It's a 2 mile run tonight, folks!

We'll stay completely together, too!

What a gorgeous evening for a run, hey!

Isn't the last road a big hill?

Well...

It's called Haverstock Hill, right?

Ummm...

That sounds like a hill, Alex

Look! A bird!

Which was how our happy evening started.

Our wonderful group of Akshay, Faye, Jackie, John, Steve, and I met by an evening King's Cross, and we took a sun peppered run through Camden, past Chalk Farm, and over to Belsize Park.

Arriving at the special Belsize Community Library, we were met by the brilliant Emily, who'd cycled on down.

It's a special site, this community library, nestled by an allotment and within an innocuous North London street. It's become the de-facto meeting space for the local community, and we arrived to the evening's final readers and a local council residents surgery.

Fay and Jackie got to one task swiftly, heading out to paint one of the bike racks a fresh shade in weather resistant paint; whilst Akshay, Emily, John, and Steve took to the inside, picking strewn litter under the bay window seating, vacuuming the cleared area, and giving the top shelves a well needed dust :)

I, on the other hand, browsed the books. It was great. Consumed, I was! A little noise from some folks in red 'doing good', but all in all, the perfect reading environment!!

Thanks, everyone, for your time, work, and lovely company - here's to next time!!

It may just be me this week - is what I believed...

...BBC Weather had given up - your evening will be bleak - is all they'd said since Sunday... apparently the Daily Snow in Alaska led with - At Least We're Not London... and my Mum texted - surely not shorts, darling? 

Yet our sign ups kept rolling in...

...first it was the GoodGym Central Team, with Chalomi, Ivo, Jacob, Jack, and Kieran - perhaps they want to check up on me, I thought...

...then it was our good-deeding regulars Alison, Jackie, John, Katy, Lici, Louise, and Steve - they sign up for *every* good deed, this lot, I thought...

...and then it was our newer (and very welcome!!!) faces to our community, Akshay and Bozena - did they even know what they'd done(!!), I thought...

Yet - standing in Winter's dark and cold - our wonderful group convened. Thank you, all, I genuinely went through Wednesday feeling like I had a party awaiting in my evening :) 

We kicked things off with our warm up, replacing London for the Wild West, and I do wonder whether passersby were curious about cries of SNAKE IN MY BOOT. A quick few minutes later, our merry group wove our way through Euston and Bloomsbury and onto Tottenham Court Road, where we jumped swiftly into the wonderful American International Church. 

Here for our usual fortnightly slot to set up their C4WS Winter Shelter, we were met by GoodGym friend, Brooke, who set to briefing our team. 

One group (John, Katy, Lici, and Louise, I believe!) quickly set off to do some heavy lifting - shifting AIC's Christmas decorations and recycling 16 large boxes (and thanks for the photo, Katy!)- whilst the other group got to moving chairs and tables, unfurling beds, and fitting clean and warm linen for the evening ahead. We finished by laying out towels and toiletries for the night's guests, leaving a welcoming space. 

I know just how much Brooke and the AIC team appreciate your time and work, everyone - the shelter is a 100% voluntary endeavour - and it wouldn't be possible without the likes of your help - thank you :) 

Our final act was for regular (and lovely) AIC volunteer, Russell, to kindly take our group's photo. On the way home and enjoying Russell's handiwork, twin brother Steve turned and said to me, Alex, why do people always take better photos on your phone than you do...

Here's to next time, all!