Category Archives: Events

Picnic in the Park

Our 2023 Festival didn’t disappoint! Great music, great stalls and most important of all our fantastic local community came out in their droves – we estimate we had around 500 people attending over the course of the afternoon. We are so grateful for your support – this is the reason the committee put in the work – thank you for making it amazing!

And an extra thank you to the current Committee members: Sandra, Iris, Zena, Ron and Alan who spent many an hour planning and troubleshooting to put the event together. Can’t leave out the trusty core volunteers who turn up for set-up and take-down and always with a smile. – Kris, Chair

And thumbs up to Greenwich Parks Forum for their support and the Greenwich Borough Park Rangers who made sure the site was clean and clear, before and after.

If you have any of your own photos of the 2 July to add, please send them to werfsp@gmail.com

Oh what a night!

We had a fantastic time at the Friends of Shrewsbury Park Quiz last night, at Shrewsbury House!

Our fantastic Quizmasters, Dee and Geoff tested our general knowledge to the max. From Shrewsbury House Community Centre‘s resident Improshrews, we enjoyed Erik and John playing out scenes from comedy shows through the ages!

Find out more about the Improshrews here: improshrews.weebly.com

Thanks to everyone who came – the big winners with the craziest team name ever, was: Peanut Butter Giggle Sticks

The biggest losers: The Wooden Spoons

Our thanks also to the staff at Shrewsbury House, who were so welcoming – especially the reception and bar staff who were kept nice and busy.

Want to come and join us at the next quiz? Keep watch – we’ll post the date asap!

Fabulous Foraging

On Saturday 13 May, we gathered to discover what edible delights the park has to offer! Experienced, self-taught, and local forager, Kevin Godby from GCDA led us around the park, introducing us to lots of plants, bushes and trees that have edible parts.

Kevin had a great list of tips to share, including not foraging at a low level, to avoid contamination, never consuming too much of one kind of forage, being mindful of the time of year and ripeness of plants. As a general rule of thumb, younger seeds, buds and leaves are juicier and tastier!

We look forward to welcoming Kevin back to the park in another season to learn more!

Dawn delights

The Dawn Chorus walk was a magic experience, once we all rolled into the park to meet Tim, our leader, for the 5am start.

We heard several species vying for attention, and the parakeets didn’t interfere too much. We could hear the tiny firecrests in the open area of the woods on the bird ID app but while everyone searched to see them, a sparrowhawk was spotted! The pair are nesting in a tall tree maybe 25 m into the woods from the small field. And then the female caught something for breakfast bringing reality of the natural world into focus.

Many thanks to Tim. And to Karen who captured the sparrowhawk on her camera.

In case you haven’t been in the park in the last week, go up the path for between the old and the new allotments and soak up the hawthorne blossom tunnel.

And the bird app mentioned is called MERLIN, free and easy to use on your phone.

Happy New 2023

Catch up with 2022 FSP AGM 17 Nov

Held in Shrewsbury House – Present: 15 members, with 3 apologies

Chairperson, Kris Inglis began the meeting with thanks to those attending.
Our local speaker and Dothill allotment holder, Dr Philippa Mason, gave a fascinating talk about the geology under our feet on Shooters Hill and beyond. She is a senior lecturer in Planetary Remote Sensing at Imperial College London but presented very ’down to earth’ explanations of local features and their evolution over billions of years. FACT: The Thames was a glacial river and its glacial tributaries running down the hill became the sites of our oldest woodlands.
A lively Q&A followed and we hope to hear more from Dr Mason in future

Arising matters from last meeting:

  • Local Councillor involvement is increasing slowly with the help of Parks Forum
  • Signage, permanent and temporary, is being pursued by Committee
  • Idea about having an outdoor cinema isn’t feasible without a power source
  • Improving links with Shrewsbury House, event by event
  • Retaining wall along Plum Lane fixed

Management Committee was introduced and thanked for their efforts as we became more active again post-Covid. This has always been a volunteer position determined by individuals’ interest and time available. Officers are decided by the MC once elected at the AGM. You can volunteer to join the Committee at any time by contacting werfsp@gmail.com
Our dear friend and longstanding Treasurer Sonja O’Sullivan passed on in October. We now need a competent bookkeeper/treasurer to take up the position. They will have help from an aspiring assistant to share the load. This is an URGENT need coming into 2023 so please consider serving in this capacity.
All current members agreed to stand and were elected by members present.

Planned events so far:

  • Dec 3 – Daffodil bulb planting (had to be postponed until Jan/Feb)
  • 1 April – Bird Walk with Tim Rymer
  • 30 April – Dog Show and related activities (postponed from Summer Festival)
  • Agreement to fund a commemorative bench or plaque for Sonja -tbc
  • 17 February – Barclays Bank volunteer maintenance day along with 10th Royal Eltham Scouts participation

Plans in progress are Foraging Walk, Bat Walk, Military History Walk, Quiz in May, Summer Festival, habitat and wildlife surveys (we need more interested volunteers to join a core group).
All the events and activities in the park need time and effort from as many members as possible to embrace the whole community, including youngsters, to learn and be involved in this vital space. We have over 400 members on the mailing list… and would like to know that everyone feels part of Shrewsbury Park, using it happily, safely and wisely.
Please consider any contribution of hands-on help or ideas you could offer in the new year.

AOB:

  • The calendar was rested this year because of slow sales and lack of new entries
  • Request that nature camera footage to be posted more often on website
  • Tawny Owl box still waiting for installation
  • Agreed regular chippings of Dothill paths twice a year -in the works
  • Yogathon organiser to be approached for 2023
  • Suggestion of Easter Egg Hunt – any volunteers?

We wish everyone a very joyful holiday season and healthy new year.
We’re past the winter solstice so it’s getting lighter towards spring already!
Thank you for caring for and supporting your Park
The FSP Management Committee

2022 Annual General Meeting – Thursday 17 Nov at 7.30pm

Catch up on all that’s been happening in your Park
Share your thoughts and ideas for the coming year
Meet the Management Committee – vote for 2023 team
Current MC in alphabetical order:     Sandra Bauer, Alan Deacon, Dino Fielding, Kris Inglis,  Zena Marshall, Ron Senkus, Irene Telfer and Iris White.
Our guest speaker is Dr Philippa Mason, a senior lecturer  in Planetary Remote Sensing, Imperial College – and local  allotmenteer – who will bring a new perspective on the    geology of SE London and how Shooters Hill fits into the landscape.
FSP greeting cards and merchandise available to buy
Any questions beforehand please contact werfsp@gmail.com

Late Summer Bat Walk

The end of summer bat walk on 27 August was a treat as always, though some of the bats may have gone elsewhere for their bank holiday… it was a fun and informative walk for returnees and new folks alike, thank you to Les for ably leading the walk.

As it was International Bat Night the work of the Bat Conservation Trust (who got FSP started on bat conservation in 2009) was discussed and a collection taken.  Thank you everyone who donated, the £35.30 went off to BCT.

HELP BATS NOW!  Plea from BCT

The laws protecting bats are under threat again

We are writing to you with an urgent request. The government is considering repealing or weakening legislation protecting bats and other wildlife, namely the Habitats Regulations
The State of Nature report in 2016 described Britain as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and the more recent 2019 report painted a similarly depressing picture.
The loss of this protection would be devastating to the natural heritage that wildlife species represent. We need your help to make sure that the new prime minister and the government understand why removing this protection would be disastrous for our wildlife You can read our full news piece here. 

How can you help?

Please contact your MP, by either asking for a face-to-face meeting, phoning them, emailing, or writing to them. We have created a template letter/email which can be downloaded from HERE. You can find the contact details for your local MP HERE (remember to include your address so they know you are a constituent). Please let us know if you have contacted your MP by emailing us on comms@bats.org.uk.

Thank you

Park Inspirations

Don’t miss these!

It started as a creative competition and grew into a proper Exhibition at the Summer Festival. There was too much variety and mixed media to choose one winner so here’s the gallery where you can enjoy all the entries…

All the creators are FSP members of 18+ yrs

 

Sunday Funday 2022 – how was it for you?

We hope you had a wonderful time at the Festival this year – although the dog show was cancelled due to the high temperatures, we plan to re-run it later in the year.

As you can see, we have some fantastic photos to share – but we’d also like your feedback so if you were there – tell us how it was for you?

Councillor Adel Khaireh and family

The Festival is Back

This year’s Summer Park Festival will be held on Sunday 17 July from 12-4pm. We’re calling it ‘Sunday Funday’ Don’t miss the fantastic stalls, food, drink, and amazing entertainment – there’s loads for the kids to do too!

This is a real celebration of our amazing local community, who have been so resilient over the past couple of years. It’s an opportunity for everyone to get together and enjoy the park – dogs are welcome, and we have a dog show for them to get involved with.

Music, dance and performances will run throughout the afternoon and we have more than 20 stalls booked in for you to visit!

We have beer from local brewery, Common Rioters, Gin from Greenwich Gin, ice-cream from our local ice cream seller, Nepalese momos by Fililieats.com – We cannot wait!!