50 shades of grey (on the fence)

It’s testament to the dedication of GoodGymmers that even in 30 degree Bank Holiday sunshine, 10 volunteers would give up their Saturday afternoon to help paint a school fence. The mission was organised because after two group runs, the painting of the fence at Grinling Gibbons was only a quarter finished. Smart-thinking Pieter made a Facebook poll to get the best date, and 10 of the Greenwich gang (plus Oliver from Wandsworth) volunteered to help out for three hours last Saturday. When we arrived, we were met with our first challenge. The rollers and brushes hadn’t been cleaned since the last group run visit a month before, and so they were a bit hard, to say the least! Undeterred, the determination of the team was strong and we began to work our way along the fence. Of course, a good workman (or woman) never blames their tools... but let’s say they weren’t the smoothest of paint strokes. Nevertheless, we painted and chatted away and the first hour passed quickly. But then - our next hurdle. We were running out of paint! Luckily, I teach at the school and so asked my headteacher to drive to Wickes and buy some more paint. Meanwhile, the painting team finished up the first tin and then took a well-deserved ice cream break. Soon after, new paint and new brushes arrived. Hooray! Except... the paint was a different shade of grey. Was it a problem? Well, we discovered not: this was only the undercoat. The poor school caretaker would have the long job of doing the top coat alone! Fuelled by Calippos, Twisters and Magnums, as well as some apples from the school apple trees, the team continued. With new paint and brushes, we whizzed along the fence at super speed. We only stopped when the clock hit four, our hands were blistered and our foreheads slightly sunburnt. Thank you to everyone that volunteered for this mission - despite the minor setbacks, the team worked brilliantly and many laughs were had too! A special shout out to Marta, as this was unofficially her 200th good deed! (Her official one is next week!)