There was a change of plan in Liverpool on Monday, the original plan for a meet up sadly had to be rescheduled so the team quickly regrouped and decided to pivot to a litter pick rather than cancel.

Siân had an excellent suggestion of a patch of land which actually linked back by an overgrown path to the green we litter picked last week. She did a quick reccy during the day to check there was enough litter to keep the keen goodgymmers going, and shared the location with a fabulous caption of “here be litter”. And there was indeed! During the reccy she spotted some rabbits, which added a fabulous incentive for the group to make the area nice and clean for the local bunnies.

We met at the Tung Auditorium and welcomed new member Dan, and sadly learnt it was Jake's penultimate session as he’s moving away! After introductions Bekah laid the ground rules as we were working in a quiet dark area – no wandering off alone into the darkness, and everyone to remain in pairs, minimum. We each had a bag and nominated a specific recycling bag, which Sian would kindly take to the appropriate recycling centre the next day.

It was a great spot as the litter was quite dense and we could quickly see the impact we were having as we cleared it. We found new, unopened hair rollers, pint glasses, a tent which the ground had begun to engulf and which Heetu astutely spotted was 1 item, not 2 as it appeared poking out of the ground in various places, numerous umbrellas, and lots of litter!

Due to injury Bekah was limited to the carrying she could do, so acted a human corral and kept the team safely together – catching Sallyannin the act as she was seconds away from heading straight for the dark undergrowth!

It was great to return to the same area the following week, as it really felt like we’d completed the job. The only concern was due to doing so many litter picks recently, we were running low on bags – what a nice problem to have.

Special shoutouts to new member Dan, who originally joined Goodgym in London and sought us out following a move to Liverpool, and Nina who it was lovely to see again after her 4-month break away. The team’s good work means the bunnies can safely hop another day!

With 4 runners, 1 walker/supporter/cheerer and 2 breakfast eaters...we all deserve some sort of loyalty points for Month 2 of GG does PR. Sallyann is keeping us guessing on categories and prizes.

Well we all started at different points...

I did not see Siân for dust after the start line!

Jo and I chatted as we pottered along the route.

Amina did fab as she went blazing through to the finish line.

Lucien was waving and gathering us together after barcode scanning.

Then we all made our way to investigate the next cafe on Lodge lane and to meet the breakfasters that had come straight from bed after their eventful evenings!

It was a drizzly night but this didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the five GoodGymmers who met up at the small field behind the disused Oxford pub, an area much in need of a litterpick. As it was dark, we all agreed to stay together as a group and not wander off, but in practice Bekah had her work cut out making sure the rest of us were accounted for as it's just too tempting to follow a trail of litter wherever it may lead! We were surprised to discover the size of the green as it extended back further than any of us had properly noticed before, even though we all know the area well. It could be transformed from a forgotten, overgrown and litter-strewn patch of grass into a lovely green space if given a little care and attention, which our task tonight went a long way towards; we collected a massive 10 full bags of litter, including 2 of recyclable rubbish which we disposed of separately. A great achievement especially when some of us were dealing with litterpickers that wouldn't close properly, or wouldn't let go! At the end of the task we crossed the road to take our group photos in front of the Tung Auditorium which is a place of happy GoodGym memories, as we've helped out at gigs for the Liverpool Choir With No Name there in the past.

Bekah and I met at the home of Mr G, on a rather chilly Saturday afternoon: the task... to help him to settle into his new home by unpacking and putting away his belongings, stored in bags at his flat since before Christmas 2024.

Mr G has some mobility issues and since being released from hospital in December, has found it difficult to sort out his new flat. Whilst waiting for new furniture to be delivered, Mr G has been living out of bags... a lot of bags... a lot of very big bags!

The task seemed insurmountable in the time allowed, but we set to, tackling one bag at a time.

Bekah was an amazing clothes sorter... and Mr G has a lot of clothes! Empty drawers and wardrobes were gradually filled and even Mr G was surprised by how much clothing he has, much of it brand new and never worn.

I set to on a storage cupboard, emptying out yet more bags, filled with an assortment of items, from photographs and ornaments, to toiletries and kitchen knives.

As we worked, we chatted and laughed with Mr G.

I had been concerned that he would not welcome me at first... he had on an LFC top, and I had on my Everton jacket 🤔😁

However, the friendly rivalry helped to break the ice and our love of the game gave us something to talk about.

It was soon very apparent that Mr G was not only a Red... but he was a HUGE RED! Over the years, his family had bought him Liverpool clothing and memorabilia that filled bag after bag. Bekah found football tops, tracksuits, jumpers and 5 dressing gowns, all bearing the famous Liver Bird logo, whilst I came across Liverpool FC books, calendars, framed pictures, and even a Kenny Dalglish signed, framed football shirt!

It was almost too much for a Blue to bear, but, after two hours of non stop unpacking and sorting, the last bag was emptied, Christmas decorations were put away for another year, books were made accessible, and we even found Mr G's razors that had been missing since the move.

Mr G was amazed at the transformation and couldn't thank us enough. He can now begin to relax and enjoy his new home.

We gathered outside the closed Waterloo Café on a cold, clear, crisp February evening, and Heetu led us in a warm up. Whilst attempting a new kind of stretch which involved a lot of (for some of us, inelegant) balancing, a local walking past kindly suggested we just go for a run, and seemed surprised with the reply “We’re about to do just that!”

Despite the specific instruction “Please bring torches as it will be dark on the beach”, clearly laid out on the task listing, 3 out of 5 of us forgot our torches so we were sharing the light and relying on the moonlight. Despite running in the darkness, remarkably we only made one wrong turn: when the squelching underfoot got significantly louder, we realized we were heading around the wrong lake, but no problem – we simply headed back and course-corrected on the right path.

Being on the beach on a clear crisp night was a beautiful experience, the stars were so bright, and Liam pointed out planets and constellations to us: we identified Jupiter, Venus & Mars, and how The Plough led to the North Star.

In the darkness it was surprisingly difficult to spot the famous Iron Men on Crosby Beach, part of Anthony Gormley’s Another Place art installation. Sian was the first person to spot one, and the group challenged themselves to keep running until each person correctly identified one.

Shoutout to Lucian who didn’t let an injury stop him from joining, he undertook a moonlight walk, and was never far away from the runners who kept stopping to (unsuccessfully) take photographs of the beautiful night sky.

After a gentle 2.5k it was time to turn back, and the return journey felt much quicker sans-lake detour. The group then headed to a local pub for dinner, and discussed all the activities and challenges they were interested in for the coming year.

It was a lovely evening and a unique experience, combining a fabulous moonlit beach run with dinner with friends. All present agreed there’ll be more of this to come!

The Vale of Clwyd 5k Trail was originally scheduled for Saturday, 10th of January and had a car load of Liverpool Goodgymmers ready and raring to go. However, due to weather-related rescheduling, only one ended up able to make the new date – but cancelling without very good reason isn’t the Goodgym way, so it was a solo trip for Bekah under the tunnel and into the valleys of North Wales to the Vale of Clwyd, near Ruthin.

It was a perfect winter morning: cold, bright, and very crisp, with the sun having made an appearance just in time to do its job and start to thaw the ice which remained on the course. The start & end was at the beautiful Llanbenwch Caravan Site & Café, and Bekah just about managed to tear herself away from the resident donkeys to congregate at the start line.

When they said it was a trail run, they weren’t kidding! The route involved fields, country roads, woodland trails, large roots, fallen trees, ice patches, mud piles, through gates and over stiles… a true countryside experience for this city girl. Whilst the countryside obstacles had an impact on finish times, the beautiful views more than made up for it, and it was with a big smile that Bekah crossed the finish line and received her medal. It was a very friendly and very small race event, and the team are already looking at rolling their places over to the next one.