Last night saw the return of the GoodGym Newham crew to Care4Calais’s East London storage facility, with a fresh batch of instructions and some fresh faces too!

Our mission this time was to tackle the racks of winter coats, transferring them into some large bags, presumably ready for longer-term storage, and also to sort through some newly donated clothing by both size and type. Among the usual suspects of jeans, jumpers and jackets, we uncovered some absolutely stunning larger-sized dresses – so elegant, in fact, that a new pile reserved for ceremonial dresswear had to be created. A wonderful reminder of the generosity of these donations.

It was especially great to welcome Nadirah, who joined her first Newham task – a warm welcome to you! And a face familiar to some in the form of Camden Town John, who made the trip over for the first time in a while. Always lovely to see runners crossing borough borders for a good cause.

Well done to everyone for spending your Tuesday evening to pitch in with such good spirits.

Next week, we’re switching gears with a flyering session for Cody Dock’s Summer Open Day. Sunshine (hopefully), community vibes, and a chance to get our steps in while spreading the word – hope to see you there!

We welcomed Ibrahim to his first visit to GG Newham.

Graham led the group from the Aquatics Centre (yes back at our original base)

Kevin and I headed there from home with a gentle run through West Ham Park.

Elaine and Sybil greeted us and showed us to the allotment plot that needed a very large old shed dismantling ready for collection. It is hoped that the plot will then be let out to a new resident.

We started with clearing some debris from inside the shed before it was attacked with a sledgehammer,with a final group push the shed was flattened.

Elaine and Sybil had laid on some wonderful refreshments.

We said our good byes and headed into the sunset.

We will see Sybil next week at Emmaunel Church.....so will be more post task refreshments sign up here