As I sat in the car on this chilly autumn* night with the hail hammering down I wondered whether ANYONE would show up to the session this evening, but I should not have feared as we had a complete register and a group of hardcore GoodGymers despite the challenging weather.

(*SUMMER - APPARENTLY)

Four of us met tonight to do a plog on the Tyne but it seemed frankly quite a silly thing to attempt given at one point there was so much rain we wouldn’t be able to tell where the path stopped and the river began. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but I hastily cobbled together a Plan B as thankfully Stepney Bank Stables brilliant task owner was still around to give us some warm and dry indoor stuff to do. Plog on the Tyne became a quick litter pick, shelf tidy and tack cleaning session and thankfully I don’t think anyone minded.

I added a sensory spin to the litter pick which made the time fly- filling three bags with stuff you can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Don’t worry, it was hypothetical and more of a thinking challenge than a doing one and no GoodGymers were harmed in the making of his task. Heading back to the stables and on to two more jobs despite the fact the rain had briefly paused, we did some tidying up in the main entrance before finishing off with some tack clearing. If you’ve never done this last one, you won’t know how therapeutic it can be and it certainly seemed to spur on some deep conversation tonight too.

The next few weeks looks stacked with good stuff and we’d love to see you at a session again soon. Have you seen the Ouseburn Trust session on offer next Monday? It’s perfect for beginners so see if you can bring a friend along too.