(with thanks to Bekah and Claire for pun inspiration)

It was a classic GoodGym Liverpool winter session, cold, dark and raining, but a determined group of us were not going to be put off just by weather when we had pruning to do and milestones to hit - tonight we celebrated Amina's 20th task, Leo's 10th task, and welcomed Colin back for his second session - a huge well done to all three. Amina, Sallyann, Colin and Bekah met at the suitcases and ran through the rain to meet the rest of the group (Sian, Leo, Lucien and Jess) and Adam from Friends of Everton Park at the gorgeous Prince Edwin Street community gardens to receive our briefing and tools. We carefully counted out all our loppers and saws so that we could be sure to count them in again and not leave any unattended blades behind! Our mission today was to cut down the poplar saplings that had sprung up on the grassy banks of Everton Park. For many GoodGymmers it feels really wrong at first to be cutting trees down in the name of environmentalism, but as you visit Everton Park over a longer span of time it becomes apparent that it's important to prune back some growth to allow others to flourish, and also that the saplings pop back up again whenever you turn around!! The rain had made the bank muddy and slippy so we had to move very cautiously especially carrying our tools and cuttings.

A passerby stopped to talk to us who was learning English and natively spoke Brazilian Portuguese - well in a beautiful moment of serendipity, Leo who shares the same mother tongue was at the task tonight and able to lead the conversation and help interpret. The man was really keen to join in with us on the spot and in the GoodGym ethos of nobody being left behind we really wanted him to be able to, but after some consideration and discussion Bekah made the excellent call that it wasn't a good idea on this particular task as it would mean handing a saw to a passerby and sending them up a slippery bank in the dark! We did encourage him to come along in the future so hopefully we will see him again.

The poplars were all cut down with such speed and efficiency we still had plenty of time to start on the brambles in front of the wall with LOVE painted on it. This had at one time been completely covered up but a previous GoodGym session had, aptly enough, revealed the LOVE, meaning that it was a much more manageable task today to prune back the new growth and we just reached the end of the sign at the end of the session. In homage to Dan's penchant for creating a playlist for each task, my suggestion for this one is Dance (Prune) Me to the End of (the) Love (Sign at Everton Park) by the Civil Wars! We returned our tools and said goodbye to Everton Park for the rest of the year. We will look forward to returning next spring, hopefully to meet a fit and healthy John. We send John our love and best wishes for a full recovery.

This session we were back at the Bombed Out Church, completing our excellent work painting the final tables, stools and benches, taking on the Host Stand, and litter picking.

We welcomed new Goodgymmer Colin who joined us for his first task - welcome Colin! It was great to meet you.

Task owner Kate gave us a thorough briefing, and we split into groups, some taking on the painting, and some on litter-picking duty. The site initially looked fairly clear, though with some rummaging the team were able to fill several litter bags, including a pair of shoes (yes, the full pair), socks, and a rather lovely bowl. The painting team took it in turns swapping the large and small brushes, and efficiently finished painting the benches, tables and stools, before turning their attention to the larger Host Stand. Everyone got stuck in, whilst I was on the important tasks of project management, team co-ordination, quality control and torch holding.

The BOC team were again delighted with how much we achieved in such a short space of time, and booked another session there and then. Next time we'll be planting bulbs to prepare for a dazzling daffodil display in the spring!

Alas, every silver lining has a cloud, and the cloud hanging over this session was that our beloved Dan is moving on to pastures new, and this was his last session with Goodgym Liverpool - for now. Dan joined Goodgym Liverpool six months ago, and quickly became an integral member of the group. His love of litter picking, skills with the puns, way with wordsmithery and all-round fabulous company endeared him to all he met, and we're very sorry to see him go. But Dan won't be giving up on Goodgym, he'll be moving to Goodgym Hackney, who don't know how lucky they are to have him - yet. Dan leaves us as a taskforce member with a very respectable 26 good deeds under his belt. He's assured us he'll be back to visit, and the door is always open for him to (litter) pick up where he left off. Dan - it's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you, we hope to see you again very soon.

The team presented Dan with a card and a farewell gift of some thorn proof gardening gloves and his very own litter picking hoop (he already owns his own litter picker!), and he very kindly opened his home to us for some post-task refreshments for a proper farewell.

Goodgym is a fantastic way to get to know some very lovely people, the other side of that coin is it's always difficult when people move on. But you know what they say: 'tis better to have loved litter-picked, than never to have volunteered at all...