This task found us at our regular location St James's Gardens, the graveyard of the Anglican cathedral that is a much-appreciated oasis in the city for many. The day leading up to this task was filled with suspense as we anxiously checked various weather forecasts, trying to work out what we'd be dealing with. A storm was predicted for the evening, but it seemed it would clear up and be sunny by 7pm. After our last scheduled session at St James's was called off due to the weather we were really hoping to go ahead tonight.

The runners - Sophie, Sian, Dan and Bekah - met at the Suitcases at 6:30pm and were greeted by both sunshine and a sudden downpour. We got soaked but dried out quickly as it was warm, and luckily it stayed calm for our task, where we were joined by Steph, Lucien, Ellie and today's task owner Vikki, combining her roles of GoodGym member and Friends of St James's leader, alongside two Friends volunteers.

Vikki's plan was for us to clear brambles and litter from an archway. Considering the immense tangle of bramble we faced, she was worried that it would be too big a project for one session, but we all got stuck in and were finished in under half an hour. It was a really satisfying task as we transformed the area, revealing two gravestones marking the resting places of the Cow and McKinsley families that had previously been completely buried in thorns. Everyone did a great job and we were not put off by encountering a pair of soiled shorts and an unidentifiable furry object along the way! I do think that we earned the appreciation we got from passers-by, including someone who offered to donate trees in the future.

With this task completed we still had lots of time left over for weeding and scraping between flagstones, and Steph taught us some local history by pointing out the gravestones of Edward Rushton who set up the first school for the blind, and Robert Cain who opened a brewery. As we gathered for the team photo we realised that it was a very special occasion - every GoodGym member was wearing their GoodGym T-shirt! Well done to everyone for their hard work tonight, especially Vikki for leading, Bekah for organising, Sophie for leading the run, and Steph for bravery in turning up despite the storm forecast.

On a hazy, hot May Sunday morning, a quartet of Goodgym helpers joined forces with the Friends of Festival Park to rejuvenate a corner flowerbed of the Chinese Gardens site. And, we packed a punch of "p" plant love with some gardening heave-ho to boot! Festival Park friend Kate guided us in the necessary steps to plant out a peony tree (frilly flowers will come), a paeonia (related but different), a pittosporum (completing the "p" theme), all rounded off with a row of hebe (no shebe) shrubs. So, with that lot of plants lined up in their pots, we had work to do. Bekah and Dan cleared the mulch topping from the flowerbed, and unpegged the underlay to expose the bare soil ready for digging. Lucien and Sian swiftly and neatly snipped back the ivy overhanging the stone wall. Thank you secateurs. Kate pointed out that however glorious the sunshine, the lack of recent rainfall has dried up the nearby lake and hardened the earth. That left our trusty spade trying to dig holes for planting out, but to no avail. So, out came one mattock (a tool akin to a pick-axe), followed by a second, heavier specimen, sourced by Kate's husband and Festival Park friend Steve. Dan quickly got a grip on mattock number two. He unleashed a surprisingly zealous degree of power to achieve the planting depth required. Bekah set about distributing the water brought in from off-site, to hydrate the plants comfortably into their new homes. Nurturing attention. Lucien and Sian gently loosened each plant's roots, all the better to dig themselves in and set firm foundations. Then, delicately sprinkling soil back in and around, they completed the re-housing job together. Tender and touching. The team reset the underlay and raked back the mulch evenly, standing back to look proudly across a new border-full family of plants. They already looked at home, and with plenty of space to grow in the months ahead. Zooming our gaze out of this one flowerbed, Kate and Steve relayed the value of their team's volunteering at Festival Gardens. Regular efforts keep the park tended for horticultural and recreational enjoyment alike. More friends had been simultaneously restoring neat and safe order to the children's play area towards the promenade, now fit for fun for little-uns once more. The spot we worked on is part of the Chinese Gardens, which received a major makeover back in 2011. That restored some original features from when it was created, as part of the hugely popular International Garden Festival, in 1984. That event transformed the site from an industrial wasteland and welcomed over 3 million visitors, all those forty-one years ago. Alongside our flowerbed, the Chinese Gardens also include a moon wall - a circular gateway feature which is typical of Chinese garden design. Around the other side of our spot is a large pagoda, standing impressively atop a wooden platform, beside the (currently dry) lake. It includes decorative tiles sourced in China and offers a strong flash of fiery red against the green vegetation, even with its slightly tired, mature paintwork. Above today's flowerbed once stood a second, upper pagoda, which was removed in 2015, to protect it from further damage. Our work today should contribute to a new view and experience of the Chinese Gardens. It is a Liverpool park area which holds mixed legacies of dockland communities, festival celebration, housing developments, community toil, and also the perfect place for a peaceful picnic. Back to those "p"s 😀

On this beautiful Monday evening, we headed back to Everton Park to help out Friends of Everton tackle the unwanted brambles and trees.

Armed with clippers and Saws we split into two teams to tackle two key areas of the park. It was great to welcome newbie Jessica - looking forward to see you at another task soon!

One area of the park required us to clear the brambles from the orchard, so the fruit trees could thrive. The other, to clear the trees so the Love Everton sign was visible for all!

The difference was astounding - excellent work team! However, we didn't quite get to the bottom of it, so we will be back soon!

Rather unexpectedly there was a bit of an incident when a Goodgym member's belongings had gone missing. Fortunately quick thinking and commendable reactions rectified the situation, and ultimately no damage was done. But one takeaway was the support of the whole Goodgym team, who pulled together to respond and support each other. It really demonstrated the adaptability and team-spirit of the group, and was lovely to see how well GG members look after each other.

Firstly this gorgeous title was designed by our amazing alliteration adept Amina. Secondly the title sums up the whole morning but for those not there lets provide some more context for you. Amina, Steph, Bekah, Dike, Aphra , Jo and Sian all ran our local parkrun which is Princes parkrun. Lucien supported the group - its always lovely to see a familiar face on the two and a half laps. After the run, the group photo and some chat Steph and Amina headed off whilst the others continued the royal theme walking down Windsor Street to local community cafe Squash. Sallyann (me) turned up in time for breakfast ( convenient) having set off at dawn from an overnight camp cycling along a canal with ducklings and herons. Squash breakfast offered a lot of exciting options and we feasted on veggie breakfasts, scrambled egg on homemade foccaccia and yes you guessed it potato cakes. Such a lovely start to a Saturday activity, good company, lovely food and lots of chat. Stickers were placed on our loyalty cards and who knows what categories will have been reached today.... next parkrun is back to the usual rythm of third saturday in the month and we will be going to Rhubarb on Lark Lane afterwards.

"There ain't no party like a Goodgym Party"

Happy Birthday to us! This March, Goodgym Liverpool turns 7, and we were determined to mark it in style.

We were fortunate to be able to use the fabulous Events Space at DoES Liverpool, which was the perfect setting. We had a brilliant turnout with many members making the effort to come along, and it was so lovely to have some purely social time - a rare treat, without those pesky tasks getting in the way!

It was wonderful to see how absolutely everyone contributed to make the event a success, we really took the can-do energy we bring to tasks and saw it come to fruition at our own event. From the bunting and party hats, to an absolutely fabulous buffet which included home-made: fried chicken, chocolate roulade, goats cheese & caramelised onion tarts, a variety of salads, salt & pepper sausage rolls, oat & raisin cookies, & chocolate brownies! Plus a huge selection of sides, snacks, and sweet treats - not to mention a fabulously decorated and personalised Goodgym birthday cake.

Alas, this celebration also marked the final - and 1001st - task of original Goodgym member Pauline. Pauline was there at the very first session 7 years ago and has been a committed and dedicated core member ever since, taking up Coach sessions as well as tasks and missions. It was very emotional to know this was her last session, but we sent her off in style with flowers, champagne, chocolates, a beautiful memory book with photos and memories of her sessions over the years, and a one-off bespoke personalised blue Goodgym t-shirt, in the colours of her beloved Everton FC. Pauline, it's been an absolute priviledge having you as a member, you've supported GG Liverpool and its members endlessly, and your enthusiasm, calm can-do attitude and easy way socially has been a blessing to literally hundreds of people in the community. It's a real loss to lose you but we wish you nothing but the best as your start a new chapter of your life with wonderful husband Miles. The door is always open to come visit us in the future.

It would have been remiss not to celebrate last-man standing Sophie, our dear and dedicated run leader who is now the only remaining member from that very first Liverpool session 7 years ago. The ever-thoughtful Sallyann presented Sophie with a small gift as a token of our appreciation for all the work Sophie does for us.

Sally Ann also had the wonderful idea of us writing down what Goodgym means to us, and taking a photo of the collection of comments for posterity. Check out the photos to see what we came up with - it was quite emotional seeing the impact GG has on the lives of it's members. It's certainly a two-way street - our wonderful members put so much in to helping their community, and in turn the GG community gives so much back. It was lovely for task owner Vicky from Litter Clear Volunteer join us too, Vicky works tirelessly making the local community a lovely place to be, and it was a treat to see her socially and share this special evening with her.

The "thank you" list for last night is long, but in this case it's worth stating, as everyone put in effort to make the event the huge success it absolutely was. We had the best time and it really re-iterated what makes GG special.

With special thanks to:

• Siân, Lucien, Clara for the homemade food and helping with set up & post-party clean up

• Miriam for the amazing birthday cake and all the hard work on Pauline's beautiful memory book gift

• Sophie, Emma, Eleanor, Jo & Liam for the contributions to party-ware and the buffet (including a very generous bottle of champagne!)

• Steph for the homemade brownies

• Pauline for the lovely cakes

• Dan for the festive bunting and homemade roulade

• Asavari for bravely joining us at a social for only her second session - so lovely to see you again!

• Ema for making a huge effort to join us despite ill-health, and for the fun party hats, banners, and decorations

• Sallyann for her tireless hard-work, effort and thoughtfulness which massively contributed to making the event really special

• Bekah for finding that gem of a venue, and the famous salt and pepper sausage rolls

• And shout out to Heetu who sadly couldn't join us in person but was very much there in spirit and contributed her time and effort so generously to Pauline's leaving gift - Heetu you're an absolute genius

It was a really beautiful night showing just how special Goodgym and it's members are. Thank you all for your phenomenal effort both with our party and throughout the year. We all left on a real high, grateful to have so much to celebrate.