On a very wet and grey Saturday afternoon, Matty and Pauline met up to move some furniture. The task was quite straight forward, if a little tight at times, but after an hour or so of lifting and shifting, the job was done.

A rather large settee was moved from the middle of the living-room, a bureau and music centre were rehoused upstairs and the re-siting of some boxes and bags resulted in the creation of a space for a hospital bed.

Although the reason for our visit was to lend a hand with the heavy work, the highlight of the mission was meeting Ms W. Unable to move from her chair, she relies on carers for her day to day needs. No longer able to use her stair-lift, she has accepted that her living-room will also be her bedroom. It would be so easy for Ms W to feel sorry for herself, but that was not the case. She was so grateful for our help and was really pleased to have someone new to chat with...besides her very inquisitive cat, Charlie...she brightened up the day no end...

We chatted about her record and cd collection...from Motown to Neil Diamond; the fact that she was born in her house in 1946, and has lived there all of her life, and she told us about her dear husband, who passed away 22 years ago.

It is this human connection that makes Goodgym so special. It is a privilege to be able to meet with and help such special and deserving older people.