Four GoodGymers made their way to the borders of Sparkhill and Moseley (also the gateway to the new Clean Air Zone around the city centre) to help at the Age UK headquarters. Located in one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham, dating back to 1603 (with a slightly sordid recent past as we found out later), we were there to revamp the outside space as being indoors for social settings isn’t as welcoming as it used to be.

I began by picking out the weeds from the cracks and brushing everything into piles. But within a minute of getting started, I had broken the broom, which meant that we all had to get down on hands and knees to sweep with the broom handle. Louise got started by pulling up weeds and bagging up the rubbish before moving on to spraying the cracks with weed and moss killer. Liam used the hoe to scrape off the moss which covered the stones and making them slippery. He then went out onto the pavement to litter pick, as the building is positioned in an island of sorts between the ring road and local roads beside it, and there was plenty of evidence of the nearby coffee shops and fast food restaurants. Sofeen took on the task of sanding down and varnishing a bench outside which had seen better days. Considering it had only had the first of four recommended coats, it was already looking a lot more welcoming by the time he finished.

With a good visual sense of achievement, we all set off for home and I joined Liam for a run through a much busier city centre than it had been earlier in the day. Hopefully our efforts will keep the front space looking as good as the building itself. We’ll be back before long to tackle the courtyard behind and possibly give the bench a few more coats.