Miss M proudly announced to Kash and Sevan that after today, she would only have one more mission before her decluttering would be complete. Wonderful!

Miss M had 2 big laundry bags, 3 smaller bags and a small box ready to go for them. The box said Steiff and Sevan commented that it was a fancy toy brand. Miss M agreed and said that the bear was in her flat. There were only socks in the box, which was disappointing. Sevan emptied the box and left it behind for Miss M's bear to live in.

On the way to the charity shop, Sevan and Kash spoke about Steiff bears and what the point in having collectible teddy bears was. Sevan pointed out that they had another, more regular teddy bear to donate and there was also a bear in a bag that Kash was carrying. After a short pause:

"Winnie the Pooh" - Sevan
"What?" - Kash
"Winnie the Pooh" - Sevan
"I don't understand. You're saying that WE need a poo?!" - Kash
"No. The bear? In your bag? It's Winnie the Pooh" - Sevan
"Oh! 🤭 This is going to be a more interesting report than I thought" - Kash

They'd finished giggling by the time they got to Fara where it was time for the serious business of donating Miss M's belongings. Unlike previous times, the staff wanted to know what was in the bags. They were happy to take the clothes, DVDs and soft toys, but bedding, blankets and towels weren't useful to them, so were turned away. That left Kash and Sevan to take 80% of the contents back to Miss M, including the Winnie the Pooh towel.

Miss M was disappointed that the fabrics had come back:

"I'm back to square one" - Miss M

Kash and Sevan spoke about the progress Miss M had made and tried to reassure her. Based on the shop assistant's recommmendation, Kash and Sevan suggested contacting a homeless shelter, who may be happy to receive and collect blankets and bedding.

On the way out they heard Miss M talking to herself at the top of the stairwell, saying:

"I'm back to square one" - Miss M

😢

Sunny afternoon in Westminster : both Mourad and Steph Ducat joined Gurseva to provide food to the homeless. Tables out, food out and the Goodgymers started to dish the lovely veggie biryani into take away containers. Customers also had some cookies and some hot drinks like chocolate, tea and coffee. We also handed out some caps to protect them from the sun. Rice and shine : people enjoyed the food and the sun.

As we ran through this morning's dictation, we reached "Apples", and Mrs S asked that I only get her decent ones..."polite and well behaved?" I asked, to which she smiled (thankfully) , and we entered into a lengthy discussion about how actually fruit in the supermarket doesn't taste like it ought to anymore...and with that the apples (and any other fruit), well behaved or otherwise, were firmly struck from the list.

Miss N and her sister (who's staying with her at the moment) were so very grateful for me arriving at their door today, and after I'd explained the most efficient way to get the shopping done, Miss N and her sister ran through her list like a duet, and pointed out which shops I needed to head to.

Fortunately nowhere was too far away, and it proved a pleasant and successful trip to Tesco and Aldi to get what they needed, and an equally satisfying handover of the shopping bag when I returned - cue much smiling all round.

The sun was out, Mr R was on good form, and his list was as familiar as the route to and from his local Tesco, with the addition of a bag of Red Lentils, which he wasn't sure I'd be able to find - success was on our side as I returned with a full bag of treasure in hand.

This Saturday evening, Steph Ducat, Mourad and I met on the Strand to help Gurseva dish out their food. This evening it was a delicious smelling veggie biriyani.

It was wonderful to welcome Mourad to his first Goodgym session, and chat a little before the van arrived. Then we set to work, alongside the other volunteers, to dish out the biriyani, sandwiches, snacks and drinks. The queue was long today and we were a little worried we might run out. But I don't think anyone left empty handed in the end.

Once the food was gone, we very efficiently packed up. Until next time!