Another evening of being suspiciously thin on the ground but a small and perfectly formed group gathered tonight, which included our fab run leader Richard for his first Strawberry Lane session. It was great having him back!

The task tonight had actually been changed twice behind the scenes (an area activator’s work is never done) but on hearing that our Urban Green Newcastle friends are struggling at times to keep on top of the litter and jobs in Leazes Park we took advantage of an otherwise free night to head there armed with litter pickers and lights, to lend a hand.

I’d been warned about the Northern Lights festival set up so we decided to walk the perimeter of the park and look for an open entrance. As it happened, there was so much litter to collect on the way there and around the paths to the Town Moor, that it didn't matter too much when we discovered we weren’t able to get in at all! There were so many cans and bottles, a few of which were accidentally opened on their way into the bags that by the end of the session my gloves were soaked with (I hope) beer! The hot topic tonight was parkrun and we shared many tales of volunteer memories and favourite courses. It was really nice tonight to do the whole session as a group!

Before long we had collected two very full bags of rubbish and clocked up lots of steps to start our weeks off right.

Damu is looking after the session next Monday and as always lots of jobs will be waiting at Stepney Bank Stables so come and get involved in that if you can.

It didn’t actually feel that long since we were last at WERS, the brilliant West End Refugee service, and when I looked at tonight’s sign ups it gave me a sense of Deja vu! The only new addition was Jack, and a great new addition he was. We met at One Strawberry Lane, our brilliant hub which I think will just get cosier as winter creeps in.

The standard quick catch up on the weekend’s sessions and news before it was time to set off. As it was almost even split of runners and walkers, I decided to flip the session tonight and do the fitness session first, making good use of St James’ Park steps! Heart rates raised and legs definitely feeling warmer, we then made it the short journey uphill to WERS where thankfully everything we needed was waiting for us. WERS is an amazing organisation in the west end, supporting refugees in our city with all kinds of support they need. We’d been asked back tonight to continue clearing and tidying up the back garden.

Tonight was one of those simple, satisfying tasks that truly made a difference. Under the epic floodlights- expertly perched in the trees thanks to Tom, we armed ourselves with rakes and brushes and set about clearing the garden which was almost knee-deep in leaves. Everyone put their backs into it while discussing the Halloween weekend gone by.

Before long the paths and gardens were cleared and the grass was once again visible. I think the task owner and service users will definitely see a difference tomorrow. This was one of those classic GoodGym sessions where team work makes a real impact.

With Half Term upon us we were a little thinner on the ground tonight, as this was also the week of the planned metro works, affecting a lot of routes in and out of Newcastle. We still got a newbie along for the session which we always love to see, give a warm welcome cheer to lovely Fiona on her first good deed.

There was a slight bit of drama at the start of the session with Stepney Bank Stables closing early and temporarily locking poor Jack inside- luckily Damu and Max witnessed this horsing around and managed to get him out before all the lights went off. Phew!

Tonight was the first Litter Pick Challenge of the autumn and after splitting into two teams we headed off to the quayside to complete our bingo boards armed with the floodlights and litter pickers. As you can see from the photos we were on the lookout for all kinds of random bits of rubbish tonight and in just 15 minutes Fiona’s team of runners were victorious. Incidentally, both teams got all of the items so I did reward everyone with a prize at the end. Overall, two bags of rubbish were collected in just 25 minutes from along the quayside on what was a calm and warm October night.

After three rounds of the leg-tappy game (technical term) to warm up, it was then time for a 3,2,1 fitness session, where everyone completed sets of walking lunges, star jumps, assisted press ups for time- expect everything to ache tomorrow!

There are two community missions listed on Sunday, and yes, it is possible to do both! We are then back at Strawberry Lane on Monday for some leaf raking to kick off November at WERS. See you soon.

It was a very mild October evening down in the Ouseburn Valley this evening, with the weather offering no clue of the effects of the edge of Storm Ashley that we caught yesterday. Whilst we know we were let off very lightly compared to some parts of the country, nevertheless, Ashley meant that we weren’t short of work on our mission tonight!

Armed mostly with brooms and rakes, and the odd set of shears, we started with a leg workout as we made our way up the steps from the bottom to the top of the valley! We followed that with a lateral core workout - it’s always surprising how much torso rotation is involved in sweeping and raking - and we did an awful lot of sweeping and raking tonight to clear away the leaves and twigs deposited by the storm. Together with some expert clipping by Pippa, double brooming by Adam, the reverse rake technique demonstrated by Scott, and some rather acrobatic broom balancing by Tom, the rest of us, Aimee, Max, Jack, David and I managed to clear A LOT of paths! It was surprising how many people walk through the valley despite the dark, so hopefully our efforts will be appreciated.

Somewhat fortuitously, the last path we cleared led directly to the pub - can’t imagine how that happened! Top task owner Dave wowed us with his hi-viz multi-functional kilt and educated us with stories about the houses that were cleared from the valley in order to build the Metro Bridge, and the fact that the bridge is constructed with huge concrete blocks glued together! Think about that next time you’re on the Metro at Byker - or actually, maybe don’t! Dave also insisted on buying the drinks tonight - a truly top guy! Thanks Dave!

As usual, a win for us tonight with the final score Ashley 0 - GoodGym 1!