Bringing Throckley Together 3 was another wonderful day for the local community and another success for our Throckley Youth Club’s young people.

The first BTT took place in 2021 to raise funds for a life-saving defibrillator to be fitted at Throckley Sports Pavilion, led by the young people from our sessions there. The cash target was achieved, and the defibrillator (funded by North East Hearts with Goals Through Kath and Carl ) was also kindly fitted free of charge by Lee from Switch Electrical and Mechanical Services. Last year’s event was just as popular, so it was inevitable there would be another in 2024!

This time, a tremendous 300 visitors from the area joined us at our event, raising just over £1,000 for our Throckley sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

There were lots of squeals of delight on the bouncy castles, an assortment of superheroes, princesses, unicorns, Sonic the Hedgehogs and more running around thanks to the superb face painting!

Down on the tennis courts, archers and axe throwers were testing their skills (not real arrows and axes of course!) and shooting hoops.

Some braved the huge climbing wall, helped by the qualified instructors and others pedalled like athletes on our brilliant smoothie-making bike to make delicious, healthy drinks.

Indoors, there was a long line at the refreshment hatch as Nikki and young person Daniel worked incredibly hard to keep everyone fed and watered – we ran out of a few things and had to make several dashes to the supermarket!

There were free books for everyone courtesy of the National Literary Trust, dozens of tombola prizes and a craft table where some brilliant creativity was on display, along with a ton of glitter on the floor …

… on the playing field, Toni mesmerised people with the giant bubbles she was making, and the football corner was as popular as ever. Others played in Nerf  battles, tried the coconut shy and bounce track basketball. There were lot of other games that kept everyone happy and busy!

The Throckley session’s young people were amazing – helping on the day and and to organise the event. NE youth’s staff were their usual energetic selves – setting up, manning the activities, organising and of course tidying up with smiles on their faces.

Alex from our Wednesday session sold some stunning crocheted animals and characters that were extremely popular. It was great to see her creativity and dedication paying off.

Thanks to everyone involved (especially to the brilliant Haley and Jamie who led the event and run our weekly Throckley sessions) and thanks for the support and community spirit shown by the people of Throckley – see you again next year!

A white woman with curly dark hair and glasses holds two sticks aloft, generating dozens of soap bubbles that fly into the air. A young white boy with short mousy hair climbs an artificial climbing wall outdoors. His security harness and ropes are visible, as the smiling child looks downwards. A close-up of black boy around 11 years old stands with a lolipop agains a bright red background. He is half smiling with his head at a slight angle. A young white boy peruses a choice of hand-crafted crocheted animals on an outdoor stall. A white teenage girl with dark hair and glasses is seated, looking on. A small white boy concentrates as he draws on paper with a red marker. A white woman in her mid-twenties looks upwards, holding a smartphone aloft as she photographs something out of shot. She has a bright garland and green bracelet. An East Asian mother and child walk across a field together in conversation. His clothing has cartoons visible, the mother all in black with long hair and glasses. Two young white boys, one dressed in a football kit, play a bat and ball game with the backdrop of a large, bright, inflatable structure featuring a clown. Three boys energetically play with Nerf guns outdoors, two black and one white. The white boy has Hulk face paint and a patterned shirt. One boy has his hood up, and the other is looking down at his gun. A white teen girl stands next to a large target with plastic axes embedded in it. One axe is in the bullseye. She is looking at the camera with both hands in a thumbs up position. She is dresed all in black, with fair hair in a ponytail. A white mother and toddler daughter look on as other children play. The toddler has a bow in her hair and a flowery dress. The mother wears a hoody and has her brown hair tied up. A young girl with fair hair shoots an arrow with a sucker at the end towards a target, hitting the bullseye. Four white biys of various ages play football on a grass field. Two are wearing football shirts, the smallest bout wearing a red t-shirt. A young girl, white, with long dark hair and dressed in bright tie-dye clothes pedals on a smoothie bike to blend her fruit into a drink. An adult is visible from the rear as she looks on.