A double task tonight so after a bit of a warm-up, we split into two with Charlie taking a smaller tactical team all the way up Gloucester Road to the new Sofa project shop while the remainder joined me on a much shorter run to the nearby Redcliffe parish office just outside St Mary Redcliff church.

Newsletters and Biscuits

My group arrived at the office to find plenty of newsletters waiting for us all ready sorted into bundles for the various local tower blocks and residential streets. Marky did his usual sterling job of leading off teams of runners to climb each of the blocks while Kat worked out routes for everyone else. I quickly worked out that on a cold night like tonight it is vital that the trainer remains in the warm with the biscuits in order that they can assist with logistics and direct returning runners to new sites, so thanks to Tim for navigating his group across to Merchants Quay, to Sarah for heading up the party tackling the streets around the Colosseum pub, and to Mel for helping gain access to the Customs House. Great teamwork everyone :)

Of course the consequence of a short run is there will be plenty of time left at the end so after a few more biscuits and a couple of anxious head counts we headed off to Queen Square for some running arm drills and a game of musical runners.

A very warm welcome to Tim and Katie on their first runs with us tonight!

Secateurs and Brambles

Charlie and her team met up with Nicci from the SOFA project to clear the yard behind their new shop. Apparently SOFA stands for Shift Old Furniture Around but today it was all about shifting brambles. As is usually the case, the brambles were not entirely co-operative and indeed made sure they wound around each other in the most inconvenient ways possible to create a challenge for the group which I have no doubt they relished especially on the evidence of Charlie's action-packed photographs.

Another warm welcome to Patrick on his first run tonight!

Great work today to everyone on both teams, and don't forget to sign up for our last eats of the year on Tuesday 12th December.

(Ps Thanks to Tom for his support with running arm geometry and for helping me find my phone in Queen Square after the run, it having slipped from my pocket during the stretches in a very 'my-precious' manner presumably to find a new short person to corrupt. And thanks also to Clo for her lovely phone-locating voice mail)

And thanks to Dave and Charlie for the pun!

An amazing 33 people assembled tonight for our Halloween run to Hannah More primary school. After a zombie themed warm-up we quickly covered the short distance to the school and got to work on a trilogy of tasks

Jack's after Ghoul Club

Our main task for the evening was to brighten up the after school club with a new coat of white paint. Having delegated the leadership of this group to Jack, it was encouraging to return and find him sporting a builders helmet and confidently directing all matters paint-related. In fact everyone did a fantastic job here - rollers were rolled, brushes were brushed and extraneous staples were removed with a handy fork. As often happens with painting though there were one or two very naughty "just this last bit" culprits who were slow to leave at the end and will therefore be given detention at next weeks Goodgym.

The Eave'll Shed

Yet more paint brushes were being employed outside as the Schools playpod shed (supplied by our friends at the Children's Scrapstore) was given a new coat of blue paint. The team worked hard and managed to complete the entire surface (with Tom's height an advantage for the eaves) using only headtorches and a single portable light.

Pumpkinbed Too

Finally, a third team set to digging over the school's vegetable beds so they could be re-planted by the pupils next year. It seemed appropriate that this first required moving a stray pumpkin out of the way. In fact the shape of these beds, coupled with the eerie light given off by head torches made proceedings look somewhat like a Halloween grave-diggers convention but the results were certainly impressive with all the beds weeded and dug over by the end.

With the After Ghoul Club having a little more clearing up to do there was time for Mel to lead everyone else in some lunges and squats (thanks Mel!) before we assembled for a group photo and headed back to base. Thanks to Matt for leading a step-heavy loop back and to the traffic lights for making sure everyone had time for a few wall push-ups and squats.

Special shout out today to Tom for backmarking, Nick for visiting all the way from York and to Mair, Matt, Vicki and Clo for sporting a little fancy dress

The rain stopped just in time for us this evening as we met up to play our part in Bristol Waste's "Autumn Blitz" on litter.

Our assigned area tonight was pretty much on our doorstep, so we offered the option of a couple of runs before we got started. Most people signed up for a longer 5k version around the harbourside so Charlie and Alice led two different pace groups - thanks both of you! The remainder joined me on a shorter run 2.5k option around Spike Island with some bonus walking lunges and squats to keep us busy until the other two groups returned.

The runs completed, we again split into groups - this time so we could cover the areas we had been assigned for litter picking. Richard led his team around King Street and Queen Square, while Charlie and Jack took on Victoria Street. Emma took a third group up Prince Street towards Anchor Road. So much street name royalty in one place!

Employing their "Street Master" litter pickers (other brands may be available ... but probably not with such a cool name) with considerable skill the teams quickly bagged up large quantities of rubbish to be left at the allocated pick up points for Bristol Waste.

All that remained was to wish Jack congratulations on completing his 50th good deed tonight - and celebrate with the fine selection of cakes and party rings he had brought with him. Well done Jack!