With Spring now approaching, The Friends planning is rapidly progressing with the brighter days and evenings in mind. Users of the tennis courts in the park will be pleased to see that the area has been cleaned and new nets are now in place.
another positive development is that the people who were sleeping rough in a shelter in the park have been rehoused to temporary accommodation, It’s good to note that their dog has been allowed to stay with them.
More planting will be taking place around the park, some with an unexpected twist, in the form of vegetables, many of which will be grown from seeds sourced from Franchi Seeds, who specialise in endangered and ethically produced seed varieties. Paolo Arrigo, director of the business, is a biodiversity campaigner, author and public speaker, as well as being a multiple Royal Horticultural Society medal winner, a member of the Harrow Business Forum on Climate Change, and was nominated Slow Food UK Person of the Year in 2019. Needless to say, we are excited to have his expertise supporting our efforts!
https://jacquesamandintl.com/
For over 90 years, Jacques Amand has offered flowering bulbs of many varieties to discerning gardeners. The company began as a flower shop in the Strand when Jean Jacques Amand arrived from the Netherlands in 1927. Since then the company has grown to become a major supplier of bulbs, well-established favorites as well as the rare and unusual, and is renowned for the diversity and quality of bulbs offered to customers in many countries.
https://seedsofitaly.com/
We specialise in Italy from the Seed to the plate being the importers for the Franchi seed brand, the oldest family run seed company in the world but we are passionate about the provenance and regionality of everything we sell. We were found to be the most ethical major packet seed brand by Ethical Consumer Magazine and we are also Vegetarian Society approved and Slow Food UK and at Seeds of Italy we have a 5* Food Safety Rating.
Come and visit our store at D2 Phoenix Business Pk, Rosslyn Cres, Harrow, Middx, HA1 2SP, 0208 427 5020. Nearest Tube Harrow & Wealdstone, open office hours Monday to Friday 9am -5pm and Saturday 9.30am - 4pm (October-June)
The Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Ground win another award!
We are delighted to announce that our park has been positively viewed by the Royal Horticultural Society. As well as providing us with their knowledge and suggestions, the visitors from the Society.
In 2020 the RHS want to work with groups with creative ideas to improve spaces and create connections in their local community through plants and gardening and the Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Ground was one of the few groups chosen to receive the prize, which includes a small sum of money and more importantly hands-on support and advice from an experienced RHS horticultural expert.
We are absolutely delighted and looking forward to RHS Community Outreach Advisor, Chris Young, working with us to achieve our aims.
This is the second national prize we have won this year, the first being the Mitzvah Day Greening the Community Award. It is a testimony to the hard work of our dedicated members, local people, individuals, groups and many others who want to make our park a better place!
Thank you to the Royal Horticultural Society for supporting the Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Ground – we really appreciate it!
Although work on the stage in the park has not been helped by the downpours of rain recently, good progress is being made and the first event to be held there is set to take place towards the end of this month. This will be a musical performance by 100% Producers, who entertained everyone so well with their appearance in the park last year. The group highlight young local talent of all types and provide excellent support and encouragement to developing artists. Definitely a cause worth supporting and we look forward to seeing many of the community there to enjoy the evening.
As well as the blossoming of spring, with daffodils already in abundance, we will be adding more beauty around the park and would like to thank a local artist drawing our projects which help us displaying some excellent projects we have upcoming, drawn by local artist, to show our future plans for the landscaping of the park. Also, for those with an eye for the artistic, we’re pleased to report that a number of beautiful drawings, depicting events that have already been held by the Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Ground, will soon be for sale through our website.
DOES LITTER PICKING SAVE US MONEY?
This is one example of the work carried out by the great team that we have in our borough dealing with calls regarding problem littering and fly tipping, and we have looked into the issue of whether our council is doing enough to tackle the problem, or should we, as residents be doing more to help
.
When we spoke recently to a senior member of Harrow council, who offered an insider’s view of this problem, he explained that a well-meaning resident could telephone to report the dumping of rubbish, but, when the council workers travel across the borough to investigate this, it can just be a plastic shopping bag filled with rubbish, which could simply have been placed in a street bin to be collected in the normal way. Unfortunately, while the council are happy to respond, the resources involved in retrieving this small amount of rubbish results in a great cost to residents.
Information in this video has a warning
The Friends of Harrow Weald have produced a video to highlight the work of the dedicated members of staff who clean all the Boroughs throughout the country and to offer simple tips on how you can help your community and save expenditure.
To view link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjg6RDl_7Vg Please be aware that this video contains scenes showing dead creatures and unhygienic environments and may be upsetting to some people.
Harrow Weald Bowling Club
A long standing and welcome facility in our park is the Harrow Weald Bowling Club, which is currently looking for new members to join, to make it viable for the club to continue operating. For those who are inexperienced at playing bowls, but would like to take part in a friendly sport at this extremely well maintained green and club, it is a bonus to know that free coaching is offered to new members. There are also club events held regularly. For further information contact: Linda and Derek Mowle on 020 8933 7494.
Pavilion Football Club
We look forward to the return of the players and members of Kodak Football Club who will be back to holding matches in the park when work is complete on the pavilion building, which is being updated to include disabled access and toilets.
To help with the ongoing events and gardening work in the recreation ground, we will be receiving an additional container, which will be located in the park, once the ground has dried out! We welcome any people who would like to volunteer to assist with setting up and running our upcoming events, and for ongoing help at our regular Sunday morning litter picks and gardening mornings.
Volunteers Welcome
Any time that you can spare is greatly appreciated, whether this is once or on a regular basis. Volunteers can also help greatly by distributing information, monitoring our stands at events, making a cup of tea, having a chat with our fellow community members, locking and unlocking the park gates, and generally providing help where needed. As our group has grown rapidly we would be delighted to hear from anyone who can offer help with the administration of our website and database, and in coordinating volunteers and helping with fundraising.
If you would like to find out more, or would like to join our group of volunteers please follow the link: https://harrowweald.co.uk/volunteer
Full information about all our events being planned and set to take place can be found through our newsletter. You can be sure not to miss out on what is happening locally by signing up to receive this here: https://harrowweald.co.uk/get
MEMBERS REMINDER
For members of the Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Ground, or those wishing to join, that all subscriptions for this year should now have been renewed. If you have not renewed your membership yet, or if you wish to join for the first time, this can be done online.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Associate members are people who support our activities by making a yearly or monthly contribution, allowing the Friends to continue with creating the events and maintaining the facilities for everyone to enjoy.
Sole membership is: £5 per annum
Family/Couples membership: £10 per annum
To renew or join please follow the link:
https://harrowweald.co.uk/join
HOW MEMBERS BENEFITS WORK
Member won several free meals for two @ different local
Members receive free treats at events
Members and Volunteers enjoyed several free breakfasts
One member saved over £40 on tickets
Two members have been rewarded with a VIP stay for two each in one of over 500 Hotels throughout the UK
Invites to Member only events
LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORT
We greatly appreciate the support that we receive from local businesses that are keen to sponsor our events, provide expertise, or materials for our projects. For more information please contact us via this link: https://harrowweald.co.uk/event-sponsorship
SUPPORT THE FRIENDS AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU!
Please don’t forget that, as we are a registered charity, you can support us when you shop on
Amazon, by using smile.amazon.co.uk and selecting us as your chosen charity. Thank you.
UPCOMING EVENTS: >>> https://harrowweald.co.uk/whatson <<<
Saturday 7 th March: Big Screen Cinema featuring Toy Story 4. 3.00pm FREE The screening of this delightful animated feature film for all ages will take place in the Brownies’ HQ, Maricas Avenue. The story continues with the familiar characters of Woody, Buzz Lightyear & Co teaming up with Bonnie and a new toy named Forky. They head off on a journey full of adventure, that is both captivating and moving. Popcorn and American style hot dogs will be available.
Friday 27 th March: 100% Producers – live music performance on the stage in the park. 7.00 to 9.00pm FREE Don’t miss the first live music performance on the new stage, located by the Lych Gate entrance to the park, from the upcoming and talented members of 100% Producers. This group was formed in 2012 and is unique in offering local young people, from 14 to 25 years old, the opportunity to develop their performing skills. All genres of music are covered and it is always exciting to see the latest offerings from this worthwhile group.
Monday 6 th April: Flowers & Bees 10.30am FREE Meet at the children’s playground where our local expert Simon Braidman will begin his talk and tour around the park, to help us all to learn about the activity of bees and the flowers they love.
Wednesday 8 th April: Easter Egg Hunt 1.00pm FREE Meet at the children’s playground to begin your hunt for the many hidden goodies scattered around the park!
Friday 24 th April: Music in the Park with DJ Donald 8.00pm FREE Ever popular DJ Donald, will be playing music throughout the evening. Come along and dance, sing, or just sit, listen and enjoy the tracks.
Every Wednesday: Tai Chi 10.00am FREE This group is run by Zhijun Wang, and includes a friendly walk from Enderley Road HA3 5HF, followed by a 30 minute session of Tai Chi. Sessions are currently being held in the Brownies’ HQ in Maricas Avenue (opposite the entrance to Weighton Road). New members are very welcome.
Every Sunday: Litter picking, gardening and a get together. 10.00am to noon Come along and join in with other people who want to get the best from our park and care about the community.
EVENTS COMING SOON
Many more exciting park and indoor events are already in place for the whole of 2020, so, for up to date news, keep watching our news online, subscribe to our email newsletter, or follow us on Facebook. In the meantime, we’d suggest that you keep Saturday 4 th July free in your diary for a fun packed day in the park! More information to follow……
CAN YOU HELP?
Can you help display our posters to promote upcoming events? Please let us know if you can offer a suitable additional site where they can be displayed.We are in need of an experienced gardening company to help create the new landscaped areas and pergola for the park. If you can help with recommendations, or are a company happy to discuss this with us, please get in touch.
EVENT STALL HOLDERS
If you would like to set up a stall at any of our events, please contact us.
Cost of £10.00 per table per day. Priority is given to local stall holders.
Charities free
OUR NEXT FRIENDS OF HARROW WEALD GROUP MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY 29 TH MARCH FROM 4.00PM AT HARROW WEALD MEMORIAL CLUB.
Minutes can be downloaded here: XXXX
