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Today in the morning a small group of the Friends of Surrey Square Park (FoSSP) had a walkabout with Hemali Tailor (Contracts and Service Officer - GMH Parks and Open Spaces).
She is a new appointment and although I am not sure of the actual and full extent of her capacities I believe that she is in charge of monitoring and deciding what the contractor that maintain the Park do. Plus she can ask for additional amounts of money (very little apparently in these times of economic dearth) for specific works.
People do not appreciate how difficult is to take tabs of the changing bureaucracy. People in charge of the parks administration change rapidly and frequently. One may have had a good rapport with previous administrators and have things scheduled than someone new is in place, that usually do not know anything about our Park. They need to be approached made aware of previous relationship and shown, if possible, the problems and programs. In addition , as they are different individuals, from different backgrounds and priorities, there is the need to make the acquaintanceship realistic. That is: do not expect too much and try and inveigle their good will as practicable.
it is not mean task. It usually requires voluminous email exchange, meeting, contact with other known administrators, reshuffling of priorities, list and consultations. Not that funny if one does that over and over.
To be sincere most of the park officials are decent enough, but more often than not their hands are tied and there are sever limitation on what they can do and especially what they can plan to do.
It is one reason why having a group of committing locals to look after the little green we have is so important.
We started with a look at local signage and the need for improving it and for new one.
Down to the Wild Life Area for a bit of history and the routine reiteration of the lots of things that ought to have been done for it since ever and how important the place is for the Surrey Square Park.
The around to the memorial garden
Note Julian, beavering away at taking notes etc, as usual, (by far he is the most dedicated amongst us) and then on the North side:
tree damage by humans and their dogs.
and down the side-walk. Lined with the efforts of previous generations of park-do-gooders.
It would be nice if these space could be filled with some plants. Especially when one considers how little space is actually available for development.
our park could have been easily, and they tried a couple of times as a matter of fact, phagocytized by development in the twinkle of an eye.
In any case the bollards at the end of Albridge Street is a sweet reminder that what e are dealing over-here is not a conspiracy to deprive as of the little green lung
we have, although it may even be the case, but rather of the cumulative errors of generations of well meaning individuals.
They are meant to prevent road traffic, and joyriders, from accessing the park. Originally consisted in a chain. It lay broken for years and than substituted with cement bollards in response to some car burning. Dos not take much to see that this was not good for maintenance vehicles accessing the green. They were destructed fairly rapidly by the routine accidents and bumps. It followed a stasis and than in response to works in Albridge Street substituted with removable ones, as they should be. Just in time for some major works with water mains that took them away. The end of the cul-de-sac remained in a derelict state for a long time and after much effort from the Friends the bollards substituted with the wrong type!! It is actually a much more convoluted story but one get the idea.
Lastly a special thanks to Alison that had come along and taken the pictures. To her this delicately violet tinged Wood blewit (Clitocybe nuda) we encountered (amongst many other mushrooms) during the walkabout, is dedicated:
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