And so last night we were back helping out Blind Aid with a painting task! I'll keep this report (thankfully) brief as this was the second in a series of 3 tasks to get this job done.

Let's start with welcoming Ali to her first GG Group Run, great to have you with us Ali!! And also a very warm welcome back to Magda who has been away dealing with injuries but was back for the first time in ages last night and we were delighted to see her with us!

This evening's category was 'things you find in a teacher's draw' with bonus points for Ali's evocative Blue Tack with random staples and fluff example.

It's a short run over to the task which is good as we needed all the time we could get and the main challenge this evening was how to get 11 of us into a very small space - don't ask how we managed but think of Clown Cars at the circus meets Tetris and you have some idea.

In Team 1 inside the main room Frances showed uncanny skill with the masking tape, as did Lindy on the fine brush work followed by heavy roller while Magda is clearly not to be messed with seeing as how she tapped down the dust sheets like a professional...... Team 2 on corridor duty saw Michael wielding a threatening looking mini roller, Paul painting as much wall as fairy lights and Marie-Noelle who was official washer-upper and paint distributer.

We had more rollers, more brushes, lots of paint, No More Nails and masking tape so we made the best of it all and by the end we had done a very big chunk of what needed doing. Prizes go to Katie for having the most paint on herself, Vicky for agreeing to take the rollers home to wash and Clare for ensuring we didn't wander off in the wrong direction on our way home!

Well done everyone, one more session to go and we can look back proudly on our work - have a great week all!

11 Goodgym superstars came out on a slightly damp Saturday morning to help Tom out at Hillside Gardens

We were back at Hillside Gardens this morning to continue the work we began last year. We had a whole load of new people to Goodgym this week which was awesome and meant we were able to get lots done!

First timers 🎉 Steph and Sadaf were tasked with weeding around the planters and against the walls. They also harvested some potatoes so congratulations and hopefully someone enjoys those with their dinner 🥔

Meanwhile Amesh, Ali and Kit were introduced to the pesky garlic weeds which are still lurking in the flower beds. They dug out loads and planted a few more sapling trees.

Joao, Emily and India were down the bottom of the hill collecting lots and lots of leaves and taking them to the soon to be re-organised compost heap.

And finally Hillside Gardens legends Nathan and Kaz were tidying up some of the yard area, tipping out smelly water and checking the trees that were planted last year. They're still alive and looking good.

We'll be back at Hillside every Saturday in January so come along again!