We revisited Pyramid of Arts this week, which is a 9 km round trip from the book club. Mostly downhill on the way there, mostly up on the way back.

A new studio has been acquired in Barkston House, so we were given a quick briefing, bucket load of white paint, brushes -we were ready to get rolling!

In no time at all we managed to paint most of the walls white - only missing the areas we couldn't reach - and most importantly had almost managed to keep ourselves clean! Katie sensibly removed her shoes to make sure they weren't given a new coating, which worked rather well.

Once finished, we summoned up some energy to tackle the route back. We took a lovely route along the canal, which was glorius in the evening sunshine. Well done everyone, and see you all again soon !

Well done to 6 brave runners met at Hyde Park for our weekly group run. We welcomed Rebecca on her first task with Goodgym and met Carolat the task.

Before we set off, we found out everyone favourite running distance - 10km came out on top. This was good to know , as tonight’s task was almost 9km in total.

We headed off towards Pyramid of Arts, which we realised was mostly downhill. This was great, however we soon realised it would be a lot harder on the way back after the task.

Our task this evening was to put a fresh layer of white paint in the studio, and we spent the best part of an hour making sure we covered as much of the studio as possible – whilst trying to avoid getting too much paint on ourselves. Some of us managed this more successfully than others, however thankfully most of the paint ended up where it needed to be.

On arrival we were welcomed with the offer of tea and biscuits, which were gratefully received by all of us after our run in the rain. We each grabbed a brush and cracked open the tin of paint. Katie, Rachael and Rebecca started on one wall whilst, Tom, Jenny , Carol and Rob started on the other side of the room. Before no time most of the wall was painted, apart from the highest to reach places.

We need a pogo stick for this task Tom said helpfully to Carol

Once we’d finished the task it was time for a group photo before setting off back to base.

Thanks everyone for an amazing group run. Check out what’s coming up over the next few weeks here.

Round 2 at Pyramid of Arts to give the the walls a second coat of white.

Katie, Tom, Rob, Liam and myself were greeted by Alice from Pyramid of Arts who set us to work with rollers and trays. We were joined very shortly after by Adam who arrived by bike.. Well with a rather flat punctured wheel. The rain had clearly not helping the situation in anyway.. But alas, we were all under the one roof and it was rather warm considering it was a big open space.

Adam, Tom, Liam and Rob pulled out the large shelving from the wall to ensure no blue wall was missed! Every nook in the wall was painted with white (well maybe not exactly every) but we made a fairly good attempt at it.

There was no limit with creative ways to get to the top hard to reach areas with Tom finding a long handled smaller roller in the back. He was on the right track until he noticed a few blots of orange seep out through the white... A quick clean and some rolling out of old paint made for a fresh white coat again.

Alice was very welcoming offering tea and coffee and * halloween sweets *(guessing). She was so grateful to have us paint the place.

Once all the reachable parts of the wall was painted and Tom, Adam and Liam were finishing the hard to reach spots up high myself and Katie started a game of would you rather... Some very odd and difficult decisions and conclusions were drawn. Issues raised regarding toes as fingers or fingers as toes was the biggest debate and although both parties highlighted the rationale for each decision it was agreed with fingers being toes as being the more 'practical' decision.

We gathered up the rollers, trays and paint brushes and as a last parting gift from Pyramid of Arts we left in style with a bit of Bob Marley playing from the radio.

Adam eventually got home safely after pumping his wheel 7 times on the way home. Poor Adam...

Mission complete 🏡

We met outside Pyramid of art studio. A new and exciting mission for GG Leeds which enables people with learning disabilities have a space to explore the arts. Alice from Pyramid of arts greeted Tom and Rob C. Outside the actual entrance. Meanwhile, Rob R, Suzy, Katie and myself were chilling outside the meeting spot around the corner. We eventually all located each other and in we went to the studio.

Alice explained the studio could do with a fresh coat of white paint to cover the light blue walls. We set about the task grabbing fresh rollers, trays and new tubs of white paint.

' the tunes are great on the radio' - everybody!

The music playing seemed to cater for everyone's eclectic taste including a bit of Bob Marley. Rob R correctly guessed the station without any hesitation and managed to get it right. Someone has been in tune with the radio recently!

Some people were keen to get the masking tape out straight away. Rob C explained his attention to detail when it comes to painting at home. Others were a little more apprehensive with the use of masking tape and the more destruction can do! We all agreed that is was alot more therapeutic coming to Pyramid of Arts to paint the walls then do our own walls at home.

Tom was considerate of those of us a little shorter and made a start on all the high corners and walls. Plenty of work for us to fill in the small gaps with the paint brushes. Some of us were so enthusiastic with the brushes and rollers we had some paint escape onto t-shirt and arms!

' I should have worn my white long sleeve' Suzy pointed out as she showed off her speckled white black long sleeved top.

We finished up after an hour and a half of good work finishing off all the walls in the big room. Alice was chuffed and agreed for us to come back in a few weeks to add another coat!

Well done all 👍🏼