Monday 13th November 2017
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Report written by Sam Needham
Tremendous Tom had work commitments (hobnobbing with the likes of Chris Boardman!), so I took over run leading duties.
16 courageous Goodgymmers took to the streets of Sheffield to help CADS with a sticky situation at the Abbeydale Picture House, running 6.5k in the process.
Special mention goes to new GG Sheffield member Brilliant Becky - who has been doing good with GoodGym since March 2013. Tonight's run was her 500th good deed. Awesome Becky - here's to (hopefully) the next 500.
After the usual obligatory group photo & safety briefing, we headed for our destination via a little fartlek session down the quiet (in the evening) pedestrianised Moor.
On arrival at the Picture House we split into 2 groups, tackling different parts of the building. Our main aim during the task was to scrub down and then seal the walls with a PVA glue water mix, which the intrepid groups did after suiting and tooling up. Various puns related to scrubbing were mentioned!
We then said our goodbyes to the lovely CADS lads (we'll be back, and it's lovely to see things progressing so well there) and headed for the U-mix Centre park where we got straight into a set of box jumps before doing laps of indian running round the park, 2 at a time. Suitably fortified against the cold and peeling off layers, we then ran back to the Showroom via Stevie G's Segment for some stretches.
A few of us even tackled the mystique of the short and sharp Howard Street Segment, as has become tradition.
We then headed inside for the usual briefing & drinks, where Tremendous Tom awaited us. He'll be back on his regular run leading duty next week.
The Abbeydale Picture Palace was opened by the Lord Mayor William Farewell Wardley on December 20th 1920, with the silent film The Call of the Road. Designed by the architects Dixon & Stienlet of North Shields and Newcastle-on-Tyne to work as a theatre as well as a cinema, it has a generous stage with a fly tower, the UK’s only remaining “iron” safety curtain, intact and in situ, with original 1950s period advertisements. The original classical proscenium was hidden by the existing plain arch when Cinemascope was installed in the 1950s, but otherwise the auditorium remains intact and the building is listed Grade II. Soon after closing its doors on the 5th July 1975, the building was taken over by Messrs A & F Drake as an office-equipment showroom. They traded until the early 1990s, and after some years of neglect the building was taken over by the Friends of the Abbeydale Picture House as a rehearsal and performance space for amateur theatre groups. When the Friends of the Abbeydale project came to an end in 2012, the building was bought at auction by Phil Robins. Since July 2015 it has been managed by Hand Of, a Sheffield based arts platform who organise a diverse range of cultural events.
See moreTue 14th Nov 2017 at 8:50am
TOP TOP work SENSATIONAL SAM! Thanks again!
Tue 14th Nov 2017 at 10:01am
Great report Sam, looking forward to being out with you all next Monday!
Sheffield
Keeping the local area spic and span and enjoying a posh coffee after