This morning was our third visit to Greenhill allotments to help prep Magrets plot.

We continued to work our way down the plot pulling up weed and clearing grass.

The weeds had taken over this section, with deep and chunky roots. Digging them up was very satisfying!

There’s still plenty to do here and I’m sure we will be back again.

Three GoodGymers litter picked in the Ouseburn valley on a spring evening. The plan had been to go litter pick down towards the quayside but when we picked up the litter pickers from Stepney Bank Stables Sara informed us that there had been a market in the Ouseburn at the weekend which had been great for the area but resulted in a lot of litter. So we set off up the valley found plenty of cans, drink cups and a lot of newspapers some of which had been frustratingly ripped into little pieces! It was very satisfying clearing up the area post market and we really felt like we made a difference.

It was a gorgeous day for our second visit to Magret’s plot and our link up with Newcastle Parks and Allotments. We made a start on clearing the plot a couple of weeks ago. Sadly there were already some weeds flourishing in the area we had cleared so we spent some time clearing that area, before moving on to the next section.

It seems like our memo about axes from a different task this week has filtered through and Aimee in particular was delighted to see the presence of an axe today! Max put it to good use, breaking up the ground, which seemed harder this time than last time, probably due to the warm sunshine we’ve had lately! Tanya, on the other hand, was less successful with the tools, choosing a spade with the diggy bit (that’s a technical term!) coming off the handle as soon as she tried digging!

There was a spell during the task when we felt like we weren’t getting anywhere, but then it all came together. You can definitely see that we made progress today! And it was lovely to be joined by some local wildlife, although we’re not sure how healthy the bee was! The cat, however, seemed very content basking in the sunshine!

There’s still a way to go though. Fortunately, we’re back again next Saturday. There’s rain forecast for this week so the ground should be a bit softer. We’d love to see you there!

Special announcement: change to GoodGym rules - all tasks must now include an axe!.

That’s a joke of course, and we take health and safety very seriously, but it certainly felt good to release some energy with the axe on some very overgrown and stubborn ivy today!

We were back at the Home Group supported living centre today where we’ve recently done a couple of tasks cleaning windows for residents. Home Group is a charity linked to Gateshead Council that offers accommodation to people over 55 with health issues. As you can see from the photos, today we were in the garden clearing away lots of ivy.

We were well-equipped with various tools, but for most of the time it seemed like hands and brute force were most effective! The two hours flew by, aided by conversations including the safety of vaccines and different types of microorganisms! I think the topic was triggered by coughing caused by the spores coming off the ivy. Although I’m no botanist so feel free to correct me!

I think it’s fair to say we made quite a difference. We filled twelve bin bags (including about twelve years worth of cigarette butts - ugh) but the before and after pics tell the story! More work will be needed before the residents can sit in the garden - perhaps another task for GoodGym!

It was great to see Marie back for her second task - you’re a regular now Marie!

Another gardening task on Saturday when we’re back at the Greenhill allotment clearing Magret’s plot. See you then!

Five GoodGymers leafleted for FoodCycle in the westend of Newcastle. Scott, Lucy and I walked from our one strawberry lane base and met Louise and Damu outside Westgate Baptist Church, one of FoodCycles locations.

FoodCycle is a charity that works to reduce food poverty and social isolation by serving free, community meals made from surplus food, they have a number of locations locally.

We all agreed the streets near by were the perfect place to leaflet with long streets of terraces allowing us to post over 200 leaflets in half an hour! The weather was also on our side with some glorious evening sunshine.

A number of the houses had bricked up doors where I am assuming two Tyneside flats have been converted into one house, thus no longer needing the second front door. It was giving Edgar Allen Poe vibes and I couldn't help but imagine a person being bricked in behind the bricked up door. We didn't see any ravens just some magpies and a couple of Cats!

If you want to get involved we have two community missions this week some ivy cutting on Wednesday lunchtime and helping in an allotment on Saturday morning!

Firstly, a big welcome to L on her first Goodgym session.

After a couple of weeks away in our second home, we were back at Stepney Bank Stables base and were tasked with freshing up the bedding for our hoofed friends.

We didn't have any time to horse around as we had to fill up a few wheelbarrows full of hay from the top stables all the way down to the bottom one.

A few of the horses were over the bale with excitement when they heard us approaching, which made it interesting when we had to get in with them to deliver their fresh ware.

After a quick reload of fresh stuff, and making sure the top stables were all spruced up, we dropped off the last of the new ground cover (which Bob the horse took great pleasure in doing his custom wee on!). And hopefully we will have straw-ted out a good night's sleep for our equine pals!