The first GoodGym Newcastle session in February was colder than all of the ones in January. Hopefully there is some warmer weather ahead!

We set out on a litter pick towards the Quayside, but didn't ever get there due to the enormous amount of litter on and near Crawhall Road. It's not quite clear why someone would dispose of dozens of small glass bottles in a bush, but someone had. The usual assortment of cans and wine bottles meant the litter we collected and binned tonight was largely drinks containers of various types.

More than ten bags were filled, leaving the area a lot tidier than it was beforehand.

Over 100 young runners completed Whitley bay junior parkrun on a grey Sunday morning. I was run director ensuring the event ran smoothly. Everything went well and all the young runners seemed to have fun.

On a cold Monday evening, four GoodGymer set off through Byker, aiming to build on last week's task and make the streets a lot tidier. Byker somehow is always littered no matter how many times we pick lots of litter up.

Lots of bags were filled, as usual mostly with drinks containers of various kinds. It never ceases to amaze us how many full-size empty wine bottles find themselves dumped on the street and in the undergrowth!

Thankfully the weather warmed up after a very cold weekend. Races and parkruns suffered mass cancellations on Saturday and Sunday, but all of the ice had magically disappeared by the time we set off on our latest litter pick from Stepney Bank Stables.

Sadly no matter how times we clear litter from Byker, it is scattered everywhere again within a few weeks. Three GoodGymers managed to fill three bags each tonight, which made the place look much tidier, at least for a short time!