After a thorough pre-shop briefing from Ms D this morning, with particular reference to her section on frozen beans and what to find at the fresh fish counter (breaded haddock - it was after all fish Friday), it was a drizzly walk to Waitrose with fingers firmly crossed that the aisles would have all that she was asking for this week.

The best news was that the frozen broad beans were finally back in stock as this then removed any discretionary decision I might have needed to make as to alternatives (edamame, peas...) if the baby broad beans weren't to be found.

After that everything else largely fell into place in the basket - albeit Ms D's request for 2 x 2 pint cartons of semi skimmed were substituted by 4 x 1 pints as the 2 pint shelves were bare today.

I discovered today that not all frozen chicken nuggets are the same, or at least the size of the bags of them - for my last shop I found a 1kg bag for Mrs G (which from memory contained at least 50 pieces), whereas in the freezers today the only available bag was 30 - as to why the size of the bag varies from week to week I am clearly unqualified to say, but it did mystify me (and Mrs G when I got back with her treasure). As they strapline says "when they're gone, they're gone"

I've still also yet to perfect the art of packing and carrying a large baguette from Lidl to her front door without it breaking in half - without resorting to stereotypes, I feel a bicycle, a beret and a string of onions might offer the solution...

Picking up food to deliver to the on the streets team at Under One Sky so it can get to rough sleepers has become a regular task for us at GoodGym Westminster. Sometimes there isn't much for us, but when it turns out to be a bumper night, like last night, it couldn't be better!

First stop was the bakery, which had a huge haul of warm pastries to hand over. As I made my way to the Under One Sky walking team, it was with the sweet smell of toasty treats wafting up to meet me. Not a bad way to navigate the streets of Victoria! I dropped off the goodies, and then made my way to Pret to pick up the rest of the evening's sustenance.

Handing over a big sack and pointing to the unsold sandwiches, it was like being a kid in a sweet shop! I was able to fill the bag to the brim with all sorts of delicious things. Swinging the sack over my shoulder like an out of season Santa, I made my way back to do the handover. It was a bit of pret-a-porter followed by some pret-a-manger!

A day before the event, Paddington Rec Junior Parkrun team sent an "last minute" call 📩 for help in filling the volunteer roles for the run as there was a shortage. Don't ask twice. GoodGym responders are on it 💪!

Of course the shortage of volunteers might have been related to the current cold snap ❄️. Sunday morning was no different with a cold piercing wind, low perceived temperature 🌡and half frosted puddles 🛷.

GoodGym team arrived around 08:45, starting with putting up the parkrun signs 🪧🪧🪧. After that moved to the bandstand where is an official gathering point. Gosia was tasked to be a Marshal at the park entrance with a special mission to warn other park users about incoming crowd of runners 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️.

Although the weather wasn't that great there was a decent crowd of around 50 juniors, who arrived with their parents to join the run. Positive vibes 🌈✨️ all along and - although it took this extra push 😏 to get out of the bed earlier this morning - it was a very rewarding time 🫡.

No need to get into too much detail on Ms D's now largely familiar list when I arrived this morning - although she did ask if I'd be able to get her a new bottle of shampoo, and she was hoping the frozen broad beans would be back on the shelves this week.

The good news was that the shampoo was easy to find, but the frozen beans remain elusive - "coming soon" it promised me on the shelf in the freezer section. A quick skate around the aisles to pick up everything else that she'd asked for was followed by a rather speedy walk back to avoid the incoming rain showers. As always Ms D was very grateful for her treasure, and I left her weekly recycling by the front door to be collected before saying goodbye for another week.

We were back at St Andrew's youth club last night. As usual the place was filled with the sound of classes happening - from boxing to chess - the scent of cooking club, and the beat of an excellent playlist keeping us motivated!

Our job for the evening was to sort a huge games cupboard which was bursting at the seams with every board game imaginable. We were taken back to our youth as we pulled out Kerplunk, Monopoly, Connect Four, Buckeroo...and too many more to mention!

We managed to stay focused and avoid the temptation of getting stuck into a game of Risk. Instead we stacked and sorted, packed and piled, until all the games were back in their rightful place.

We were rewarded with a homemade cornflake cake, and a quick look around the new sensory room that a few months back GoodGym had helped clear. Next week we're off to hand out clothes and bedding to rough sleepers on the Strand. Hope to see you there for some more GG Westminster fun and a positive impact!