Another good session today for Jacquie Started on teas, helped serve food, wash up, give out food parcels and then clearing up. So a bit of everything. Meal was cauliflower and Stilton soup then Shepherds pie (meat or veg) with Swissroll for dessert. It was very well received.

Although I wasn't intentionally avoiding it, I was spared the sink duty at the Soup Kitchen. I folded the tables and put away the chairs, then I was ready for the hoovering. My first partner, Charles the blue hoover, couldn't keep up with the pace and switched off in less than 5 minutes. When I tried to troubleshoot the problem, Steven appeared and explained to me that Charles does it every time and needs around 20 minutes to cool down.

My second attempt was a collaboration with the good, old Henry, who exhibited more stamina than Charles. I cleaned the whole food parcel room and a half of the main hall with Henry, before handing him over to my friend to finish that area off.

We were done around 4pm and with nothing else to do for us, Arul suggested we could clock off early.

As a very infrequent Friday Hub volunteer, I was surprised to find myself to be among the most senior servers at the Ealing Soup Kitchen on the day, at least in Angela's eyes. A couple of regulars had dropped out of the rota, so two friends I introduced to the ESK today and two other volunteers had to step up for the job. The serving crew did fantastically, no matter the limited experience. The genuine smile and enthusiasm of my colleagues were in demand!

Spaghetti bolognese with beef or vegetables were on the menu. The vegetarian option disappeared quickly. Luckily, the vast majority of the clients were after the meaty version.

The two hours of lunch serving went quickly with clients constantly moving in and out the busy dining area. By the end of the shift we were surprised by the number of steps we did as waiters. It was a lively and rewarding activity for me and my friends.

The first shift of the Friday Soup Kitchen saw two sports t-shirts: red and black bringing the GoodGym energy into the Crypt of St John's. JP cycled to the session and Kash walked there after her morning workout at the outdoor gym in the park. The morning exercises already done, and in both cases, all for free!

Kash started at 10:00, dividing the donated fresh food from the Felix Project into smaller bags to be distributed across the food parcels for the clients. The frozen chicken wings were stuck together yet suspiciously animated (as they jumped onto the table if not handled carefully) when Kash tried to separate them.

JP was preparing the clothes section, breezing through the bags of donated menswear, sorting items and putting them on hangers. He occasionally questioned the category of some of the jackets. Is it mens? Is it womens? A quote about sunshine, sewn inside one of such jackets, deemed it not very masculine, JP thought. The difficulty levelled up when he came across a bag of "unmentionables" to sort. Luckily, Kash arrived in the clothes room just in time to deal with the ladies undergarments.

With all the prep completed ahead of time, JP moved onto the tea station and entertained the clients with a friendly chat and hot, often sugary beverages.

Busy day at the Friday Ealing Soup Kitcken. Lovely Caribbean meal cooked by Chef Eugene went down really well. Lots of food and enjoyed by all. Jacquie spent the first half of the day washing up then helped with serving then clearing up. Rice with Curry Goat on the menu or rice with chicken. Veggie option : macaroni cheese or rice with cabbage. Cinnamon Rolls as deserts.

Sevan and Kash joined A.B., who had been on duty in the Soup Kitchen since 4 pm. A.B. and Sevan started the 6 pm shift by labelling the donated clothes with size markers. After putting a label on one item, Sevan, by order of the Boss Lady Emma, went on the front line to distribute takeaway meals: spaghetti bolognese with lentils or tomato & herbs pasta. After 25 minutes of a big rush, the queue for food dispersed, and the remaining clients showed up less frequently.

The clothes tables, where Kash was assigned, had a pretty steady stream of clients coming in. A.B. later joined that section and made sure the table was well-stocked, the customers informed what was available and the outfits neatly folded. Closer to 7:30 pm the GoodGymers at the clothes duty began separating the impractical (too summery, fancy, scanty) items from the practical ones, and putting the impractical sort into a bag going to be donated to a charity shop as those clothes were not suitable for the rough sleepers in the winter.

The shift finished on time, with quite a few bananas left without any takers. Hopefully, Emma or other volunteers have a banana bread recipe so the fruits will not get abandoned!