Cricket returns in 2018

Last year saw a break from cricket in Mayow Park. But the good news it is returning with a new home team, the R.A.S.R.A. Eagles cricket Club. For those keen on cricket, here is the fixtures list:

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.

Official opening Outdoor Gym 25th March 2015

Come along to this event and learn how to get the best use from the Mayow Park outdoor gym and trim trail.

WORK STARTS ON OUTDOOR GYM AND TRIM TRAIL

Tuesday 27th January 2015, an exciting day for Mayow Park and a good start to the new year . . . work starts to install the outdoor gym and trim trail.
Wind the clock back to the summer of 2014. The Friends of Mayow Park were told that there had been a successful bid for funding for fitness equipment in the park. The Friends wanted park users to be consulted so Glendale prepared a survey in late August. We had 10 days to get the survey completed. 
Some of the Friends committee, along with Tunde, who was our park keeper at that time, gave out the survey sheets to families, dog walkers, joggers, fitness fanatics, in fact anyone who said they used the park and was willing to fill in the form. People were asked what percentage of the available fund they would like to be spent on an outdoor gym and how much on a fitness trail and to mark it on a scale. When the results were in, 169 forms were counted: results 70%  outdoor gym and 30% fitness trail.

Day 1, Tuesday 27th January 2015 photos

                                                                      
 Glendale and Lewisham sent out tenders. I don't remember the name of the firm that was finally chosen but I will ask. We will see the final outcome in about a week.

FoMP meeting 22nd October 2013

It was a very positive FoMP meeting at Dacres Wood Field Centre on 22nd October. Martin Hyde gave an update on Pavilion renovation progress with the news that the shell of the building is almost complete after all the delays due to extensive dry rot. The replacement of the foul sewer, however, will generate a few headaches because of the need for deep excavations.
The bowls club will not be continuing but their site will not go to waste, with proposals to develop sports facilities there, subject to successful funding bids.
We learned that the park has been awarded a Green Flag again but this time with 'secret shopper' judging. 
The orchard has had eight very hard working carers through the spring and summer,  who watered the trees every week from April to early September. Thank you to those people. The next task for the orchard is to lightly prune the trees, weed around the base and put a thick layer of wood chip mulch around to suppress weeds. This should be done before the winter.

Mayow Park Proposed Cricket Fixtures 2013

Click on this fixtures list to see it magnified!

Anyone wishing to find out more about cricket in Mayow Park and how to make pitch bookings should contact the Glendale office on 020 8318 3968

FOMP AGM Tues 19 Feb 2013

The FOMP  Meeting which was due to take place on 19th January 2013 was postponed on the day because cold weather and icy pavements do not attract people to meetings.
The rescheduled FOMP Annual General Meeting  will be followed by a General Meeting and will  take place on Tuesday 19th February, staring at 7pm for a prompt finish at 8.30pm.
The AGM will be kept short.
The General Meeting will include discussions on the proposed Pavilion renovation, sports activities, the bowls club, the orchard and the Pavilion Triangle garden and thoughts for future activities.

Are there events you would like to see in the park?
Would you be interested in organising a community event?
This year also sees the 20th anniversary of the Friends group, which began life in 1993 as Mayow Park Users Group.

Funding for pavilion refurb

.Thank you to Judith from Glendale for her hard work  in putting in the bid for the funding - she is in the photo, 2nd from the right. Thank you also to Sport England without whom there would not have been funding to apply for.   Many local people are looking forward to the improvements that will now happen as a result of the funding.

GOOD NEWS - funding for Pavilion refurbishment

We've been waiting to learn about what will happen to the Pavilion in Mayow Park and now we have some good news. Lewisham Council, in partnership with Glendale, have secured £65,000 from Sport England 'Inspired Facilities' (National Lottery funding) to renovate the pavilion with sports changing rooms upstairs and a café on the ground floor for the general public. The facilities will also include public toilets. The café will be able to serve as an information hub and community space.

The bid was supported by the Friends of Mayow Park as well as local schools and clubs using the cricket facilities in the park. Match funding will be provided by Lewisham Council to complete the project. The development of the pavilion will transform the unsafe, derelict building into an attraction, whilst conserving some of the attractive features.

The refurbishment will help to encourage sustained participation in sport, providing a permanent facility for cricket matches and other sports played in the park. We look forward to seeing it well used by our home cricket team, Streatham & Marlborough as well as others.

Streatham & Marlborough Cricket team

The Streatham and Marlborough Cricket Club's 5th XI play in Mayow Park.
They are a club that actively seeks community involvement, new members and young people. They coach in local schools including Forest Hill and Sydenham Girls through the 'Chance to Shine 'Programme. Several of the team are current/ex Forest Hill boys including two lads playing in the park last Saturday 18^th August 2012.
Streatham and Marlborough Cricket Club is based on Dulwich Common, SE21 7EX where they have their main ground (opposite the Grove Tavern). They run 6 Saturday sides, 2 Sunday sides, a woman's side and U12, U14 and U16 Colts sides. Adult net sessions are on Tuesdays from 6pm.

There is a membership fee with concessionary rates available but anyone looking to join a cricket club is welcome to come to nets on a Tuesday and make themselves known to the team. They are a very friendly club where people from all walks of life and all ages play cricket together. Their women's section is something they are very proud of and the fastest growing section of the club. They have had two members of the women's section turn out for the 5th XI in Mayow Park this year.

The remaining fixtures for this season in Mayow Park are:
Saturday 25th August against Mottingham CC
Saturday 1st September Dartfordians CC.
The games are league cricket fixtures Division 1C Metropolitan of the Kent Regional Cricket league.

Park Cricket – an instant hit at Mayow

This post was sent in by Alex Nisbett.. Thank you Alex,

One more reason to love Mayow Park. This past week I took my two children along to Mayow to enjoy a few hours of professional cricket coaching from the wonderful people at Teachsport, who I understand, are in collaboration with Glendale to put Cricket firmly back on the map in SE26.

Banners went up around the park only a few weeks ago, cricket would  beplayed each day for a week from 11-3pm, and it seemed the perfect summer holiday solution for my 10 year old lad, who plays cricket at school but could do with some more guidance, and his 8 year old sister who’s never played before, and wants to do whatever her big brother does.

Along with another 8 or so local children of mixed ages and abilities, they enjoyed a great day’s batting, catching, bowling and general running around in a very friendly and often competitive atmosphere. The coaches from Teachsport were brilliant; they teach games in the local schools by day and are passionate about helping our kids enjoy sport and my two came away having learnt a lot. The Park Cricket format (AKA Kwik Cricket) uses lightweight plastic bats and stumps, soft-ish balls (which means pads and gloves are not necessary) and simplified rules, which reduce complexity and increase the fun. You may see it played during the lunch breaks at International Test matches and it’s a successful format used by many schools to introduce the game to youngsters.

It’s early days for Cricket at Mayow, this time next year there should be a cricket team in residence (local cricket pitches are much in demand) and even more summer sessions for the youngsters.

Alex Nisbett

cricket for kids this summer

This banner is self-explanatory.There will be opportunities for children aged 6 - 14 to take part in a cricket course run by TeachSport. Mayow Park will be one of the venues.