It was a small (compared to yesterday’s mega turn out) but perfectly formed group of six GoodGymers that joined Urban Green’s ranger Mike and gardener Robyn for today’s task in Hodgkin Park. This is a lovely open space with beautiful views beyond the River Tyne to - er - well - actually the Metro Centre! Well it’s a lovely space even if the final view is a bit industrial and it’s obviously very well used by the locals with lots of people enjoying the area today.

In many ways it was a typical Urban Green GoodGym task with Sam, Tom, Charlotte, Ana, Jay and I taking turns at lopping, chopping, sawing and litter picking. With Mike and Robyn adding the extra benefit of an electric saw we made huge progress in cutting back the overgrown shrubbery - take a moment to admire the before and after photos!

What wasn’t so typical was … drumroll please …

It was Tom’s 100th Good Deed!

Congratulations Tom - a great achievement!

Being the shy and retiring type (!) Tom commented that he was glad not to be running through the city centre wearing the golden wings like he did while wearing the Geordie Cloak of Good Deeds for his 50th task!

Also kudos to Tom, Sam and Ana for joining tasks two days in a row and to Charlotte for coming back for her second task. You’ll be wearing the wings in no time Charlotte!

Join us for our third day in a row with the second part of the Shieldfield Art Works leaflet drop on our regular Monday evening group run from Stepney Bank Stables tomorrow and a bonus midweek session on Wednesday delivering leaflets for FoodCycle!

This was a task with a lot of build up as it took two people to collect and prepare the leaflets for tonight’s session! Many thanks Liz and Louise for the prep that got this session going.

Meeting at Stepney Bank stables our base, we moved into a new room, met new GoodGymer Carrie and got cracking ready for a massive leaflet drop. Louise took us through a brilliant activation warm up that got heart rates up, cheeks flushed and smiles on faces.

//perfect!

With a slight detour, Richard led the runners to me, ready and waiting at Shieldfield Art Works armed with “Who’s in Shieldfield” booklets to drop to the residents of Shieldfield, showing them what’s on offer in this vibrant area of town. Two groups, 210 leaflets, seven pairs of very cold hands and a timer set for 25 minutes. No pressure!

The time flew and the groups reappeared bang on time and ready to run back down the hill to Stepney Bank Stables. Mission accomplished!

A single file running fitness session with Louise was waiting, and the energy remained high as everyone got involved. A brilliant session, a big help to a community project and rosy cheeks all round.

Hope to see you next Monday as we help out at the fantastic Recyke Y Bike. You can run, walk or cycle and a warm welcome is guaranteed.

Despite the awful weather beforehand, it turned out to be a brilliant Saturday Morning for GoodGym Newcastle as we helped the Ouseburn Trust.

I stepped in to help Anji (resting up with a poorly/painful knee, get well soon!) as we met together for the first time in 2023 at the entrance of Stepney Bank Stables. We did a brief informal introduction to GoodGym and got to know each other with names etc.

11 GoodGymers in total (kudos and a huge congratulations to Jay, Anna, Beth and Florence for their first ever GoodGym good deed) which is an amazing start to the New Year. It was great to welcome Dan back from University (also a regular at GoodGym Bath)

We then took a short walk to meet Dave, the legendary task owner for the Ouseburn Trust, and Martin, another regular/keen volunteer. Dave gave a brief talk about the Ouseburn Trust and the tasks that the volunteers get involved with.

Our task today was litter picking, we soon set off on our way with litter pickers, gloves, and bin bags, together as a group, chatting and getting to know each other whilst picking up rubbish.

As you can see in the photos we collected a lot of litter! Shout out to Louise for finding a toilet (?!) in the hedge and Tanya/Debs found something random made out of metal (no idea, maybe something mechanical?)

Thankfully the weather improved and the sun appeared as we finished. Come along and join us on Monday (Louise is super keen to deliver a fitness session as part of her run leader training for GG) All abilities definitely welcome!