The Dream Team!

It was a big day today, marking both Liam’s birthday and our last session with Aditya before he returns to India. Over the last seven months Aditya has been a committed and enthusiastic member of the GoodGym community, turning up in all weathers to help out at tasks and discovering a newfound love and talent for running. He has become a friend to us all and will be much missed from the team, but will always remain part of the GoodGym Liverpool family. To celebrate Aditya’s time with us and wish him well for the future we organised a group trip to the parkrun at Sutton Manor in his honour, with Liam, Sallyann and Heetu being super helpful by giving lifts. We had been warned that it was a hilly and difficult run but it was also really friendly with lots of other participants giving us a warm welcome, which was good for morale. The route passed the famous Dream sculpture which symbolises hope for the future and honours the mining history of the area, and continued on through woodland. It was picturesque but hard work so it was a relief to see Ema and Sallyann waiting for the runners near the end, their cheers and encouragement giving us a final push to the finish. After the run many of us met up with other friends at our regular favourite post-run spot, The Third Cafe on Lark Lane, where we enjoyed brunch very generously and secretly paid for by Heetu as a leaving gift to Aditya. Subtlety is not a strong point in our group and it wouldn’t have taken a detective to notice all the whispering and passing of parcels around the table, not to mention the long queue for the bathroom where cards were set up to be signed. Despite it all, Liam and Aditya were still surprised as they each assumed the preparations were meant for the other, but of course the celebration was for both of them! We all got to enjoy a slice of Liam’s birthday cake while we watched Aditya open his card, a collage of his achievements at GoodGym, and his present, a model lambanana. It was a bittersweet and emotional moment as Aditya thanked everyone and left the cafe en route to an important final GoodGym mission with Sallyann and Ema - introducing little lambanana to Superlambanana. Happy birthday to Liam, good luck to Aditya, and thanks to everyone for a lovely morning!