This session we were back at the Bombed Out Church, completing our excellent work painting the final tables, stools and benches, taking on the Host Stand, and litter picking.

We welcomed new Goodgymmer Colin who joined us for his first task - welcome Colin! It was great to meet you.

Task owner Kate gave us a thorough briefing, and we split into groups, some taking on the painting, and some on litter-picking duty. The site initially looked fairly clear, though with some rummaging the team were able to fill several litter bags, including a pair of shoes (yes, the full pair), socks, and a rather lovely bowl. The painting team took it in turns swapping the large and small brushes, and efficiently finished painting the benches, tables and stools, before turning their attention to the larger Host Stand. Everyone got stuck in, whilst I was on the important tasks of project management, team co-ordination, quality control and torch holding.

The BOC team were again delighted with how much we achieved in such a short space of time, and booked another session there and then. Next time we'll be planting bulbs to prepare for a dazzling daffodil display in the spring!

Alas, every silver lining has a cloud, and the cloud hanging over this session was that our beloved Dan is moving on to pastures new, and this was his last session with Goodgym Liverpool - for now. Dan joined Goodgym Liverpool six months ago, and quickly became an integral member of the group. His love of litter picking, skills with the puns, way with wordsmithery and all-round fabulous company endeared him to all he met, and we're very sorry to see him go. But Dan won't be giving up on Goodgym, he'll be moving to Goodgym Hackney, who don't know how lucky they are to have him - yet. Dan leaves us as a taskforce member with a very respectable 26 good deeds under his belt. He's assured us he'll be back to visit, and the door is always open for him to (litter) pick up where he left off. Dan - it's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you, we hope to see you again very soon.

The team presented Dan with a card and a farewell gift of some thorn proof gardening gloves and his very own litter picking hoop (he already owns his own litter picker!), and he very kindly opened his home to us for some post-task refreshments for a proper farewell.

Goodgym is a fantastic way to get to know some very lovely people, the other side of that coin is it's always difficult when people move on. But you know what they say: 'tis better to have loved litter-picked, than never to have volunteered at all...

With ominous skies a gang of eight intrepid Goodgymmers gathered at the bombed out church. This week we were aiming to finish the job started a few weeks earlier, which was to varnish all the picnic tables after a summer of festivities. The BOC team had been so impressed with our work last time, they'd immediately invited us back. We set to work a little anxious of the weather, as the day had been peppered with showers so far. We split into pairs and divided up the brushes, and managed to get all the remaining benches covered with only a few drops of rain.

By the time we were finishing, the clouds looked dark overhead, but hopefully the varnish will dry properly, and the benches will hold up well to future seasons.

Most important of all, this session was the first for new member Tom , who ran to the task, did an amazing job, and who we all hope to see again soon..! And thanks to Dan for leading a social pre-task run.

A great group of Liverpool Goodgymers met at St Luke's Bombed-Out Church on Leece Street and were greeted by the lovely bar staff from St Luke's Garden Bar and Cafe. Painting supplies and sizeable buckets of Ronseal presented, each Goodgymmer selected their brush and the throng of preservative on oak filled the air. The task in hand, to apply wood preservative to the remaining benches and tables in the gardens to complete some much needed sprucing! With no time to lose everyone jumped into action, brush in hand with the table per hour challenge fresh in the mind.

Well Goodgym by name, Goodgym by nature! This bunch did exactly what it said on the Ronseal tin. Clambering, stretching, bending and avoiding the table numbers - 9 tables protected and the good people of Liverpool may be merry for many seasons to come!

A few words from Kate the contact from St Luke's:

"Thank you so much for painting so many tables yesterday! That's loads more than I was expecting! Please pass on a massive thank you to everyone who came."

Well done all, a great job and we've already been invited back. And welcome to new Goodgymmer Sanda who joined us for her first session!

Part two of our task to dig over the flower beds for the memorial garden at the Bombed Out Church. This time ready for planting Sunflowers not a rose garden as listed!

Sallyann guided six Goodgymers on a social run around the streets to the BoC while three of us walked there. Again we were lit by string lights throughout the garden creating a beautiful atmosphere with the church behind us and the bustling Monday night life all around us.

We grabbed our spades, folks and hand tools and set to weeding and turning over the soil, preparing the long stretches of flower beds that lie along the railings on Leece Street and into the corner of Berry Street.

Once complete we enjoyed a hot cuppa and some biscuits with our hosts Nina and Sam.

When you walk past the BoC in the spring/summer and see tall beautiful sunflowers all chasing the sun and cheering up the city shoppers, students, workers and tourists, you can have a extra big smile knowing 'we did that!'

One cold Monday evening, 8 goodgymmers met once again on Hope street. We were ecstatic to finally meet Jennifer who had her first couple of group runs scuppered by the storms!

After a quick warm up, the runners headed into the georgian quarter for a quick 2km. Unfortunately, one of the runners fell victim to Liverpool's dodgy pavements and took a tumble. Once we were sure she was home safe and well, we carried on down to the Bombed Out Church (St Luke's to those in the know), where our task was to dig over flower beds to prepare them for planting.

In what felt like no time at all, we were done and rewarded with tea and biscuits!

Thank you for all your hard work. We're excited to see what they do with the space and will, in fact, be back next week. (totally unrelated to the tea and biscuits, promise!)

St Luke's Church, known locally and with great affection as the Bombed Out Church recently marked the 80th anniversary of the May Blitz of WWll when the church was hit by an incendiary device. The outer walls of the church still stand and the site has become a much loved and valued part of Liverpool's community, supporting arts & culture, education and homelessness groups.

We are delighted to be able to return to help out with some exciting plans!

Sam from the BoC team says this about the development To develop the memorial garden at St Luke’s as a tranquil and beautiful green space in the city centre - a place for contemplation, reflection and remembrance. The project invites the collaboration of young people, education providers, local businesses, community groups and volunteers, providing meaningful opportunities for learning and participation. The garden will serve as a site for workshops and horticultural classes, and as a focal point for the development and exhibition of educational resources related to ecological awareness, environmentally friendly practise, and sustainability – encouraging visitors to the site to develop a sense of civic agency and explore how they can make a difference within their community.

For this session four of us were doing our bit digging for Liverpool and getting a great workout as we went! We turned over the perimeter flower beds ready for planting for the new memorial gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day and a tranquil setting in the middle of a busy city centre!

Well done to Haila and Sal for doing their second sessions with us.

We will be back on a regular basis to work with the team and enjoy the development of the site, so keep an eye out for future sessions.