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 .

Alas a big beginners session that was neither big nor featured any beginners! This one truly hung in the balance again today as we continue the cold snap and battle through January but four of us layered up and kept the good vibes coming.

It feels like a while since we were last at the fabulous Stepney Bank Stables and amazingly after so many times helping out here, today we were given a task we have never done before. I am glad we were all sufficiently wrapped up as today's job was outside in the container- basically like being in a big fridge in the car park.

After saying hello to the horses including super cute Sid and Sam, we got cracking with the task: weighing out and bagging feed using the two large (and fragrant) hay bales. It took us a little while to get into stride, checking the amount needed for each horse, bagging up, weighing, adjusting, weighing again. It was a really physical one today, easily the equivalent of about 100 sit ups and squats.

With about five minutes to spare, I remembered we also needed to log a litter pick to continue the relay, so I dashed off and cleared the entrance to the Stables car park too. Phew!

It's the end of an era! Today a superb task owner led his final community mission with GoodGym and what a task it was!

A big group of us gathered in St Lawrence Park in Byker, the group including many regular faces and a few we were welcoming back- hey Emma and Charlotte ! There was also a triple celebration going on today as both Tanya and Damu celebrated 100 good deeds and gained their wings, while Sam gained the cloak of goodness for her 50 milestone. Give them all a cheer for so many days of dedication to GoodGym!

Mike has orchestrated and led over 100 sessions for us and they are always a real treat in hidden gems of parks. There was a lot of reminiscing today about tasks gone by (if you don't know about the rocks in Kenton Park, ask anyone there that day as it's forever etched in memories!) and there were so many great days to reflect on as we've worked with Urban Green Newcastle to make our city parks safer places to be. Today's mammoth hedge cutting task was another example of how we can work together to do a big job in a short space of time. The before and after is quite astounding!

Mike's tasks always end with tea and biscuits but today it was with a twist as we had Louise and Sam's amazing baking, as well as no-alcohol prosecco to toast with. We also gave Mike his very own GoodGym tshirt to remember us by... he has certainly earned it.

Good luck and thank you Mike, we will really miss you.