During a week when many Newcastle GoodGymers (and I’m sure some from other localities) took on the charity challenge of the Great North Run, this was a chair-ity challenge of a different kind!

There were several elements to this mission. Sadly some of them defeated us. Firstly we tried to move a large armchair from an upstairs bedroom to a downstairs living room. After many attempts with the chair in different positions and at different angles we managed to get it onto the landing. However, it was to go no further. Despite Mr J’s wife calling in her neighbour to help, the size, shape and weight of the chair combined with the size and shape of the landing, staircase and handrail defeated us. Mr J’s wife told us that it was just one person on his own who got the chair up there - I wonder if it was Superman!

Our second task was only marginally better. We successfully carried an exercise bike around a bed, past the chair in its new home on the landing, into the newly empty bedroom! Our satisfaction didn’t last long! The weight lifting equipment, even with the weights removed, proved too big and bulky for us. Perhaps an Allen key and a couple of hours would have done it!

We were sure our last task of hanging two pictures would be the easy part. Not so! The pictures had been painted by Mr J’s granddaughter - onto very hard wood which seemed not to want screw loops (I just made up that technical term!) screwed into it! However, we were determined to succeed in at least one task and with a succession of tools and equipment (string and a pencil) succeed we did, albeit with some hiccups along the way.

Although it was a bit disappointing not to finish the task, Mr J’s wife seemed happy with at least our limited success. Give me the Great North Run any day!