A short but sweet task tonight as we made our way along the Richmond riverside to the boathouses, where we were met by Trevor from the Richmond Boating Scouts. Seven of us were at the annual task of helping to give the arch doors a scrubbing, a sanding and a fresh oiling, ready for the winter ahead.

Block Party

Part one was to give the doors a sanding down. Chris, Liz, Lucy, Adam and Kate armed with sanding blocks started to scour away at the external doors, whilst Monica and Cathy gave the inner side a clean up, and dusted away the cobwebs.

Oil Be There For You

Once cleaned and sanded, we changed from sanding sponges and rags to paintbrushes and pots. Whilst the sun was setting over the Thames, we smothered the doors in teak oil from top to bottom. Kate was on quality control, with Chris and Adam making sure the high bits were painted (and kept a safe distance from Adam’s splash zone, following allegations he was a splatterer when it comes to the paint brush).

Just Let Me A-Door You

Within no time, we stood back to admire the freshly oiled doors, and then turned to admire the stunning orange sky over the water. Trevor thanked us for our efforts, and off we went into the sunset, a Monday night good deed teaked off.

We made a return to the riverside this evening to put a second coat of teak oil on the boathouse doors for the boating scouts. Saturday's Community Mission completed the sanding the first coat so we were able to get straight into the brushing and oiling, completing the job quickly between us all.

Taking full advantage of the location and shorter task, we headed to Richmond Green to continue the fun with some running drills and speed intervals.

All wrapped up nicely with a comprehensive discussion about the Barbie movie as the sun slowly set on beautiful Richmond! 😍

A bit of drizzle first thing wasn’t enough to put us off our Saturday morning good deed, and the sun was shining for us!

Seven of us met with Ollie (who had been roped in by his Dad, who normally helps run this task!) outside the boathouse along the beautiful riverside in Richmond. Our job today was to clean and sand down the doors, ready for a good oiling. An important job, as being on the riverside, the doors have to battle all of the elements from the rain and sun to high tides and silt.

We split into two groups to take on a sops each - Beth, JP, Rosie and Ollie on one, and Divya, Ishan, Lucy and Sam on the other. First job was sanding down each doors, making sure they were smooth and thus would be able to take in the oil when it came round to it. A good scrubbing (which was a lot of sanding off silt and dirt) and a wipe down with some old rags, we were ready to get the paintbrushes out.

Luckily, the weather was on our side, and as sun had come out, it was dry enough to start the first coat of teak oil. Efficiently and effectively we streaked the doors in teak, and the first layer was compleak. The sun was maybe a bit too out, as it was shining right onto the doors, making it tricky to see, as Sam found out.

The only thing to do was let the oil dry in, and wait it’s second coat - which is planned for Mondays group run. So, in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger… *Oil be back. *

Reports are coming in from Richmond-upon-Thames of an unlikely group of bedraggled beasts who took to the streets this evening to keep fit while doing good! Dressed in a variety of Halloween outfits, these eight brave souls battled rain, dancing and jumping jacks to head to Richmond Boating Scouts Boathouse to apply a second coat of teak oil!

Having been there on Saturday morning to prep and apply the first coat, it was clear that something rather different happens to this group after dark! Photographic evidence was taken and is shown above.

After completing the (trap)doors task, the mysterious group were seen heading to Richmond Green where they were witnessed sprinting to Thriller, squatting to Ghostbusters, doing press-ups to Highway to Hell and doing the Monster Mash!

This crazed group were last seen heading to the Tap Tavern. Future sightings are expected on upcoming Mondays at 6.45pm and Saturdays at 10am (see session listings!).

It was a most glorious autumn morning in Richmond. The sun was shining, the river rippled by and the leaves on the ground were crisp in shades of orange and brown. Along the riverside by the boating arches were six of Richmond’s finest GoodGymmers, ready take on a good deed. We were met by Trevor, who gave us a rundown of the task at ask, and geared us up with sandpaper sponge blocks and gloves to get part one of the job done - sanding down the doors.

Who Doors Wins

As we scratched away with our sponges, Trevor explained to us how the doors of the boathouse were made of a hardy tropical wood. This meant it was rot and mildew proof, however it’s an expensive investment, and needs yearly oiling to keep it at its best.

Sand Eye Co-ordination

Contrary to what TLC sang about, we did want some scrubs. With Liz and Adam on one door, and Chris, Sam, Lucy and Maena on the other, it wasn’t long before the the doors were sanded down and beautifully smooth. It was then time for a wipe down to get ride of the wood dust… and the layer of mud ingrained inside the bottom of each door!

Oil be ready

The best was yet to come, as Trevor took the lid of the pot of oil. The smell had all the riverside wanderers stopping to have a sniff (and admire our hard work)! Chris was the MVP of the morning - reaching all the tallest bits and rescuing Maena from several rather sizeable arachnids that also seemed to be enjoying our piling. With six paintbrushes on the go, the doors were soon beautifully coated and drying in the autumn sun. We even had time to go for a second coat on one of the doors in the direct sunlight. A team photo with our handiwork later, we said our goodbyes to Trevor and the boathouse doors… but not for long, as we will be back on Monday to do a proper second coat as part of our Halloween special group run. Nothing scary about that!

On a warm September evening, five GoodGymers returned to the river side to finish off what they started the previous week at the St.Helena Boathouse.

Under the supervision of task owner Trevor, the team were working on sanding down the Iroko wooden doors of the boathouse before applying a coat of varnish to help maintain their condition.

It did,however, prove to be a bit of tall order for the GoodGymers, with the top of the door's proving at times tough to reach but this was overcome by sheer determination and perseverance.

Overall it was a job well done and you could certainly notice the hard work that both teams put in on the doors as a whole!