It was a chilly evening, but this didn't deter 4 Luton GoodGymers from turning out to help with FoodCycle again.

Gill and Lucie were on the cooking team again, and while Lucie prepared a delicious filling of for the fajitas for the starter with a creamy dip on the side, Gill started on dessert. It's always a challenge when there is very little in the way of fruit and produce to make a dessert, but Gill had put by some chocolate spread a few weeks ago, and soon got thinking about what she could do with 5 packs of filo pastry and some cream cheese spread.

Omar and Neill were hosts with the most, setting up the hall and making sure the guests were welcomed and served their food with a smile.

It's always good to partner with the FoodCycle Family and and tonight was no exception.

What an amazing amount of work our team of 5 put in today to make the International Older Person’s Day Party a huge success! From 10.00 the team were on hand to set up tables and chairs, lay the tables with cloths and start preparing the food. As the guests arrived we were then detailed to serve teas and coffees and make sure everyone felt welcome. Gill was asked to give a short talk about or social missions. Then it was on to serving the sandwiches and savouries, helping with the bar and serving the most important part - scones with lashing of clotted cream and lots of tasty cakes. While the entertainment took place we helped to keep people topped up and started on clearing plates. One or two of us may even had joined in the dancing. As the afternoon drew to a close we all pitched in to clear the plates and cups and clear up the tables and chairs. It was 5 hour shift but we all enjoyed being part of such a joyous occasion.

A few GoodGym members picked up litter in their local community during the month of September. thank you for your efforts!

Tuesday night is FoodCycle Night and once again a bevy of GoodGymers were there to ensure things ran smoothly. Gill and Lucie were in the cooking team and after getting everything want up were rather alarmed by the lack of food provided by the supermarkets. We had a lot of swedes but not a lot else to get started on. But after some creative thinking and the arrival of the rest of the kitchen crew a menu started to emerge using up many of our store cupboard items. Gill took the lead on making vegetable stew and dumplings while Lucie masterminded the tastiest wedges and cream cheese dip for a starter, and for dessert the others in the team made rice pudding (who knew you could make rice pudding with sushi rice?) with caramelised bananas. Sam arrived at 5 and was a whizz at keeping the pots washed and tidying up after us, and Neill joined the hosting team - being the host with the most he ensured our guests were given hot drinks on arrival and served their food restaurant style . Sam and Neill stayed on to clean up the hall and kitchen and leave everything in pristine condition. It was another great team effort and many of our guests gave were really appreciative.

Well we were actually spreading a lot of sandwiches 🥪 ,which will hopefully help with the happiness tomorrow. 4 of us had volunteered to help in the preparations for tomorrow’s afternoon tea for senior members of the community. And once we got going we had quite a production line going. While Gill prepared the tuna onion and mayo filling, Lucie sliced the cucumbers Abdullah and Abdulrahman got just spreading butter onto the never ending supply of sliced bread. Then it was down to Lucie and Gill to start spreading the fillings into the sandwiches - egg mayo and cucumber for Lucie and the tuna for Gill. Then as they got half way through the mountain of bread it was on to coronation chicken, and egg and tomato. We must have made getting on for 400 sandwiches - which should be just enough for afternoon tea for the 100 or so guests tomorrow. And only Adulrahman could turn what could have been a boring task into a fun filled morning of competitive spreading!
We finished in record time and Vera and Ian the organisers were once again amazed and really appreciative of the help that GoodGym provided. Well done team - you really put in the time to spread a lot of GoodGym good cheer today.

It was our monthly date at Leagrave Park and two Goodgymers joined the Friends of Leagrave Park for the litter pick. What we lacked in numbers we made up for with enthusiasm and we were soon wombling in the woodlands and playing fields clearing up cans, bottles and all sorts of litter, and getting a lovely walk into the bargain. Fortunately there was less litter than we usually find so maybe people are starting to take their rubbish home with them.

There was a three pronged attack on Lewisham litter this week. Armed with her litter picker, Gill took time out on her trip from Luton visiting relatives, to plog in Lewisham Park. Adi kept the paths and grass of Mayow Park in Sydenham litter free. Paul picked litter brought down by high waters on the Ravensbourne in Deptford’s Brookmill Park.