We got this covered

Painting is not new for the Ealing GoodGymers who showed up at the West Ealing library. Last year, we painted the Open Ealing Art centre on a hot summer. This time the weather was pleasant, and the wall is not that tall.

I arrived a few minutes before the task and Mandie, who is the founding member of Open Ealing, had already put all the painting materials needed for today's task. She gave me a quick walk-through of what needed to be done and left us in the safe hands of West Ealing library manager Nashab.

Clare arrived soon after for her first GoodGym task and her first visit to West Ealing Library

who is not new to GoodGym as she was a task owner from the Northfield Allotments.

Sevan and Kash came running and we slowly started getting into the task. Sevan and I didn't know the secret behind the plastic apron and were wearing it like a bib, till Kash showed us how to properly open and wear it.

After some vigorous shaking, Sevan poured the creamy paint onto the trays and Clare didn't wait a single minute and went straight to the task.

In the meantime, Mandie came back with refreshments (A box of Millionaire shortbread and flap jacks and a few bottles of water). We also had tea/coffee options available as there was a kitchen inside.

Sevan took the long rollers and focussed on the pillars. Kash picked the wall on the right and I chose the centre. Clare's expertise suggested she paint the edges first and was doing a pristine job.

Claire joined us then after completing her 99th park run in Osterley and assisted Clare in covering the wall on the left side.

Kash was doing more than painting. Her strokes looked more like graffiti than a regular paint job as she was using an unwashed dried-up painting roll. So she switched to a new painting roll and could see the difference and smoothness.

I on the other hand can't stop imagining butter, custard cream, and everything yellow after seeing the creaminess of the paint. So I controlled my temptations from licking the paint and letting the brush do the job.

Soon we covered the major areas and switched to painting the edges. We were sitting, crouching, climbing, and rolling on the floors to get the edges painted.

With 15 minutes left, Claire switched from painting to cleaning. She started removing the paint from the frames and corners using sugar soap. We didn't have to spend much time washing up the rolls like we did last time as Nashab said he would take care of it.

We were amazed after seeing how perfect Clare has painted her side of the wall

We managed to cover 25% of the area and we might come back to finish the rest sometime next time month. Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement soon.