This week we returned to help Friend's of St James Gardens finish what we had previously started - clearing all the weeds from the paving around the monument.

It was a beautiful summers evening and 4 goodgymmers tackled a few hill reps, before joining the others to get on with the real hard work.

Working away with various implements, we filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with moss, grass, dandelions and a whole host of others weeds, as well as clearing the site of litter. To top it off we were even treated to a visit from Goodgym retiree, Pauline, who was passing on her bike! This really spurred us on to make short work of the weeding and as you can clearly see from the after pic, we did a rather fabulous job!

As if that wasn't enough Sallyann then treated us to some chocolates and the traditional birthday oranges!

Well a few of us met at the suitcases to run to Everton park and the others met us at task near the "love, love parks, love everton park" wall.

But the LLPLEP wall was not the object of our affections this time but a different sort of hidden natural granite wall which was "mosscared" to reveal a lovely place to enjoy the views by Miriam and Dan. Need to get our new good gym word approved by Susie Dent or at least on the panel of "I’m sorry I haven’t a clue"!

While we could hear the delights of satisfaction from the mosscared team the rest of us where trying to identify baby saplings in the grass bank and remove them to avoid them taking over the whole area. We also gave a few trees a trunk trimming or technically limbing up to trim away the baby branches.

John our Everton park leader presented us all with a leaflet of all their events where the good gym team are proudly there front and centre on the cover! We ran home thinking of all the fun times working in Everton park, filled with gratitude and appreciation that we have had the opportunity to work with John over the past years helping the Everton community.

P. S. - While some of us ran home, Naser continued to pick up another couple bags of rubbish making the green space even more fabber! Take a look at the additional photos uploaded to site the final greeness without rubbish!

P.P.S.- I so think it would be sound to have goodgym dictionary !!!

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 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.