It may have been wet and dark but that never stops the warmth of a Goodgym Monday night. With the prerogative of report writer I am writing this from my perspective as someone who has been unable to get to a Monday night for a month. This was my first week back and if I'm honest I had been a little sad as the day was going on and the rain was not stopping - little did I realise that I would be so heart warmed and happy by the end of the session.

December can be busy with everyone having lots of demands on their time, however five Goodgymmers arrived at Lark Lane to do a litter pick. What is the collective noun for litter pickers? The Lark Lane Neighbourhood Association (Wombles) are an active group that work hard to keep the Lark Lane area litter free despite the large amount of people at this popular street full of cafes and bars. We met with Helen who provided our litter pickers and who asked that we tackle the main street that runs at the bottom of Lark Lane - this is a busy road which proved to have a lot of litter on it.

As we litter picked we found various items depicting the time of the year - some packets of halloween sweets unopened possibly dropped out of someones trick and treat pot and parts of an artificial Christmas tree which mustn't have made the grade for this years decoration later weer treated to the smell of real Christmas trees as we passed the florist. Further along the street and unrelated Jo had found a rose which she dutifully posed with and Jake found a light saber and needed little encouragement to pose for some action shots.

The great thing about litter picking is the interactions you have with people , we had many thanks from people as we made our way down the road - its always heartwarming to hear and it makes you realise that people appreciate their environment being clean. The great thing about litter picking in our wonderful city is that you never are far from some great banter. We had a lovely greeting from one man booming out to us that we were doing this for the 'looove of litter' he encouraged us to repeat the term several times with such emphasis it was almost like he would burst into song. The great thing about litter picking with Goodgym is you get a chance to chat as you go..... so of course there was chatting too. Im sure it wasnt just me.... or was it?

Before we knew it we had collected five big bags of litter and although we were wet and it was dark the darkness was lit up by the warmth and joy of Five Goodgymers (and a light saber)

Just as the cold snap was really setting in, 4 runners met on Hope street and made our way just over 1 mile to Blundell Street. It was great to welcome Amy for her first task in Liverpool, but 100th overall! Congratulations on earning your wings!

This week we were helping Elaine from Urban GreenUp to tidy up the Wapping site. Having just won a biodiversity award for the project, Elaine was keen to have it looking it's best. Were tasked with leaf raking and removing the Joe Pye (who knew this was a weed!?). Thankfully, due to the sandy soil, the weeds came up with ease and we were able to remove more or less all of it - Well done everyone!

After a short run from Hope Street, 3 runners were met by 8 more goodgymmers.

This week, we were back at Mulgrave Street Action Group Community Garden where, once again, Khan had a mammoth task for us.

Armed with bagfuls of daffodil bulbs and a few trowels, we set to work on the small patch of grass in front of the garden. Digging and planting until the whole patch was filled.

With the help of new recruit Lee and visiting Londoner Emily we manged to plant four big bags of bulbs - cant wait to see it in the spring for a true William Wordsworth moment!

Well done everyone - it's great to see the impact of the garden expanding!

4 runners met on Hope Street and meandered down to Park Lane. Lovely to be joined by Farnaz once again! Once there, we were met by 4 more goodgymmers and Elaine from Urban Green Up.

We have done a few sessions here, and I am always amazed at how different it looks each time and how much the plants have grown! This time around, Elaine greeted us with the fantastic news that the project has been nominated for not one, but two Landscapes Institute awards for 'Excellence in Biodiversity' and 'Climate Change Environment and Social Outcomes'. It's an amazing project and we have everything crossed for a win!

The task tonight was weeding, with creeping thistles being the main culprit.

As the light faded we worked quickly and Elaine was amazed with how much we achieved, although it was difficult to see the results by the end! Well done everyone! Cant wait to be back soon for some planting.

It was dark, it was rainy and it was Monday .... and 12 Goodgymers knew just what would chase away any blues because contrary to what the song says rainy days and Mondays never get us down. With our hoods up torches out and gloves on we met with Chris who showed us round. Chris explained with little time fir maintenance and the weather we have had the brambles and undergrowth have taken over some of the space. As we walked round this gorgeous space Chris pointed out the tasks that were needed to be completed. Pauline who has been a member of Goodgym Liverpool since it started remembered planting the trees several years ago on one of the early tasks with The Greenhouse Project.

The team soon got to work with Chris ( clearing, chopping down, mulching paths) our portable lights came in handy as its so secluded in some areas and Julie ended up doing a fantastic upper body workout as she kept the lights high enough and focused so the mulchers -could see what thet were doing. There was space and enough tasks that everyone was busy - for a real feel of the night watch our facebook live.

In an hour we mulched the path from the beautiful glade to the entrance, uncovered two raised beds from the undergrowth and where once there was a big mass of brambles now stood a beautiful pear tree with the most huge pears I have ever seen.

We left feeling happy, fulfiiled ( and in some case filled with delicious fresh pear) and with that warm glow that being part of something that makes a wet dark Monday evening feel bright and beautiful and worth getting a bit wet for. Thanks to Chris for giving us this opportunity.

Big shout outs this week to Jake for 25 good deeds all done in shorts and Aditya for 10 good deeds who started by meeting us at the task and now runs there every week and warm welcome back to Bekah who we have missed seeing her due to other commitments.