The Bronte centre really lies in the heart of Liverpool, tucked away behind the new Liverpool John Moores campus, a short walk from Lime Street station next to the famous Bullring. It started in the 1960s as a boxing club and grew to be a hub for local youth and the community. Sallyann had met David at the Everton Park Gardens Summer auction, he had been the auctioneer and they chatted about what Goodgym does and what the Bronte do and how Goodgym could help the Bronte with a Monday evening task. So this was our first time at this venue. It was our biggest turnout of the year with fourteen in attendance. Six Goodgymmers; Sallyann, Heetu, Dike, Laura, Max and Aatefa ran from the suitcases on Hope Street, others walked and we met David who showed us what needed to be done. We had some stones to shift, some brambles to uproot and a front garden to tidy. We set off in three groups:

Group 1, the brambles: Miriam, Heetu, Tsi Tsi and Leo were in the bramble attack team. Tsi Tsi and Miriam had both bought bramble proof gloves along with them so they were keen to get stuck in. At one point we had an enormous turnip situation where we all pulled on the stubborn bramble until it gave way, honestly it was the biggest bramble we had ever seen with a trunk like a small tree.

Group 2, the rocks: Meanwhile Ellie, Steph, Laura and Sophie got stuck into clearing the rocks and bricks to make the outdoor space more usable. As the shortest member of the team, Laura volunteered to climb into the storage cage, whilst the others got to work doing the heavy lifting. What started off as a neatly stacked and layered pile, utilising advanced Tetris skills, soon became a precariously balanced mound of rubble! Either way, by the end of the hour 90% of the material had been successfully transported to its new home, leaving the lawn corner much clearer and ready to be put to better use.

Group 3, the front: Liam, Max, Dika, Sallyann, Bekah and Aatefa were assigned the important mission of clearing the front garden and entrance area of the youth centre. The front area had clearly been enjoying a little too much autumn decoration! Fallen leaves had covered the grass and hidden some of the beautiful plants, while litter had also decided to make itself at home. Armed with rakes, brushes and plenty of determination, they got straight to work. They raked away the thick layers of leaves, collected the scattered litter and carefully cleared the areas around the plants. Little by little, the greenery started making an appearance again. The plants were finally free from their leafy blankets and could enjoy a little sunshine! They continued by gathering the collected leaves and rubbish, brushing the pathways and tidying the surrounding areas. By the time they had finished, the entrance looked considerably cleaner, brighter and much more welcoming. It was lovely to see how much difference six pairs of hands could make in such a short time. The leaves may have put up a good fight, but the GoodGymers certainly won this round!

Afterwards David seemed impressed and booked in a return visit with Sallyann. They very kindly made us drinks and we congregated for a short while in the seating area at the centre where we said congratulations to Sal on her 200th mission…

Sallyann joined in June 2019 so has been a part of Goodgym for 7 years. She's undertaken sessions in 3 areas, is a member of Taskforce, and a trained Run Leader.

What the 200 tasks doesn't show is all the work and effort she does behind the scenes: the tasks organised, the time spent with task owners, helping others, supporting member's running journeys, arranging socials, being a welcome committee for GG tourists, welcoming new people, ensuring everyone feels comfortable and included, encouraging people to engage further with both GG and their running, organisation of admin, and, of course, she's the architect of the phenomenon that is Sticker Saturday.

So a massive well done on your 200th task, and thank you Sallyann for everything you do for Goodgym and the people in it.

After completing our task, Heetu, Ellie, Leo, Laura and Aatefa set off on their run back to Suitcases. With another community task completed, a little exercise under our belts and plenty of smiles, we brought a beautiful GoodGym session to a close. What a lovely way to combine running, teamwork and giving something back to the community!

This report was a collaborative effort by Miriam, Laura, Aatefa and Bekah

Amina, Steph, Sallyann and me all carpooled to Sutton Manor parkrun. Many thanks to Sallyann for driving us. When we arrived we started to see some very impressive halloween costumes and all volunteers had dressed up to cheer us on and mark the route (as always thanks to volunteers who really make parkruns so special). We soon realised this was a significantly smaller parkrun than we are used to, as there were only 66 people taking part for today's parkrun. It was a misty, cold morning - everyone, but me, had wrapped up well, Steph especially. This course was absolutely beautiful, especially considering how close it is to the motorway. It is also a very challenging course with lots of hills but this also gives some quite amazing views across Cheshire and Merseyside with the Dream statue at the heart. The Dream is a sculpture by Jaume Plensa and developed under the Big Art Project by Channel 4 in 2008. It depicts a girl dreaming. The council alongside residents who also included some original miners who used to work at the Sutton Manor Colliery were involved in its design. The white dolomite was deliberately chosen to contrast coal. The base of the plinth is shaped like a miner's tally (the metal disc that miners would use to log in/out of the pit). It was orginally titled Ex Terra Lucem (from the ground, light) to reflect St Helen's motto. The mist started to lift as we walked and ran our way round. The mix of colours also felt very autumnal. Amina was super speedy making light work of the course. Once we all got round, we then turned our thoughts to the all important breakfast and chat. We dropped Amina at the train station and Sallyann, Steph and me headed to Harefield barn for a breakfast. We were delighted to be joined by Liam who was sporting his new wings 100 task Goodgym t-shirt for its first outing. Over breakfast, we started to plan more parkrun on holiday events to continue to make our way through the alphabet. Thanks everyone for a fab morning - definitely a Halloween Dream.

On a lovely, crisp autumn Monday evening our team donned headtorches and hi viz and gathered for another session in Princes Park. Sallyann, Heetu and Ellie were raring to get stuck in and make a visible difference to one of our favourite local green spaces.

Joining forces with the Friends of Princes Park, our small but mighty team of Sallyann, Heetu, Ellie, and (eventually after being fashionably late) Liam set to work along a key lakeside path. Overgrown branches and heavy layers of accumulated leaves had encroached on the walkway, making passage tricky for park visitors.

Though our numbers were lower than usual, we made light work of the task, cutting back the branches and cleared the path edge to edge, tucking a surprisingly large mound of swept leaves (see pics) neatly out of the way so parkgoers could enjoy a safe, accessible route once again.

To round off the evening, we had a special milestone to mark! At the end of the task, the team presented Liam with gifts to celebrate his 100th GoodGym task. As the moon emerged to light up our final wrap-up, it made for a wonderful finish to a lovely evening.

Extra message from Liam:

When I first signed up to Goodgym, it took me about 6 months to actually sign up for a task and attend. Like a lot of people I'd fallen put of the habit of getting out and seeing people during Covid and wasn't sure what to expect or whether I'd like it.

From my first task (shoutout to Sallyann, Heetu and Laura from GG Liverpool!) I was made to feel really welcome and valued, alleviating the nerves I'd felt and making me want to keep going and helping all of the great causes that we support across the city. Soon, Mondays became something to look forward to, especially after a hard or stressful day.

I would say to anyone thinking of joining Goodgym is that you always feel better after attending a task, spending time with warm and friendly people and making a positive difference to your community.

Sticker Saturday happens once a month, and yet it comes around so quickly. Today it was the first of two Goodgym events as we had a community task starting at midday. As always there is no obligation to attend both events but we will always time it so that option is available.

Today was a crisp, lovely autumnal morning, perfect for our regular Sticker Saturday outing to Princes parkrun and parkwalk. Amina, Aatefa, Clara, Leo and Sallyann joined together for our familiar route.

Princes parkrun is a busy course, but one we all know well. As we made our way around, we were greeted with plenty of shouts of “Good to see you!” and “GoodGym!” It’s lovely to feel part of the parkrun community, particularly in a park where we do so much volunteering. We’ll be back there on Monday, helping the Friends of Princes Park, who work so hard to maintain this wonderful green space.

Parkrun is about taking part, not just chasing times, but there were some achievements worth celebrating today.

A huge shout-out to Aatefa! She has recently become one of our fabulous new run leaders and started doing parkrun in January this year. In just ten months, her times have improved by just over 22% — phenomenal progress! Aatefa and Amina are regulars at Princes Parkrun, attending most weeks, and it’s inspiring to see their continued commitment.

Congratulations to Amina on getting a PB today. Amina usually has to dash off after Sticker Saturday, missing out on brunch and the social side of things. Today, though, she deserves extra kudos: she headed home to continue with her tasks and then returned for a later community mission. Brilliant commitment, Amina.

Suren deserves a special mention, too. He ran to parkrun, completed the course, ran home and then headed off to play football. Now that’s making the most of a Saturday morning!

Clara walks at a phenomenal pace and has been parkwalking all over the country, so it was lovely that today she could enjoy her home parkwalk at Princes Park with us.

Fantastic to have Leo back with us, too. His joyful presence has been missed at Sticker Saturday. As per usual, he had mislaid his loyalty card and needed a replacement. How many cards is that now, Leo? See if you can make it a hat trick next month.

Steph W joined us after running a 10K in the Wirral last week. Steph just quietly keeps moving forward with her running journey nonchantly doing 10ks after her her half a few months ago. Its just wonderful to see and it was great to catch up with her.

After parkrun, Aatefa, Clara, Leo and Sallyann headed down to Squash Community Café, where our very own Sticker Guardian, Steph H was waiting for us.

She had prepared a fantastic display: a squash on the table, surrounded by loyalty cards. What a brilliant advertisement for GoodGym! There was absolutely no doubt which table belonged to us.

We were also joined by Max. A very warm welcome! It was his first session with us, and he managed to squeeze in not one but two sessions today. A double whammy on your very first day — well done!

Breakfast at Squash was, as always, gorgeous, and conversation flowed. There was even some discussion about next year's loyalty card design. Our Sticker Guardian assures us she has some ideas up her sleeve, and I'm delighted that she is happy to remain in post for another year. We clearly couldn't manage without her!

All too soon, it was time to disband. Some of us then headed off to our next session at the Bonded Church. You'll have to read that session's report to find out how we got on and who reached their 20th Goodgym task.

If you fancy trying out Sticker Saturday, we have two more sessions before the end of the year. And it's never too late to win a prize in one of our special categories!

There are still secret categories up for grabs, and nobody knows which ones remain to be won. Intrigued? You'll have to come along and find out!

Why not join us in November? We'd love to see you there. Stickers, parkrun, good company and a gorgeous brunch — what's not to love?