"I didn't expect you today," said Mr G.
"Then why did you leave the door unlocked for me?" I asked.
"I was expecting someone else. I didn't know you were coming," Mr G replied.

Yet here I was at Mr G's in South Acton, coming straight from work. After teaming up with Mission Control earlier in the day to make this shopping mission happen this week, I arrived to find Mr G a little confused and quite worn out. We didn't have much of a chat today, and I got straight into the task.

Mr G had requested plenty of greens — three types, in fact: cavolo nero, Savoy cabbage and tenderstem broccoli. For protein, I picked up breaded chicken breast and two variations of cod — one breaded and oven-ready, the other fresh and uncooked. For healthy snacking, I bought Mr G a big bag of walnut halves. Mr G changed his choice of yoghurt yet again after watching a documentary about supermarket-branded yoghurts, which apparently are not really yoghurts. Who am I to argue with documentary evidence?

Despite it being Wednesday evening rather than my usual Friday after-work visit, I was equally tempted, perhaps even more so, by products carrying my favourite label: the yellow reduced sticker.

My beneficiary was very grateful for the help and wished me a lovely weekend, despite it only being Wednesday. I guess it was out of habit, as I usually shop for him at the end of the week.

It was a beautiful late spring evening: still bright, not too hot, not too breezy. Perfect for a three-and-a-half-kilometre walk. So I took the opportunity to stroll from Acton to Ealing and voice-record this story as I went, saving myself the time of typing up the report later — which felt like a double win!

Are four GoodGymers enough to let 400 Acton households know about a free community day on The Mount in July in an hour? Certainly! But let's start with some context. Action West London received funding to bring local people together, raise awareness of community safety, and connect residents with organisations that can support their wellbeing. To do so, they organised the community day and needed GoodGym's help to spread the word by posting leaflets through letterboxes.

A group of flyering experts, Conor, Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash, met in Acton near the famed Pokopia Garden to beat the odds and distribute all the leaflets they had received — in 60 minutes or less. Steph and Kash ran from Ealing Broadway, Conor walked to the session, and Sevan even squeezed in an extra evening mission ahead of the group task. What a legend!

For all four, the 3km walking task was exactly what they needed after their workdays to clear their minds. GoodGym took them into a magical world of adventures where, to complete their quest, they had to face a variety of beasts: invisible dogs barking suddenly behind doors, foxes and cats of varying levels of wildness, including tigers and lions. Check the photos if you don't believe me!

The GoodGymers even ventured into space, where Steph handed over leaflets to alien children who were super excited about the prospect of face painting and a bouncy castle at the upcoming event — again, the proof is in the pictures! One hour was enough to get the job done and dusted, and the residents of Derwentwater Rd, Stuart Rd, Newburgh Rd, Chaucer Rd, Spencer Rd, Woodhurst Rd, Shakespeare Rd and Myrtle Rd were informed about the community day — at least those without a "No junk mail" sign on their letterboxes!

If you fancy coming along for a task in Acton on another date, check out one of the fortnightly sessions at the Pokopia Garden. Next Tuesday, we're venturing to Hanger Hill for an evening of citizen science — it's really easy, and anyone can get involved. Check out the session details here.

Traid is a charity promoting reducing waste by championing second-hand fashion while raising funds to support global projects improving the lives of workers in fashion industry and preventing child labour.

On sunny Monday evening, a slightly smaller than usual group of GoodGymers joined the Traid team in their Shepherd's Bush store for the seasonal packdown of the old stock. The neighbouring GoodGym areas: Hounslow, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham sent one person each to help remove the light and colourful spring clothes and make space for even more vivid summer outfits. Jalal, Pippa and Kash, despite being only a trio, nearly doubled the pairs of hands involved in the operation!

In less than 70 minutes all the clothes landed in massive cardboard boxes destined to be sent to the warehouse, and all the hangers - in bags. The whole Traid team was extremely grateful to the GoodGym team for making their big packdown evening much shorter - such lovely people! A the GoodGymers? What legends!