Twelve Goodgymmers gathered on a lovely summer’s evening at the cemetery below the impressive cathedral and help the Friends of St James Gardens continue their amazing work caring for this beautiful and historic area.

Michael gave us a warm welcome and soon had us divided into three task groups. The main focus of the session was weeding the paving around the monument, while the other two groups took on a couple of outlying tasks: litter picking and clearing the nettles and undergrowth around the tunnel entrance to the cemetery

But this wasn’t just any Goodgym evening. It was a night of reunions. Lucien and Sian were back in Liverpool and, naturally, made sure a Goodgym session was part of their plans. bringing along Sian's Mum Karen who we had met not long before Sian moved away. Although they no longer live in Liverpool at the moment, Sian and Lucien are certainly not absent from the Goodgym brainpower. Both continue to suggest ideas, come up with plans and keep things moving from afar. As Sian describes it in her WhatsApp title, “Task Force in Absentia” — proof that moving away doesn’t get you out of Goodgym responsibilities! It was so lovely to see them both back. They are such active members of GoodGym Liverpool, and it’s brilliant to see that their enthusiasm and commitment to Goodgym continues even though life has taken them to Spain and Staffordshire at the moment,.

And for Lucien, it was a particularly special evening because this was his 100th Goodgym task! 100 tasks is no mean feat at the best of times, but Lucien has managed it while undertaking his PhD, moving home and city, and undergoing significant surgery. Quite an impressive list of life events to fit around 100 Goodgym tasks!

It was also a joy to see Leo back after his time away with family. Great to have his positive energy back in the group — Leo we have missed you. Dina and Leo were talking about Fado a particular type of Portuguese music... I had to go away and look it up... Goodgym brings so many new things into our lives we never stop learning from each other.

The evening flew by in a blur of chats, laughter and hard work. Minutes became an hour almost without us noticing, and the transformation of the paved area around the monument was a joy to behold.

A truly precious moment was as Ellie uncovered a huge piece of turf covering a gravestone or ledger stone. She peeled it back — and underneath was the inscription from the gravestone, with the engraving preserved in relief in the bottom of the turf. Robert Merchant's inscription echoes from stone to earth uncovered by our Ellie.

The next day on our WhatsApp group it led to a discussion on the use of gravestones as paths and flooring ... I tell you Goodgym Liverpool has the best people to learn something new every day.

Back to our Monday task and with the work done, it was time to celebrate Lucien’s 100th task with some well-earned sweet treats. Nobody seemed particularly keen to rush off. People lingered, standing around chatting and catching up, enjoying the warmth of the evening and each other’s company. Goodbyes became long, lingering goodbyes, as conversations continued and nobody quite seemed ready to call it a night. It was just one of those evenings .... A beautiful summer evening, a brilliant piece of work completed, an unexpected glimpse of history uncovered, reunions, laughter — and Lucien celebrating his 100th task.

Congratulations again, Lucien. We’re looking forward to seeing you back in Liverpool — preferably wearing your wings T-shirt. And what better place to earn your wings than in St James’s Gardens? After all… Earning your wings is no grave thing!

The last week has been hot. Really hot. Heatwave, national heat alert hot. It has sapped the energy of even the most sun-loving people. As the weekend arrived, the temperature finally dropped to something that felt like a proper summer's day, and six of us joined the team from the Friends of Festival Gardens.

Our mission was to uncover the established shrubs that had become smothered and choked by bindweed, with a scattering of nettles and brambles adding to the challenge.

When we arrived, we were faced with a towering mass of greenery, dotted with delicate white bindweed flowers. As we started to pull it away, we discovered why it's so aptly named. The bindweed had wrapped itself tightly, and repeatedly, around the existing shrubs, making it a slow but satisfying job to release them. Gradually, a variety of shrubs and even sections of the pathways began to reappear.

This area, beside the impressive pagoda, forms part of the Chinese Garden within the park. Today we worked together to uncover the garden once again and allow it to breathe.

There's always something special about working alongside the Friends of Festival Gardens. They're a hardworking group who are always welcoming to new members and make Goodgym feel right at home. Together we spent two hours freeing the plants from the choking effects of the bindweed, helping to reveal the beauty of the garden beneath.

Congratulations to Leo, who completed his 30th Goodgym task today!

What better way to spend a Sunday morning than volunteering together with the Friends of Festival Gardens? The temperature may still have been hot, and we’d all worked up a sweat but it was a pretty cool way to spend a summer Sunday morning.

On a beautiful summer Monday evening, GoodGym Liverpool once again answered the call of the Friends of Princes Park.

Twelve GoodGymers volunteered for the task. One by one, we gathered along the park's main avenue near the Friends of Princes Park building. The evening carried the gentle warmth of summer, and the park seemed to be waiting for us. After a few minutes, we were welcomed by Katie and Laura, from the Friends of Princes Park group.

Liam, our task leader for the evening, gathered us together for a safety briefing and outlined the mission ahead. Beside him stood two wheelbarrows laden with gardening tools, impatient soldiers waiting to be deployed. The moment Liam finished speaking, the wheelbarrows rolled into action and our small expedition set off.

Liam and Sophie led the way while the rest of us followed, chatting as we walked through the park. Along the route, a small comedy unfolded. Bekah, believing Leo was still somewhere behind us, thoughtfully sent him the location pin and tagged him in the group chat. Moments later, Leo appeared in a selfie with the group, having already caught up.

Our destination was a quiet corner of the park, tucked away from the main lake and resting beside a beautiful pond. It was one of those hidden places where the world seems to slow down, allowing nature to speak in its own language.

Before I had even decided where to begin, everyone was already hard at work.

One team cleared grass from the roadside and used the removed turf to repair a waterlogged area nearby, transforming it into a neat and orderly patch that looked freshly planted. Another team trimmed grass and vegetation growing along the retaining wall. Several friends were amazed by how quickly everything had grown. Nature, it seemed, had been busy while we were away.

Others gathered and removed the cuttings, ensuring the site remained tidy. Everyone worked in harmony, each person contributing their own small part to a larger achievement.

Yet the loudest activity of the evening was not gardening.

It was sneezing.

The pollen season had arrived in full force, and before long an unexpected symphony filled the air. Sneezes echoed from every corner of the work site, one answering another in almost perfect rhythm. It was a concert unlike any other, performed without rehearsal and entirely free of charge.

If someone had opened a nearby tissue stand, they might have retired by sunset.

Then, suddenly, the symphony stopped.

"Frog!"

Bekah and Tsitsi had spotted a frog that had fallen from the retaining wall and was desperately attempting to climb back up. Again and again, it tried, as though the word surrender simply did not exist in its vocabulary.

The determined amphibian continued its struggle until Naser decided to intervene.

Armed with a shovel and perhaps more confidence than expertise in frog transportation, he gently launched the frog several metres into the grass. To everyone's surprise, he did not aim for the pond as expected.

The frog experienced what was likely the longest jump of its life. Perhaps it broke a personal record. Perhaps it is still telling the story to its descendants. Either way, I doubt it will forget the experience anytime soon.

Then, far sooner than anyone wished, the announcement came.

"Time's up."

What a strange thing time is.

In ordinary life, people count the minutes until work ends. Yet here, among friends, nobody wanted the evening to finish. Everyone wished for a little more time, another conversation, another laugh, another shared task.

When people truly enjoy being together, time loses its meaning.

The tools were packed away; a group photograph was taken and then came a surprise announcement.

It was Sallyann’s birthday.

Not simply a birthday.

Her sixtieth birthday.

They had arranged a small celebration, and suddenly the evening became about something much greater than gardening.

Some people may think these weekly tasks and reports are repetitive.

They are mistaken.

GoodGym is not merely a running club that volunteers. It is a place where people practice community. A place where exercise becomes friendship, where volunteering becomes belonging, and where strangers slowly become fellow travellers.

Each of us joined for our own reasons. Some came to run. Some came to help. Some came searching for company. Yet over time, something deeper develops. Empathy. Trust. Kindness. Friendship.

Shared goals bring people together.

People give those goals meaning.

That truth became beautifully visible during Sallyann's celebration.

Bekah led the presentation of gifts. Many had been carefully Organised by friends both present and absent. Behind the scenes, people like Heetu, Bekah, Miriam and others had quietly spent time planning this moment.

As Sallyann opened each gift and read each message, she tried her best to remain composed.

Above us, the sky was heavy with clouds.

It wanted to rain.

Yet somehow it waited.

Message after message, memory after memory, gratitude after gratitude. Each word touched her heart a little more deeply.

Eventually, the clouds no longer needed to rain.

Sallyann's eyes did it for them.

The first tears appeared.

Not tears of sadness.

Tears of belonging.

Tears of gratitude.

Tears that only appear when a person feels truly seen and truly loved.

It was a beautiful sight.

A group of people from different countries, backgrounds, professions and cultures had gathered to celebrate one person who had touched so many lives. Sallyann had lived through countless moments over sixty years, yet this simple gathering of friends carried a magic all its own.

As Sally later reflected:

"I joined GoodGym because I wanted to make a difference. I don't think I had any idea of the difference it would make to me, or how important it and everyone within it would become. It truly is a group that supports, helps and makes a difference. When I say that, I don't mean only the wonderful things we achieve with spades, shovels, shears, litter pickers and paintbrushes. I mean within my life, my heart and my soul. Thank you so much for being part of my life."

Those words captured something many of us already knew but perhaps had never fully expressed.

We often hear that teamwork, volunteering and shared goals create belonging, reduce loneliness and strengthen communities.

But how do we measure success?

Not in kilometres run.

Not in flowerbeds restored.

Not in volunteer hours recorded.

The true measure of success was that moment.

The moment Sallyann cried.

Tears are often the most private possessions a person has. They emerge only when something reaches the deepest places of the heart.

Those tears revealed that over the years, through leaders and members like Sallyann, GoodGym has become more than a group.

It has become a family.

In an age when so many voices preach division, communities like GoodGym quietly build unity. While others draw lines between people, groups like this build bridges across them.

Charities, community groups and organisations like GoodGym are beacons in a fragmented world. They remind us that kindness remains stronger than indifference and that belonging remains stronger than isolation.

Happy Birthday, Sallyann.

Thank you for being exactly who you are.

Thank you for reminding us of what community looks like.

May your eyes shed tears only for joy.

And may we all be fortunate enough to celebrate your hundredth birthday together.