenty of cake to cut up for pudding, served alongside a colourful fruit salad.

We were soon joined by Abdo, Derrick and Kamal who were helping with hosting the dinner, getting the tables ready., serving hot drinks and finally serving up the dishes to the guests. And there were many mouths to feed tonight. Just as we thought we'd finished serving a few more would come through the door, and our initial total of 23 soon grew to around 57. But we were not to be put off and made sure that everyone got a good meal and even had some bread and vegetables to take away with them.

Tonight brought about the last cooking session for the Roma trust and the friends of the temple at the Shri Guru Ravidass Sangat Gudwara in town. We at Luton Goodgym have supported for 12 sessions which has helped the temple deliver a project that has brought together communities that otherwise may not cross paths and all through sharing the delights of Indian cooking. As this was the last session, our team turned out 11 volunteers to help with, prep, cooking and tidying up afterwards, as well as chatting and continuing to forge relationships with everyone on the room. 5 of us were a little late to the task as we were finishing up at another volunteerinng session in the town, but that didn't hold back the other 6 from getting stuck in. Making chapatis and putting all the ingredients together to make the tarka for the daal. Everyone took their turn tonight and the atmosphere was electric. The chai was flowing and the conversation was fantastic. Everyone had a great time this evening and we look forward to supporting the temple in the future as they always make us feel so welcome. Well done everyone and thanks for continuing to show what a fantastic bunch you all are.

Turn out for tonights task at the Shri Guru Ravidass Sangat Gudwara was great as 11 Luton goodgymers came to the penultimate cooking class as part of the temples near neighbours project, helping to integrate communities. The whole team got stuck in with cooking, washing pots and chatting to the guests from the Roma trust and the Irish forum. Mayra was especially pleased tonight as she got to wear her Red GoodGym shirt for the first time, Adrian also looked splendid as he wore his for the first time too. We look forward to seeing you guys out in those shirts again soon. After helping the aunties cook up some delicious treats, Sanjeev from the temple thanked everyone for their support over the 12 sessions and presented a cooking book with all the recipes we've helped to cook. I really feel like our support with this project has made a difference and I appreciate the opportunity afforded to us to be able to help. Well done team. you were great tonight