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!

"We have made a collective decision that we just keep going!"

What a night to welcome three newbies to GoodGym Newcastle. Welcome to Jack, Pippa and David. While Jack was completely new to GoodGym, Pippa and David were previous members of the GG Ipswich family. Pippa and David are currently sailing a lap of the UK, they’ve made Newcastle their home for the winter so we are delighted to have them as part of the gang. Jack only found out about Newcastle yesterday so we were mega impressed at how quickly he jumped into action.

With an almost 50/50 split of runners and walkers tonight, we made our way to the amazing Changing Lives at Cumberland House for the second time in a few months where a few jobs were waiting that we hadn’t completed last time. Changing Lives is a brilliant charity that supports vulnerable people in our city, to help them to get back on their feet when they most need it.

On the face of it, the tasks tonight sounded simple: chicken wire the front fencing of the house, and build two pieces of flat pack furniture out the back. I don’t think I’ve seen Aimee look as happy in years as when she heard about the furniture, so together with Pippa, Scott and Jack - who turned out to be a flat pack expert- she headed out the back to get building. Louise, Damu and David took the chicken wire and I floated between the groups trying not to get in the way. It was amazing how quick the chicken wire fencing went up and how deep the conversations got - it’s definitely a GoodGym thing.

Out back the large storage box was assembled first while a chest of drawers proved a little more fiddly. It became apparent we were going to overrun but it was clear how focused the group was on the job, and it was definitely not going to be left unfinished. Under the floodlights and head torches, and with lots of patience, the drawers were done while Aimee, Damu and Louise also dismantled and moved an old metal container. This was proper teamwork in action and we finished with stacks of satisfaction. It was worth side stepping the fitness session and finishing slightly later for this feeling!

We are so looking forward to the task last week with Ouseburn Trust as we are heading to The Cumberland Arms afterwards too. Meet at Stepney Bank Stables, or join us at the pub from 7:30.

And it was a bittersweet task tonight as we goodbye to Pippaand David, who are off on a new adventure. Alongside Paul, we treated them to a last litterpick and Pippa was determined to leave no stone unturned! Sadly there was more rubbish to collect this time but more positively, 2 passers-by cheered us on whilst another came to give us some litter he had collected.

Wishing Pippa and David well on their next chapter and hoping we will cross litter pickers in the future!

Thanks and well done everyone