Smells like White Spirit!

It was a difficult day for Swindon, so what better thing to do under the super snow moon (the biggest supermoon of the year - I have to get a science fact in somewhere) than spread some cheer and do some good in the local community. Tonight was our 30th good deed and we ran about 7km to the home of Swindon Shock Wheelchair Basketball Club.

Andrew had his best trainers on, Rhoda joined us for the first time, and we were pleased to see Carly back again for her second good deed. Setting off from the Oasis, having been talking about our dream cars (or bikes, in Ashleigh's case), there were no wacky races (despite Tracey wanting to be Penelope Pitstop) as we headed out towards the Eastern Flyer for a chatty run, with Emma the Trainer lighting the way and Charles and Lily making sure no one got left behind. As usual, there was lots of talk of food as we took in the sights and smells of Swindon, and after Simon's near miss with a bollard (in which he magically gained a hat?) we arrived safely at Sharon's old school for our second visit to the club.

Once we got to the right door, we were welcomed in by Ben and Kirsty who had got everything ready for us to be able to spring into action. But first, an introduction to the club and a chance to meet Luey, Brandon and Wesley who told us that the club has been at Youth First since 2011. The wheelchair team trains every Friday and there are also men's and women's running basketball teams and a development team hosted at Youth First. The Swindon Shock Wheelchair team is flying high in Division 1 and play their last home game of the season against Leicester Cobras on Sunday - go along and support them if you can. We then saw the Luey, Brandon and Wesley in action, shooting some impressive hoops. Stuart checked if our excellent chair maintenance skills back in October had helped the team - the right answer, of course, was yes!

It was then time to get stuck into the task - and there was plenty of painting to be done. But of course, it wouldn't be GoodGym Swindon without some of Sam's favourite task of sanding...luckily with such a great turnout we were able to choose sanding or painting. Our task was to paint all the blue areas of the sports hall blue...well, Nirvana actually. We only had 45 minutes but Nevermind, we soon got to work and with all those happy running endorphins coursing through our veins, no one was left feeling blue. And we've already been invited back to paint the town, sorry sports hall, red. Turns out that we just can't Stay Away...

With the smell of white rather than teen spirit in the air, we said our goodbyes...!

...and with Tracy and Kay heading off for homemade Thai chicken curry (GG chat is mostly about food), the rest of us made our way back to the Oasis for a stretch and a coffee. Speaking of which, on Thursday we're off to 'We're Open' at Darkroom Espresso to spread some GoodGym cheer with Sanctuary Seekers from around the world - check it out and sign up here!

Next week, we will be heading to the Haven, the Winter Night Shelter for the Homeless, with Emma the Trainer leading the running group and Mike leading the walking group. Do you know anyone new to GoodGym who is keen to walk to tasks; spread the word about our walks and sign up here sooner rather than later!