Ye who have a spark in your veins of cockney spirit, smile or mourn acccording as you take things well or ill;— Bold Britons, we are now on Shooter's Hill!
Eaglesfield Park Lilly Pond is looking good at the moment; the lilies are now well established, with a number of flowers forming, and the wild flower meadow is showing the benefit of its last tidy-up in August.
The next Friends of Eaglesfield Park monthly meeting at the Lilly Pond will be on Sunday 3oth September from 11.00am to 1.00pm, weather permitting. As the wildflower meadow will be cut during October, an essential step in its development, this is the last opportunity to remove any invasive weeds such as brambles and prepare the pond surround for winter. I’m sure there will be an opportunity for pond dipping as well.
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park are holding the second of their monthly meetings at the Lilly Pond on Sunday 26th August from 11.00am to 1.00pm. They are looking for help with the maintenance of the pond and its surrounding wild flower meadow, and there is an opportunity to do some pond dipping. Madeleine from the Friends e-mailed me the details:
Responding to enthusiastic suggestions by members of the local community attending the opening of the restored pond, we have begun meeting regularly on the last Sunday of the month between 11.00 am and 1.00pm and would like to invite anyone to join us to help with weeding, planting, litter clearing and pond dipping activities.
Our first “Tidy up/Pond Dipping Session” was on 29th July but sadly only 4 FOEP committee members arrived. Although the sun did make an appearance, the weather was very unsettled and we finally abandoned our efforts due to heavy rain. However, before the rain, we were delighted to welcome a family with young children who enjoyed the opportunity to try out pond dipping. They were very successful, including 8 newts and various other “things” yet to be identified. We are all beginners as far as pond dipping is concerned and pictures and charts are not always very helpful! If anyone has any experience or knowledge of identifying pond creatures, we would be very pleased to have the benefit of their expertise!
The wildflower meadow has certainly changed since it was seeded in March. With so much rain everything has really grown fast, and we need to make sure the unwanted weeds and brambles are removed. In early autumn the meadow will then be cut down and raked off to allow the wildflowers to develop for next year. Unfortunately about a third of the meadow was not seeded in Spring due to the volume of rain we received making the ground unworkable. We hope to complete the seed planting in early autumn and again the area will need good preparation (digging, weeding, raking, etc).
Keeping to our commitment to meet up on the last Sunday of the month, we have planned another “Tidy Up/Pond Dipping Session” on Sunday 26th August – 11.00 am – 1.00 pm (weather permitting). Even if you are unable to help with gardening, why not come and have a go at pond dipping – it’s great fun for all the family – we have the fishing nets! Come and see us – even if you are just walking your dog! We would very much like to hear your suggestions regarding the future development of the park and how we can best ensure the unique environment of the park and the newly restored pond and meadow area continue to flourish and provide a haven for wildlife and a space for contemplation and tranquility for local residents and visitors.
We really do need your help though! Without the very basic management, the pond and meadow could soon, once again, become overgrown, unattractive and unable to sustain the variety of flora and fauna we are aiming to establish. Please join us. Whatever time you can spare will be appreciated. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding Eaglesfield Park, we would like to hear from you – email: foepse18@hotmail.com.
Eaglesfield Park must have the juiciest blackberries around at the moment, and lots of them in the lower part of the park, so it’s well worth a forage. You can also see the first Lilly flower on the recently refurbished Lilly Pond!
First Lilly flower on Eaglesfield Park Lilly PondThe Lilly Pond August 2012
English Bull Terriers Diamond Jubilee fancy dress parade in Eltham Park South Doggie Fun Day
From books to Bull Terriers, via ukuleles, steam trains and a dipping pond: an eclectic set of personal passions were on public display last weekend on or around Shooters Hill.
The weekend started on Friday with the official opening of the Eaglesfield Park Lilly Pond. Madeleine from the Friends of Eaglesfield Park wrote describing the event:
On Friday 15th June Friends of Eaglesfield Park wanted to share and celebrate with our local community that the once lost and forgotten pond has been restored into a wonderful wildlife pond with a dipping platform that hopefully will now become a focal point for visitors to the park. To Commemorate the opening The Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich officially “cut the tape” and opened the gate to the dipping platform. We certainly won’t forget which year the restored pond was opened – 2012 (we became the Royal Borough of Greenwich, The London Olympics and The Royal Diamond Jubilee!). The day will also hold a further significance for several children who tried out our pond dipping platform. They received a unique certificate to commemorate they were part of the opening ceremony and among the first people (children or adult !) to use the pond dipping platform.
Opening the Eaglesfield Lilly Pond
Although our large marquees would have provided shelter, we were indeed lucky to have good (well reasonable) weather and our planned celebrations opened in true carnival spirit with the children of Plumcroft and Christ Church primary schools in vibrant costume and displaying their considerable drumming and dancing talents. We would like to thank TARU Arts, a local Woolwich based community Arts Project, for the great job they have done working with the local schools in the lead up to this event and in organising the festivities. Of course we would also very much like to thank the Staff and children from Plumcroft and Christ Church Schools for taking part with such enthusiasm.
Throughout the day TARU provided drumming and hat making workshop opportunities and face painting for the children. Add to this a vibrant Brazilian Jazz Band and Zumba dancing and the aroma of delicious spicy food provided by Guarida Community Cafe, we indeed enjoyed a festive celebration. Who needs sunshine anyway!
The wildlife pond area looks wonderful and we would like to say thank you to the “diggers and gardeners” for their time and enthusiasm (and tools!) for helping to create the wildlife meadow surrounding the pond. The pond is already attracting tadpoles, small frogs, water skaters, leech, newts and, as yet, unidentified “bugs” and visits from two mallard ducks. The wildlife flower seeds have been sown, but it is next year that we can expect a colourful display.
Following the enthusiastic drumming and dancing on Friday, a different enthusiasm was on display early on Saturday morning in the bibliophilic queue at the Church of the Ascension in Blackheath for the Amnesty Blackheath & Greenwich Book Sale. The technique adopted by the most sadly enthusiastic is to grab an old cardboard box and quickly fill it with as many books from your favourite sections as you can and then to sit at the altar end and sort through them to decide what you really want. My more modest selection included Jon Snow’s “Shooting History”, which I was really pleased to discover later at home had been autographed by the author. I’m looking forward to seeing Jon in conversation with some of the Elders at the Barbican next week.
A gentle walk across Oxleas Meadows and through Shepardleas Wood took me to Eltham Park South, where the Doggie Fun Day was in full swing. The highlight was the Bull Terriers Diamond Jubilee fancy dress parade and competition. I felt slightly sorry for the indignity suffered by the dogs in their imaginative costumes …. such as a jousting horse, lots of England football fans and a Sherlock Holmes complete with waxed jacket and deerstalker hat. Sherlock suffered added indignity when the compere announced that he had come as a tramp. The well-deserved winners of the competition, and the Jane McInnes Trophy cup, were a pair of English Bull Terriers dressed up as pearly king and queen. There was a special commendation for a bull terrier who entered as a very convincing chihuahua (in fact I think it was an actual chihuahua pretending to be a bull terrier pretending to be a chihuahua). The competition included Bull Terriers rescued by Absolute Bull Terrier Rescue.
Finally, Sunday was one of Welling and District Model Engineering Society’spublic running dates. The WDMES is a group of enthusiasts for model steam trains, many of them former engineers who build the model trains themselves, fabricating the precision-engineered components necessary for the steam engines. On the public running day engines of varying sizes are put through their paces, but the main attraction is to ride on one of the trains on the 1268 feet 3.5″ and 5″ gauge raised steel track.
Welling and District Model Engineering Society public running
What a very varied set of enthusiasms and enthusiasts! There are more photographs on the e-Shootershill Flickr site.
For Queen and Country - one of Stu Mayhew's images of the Jubilee Beacon in Eaglesfield Park
The Eaglesfield Park Summer Festival will go ahead on Friday whatever the weather, an e-mail from the Friends has told me, and they have hired marquees for shelter and children’s workshops. The weather forecast is for “Light Rain Showers” through the afternoon, according to the BBC web site, so the Friends are wise to prepare for possible wet weather.
During the Summer Festival the Mayor will officially commemorate the opening of the newly restored wildlife pond. It will also include: a carnival and drumming procession with the children of Plumcroft and Christ Church primary schools; live music; Zumba dancing; children’s workshops; pond dipping; and other entertainment led by TARU Arts. The festival runs from 2.00-6.00pm.
There will be opportunities at the Eaglesfield events to find out more about the Friends of Eaglesfield Park, and get involved in activities from bulb planting to bat watching.
Aptly, considering Shooters Hills’ history as a beacon hill, Eaglesfield Park will host one of the 4000 beacons marking the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elzabeth II. The Royal Borough of Greenwich web site says it will be lit at 10.15pm tomorrow, 4th June:
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons
Over 4,000 beacons will be lit across the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as across the Commonwealth and UK Overseas Territories – and four of them will be in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Come down to watch your local beacon being lit at 10.15pm, with the help of Scouts, Army, Sea and Police Cadets.
? General Gordon Square, Woolwich SE18
? Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich SE10 9LW
? The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
? Eaglesfield Park, Shooters Hill SE18
Or you can watch the national beacon lighting televised live on the Big Screen in General Gordon Square, Woolwich.
Eaglesfield Park has two events coming up; the official opening of the restored Lilly Pond on the 15th June and the fifth annual Community Fête, on the 16th.
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park have organised a Summer Festival celebration and official opening of the restored Lilly Pond on Friday 15th June; this is the successful culmination, and recognition, of years of persistent effort by the Friends. Their invitation says:
INVITATION TO: SUMMER FESTIVAL CELEBRATION and OFFICIAL OPENING of the NEWLY RESTORED POND IN EAGLESFIELD PARK: Friday 15th June 2012 – 2.00 – 6.00 pm
We are writing to share the exciting news that, after many years of hard work and fundraising by the Friends of Eaglesfield Park, the old “Lily Pond” in Eaglesfield Park has now been restored and transformed into a wonderful wildlife pond. The new pond will not only provide a focal point for people visiting the park, but it will greatly enhance and encourage a wide range of wild life.
To celebrate, we would like to invite you to our Summer Festival (part of the Greenwich Parksfest) between 2.00 – 6.00 pm on Friday 15th June 2012 during which the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich will officially commemorate the opening of the new pond and dipping platform.
The event will include: a carnival and drumming procession with the children of Plumcroft and Christ Church primary schools; live music; children’s workshops; pond dipping; dancing and other entertainment led by TARU Arts a local community based arts project. Why not bring a picnic and join us for an afternoon and evening of celebration in our lovely park!
The wild flower meadow around the Lilly Pond created by friends of Eaglesfield Park is growing well; quite a few local residents helped with the preparation and planting. There are even a few Lilly leaves starting to show on the surface of the pond, and occasional visiting Mallards. I’ve added some more photographs to the Flickr sequence showing the how the pond has changed with work and season.
Mallards on the Eaglesfield Park Lilly Pond
Then on Saturday 16th June the local Neighbourhood Watch hold their annual fête. This is the fifth year that they’ve held the successful fête, and it looks like they have arranged another packed and varied afternoon, as their posting describes:
The Eaglesfield Park Neighbourhood Watch Scheme invites you to their 2012 Annual Community Fete on Saturday 16 June, from 1 to 4pm.
This is the fifth year that the fete has been held to help promote the benefits of Neighbourhood Watch and foster community spirit.
The fete, held in Eaglesfield Park SE18, will be opened at 1pm by the children of Christ Church Primary School who took part in a competition to design the 2012 fete poster.
A free afternoon of fun, you can take part in the activities including mini tennis, face and henna hand painting, listening to ukulele music, guided bird walks and buy some home-made cakes and refreshments. You can meet the Greenwich Met Police teams and Eltham Fire Brigade, learn more about the history of the area from Digging Dads Army, receive pet care advice and nail clipping services from the Charlton branch of Companion Care Vets and Pets at Home, meet some of the animals from Woodlands Farm and much more.
Jenny Penn, Eaglesfield Park Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Principal Co-ordinator, said: “We host this fete to celebrate the amazing community we have in Shooters Hill and it just gets bigger and better each year. This year we have more than 30 attractions and stalls.
“This event really shows the contribution small groups make and that community spirit is alive and thriving in Shooters Hill.”
I’ve added both events to the e-shootershill calendar, and here is the Friends of Eaglesfield Park How to find us poster (click to enlarge).
Friends of Eaglesfield Park and members of the local community met again on Sunday 1st April to continue work on the creation of the wild flower meadow surrounding the newly restored pond. The weather was wonderful, although the dry spell has had an effect on the soil! Unfortunately fewer “gardeners” were available this time, but we did seem to have more visitors to the pond area – all expressing their enthusiasm and support for the return of the “lost and forgotten” pond. The wildflower meadow area will take a while to establish, but already people have commented that the reflections in the water of the pond add interest and a feeling of tranquility. A closer look in the pond revealed water boatman/water skaters and no doubt there were probably other “bugs” we didn’t spot. We will continue to monitor the aquatic wild life and the wild flower meadow. There is no doubt that it is very satisfying to see the transformation of the pond and surrounding area. We certainly would not like to see the return of the old sad, overgrown and neglected pond!
We still have much to do. We will be meeting again on Saturday 7th April from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon to carry on with the “digging and planting”. If you would like to join us, we would be very pleased to see you. Whatever time you can spare will be a valuable contribution to completing the wild flower meadow.
Don’t forget to wear old clothes. Can you please bring your own tools (especially, spade, fork, hand trowel, and if possible a builder’s bucket).
Work on the lilly pond garden is progressing well and there are even some lillies starting to grow in the pond. Amongst the visitors expressing enthusiasm and support was local councillor Barry Taylor.
Meanwhile, just down the road in Shrewsbury House the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Jim Gillman, was opening the latest Tarts & Crafts fête. He also presented Shrewsbury House with a Commemorative Certificate representing the Royal Warrant recently issued to the Royal Borough.
The Mayor presenting the Commemorative Certificate to Shrewsbury House
Tarts & Crafts was very well attended again, and packed with stalls arranged throughout the building. The stalls included a variety of different crafts, aperture photography society and an art stall by local artists Ray Marshall & Colin Fifield manned by Ray himself and including copies of his collages of Shooters Hill, Eltham and Plumstead. Not to mention many very creative cup-cakes.
The fête raised much-needed funds for Shrewsbury House which has been run by volunteers for the last twenty years, and provides a home for a wide range of community societies and activities. There are around 40 in their list, including arts, dance groups, language classes, martial arts, millinery, music, photography and yoga. They are increasing their fund-raising activities following a reduction in income from the council’s use of their facilities, and are promoting the house as a venue for weddings, parties and celebratory events as well as use of their facilities for outside clubs and societies. They even have a sound-proof annex for band practice. Shrewsbury House provides an essential service to Shooters Hill residents, and I wish them luck in their fund-raising activities.
There was an excellent turnout of gardeners to help plant a wildflower meadow at Eaglesfield Park Lilly Pond; there must have been between more than 20 people (of all ages) at different times. The gardeners, led by the Friends of Eagesfield Park, transformed the area round the pond, clearing, raking and preparing the ground and planting British wild flowers and seeds. There is still a some work to do to complete the meadow, and the friends are planning to reconvene next Sunday at 10.00am.
Madeleine from the Friends e-mailed me with more details:
Friends of Eaglesfield Park (FOEP) and supporters had a really successful and productive morning on 25th March – clearing, digging and thorough weeding of the area around the newly restored pond. We achieved a great deal – planting wildflower perennial plug plants and sowing a mix of wildflower meadow plants. We are really grateful to everyone for their hard work and are looking forward to seeing the results in the summer. It wasn’t all hard work though! It was a good opportunity to meet and chat to park users.
However, we still have quite a lot of preparation and planting to do. We are therefore meeting again on Sunday 1st April 10.00 am – 12.00 noon. All offers of help would be much appreciated. At the moment FOEP do not have any tools, so if you can join us, it would be helpful if you could bring your own tools (particularly Long Handle Garden Fork/Spade, Rake (not a lawn rake), hand trowel. Don’t forget to wear old clothes, wellies and bring some gloves.
We are always looking for new members and would welcome comments about the pond restoration and any other aspects of Eaglesfield Park.
The plants that the volunteers planted were from British Wild Flower Plants, whose catalogue has pictures of the mature plants, and included:
Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium). Height 10-45cm. White or pink flowers June-August. Attractive to butterflies and bees. A common plant of meadows and pastures, grassy banks, hedgerows and waysides. Food plant of the Essex Emerald, Lime Speck Pug, Wormwood Pug, Straw Belle and Ruby Tiger Moths.
Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria). Height 30-60cm. Golden yellow flowers June to October. Native to hedgebanks, roadsides and edges of fields. Seeds loved by Finches.
Red Valerian (Centranthus Ruber). A perennial of sunny sites, especially found in places such as the base of sunny walls. Height 30-45cm. Red, or less commonly white, flowers June to August. Introduced from Southern Europe, and naturalised especially in the West Country. Excellent nectar plant. Food plant of the Large Ranunculus Moth.
Basil (Clinopodium vulgare). Height 15-35cm. Rosy pink flowers all July-September. Will grow well in grass for a flowering lawn. Excellent nectar plant that will withstand drought.
Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris). Height 20-40cm. Pretty cream and pink flowers May-August. Excellent nectar plant. A dwarf version of Meadowsweet for dry sunny soils. Food plant of the Scarce Darter Moth and the Brown Spot Pinion Moth.
Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum). A perennial for sunny sites Low growing spreading ground cover. Stems 15-40cm. Yellow flowers July-August, then black seeds into autumn. Food plant of the Elephant Hawk Moth, Gallium Carpet Moth, Plain Wave and Riband Wave Moth, Oblique Striped Moth, Bedstraw Hawk Moth, Archer’s Dart and Red Chestnut Moth.
Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis). Height 30-60cm. Pale blue flowers July-September. A good butterfly nectar plant. Food plant of the Marsh Fritillary and the Narrow Bordered Bee Hawk Moth.
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). Height 30-45cm. White flowers May-October. A common plant of grassland, which will grow magnificently on fertile soils. A good nectar plant attracting both butterflies and bees.
Marjoram (Origanum vulgare). 30cm stems of pink flowers August – September above rosettes of aromatic leaves. Much sought by bees and butterflies. Attracts the small copper butterfly in large numbers. Use as a herb in Italian cookery. Food plant of the Black Veined Moth and the Lace Bordered Moth.
Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris). Height 10-30cm. Red-purple flowers June-September. Found in lawns where constant cutting will give flowers all summer. A good nectar plant.
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa). A perennial for sunny sites. Height 30-50cm. Red-brown flowers May-June. Food plant of the Small Copper and Blood-vein White Butterflies. Plant with Marjoram for a ‘nectar fix’ when Small Coppers are passing and they’ll stay! A good salad leaf.
Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca). Height 30-45cm. Violet/blue flowers June- August. Native of dry pastures and roadsides. Rich in nectar and pollinated by bumblebees. Food plant of the Twin-Spot carpet moth.
Globeflower (Trollius europaeus). Perennial of northern meadows, forming clumps of shiny green leaves and flowering from late may through the June. Lemon yellow globular flowers. Food plant of the Sweet Gale Moth.
It should be fabulous when the plants mature and flower.
I’ve added the photograph at the top to the sequence on Flickr showing the transformation of the Lilly Pond.
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park are looking for help to create a wild flower meadow around the new pond in Eaglesfield Park on Sunday 25th March from 10.00 to 12.00. As their poster, pictured above, says: all are welcome. This is the latest stage in the Friends’ refurbishment of the Lilly Pond which started last November.
With the luck the 25th will be blessed with the same beautiful spring weather as we have at the moment, unlike last month when I took the latest in my series of photos of the changes in the pond. I’m looking forward to taking a more colourful one when the wild flower meadow grows up.
Oxleas Meadow is the place to go when it snows. It’s the perfect place for sledging – long, broad slopes with a choice of steepnesses to suit all ages and abilities. And all ages and abilities were out there today showing off their skills.
Oxleas meadow and cafe in the snow
There was an incredible variety of sledges; old fashioned sit-up wooden-slatted toboggans, snow boards, surf boards, a bin liner, bright pink and green plastic sledges, snowmobile style sledges, round ones looking like dustbin lids and one that I’m sure was a dustbin lid. Chaos reigned, bodies falling and rolling everywhere as sleds overturned, ran into each other and skittled other sledders. The whole scene overseen by the usual large crowd of dogs out for a walk, though on this occasion many were dressed for the weather, and a motley assortment of snow men. One enterprising group of sledders had even created a ski jump out of a park bench and a large pile of snow and were using it to launch themselves into ignominious heaps of snow and sledders.
Not far away in Shrewsbury Park a younger set of sledders enjoyed the gentler, less crowded but equally sled-able nursery slopes.
Elsewhere on the hill the snow had waved its transformative magic wand, turning the world bright and beautiful, hiding flaws and smothering imperfections. The woodlands were serene and pristine. Colours were accentuated in the otherwise monochrome landscape; vivid red holly berries and pillar box, the previously unnoticed blue beams in a house on Shrewsbury Lane, and colourful clothing glimpsed through the woods.
Oxleas Woods snow sceneShooters Hill water tower in the snowSnowman in Eaglesfield Park
