A shining light was extinguished today for Goodgym Waltham Forest as we learnt of the sudden passing of Raymond Umunna, dear friend, Goodgym stalwart and excellent human being. Ray (with Julia) was the first Goodgymmer I met when I joined GGWF on arrival in London late in 2021 and he’s been at many of the tasks I’ve participated in since. We quickly developed a rapport of gentle teasing; he ribbed me for working too hard, I feigned complaint that he wasn’t pulling his weight. We shared a love of the trampolines at Cheney Row park, detouring a social run there one evening for a quick bounce. And a mere two days ago I enticed him to sign up for this evening’s task at Walthamstow Toy Library with a promise of mince pies. When I read the message today I simply couldn’t comprehend it. I went to the Toy Library numb and in shock yet in part somehow still expecting Ray to be there, smiling broadly and telling me there had been a mistake.

As always, the Toy Library continues to do wonderful and much-needed work, which is especially important at this time of year, providing a huge range of toys and play facilities for families in need, in a low-cost, ethical and sustainable way. This evening, new GGWF member Anna, her friend Eliza and I helped Helen, who runs the Library, to clean the toy store room and organise the many shelves and boxes. As usual, we made short work of the task and Helen was, as ever, hugely grateful. I of course worked hard (but not too hard!) for Ray, and tried to make sure that Anna and Eliza felt as welcome and appreciated as he would have made them feel.

While I’m not lucky enough to have known Ray as well as many GGWF friends did, he made me feel instantly welcome here and I will be forever grateful. He treated me like a friend whenever our paths crossed. His warmth, energy and enthusiasm lit up every task we did, with his trademark enormous smile to rival that of the Cheshire Cat. I know that Ray has very close friends at GGWF, who are reeling today, trying to make sense of this unfathomable loss. To them I send love and strength. When the place and time are right, I know that together we will find a way to pay a fitting and lasting tribute to him. For now, I sign off this final “run report” for 2024 with words I couldn’t have imagined writing a few hours ago: Thank you, Ray, for everything you gave. I know you will be greatly missed by many. I, for one, am struggling to imagine Goodgym without you. May you rest in peace, dear friend.