A great philosopher once said:

You gotta roll with it. You gotta take your time. You gotta spray where you spray. Don't let anybody get in your way

Tonight, GoodGym Ealing heeded the wise philosophers words while at Impact Theatre. We were there to work on a corridor. A corridor that our some of our members remember prepping over recent years.

We were only 8 who ventured up to Perivale so that we wouldn't get in each others way during the task. We were to wield paint rollers and cover the walls with white paint, replacing the old terracotta colour that was peeking through the undercoat.

We quickly got our equipment ready with Kash pouring paint into roller trays. Jenni, Emily, Madhan, Kat and Sevan grabbed rollers and paint brushes while Cam and a vertically challenged (so he claimed) Mike grabbed rollers on extendable poles to reach the heights.

For the first 20 minutes, it looked like we were removing more paint from the walls that we were adding to them. More and more terracotta paint appeared and we were all a bit worried. While we discussed what to do next, we saw that some of us were sprayed with paint, while others had managed to avoid getting any white freckles.

As the first coat dried, we were able to paint over it and get the second coat to stick. Finally we were making progress and the walls actually looked whiter than when we had arrived! With the second coat still wet, we decided the most productive thing we could do was take the time for a tea break.

We sat in the kitchen area with Peter from Impact Theatre. He told us about the roles that Impact's actors had had on TV and how they had adapted during Covid. Luckily they'd survived and are planning for their next theatre production in the summer.

After 15 minutes, Jenni went back to check on the walls and see if we'd be able to add a third and final coat. Unfortunately not, so we packed up and washed the paint rollers, promising Peter we'd be back to finish the job in the coming months.

What is the sweetest thing that happened to GoodGym Ealing this year? A biscuit challenge brought to us by Ealing Foodbank. Was it the biscuits or the prospect of an indoor task, or the promise of pizza afterwards - we don't know. What we know is that the turnout was pretty good - 17 GoodGym souls.

Harvey directed new arrivals to park their fit bodies inside the St Mellitus Hall, where GoodGym Ealing's Minister of Foodbank Affairs, Shan, with Hilary from Ealing Foodbank, gave us a briefing.

The task was to sort the donations from the "biscuit" 🍪 category by their expiry date. We have never seen so many chocolate blocks, candies and cookies. GoodGym Ealing may say no to cookies in their browsers but not to the real thing. The trick was to sort them, not to snack on them!

Before the biscuit temptation started, Chris, Mike and Milly signed up for an alternative challenge - tidying up the St Mellitus' Church. The task required more literacy skills than the foodbank job - the chosen ones had to sort out the hymns, not just expiry dates!

Claire and Cam prepared the new boxes and labelled them, then supervised sorting by the new recruits: Su, Madhan and Iva. Welcome to GoodGym Ealing, Iva! Well done on your first community mission 🙌

Bryon and Jenni, experts in any GoodGym activity, were switching between tasks that needed the most attention the given moment. Tuesday regular, Annabel, was doing the same.

Kat & Kash were like DJs behind the turntable, mixing the biscuits from old albums into something totally new:

• Jan 2023

• Feb-March 2023

• Apr-May-Jun 2023

• Jul 2023 and forward

The biggest hit this winter was Apr-May-Jun 2023.

Liv multitasked between sorting the biscuits and taking photos for the report.

Just before and of the task end Chi Nwa showed up to say hi and help with sorting the last box of biscuits, then had to shoot off to his other workout.

Counterintuitive, after re-shuffling dozens of biscuit tubs, we haven't rewarded ourselves by gorging on sweets but headed to the pub for a savoury option 🍕

If you feel inspired to help Ealing Foodbank, why not bring your food donations to Gunnersbury parkrun on Saturday morning - sign up here.