On a beautifully sunny but chilly Saturday morning, four GoodGymers weeded, dug and cleared a flower bed in Walker Park.

Cups of tea and biscuits were supplied by the Newcastle Parks staff, still wearing their Urban Green Newcastle jackets. Many conversations were had ranging from the effects of sage on Alzheimer’s disease to how important good running shoes are.

Come and join us on Monday night for a GoodGym leafleting task .

On a rather chilly Monday evening, three GoodGymers cleared the Quayside and Ouseburn of lots of litter from the revelry at the weekend. Jack in particular discovered the aftermath of much beer drinking, in the form of many empty cans.

Bin liners were filled very quickly, so much so that the biggest problem was finding bins in which to deposit them. All in all, a very satisfactory night's work.

Three GoodGymers volunteered at Whitley Bay junior parkrun on an incredibly foggy morning.

The sea was out there but none of us could see it! In fact we couldn't see each any other despite Tanya and Debbie being on neighbouring marshal positions on the promenade! I was on position one before helping over at the traffic lights to prevent children running into the road. 'What traffic lights?' we asked as we all stared into the dense fog in the direction where the road and the traffic lights should be.

137 four to fourteen year olds braved the fog to take part this week and we enjoyed cheering them on even if you weather wasn't as sunny as yesterday!

On a pleasant Monday evening 8 GoodGymers met at One Strawberry Lane before heading to West End Refugee Service. Aimee led the walking group, while Richard led the runners.

Despite a slight mix up over the availability of gardening tools, everyone set to work clearing debris from the garden, particularly tree branches.

Swift progress was made, allowing for a slightly longer, more scenic run back to One Strawberry Lane. Thank you very much to the lovely students from Newcastle University who were attending their first GoodGym session. We hope to see you again at some point Elise, Maria, Isla and Carla! You can keep up to date with what is happening by signing up to the weekly email, browsing the GoodGym website and following any of the GoodGym Newcastle social media pages.

Our next sessions are on Sunday, with some junior parkrun volunteering and (separately) some fundraising for the Marie Curie Campaign.

The sun was shining again on our second trip to Harbottle Park with Urban Green Newcastle. in December we cleared the weeds and dished out the mulch, this time we took on the task of clearing the dead grass from around the fence.

4 GoodGymmers made their way to the session. Props to Aimee and Damu for hitting a parkrun beforehand!

We got stuck in and made great progress, all the while chatting about the joys and perils of owning cats. Me and Aimee being the resident cat ladies! However, it wasn't long before our cat chat turned into a mousehunt as we realised we had ruffled the nest of some little doormice - we left the little guys to it, habitat intact!

Great company, including the visit from Pippa and Poppy - two very cute dogs, juat to round out the cat, mouse, dog triumvirate!

Thanks as always to our hosts, Urban Green Newcastle and the work they do to look after Newcastle's green spaces.

We have 3 'more UGN sessions listed, come and join us for graft, chat, tea and biscuits!