With rain clouds chasing us, squally winds whipping our ankles, and talk of head torches, it can only mean one thing – winter isn’t just coming, it’s upon us. Well, autumn at least. But in spite of this, we were a cheery bunch of 15 runners (woohoo!!) with a mission to spruce up the Brownie hall in Mortlake ahead of their 100-year birthday celebration.

It was going to be a big task in a small space, so Mark kept the warm-up short and sweet and, obviously keen to get us running at pace and on with the task, he then challenged those of us racing the Kew 10k on Saturday to chase him down. A bit like a pack of greyhounds, we never quite caught our rabbit. In fact, the only time we came close was when he stopped to take some photos.

After our fast, flat 3k run to Mortlake, we were greeted by Lynn, the volunteer co-ordinator, and a batch of home baked cakes and refreshments. It seems word has got out, not only about our prowess with a paint brush, but also our taste for cake.

The Brownies definitely lived up to their motto of being prepared with rollers, brushes, tape, cling film, ladders and hammers and nails neatly awaiting our arrival. We dusted off cobwebs, swept the floors, washed down the wood and hit the walls with Jackson Pollock gusto. The ‘drip paint’ Pollock effect might not quite have been the look they were aiming for, but it was definitely a brighter, more sparkly entrance hall by the time we left.

It was a great task with a new task owner and also lovely to welcome new (Anita) and returning runners, along with some fabulous return visitors from Ealing GG (Suganthinie) and Hounslow GG (Andy, still chasing down his 50 good deeds which will hopefully be easier to catch than Mark!).

Nice work, Richmond GG, you’ve definitely bagged a good turn for the day and clocked up some Brownie Points in the process.