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!

I walked to Mr K’s house, it only took half an hour. When I arrived it was clear to see what needed to be done. The path way was swamped by an invasive buddleja bush or butterfly bush as they are also known. The kind that gets planted by bird’s droppings and tries to take over the whole space. I set to work hacking it back. I also cleared brambles and weeds from the side path. Mr K’s social worker arrived and she was impressed by what I had already achieved. She went in to see Mr K and when she came back out the buddleja was gone. She was really kind about goodgym. When I said I admired the work that social workers do she said that services like goodgym are a massive help to her work. I kept weeding and tidying and the front space looked transformed. Mr K was very happy.

This was my second visit to Mr P’s my last one was only last weekend where we had sorted a lot in the back garden. Mostly concentrating on Mr P’s tasks but Mrs P had a few things she wanted sorting so, this week was about doing that. I came armed with my wire brush which I’d managed to travel on public transport across Liverpool with much to Mr P’s amusement. It was totally useless, I think I might have to retire it, so, Mr P suggested I use one of his tools for the job. It worked like a dream but it was a lot of hard graft. I was weeding between the cracks in the flags at the front. Making sure all the paving looked smart and tidy. The soil was mainly sand because of proximity to the sea front and the wind was up so I tried to brush the weeds and soil into the road with the wind circling everything beneath my feet. Mr P helped me by tackling the flower bed to the side of the car but it was a lot for him to do so I tried to insist that he leave the work to me. Together we made a big difference and the path looked spick and span. I treated myself to chips and ice cream on the beach. I had to do it. Being by the seaside calls for it. But, it was very windy so I ate a lot of sand. Shout out to the other goodgymmers who did unofficial good deeds today- Steph who found someone’s make up bag, Sallyann who went shopping and did some yardening for friends and Nasser who offered to fix Sallyann’s bench.