A lot of things were against us tonight: the rain, my lack of common sense, a locked door... but we got the first of our sessions to spread the word about the brilliant Guide Dogs UK done and had a great start to the week.

Guide Dogs UK NE have asked us to do a series of leaflet tasks across the city to share the opportunities they have for fundraising and for fostering dogs. (All very good boys and very good girls).

Six GoodGymers assembled and marvelled at how Lucy and I could be collectively quite stupid - what happens at GoodGym stays at GoodGym- before having a good old catch up about three community missions that took place over the weekend. We warmed up with a good game of Copy Cats before heading off to Heaton. Richard led the runners while I took the walk squad up the hill to Byker. We did two good deeds in one tonight: leafleting and litter picking around the shops at Heaton Road. How very wholesome.

Activation drills then a mini sprint workout followed before heading off back down the hill and of course by then the rain had stopped!

There's no Monday session next week but we do have a big Beginners session on this Saturday with our friends at Ouseburn Trust. I'd love to get lots of you along to that, so come and bring a friend if you can.

Back to Shieldfield for part 2 of the big Who's in Shieldfield magazine drop!

When I arrived at Stepney Bank this evening ... IT WAS STILL LIGHT! Yes Spring is in the air at last. Eight of us gathered ready to get the week off to a flying start. It was an all-female task or should that be feMAIL??

The warm up included our favourite pancake toppings and the food theme continued later. Meeting Aimee on the way we soon got cracking, covering the areas of Shieldfield we didn't manage to get around last time. This brilliant publication will be a treat to residents and we were really chuffed to manage to deliver over 350 over the two weeks!

We stayed in Shieldfield for the fitness session which included running, jogging, step ups and shouting the names of chocolate bars at each other in the street. And why not!

There are THREE community missions taking place before we are back for our group session next week. Check out the sessions calendar and get involved if you can, we would love to see you.

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!

You can tell Paul was back tonight by the calibre of this pun!!

On a beautiful evening in Toon, an enthusiastic bunch of GoodGymers gathered feeling chilly but raring to go. It was great to see Oliver and Carrie back for their second sessions, while Libbie was back after an absence of over three years! Newbies and OGs alike assembled and after a quick warm up we were off, with Paul leading runners and myself and Louise walking.

Super task owner Vanessa met us at Recyke Y Bike, the brilliant charity in the brilliant workshop space near Byker. There were two tasks this evening: labelling bicycle tools in the two tool boxes, and sweeping the enormous workshop. Everyone set to work and I was impressed with how well everyone pretented to know what they were doing with the tool labels. A bit of googling and a bit of guesswork meant it was no problem to this brilliant team.

Half an hour flew over and the floors were sparkling, tool boxes organised and amazingly the cakes on offer refused (!!) and it was time for the fitness session. We did loads of ladder drills tonight and marvelled at how light Oliver is on his feet- who knew?!

Another good deed done to start the week off right! Hope you can join us soon, there are two great Urban Green gardening sessions this weekend with Tanya and Louise, then we are back for some leafleting next Monday.

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.