This year, the Santa of Acton brought the ladies from the neighbourhood a special gift: an invitation to free fitness classes in January. And no, it wasn't a free month membership that gyms tease people with at the start of each year, but a 6-week programme for 40+ women who want to improve their health while enjoying themselves in a great company.

Santa's four elves: Maria, Sevan, Steph and Kash, took Father Christmas' sack full of leaflets and swooped across the night sky, dropping the flyers through chimneys in Acton's Mill Hill area. Hopefully, the ladies for whom the classes had been designed weren't away for Christmas, and if they were, hopefully the leaflets won't get lost in a sea of other ads before January!

It was all hands on deck at the South Ealing Food Cupboard this morning, with the delivery unloaded and the shelves stacked in record time. Stef, James, and Nicola worked efficiently as a team to get everything ready for distribution. It was James and Nicola’s first GoodGym session, and they jumped straight in — helping unload crates, stack shelves, and keep things moving smoothly from start to finish. The haul was full of seasonal favourites, with plenty of Brussels sprouts and mountains of potatoes arriving just in time for some early Christmas dinners. Thanks to the extra hands and great teamwork, everything was sorted swiftly, leaving the cupboard well stocked and ready for the community.

Fundraising event until 10:30pm with music, drinks, food, raffle tickets with the presence of the Mayor of Ealing Anthony Kelly and his wife Maria Kelly. Food went out swiftly to all the tables and the guests enjoy the following food.

Starters : Pear, Rocket and Pomegranate Salad or Hearty Pumpkin & Butter Bean Soup with Croutons

Mains : Succulent Roast Chicken Quarter or Baked Salmon Fillet or Roasted Stuffed Peppers with Savoury Seed Crumb All mains served with new potatoes, garlic french beans and a rich vegan gravy

Desserts : Creme caramel or Coconut Yogurt & Golden Granola

The food went down like a treat and the staff also enjoyed the food we cooked.

After the party was over it was time to clean and pack.

This was not the usual Ealing Soup Kitchen shifts. Once the Friday Hub was over, I was part of a massive team to prep for the Fundraising event in the evening where the Mayor and his wife would be attending. I was in the kitchen with other chefs to get the starters, mains and desserts ready for the evening. Great food prepared with choice of 2 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts. The clock was ticking for all of us, but all was under control and we were ready for the dinner party.A lot of chopping, cooking, cleaning pots and mise en place

I was back at Mr H flat for more sorting. During the last session we did clear a lot and it also gave him some motivation and did some sorting himself at his pace. Today was sorting out the boxes in the shelf and also the furniture drawers below the TV. Mr H was able to declutter again today and we sorted items by category, then we put then away in order of importance or usage. Found various tools, electrical items. IT equipment, vaping accessories, cleaning products, comics, music tapes, photos. plastic bags etc .... Items sorted and more space done with a full black bag of unwanted items to be put in the rubbish. Mr H got another boost with this session as not alone and motivated by the assistance of sorting things out. Mr H wants us to come back next time to help with the kitchen.

Arrived at Mrs A in the morning to be welcomed by her daughter who then introduced me to her as she was inside the flat. After a small chat, i was provided with big black bags as a broom as leaves to be removed. The garden has a massive tree that gives on both her and her neighbours garden. Can you beleaf if : leaves all over the place from the walkway, the flower beds, the flower pots, chairs and in the smaller plants in the garden. I was watched by 2 cats who adventured into the garden - curious on what I was doing? Curiosity killed the cat....NOT!!!No cats were armed in this mission. They watched and went wondering into the other gardens. Ninety minutes later and all the leaves were gone and 4 massive bags appeared in the corner. the garden looked totally different without all the leaves and you could see what was in the flower beds.