First mission by Tim so a merry welcome!

Many lands make light work as the saying goes, and it was a pleasure to help move all the food in preparation for the food bank opening!

Pleasure to meet Ian and welcome him to his first goodgym mission.

With another pair of hands, we make quick work ferrying around the supplies for the food banks opening; a really rewarding experience!

Thanks to Hammersmith and Fulham foodbank for having us!

🎊 Our evening started with a cheerful meet-up before we set off together — some of us running, others walking — to reach the shop, getting those steps (and smiles) in along the way 🏃‍♀️🚶‍♂️. It was the perfect way to warm up before an evening of treasure hunting and teamwork!

When we arrived, we were greeted by the lovely Dr. Christina, who gave us a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of the shop and its hidden basement full of wonders. Bag after bag, shoe after shoe, and shelf after shelf of books 🤯 — it felt like discovering a secret world beneath the high street! Dr. Christina’s passion for the project was contagious, and we were all excited to dive straight in.

Chau took charge of the shoe department 👠, turning chaos into order with some creative flair, while Caroline and I rolled up our sleeves to sort and hang clothing ready for the shop floor 👗. Caroline even discovered a glamorous toy chimpanzee friend sporting bright lipstick 💄🐵 — definitely the style icon of the night! Dr. Christina showed us how to assess donations and prepare items for recycling, giving us a peek into the sustainability side of charity retail ♻️.

After our hard work, we ran and walked back together under the evening sky — a lovely way to round off a feel-good session full of laughter, teamwork, and a sense of purpose 💖. The Bassuah Legacy shop truly is a labour of love, and we’re proud to have played a small part in keeping its legacy shining bright. There’s still plenty more to do, and we can’t wait to return! 💪✨

A lovely morning spent turning into a human strimmer in lovely Mrs N's front garden.

I was met by her and her daughter who got me kitted out with tools and bin bags, then left me to it with the request to clear as much as I could.

I started with a hard bit; pulling out grass that had rooted itself to weed membrane around the decorative pebbles and chopping through some feisty doc leaf roots. Then onto the fun: violently pulling out a mass of nettles and looooong pea-type vines hiding a paved area and the rockery. The pea pods had dried out and made a very nice rattling sound when shoved into bags.

Six bin bags filled, and a weird little table unearthed for the bin men. There's a bit more to finish off soon at the front, and then a cracking bit of work to be done in the back garden.

What a night! 🚀 We kicked off the evening by tackling the leaf-tastic mess in the car park! 🍃💨 Armed with brooms, gloves, and sheer determination, we took on the leafy chaos and came out victorious. The Masbro Centre team were absolutely delighted — we might just be earning that honorary key to the place soon! 🔑

Of course, it wouldn’t be Bonfire Night without a few fireworks 🎇 (even if they were hidden behind a wall of clouds ☁️). The soundtrack of crackles and booms kept us company as we powered through, turning the car park and entrance into a tidy, welcoming space. We even managed to take down some stubborn weeds and give the front a proper glow-up 💫.

Caroline, once again, proved her “I’m not that fast” line is pure fiction 🏃‍♀️💨 — she was flying around the place! And a quick feline footnote: Cleo the cat 🐱 hopefully stayed safe and snug indoors while the fireworks went off 💕.

We also had a great chat with some local business owners — networking while we worked! 🤝 Who knows what community connections will come from it? Oh, and before we forget — huge shout-out to Proof for kindly gifting us some electrolytes! 💧✨ They kept us going strong post run!

They were low on volunteers this week so appreciated two newbies to this task. Asma was keen to join the GoodGym after hearing me race on how great it is, and this session was near work that only required an hour away from the office. Looks can be deceiving...we started of moving the tables from the church hall to the front and I felt like She- Ra (80s character for those too young to remember ;) they were so light I'm sure I could have spun them on my pinkie finger and flung them across! Rest assured I wasn't brave to attempt that but cool to imagine it. Then the chairs were set up and next onto moving the boxes of goods into the side room. The City Harvest van arrived and this is where Asma learnt something she never thought of before, how to manoeuvre the trolley without dropping the pallets, but mastered it she did. After watching the trial and error, I decided it was easier for me to carry in the pallets. The donation of Gail's bread required slicing in half and bagging up yummy looking pastries. We left when the hot meals were being delivered as the other volunteers for the Foodbank were around.