Dining service reaching the end as nearly 3pm : both Jacquie and Steph Ducat stayed for another shift to finish a great service at ESK. You could hear the leftover food whisper : take me away ! Steph Ducat was getting takeaway boxes ready, which Jacquie was handing out to customers and other volunteers. That was an "encore" for the casserole!!Then we were on a cleaning spree with some of the regular volunteers, feeling scrub-tacular! The cleaning crew came and went leaving the area sparkling clean!!

Nearly 1pm and it was nearly time for dining service. Jacquie moved from the tea service to the dining area to serve food to guests. Steph Ducat stayed in the kitchen to plat the food that was going out to the dining team.

What was on the menu? A casserole that included halal chicken served with leek. mushrooms, cream, tarragon and potatoes. As veggie option casserole without the chicken but with some beans. Both had some green beans on the side. We made a casserole that was so good, it got invited back for an encore during the dining service. Dessert, we had a lovely fresh fruit trifle and a banana cake : yummy!

The casseroles were in shape as they do a lot of bake-ercise!!Also did Steph Ducat get the extra energy from the MEGA mushrooms?

Early Friday morning and 3 goodgymers were up early to go and help at Ealing Soup Kitchen. Were they woken up by the rooster or simply early birds? Welcome to Eman who joined Goodgym and this was her 1st mission. Jacquie and Steph Ducat are regulars at the church. Both Eman and Jacquie were at the tea service. Steph Ducat was in the kitchen and the crew was much smaller than the last 2 weeks, but the team Steph Ducat was in the kitchen and the crew was much smaller than the last 2 weeks, but the team didn't flake and got on with it. Preparing lovely food for the guests that would turn up in the dining area at 1pm. Jacquie came several times to get milk which was really more than usual. No surprise as today a massive cereal box was at the tea service - and we had a lot of cereal killers in the foyer. Eman enjoyed her 1st community mission with goodgym and said she will be back to volunteer at ESK.

Today's Pitshanger Junior parkrun had some fairground vibes, with lots of families in the park enjoying themselves, mostly. The runners were working hard to earn tokens that they could trade in after the funnel.

In the funnel, the finishers got to play dogems after one child crossed the line with a dog on a lead, blocking the funnel and raising questions around if they'd run the whole 2km. Sevan managed to record their time and everyone else who crossed the line while the inquest was ongoing. Elsewhere, there were smashes too. Smashing high fives that is, as the runners smacked the outstretched hands of the marshals who included Kash, Jacquie, Harvey and Steph .

There were 86 runners who finished and got some big cheers. One more also got the cheers, then stopped 10 metres short of the line and would not go any further, insisting that they would only go to the nearby playground. No amount of convincing would get them to cross the line.

Lunch service was nearly starting and Jacquie joined the kitchen area to serve guests from 1pm. Steph Ducat was in the kitchen and ready to fire out plats to the hungry crew. Eliz joined Goodgym recently and this was her 1st session at ESK : she was in the kitchen and was at the serving station beside Steph Ducat and Mary. Eliz was plating plates with Steph Ducat. Eliz was in her element and was in full swing with the team getting hot food out to hungry guests. So today we had finger licking roast chicken with home made mash, some vegetables and lovely gravy. Veggie sausages were also available. Flap-tastic flavors today in the kitchen. The swiss rolled in after the main course : homemade custard was served as a must at ESK : no dessert without custard.

Jacquie and Steph Ducat were back at ESK with a normal service resuming. Food deliveries today and all the usual sessions were happening today. Jacquie was helping at the grocery section and preparing with other volunteers the grocery and snack bags. In the meantime Steph Ducat was back in the kitchen. What was cooking in the kitchen : chicken, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, veggie sausages, swiss rolls and custard to create a perfect meal for hungry customers. Potatoes became mash, chicken was roasted, vegetables were cut and then oven baked. At the bag section, some easter eggs were left over from last week so they were put in the bags.