Wall's well that ends wall

Fresh from a gardening mission near Haggerston I ran across the borough of Hackney on a lovely day to join another Patrick for his first GoodGym mission (nice one, Patrick).

We met Gillian and her energetic and excitable dog, Hero at her home. Gillian used to work in the creative arts and has lived in her home for over 30 years so has amassed a grand collection of art and personal works.

She has had help from GoodGym before and asked for more support to create space ready to host her seventieth birthday party later this month.

Singers not welcome at this party

After a guided tour of the multi-storey home we first moved some coats and a massive bag of dog food to create easy access to the front door and the cellar; we then moved an old Singer sewing machine from the cellar to the street ready for collection.

Know your limits

There were a number of jobs to be done and they would not all be complete in one visit but then Rome was not built in a day!

We agreed to have one main focus for the day: Gillian had grand visions of reuniting two halves of the upstairs reception room which was separated by a thin partition so asked if we could tackle the screws holding it up.

Gillian shared her stories while we moved some furniture and art to take on the wall. She had provided an electric screwdriver and I also brought my own in my trusty rucksack. We removed the many screws in double-time and the panels of boarding but were then left with studding which was held in place by staples on the other side and painted over.

While it would have been fun to ceremoniously join the two halves of the room we agreed that Gillian needs to contact a professional to finish the job.

Progress not perfection

Gillian was delighted with the progress made and is clearer about what needs to happen to next to create space for her party