Because of the holiday season and many regular Soup Kitchen volunteers being away, Emma asked for the record number of GoodGymers for her rota: four at a time!

When Sevan arrived, Madhan, who had already attended the first shift, was busying himself at the food counter with Raj, doing the final prep for the grand opening at 18:00. Kash came straight from work, not recognisable without the red t-shirt, and hid herself to transform into a GoodGymer. Divya, as usual, cycled to the task. Emma assigned him the snack and grocery bags prep duty. Steph, who was nominated the chef, alongside the regular volunteer Rebecca, after the first shift was still in the kitchen, cooking and bouncing to Rebecca's playlist. It looked like the reviews given by Angela, the Friday Soup Kitchen boss, granted Steph a reputation of an irreplaceable chef.

The front door of the Soup Kitchen opened just as Sevan swapped with Raj who was free to finish his shift. Together with Madhan, Sevan distributed tuna pasta bake and veggie pasta bake to the clients. The takeaway today featured rarities like the Costco sushi platter and Thai chicken salad. Despite such special meals, some clients came across as exceptionally demanding. There was a gentleman who was a bit upset when the steak ran out, especially after discovering that the volunteers later found more steaks under the table and distributed the meat to the other people. Spoiler alert: he eventually got his steak too. Another client surprised Madhan and Sevan with his special request:

Do you have any lemons?

At 18:30, the counter looked pretty dead, with occasional bursts of clients showing up. Divya was wrapping cutlery in napkins, while Kash was on the clothes sorting and labelling duty. She was joined by Marvin, who was better known as a City Harvest volunteer. Together they were assessing the donated garments, thinking up stories about people who donated them and why they decided to part with their outfits. One of their narratives featured a Latin dancer who liked to wear snazzy slim-fit shirts. The shirts must have been donated by his new wife in an attempt to keep him off the dancefloor and ladies.

Around 19:30, the team started wrapping up, packing the clothes into vacuum bags and folding the tables. It was yet another quiet Monday but Emma was happy to have all four of us to cover for the missing regulars. We are hoping for more slots for GoodGymers next month once Emma figures out her August rota.