It was an early start for a group of GoodGymmers this fine Sunday morning as we came together to set up the Otterspool prom water station for the Liverpool half marathon. Three GoodGym members were taking part, Vikky, Roz and Emma, while Sallyann was running the Bath half marathon the same day. We were looking forward to cheering on our friends along with the rest of the runners, and got going setting up our tables either side of the route. As we prepared by unpacking crates of water bottles from a shipping container, opening the bottles and screwing the tops back on so they were ready to hand out, there was a growing sense of anticipation as we waited to see the first runners pass by. Not many of the leading runners wanted water, leading to the teams on each side of the path competing to hand out water to those who did and jokingly boasting about our bottle tallies. This was soon forgotten as we began to get steadily busier and were very quickly deluged with runners as the main body of the race passed by. Even though our stock of prepared bottles filled three trestle tables, it vanished very quickly and everyone was working flat out either unpacking bottles or handing them out. We were so overwhelmed that eventually we had to give up unscrewing them, something that has never happened before in our time running the water station for this race - there were 9 thousand runners this year, an increase of about 2 thousand on previous years, and it really made a difference! Despite how intense it was we kept up a cheer for all the athletes as they passed, and when we spotted Roz, Emma and Vikky we made sure to shout extra loudly for them. As the race drew to a close we turned our attention to our next big task - collecting up all the bottles the runners had thrown behind them. Charmaine, who happened to be passing by on a walk, got stuck in to help which was amazing, and even signed up as a GoodGym member later that day - a big thank you, Charmaine! With the extra help we powered through the clean-up and collected a staggering 52 rubbish sacks full of plastic bottles. We were all quite sobered to see the scale of plastic waste and are really hoping to see a more sustainable solution for next year's run. As for this year though, it was hard work but good fun and made enjoyable by the camaraderie and conversation of the GoodGym team - huge thanks and kudos to everyone!

Despite a last minute change of plans 7 Goodgymmers met on Mulgrave street, and, armed with litter pickers, headed out into the night.

We focused our efforts along Princes Avenue. At first it seemed that there wasn't too much littered to be collected, but we managed to get a whopping 8 bags!

It was great to be joined by new comer Mark. Not only did we have a great time chatting and picking, but it was great to see how big an impact we had. Well done everyone!

Despite some rather miserable spring weather in Liverpool, 8 dedicated goodgymmers met for our usually Monday night task.

After a quick, 2 mile run, we met lark lane neighbourhood association and headed off down the lane to clear up any and all discarded litter!

We were all quite pleasantly surprised by how clean it appeared and felt like we had to really search for the litter. This meant it was all the more satisfying when we realised we had gathered 7 full bags!

Strangest find goes to Jowho found a fork in the road! (how poetic)

Well done everyone it was clear to see the impact we had!

The Pagoda Arts Centre works to be “a big family for those people who have an interest in Chinese culture”, and it was a big Goodgym family who turned up on a bright, chilly February Saturday morning to help prepare for Chinese New Year.

Five of the Goodgymmers met at local Princes Park for Parkrun, then headed straight to the task afterwards (and by headed straight, we of course mean via a local coffee shop to refuel!)

On arrival, a fantastic 14 Goodgymmers had turned up to help out, and introductions were in order as we had three new members who had each separately heard about Goodgym and decided to join us. Welcome Mel, Pri, & Aditi!

With so many willing pairs of hands the team sailed through a number of tasks, to prepare the centre for the Chinese New Year celebrations the following day. We cleared out an alley, moved furniture to make space for the performance, litter picked, swept and cleared leaves and weeds from the exterior, mopped floors, hung decorations, cleaned toilets – you name it, we sorted it! Hidden talents were unmasked when veteran member Sophie casually confirmed which way to hang a Chinese sign, revealing she’d studied Chinese and translating the sign for us. It just goes to show you never know how much people have to offer, and even after all these years Goodgymmers can still surprise us.

In no time the centre was looking clear and refreshed and there was even time for a rare treat of a cuppa together provided by the centres kind staff.

The Pagoda do a huge variety of great work including ESOL lessons, Tai Chi, Orchestra performances and a number of events for the Chinese community, so it was fitting our help was so varied and we were glad to contribute to the fabulous celebrations taking place over the weekend.

Gong hei fat choy!

This week 12 goodgymmers ran, walked and cycled to Sunflowers Cancer Care Centre to lend a hand (or 24!) Their team do amazing work providing support to local people following a diagnosis of cancer or other life-changing illness. On our arrival at 7pm, we found virtually all the rooms full with no doubt invaluable counselling and group support sessions taking place. Our tasks for the evening included some coin counting, mould scrubbing (with appropriate safety gear and windows open of course) and wall painting. Delighted with a rare indoor task as the wind howled outside, we quickly spilt into 2 teams and got to work. With face masks and a need to not lose track of counting reducing our ability to chat somewhat, we finished all the tasks surprisingly quickly! All that was left to do was head to Lark Lane for a drink to celebrate Sallyann reaching the big 100 (deeds, not years…) and Aditya’s last group run with goodgym Liverpool. Aditya has been a very valued member of the group since July 2023 and he will be greatly missed. Tonight also marked Chris’s 40th deed and Jake’s 30th - well done everyone!