The news has been bad this week so it’s always nice to be able to do something good in the world when everything else seems so out of your control. Even if it is just a small corner doing something feels like getting back a bit of control.

It was a bright fresh spring Saturday morning and Vikky, who is both a GoodGymer and a coordinator for Friends of St James's Gardens had booked us for a task to help keep the gardens fresh for the spring.

Stef, Nasser, Ellie and myself went with Vikky onto the St James’s mount side of the beautiful Anglican Cathedral. We all said it was a part of the gardens we hadn’t realised was there and Vikky explained that it was a part that was often overlooked. For this reason it had become overgrown. We set about litterpicking on the mount and Nasser and Ellie got stuck in pruning back the privet hedge. The litterpicking was wild, the mount had attracted some unwanted attention and there was all manner of crazy items to be found in the bushes from tents to saws. The hedge made great progress. It was very satisfying to see.

Once we finished the task. I had a wander back through the main gardens and saw some of the fruits of our labour from last spring in the shape of some snowdrops looking so beautiful beneath the graves. The news at the moment might be deeply troubling but small shoots remind us that we are not helpless in making change.

This Monday we were back again supporting Mulgrave Street Action Group with the Urban Space Community Garden for a weeding task. Not sure how a month has gone by already. Four Goodgymers ran from the suitcases with Jess cheering them all the way! The rest of us met at the task. We were all warmly welcomed by Khan, who as all dearest readers will already know, has far too much faith in our weed identification skills. Each time he gives us a new nugget of information to support with our weeding endeavours and on this occasion, the advice was "do you like it" and "does it bring you joy"?

Now this of course prompted much debate especially as anyone who knows Sallyann will know that anything green and alive brings joy. The humble dandelion got a particular shout out for the joy it can bring. However, Bekah and Jess were on hand with a clear and methodical approach - "it's spikey, it doesn't bring me joy. Get it gone!"

Tonight also marked the inauguration of one of our new Litterpicker Leaders - Clara . Without haste in this new role, a litter pick around the community garden and surrounding area was carried out by Clara and Ellie, both of whom received lovely words of thanks as they went which motivated them further with the task. The task ended against the backdrop of evening prayers from the local mosque. The 4 bags of weeds and 3 bags of rubbish and knowing that we are returning in a month certainly brought us all joy. Speaking of joy - congratulations to Aatefa who has now completed 5 tasks, to Jess who has completed 20 and Ellie who has completed a whopping 70!

Four goodgymers first met for a fitness session led by Sallyann at the suitcases. This primarily centred on some resistance band training and cardio exercises. To support Dike with his own marathon training, he was pushed to lap fellow goodgym runners twice and nearly managed it - Dike we know you'll absolutely smash it and we're cheering you all the way! Then onto some hill drills which Aatefa flew through. The fitness session centred on some resistance band training which led to something resembling a form of crab dance.

Our fab four became five at the Philharmonic where we then spent some time planning potential future goodgym tasks and forging further links in our community. The passion for goodgym could be clearly felt. Upcoming social activities were also shared including the annual goodgym party (celebrating its 8th year!!) with a request for a repeat of Dike's fabulous fried chicken being clearly made. And finally, as we were in the Philharmonic pub, it would have been remiss of us not to see the iconic toilets. The Philharmonic pub was the first purpose-built Victorian pub in England to be given Historic England’s highest honour of a Grade 1 listing and the spectacular loos get a shout out in Bill Bryson's travel book, Notes from a Small Island too. Fired up with new ideas - watch this space for future goodgym tasks

After a week of dreadful weather, the stars - or rather, our one big closest star, the sun - aligned to make a gorgeous morning. It was bright, and positively mild, such a treat after the wind and the rain. Spring was in the air, as was excitement at Goodgym Liverpool... It was Sticker Saturday, hooray!

12 of us turned up for 9am on a Saturday morning to Princes Park ready to take on the course. Miriam kindly turned up to cheerlead and take pictures, and it's always so nice to see a friendly face waving as you go round the course. Some sprinted, some ran, some jogged, some speed-walked, and we met at the finish line congregate for the group photo.

We then headed to fan favourite cafe Maw on Aigburth road, where we met Ellie and Anjie who joined us for breakfast (always allowed - you still get a sticker for coming to breakfast!) and Steph, who'd had a head start after meeting us earlier and then done her morning walk. Despite the lack of hash browns (not that I'm still going on about it or anything) Maw has an extensive menu ranging from a full vegan fry up to beef quesadillas, so everyone was happy (mostly. I'll get over it 😉).

The nice weather had inspired the runners and talk turned to upcoming runs. Thanks Vicki and Clara for some lovely ideas we might have to explore - watch this space! Whilst there we heard from beloved member Lucian who is undergoing an operation today. In a speedy attempt to catch him before he went in, Liam recorded a group message of support which we hope made him smile - good luck with your recovery Lucian, we're all thinking of you and sending our best wishes.

After much chatter and catching up, we slowly started to drift out to get on with our days after a lovely morning. Ongoing and heartfelt thanks to our fabulous Sally Ann, whose continual efforts with Sticker Saturday meant 15 people got some fresh air, exercise, and social time this morning. It's really captured our imagination, and the enthusiasm shows no signs of letting up!

The cafe for next month will be decided very shortly and the listing is available now to sign up. See you there!

11 goodgymers headed to Pagoda Arts Centre on Henry Street on a cool night. It felt like there was a hint of spring in the air. The front of the centre had a snake decoration around the doorway for 2025 and in a couple of weeks the Chinese luna calendar will usher in the year of the fire horse. There were many tasks to take on to get the centre ready for the celebrations. Ellie and Sallyanne cleaned inside the centre, Nasser moved boxes and put up pictures, Liam and Laura cleaned and cleared the entrance, Bekah, Leo and Jess did some up hill gardening and litter picking, me and Sophie cleared the car park of leaves and litter and Steph got to grips with a pile of papers that needed shredding in a temperamental shredder. All while a tai chi class was in progress which we tried hard not to interrupt. We were rewarded after our tasks with Chinese tea and chocolates.

A fabulous group of keen runners met promptly at 6.30 pm on Monday to run to our task! We were all looking forward to our second week at Pagoda Arts Centre, helping them prepare for their Chinese New Year celebrations. We completed a lovely 2km run through the Chinese Arch and recieved some enthusiastic cheers from passers by.

It was the night before the New Year, but unlike the night before Christmas, lots was already stiring at the centre on our arrival.

After being joined by the rest of the group we had some quick introductions and the all important safety briefing!!! The task owner, Zi Lan, gave us our directions along with some education about the three core symbols of the Chinese New Year celebrations; longevity, good fortune, and, prosperity. We were then given free reign in hanging and decorating lots of lovely artwork and decorations including setting up the display on their main feature wall!

We split off into groups, with various people measuring, planning, hammering and decorating and others assisting in moving and organising items that needed to be stored away for the festivities.

After a lot of planning, hanging and organising, we all came together at the end to finalise the main feature wall. It was lovely to see the wall finished by the end of the task and even better to complete it as a team.

I was delighted that most of the runners were happy to go back to the suitcases the long way, resulting in a total of 4 kilometers run together. A great success all round!