Stepping in to help the Morden Parkrun team with the post-run token sorting this morning. It was a properly chilly one, and with volunteers in short supply, it was the best way to acknowledge the team (given a few other events had been cancelled due to lack of volunteers), although sorting tiny plastic tokens with frozen fingers is definitely a test of patience.

We headed over to Faith in Action to help out with the lunch service today to fulfill a last-minute request as their volunteer team is a bit thin on the ground at this time of year, and honestly, seeing the scale of the lunch they’d served, they definitely needed the extra hands.

We spent an hour elbow-deep in suds, working our way through a mountain of washing and drying up. Once the kitchen was under control, we moved into the hall for the post-lunch workout: shifting furniture, vacuuming, and mopping the floors until there wasn't a crumb left. It was a solid team effort leaving the place spotless and we hope to be invited back soon.

It was a fantastic turnout in Raynes Park as we supported the Dylan Strong Foundation with an extra Santa Sleigh collection tonight. The evening kicked off with huge crowds eager to see the big man himself, and while it took a little time to work through all the photo requests, the festive energy was high. Once we got moving, we hit the streets to knock on doors and shake buckets, meeting plenty of generous residents along the way. It was a lovely mild evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed playing Santa’s little helpers.

Well done to everyone for the final FoodCycle of 2025 at Mitcham! A healthy turnout of 23 guests joined us for a truly festive send-off, enjoying a delicious meal of courgette & aubergine tempura to start, followed by a hearty Quorn roast Wellington with carrots, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and rich onion gravy. To finish, there were mince pies with ice cream which is the perfect sweet note to end the year on.

A brilliant way to close out 2025, full of good food, great teamwork, and community spirit. Thank you to everyone who’s volunteered, cooked, hosted, and supported throughout the year and see you in the new one!

At the end of a long day when there's a need to move items to storage post-event, the "young and active" reputation makes it difficult to decline a request. With the real challenge of mentally juggling entry codes and padlocks it wasn't long before everything was successfully loaded into the storage unit. We even managed to squeeze in a quick, well-earned drink before cycling off into the night.

The Little ARK event was in full swing on arrival, with plenty of festive bustle and ad-hoc tasks to tackle. We stayed busy moving benches and shifting furniture nearby before transitioning into the final pack-down, where it was all hands needed for some heavy lifting. The perfect workout to wrap up the week, leaving the space tidy and ending the Christmas fair season.