Except bunches of Sainsbury's bananas which come in fives - so Miss P got one extra for her money - otherwise it proved to be a straightforward task to find the four items on her list this week, and as always she was extremely grateful for the help.

I can't think today's absence of Mr R's favourite Rye and Seeds Sourdough Loaf on the shelves of Tesco in Maida Vale can be blamed on the current geo-political crisis, but stranger things have happened, and if the situation is the same next week then something is definitely up on the Rye front...

It was the second part of our two part task last night at Traid, and it was a race to get everything done before the shop could open the next day completely restocked.

Luckily Delphine and Susan were on hand to help, and bagged themselves a great upper body workout in the process!

Traid is on a mission to stop the harmful effects of fast fashion, and in doing so funds projects all over the world to make sure that everyone who contributes to making our clothing, whether that’s farmers or garment workers and their families, gets fair treatment and control over their own future.

The pile of bags to sort and pack up were very evident from the moment we walked in - a massive blue sea upstairs and a mountain more downstairs to move up.

We started with a warm up, quickly forming a human chain to pass hundreds of bags up the stairs. It was hard work but strangely satisfying!

Our next step was to put clothes on rails. Sounds simple enough but there was more to it. Not only did all the garments have to face the right way with the hanger facing in, but they had to be arranged in a pre determined colour scape which tested our sorting skills! Towards the end of the power hour Gemma, the manager, put us back into our chain formation to bring up the rest of the stock. Turns out it was a great finisher which left us with wobbly arms and the sense of a job well done!

Next Tuesday evening we will have the group task as usual, which is just being confirmed - keep an eye out for next week's challenge.

I was faced with a (first world) dilemma this morning in the aisles of the world's politest supermarket - Mrs S is always insistent on me getting her the Lindt 85% but the shelves were bare - so I had to make a decision on whether to go with 70% or 90%...of course when I got back and updated her she replied she'd have been very happy with either...

Following the request, I gave Mr R a call about an hour before I planned to arrive. He was very grateful for the heads-up, as it gave him plenty of time to get ready for the delivery.

I headed to the local Sainsbury’s and picked up a medium-sized bottle of semi-skimmed milk. Upon arriving at his place, I called him again to let him know I was outside, given the broken doorbell.

We settled the payment for the milk, and he was very thankful for the help. It’s missions like these—simple, direct, and well-coordinated—that remind you how much a small gesture can mean to someone's day.

Last night GoodGym Westminster gathered at the Bayswater TRAID shop, where runners and walkers were ready to roll up their sleeves to tackle a very generous delivery of blue bags bursting with donated clothes.

A huge welcome to Francesca and to Delphine who both came to their first mission - great to meet you!

For anyone new to the world of TRAID, the work they do is very impactful. The charity collects unwanted clothing and redistributes it through their shops, raising funds for projects that improve working conditions and sustainability in the fashion industry. By giving clothes a second life, they help reduce textile waste and challenge the throwaway culture of fast fashion. They also contribute to other sustainable projects across the globe. Every sorted bag is a small but meaningful step toward a more circular wardrobe. And there were a lot of bags!

We quickly formed a system—opening, inspecting, hanging, and sorting into categories. We know from past tasks it’s part organisation, part detective work to figure out where everything belonged.

Delphine came armed with an excellent hanger-saving trick to keep larger items from sliding straight off which instantly improved everyone’s efficiency. Francesca brought serious credentials to the operation, drawing on her past volunteering in charity shops. Meanwhile David tapped into his early experiences in Camden Market, demonstrating an expert eye for clothing types around the rails.

There was plenty of hanging, plenty of sorting, and we even uncovered the occasional hidden treasure that appeared from the depths of a blue bag. After an hour of focused teamwork, the pile had shrunk dramatically and the rails were looking much more manageable.

By the end of the session we’d made a noticeable dent in the delivery, and the store manager told us how helpful it had been to get through so many of the many bags that had arrived. A big difference in just an hour’s work.

Next week we’ll be back again—this time to help remove unsold clothing ahead of the sale. You can sign up here

Great work, team. 👕💪