On the mildest Monday evening in months, two GoodGymers set off from Stepney Bank Stables bound for Heaton, an area of Newcastle that is prone to being badly littered.

The most unusual items discovered were a pair of saucepans, side by side in the undergrowth. It seemed like we'd go a whole litter pick without finding a discarded wine bottle, which almost never happens, but we found one just before we called it a day.

Six bags full of litter after another successful litter pick.

Thank you very much to Ella from Newcastle University Students' Union for welcoming us to our latest crafting session at the university tonight. The task was to make snuffle mats to be donated to dog charities.

It was a little out of the ordinary for most of us, but strangely satisfying. Many conversations were had during the session on subjects ranging from running, musical instruments and travelling to the Far East and much more besides.

A warm welcome to Lloyd, attending his first (hopefully of many) GoodGym Newcastle session after his recent move from Leeds.

The first GoodGym Newcastle session in February was colder than all of the ones in January. Hopefully there is some warmer weather ahead!

We set out on a litter pick towards the Quayside, but didn't ever get there due to the enormous amount of litter on and near Crawhall Road. It's not quite clear why someone would dispose of dozens of small glass bottles in a bush, but someone had. The usual assortment of cans and wine bottles meant the litter we collected and binned tonight was largely drinks containers of various types.

More than ten bags were filled, leaving the area a lot tidier than it was beforehand.

On a cold Monday evening, four GoodGymer set off through Byker, aiming to build on last week's task and make the streets a lot tidier. Byker somehow is always littered no matter how many times we pick lots of litter up.

Lots of bags were filled, as usual mostly with drinks containers of various kinds. It never ceases to amaze us how many full-size empty wine bottles find themselves dumped on the street and in the undergrowth!

On a mild Monday evening, two GoodGymers set out from Stepney Bank Stables towards Byker and Heaton on a litter pick. Byker is somehow always covered with litter no matter how many times we pick it up.

This time the focus of our efforts was the car park at bottom of Shields Road, which is near a supermarket and a number of food outlets. People had filled the bushes and trees with plastic cups, cans, paper receipts, cigarette ends, food packaging and all kinds of weird and wonderful things. We also retrieved what looked like an antiquated mobile phone, a large porcelain bowl, a large jerry can and several empty bottles of wine.

Some people in Byker clearly need some lessons in how to dispose of their rubbish, but we were approached by several others offering praise, which always makes your efforts feel a little more worthwhile!