Wipe Here, Wipe Now

A good turnout in high spirits

It was a good sized crew who gathered in a covered area of 40 Compton St this morning, for a few dynamic stretches and task briefing. There was a buzz in the air...We were a group heading to the unknown (well, via a route that although extensively Google Map-ped, was still something of an unknown; to a task the Compton St crew had never been to before, and with a decidedly iffy-and-unknown weather forecast). But we set off in good spirits and it wasn't long before I turned to the team and in a tone that implied I had a more casual attitude towards navigating than I actually do,asked if anyone's local knowledge could get us the quickest way across the Old St roundabout. Aaron stepped forward and it wasn't long before he was expertly leading us all via the least congested back streets, across the fewest sets of traffic lights, all the way to Shoreditch's Great Eastern St.

Speedy runners - with a good sense of direction

The runners kept an amazing pace. Such was their effort, I could only shout out a couple of, "Keep going, you're doing amazingly"'s - anything else would have been panto fitness as it was abundantly clear to all, the entire team were indeed 'doing amazingly'. Not least because on reaching Shoreditch's Boxpark, I turned to them with a slightly panic-stricken expression saying, "Look, I Googled this route for hours, promise, but I'm not sure which road to take here." explaining that I'd have preferred to style it out and keep quiet, but time was not on our side. They stepped forward and announced confidently that we were on the right road, and with a huge amount of kindness and competence, possibly undeserved by the person Who Had One Job.

A well prepped project

We arrived with our high spirits retained, to a very warm welcome from Deborah and Eunice, who briefed us on today's task: blitzing the conference room cleaning, in preparation for another big paint job. The team wasted no time is dispatching themselves to all four corners of the room, scrubbing, wiping, polishing and cleaning to their heart's content, not stopping for nearly an hour. When the inside of the room was done, in true GoodGym-er style, they sped outside to make a start on the exterior of the windows, as, God- forbid they should be task-less.

And so after nearly an hour or tireless teamwork, we gathered in the gorgeous newly opened cafe area to say our cheerios, and to hear how our morning's work had paved the way for a smooth and sleek paint job the following day. What a crew!

Resilient in the rain

And as we started the 2-mile run back to the office, the heavens opened. The rain was torrential, and by the time we'd reached the end of the first street, we were well and truly drenched. "Let's play The Upside Game" I announced to a confused and bemused audience, "Huh?". "Yes, The Upside Game. Here goes: 1) I'll save on eye make up remover later. 2) The plants won't need watering." The team soon got the gist and although not fully on board, at least reflected that it could have been worse, and we could have got soaked on the way there.

On arrival back at Old Compton Street, we stretched and said our goodbyes, happy that a fine morning's work had been achieved.

Despite tough conditions, the team had exerted themselves physically and mentally to make a difference, to really ease more than one person's already huge workload, in helping this much loved community arts centre move forward to the next phase of its exciting journey.

Thank you.