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 weather looked like it was threatening to rain as Liam and Vikky met at the Hope Street suitcases, but luckily the downpour held off. ensuring they didn't bother arrive drenched following their run to the task.

Upon arrival, the team grew to seven strong as they met Bekah, Sallyann, Miriam, Dike and Laura. Armed with tools and ready to roll, the group got straight to work tackling the out of control weeds in both the front car park and along the driveway running down the side of the building.

It was no easy task, with one particular section requiring all of our weed destroying skills. Through great teamwork however, every single overgrown patch was defeated. By the time the session wrapped up, the green bin was overflowing with weeds, leaving the area looking neat, tidy, and welcoming.

A lovely task to start the week, swift run, great company, and a very satisfying result for a hugely important local charity!

Having been unable to ride for a few weeks, I was pleased to have a reason to get out on my bike, and do some good!

Bekah and I were tasked with moving a sofa in order to create space for a hospital bed so that Mr R can return to his family home, which until recently he shared with his wife, and at 92, he will have very many happy memories there.

A friend and neighbour of Mr R, Brian, was at the house to allow us entry and give us some useful information.

A quick appraisal of the situation soon led us to the conclusion that the sofa was not going to fit through the doorway. Brian informed us that in fact, the living room window had to be removed in order to accommodate the three piece suite when it was originally delivered.

After some discussion, it was clear that the only sensible thing was to take the bed out of the room instead. Brian told us that it had come from the back bedroom and could go back there.

Having tried and failed to contact the referrer to update them, Bekah spoke with GG Mission Control and it was agreed that the best course of action was to complete the task by removing the bed, create the space, and allow Mr R to return home without further delay.

So, after about 30 minutes of deliberation, discussion, and debate, measuring doorways, furniture and angles, the task was completed in a relatively short time.

Bekah and I were happy to have completed the task, but it did remind us of how important it is to have clear lines of communication and access to support when needed.

We wish Mr R all the best with his recovery and return home.

When I first arrived at Mr W’s I was struck by what a lovely family home they have, grandchildren playing, it was clear why this outdoor space is so important to them. They showed me what needed to be done, a raised bed with dead shrubs that needed a tidy up. I set to work with my trowel and secateurs but they were not right for the job. Mr W’s grandson came and offered me a large garden fork that I’d be able to get more leverage with. It was perfect for the job and very satisfying. Sinking into the soil and hearing the crack of the roots as I lifted each shrub out. I filled three bin bags with the shrubs, old leaves and twigs from the beds and a few cuttings from the bushes in the main part of the garden. There was a glorious rose bush that had sprouted a few thorny branches which I cut back so that the main garden was safe for the grandchildren to play. It was a very hot afternoon. I’d bought suncream and water which was needed in the burning heat. Mrs W said she was very happy with what was done.

Clara and I arrived at Mrs E’s and she excitedly showed us all that needed to be done. She showed us which plants were weeds and which ones were intentional which we were very relieved about as both of us struggle to tell the difference! There was a patch of grass that looked like overgrown lawn and Mrs E said that this was actually a flower bed and we needed to strip the grass out. She had lots of tools and very helpfully kneeling mats for us to use. We started at the front and worked our way back. I tackled one side while Clara tackled the other. It was one of those tasks where we didn’t know where to stop. So, we stopped when the green bin was full and when we had exposed all the borders that had been hidden under the undergrowth. Luckily we took before and after pictures so we could see what a difference we had made. We pruned the lilac tree and also carefully weeded around the geraniums which we were instructed to keep in tact. During the task we talked about the film Mamma Mia and this started an earworm of ‘Slipping through my fingers’ which we felt could work as a pun because the grass and weeds had been slipping through our fingers too. Slipping through our fingers until we got a grip on them and tugged them out. We swept the path and asked Mrs E to come and inspect. She seemed very pleased about the transformation. She said that it was a great start that would help her to get out and maintain it. This was just the front garden… Mrs E told us about was needed in the back too so we suggested that might be another visit.

On a finally cool summer evening, Goodgym assembled at St James Gardens to get to work giving the park a bit of a spruce up.

We divided into three teams: Bekah and Sallyann on the litter picking, Ellie, Dina and Clara on the weeding and Naser and Vikky on bench varnishing duty.

We were joined by Friends of St James Gardens who provided fun facts (like what a pineapple weed is) and witty jokes (a lorry carrying Strepsils overturned on the motorway; there was no congestion).

We soon got 'into the groove' of the task, quite literally in the case of the weeding, whereby we were digging up weeds between the paving slabs. Likewise the varnishing team successfully varnished two of the newly installed (and very nice looking) benches for years to come by very carefully applying Varnish into all the 'grooves'. Even the litter picking duo conquered the 'grooves' of the park, retrieving litter from some of the nooks and crannies.

All in all, after two benches varnished, two bin bags filled and a good chunk of patio was weeded, we called it a night and said our goodbyes before heading off in our various directions until next week!