Wiping the Slate Clean

Cazza and James (and potentially Kate if she made it back in time from morning swimming at Barbrook) were to meet up at the Information Commons at 1030 for the cycle ride over to Penistone Leisure Centre. This time, as always happens, got pushed back to around 1100. It would take us about an hour and a half to get to the centre along the all-uphill route so we were a wee bit late. This didn't matter though as the folks at the centre were expecting a rolling supply of volunteers throughout the day.

The ride up was challenging. The route was almost entirely up roads and tracks with consistent gradual incline, and the cold, damp weather didn't help things either. We made it to Penistone though, recognising the building in the distance from our previous visits around the time of the pandemic. Two teams of people had visited the place back then. On one of the past visits (attended by a different Kate to the one we were missing today) we were treated to a rollerskating session in the hall after mopping it. On the other occasion James, Gill and Caroline carried out sanding and painting tasks before being furnished with cakes and pizza from a local takeaway. They do look after their volunteers in Penistone!

Roll up, roll up!

Our tasks for today were:

1- Wipe down the walls of the corridor, removing all of the marks up to head height from visitors interacting with the wall so that they wouldn't show through the paint that was to be applied afterwards.

2- Use rollers (of various sizes) and brushes to paint the newly cleansed wall.

3- Clean the mucky window sills and wall radiators with hot soapy water.

Painting the town white

We managed to achieve all of these tasks before we had to leave to catch the last of the daylight for the ride home. Other volunteers were due to arrive soon and there were several others already there, so we weren't leaving them shorthanded. We said our goodbyes, promised to be back for the next volunteer day, gathered our kit, and left.

One man's trash is another man's leisure (centre)

On the journey home we saw some interesting curiosities by the side of the trail. There was an old railway turning-circle pit, now devoid of its turning apparatus- here might have been the end of the line for many trains but it sure wasn't for us. There was also a tank ramp with steel rungs set into the concrete structure, previously used for getting armoured vehicles on and off trains; today it stands as an intriguing monument by the side of the trail.