Tea shift and prep shift saw the usual suspects Jacquie and Steph Ducat. Jacquie was serving hot drinks and cereals while Steph Ducat was up to some fishy stuff in the upstairs kitchen. Both were in full swing.

Fishy Friday : there was something fishy today at ESK. The team prepared a gorgeous fish pie including some without prawns. there was also the vegetarian option - mo fish in the butter bean and mushroom pie. Dessert was Swiss roll with ice cream. Jacquie was in her familiar spot serving food while Steph Ducat was still in the kitchen serving plates with Marge and Andrew. We welcomed 2 new joiners Shenelle and Annmarie who were serving jot drinks and cleaning pots, pans, plates etc. Welcome to Goodgym!!! The customets really enjoyed the fish pie today.

Three Goodgmyers were out and about early on Friday morning to set up and prep at ESK. Welcome Ben to Goodgym Ealing on his 1st task. Ben was with James prepping in the grocery section. Anna was helping Doreen with sandwiches in the dining area. Steph Ducat was in the kitchen upstairs cooking food with Mary, Marge and Andrew.

Unfortunately the Crypt kitchen at St John’s Church is still not functioning. Once again the chefs (Gayle and Nigel) used the upstairs kitchen and transported food downstairs by trolley. It’s not ideal but it means the clients get a hot meal. Chicken pasta bake (or vegetarian option) was very popular and this week there was plenty leftover for takeaways. I was on washing up duty for the first hour then switched to serving and clearing up. Both tasks kept me pretty busy but, as always, it was great to be there.

Storm Austen arrived on Friday morning bringing wet and windy weather. Although the kitchen fan in the Crypt is still out of order, chefs Arul and Nigel cooked a delicious meal in the upstairs kitchen and were able to keep it hot until lunchtime. Chicken wings with dahl and rice (or vegetarian option) went down very well with the clients. There was a steady stream of people and sadly no takeaways this week - by the time the last few clients had been fed, there was no food left. Also available today was a barber, hot showers, clothes donation, life skills class and food parcels. And a few hours of companionship and warmth.

Last people standing at the Hub are the people cleaning and packing everything away. Giles and Steph Ducat were joined by new comer to Goodgym Zine who took the cleaning and packing very seriously. Magical cleaning crew.