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.

I was bowled over ;) tonight to get three big bags of donations from a small and perfectly formed bank holiday group, and also left tonight somehow convinced lawn bowls may be my new sport… that’s another story.

We did a donation drive for our friends at East End Women foodbank tonight (these will be dropped off later in the week, thank you) and combined that with a 4k run or walk around the quayside on a beautiful bank holiday night. The quayside was bustling and motivation was high, and we finished up at The Ship Inn for a social to end the bank holiday weekend. Despite the time pressure of mine and Tanya’s need to be back for Love Is Blind Reunion episode at 9pm, we had a lovely bonding catch up and the time flew!

If anyone is interested in organising future socials like tonight let me know and I’ll show you how to list them on the website, we really should make more of having such lovely places on our doorstep.

There’s always a welcoming atmosphere at junior parkrun and the opportunity to try a new volunteer position. Today, Michael took on the role of Funnel Manager, while Debbie timed, Paula marshalled and I scanned the finish tokens.

If you’re looking for a way to spend your Sunday morning that’s both fulfilling and fun, I can’t recommend volunteering at your local Junior parkrun enough. It’s a chance to be part of something special, and to support the next generation.