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!