In today’s age of dazzling lights and constant motion, the humble glow of a candle may seem too faint, too insignificant to notice. Yet, in many forgotten corners of our cities, such small lights can shine brightest, offering warmth, encouragement, and hope where they are needed most.

In line with the ongoing community efforts of GoodGym, our group received a call for cooperation from such a corner of the city. It was a place that, though overlooked, had long served as a quiet beacon for the surrounding houses. Years ago, the locals had transformed part of their neighborhood into a small green space: a table and several large planters stood there, inviting but worn, needing care and attention. Dust and erosion had left their marks, but not their spirit.

Our group arrived in three stages to restore this space. The table and planters were carefully sanded, with two planters freshly painted. The area was swept clean, giving it back its charm and freshness. While some members worked on sanding, pruning, and tidying, others collected stray items scattered around the neighborhood. The energy was high, the atmosphere warm and lively.

The day became even more special with the arrival of two new members and the long-awaited presence of Ema. Some of us had known Ema only through chats and emails, but meeting her in person added a new spark. Her kind words and cheerful presence doubled the warmth of the gathering.

Yes, in that small corner of the city, we lit a candle once again. The joy was visible not only among us but also in the smiles and gestures of the locals, some waving from their cars as they passed by. Their response was proof that even the smallest light can rekindle a sense of connection and belonging.

After completing the restoration, we shared a short reflection together and then, with a smile, visited what we jokingly named “Ema Lake.” In truth, it was no grand lake at all, just a small pond surrounded by plants, but since Ema had mentioned it a few times, the name stuck and added a lighthearted touch to the day. Standing there, laughing together, it felt like the perfect closing to a day of meaningful work, fun, and renewed friendships.

A great group of Liverpool Goodgymers met at St Luke's Bombed-Out Church on Leece Street and were greeted by the lovely bar staff from St Luke's Garden Bar and Cafe. Painting supplies and sizeable buckets of Ronseal presented, each Goodgymmer selected their brush and the throng of preservative on oak filled the air. The task in hand, to apply wood preservative to the remaining benches and tables in the gardens to complete some much needed sprucing! With no time to lose everyone jumped into action, brush in hand with the table per hour challenge fresh in the mind.

Well Goodgym by name, Goodgym by nature! This bunch did exactly what it said on the Ronseal tin. Clambering, stretching, bending and avoiding the table numbers - 9 tables protected and the good people of Liverpool may be merry for many seasons to come!

A few words from Kate the contact from St Luke's:

"Thank you so much for painting so many tables yesterday! That's loads more than I was expecting! Please pass on a massive thank you to everyone who came."

Well done all, a great job and we've already been invited back. And welcome to new Goodgymmer Sanda who joined us for her first session!

4 goodgymmers met on Hope street and ran our way past the cathedral and through china town onto Park road where we met Elaine and two more goodgymmers to continue our war against the weeds.

This week the targets were thistles, nettles and bindweed. And I really think we broke the back of it - by the end of our session you could actually walk through from one side to the other. Huge progress! Well done everyone. Elaine will now be able to focus on maintaining the plants and the site and really making it a beautiful space for all.

On Monday evening GoodGym Liverpool returned to our regular haunt on Park Lane for our urban street clean up.

Congrats to Jess for taking part in her fifth task!!

Most of us got to work removing the throng of thistles, learning top tips such as:

Double gloving is useful when you accidentally bring your rubbish ones You must cut off the thistle flowers and bag them up before their seeds spread Using shears as a method to transport thistles is very effective

Whilst we were tackling the thistles Bekah was doing a boss job litter picking. She also saved a cornucopia of slugs (I did not know this was the collective word for these docile slimy creatures so I've learnt something new).

She rescued them from certain death after finding one half in, half out of a can of lager, she liberated it and then found another 15 inside the can!! So she's relocated them somewhere more suitable so they can enjoy their best life.

We got an incredible amount of work done, as seen in the photo, and here's hoping that we managed to get those wretched seeds into the bags ready to be taken far, far away.

We will be back again next week and I'm so confident we will remove every last one of the thistles ready for Elaine to manage the area to make it beautiful for the people of Liverpool (and for her dog Riley to play in without getting prickled by the offending vegetation).

Well done gang!!

Despite a weather forecast suggesting we would have a wet task 16 Goodgymers met under dry skies with Friends of St James Gardens.

Our task was to clear the area around Huskissons monument. it's a large paved area that had become a growing space for a large amount of weeds in between the slabs.

We welcomed Abi who is from Climate Coalition who came to join in and find out more about Goodgym Liverpool for Great Green Week.

It was such a lovely atmosphere with so many people working together. Plenty of opportunities to chat as we worked which is always a plus (in this report writers opinion). Michael from Friends Of St James Park also kept us entertained with his vast collection of jokes.

One of the great things about our tasks is that you see such great results in just an hour. Many hands really do make light work. The difference between the start and finish surprised us all. We still have a bit to finish so will be back next week to finish the task.