A fabulous group of keen runners met promptly at 6.30 pm on Monday to run to our task! We were all looking forward to our second week at Pagoda Arts Centre, helping them prepare for their Chinese New Year celebrations. We completed a lovely 2km run through the Chinese Arch and recieved some enthusiastic cheers from passers by.

It was the night before the New Year, but unlike the night before Christmas, lots was already stiring at the centre on our arrival.

After being joined by the rest of the group we had some quick introductions and the all important safety briefing!!! The task owner, Zi Lan, gave us our directions along with some education about the three core symbols of the Chinese New Year celebrations; longevity, good fortune, and, prosperity. We were then given free reign in hanging and decorating lots of lovely artwork and decorations including setting up the display on their main feature wall!

We split off into groups, with various people measuring, planning, hammering and decorating and others assisting in moving and organising items that needed to be stored away for the festivities.

After a lot of planning, hanging and organising, we all came together at the end to finalise the main feature wall. It was lovely to see the wall finished by the end of the task and even better to complete it as a team.

I was delighted that most of the runners were happy to go back to the suitcases the long way, resulting in a total of 4 kilometers run together. A great success all round!

11 goodgymers headed to Pagoda Arts Centre on Henry Street on a cool night. It felt like there was a hint of spring in the air. The front of the centre had a snake decoration around the doorway for 2025 and in a couple of weeks the Chinese luna calendar will usher in the year of the fire horse. There were many tasks to take on to get the centre ready for the celebrations. Ellie and Sallyanne cleaned inside the centre, Nasser moved boxes and put up pictures, Liam and Laura cleaned and cleared the entrance, Bekah, Leo and Jess did some up hill gardening and litter picking, me and Sophie cleared the car park of leaves and litter and Steph got to grips with a pile of papers that needed shredding in a temperamental shredder. All while a tai chi class was in progress which we tried hard not to interrupt. We were rewarded after our tasks with Chinese tea and chocolates.

We have two sessions booked in in February and March at the Mulgrave Street community garden, for weeding, maintenance and planting. Ahead of these sessions, task owner Khan had asked us to come down as the litter was 'ripe for the picking' so we could get the area nice, clean and clear ahead of digging in the week after.

12 Goodgymmers turned out on what was a freezing cold January night. After introductions, admiring Chris's shiny new '50 Deeds' black Goodgym t-shirt - well earned, congratulations Chris! - and the usual litter picking safety briefing from Bekah ("please no wandering off in the dark on your own!") we got to work. With a good sized group we'd soon cleared the lovely garden Khan has created, and set our sights further afield to the surrounding streets, planters and bushes.

The hedges just next to the garden are so thick, it was like a crystal maze challenge trying to maneuver the litter pickers through the railings, between the trunks and stems, grab the litter and maneuver it back through the undergrowth without dropping it. At some point several of us were actually in the bushes, reaching and stretching in very elegant positions.

We found quite an array of items, including a golf club (which was in very good condition, actually...), a tyre (much worse condition), a left shoe and a right boot, a table tennis bat, and a table leg. Plus we managed to fill 13 bin bags full of litter. It was cold - oh, so very cold - and absolutely no-one was dramatic about the freezing temperature ;) However the amount we collected made it all worthwhile and after an hour we called time and gathered to dispose of the bags and take the group photo.

Khan closed the session with huge thanks to the group, sharing that Goodgym is a massive part of maintaining this garden and the litter picking makes such a difference to the local community. We were all glad to head home to the warmth and pleased with a good job well done.

Next week - we head back to Mulgrave Street for weeding and maintenance, prepping the site ahead of our March session when we'll be planting. See you there!

It has been well over three years since GoodGym Liverpool had a task at the Old Baths site on Lodge Lane! Some of our group had noticed it really needed some GoodGym litter pick love, and thus a task was arranged.

I was excited to meet Aatefa for her first task at the suitcases along with Laura and Mohamed. After a short introduction and warm up, we headed up to the Lodge Lane site in record time (if I do say so myself!).

We were shortly joined by the rest of the crew, 11 in total! Sallyann did a fabulous job bringing all the litter pickers and hoops. She had walked all the way from Lark Lane and was glad to have been joined by others along the way who helped carry the load.

Bekah provided her classic warm welcome before we got started. We were delighted to hear that this was to be Chris 50th task! What an amazing contribution he has made. Black T-shirt incoming!!

We split into a few pairs and groups and set out litter picking the grassy area. We were dissapointed to discover a lot of fly tipping, which Jo has kindly offered to report to the council. We discovered pots, plates, washing up bowls, a vacuum cleaner, a broom.. the list goes on! Along with the household items, there was a large amount of rubbish to be picked. We ended up with 22 bags!! There was a very noticeable improvement at the end of the task.

Satisfied with our efforts, most headed off towards home. Aatefa, Mohamed and I finished off our run with a quick warm down and heartfelt congratulations on Aatefa's first task completion!

GoodGym’s Sticker Saturday 2026 started on a cold January morning. Undeterred by the chilly weather the GoodGym crew gathered at Prince’s Park. We welcomed newcomers Suren and Fahad. Welcome to you both. Well done Fahad for volunteering for parkrun.

Jessica arrived having already run 12km ran the parkrun and ran back... i think my maths adds that up to a whopping 29km... well done Jess we are lucky to have you as a run leader. Talking of run leadersSophie flew round the course before joining Eleanorwho was holding a lovely table space for us all at Squash our chosen cafe this month.

Steph celebrated a major milestone by completing her very first parkrun—huge congrats, Steph! Heetuand Sallyannwalked with Steph and brandished the Goodgym flag which gave rise to a lot of shout outs. Liamfinished his run and came to join us for the final lap whilst Bekah, Laura Mo and Suren were at the finish line to cheer us in.

Claraand Stephcompleted their parkrun but sadly couldn't join us for breakfast I hope they both had warm brews waiting for them when they got home it was a cold day.

This year, we also introduced a brand-new loyalty card, designed by our very own Steph! Everyone eagerly awaited their first sticker of the year, and we can’t wait to see who fills up their card first! Let’s see who can fill those loyalty cards first!

Join us in February for Sticker Saturday where we will be going to Maw on Aigburth Road for breakfast after parkrun

GoodGym - Do Good, Get Fit | Sticker Saturday - Goodgym does parkrun and breakfast - GoodGym Liverpool https://share.google/E5JQGZDBCrEU4lcZS