It was a satisfying "trolley dash" through the aisles, ticking off everything from wholemeal farmhouse loaves and arborio rice to mint dark chocolate and even some hair shampoo. The highlight of the trip was a personal milestone: for the very first time in my life, I bought a lottery ticket! Ms D had already filled out a lottery slip, and my task was to take it to the counter to have it processed and paid for. Since I’d never done anything with the lottery before, it was a brand-new experience for me! When I returned, I handed over the groceries along with the receipts and the change, and we confirmed everything was in order. It felt great to help her stock up her cupboards—and who knows, maybe that lottery ticket I registered for her will turn out to be a big winner! Fingers crossed!

A return visit to the grateful Miss P in today's afternoon sunshine - this time to get her some groceries. It was a short and easy to follow list, and the only big decision was which direction to walk in to find a supermarket. After last week's pharmacy exploration of the neighbourhood, I retraced my steps to the Sainsbury's on Harrow Road, and was soon back with what she'd asked for. A quick investigation as to why her new iron wasn't heating up (all sorted out and working fine now), a chat about the range of other ways GoodGym could help her, and this particular mission was complete for another week.

In Mr R's reusable shopping bag each week is his food waste, neatly presented in a compostable bag, that he asks me to deposit in a dedicated bin just next door to the Tesco where I do his shopping. Usually all very straightforward, except today whichever company had blocked the pavement to do some work on the telegraph wires above using a cherry picker, and neatly fenced off all the bins. I was given a firm "don't even think about crossing the red plastic fence" hand gesture whilst his colleague was up in the sky, but once down at ground level, Mr Hi Viz kindly wandered over, took the food waste bag and dropped it into the food waste bin for me...perfect teamwork all round.

As usual, there was a stack of donations waiting outside Miss M's front door when Kash and Sevan arrived. It looked like 1 trip to the local charity shop, so Sevan asked if there'd be anything more to take today.

"Not today. There are some books to donate, but I need to get to them first"
"It's too difficult. They're heavy" - Miss M

Undeterred, Kash and Sevan pressed a little, then a little more, while Miss M was still resistant, saying that the boxes were too hard to reach and too heavy. Eventually they convinced Miss M to let them take a look after the first donations were done. The GoodGymers would then see what the problem was.

The first round of donations was easy. It was full of handbags (again) and Kash and Sevan were back at Miss M's flat in 30 minutes. They then went inside for the first time to look at the book challenge and on the way, Miss M found more coats, cushions and crocheted blankets that could be given away, filling 3 more bags.

In the living room, Sevan slid his way between a chair and a sofa to the far window. The biggest problem wasn't his body or his legs. It was finding some empty space on the floor to put his size 8s. Once there, he found a stack of needlepoint books (to donate), some wicker baskets with fabric (to discard) and 2 archive boxes. The boxes were supposed to be filled with books too, but they were surprisingly light. Can you guess what Sevan found when he looked inside? 👜s of course!

After all that chat about heavy boxes filled with books, it was good to have helped Miss M learn that the boxes could be moved, they weren't dangerous and importantly, there was something easily donateable in them.

A mission that was exactly as described on the tin - 4 pints of whole milk from a local supermarket of my choosing for the extremely grateful Mr R.

Strangely (at least to me, but probably not to her), Mrs S's list today consisted of items mostly ending in O - I don't think she planned it that way (although one can never be sure), but at least it gave me the chance to discover what a Radicchio looks (and feels) like...