Which of course is the punchline to "A man goes to see the doctor and tells him he thinks he's a pair of curtains...and the doctor says..."

It's admittedly not a great joke, but we spent a long time discussing curtains and carpets today as Mr T realised that the ones in his flat were last renewed 15+ years ago - I commented that actually they didn't look too bad, albeit the curtains were a little uneven, but seemingly effective in the doing their job. He admitted he'd put down the current carpet himself, having got the roll from a market stall friend of his on the Edgware Road. I said the internet was probably his best bet these days to find cost effective replacements, and in that brief exchange we both realised how much the world had changed!

Fortunately it was back to old school ways for today's shopping, a quick trip to M&S, Tesco and Lidl, and Mr T was well stocked for another week - I left him contemplating his carpet...

It was good to catch up with Ms D, and, as has become the norm, she was well prepared with list, money, reusable bag all ready to go...but she then had an extra request and asked if I wouldn't mind diverting via Specsavers to get the filters(?) in her hearing aids changed - she assured me they'd know what needed doing, and she was right - the Specsavers lady was very efficient when I got there and did know what to do. Thankfully the rest of the shop around the aisles also proved to be trouble free, and I was soon back at the front door with treasure and newly functioning hearing aids in both hands - a double win.

As I sat and took dictation of today's list for Mrs S at the kitchen table, we neared the end of everything she needed this week, and she stopped, turned and looked at me and said "toilet paper, but the proper stuff, you know with the little dog on it".

A rare twist to our usual routine this week: we kicked things off at 18:30 instead of 19:00, and clearly the earlier start suited everyone because we had a brilliant turnout. Even better, we were joined by Ivo, the founder of GoodGym! Thanks for your help Ivo!

Our mission for the night was to give a tidy-up to the alleyway near Colegrave primary school. The plan was a full sweep: litter picking, weeding, and general sprucing. But in a plot twist, it turned out the council had finally swept through the area just a few days earlier (after locals had been chasing for some time!).

So instead of a major overhaul, we found ourselves polishing around the edges, tackling the bits they missed and giving the space a bit of a shine.

A huge thanks to Chris, who smashed it as a first‑time task host. He came fully prepared with gloves, tabards, litter‑pickers, and a pooper scooper — truly the mark of someone who understands the unpredictable nature of alleyway adventures. Thanks for making everything run smoothly.

A warm welcome to the new GoodGymers who joined us — great to have you with us — and well done to everyone who came along, mucked in, and made the most of a task that turned out a little different from expected.

Another good deed done, another alleyway improved, and another reminder that even when the job is smaller than planned, the company and the effort always make it worthwhile.