It has been many sleeps since we were last at the American International Church's winter shelter. Google tells me it's been 238 sleeps. And yet yesterday felt so easy as we stepped back into our comfortable and warm winter routine.

Six of us - Andy, Gosia, Jackie, John, and Rose (and me) - started our evening (successfully) counting to 25, and we then wove our way through Bloomsbury's bustle and buzz, sharing stories all the way.

Arriving on an increasingly festive Tottenham Court Road, we picked up our remaining good-deeding crew (Ivar, Jack, Louise, Sarah, and Steve) and climbed down to a basement that's always a hubbub of positive activity on winter Wednesday nights.

The C4WS Homeless Project has been making a difference since 2006, and our task (making the evening's beds) was one part of a larger (and quite special) operation.

I had barely finished saying - 12 beds in the big room > 3 in the small room > 1 on the stage - when the sounds of camp beds a-sprining and duvets a-quilting filled our positive air.

It usually takes me 387 minutes to make a bed, but this special group assembled and dressed 16 beds in no more than 20.

With our bed-making completed, the group took their talents to the dining cabin, making swift work of creating a neat and tidy space for the evening meal.

Thanks so much, everyone, for your work and energy last night - it was wonderful to see you!!

Here's to next time!

We've been heading to the American International Church since December.

Since then, we've visited 10 times, always assembling, dressing, and organising the beds for their weekly winter shelter's guests.

Wednesday last week was the AIC's final winter shelter until the autumn, and we welcomed Elizabeth, Jackie, John, Lici, Louise, and Steve to our final hullabaloo until we return in October or November.

Our group's speed reflected our comfort in this space, as we swiftly made up the evening's beds in the male, female, and volunteer quarters, and we did so to our (now accustomed) speaker filled with sounds from the 80s.

I've loved this task over the past few months. Each week we make a difference. The shelter is made possible through the collected efforts of multiple people - the overnight helpers, the evening cooks (whose creations always smell so good), the AIC's core coordinating team, and... our very own GoodGym-esque help. It's a joy to be part of something that truly helps folks who need it.

We welcomed my partner, Suzanna, for the final couple of minutes, before we headed off for a well-earned spot of pasta on Tottenham Court Road!

Thanks, everyone, and see you soon, Alex

I have been scrolling back through the GoodGym guidance.

Become an expert at speed scanning. Through PowerPoints and PDFs, even the odd hard copy document too. My eyes are hurting and my heart is racing. I've had 17 coffees but I think - finally - I must now give up.

I sullenly have to confirm this news.

GoodGym doesn't have any guidance on Borough Theme Tunes...

...but that doesn't mean we can't create some!!

Our wonderful core Camden group of Jackie, John, and Steve had a significant task ahead of us when we arrived at the American International Church last night. We were back to help out at the AIC to set up their winter shelter, which they run from November to March every year.

Between the 4 of us, we had to: a. sweep the large hall ready for the shelter; b. bring in, assemble, and dress 13 beds in the large hall; and c. do the same for 2 beds in the smaller side room.

We'd been moving and working for perhaps 75 seconds before Steve opened Spotify... searched for the music that seems to have accompanied our volunteering for a little while now... and hit play on Dire Straits!

We chatted and worked for 40 minutes, before packing away and looking ahead to next week and our final time at the AIC this season.

Thanks, all, for your work and for a wonderful evening :)

The below standard operating procedure was followed on Wednesday 6th March (evening) by some good people in the Camden area.

1. Arrive outside the Francis Crick Institute at 6:15pm.
2. Wait for Alex to appear dressed in red. He will tell you about GoodGym; a charity made for fitness and volunteering enthusiasts.
3. Say your name and number (meaning: your position in the circle; please do not give out your personal mobile number).
4. Alex will lead you into the bright night. Get lost in socialising chitchat.
5. Suddenly, you will be outside the American International Church on Tottenham Court Road.
6. Enter the church and head downstairs. Fold-up beds leaning against walls will be magically waiting for you.
   
7. Unfold a bed by unclipping a small plastic fastening and be wary of the bed’s desire to fold back up.
8. Place the plastic fastening in a purpose-made jug.
9. Tuck a sheet onto a bed and chat to other people in red T-shirts about fitness and volunteering.
10. Dance to Dire Straits.
11. Invert a duvet cover and place it entirely over your head.
12. Explore through touch the mysterious corners of the duvet.
13. Listen to the guitar solo in Sultans of Swing.
14. Fling the duvet cover forward and hope for the best.
15. Once all beds are completed in the above style, go to the stage area of the church, which is found through a secret door, and set up another bed while admiring the theatrical set up in the room.
16. Try and guess which show it is.
17. Take a photo of all the people in red T-shirts without making it very blurry.
18. Head back into the bright night, very proud and very happy.

Last Wednesday, we were back at a space we're getting rather used to.

Since December, we've been visiting the American International Church to set up the beds for their weekly winter shelter (part of C4WS's wider efforts), and we now know the staff team, the regular volunteers, the new volunteers, the nooks and crannies, the cupboards and drawers, and more!

It feels like a comforting routine for me, and it's always a joy to know we're doing our own important part of a wider community effort.

And it's a special joy to do so alongside the lovely folk of GoodGym Camden. Last week, we welcomed Camden regulars Jackie, John, and Steve, as well as the wonderful Hamad on their first outing with Camden (welcome!!)

We'll be back at the AIC in early March for our penultimate session of the season, and I'm already looking forward to it!

London’s weather is cold and hard during the winter months.

Luckily, most of us can escape into bright, warm, and welcoming spaces each day and every evening. But – there are many who can’t – and we are fortunate for initiatives and community spaces, like the American International Church, who host a cold weather shelter (in partnership with Camden’s C4WS) once a week from November through to March.

At GoodGym Camden we’ve been helping to set up their weekly shelter, and this Wednesday we were back to prepare for a full house, which was scheduled for that evening. There were five of us in total, including GoodGym regulars, Alex, John, and Jackie, and we also welcomed Charlie to our group, too – a very warm welcome to you, Charlie, and it was lovely to chat and share the evening with you!

We arrived at quarter to 7, and we went in, and being well accustomed to the task, we got going. We laid the beds out, put clean and fresh sheets onto mattresses, and then we attempted the Duvet Dance – have you heard about it? It’s a new trend (not yet on TikTok), which starts with throwing an inside-out duvet cover over your head, and then fumbling about to find the duvet’s corners (although, sometimes not the right corners!), and then propelling the cover onto and around the duvet to form a perfect sleep. It is quite challenging! But – after our season with the American International Church – we are on-trend, and we hope to perform the dance to accompanying music at the next London GoodGym social...

And then, after our dancing, and chatting, and working, we were done, and the shelter was ready and prepared for their guests that evening. We took a few photos (blurry, I’m sure – right, Alex?) and we headed into the night, and took in the evening with a gentle jog back to King’s Cross.

Thank you, all, and I am really looking forward to the next one ☺