We arrived at the temple at 4.30 to find it almost empty apart from the two people in the kitchen who we would be helping. Putting on our headscarves and washing our hands we asked what we needed to do. They were waiting for a group to arrive from St Mary's church youth group. But 5 o'clock came and there was no sign of them. By 5.20 they were still not there and it was decided that we should clean up the kitchen and help pack away the rice and side dishes. Dani started washing up and Gill was putting away the unused ingredients when there was a noise at the door and a group of 9 or ten young people arrived with their leaders. Dani and Gill made them welcome and showed them where to wash their hands and put on head coverings, before showing them to the kitchen. They watched the cooking demonstration and we all ate the biryani rice, pakora, chutney and raita.Then Gill, after requests from the youth leaders, took them upstairs to the worship area and, drawing on her previous skills as a teacher, gave them an impromptu talk about Guru Garanth Sahib and other traditions while Dani stayed in the kitchen to wash and tidy up. At the end of the session we were given a take away tub of more delicious rice and dahl for our partners to enjoy tomorrow.

Our GoodGym team were on duty at the Warwick Road Hall to help with the Sri Guru Ravidas Sangat Temple's New Year Party on e again. Our initial duty was to be be on the door: welcoming the guests, checking off the tickets, and selling tickets to anyone who had jot bought one in advance. All the guests received a warm welcome from the team and were shown to their seats with a smile. Throughout the evening we tidied up after each course of the meal and also helped with organisation of the raffle. In fact raffle tickets sales went so well Gill was sent out to buy more tickets. As the party neared the end, with our usual GoodGym efficiency, we took charge if clearing up - stacking chairs, clearing the tables and sweeping the hall. Some of us even managed to find time to join the last guests in some dancing. Sanjeev commended us all for our support throughout the year in the various tasks at the temple we've completed and wished the whole of GoodGym Luton a happy new year.

The destination for this week's group run was the Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwara, only a few hundred metres from our start point, so we took the runners on a small loop out to Brantwood park for a quick lap of the park to add some distance before returning to the Gurdwara.

On arrival, we split up to tackle a deep clean of the common areas of the temple and the kitchen. With about 40 minutes of scrubbing, mopping, wiping and vaccuming we put the freshness back to the prayer room, the dining hall and the kitchen.

Heading back out into the night after a task well done, we squeezed in another short run through the town centre to enjoy the Christmas lights and festive atmosphere before heading home.

We are always made very welcome at the temple and tonight was no exception. Sanjeev was there to greet us as we arrived and soon put us to work at getting the temple clean and tidy. Mayra and Gill we given the task of vacuuming the stairs and upstairs rooms while got started on scrubbing the floor mats. Yasin and Musa got started in the kitchen and were soon emptying cupboards and getting the insides and contents as clean as a whistle. The others then joined and when it was time to go was all looking in fine fettle. Another GoodGym job well done.

This weeks run/walk/cycle group task took us to a familiar setting. We recently supported the Shri Guru Ravidass Sangat Gudwara with their Near Neighbours funded cooking classes and it's always a great experience being in the kitchen, but on this occaison we helped in the temple by giving the upstairs a spruce up. When we arrived Sanjeev from the the temple had prepped the carpeted area in the main prayer hall by sprinkling a liberal amount of Shake and Vac across the floor, which once vacuumed up left the room smelling great - we really did "put the freshness back" in the room. The team also wiped down all the woodwork and dusted all the plant pots. We also had a good go at cleaning a bathroom area. Our hosts were grateful for the help and have asked if we can return again soon. This session was the first for Yohanns who met us at one of the previously mentioned cooking classes.

Great job team, well done 👏

7 Luton Goodgymers supported the Shri Guru Ravidass Sangat Gudwara with the final session of Curry cooking classes. Lots of people attended so there was plenty of food prep, cooking and dish washing to keep everyone busy. We also got 2 new sign ups that I hope we'll see out with us soon. Everyone enjoyed a sample of the food made and a good time was had by all. I'm sure there'll be more cooking classes in the future but for now we bid a fond farewell to the Aunties in the kitchen. Great effort team 👏 👍🏻 👌