Our Group Run got off to a slightly chaotic start, with two pavement cars making rather a nuisance of themselves. We also all seemed to have different routes in mind, so there were a couple of near-miss human skittle incidents whilst we hurried to all travel in the same direction. Ness also made a rather dramatic entrance on her bike!

Fortunately, I sent a message to Barbara whilst we stood outside in the rain - the visit had slipped her mind thanks to jet lag from her recent trip to LA!

It took us a little while to get organised and start working, but in the intervening times we got to see all the different parts of the Synagogue, including the secret staircase to an even more secret apartment. By the end of our session, the apartment and the Sanctuary were hoovered, the entrance ways swept and mopped, kitchens tidied and a table sanded down ready for staining. Dave channeled his inner Winter Olympian with some mop curling!

We've even found a new side quest - walking a dog for an unwell member of the congregation! For those who have expressed an interest, look out for a rota coming to you soon!

As usual on our trips to the synagogue, Barbara had found plenty of tasks to complete keep us busy.

The boys got stuck in with sanding, dusting and glossing a table that was in need of some TLC. Meanwhile, Henry Hoover was in demand, with the Katies in the main chapel and up and down the staircases. Sinéad and Sammy were kept busy in the kitchen corridor with some clearing, cleaning and dusting.

We also enjoyed some mince pies, provided by Sam, and received a lovely Christmas Card and some goodies from Barbara and her team.

Our team was small but mighty this evening, joined by the legendary Barb for a night of brass polishing.

We'd made great inroads with the cleaning last week, but with the aid of toothbrushes and the creatively named "Pink Stuff" even in the most intricate portions of the brass knuckles came up a treat I even polished so hard I made a hole in my rubber gloves!

Finishing off with a Brasso rub-down, we got the task finished just as the clock struck 7.30pm - timed to perfection.

After a rather soggy run down, Barbara soon set us to work up in the Lady's Gallery. Memories of first jobs and childhood chores were brought back with the scents of Brasso and Barkeeper's Friend. It took us a little while to master our pole-polishing technique, interestingly the men-folk seemed to get the hang of it quicker! 😆

Interesting Facts: 50% of the team this evening are left handed. 66% share their name with another attendee. 100% of these facts may not actually be interesting.

Never has a task prompted so much innuendo, so if you're up to the challenge of coming up with more, we'll be back next week to finish off! 😉

It felt very sad to be heading home from tonight's task in the dark - winter evenings are coming! We made the most of the fading light with a stupendous effort clearing the pathways at the back of the Synagogue - check out Laura's before and after photos!

There were lots of cries of "OW!" as brambles fought back, and "OH NO"s as unwitting snails met unfortunate ends whilst we were working hard.

Maëlys joined us for her first Group Run this evening after a visit to Baffins Pond last weekend. Maëlys is just visiting Portsmouth for a holiday, so we are super grateful she chose to spend some of her break helping out!

Our main topic of conversation this evening was cricket. We found out that Ranjitha's husband plays for Portsmouth and that several of us have been enjoying The Hundred over the last couple of weeks. We were even joined by a cricket (or perhaps a grasshopper) whilst we worked, who was particularly fond of Judy!

I'm quite gutted we didn't get a "before" photo, because the difference we made to the weedy and leafy paths was huge! Lots of effort was put in to pulling weeds, sweeping brickwork and even sawing down an ivy and bramble infested stump. Barbara was once again very please with our work - well done, everyone!