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Newsletters include the latest news and items from the Friends relating to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which may be of interest to Members. The Annual Review provides further news on developments within the Parks and Friends events.
This seems like the beginning of a new term for me. Even though it’s decades since I really did have one, I can’t quite throw off the feeling.
We’ve still got some nice treats for you all to enjoy, and it puts off thinking about shortening days.
This Newsletter will be followed in late October by our Annual Review, which is a much bigger proposition, so apologies for a brief silence from this editor.
After Flaming June (our last offering), things have warmed up a little and ‘The Friends’ have been very busy indeed. It’s been a pleasure, as always, to have met so many of you at our various events
ANY QUESTIONS……?
It’s very exciting for the Friends that, after several years of trying, a new home for our information kiosk may soon be established.
The Lodge by the Apsley Gate used to be the Friends’ office where members staffed a small desk to greet and help visitors. That is now a café, and the volunteer members were moved to an attractive but not entirely suitable kiosk close by. They have run this little kiosk valiantly for many years, but dwindling numbers have meant that they aren’t able any longer to provide the level of service which they would like.
Apologies to you all that our February newsletter has slipped into March.
Slipping and sliding are about right for both parks at the moment, but not on icy cold crisp winter mornings. February has lived up to its name, and I’ve never seen so much standing water and for so long in both Parks. Take a few steps away from a path’s hard surface in some areas, and you are quite likely to sink in over your ankles.
These few Summer months have been like the curate’s egg “good in parts”.
It’s the middle of August already, noticeably darker in the evenings and mornings, but our parks are looking luscious with all the rain we’ve had.
The Royal Parks (TRP) have been working with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and it has been agreed that closing the roads during this series of major events (for the British Summer Time (BST) concerts) is an essential mitigation measure to reduce possible risk to park visitors and event goers and support crowd safety management.
Welcome to our combined April /May newsletter. I am in the lucky position of being able to introduce our guest editor.
Paul Shelley, our accredited photographer, has been in and out of both Parks these last few weeks and has taken masses of wonderful new photos.
He also wrote about some of the things he came across and I didn’t even twist his arm behind his back. Though he’s refused my offer to him to take over, it has been really helpful as a holiday long planned and delayed. It was a good break for me and we have returned to the Parks when they look their best.