Well, I got a little surprise when I hadn't checked where tonight's task was and I had to hot foot it along from work! But I was in for a treat as it was a lovely night and I got to explore a bit of Newcastle I haven't been to, as well as a high five from a little dude waiting for his bus with his mum!

It was an evening of firsts as we had Esha join us for her first session! The park was local to her and it was lovely to see her getting involved in her community and getting to chat with her!

We collected 3 bags full of rubbish and made a pretty good contribution to Newcastle Parks' Big Litter Pick Week!

Exercise, meeting new people and doing good in the community - ticking all the GoodGym mission statement boxes!

On a serene Monday evening two GoodGymers completed two tasks; cleaning the boards around the edge of the arena and picking some of the horses' favourite weeds and nettles.

The boards needed to be clean ahead of an event at the stables on Saturday and hopefully a big difference was made. Two large baskets were filled with horse snacks, which will likely be well-received.

It was a day of meetings today. We met Marie who joined us for her first GoodGym task - welcome Marie! We also met task owner Sue and perhaps most importantly we met Magret who has been allocated the garden we were working on today. A delay in starting caused by a very reluctant, rarely used very large padlock allowed us to learn that Magret arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe around 14 years ago, worked for years as a carer for people with learning difficulties until her eyesight began to fail around five years ago. This is the reason that Magret needs our help with clearing the overgrown garden so that she can benefit from it. We discovered that Adam was able to say hello in one of the languages spoken in Zimbabwe! Together with Marie being French we had a lively conversation about learning different languages!

After a quick trip home, Sue came back with a can of WD40 which did the trick with the padlock so we were able to get started. Two hours in the spring sunshine, discussions about various TV programmes and lots of digging and raking later, and we had cleared the first section of Magret's garden. There’s a lot of work still to do and we’ll definitely arrange more sessions, but for now, Magret was very happy with the start we made and is looking forward to growing some onions! We look forward to seeing the progress in the garden. For now, marvel at our before and after photos!

On a balmy Monday evening, five GoodGymers headed off from Stepney Bank Stables towards Heaton armed with litter pickers and bin liners. The litter came thick and fast, covering the streets near the stables and especially the undergrowth near the terraced streets of Heaton. Eight bin liners were soon overflowing with litter. A very satisfying and useful task.

We welcomed Thomas, fresh from his exploits at the Tokyo Marathon and Humber Bridge Half Marathon. As gregarious as ever, Thomas managed to lure Richard and Aimee into the pub afterwards for a chat about all things GoodGym, particularly some long lost friends not seen for quite some time.

Jack and Scott also worked hard with the amount of litter on the streets of Newcastle, making a real difference. All five GoodGymers can be proud of their efforts tonight.

Tonight we decided to use our session to blow our own trumpet and deliver some postcards promoting GoodGym itself. We met at our Stepney Bank stables base and had a quick debate about which area would have the most people most likely to be interested in GoodGym. We agreed on Jesmond, not realising how many students would be out celebrating St Patrick's day! After a brief discussion about the commercialisation of so many events, we got to work. The combination of fewer postcards than we thought and the terraced Tyneside flats of Jesmond meant that we were done in no time! Anyone for a pint of Guinness?

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 .