After a hard slog of a day at work and battling home in gloomy wet miserable weather, it's easy to collapse on the sofa and eat oneself into a coma while watching something that a lettuce leaf wouldn't find intellectually challenging. At times like this, it can feel like a challenge to go for a run to do some volunteering. All I can say is that I am thrilled that a bunch of people who live in and around Waltham Forest managed to prize themselves out tonight and meet up at Greenleaf Road Baptist Church to do the latter.

Our assignment tonight was to continue to paint one of the rooms of the Welcome Centre, a sizable community space attached to St Mary's Church in Walthamstow Village. This was week two of a three-week project and it is shaping up very nicely indeed. The original decor of this space was something of a contradiction to the name of the building. Essentially, it was a kind of white turning nicotine shade that was probably completed sometime before Fred Durst and chums penned the track that I borrowed the lyrics from for today's title (basically, pre-Y2K).

Our crew cheerfully picked up their rollers and went to work brightening up the somewhat drab walls with a lovely coat of shiny white gloss, or matt or some such. Whatever the sheen the fresh paint sparkled and shone like Marilyn Monroe's smile when they were done.

After completing our tasks and with the rain still drizzling away outside, we made use of the gymnasium next door for a quick indoor workout, incorporating burpies, squat jumps and a plank-off. The latter resulted in a draw between Clara and Ama, who both looked like they could have held those poses for several hours.

I have to say; I am glad they quit when they did because the thing I haven't mentioned, the thing that makes that decision not to spend the night on the sofa a good one, the thing we were doing after our hard yards tonight. Well, that thing was The Monthly Social! Tonight our new social secretary (Ruth, did you know this is your permanent role?) had organised a night of delectation at Yard Sale Pizza. Mmmmmmmm Pizza.

Soooo good. I love these guys, and after watching them do all those burpees, it had given me such an appetite that my lovely little salty anchovies and capers tasted as sweet as they were salty. Talking of sweet, don't even get me started on the ice cream sandwich. Yum, yum.

Next week is week three of our painting project so don't miss it, sign-up here

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