Tag Archives: events

Environment, Events, Organised walks

Late Summer Time Walk

On Friday 8 September, 25 local residents enjoyed stepping back in time with Dr Andy Brockman.

Our subject matter was: Front Line Park: Shrewsbury Park in the 20th Century Including the LCC Open Air School and defence of London.

Dr Andy Brockman, Archaeologist and Historian

After meeting by the car park, we visited the area where the open air school had it’s buildings, and saw photographs of the school in action. We were able to view documents that described how the children were selected, educated and monitored, turning out healthier and well nourished pupils back to their homes.

Strolling back through to the car park with Andy, we saw clearly where the barrage balloons were tethered. We learnt how these were used in the foiling of enemy aircraft, driving them away from bombing targets.

We were told a few interesting (and funny) stories about how this all worked, which Andy had taken from some testimonies of local people at the time.

Andy expertly brought to life these amazing past events and fielded questions as we went along. Ending up at Shrewsbury House, there were more artifacts to look at, as well as a very welcome Friday evening beverage or two.

We look forward to our next foray into local history!

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.

Comperes John and Erik
Navida’s amazing cakes
Friends of Shrewsbury Park Stall
Roos Academy perform
Cllr Okereke, Leader of the Council chats to stallholders

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

Events

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!

Environment, Events, Organised walks

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!

Events

Want to run a Stall at the 2023 Festival?

Have you got a passion for your hobby or interest? Maybe you volunteer for a fantastic charity that you’d like to represent?

Then why not be a stall-holder at our next festival? It will be held on Sunday 2 July 2023, 12 -5pm

We pride ourselves on having a great display of stalls and we love having old friends back, as well as new local community groups, charities, hobbyists or other sellers.

We welcome hundreds of visitors on the day – mostly local people living close to the park, but increasingly people from Greenwich and Bexley, and sometimes even further afield.

Please read the terms and conditions document (see link below) and fill in the form below:

Shrewsbury Park Stallholders Terms and Conditions

Please submit the form below by 7 June 2023:

Can’t see the form? Use this link

Events

QUIZ NIGHT BACK at Shrewsbury House

Friday 2 June, 7pm for 7.30 start

All proceeds to benefit Shrewsbury Park – Our amazing Quizmasters, Geoff and Dee will ask some suitably tricky questions, and we even see the return of the charades round by the Improvshrews!

Open Bar with snacks available in the House

At just £8 per person, it’s a very cheap and fun night out, so come and join us!

Bring your own nibbles
Tempting Raffle Prizes
Renowned Quizmasters Dee and Geoff
Prize for the winners (and for the biggest losers!)

Tables of 6 maximum:  We have a strict limit on tickets due to space at the venue. Windows and doors will be opened to provide good ventilation.

Tickets via eventbrite: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/friends-of-shrewsbury-park-fundraising-quiz-tickets-617548503197

Environment

Memorial bench installed!

Today we welcomed the Mayor of Greenwich, Cllr Denise Hyland, who officially planted the tree and memorial bench in Shrewsbury Park close to the car park.
Committee members and some lucky children got to see the Mayor and hear her speech. She spoke movingly about the losses in our community from the pandemic and why it is so important for us all to remember those who didn’t make it through.
                                                        They then gave her a hand to plant the tree.
It is a Davidia involucrata, AKA the dove-tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or ghost tree,  a medium-sized deciduous tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is regarded as the only species in the monotypic genus Davidia and was previously included with tupelos in the dogwood family, Cornaceae.
The bench has a plaque with the following wording:
“Be still and find me in your heart
Sit a while and remember those taken by Covid-19. “

Environment, Events, Organised walks

Tree Identification Walk

Local  enthusiastic amateur, John Denton, will lead us on a walk through the park – introducing you to local flora and fauna, you’ll learn more than you ever dreamt of about the trees in the park, how they’ve survived and thrived, how old they are and much more!

Sunday 28 April at 2pm

Meeting point : Notice Board by the car park. Binoculars and magnifying glass would be handy.  Sturdy footwear would be an advantage.

No dogs please.
Rain or shine, we’ll still go ahead

Read and download John’s  Trees Key and Tree Classification in advance of the walk!

Trees Map