Like me, many of you will have watched a jolly beardy Sting starting the Great North Run this Sunday from the comfort of your sofa. Exhausting viewing, no doubt, but if it also got you thinking that you'd like to do something good for mankind, then it's a good week to be living in Greenwich.
If you want to go whole hog for charity then London's own half marathon comes to Greenwich next Sunday. Run to the Beat starts at the O2 and weaves its way around the borough featuring live and recorded music at eleven stages throughout the race. All the tunes are strategically chosen to keep the runners moving at a good pace. If you want to get involved but have left the training a bit late, then the organisers are looking for volunteers, or just go along and cheer on the runners. When you're running 13 miles, every little helps!
Along slightly more sedentary lines is the World's Biggest Coffee Morning this Friday at Charlton House. All you have to do is turn up, make a small donation and eat cake. Much more my cup of tea (or in this case, coffee!). Blackheath halls are also holding a Tea Dance this Wednesday afternoon, featuring a raffle for Cancer Research UK.
If you're already involved in a Greenwich charity then you may want to go along to the Greenwich Action for Voluntary Service's AGM on Wednesday Afternoon, again at Charlton House. It's a chance for the community's voluntary, faith and charitable organisations to elect the GAVS board and meet their new Chief Exec. There's also the presentation of the GAVS Sector Awards, which celebrate the sector's most remarkable achievements this year.
Finally, one woman's charitable cause takes comedic form at the Old Bakehouse in Blackheath, with Eleanor Bennett's Off her Trolley. Her mix of stand-up, character routines and songs may all sound a bit Little Britain, but there's a serious point to it: Eleanor's subject is dementia, namely the way is treated in this country and the impact it has on sufferers and their families.
Unfortunately, I’ve just been informed that ‘Off Her Trolley’ has been cancelled. I believe some of their other London dates are still going ahead – check the website for details: http://www.eleanorbennet.com/