Donald Macauley
Local Artist

Local Community, Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area

Over the last few months, we have been very privileged to welcome local artist, Donald Macauley into the Wildlife Area as he has painted this wonderful view of the London Plane with the mound and Ilbert Street in the background.  The colours from my camera do not do this justice!

 

Donald grew up in East Anglia during the 1950s where the wild flowers among the corn, clouds of butterflies, and largely quiet, safe roads were his playground.

He has been painting since he was 16 and studied art at Reading University.  However, it is only in his early retirement, he has found the time to fully embrace his talent.

He has been living in the Queen’s Park estate since 1984 and we are lucky to have him among us.

 

Please take a look at Donald’s other work at his website here.
If anyone would like to exhibit his work locally,
do get in touch.

Earn Time Credits at the Firework Display

Local Community, Time Credits

Would you like to help your community?

If so, why don’t you register to become a volunteer with Queen’s Park Community Council and earn Time Credits?

The Council hosts a number of events for benefit of Queen’s Park residents such as the Queen’s Park summer festival, winter festival and fireworks night, as well as creating and delivering the Queen’s Park Voice.

The fireworks night takes place next Thursday (5th November) in Queen’s Park Gardens and the Council is looking for people to help on the night. We are also planning the Council’s first winter festival for December.

If these are activities you would like be involved with then please contact the Council on 020 8960 5644 or director@nullqueensparkcommunitycouncil.gov.uk

Halloween in the Wildlife Area!

Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area

photo water bottle bug_zps0u3rtjbu.pngWe’re gardening this Spooky Saturday but we’re hoping to see some extra special bugs and critters in the Wildlife Area as it is Halloween. 

Come and help us find them hiding in the trees and bushes!

Our next Gardening Session will commence in the Wildlife Area at 10am on 31st Oct. More details here.

If you’re making pumpkin lanterns, don’t waste any food!  Check here for ideas.

 

Come along and lend a hand at any time, for as long as you like. We’ll be there until 1pm………….the critters might stay a while longer.
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St John’s Music

Local Community

Just in case you haven’t checked our park notice boards lately, there are some additional dates to the St John’s Music schedule.  Do check their website for more info.

These are free concerts, held at St John’s Church, Kensal Green. Contributions are most welcome.

 22/10/2015 – Lunchtime recital at 13:05 – Cassandra Mathews – classical guitar 

 Programme Lachrimae Pavan – John Dowland

 Homenaje – Manuel de Falla

Etude No. 8 – Heitor Villa-Lobos

Un Sueno de la Floresta – Agustin Barrios-Mangore

Nocturnal after John Dowland – Benjamin Britten

 12/11/2015 – Lunchtime recital at 13:05

 Ensemble Hesperi

Programme

Giovanni Bassano – Ricercar Quarta

Giovanni Cima – Capriccio a Due

J.S. Bach – Trio Sonata in F major

Girolamo Frescobaldi – Toccata Prima  

Girolamo Frescobaldi – Canzona Seconda “La Bernadina”    

C.P.E. Bach – Sonata for Flute Solo in A Minor H. 562

Johann Pachelbel – Variations on “Alle Menschen mussen sterben”

Thomas Tomkins – A Fancie

G.B. Fontana – Sonata Sexta 

 

14/11/2015 – Saturday evening concert at 19.30 

TBC – Programme – TBC

 26/11/2015 – Free lunchtime recital at 13.05

Jamie Torrance

Programme – TBC

03/12/2015 – Free lunchtime recital at 13.05

Omnes Musica

Programme – TBC

15/12/2015 – Christmas evening saturday concert at 19.30

Silk Street Sinfonia

Programme – TBC

 

Last Session of September

Local Community, Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area

Freecycle is a wonderful resource. It put us in touch with someone who wanted to get rid of some top soil as he was completely restyling his neighbour’s garden, just over the canal.  He kindly delivered about ten bags to us.

We had to sift it carefully to get rid of all the stones and unwanted vegetation but we split ourselves into two teams so that the others could be getting as much grass out of the area in the meadow where we wanted to spread the soil.  Wildflowers thrive in poor quality soil but the end patches are full of stones where grass loves to grow and chokes some of the prettier flowers, if left unchecked.

On our way out of the park, we noticed a lot of cardboard packaging had been dumped in the general waste bin so we cleared the plastic and polystyrene elements back into that bin, then flattened the card and put it in the correct, recycling bin.

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Late Summer Chores

Wildlife Area

As the plants and flowers are dying off, it gives us a chance to tidy up and think about some of the more practical chores.

The wooden shuttering which borders the meadow as been rotting away over the last few years so with the welcome return of John, we were able to use some of the logs to reinstate it.

There was still a lot of weeding to do, to prepare the meadow for next summer.

We were thrilled to see a local resident arrive with his paints and easel.  One of the many relaxing things you can do in the Wildlife Area, if gardening seems too strenuous.

Ray took some great photos. My favourite is the mushroom.

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Summer’s End

Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area

 

We’ve been very busy since the Summer Festival.

The Wildlife Area always gets full of domestic grass and more dominant weeds. There’s also a lot of bindweed in the Rose Garden and the triangular bed outside.

Removing the dead heads from roses gives them a chance for a second bloom so they’ve thrived this year. We’ve also weeded the circular shrub bed near the Third Avenue entrance.


A couple of donations of wood chip have been spread to help keep the weeds down and also make the paths better to walk on.


We’ve had to keep an eye on the roof terrace of the Grand Marigold Bug Hotel and netted the front so that any bugs nesting there will be safe and undisturbed.  We made the area around the hotel safer to walk on by levelling it with the wood chip.


The Willow Dome needs trimming & weaving each year so we got the ladder & ties out.

In the Wildlife Meadow this year, we had some fantastic teasels. Did you see them?  The Echinacea, planted in the side bed last year, multiplied and gave us many wonderful blooms.

We spent some time clearing the weeds from the awkward bank near the boundary hedge. The ground drops away quite sharply there so many of our original plants did not survive. We were kindly given some lovely specimens from the Head Gardener at the Royal College of Physicians which we planted during our last session.

September is also the time for us to let the Wildlife Meadow return to seed.  The park attendants let us use their strimmer last session and the Head Gardener of the Royal College of Physicians gave us some more lovely plants to put in the bank by the hedge.

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The Wildlife Area – opening times

Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area

 

The Wildlife Area in Queen’s Park Gardens will now be open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s a great area for children and adults alike.

 

 

Please do come and enjoy the peace and greenery, and visit our new bug hotel. For the comfort of others, we ask that no dogs are brought into this area.

The area is also available free of charge for community groups during the week. Contact us for more information and booking.

Volunteers are always welcome to come and help. Check the side-bar for dates.

Come for as little or as long as you like and receive time credits in exchange for your work. There’s more information here.

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Alternative Open House

Local Community

London Community Neighbourhood Co-operative (LCNC) are inviting us to their

ALTERNATIVE OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER anytime between 1pm-4pm,
1 Croxley Road London, W9 3HH
Come see the ‘Old Girl’, their straw bale office, SELF DESIGNED and SELF BUILT in north Westminster.
They will explain how they made her, the benefits of alternative buildings and some of their future plans. They will have information about straw bale building and light refreshments.
Spaces are Limited. Please RSVP by email, website or phone! 07952 616 352

London Community Neighbourhood Co-operative (LCNC)
Pioneering Urban Living
www.lcnc.org.uk
LCNC Blog: hittingthenailonthehead.wordpress.com
Follow! @LCHCUK
LCNC is a Co-operative Society registered with the FCA No 31888R.
Email or Telephone: leslie@nulllcnc.org.uk