On Monday evening GoodGym Liverpool returned to our regular haunt on Park Lane for our urban street clean up.

Congrats to Jess for taking part in her fifth task!!

Most of us got to work removing the throng of thistles, learning top tips such as:

Double gloving is useful when you accidentally bring your rubbish ones You must cut off the thistle flowers and bag them up before their seeds spread Using shears as a method to transport thistles is very effective

Whilst we were tackling the thistles Bekah was doing a boss job litter picking. She also saved a cornucopia of slugs (I did not know this was the collective word for these docile slimy creatures so I've learnt something new).

She rescued them from certain death after finding one half in, half out of a can of lager, she liberated it and then found another 15 inside the can!! So she's relocated them somewhere more suitable so they can enjoy their best life.

We got an incredible amount of work done, as seen in the photo, and here's hoping that we managed to get those wretched seeds into the bags ready to be taken far, far away.

We will be back again next week and I'm so confident we will remove every last one of the thistles ready for Elaine to manage the area to make it beautiful for the people of Liverpool (and for her dog Riley to play in without getting prickled by the offending vegetation).

Well done gang!!

John from the Friends of Everton Park jokes that if you want to find a summers eve guaranteed to rain, check the calendar for the Everton Community Garden Open Evening. And true to form, despite the recent heatwave we've been experiencing, the evening was grey and wet - though warm.

However, the garden was well prepared, with large tents for attendees to huddle under plus a stage tent for the musician to keep dry whilst he serenaded us with classics. Goodgym Liverpool are regular helpers at Everton Park and the Community Gardens, and it was a great turnout despite the weather, in no small part due to Goodgym's efficient leafleting of the Everton Telegraph earlier in the week.

The gardens put on a BBQ, a bar, and a scone station for attendees to enjoy, whilst the poly tunnels were open with gardeners available to discuss all the community gardens have to offer.

It's always nice to spend some social time with goodgymmers and we enjoyed the rare opportunity to actually sit down and chat for a while! There was lots of interest in Goodgym from many attendees, and we proudly extolled the virtues of GG - there may even be a some new sign ups or tasks coming off the back of our conversations.

Well done to those who braved the drizzle to turn out and support the gardens, and thank you to John and the Friends of Everton Park for another fabulous evening. It's lovely to see the hard work everyone puts in to the gardens being enjoyed by the local community.

Now back to work for us!

The Everton Telegraph is a community newspaper produced three times a year. Good Gymers, along with some other local volunteers, helped to distribute the summer issue with John from the Everton community gardens.

Dike, Clara, Steph and I arrived early so we put inserts into the paper to tell everyone about Friday’s social at the community garden.

Dan, Sian and Sophie ran from Hope Street.

We were split into groups- Sophie and I, Bekah with Jess and Clara, Dan, Sian and Dike got driven away by John a bit further afield (but not as far as St Helen’s) and Steph and Sallyann stayed at the gardens to prepare them for Friday and do a bit of watering.

It was a balmy evening. We got a fantastic response from the locals when we delivered the paper. One recipient said ‘Just say it’s the Telegraph!’ Everyone was expecting it and some offered tips.

Our monthly Goodgym parkrun breakfast saw a bunch of smiling faces meeting up for our June session. It's a chance for people to meet up at parkrun or at breakfast afterwards or at both.

This month saw Amina, Bekah, Heetu, Jess, Leo, Sian and Steph running parkrun -all looking strong despite the exhausting heat. Lucien saw everyone in through the ever extending finishing tunnel (the number of runners are such that the walk from the finishing line to get to the tokens and scanning is long.... especially after a hot 5k run) . Jo and Sallyann were volunteering on the scanners. After the obligatory photos Amina headed home and the rest of us set off to have breakfast where Liam joined us. That's the beauty of the parkrun and breakfast it really is a chance to fit around your Saturday morning...Come along for whatever and whenever you want.

This month we went to the cafe Minna on Lark Lane for breakfast. Breakfast, which included some amazing colourful matcha drinks, did not disappoint. Over breakfast there was the very important task of applying the stickers to the loyalty cards (although don't forget there is also the mystery categories and who knows when they may just meet a category requirement).

With everyone's cards stickered up we headed off from Lark Lane to carry on our Saturday with that lovely feeling of time spent with a great bunch of people.

On Monday evening, 9 goodgymers made their way back to the Urban Green Up site with Elaine. Heetu and Leo ran in super quick time to meet many of us at the task.

After a clear demonstration from Elaine and Heetu on what was Himalayan Balsam and Rosebay Willowherb, we split into two groups and set about to clear the two sides of the site. However, alas, even more nettles and thistles had grown back since our last visit and so many of us tackled these prickly weeds too.

When Bekah sounded the 7 minute call to the end of the task, we all rushed to sort the clean up with some bin bags in hand. Looking back across at the site, we could all see an impressive amount of these invasive and rapidly growing weeds had been cleared, but we knew that a return again would be much needed to sort the middle section.

As we most often work on the other side of the site, it was a surprise (well perhaps just for me) to realise the lovely view of the Liverpool skyline including the cathedral in the background.

There were puns-a-plenty for this week's report from Chris (who provides this week's report title), Bekah, Sallyann, and Lucien but you'll have to wait for the next report on our return for them to be revealed.

This week we returned to help Friend's of St James Gardens finish what we had previously started - clearing all the weeds from the paving around the monument.

It was a beautiful summers evening and 4 goodgymmers tackled a few hill reps, before joining the others to get on with the real hard work.

Working away with various implements, we filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with moss, grass, dandelions and a whole host of others weeds, as well as clearing the site of litter. To top it off we were even treated to a visit from Goodgym retiree, Pauline, who was passing on her bike! This really spurred us on to make short work of the weeding and as you can clearly see from the after pic, we did a rather fabulous job!

As if that wasn't enough Sallyann then treated us to some chocolates and the traditional birthday oranges!

What a day!

4 goodgymmers from Liverpool made their way under the tunnel, across the border and through the valleys to beautiful Barmouth, ready for the Barmouth 10k.

When Sally Ann first floated the idea of running this race together on her birthday, superwoman Heetu signed up without hesitation. Bekah - who had only recently got comfortable with a 5k - took some convincing, but Sallyann was so adamant Bekah could do it that she started to believe it. After a brief consideration, Liam reckoned he'd give it a go. And so a plan was formed.

We headed to Barmouth the night before, to carb up and ensure we were well rested for the 11am start time. The British weather was typically erratic, with blaring sunshine, coastal winds, and ferocious rain in the run up to the race. Sadly due to injury Sally Ann was unable to run the race, but being the selfless and inspiring supporter that she is, she took to the role of chief cheerleader with gusto and dedicated herself to motivating and celebrating the three runners. Nobody's training plan had quite panned out as expected, and there was some trepidation as we headed towards the start line, confident only that we should position ourselves near the back! The race started with sunshine breaking through the clouds and a good sea breeze. The route is up a short incline, down and over the Barmouth bridge, then along a track following the estuary, before a turning point at 5k to head back.

Around half way through the run, a light drizzle started. Then it rained. Then it poured. At one point the rain was hammering down, but the runners weren't to be deterred. By far one of the most challenging parts of the run is the steep "hill of doom" at 9.5k coming off the bridge. Sally Ann positioned herself just before the final corner, after the hill, and reported three massive smiles as she cheered us on the final straight.

We finished absolutely drenched but euphoric at the achievement. Heetu - an excellent runner, though she'll never admit it - had thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, managing to look up, take it all in and attempt to run alongside the train she was delighted to spot. Liam, a solid runner who jumps into these things with little prep and always manages to pull them off, made excellent time and managed to navigate the rain, mud and slippery bridge like a pro. Bekah was absolutely delighted to complete her first 10k without stopping; having gone from being unable to run a 5k without intermittent walking, completing 10k was a huge achievement. Sally Ann was overcome with pride for everyone achieving their goals, and spirits soared as we met with medals and lovely teal 10k t-shirts at the finish line.

The team had surprised Sally Ann with cards, cake and lovely gifts that morning, and we had a champagne toast before a lovely dinner showcasing the best of Welsh local cuisine. We each left feeling thoroughly rejuvenated from a wonderful weekend celebrating hard work, dedication, support and friendship. Well done guys, huge round of applause to each of you.