It was my third visit to Mr K. I was a bit early because I’d been Christmas shopping locally with my sister. It had been a frosty morning so I wasn’t sure if the grass would he too wet to mow. I got to Mr K’s and asked if he’d like me to tackle the front or the back. He said while it’s dry we could get the back done. It was dry and the frost had long since gone. The worst of the grass had been cut in a previous visit but there were long tufts of grass at the edges that were more tricky to tackle. I got stuck in with the strimmer and managed to get the tufts cut. With a bit of raking I even managed to re-establish the borders of the lawn. Mr K spotted a sycamore tree that had started growing so I cut that back. Mr K was helpful as always but I urged him to get into the warm because it was a really cold afternoon. Once I’d done I chatted with Mr K and we exchanged Christmas cards which was my first card of the season! I advised Mr K that we could leave the back now until the spring but I could make another winter visit for the front.

Lovely dark dry night we headed off to a new spot, with Urban Grow Liverpool. Several runners from the suitcases, some from home, couple of cyclists and others met us at the urban growing space. It was a great turn out and also so lovely to have our smiley Laura Laura back!

We sadly needed to help dismantle Urban Grow’s raised beds as they were being moved out of their current home trying to find a new one.

So we all got into the task immediately all our hands like little piranha teeth removing all the “mattress-meat” in the raised beds leaving only the springs and frame carcass behind!

The original planters better described as a hugglekultur beds with logs and wood at the bottom with all the soil around them were swiftly turned into 15 plus a car full of compost bags (full of very huggly cultured soil).

We could not believe we devoured the task in less than 40 minutes which was very satisfying plus being likened to efficiency of piranhas made our day!

We can’t wait to hear where the huggly cultured soil ends up and wish Urban Grow lots of luck in finding their next new home!

I can't quite believe that it's a year ago since we made our way through the snow to The Arts Bar to make paper chain starter packs for children and young people who are going to be staying in hospital over the Christmas period. Yet the calendar says it is a year and the temperature drop this morning meant although we had no snow it did feel seasonally cold enough to get together with Christmas paper, pens, Christmas stamps and the ever present cheesy Christmas jokes.

Ellie did tell us that last year she had learnt a lot of the jokes and told them at all her christmas dinners and parties. She is a little concerned that she has less invites this year.... were the jokes really that cheesy or was it the way she told them?

Whilst some were saddened by the white hot chocolate being off the menu this year we all managed to find warming drinks to help us through the task plus cheesy jokes, and talks of our own Christmas party coming up on 11th December. Before we knew it we had to start to clear up there was a last minute scramble to get to 300 strips completed (and ever enthusiastic Pauline is going to do more tomorrow before the send off deadline).

We finished just in time to hand the space over for the open mic session.. despite encouragement we couldn't persuade Jess to stay on and get on stage.... we all left with no one taking to the stage this time.

Out into the cold night all feeling a little more festive thanks to the paperchain project.

As I was in Liverpool for a Movember half marathon, decided that I could add and extra Goodgym area to my portfolio. So Liverpool is my 18th Goodgym area that I have completed either a community mission or a mission at an elderly ot isolated person. After my race and a bit of sight seeing I went to Mr N house to tidy his garden and trim bushes/trees. On arrival, his small bulldog kept barking but was harmless. Mr N didnt have any tools, but I caught do with pulling dead branches and weed. I asked if he had anything to cut the branches and came back with a small saw which I made most of it. So armed with a saw, a wooden plank and brut force, I was able to cut bushes, trees, pick rubbish left by storm Claudia and remove moss(with the plank). He then came with a strimmer which I used to trimm the grass near his entrance. With hardly any tools I was able to achieve a lot and Mr N was happy amd overwhelmed as found out I was a volunteer with out being paid to help out.

After a bumper turnout last week to welcome visitors from London, six of us made it out for our official Sticker Parkrun Day. Storm Claudia had brought rain and wind to the area the day before, but Saturday greeted us with a calm—if grey—morning. On days like this, it can take a real effort to get up and out, but what the weather lacked was more than made up for by the warmth of seeing the GoodGym crew gather together. Warm hearts, sunshine smiles, and off we went for our 11th monthly parkrun. Kudos to Jess, who crossed the finish line on an apt 11k, having run from home beforehand!.

Bekah was kind enough to keep me company around the course, and as we trotted along we found ourselves planning some future GoodGym events. A shout-out is definitely needed here: Bekah used to always say she couldn’t talk while running, and now she’s full-on planning mode mid-parkrun. (Progress isn’t just about times, Bekah!) Lucien was ready at the finish to greet us with the much-sought-after stickers. GoodGym Liverpool Parkrun 2025 relies heavily on his organisational skills and steady presence — or, as I alway think, on him being “the responsible adult.”

As someone who is very motivated by the post-parkrun breakfast, I’m always super impressed that Steph and Amina both turn up and run even though often commitments mean they have to leave and skip breakfast. Its always so lovely to hang out before and after parkrun with them both whilst we are doing the Goodgym equivalent of herding kittems for the post parkrun photo.

Today Lucien Bekah and myself were joined by Mo who we had met last week at parkrun and we headed to breakfast at The Golden Brunch. Over a hearty breakfast we discussed our next session which Mo is hoping to join us for.

We only have one monthly parkrun left for 2025 why not join us on December 5th and end the twelve months of Goodgym Liverpool does parkrun

🎵 "Oh what a beautiful morning..." 🎵

When Goodgymmers John and Jacqueline mentioned they were coming up from London to do a Parkrun in Liverpool, Sallyann quickly mobilised to arrange a warm Liverpool welcome. Despite it not being the usual monthly Goodgym Parkrun date - and therefore no prized stickers on offer to tempt people - she rallied a fabulous turnout.

On a gorgeous crisp bright autumn morning, we welcomed back Laura after her break from maternity leave, it was so lovely to see her again and amazing to see how it felt like she'd never been away. Miriam made great strides in her running, taking place in her second ever parkrun, and after a running break Heetu was back in the game.

Jessica smashed it by running a 5k before she even reached the park, the 9am parkrun was her second that day! Dike casually let slip he accidentally ran an unplanned marathon earlier in the week - he set off to do 15k, but kept going for all 40+! Leonardo did some excellent recruiting and we hope to see some new members soon off the back of his conversations. Lucien remains dedicated to supporting the runners and turned out to cheer everyone on, and Amina & Steph did the hard part and joined us for the run even though they sadly couldn't make it for breakfast. And I frantically tried to keep up with Sally Ann, who - despite having only recently returned to running after injuries - was absolutely smashing the speed and did an amazing job on her return to Princes Park.

After Parkrun and the classic photo, we headed over to new favourite cafe Maw for a well earned breakfast, where John and Jackie were delighted with the vegan cake selection. It turns out they're very well travelled for both Parkrun and Goodgym, and John makes the most of the numerous GG areas in London by attending sessions in several of them. John, next time you're in Hackney, send our love to Dan! We compared area notes and admired the Goodgym sticker adorning John's phone - any chance for a bit of exposure! As we chatted like old friends we were pleased Liam was able to join us for a coffee.

The large group of red t shirts attracted quite a bit of interest and we were approached by several people interested in joining us. And after such a beautiful morning, it's clear to see why. Even the sun shone on us, and with a wide range of running abilities everyone was welcomed and supported, no matter where they were on their running journey. It was a gorgeous start to the weekend and we all left on a high, surrounded by positivity and lovely people doing lovely things.