I just reserved and borrowed an audio book from Queen’s Park Library. They transferred it from another branch for me. I paid one credit for the reservation and one credit to borrow it for three weeks.
How will you spend your Time Credits?
You don’t have any? You can earn some this weekend AND get fit at the same time. Top up your Vitamin D in the sunshine, if we get any.
For more details, check the Gardening Sessions page.
Take a look at the latest Time Credits brochure here.
We are thrilled to learn that St John’s Church will be holding lunch-time and summer evening concerts. The concerts are free, with a retiring collection.
You can find St John’s here.
First lunch time concert
Thursday 7th May 1.05pm
Laura Snowden, guitar. Pieces by John Dowland and Federico Moreno Torrobo
Evening concert
Saturday 23rd May at 7.30pm
Programme:
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 12 Duos for two violin, K487
2. Jean-Marie Leclair – Sonata for 2 Violins in E Minor, Op.3, No. 5
3. Franz Joseph Haydn – Violin Duo No.1 , Op.99
4. Sergey Prokofiev – Sonata for 2 Violins in C Major, Op.56
Followed by drinks
We have planned a session of litter picking and cutting back vegetation along the towpath from Willesden Junction to Kensal Green (approx. two miles).
We’ll meet at 9:30am by the corner of Third Avenue and Ilbert Street, by the noticeboard at the entrance to Queen’s Park Gardens, Then, as a group, take the bus to Willesden Junction. Alternatively, you can meet us at the towpath by Old Oak Lane Bridge, NW10 6DN.
The stretch of waterway we will be walking along is approximately two miles in total, so please remember to wear sensible warm clothes and sturdy shoes or boots (if you have them). All equipment will be provided and Hi-Vis clothing as this is a high traffic area used by cyclists. Hot drinks will be provided.
We expect to finish at Sainsburys Kensal Green around 2pm. If you’re not too tired, we can walk/take the bus, on to Little Venice where the IWA Canalway Cavalcade Festival begins on Saturday. Click here for more details.
Wildlife Area Session Saturday 9th May
Our scheduled session at the Wildlife Area. We will be weeding where required and preparing the ground around our newest project – an Insect Hotel. The hotel structure is made from wooden palettes and the interior from left over wood, bamboo and straw. Anything which insects can burrow into.
Queen’s Park Gardens Bat Survey Tuesday 12th May
Meeting at 8:40pm on the corner of Third Avenue and Ilbert Street by the noticeboard, at Queen’s Park Gardens. We are walking a set path around the park to determine if there are bats nesting or foraging in the park. We will be joined by a member of the London Wildlife Trust who has offered to take us on a walk with bat detectors.
What a wonderful success! The Community Council, working with the co-operation of Veolia, Westminster Council and the Friends of Queen’s Park Gardens, organised a massive day of action in our beautiful neighbourhood.
For the volunteers, the day began in the Wildlife Area of Queen’s Park Gardens, where we had a quick health & safety talk, then tooled up with special t-shirts, green bags and hoops, pooper scoopers, litter pickers, gloves, and for some executive volunteers, stencils and a can or two of spray chalk.
We divided into groups to make a sweep of each street. One team did the long roads like Portnall and Bravington; another group combed the avenues running from Harrow Road and the little adjoining streets. We had people concentrating on Kilravock to Peach and finally a party was despatched to look after the park itself. We also had our dog expert, Crissie Chambers on the streets, giving advice to dog owners.
Mainly focussing our efforts on the road and pavement, we quickly filled our green bags, but if we saw a front garden that was looking a bit cluttered, we tapped on the front door asking for permission to clear the debris that had been left by passers-by. Some people had larger items and we asked if they’d like us to arrange a one-off collection for them today*.
Sadly, we also came across obstacles like these.
Huge items like this fridge freezer and a door had been left in the street. This is such a hazard for children and our many elderly neighbours and of course, it is illegal. This kind of fly-tipping is a big problem on the estate. If you do notice anything please call the council’s environment action line (020 7641 2000) or here.
We also found a lot of dog ends and dog mess, both of which are unnecessary if dealt with responsibly by caring members of the community. It is a shame that a few thoughtless people spoil our lovely streets for everyone else.
We were such a strong team of workers that we we had time to break for some lunch in St Jude’s Hall on Ilbert Street. Emma Morgan made a dash to Sainsbury, grabbing sandwiches and drinks for us all so that we could sit and rest for a while.
In the afternoon, we concentrated our efforts in The Mozart Estate, ending up on Dart Street with the Westminster Recycling Champions team, who had supported us so well today, and to return all of our tools to the lovely men from Veolia.
You can read more about the day and its intentions here. It was such a success that we we hope to hold another one in the coming months, unless all our neighbours and visitors get into the habit of cleaning up for themselves!
We met some wonderful people and had the chance to chat to new neighbours, thrilled to see us working to make our community a cleaner place. All this was in the glorious sunshine. Thank you to everyone who joined in, younger and older too.
Did you see us and talk to us? Would you like to join in the next time we do this? Contact the Community Council with your details and they’ll keep you informed via the mailing list.
There are more than 40 photos in our gallery. Thank you to Ray Lancashire for taking most of these.
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The first day of Spring has passed and the park changes almost daily.
Have you noticed that a new flowering cherry tree was planted in the rose garden in the middle of winter? Its first blossoms are showing now.
There are lovely, furry catkins in the rose garden
and the blackbirds appreciate variety of ground cover.
In the wilder corner, you can just see a flowering currant coming into bloom as well.
As you leave the rose garden, you can’t miss the cheerful yellow of the Forsythia.
Among the bushes just outside the rose garden, the flowering cherry is in full swing.
Elsewhere around the park are various kinds of berberis
and even the humble daisy is pleased to see the sunshine.
The blackthorns are brightening up the hedges around the park railings.
and if you keep your eyes open while you’re walking around the estate, there are some treats in the gardens. This lovely camellia is in a street very near the park.
“All local residents & members of the public are invited to join Queens Park Councillors and Council Director Mike Simpson at our full council meeting which will be held in Office 1 of the Beethoven Centre, Third Avenue, on Wednesday 11th of March at 6pm.”
More details here.
There are only a few days left in Avenue Radio’s annual broadcast slot. Have you had a chance to listen this year?
The Avenues Youth Project is a charity that was established in 1979 to provide activities outside of school hours for young people aged 13-19 living in the North Paddington area of Westminster. In Particular, it was established in recognition of the lack of facilities targeting young Afro-Caribbean people in the area. Since that time the project has grown from strength to strength and in line with the diversity of our local community, we now attract and welcome a wide range of young people from many different communities that make up the Queen’s Park and Westminster as a whole.Two of the activities that Young people have been interested in over the years are music and radio, our long time worker Carol Bent recognised this and took the initiative to set up a radio station called AvenuesFM.Avenues FM has been a community based radio station for the past 20 years. Every year we are awarded a RSL for 4 weeks on the FM dial. Young people, local, regional and national organisations come in to do interviews. Just to name a few Bernardos, Panorama, WAC, Save the Children and more.One of our highlights for our broadcast is our big debate that happens in the month of February, past panellist has been, Politician Brian Paddick, Criminologist and Filmmaker Roger Graef, chair of DWP Jasmine Batliwali and local MP Karen Buck as the chair.In December 2014, The Avenuesfm team took the decision to change the station ID to Avenuesradio however we will continue to bring you the best of Queens Park and the surrounding communities. Keep listening to Avenuesradio.
Saturday 17th January 2015
Our first session working along side the Canal and River Trust.
We are assigned roles for the afternoon from litter picking to clearing Buddleia from the canal banks.
Katie here is helped into her life-jacket. As a precaution anyone working near the canal bank must wear a life-jacket.
Major Buddleia overgrowth!!! This is our vantage point on the barge.
Cramped location to work in. A saw is needed to separate branches. You can see the branch root sticking out from between the bricks of the wall.
Once separated we discovered more beneath the waterline.
Both sides of the bridge finally cleared of Buddleia, we can move on to our next location.
Here we are making our merry way along the Grand Union Canal Kensal Green.
Canal boats navigate around this monster. The picture doesn’t do it justice! We left this for another day or perhaps a whole day.
If you are interested in helping out for a few hours in our Wildlife Area or our Towpath Taskforce days, please come along to our next session. Click for dates and times.
Gallery Photos
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Come and work off those Holiday Season excesses with a canal clean up. We have planned a session of litter picking and cutting back vegetation along the towpath from Kensal Green to Little Venice (approx. 2 miles).
We’ll meet Saturday 17th January 2015 at the back of Sainsbury’s Ladbroke Grove, W10 5AA. Starting at 10am and running through the morning until 2pm. We will be working alongside the Canal and River Trust who care for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales.
The stretch of waterway we will be walking along is approximately two miles in total, so please remember to wear sensible warm clothes and sturdy shoes or boots (if you have them). On reaching Little Venice we can celebrate with hot soup and rolls.
We hope to see you there.
Your Neighbourhood! Get Involved!
Westminster have provided a temporary area to bring your Christmas tree when you’ve finished with it.
It’s by the gate near the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ilbert Street and can be used between 8am and 8pm. Tel: 020 7641 2000 More details at their website.
Recycling Christmas Cards for the Woodland Trust
Between 2nd and 31st January 2015 for every 1,000 cards donated to the Woodlands Trust, they will be able to plant one tree.
Last year more than 8 million cards were collected, enabling the Woodland Trust to plant more than 8,000 trees throughout the UK.
Over the past five years the Woodland Trust has planted 34,000 trees across the UK. The more cards collected, the more trees can planted by the Woodland Trust.
Look out for special card collection bins in Marks & Spencer stores from 2nd January through to 31st January 2015.
