We were so excited for our first task with Park Palace Ponies as our Group Run this week. Although the plan was to clear out the office, and not actually play with the ponies, we were hoping to sneak a peek as we galloped in for our task. Alas, the best laid plans... An hour before we were due to meet for our run, disaster struck, and Park Palace Ponies contacted us to regretfully cancel due to a safety issue - the roof had leaked and impacted the electrics. Everyone (and the ponies!) were fine, but they had to close the centre and the task wouldn't be able to go ahead at all.

Now as gutted as I was, even I recognised water + electricity = not safe, so regretfully we had to concede defeat and agree to reschedule when the office is back up and running.

That left the big question - what DO we do? Options varied from cancelling (not really the Goodgym way), an impromptu social, or a litter pick. The litter pick won out.

And so after swift organisation and collection of the litter picking kits, we headed to Smithdown Road where we'd heard there was some litter which needed clearing up. Thank you to Sally Ann for whipping up the litter pickers, and to Laura for savvily intercepting Sally Ann en route to carry the litter pickers whilst Sally Ann headed to the group run meeting point to capture anyone who hadn't got our messages.

Clara was fresh from organising her first GG Parkrun tourist trip to Worsley Woods over the weekend, and met Naser, who was proud to wear his red Goodgym shirt for the first time.

I was sulking about missing out on the promised ponies and reluctantly dragged myself along, finding litter little solace in this no-horse race. But the spirit of the team soon cheered me up. The group was such good company as we walked along, clearing as we went. We found no less than 3 x complete pairs of shoes, a little flashing blue light, and a Santa which was well overdue a clear up. Our wandering took us past a little green area on Smithdown Road, which happened to be the site of Naser's first ever task with us. We reminisced about that lovely task - Laura has been so good with the children who were 'helping' with painting the benches, and the fire brigade had arrived to check there was no anti-social activity going on - in fact it was quite the opposite!

Before we knew it, an hour had passed and we had 4 bags of litter to dispose of in the council bins. Despite the grey skies, the rain, and the distinct lack of ponies, we were all glad we'd turned out to do our little bit to contribute to the community.

Well done guys for the speedy change of plans and dedication to doing a little something to help out, even if it wasn't our 'mane' task. You can sleep easy when you 'hit the hay' tonight, knowing you've kept our contributions 'stable' and 'trotted' around the local area 'champing at the bit' to help (I really should save some of these for when we reschedule...)

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening for our latest session in Princes Park, with the temperature thankfully dropping from the highs earlier in the afternoon. The park was buzzing with people enjoying the warm evening sun as our group gathered. Liam and Chris ran from the Suitcases, and we had a great turnout, especially from those in the group doing their second task of the day!

Our mission was to make sure the park's youngest resident trees stayed hydrated in the warm weather. This meant filling up a giant water tank from the lake to water the newly planted baby trees. Because the tank was so large, the team set up a brilliant, fast-paced relay operation using watering cans and buckets to bridge the gap between the lake and the tank, which would have worked brilliantly if one of the buckets hadn't been full of holes!

Once the giant tank was full, the team walked it over to the lakeside, making sure all the young trees got the deep drink they needed to thrive in the summer heat.

While the watering crew was busy by the lake, another hard-working group tackled the lakeside path. They focused on clearing away weeds and litter from the sides of the paths, which has made the whole area look much tidier and far more accessible for everyone visiting the park.

It was a beautiful, productive evening that showed just what can be achieved with a bit of coordination and a lot of team spirit. A massive thank you to everyone who came along, especially those who doubled up on tasks today—your energy and effort are hugely appreciated! See you all at the next run!

Smithdown in Bloom is a community group which looks after the popular Smithdown Road and surrounding streets, by adding planters, bringing some colour and greenery to the area, and other maintenance aspects like litter picking.

We received a last minute invite to join them for their planting event on Bank holiday Monday. We ummed and aahhhd over setting up the community mission, as it was a) only 3 days notice, b) bank holiday weekend, and c) set to be a scorcher. There was a little interest so we listed the task, and I prepped the task owner that we wouldn't be expecting a large turnout, but I'd be there and it would be nice to meet them with a view to arranging a session for our weekly group run some time.

Much to our surprise, a fabulous 9 Goodgymmers braved the heat and turned out to support the group. Smithdown in Bloom are developing as a group with founder Ian sadly due to move away, so they're reviewing processes, structure and looking at putting things in place to maintain consistency. The group were well prepared with lots of plants to plant, tools, water bottles and watering cans. They kindly advised the water wasn't just for the plants, we were encouraged to drink some too! It was super hot and collectively we got round all the planters: weeding them, adding new colourful plants, and giving them a good water to take root. We were approached by a group of 6 young teenage boys who asked about what we were doing, and who then kindly got involved and helped plant some plants, even refilling the watering can for us from the local shop. It was lovely to see such young people in the area getting involved.

After just over an hour we wrapped up the session and headed for a well needed iced drink (iced matcha latte with coconut milk for me 👌), cooling off before our regular Monday evening task later that same day. It was great to meet the Smithdown in Bloom team and we look forward to helping them again - we've already been invited back.

Well done everyone who attended for a great turn out on this gloriously sunny bank holiday weekend, we really demonstrated what Goodgym is all about ☀️

So, there were six of us tonight, and even though I was supposed to lead, life threw a curveball—so, Liam and Sophie became the dream team and took over! Classic GoodGym—when one falters, someone jumps in.

Jo arrived from Exeter, its always lovely when Jo has work on in Liverpool as we get to see her. I didnt get to chat tonight as I was late arriving and we were on different sites... but send my love to my birth county Jo.

Jo, Sophie, and Liam got straight to work taming a very overgrown raised bed by St. Peter’s Church, next to the Shewsy community centre. Bramble-wrangling, buddleia-bashing, plantain pulling and bush-busting clearing that raised bed. There was a particularly dug in bush that needed removing which the terrific trio managed with their strength and enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Ellie, Heetu, and I made a fashionably 5 minute late entrance, but we quickly got stuck in—saws in hand, we chopped down poplar saplings, which were overgrowing horse chestnuts and cowslips. John planted more cowslips whilst we sawed. I clearly worked hard despite every photo looking like I was just chatting as I even broke a saw—Heetu was practically doing a happy dance, since we always rib her about brush breakages!

After all that, we regrouped, and took the group photos, before heading off. Heetu and i couldn't resist doing a little overtime and finishing the job of clearing the white poplar saplings... we will be pop(u)lar!.

Being in Everton—home of the Blues—I could’ve easily had the blues about being late, but instead, I felt lifted by it all. And on the ride home, the sunset was quietly beautiful—a reminder that even when things don’t start as planned, you can still find yourself chasing the light.

There’s something about evenings like this—being outside, working alongside others, doing something simple but worthwhile. It slows things down, shifts your perspective a little, and reminds you what matters. I may not always feel like turning up for a session but I never regret it! I strongly recommend it

Here's to many more Monday nights...