We all woke up ready to get painting fences for our planned Community Mission in the Dingle, but, as is happening here and there at he moment, instead we got the message from the lovely people at the project that one of their team had tested positive for Covid and they were all in isolation waiting further test results!

Feeling a little disappointed and really valuing the joy of doing something together Sal suggested that we meet with our trusted litter pickers and clean up Princes Avenue Boulevard instead! Fabulous idea!! We then went one step further (as we GoodGymers do) and had a duel session with Sal, Jo and myself on the Boulevard and Pauline taking care of a area local to her in Runcorn, assisted beautifully by her furry friend team!

We cleared 11 bags of rubbish from the Boulevard over 3 hours, including finds of teddies, car door handles, footballs, and a body buff amongst all the usual rubbish, and left the newly redesigned and very beautiful Boulevard back in a state to be proud of.

On a hot bright sunshiny day five Goodgymers joined in with a mega beach clean event bringing together several local groups to clean up the beach after the bank holiday had left it's effects!!

Alongside Friends of Crosby Beach Surfers Against Sewage Friends of Waterloo Seafront Gardens Green Sefton and a bunch of others we spent 3 baking hours litter picking on the beach, in the dunes and along the prom from Waterloo to Hall road, with four allocated stations along the route.

Our GoodGym team joined the Waterloo end and between us collected over 20 huge sacks of rubbish!! With Pauline doing a great job of enlisting a group of teenages to help out!

The beach was full of families and groups of young people enjoying the gorgeous day and views out to Wales. Sadly our much loved Iron Men were absent (they are off getting a spit and polish of their own but will be back)

Well done to Jessica for joining us for her second session!

We'll be back on the beach again for some more litter picking on Sunday 13th 2pm-4pm Come and join us!

St Luke's Church, known locally and with great affection as the Bombed Out Church recently marked the 80th anniversary of the May Blitz of WWll when the church was hit by an incendiary device. The outer walls of the church still stand and the site has become a much loved and valued part of Liverpool's community, supporting arts & culture, education and homelessness groups.

We are delighted to be able to return to help out with some exciting plans!

Sam from the BoC team says this about the development To develop the memorial garden at St Luke’s as a tranquil and beautiful green space in the city centre - a place for contemplation, reflection and remembrance. The project invites the collaboration of young people, education providers, local businesses, community groups and volunteers, providing meaningful opportunities for learning and participation. The garden will serve as a site for workshops and horticultural classes, and as a focal point for the development and exhibition of educational resources related to ecological awareness, environmentally friendly practise, and sustainability – encouraging visitors to the site to develop a sense of civic agency and explore how they can make a difference within their community.

For this session four of us were doing our bit digging for Liverpool and getting a great workout as we went! We turned over the perimeter flower beds ready for planting for the new memorial gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day and a tranquil setting in the middle of a busy city centre!

Well done to Haila and Sal for doing their second sessions with us.

We will be back on a regular basis to work with the team and enjoy the development of the site, so keep an eye out for future sessions.