Late mobilisation to shop for Mr G this week but a pleasure as always. With his label set having mysteriously gone missing (again?), my weeks of practice paid off as I was able to source the entire basketful of items from memory. Only the longer-than-usual queue for the tills (last minute Valentine’s shoppers?) got in my way.

Another new yoghurt flavour experiment this week: cherry & vanilla. After my recent run of successful menu innovations, I confidently revealed the purple tub back in Mr G’s flat.

“But I HATE cherries - take it away with you!” was the emphatic response. Time froze as I considered my options...before Mr G burst out laughing. “No, not really…I’ll give it a try.”

Cross borough GoodGymers were at a cross borough university this morning to talk at a volunteer fair about the fun and challenges of being a GoodGym member. With University of West London campuses nearby in Hounslow and Ealing, it made sense to have both local groups represented by Alan and Sevan.

Sevan drove the stall equipment over to the university in the V Team van, then the pair started setting up GoodGym Ealing's reused and recycled stall. Alan also bumped into an old student of his, so it was a good opportunity to catch up on old times and new until the stall was set up and students arrived at 10am.

A diverse group of students and staff came along, all looking for different types of opportunity. There was a steady stream of people, with an extra burst every 30 minutes. Most hadn't heard of GoodGym, so Alan and Sevan explained the concept to anyone whose attention they could grab. Lots were interested by the benefits to wellbeing and fitness, as well as the flexible volunteering aspect. One staff member even had plans to research the impact of sport on wellbeing for their PhD, so was eager to hear about LSE's research into GoodGym.

All sorts of local volunteering organisations were represented at the fair, so everyone networked. The real V Team (the Volunteering team from the university) were also present as organisers of the fair and also the group who provide volunteering opportunities for students and staff. It was a great opportunity to chat with them.

In no time at all, 2 hours had whizzed by and it was time to pack up and get back to work 😱

Last night’s GoodGym session was packed with action, good chats, and a sprinkle of drama. Our job for the evening was to team up with Abundance London for a big tidy up, focusing on clearing piles of fallen leaves out of the beds on a busy road in Chiswick.

Rosemary from Abundance London arrived with council bags and tools, and we got down to business clearing the leaves and litter. The leaves were hiding the newly planted bulbs, and we needed to make sure they had space to breathe and grow. As we worked there was plenty of chat about snacks, upcoming training programs, and of course, the imminent footie match.

Meanwhile, Jonny had an adventure of his own. While we were picking up leaves and chatting away, Jonny found himself in a bit of a sticky situation and needed to be sprung from lock-up in Chiswick House Gardens. We’re hoping he made it out in time—did he escape before the match kicked off?

After minutes we had cleared an extraordinary amount of leaves, collecting no fewer than 15 bags' worth! Hopefully now those bulbs can breathe - look out for the splashes of colour as you pass in the coming weeks

Don’t forget about this Saturday’s mission at Chiswick Eyot where you'll have a chance to get down and dirty by the river.