With Storm Bert bringing a bit of havoc over the weekend, we knew tonight’s task with brilliant Ouseburn Trust was in very good time. Ouseburn trust is responsible for keeping the Ouseburn area vibrant, safe and brilliant for both residents and commuters using the network of paths connecting Newcastle. We love lending them a hand, and even in the darkness of winter thanks to our trusty floodlights we are able to keep the partnership going.

Storm Bert stopping plans over the weekend was the topic of conversation when we met up tonight, forcing many of us hardy parkrunners to change, and in my case cancel, plans. I also shared plans for upcoming tasks as we head towards (whisper it!) our Christmas break.

Armed with head torches and lights and suitably layered up we headed off to meet task owner Dave for an epic tidy up session in the Ouseburn Valley. Split into two teams tonight, litter picking and maximising our step count for the day was Aimee, Damu, Max, Scott and I, while Tom and Jack got stuck into leaf sweeping with Dave. Keeping track of the group was easy enough though- just keep a look out for the head torches and you can’t go wrong! A really simple task this evening that covered a lot of ground and really made a difference.

As I missed our last social thanks to a stomach bug, a repeated visit to the Cumberland Arms followed this evening, a great chance to warm up and chat to round off an excellent start to the week.

If you’re around on Saturday morning there’s a great Urban Green Newcastle task at Leazes Park where we are getting some expert tool training as part of the session. Come and meet us any time from 10am.

Seven goodgymers helped Urban Green with bulb planting in St Lawrence Park on a crisp and damp autumn morning.

Urban Green supplied a massive bag of daffodil bulbs which when thrown over a shoulder the wearer looked a lot like an economical santa delivering the present of future flowers.

The actual task was pretty simple anyone taking a channel of a grass slope each and dig a hole for the bulb and then cover it back over. After a tea break half way though we moved on to another grass area in the park where we all took a a section and planned a strip of bulbs.

Unfortunately no before and after pictures as the daffodils will flower in the spring or possibly the one after if deep enough! Hopefully we will get to see the fruits, or flowers, of our labour then.

We are back helping Urban Green in Elswick Park the 16th of November if you want to come along and get involved!

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!