The little flowers have their day and spring is in the air.

Sunday 1 March 2009

In all the years I have been looking at the park, this is the first grown-up skater I have ever seen.

3 March 2009

Bark has been stripped from the three new elm trees by a gnawing dog and one has died, but guards have been fitted to the two remaining elms and there is a good chance they can recover. Let’s hope so.

12 March 2009. A beautiful day in the park and I saw a large sausage-like bag floating around, so I went and took a closer look — which is how I met James (centre) and his companions, who had caught air in the black plastic bag, tied the ends with shoelaces,

tethered it to a beer bottle and sat back to wait for the sun to heat the air in the bag, so that they could watch it bouncing around. It looked great and whilst I was there the bag broke free and ended up in a tree on the edge of the park.

4  April 2009. I saw Mike spinning his basketball and asked him if I could take a picture of him whilst he waited for his next game. I have an unusual pic of Mike in my Lenton Faces section.

4  April 2009. I also met Paul, who was busy sniffing when I first saw him. He had brushed his right hand over the border flowers and was enjoying a heavy mix. I then did the same. Relaxing and intoxicating — and legal (I think).

15 April 2009. The first rollup of the season for members of the West End Bowls and Social Club based at Lenton Recreation Ground.

They come down every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon for their rollups. Why not come along and share an hour or two of bowls and happiness in great company.

19 April 2009.  The best day of the year so far saw a large group of young women come into the park to practice their dancing and jumping skills. From the actions, I suspect that they were student majorettes getting ready for the Varsity Football match at the Notts County ground on Meadow Lane this coming Wednesday.

5 February 2009

Lenton was hit by the heaviest snowfalls in years on Monday and today. I took these pics earlier today. I rather liked it at 8am when it was very overcast and quiet, but by mid-morning folk were out having a good time.

Wednesday 19 August 2009.  A very hot day finds two local medical students enjoying a game of scrabble in the park and finding shade under the only large tree in the body of the park. How about a few more?

Wednesday 14 October 2009 saw a group of students planting bulbs in the park as part of a student action day organised by the Forum, Parks and University. I saw them at lunchtime and went out and took this pic.

20 December 2009. For a short while today it snowed heavily. I took this pic from the front of our home.

30 November 2009. Two French visitors eating lunch in the park. They had arrived in the morning and had yet to find somewhere to stay. They asked how they could get to Nottingham University from the park — which is where, by coincidence, I saw them the next day.

30 November 2009. Terry (above left) has been with Dave for some weeks and is always busy around the park. This week they have been joined by Josh, who is a work experience placement. This week they have been busy planting bulbs.

31 January 2010.

Walking in the park today and I saw Snowdrops by the Derby Road entrance.

15 January 2010. It snowed again, so I took the chance to walk round a couple of times and enjoy the quiet.

21 February 2010.  Woke up this Sunday morning to the third bout of snow this winter. After so many years of little or no snow, I just hope this is a sign of winters to come in future years. I love the snow and the quiet which comes with it. As always, Lenton Rec looks a picture and, with Holy Trinity in the background, it really does look like a village green (which it is for Lentonians).

24 February 2010. Anne Hope, left, shows the meeting her design for the Peace Garden, which takes the form of a dove in a roughly elliptical area with the footpath passing through it.

Below, members of the Peace Garden Group, with the help of Dave (2nd left), show how much the garden will cut into the grassed area, which will be separated by a hedge and a decorative iron fence.

Talk of a ‘Nottingham Peace Garden’ has been rumbling on for a good few years now and Lenton Recreation Ground was suggested as the location by the then Lord Mayor. Its location within the park has moved about, but the south-east corner by the Devonshire Promenade terrace and the end of Church Grove (a short pedestrian cul-de-sac off Church Street) has finally become the agreed site of the Peace Garden. At first it seemed that it could not cross the footpath, but this restriction would have spoiled the design.

The City Council has c£2,000 set aside to help cover project costs, which include labour, materials and planting, so fundraising will be necessary. All those at the meeting agreed that work had to start in the next few weeks, even if this is getting the fence and hedging in place, so that the size and site of the Peace Garden becomes clear to park users and potential funders alike.

I really hope that this is not a false dawn. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, if you are interested in helping the project in any way, please contact Deborah in the Forum office, tel: 0115 9419525.

The flower bed which occupies part of the planned Peace Garden was made by Dave in 2008 using plants from elsewhere in the park and some other parks as well. It shows what can be achieved with enterprise and imagination.

1 March 2010.

A sign of things to come in the next few days, as the crocus patch beside the bowling begins to come to life. The pic on the left is of a bat box, one of a number recently installed in the park.

21 March 2010.

My ‘Tea in the Park’ day and what a lovely day it was. Amanda (left) is a environmental biology student, who was in the park taking pics for her project work. The park was busy, even at 5pm, when I took this view which caught the flats, the Prom and Holy Trinity. I also caught Matthew Butcher (below), the Green Party candidate for Nottingham South with a pair of studded football boots. He had been in the park explaining to other footballers why they shouldn’t play in studded boots. This was my take and he was happy to agree, but I won’t always be around when he needs help!