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.

It was a busy evening for GoodGym Newcastle at Newcastle University Students’ Union.

After running from Stepney Bank Stables and being quite relieved not to get wet, Jen met us outside and took us upstairs to get started. The group split into two, with some of us packing boxes for Stu Brew, which is Europe’s first student-run microbrewery based at Newcastle University. They are a sustainable microbrewery, managed by students through Newcastle University Students’ Union.

Lucy and Muhannad had got started with the crafting task straight away, the rest of us joining after the box packing. Jen patiently explained what we were supposed to be doing, with some of us being very much out of our comfort zones.

Everyone from GoodGym said they enjoyed the evening. I'm sure that the cakes, doughnuts and hot drinks helped, but it was a genuinely delightful evening. Thank you to everyone who came along tonight for an extended session, excellent commitment from everyone!

We were at Newcastle University Students Union for their volunteering week, unfortunately we didn't have any student volunteers but we still had a good time. We were helping with some admin tasks for North East Solidarity and Teaching (N.E.S.T) a student led project at Newcastle University Students Union, which the refugee and asylum-seeking community in the region through a variety of formats one of which is going into school and helping with English.

The weather outside was miserable and cold so it was nice to have an indoor task! I started off folding some leaflets, while Lucy stables out other leaflets and Scottgot stuck in with using the guillotine cutter to cut words which had been printed out to be used within schools. Once we had finished our tasks me and Lucy also joined in with cutting and putting the word cards in the laminator pouches which were then feed through the laminator.

While we worked we had some nice conversations about the difficulties of the English language, spelling, proof reading and how hard it is to remember the correct time to use affect or effect!

What a lovely, wholesome start to the week at GoodGym Newcastle! Meeting up at Strawberry Lane for the last time in 2024, a group of five of us headed off to support a project at Newcastle University, where we hadn’t done a task in a good few years!

Aimee was leading the welcome and the walk this evening for her fitness leader training and it was lovely to sit back and let her take the reins. We celebrated Jack’s tenth good deed and marvelled at his accident prone past few days. It felt busy in town for our walk to the task- a combination of Northern Lights traffic and Christmas shoppers making it a bustle through the crowds.

We were met by lovely Fran who had prepared two tasks for us in a warm haven in the students union - complete with a sweetie tray as a thank you! The tasks tonight both supported poorly children in hospital over Christmas- writing cards for the Post Pals initiative (Jack’s choice) and making Wiggly Bags for children in the RVI, these cute little bags holding medication lines for the children to keep the lines safe and look more child-friendly- this option taken by Aimee, Lucy, Scott and me.

I couldn’t believe how fast the time went tonight as we were so deep into the task- concentration definitely needed for these activities! Jack created three beautiful cards while we made four Wiggly Bags in the time we had. Very satisfying stuff.

A fast-paced fitness session (and if you believe that you believe anything) wrapped up the evening with a great little stretch routine led again expertly by Aimee. Truly a fab start to the week.

We have a bonus daytime community mission at the foodbank tomorrow, and some Urban Green goodness this Saturday before being back for our final group run of the year next week.

We were grateful to have the opportunity to join today’s part-time jobs and volunteering fair at Newcastle University and to spread the word about GoodGym. Lucy, Richard, Aimee and I spoke to lots of students who seemed interested in what GoodGym is and how we help other charities in our community. Some people from other organisations were also interested! Hopefully we have attracted some new members to help us continue to spread the GoodGym love far and wide!

This is like a maths problem: how can 11 goodgymers get 75 bags of compost up two flights of stairs in half an hour?

We were so happy to be back at Hotel Indigo for the first time in two years and six days as our original GoodGym Newcastle base. Comfy seats, a warm welcome and it was just like the old days. Half of the group met there while the others met at the task, meaning by the time the walking group arrived, the task was already in full swing.

Our task tonight was a real heavy lifting job, with a whopping 75 bags of compost weighing in at around 20kg each waiting to be lifted up two flights of steps. Newcastle University students union have their very own rooftop garden which is being transformed ready for spring. Task owner Jon had asked us to come and move the compost from the bottom of the steps to the mezzanine, before cutting into the bags and emptying them into large containers that will be prepared for planting.

Liz and Louise took care of cutting and emptying while everyone else got stuck into lifting and doing multiple stair repeats. I cant decide if quads or biceps will be the biggest pain tomorrow, you will have to let me know.

The lifting was done in no time with some proper team work and tenacity, and there was time for a quick breather, water and fruit waiting kindly provided by Jon.

We will be back to the uni garden in the spring and summer to help again and see some real growth from this task.

If litter picking is your thing, we are helping the incredible Bobby Robson Foundation to tidy up the memorial gardens on Thursday, then it's back to Kenton Park for another Urban Green task on Saturday.