Splendid day for a lark in the park Part 1

What a splendid day it was for a lark in the park in Mayow Park on Saturday 30th June 2018.
The event was organised by Lewisham Council's Perry Vale ward as a community event and community stalls were there in numbers. The event joined forces with Sydenham Arts who held their activities in the bowls green so the park was buzzing.  So many people smiling in the sunshine.

Community groups came to set up at 11am and public events  began at midday.
A Victorian theme ran through for some of the stalls in recognition of the 140th anniversary since the opening of Mayow Park to the public in June 1878.
For the Friends of Mayow Park it was also an excuse for a double celebration. The group (formerly known as Mayow Park Users' Group) held their very first official meeting in April 1993 and have been going for 25 years.

In recognition of this double anniversary, Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) set up their stall to face the Victorian water fountain.  The monument commemorates the Rev William Taylor Jones who kick-started the process that was to lead to the creation of Sydenham Public Recreation Ground, later renamed  Mayow Park. While the fountain no longer works, it stands as a proud memorial to the origins of the park.

Putting up the bunting (photo S Hatchard)

Victorian fountain with bunting (photo S Hatchard)

    Our gazebo was installed in a jiffy and soon  all were busy preparing the table, signs and activities.

Getting stall ready (photo A Sheridan)

Gazebo up (photo A Sheridan)

Children's Victorian art and craft activities were part of the FOMP offer and two young people took on much of the work to reach out to members of the public.

Victorian brooch making activity (photo P Moss)

brooch-making preparations (photo P Moss)

Sue and Sandra prepare the thaumatrope activity (photo P Moss)

The FOMP stall displayed a number of items that might be of interest to visitors:
- an article from the Sydenham Society Summer 2018 newsletter, written by Steve Grindlay and explaining the creation of Mayow Park.

- Walk on the Wild Side map of the park showing just a few of the significant trees

    And a scrap book that FOMP volunteers are putting together called 'Mayow Park Memories'.   The front cover is a copy of an original painting by local artist Darren Russell Hayman.                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                     

More about this event to follow.

Diary date: Lark in the Park on 15th July 2017

Lark in the Park event in Mayow Park, organised by Perry Vale Ward Assembly. 15th July  from 12 noon until 4pm. Free entry. Community stalls, food, ice cream, children's activities, Grow Mayow, tennis tasters and much more. Come along support  groups and organisations in our locality.

Lark in the Park 18th June 2016

Photo by Carol: Cricketters having a break

Mayow Park is a 5 minute walk from Sydenham Road but it sits within the Lewisham Council ward of Perry Vale and is the main green space for that ward. The Friends of Mayow Park committee were delighted when we learned that our park was to host the Perry Vale Ward assembly 'Lark in the Park' community event.
It was planned over a few months by Councillors and council officers who contacted various community groups and associations as well as Brown and Green Cafe in Mayow Park.
On 18th June the weather was overcast but generally dry making it ideal for this great event. Cars and larger vehicles were driven into the park at 5mph, lights flashing, and then driven out again according to the regulations, in order to set up. People were unloading banners, chairs, equipment, food, gazebos,  games and piling up a whole host of equipment onto tables to prepare eye-catching displays.
The Perry Vale ward officers and councillors had a small marquee located between the tennis courts and bowls green, by the middle path.
The old bowls green hosted taster sessions for those interested in croquet. However, the grass is cut as amenity grass these days since the demise of the bowls club and I gather that means the grass is too long to play a decent game of croquet.

Photo by Carol: Try playing croquet when you are being pulled away by a toddler!

 Friends of Mayow Park set up a table next to our gardening space, by the raspberry bushes and under the holly tree. It was a good opportunity for us to publicise who we are and what we do as not all visitors were aware that Mayow Park has a Friends group. Some people signed up to go on our mailing list and to be kept informed about meetings and events. We had tree leaf identification sheets available for those who wanted to check out some of our park trees plus information on our orchard.

Photo by Carol. Two of the FOMP committee - Robert holding Harry his dog and Alona sitting  

Here is a list of some of the other organisations that contributed to the day and their activities:

Arthouse	Make a protest workshop - Use creative  resources to make a placard to protest about what is really important to you. With your creations you can Join a parade at the end of the day.
Lewisham Homes	Information stall - to promote Lewisham Homes services
Metropolitan Police	Free Bike security Marking and crime prevention advice & leaflets
Forest Hill Society	Information stall - working to make Forest Hill an even better place to live.
Economic Development team (Fairtrade)	Fair Trade Quiz and samples of Fairtrade projects to try.
Lewisham Police / Police Cadets	Crime prevention stall, general assistance with set up and stewarding
Brent Knoll School	Yr 10 Enterprise Group. Handmade gifts and crafts by pupils
Mike Mad for Fitness	Demonstration of Outdoor gym equipment.  Also volunteer first aider
Let's Talk about Dogs	Let's talk about dogs - engagement with local people on their attitudes to dogs.
Young Lewisham Project	A stall selling recycled/upcycled items made by our young people. Also a Dr Bike service so people can have their bikes repaired.
Sydenham Tennis Club	2 Tennis coaches and croquet club members to run activity tasters
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home & PDSA	Dog microchipping, pet health checks, dog law and outreach
L&Q	Information Stall - help and advice with all aspects of housing
Fusion - The Bridge Leisure Centre	Afterburn and Box Aerobics (Boxercise)
Fusion - Afterburn Academy	Afterburn - (Looking good on the beach!)
Bubble and Bounce	Soft play area
Tumshies	Face painters X 2 - sponsored by Lewisham Homes and L&Q
Teatro Vivo - Usherettes	Usherettes - handing out information, engagement with public
Brown and Green	Provided prize for cake decorating activity
FHBS - Cake decorating	Cake decorating masterclass, and FHS Young Producers Present: “The Big Mix Up” Cookbook-let
Dacres TRA	Committee member attended to engage with public
Forest Hill Womens Institute	Information stall and cakes for sale

The Caribbean Mix cricket team were playing a match on the centre field during the afternoon for those who wanted to sit and relax.

Photo by Carol: Caribbean Mix CC

Photo by Carol: tennis coaching at the tennis courts

Photo by Carol: Dr Bike  in the shadow of one of our ancient oaks 

It was a wonderfully busy day with many people enjoying the activities on offer, chatting, chasing toddlers, eating, smiling.  At 4pm the day of festivities came to an end and stallholders packed up. Many stayed to help  the Lewisham team to load equipment back onto the van.
A number of people commented that his event had felt like a village fete.
For next year I would like to suggest community music and dancing during the afternoon to reflect our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural community: we could have any combination of: Morris dancing and  folk music from around the British Isles, music and dance from the Middle East, the Far East, Mediterranean countries, India, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, the African continent, the Americas, Eastern Europe, Asia and Australasia.

Lark in the Park 18th July 2015

Thanks to the Perry Vale ward assembly there was a successful 'Lark in the Park' community event in Mayow Park today. It was organised by Sarah Lang, the coordinator for Perry Vale ward.
Mayow Park sits within Perry Vale ward, at the boundary with Sydenham ward. It is great that Perry Vale has this one park within their ward and it is a much loved park regardless of artificial Council ward boundaries.

stall for Perry Vale Assembly

The Young Lewisham Project  http://www.younglewisham.org.uk/    had a stall selling hand-made items such as furniture, made by young people. They were also providing a cycle maintenance and safety check. It was good to see that all the Perry Vale ward councillors were there, mingling with other park users.

Young Lewisham Project with PV  Councillors

YLP talking to visitors at  Lark in  the Park event

Face painting proved very popular, with parents and children waiting patiently in a queue. As well as story telling and a teddy bears' picnic, there were plenty of other activities to keep children happy.
As always, the cafe was open and doing a roaring trade in hot and cold drinks.
It was good to see the ice-cream man at his pitch near the children's play area. He has been at our park for quite a few years and is another pair of eyes and ears, helping to keep the park a popular and safe space for people to enjoy.
And  the Caribbean Mix cricketers were also playing a match today. So the park was really buzzing with people.

What a lovely day for a lark in the park.