Today was the final part of our mission to help Home4U finish off the flat for the refugee that would be moving in very soon. We arrived and said Hello to Ciara who was our contact today, it was such a wonderful thing to see each other again in person.

We realised once in the flat that there was only two light bulbs, but as we were only a smaller group that was fine. We donned our plastic bags / work gear for when the paint started flying and were introduced to the newest member of the wizarding World - Martin the Graff....

We got to work with the painting as much as we could, with some music on in the background and a chat about races that we wanted to take part in, holidays that we dream of again. One room down, it was time to move along to another and so the dance of the light bulb began....

Once we had light in the bedroom we made a start on the glossing, after a while longer the doors were finished and it was time to move the light bulb back. We gave a wall one more coat of paint of paint before it was time to down tools and head home for the evening.

There's a lot of images and words that spring to mind when it comes to describing the Welsh (and expats from other regions who have made Wales their home) : patriotic, passionate (for rugby, that is!), and proud of the beautiful countryside. But there's something else we can add: welcoming!

Which is what this community mission was all about: making refugees feel welcome in Cardiff. This weekend, 8 runners met at a flat in the city to spruce it up with a lick of paint, in advance for refugees moving in imminently. The request was rather urgent, but we happily donated our time on a busy Saturday (prior to the Goodgym Christmas party!) to help out.

After a brief intro from Ruth, the head of the charity whose task it was, we got down to business. With help from one of the recent refugees who is now volunteering with the charity, we had 9 pairs of hands in all. We quickly got onto doing the larger bedroom and the main living room. Once they were done, we all crowded into the smaller bedroom; it was a bit of a squeeze, but we managed. We even did all the edging with a teensy brush, really better suited to modelling!

After a cup of coffee, a chocolate bar or two and a few satsumas, we were finished and on our way. The rooms looked so much brighter! There is still more to do - the kitchen, bathroom and hall way all need a lick of paint too. So another mission is being planned. Once it's done, it will go a long way towards making an empty, undecorated flat into a welcoming home for refugees, here in Cardiff. Bendigedig!