Jimmy Burns - Editor Mike Bates - Production - Battersea Park

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The Friends welcome letters and other contributions to the Review: The Editor Friends Review 51 Brynmaer Road, London, SW11 4EN or email review@batterseapark.org Friends on the Web To the Editor: It is the on-line social-networking site of popular choice, with tens of thousands of Londoners joining it every day. I thought your readers would like to know Facebook is also home to a group of 205 Batterseans who have been using the site to share information about restaurants, hangouts and other attractions on a special Battersea page. I am one of them. I hope you will be encouraged by the comment recently posted by a schoolteacher and fellow Park enthusiast: “An absolutely wonderful place. It holds many memories from events of the years, from memories of the now long gone remains of the Festival of Britain fairground, to the wonderful Easter Parades, to the building of the Peace Pagoda and the refurbishment which was completed in 2004. Having just taken a group of my pupils to visit the park on an educational trip I’ve found out some more of the history and the many things that are in the park. It would be great to see the Tree Walk return. When I explained to my pupils where it was they asked why had it been taken down and I didn’t have an answer for them. I also found out that Petula Clark released a song called ‘Meet Me in Battersea Park’ in 1954 in my research.” Yours, Jon Boone, SW11 The Editor replies: I was a one year old when Petula first sang that song but it has one of my favourite lyrics. “If you’re a Londoner just like me, meet me in Battersea Park, If you are young or you’d like to be, meet me in Battersea Park, We’ll stroll along by the riverside in sunshine or after its dark. There’s music and dancing, place for romancing, so meet me in Battersea Park….” LETTERS Rediscovery I found your name on the website for Battersea Park. I wanted to pass on some feedback and wondered if you could get this to the right people as I’m sure many are involved. including. If you could pass it on to the senior folk in the council too please. Last Wednesday I was due at a buisness meeting adjacent to Battersea Park. Arriving early I thought I would take a stroll in the park. To give you some background, I moved from the Clapham Junction area at the tender age of three. I have two lasting memories of the park. The first of being locked in with my mother while still in a pushchair - obvioulsy a story I’ve been told many times but don’t actually know. The second, and my last visit to the park as a young teen, was riding the wooden rollercoaster the year before it closed. So as you can imagine, some years have passed since I last visited. On entering the park I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Too many places in the city have become run down and strewn with litter. What I found was simply a glorious discovery. Beautiful avenues lined with London Plane trees, fountains, birdsong, the garden in the park... its was simply stunning. To have such a superb open space is outstanding; to have the space in the middle of London is amazing and exceptional. On returning home I simply had to phone my mother who had known the park so well for many of 10 her younger years and tell her about it. Please would you pass on my sincere appreciation to all who work in the park and have done such a wonderful job. They should be rightly proud of their achievements. And long may they continue to look after this special treasure. Looking forward to a return visit. Yours, Chris Gummer (by email) Below: How far back are your memories of the Park? Friends of Battersea Park Committee Philip Wright OBE (Chairman) Vicki Barker Mike Bates Claire Beasley (Appeals Comtee) Brian Botting FRICS FCI Arb (rtd) Jimmy Burns Mark Cowne Virginia Darbyshire (Treasurer) Chris Davies Claire Elliot Ruth Forrest Elizabeth Hood (Secretary) John Johnson Tom Maxwell Philip Nixon Christopher Rice Mary Spillane
In the continuing series of Nature columns, the Park’s Ecology Officer, Valerie Selby, looks on, under and over the Lake of Battersea Park. Attila’s Diet Four geese have just flown overhead en route to the lake here in the park. This year has seen a family of Greylag geese raise young on the lake. These geese differ from Canada geese in that they are grey all over and have an orange beak and legs whereas the Canada geese have black legs, a black beak and a distinctive black and white head. Most domestic geese are descended from Greylag geese and they are quite a bold species, not afraid to walk towards people and confront them demanding food. Once again, I would urge you not to succumb to this “mugging”. Bread is NOT good for the birds digestive systems making their organs become engorged and fatty, which can cause them to suffer from heart disease, liver problems and other health complications. Valerie Selby Secret Dwellers Below: It’s not a good idea to feed the Swans. NATURE NOTES In a natural setting they will seek out a variety of nutritious foods such as aquatic plants, natural grains, and invertebrates. Bread is very low in protein, contains additives that wildfowl aren’t built to cope with, and it’s a very poor substitute for natural foods. This dietary rule applies to all the birds on our lakes including “Attila”, the extremely territorial male swan, and his family. For the long-term survival of the cygnets it is important that they learn to identify and eat natural foods, as this will give them a greater chance of finding a safe and secure home. Swans are by nature territorial and therefore need to find a patch of water that can support two adults and any youngsters with enough food and shelter. If the swans are unable to learn to locate natural foods as cygnets, the locations available for them to establish their own territory are limited later on in life. Elsewhere in the park, we have installed some more areas of aquatic planting in the lake. These include plants to help pump oxygen into the water and water lilies to help provide shade to limit the growth of algae. In wildlife terms not only is this the natural version of the aerators you see bubbling at the waters surface, it also provides an important 11 home for may invertebrates who live and breed amongst these submerged forests. Among these secret park dwellers we have damselfly nymphs that will turn into damselflies later in the year and a variety of water snails that help to devour the detritus in the lake such as fallen leaves. In the long term these plantings should have the added benefit of providing an attractive display of flowers on the waters surface. Crow Patrol This is a very bird themed time of year. One of the other common questions we are getting at the moment concerns crows “attacking” people who are going about their usual business in parks and commons. This is a short lived phenomenon and, in much the way that we see Attila being aggressive on the lake to protect his young, the crows are protecting their fledglings as they leave the nest. The youngsters move out from the nest but stay close by and are not fully independent for 3-5 weeks. During this time the adults will do all they can to protect them including flying at people and sometimes even launching at them with their feet. The simplest thing to do is to avoid the area – the one case we were aware of in Battersea Park happened close to the Albert Bridge pedestrian gate and we were able to put notices up advising people to avoid the area in the short term. If you have wildlife information to report or a query that needs answering, Valerie Selby can be reached Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-5.00 pm on 8871-7019 or at Vselby@wandsworth.gov.uk How about Attila the swan for lunch? (cartoon by Philip Wright OBE)
Page 1 and 2: Friends of Battersea Park R E V I E
Page 3 and 4: THE POWER STATION Have we been here
Page 5 and 6: PARKWATCH A charming mid summer reh
Page 7 and 8: Unholy action LARGE chunks of grass
Page 9: FT in the Park PARKWATCH Foreign co
Page 13 and 14: fore breakfast, my father would tak
Page 15 and 16: As a travel journalist, Sophie Camp
Page 17 and 18: The rejuvenated Pump House Gallery
Page 19 and 20: Below, a summary of the Friends acc

Jimmy Burns - Editor Mike Bates - Production - Battersea Park

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