For those of a certain age, the story of former England goal keeper Peter Shilton hanging from the bannisters of his Dad's grocer's shop in an attempt to lengthen his arms when he was young is well known...today Anne and I discovered an alternative routine that would have worked equally well, as Ms L had three really quite heavy items that needed to be carried down a few flights of stairs to be recycled.

We started with the heaviest, being a large chest of drawers, and after a few near misses as gravity took over on the stairs, we finally got this to it's final resting place after not a little huffing and puffing. A smaller but equally challenging cabinet was to follow, and then finally a "heavy" microwave, by which time our arms and fingers were reaching their limits and our arms felt about 2 inches longer - extra length sleeves for us from now on...

Undistracted by athletic events going on elsewhere in the city, 3 GoodGym volunteers were back at Mary Seacole Nursing Home in the hopes of completing The Great Gazebo Marathon - a project, which Goodgym has been helping with since November 2024.

As ever, task leader Varda, had put in extra hours since our last visit and had not only got the gazebo set in concrete but also completed 3 roof panels. Today, the priority was to complete the final roof panel and, time permitting, paint some planters.

To make the roof panel, there were 4 corrugated metal sheets and 4 metal trims to attach to a wooden frame (one we made earlier). All metal sheets and trims were coated - both sides - with incredibly tough, sticky plastic, which had to be removed before being anything could be attached to the frame. The plastic removal was a rather lengthy process. However, once ready, fixing the metal parts to the wooden frame was a pretty smooth process thanks to Varda's now expert tuition. To complete the roof ensemble, a 'cap' was assembled to sit atop the peak of the roof.

CALL TO ACTION Unfortunately, we were not a big enough team to lift the roof onto the gazebo structure, and with only 10 minutes of the session remaining, we stopped at this point, while making plans for the final 'Topping Out Task'.

We will need a solid team of 10-12 volunteers before this can be achieved, so please, please, if you can make it along to the next session, you can be part of the essential and most exciting final push to get this marathon project over the finish line and earn your invitation to the official opening ceremony (date TBC)!!