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!

Urban Green community missions are definitely one of favourite ways to spend a Saturday morning.

It was great to see so many familiar faces as well as first timers. Cllr Bell also joined us this morning and shared that our good deeds are making the park a safer place for the local community.

There was one final overgrown hedge to tackle and Ranger Mike was quick to get us sawing it down to head height. With teams on both sides of the hedge we soon had those trees and branches cut down to size.

The sun may have stopped shining by coffee break but it did not dampen our spirits. There was still plenty to do.

We split into smaller teams to replace the safety flooring under a swing, litter pick and clear the under growth.

Time definitely flies when you are having fun and before we knew it, our session was over. Well almost, we couldn’t leave without one final good deed…. Check out the photographs to see what that was!

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.

Wow! What a busy morning at our big beginners session with Ouseburn Trust. We welcomed FOUR new GoodGymers to our Saturday bonanza and the sun came out too- eventually!

I did a quick round up and hello to Oliver, Briony, Sam and Suze who joined us for their first good deed before heading off to meet Dave and Dale from Ouseburn Trust. The sun came out as we were given our jobs: path clearing and litter picking around the network of paths around Ouseburn.

It was a real workout today and I bet there will be some aching arms tomorrow as we scraped and cleared the paths and cobbles to make them safe and accessible for the many users who pass through every day. The local humans and animals popped by as you can see from the photos!

Wrapping up the session we finished with a three station fitness session and I treated everyone to my annoying bleepy timer for the running, tricep dipping and star jumping. You are welcome! What a huge effort from everyone today.

There is no Monday session this week but we are back with a brilliant new Community Mission at Summerhill Park next Sunday. See you then!