In this case, 3 was the magic number - no, not a reference to a De La Soul tune, but the number of GoodGymers who gave up a Saturday morning to paint the hall way for Mr R! Lucy, Mikey and I turned up armed with our own painting gear - we're getting so used to this, we know to bring old news papers, bin bags, tape and latex gloves. All 3 of us have helped Mr R before, and he welcomed us by name into his flat. Last time we painted the lounge a light coffee colour (beneath the dado rail). This time Mr R was prepared with a new, lighter colour for the hallway. "Is it cream, or ivory?" we debated in the kitchen. But we didn't stand around chatting - Mikey promptly got out his masking tape (from his personal collection) and started to tape up the edging, woodwork, light socket etc. Ellen got stuck in with prying open the paint tin, which took some doing. And Lucy put news papers down to protect the carpet. This time around we didn't have to move any furniture, just avoid painting the cat, who felt the need to inspect our work every now and then (see pic). So it only took about an hour this time to complete the task, what's next for the terrific trio - maybe Mikey's new place?