This Monday's task was to help deliver the latest edition of the local community newsletter. Calling it a newsletter doesn't really do it justice – it's a hefty booklet packed with stories, events and all the good news happening across the community.

We were joined by Peter, who was born in the area and followed on from John leading The Shewsy Youth Centre and has a long history with it, having first attended as an eight-year-old. Peter and John clearly go back a long way, and their banter was one of the many highlights of the the evening.

Before we set off, Clara did a brilliant job making sure everyone knew which streets they were covering, keeping us organised so there was no doubling up and no roads missed.

Clara teamed up with Dina, and a big congratulations were in order for Dina, who quietly completed her fifth Goodgym task over the weekend. . It already feels like you've been part of the group for much longer Dina.

Aatefa and Heetu had run to the task before heading off to cover their patch. Heetu enthusiastically grabbed a huge bag of newsletters, apparently running to the task wasn't enough exercise for her – she decided to fit in a bit of weight training too.

As we all drew to the end of our paper rounds we waved to Naser and Peter who were just a few houses down. But they stood for a long time ... what was wrong? Nothing! they were just continuing their conversation and as they said 'putting the world's to rights'. Naser never fails to make fabulous connections with people wherever we go so I dont know why I hadn't realised.

The paper round complete, we all headed home, another Monday night task ticked off.

I'll finish with an indulgent reflection, seeing as I'm the one writing the report! It struck me that over the course of this weekend I'd spent time with every single Goodgymmer who was on tonight's task. I'd also been in Everton on Saturday's task with John, our task owner. Moments like that remind me why Goodgym means so much to me. Spending time together, doing something positive for our communities, doesn't just benefit the places we visit – it nourishes and nurtures me. I'm incredibly grateful to be part of it

It was the annual Choir With No Name summer concert at the Everyman theatre on Hope Street. Two Goodgymmers Steph and Steph were performing with the choir and our Area Activator Ema, who is also manager of the choir was in attendance which was a real treat for the choir and us Goodgymmers because we have really missed her while she has been ill. Aatefa, Dina, Suren, Liam, Heetu, Sallyann and myself met with Kate from Choir With No Name who explained our role in selling merch, signing people up as fans and collecting donations.

To be honest we were well and truly on it, we love being a part of this event so we knew the drill. The puns on the merch were so fantastic we knicked one for the title of this report. All song lyric puns, you had tea towels ‘Never gonna wash you up’ (Rick Astley) ‘Hate to say I toweled you so’ (The Hives) and tote bags with ‘Bag to life, bag to reality’ (Soul II soul). Sallyann was please that a bag with ‘Bag a do do do’ (Black Lace) sold as it was the last one and she hated for it to be lonely.

The concert was typically phenomenal, our Steph put in a fantastic solo in a Chapel Roan medley and Heetu commented that her favourite song was their rendition of Kate Bush’s ‘Running up that hill’ it was amazing.

A really special part of the concert was special guest, Scouse poet, Joseph Roberts who puts his poems to music. The CWNN provided a haunting backing vocal to his poem about mental health called ‘luggage’. It was stunning. There was a moving testimony from one of the choir members called Skye who spoke about grief and surviving suicidal thoughts and how she had found a home in the choir. It was so moving and definitely moved the audience.

The audience showed incredible generosity in the bucket donations and merch sales. We think that merch sales might be the most successful we’ve ever known with the new tea towels proving particularly popular.

Well done to the Stephs and so wonderful to see Ema, we all left on a high. Special shout out to Aatefa and Sallyann who did the TRIO on this day… parkrun in the morning, Everton Park Games in the afternoon and CWNN concert in the evening, it was an epic day for them.

Goodgym Saturdays are the best!

Everton park is on a site that used to be high rise social housing and jn the 1970s and 80s that was demolished and a beautiful park was created, a stunning green space with activity areas for locals to enjoy. It is widely known in Liverpool for having one of the best views of the city. Friends of Everton Park maintain the large park and attend to the community gardens. John is our main point of contact and he was the brains behind their new initiative, an Everton Park games. He told us that his inspiration for the games was going to Scotland and seeing the Highland Games that are enjoyed by local communities there. They have assault courses where competitors toss hay bails and build fences. A relay race filled with challenging activities. So this is what John set about creating. A space on the hill was allocated and John got a track painted onto the grass.

The course included passing through hoops, running backwards with heavy bags, rolling a large tube up the hill, constructing a jigsaw puzzle, looping rope onto cones, manoeuvring a wheelbarrow through a line of poles and finally throwing the heavy bag into a hoop.

Unfortunately no one had signed up to this first event but that was ok, in fact it was a perfect opportunity to test run the event and iron out any problems before holding the event again at a later date. After the intense heat some rainfall was welcome, Sallyann, Heetu, myself, Vikky, Aatefa and Nasser all pitched in to help set up and dismantle the course. We then ran the course with varying levels of success! It was incredibly fun with just a few teething issues that we discussed with John and the other volunteers at the end so that the next event could be a success.

The course created some fun inter-generational discussion with the older volunteers comparing the course to the hit 80s phenomenon ‘It’s a Knockout’ and slightly younger volunteers referencing 90s show ‘The Krypton Factor’ still both vintage references, clearly this format needs a reboot for the 21st century! Thanks John and everyone for a really fun day.

Sophie, Vikky and Aatefa ran to Princes park from Hope Street when the temperature was still very warm. Laura, Steph and I were with Ali, a Friend of Princes Park helping him get the wheelbarrows, watering cans and the water butt on wheels out of the lock up. Katy from Friends of Princes Park gave us some instruction on what we were going to do today; water some of the trees that were earmarked for watering in the park. Apparently a new tree, up to two years old, needs a minute of watering every few days as it has not yet developed a deep root system that can access lower ground water. Dina and Ellie joined us before we started wheeling our water collectors down to the lakeside. There we formed a human chain, passing watering cans along to fill up the water butt and the cans, it was a workout! Some twisting and lifting. Then we made our way to the new trees that needed watering. They were each labelled and we marked each label as we watered so that we knew which ones had been done. Liam, Tsitsi and Craig joined the group just in time to see the Cinnabar moth caterpillar on a piece of grass. It was black and yellow striped, the nature signal for ‘don’t eat me, I am dangerous’ but there was nothing dangerous about this caterpillar except that they were munching all the leaves on our baby trees. We watered plum trees, cherry trees, oaks and horse chestnut trees. Ali asked us to water a few extras that weren’t marked just because he liked them which was very sweet and a sign of how much he cares for the park, developing fondness for the trees. I eyed up a fantastic blackberry picking location that I will definitely be returning to in a week or so when the berries have ripened so I can forage a few to have in my porridge. We definitely got our lifting exercise in on this task and really enjoyed the beauty of the park on this warm sunny evening. Katy told us about the Friends of Princes park anniversary event that is happening in a few weeks so many of us agreed that we would love to return for that.

The summer sun certainly made its presence known this Saturday, and the soaring temperatures persuaded many to enjoy a slower start to the weekend. But for a small and determined group of us, the heat was simply another challenge to embrace. Dike, Suren and I laced up our running shoes and headed to Princes Park, looking forward to another Saturday with our Parkrun family, and, of course, another Sticker Saturday.

Every Parkrun tells a different story, and today's wasn't about numbers or personal bests. It was about showing up, encouraging one another, and celebrating the community spirit that makes Princes Park so special.

While we took the course, Steph proudly stepped into her much-appreciated role as our Sticker Guardian, welcoming everyone from the lodge with her usual warmth, positivity, and a well-earned post-run breakfast. On a day like today, cold water truly beats the heat, and those simple moments, a refreshing drink, good food, plenty of laughter, and great company, became the real rewards of the morning.

One of the greatest joys of Princes Parkrun is knowing that no one is ever truly running alone. A heartfelt thank you to Kate and the wonderful Friends of Princes Park, whose cheerful encouragement reminded us that support doesn't always come from those running beside you. Sometimes, the loudest motivation comes from those waiting with a smile, a kind word, and unwavering encouragement. Their generosity creates a genuine sense of belonging, friendship, and community that stretches far beyond the finish funnel.

That same spirit is at the heart of GoodGym. Our presence at Parkrun reflects what GoodGym is all about: promoting health and wellbeing through physical activity while building stronger, more connected communities. We run to keep ourselves healthy, but we also run to support others, volunteer our time, and give something back to the places we call home.

At GoodGym, we believe that positive change begins with action. We don't need grand speeches to show our values because our actions speak for themselves. Every run, every community mission, every volunteer hour, every helping hand, and every word of encouragement is another step towards creating healthier, kinder, and more resilient communities. Whether we're running a Parkrun, helping a local project, or simply cheering someone on, we know that even the smallest act of kindness can leave a lasting impact.

Today's Parkrun reminded us that success isn't measured by the size of the crowd or the time on the stopwatch. It's measured by the friendships we nurture, the encouragement we share, the communities we strengthen, and the willingness to show up for one another.

The sun may have warmed up the day, but it was kindness, community, and friendship that truly made it shine. Because when people come together with purpose, every step forward becomes a step towards a stronger community. 💙🏃☀️