Usually the Huddersfield GoodGym guys are pretty waterproof, but last night’s run must rank as one of our wettest ever. Whether it wasdown to the wet weather, illness or the multitude of competing pressures in the run up to Christmas, just three of us lined up for the task of delivering leaflets for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice last night.

Storm Atiyah was certainly making its presence felt as we set off from the Stadium in our waterproofs, my rucksack heavy with a stack of leaflets promoting the hospice’s charity Christmas tree collection scheme. Once again we were heading for Fixby, with its big houses, long drives and posh doors to post as many flyers as we could. We got off to a good start, with Ben Godfrey, David Bilton and myself soon into the rhythm of posting and pushing on, running between properties, all whilst doing our best to stop the flyers turning to pulp or blowing away in the face of Atiyah’s constant battering.

There was plenty to look at as we flyered Fixby, desirable properties, expensive cars and even some “interesting” topiary. We ran up hundreds of garden paths, a multitude of drives and posted leaflets through a legion of letterboxes all without incident, but as we were nearing the end of our task it happened. Now of all the GoodGym tasks we do I like to think that delivering leaflets has relatively few risks compared to some of other endeavours, but unfortunately one hazard which is difficult to manage is the danger of dogs hiding behind doors and nipping fingers as we post flyers.

Unfortunately David Bilton felt the nip of a canine’s canines on this occasion. What sounded like a tiny dog gave him a swift nip on his left middle finger, resulting in quite a lot of blood and me doing my best to administer some first aid in the dark and wet as Atiyah continued to rage around us. Cold, wet and now slightly blooded we concluded our leafleting and head back to the Stadium where fortunately David was able to receive some more expert medical treatment to what was quite a deep incision. He was however undeterred pointing out that he’d be back next week for the GoodGym Christmas party, as he was more than capable of eating a curry with one hand!

Thanks to both David and Ben for braving the weather and the dogs last night, let’s hope that next Tuesday conditions will be a little more Christmassy!