“and all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying….”. John Masefield.
But not so windy that the parks have to close…

After months of hot dry weather, it came as a surprise that, at the end of August Bank Holiday, bursts of wind and rain rolled in and have kept it up ever since.

Plants, trees, lawns and beds struggled but now it’s wonderful that clouds of beautiful Autumn flowering planting are there to be enjoyed.

The Italian Gardens tazza in front of the Pump House …The South Flower Walk…the ornamental beds by the Rose Garden in Hyde Park …

A new season, a new term!

Police in the Parks, an update

As you will all know by now, on November 1st, we are losing our wonderful, dedicated parks police force which was founded in 1872.

It has been a difficult process for the Royal Parks teams to try to negotiate, and even though the date has crept closer, there are still many things which are undecided.

What is probably certain, is that our two parks will be policed by neighbourhood teams (local basic command units BCU’s) based in wards surrounding the parks. We understand extra officers have been taken on. Only the Metropolitan police service (MPS) can enforce the Royal Parks regulations.

BCU officers have visited the managers and members of the parks staff on several occasions to get to meet, learn and understand what is important to help maintain a safe environment in the parks. We have the Old Police House in Hyde Park which is part of the MPS estate, and we hope that it will be used. Having a visible police presence would be helpful.

We will let you know what is planned and agreed whenever firm decisions are made.

Surely, they must come soon?

You’ve been a long time coming!

Welcome to our new buggy. Having negotiated and lobbied for several years by trustee Will Gray, with me lending a shoulder, we are delighted and grateful to the Royal Parks and Jason Taylor, for organising and delivering this very smart new means of transport. We will now be able to help those of you, both members and visitors, with less mobility to get around Hyde Park.

It’s very smart with our logo painted (rather too discreetly, grey on green) on the side and is run by some expert drivers who have had long experience of both driving, training and accrediting newer drivers.

At the moment, it just runs on a loop following the Serpentine and beginning and ending at Hyde Park Corner or our information kiosk. We hope, in the near future, it will also be perfect for those of us who need a bit of help getting around these days on a longed-for visit to old stamping grounds.

It has its own email, if you would like to arrange for someone you know to be able to enjoy a visit again. Do contact: buggy.fhpkg@gmail.com

If you think you might be interested in volunteering to help with the buggy, get in touch. Training and a driving test are involved!

And we’re not going to ask for the members to come up with a name for the buggy……

Here to help

Our volunteers’ kiosk is coming towards the end of its second season. It is decorated with bunting and is located next to the rather smart Tom Raffield designed Colicci catering kiosk at the Hyde Park Corner end of the Serpentine Road. Organised by Trustee Patricia Ladkin, the rota covers morning and afternoon shifts on weekdays from around Easter to mid-October.

This year the volunteers helped a most astonishing nearly 25,000 visitors. Not all asked about toilets or Harrods and, overwhelmingly, all loved the maps which were handouts. Early worries were that these might just be discarded, but not one has ever been seen lying around and we have the feeling that as they are carefully carried away, they might be pinned on kitchen notice boards all over the world.

Volunteers numbers are a little down at the end of the season and if you are interested in doing a shift next year, please get in touch with Patricia by email: contact@friendshpkg.org.uk

Hold the Date!

The next plant sale in the wonderful Hyde Park Nursery thanks to Manager Rob Dowling, is on Wednesday October 29th 10am to 3pm.

Fabulous selection, at bargain prices, of plants to see you through until next spring. Gardening advice also available.

Payment by card only and all takings to the Royal Parks charity.

Help will be available to get your plants to your car. The nearest car park is the Triangle (level with Serpentine North gallery). Entrance to the nursery is via the gate on the private road from the car park towards the Old Police House.

Cool Clear Water

On a warm evening in the dying days of July, Matthew Pottage and Beth Handley met us in the Hyde Park Learning Centre and started us off with a fascinating talk, guided tour, a good insiders look at some very special places in Hyde Park and ending, very sociably, in the Dell by the rushing water on cool lawns under a massive redwood tree.

We were delighted to be part of a very special visit which was much in demand and look forward to seeing how Matt’s plans and Beth’s planting come to fruition.

Magnificent Music …. sweet sounds filled the parks again

Many thanks go to our wonderfully generous sponsors who stepped up again to fund our summer bandstand music festival.

Starting with the amazing Mercian regiment band in mid-August, which this year was joined by musicians from London regiments. A great display of uniforms (rather hot in the August heat) plus loads of supporters came along to support 32 musicians on the Hyde Park bandstand platform. It was a wonderful sound and a logistical miracle, as the band travelled a long way and apparently arrived days before to rehearse with all their London colleagues.

Many thanks for support in every single way to member Carl Richardson and Richardson Foundation for their generosity.

An anonymous donor kindly supports Orqesta Mambarito every year as well, and they produce a sound and bunch of dancing supporters which is very exotic amongst the London plane trees and always enjoyed by the audience. Some costumes are pretty exotic too.

Cooling ice-creams from the van are very much in demand.

South London Jazz Orchestra (SLJO) plus teacher Simon Selman from Swing Dance UK is another regular, generously funded by Marble Arch BID, and enjoyed by a good crowd which swells throughout the afternoon.

The band leader told me that they love coming to Hyde Park because the crowd is so friendly and they find it very relaxing. (Possibly because trustee Tina Higginson who organises all of these, does the organisational worrying for all the rest of us).

So sad that in September, the last concert on the pretty Kensington Gardens bandstand had to be called off. The weather forecast was grim and so it turned out to be. Generous member, Sarah Joiner, is happy to sponsor next year (a new date was impossible to fix for this season) and the Epsom and Ewell Silver Band are looking forward to coming back to us.

Thanks also to member Linda Spiers, who is one of the dancing audience, for her generous donation.

Don’t miss out!

If you enjoy sitting and relaxing in an armchair reading the Annual Review (due out in late October) and have changed your address since last year….
MAKE SURE WE KNOW

Your new membership card and concessions list will also be in the envelope.

Please email your new contact details to our membership secretary and trustee membership@friendshpkg.org.uk

Sue
01/10/25
Sue Price
Chairman
Friends of Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens

Email: contact@friendshpkg.org.uk
Website: www.friendshpkg.org.uk

Photography:
Paul Shelley
Sue Price
Richard Price

Design and Setting Lynden Easton