Work on Trees

Here is an update we have received from the Rangers (thanks Lydia) regarding work due to begin on 5th March:
"Tree work will begin in the park on Monday 5 March as a part of the Heritage Lottery Funded programme. It is expected that 25 trees, many of which are dead, dying or dangerous will be removed over a period of 5 weeks, weather permitting. In addition, 27 trees will be pruned during March and there will be further arboriculture work in 2013."

If you are worried (as I was initially!) about the new work being mainly about felling trees, we are also told:
"...there will be 11 new lime trees and 33 new hornbeams forming an avenue in the north end of the park. In the southern end there will be 15 different types of maple going in so we will hopefully be enhancing the species of trees."

After a few setbacks, we look forward to seeing all the planned improvements in Priory Park implemented.

Don't forget the half-term activities which are now in progress, including the bird box building 1t 11:00am on Saturday 18 February.

There are a number of regular activities now in the Park, including a weekly walking group who meet up on Wednesdays (theoretically from !0:00 - 11:00, but many start a bit earlier) and a walk with a park ranger on the first Sunday of every month, at 10:00am.

Half Term Holiday and Halloween 2011

There are a number of events taking place in the park over the holiday period to keep people amused. There are two events for ealier in the week, namely Pumpkin Carving with FoPP on Tuesday 25 October, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm in the Pavilion, and Willow Wand Making with the Wildlife Trust on Thursday 27 October, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm in the Pavilion.

These provide a lead up to the big event on the evening of Friday 28 October, when there will be a Witches and Wizards parade, organised by FoPP. Register from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at the Pavilion, and wear your best Halloween fancy dress costumes to parade around the park. There will be prizes for the best Wizard and for the best Witch costumes, in two age categories. The event is for children under the age of 12, and all children must be accompanied by an adult. If you have a carved pumpkin, bring it along to help decorate the priory ruins, and bring a torch if you have one, it will be dark. There will also be an opportunity to have your photograph taken before the parade starts and made into a Halloween card - there will be a small charge for the optional photograph and card, but otherwise the event is free. For more information on the Friday event, please contact Chris on 01384 237959.

October events in Priory Park

There are a number of events taking place in the park during October, November and December, and these are listed on the events page. On Saturday 15th October at 1:30pm there will be a Treasure Hunt and Park Quiz, with the Park rangers, and on Thursday 27th October at 1:30pm there will be Willow Wand making with the Wildlife Trust.
FoPP itself will be organising 2 events over the holiday and Halloween period - Pumpkin Carving on Tuesday 25th October and a Witches and Wizards parade in the evening of Friday 28th October. There will be more details of these FoPP events a little nearer the time, both here and on our events page.
All these events are based in, or start from, the Pavilion.
For more information on any of these activities plese call Lydia - Senior Park Ranger 01384 812474.

Renovation of the wooden sculpture

As mentioned last week, the wooden sculpture by the lily pond has been renovated by the original creator, Jonathan Mulvaney. You can see some more pictures of it in pristine condition HERE.

Lottery update

The first tangible evidence of restoration work in the Park as part of our successful Lottery bid can now be seen at the wooden sculpture adjacent to the lily pond.
Originally commissioned in 1991,"The Family" representing all races,creeds, sexes and ages has stood the test of time fairly well but over the last few days the original sculptor Jonathan Mulvaney has reworked some of the worn features.
Johnathan,originally from Dudley and now living in Bath, is also a prolific artist and numerous examples of his work can be seen here

Dudley Archives

This sounds interesting.

May Day event videos

There is now an UPDATED (9 May 2011) 'time lapse' video of the event available HERE - it covers most of the day, but only runs for just over 2 minutes! A more conventional short video can be seen HERE.

NB: You may find that clicking normally on these two links results in a huge delay - if so, right click the link instead and then specify that you want it to open in a new window - strange!

Green May Day

The May Day event in the park was a great success - great weather (if a bit windy at times), lots going on, and plenty of people there enjoying the various activities. Many thanks to all who made the event successful, and especially organiser Chris Rich.

Event on 1st May

There will be an event on 1st May on the Park - all are invited. Watch this space for more details soon ...

Comittee Meeting

At our meeting held this evening the position of Chairman was finally filled when Councillor Alan Finch was proposed and accepted the position.
Alan has long been a "Friend" of FoPP and the knowledge and expertise he will bring to our organisation is most welcome.


Preliminary details were also announced of Green May Day, our next event in the Park. More to follow.

Lottery Update

A further meeting of the Project implementation Group comprising of representatives of The Friends Group, DMBC and CFP Associates was held on the 19 January.
Several groups bidding for the post of the Design Team were interviewed and a decision will be announced in the next two weeks.

Yet another picture of the Priory in the snow

It has been a few years since the Park looked so magical in the snow as in the last couple of weeks. Photographers have been out in force including me (see above) but I realize how difficult it is to come up with a new angle on the Priory.
So all of you digital wizards out there send us in your efforts
( info@fopp.org.uk) and we will publish a selection with a small prize for the most unusual.

Santa's Grotto

Heavy snow falls on 18th December made the event in the park ... interesting ... Despite the weather conditions the event proved popular with local children, although those who had planned to travel from further afield were of course unable to do so due to the conditions.
You can see some more photos from the event HERE.

Christmas in the Park

HLF Restoration Project Update

A further meeting of the Project implementation Group comprising of representatives of The Friends Group and DMBC was held on the 4 November.
The meeting was pleased to introduce Ian Baggott of CFP Associates who have been chosen to act as Project Managers for the work to be carried out.
The first stage includes the appointments of a Senior Park Ranger and Design Team, both to be in place by the end of January 2011.
The Future Skills team which formed a major part of the structure of the original Bid, unfortunately has funding for only a few more months, however it is understood that DMBC is looking into an alternative scheme which will continue the aspects of the FS work.
Temporary signage will also be erected as soon as possible.
FoPP would express their pleasure with the progress of the Bid to-date and look forward to its continuation.


Further updates to follow.

Autumn Colour

In common with most trees in the UK, those at Priory Park have shown a remarkable variety and depth of colour this autumn.
Whilst the leaves are falling fast it is still worth a visit, especially when the weather is as good as it was this morning during our weekly lap walking exercise.
More photos HERE, and also please see the 'Seasons' secion of the web site.

Flying the flag

Our new Funding Manager Veronica had a success with her first attempt and secured funding for us from Grassroot Grants- Birmingham.
This has enabled us to run our summer activities for the local schoolchildren during the holidays and also purchase 2 flags.
Over a period of several weeks classes were run for a variety of events for all ages ending in a "Food from around the World" tasting which went down (sic) particularly well.
More pictures to follow.

LOTTERY FUND SUCCESS

We are delighted to be able to report that the bid for funding of many improvements in Priory Park has been approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). We would like to thank HLF for this, and we must also thank everyone involved in the bid, including of course Chris, Janet and Phil of FoPP, who have worked tirelessly for over a year on the project.

The project will produce real benefits for the whole community. The plans have been displayed publicly on a number of occasions, and a summary can be found HERE.

The press release announcing the funding can be found HERE.

We will provide more news on how the project will progress in due course.

Green Spaces Volunteer Awards 2010

The 2010 Awards were made this evening, Tuesday 29th June. Representatives of many of the friends of parks groups were present (including FoPP), plus many of those involved in the walks. The event was part of the Volunteers' Month, a national celebration of volunteers and volunteering, which takes place in June each year. This year's event in Dudley was held at the Queen Mary Ballroom, and our photograph above shows all those present.

Amongst the 13 awards, our own Janet Alderman-Rowe won the award of Events Organiser Extraordinaire - a well-deserved achievement. Below you can see Janet, Phil Griffiths and Veronica Martin of FoPP with the Mayor and Councillor Stanley, and a picture of Janet on her own with her award.

AGM

The FoPP AGM was held on the evening of 25th May. You can read or download the minutes of the meeting (in PDF format) HERE.

Cluniac anniversary event, 15 May

The event in Priory Park on 15th May celebrating the 1100th anniversary of the Cluniac order was very successful, and was blessed with excellent weather.

You can see more pictures of the event HERE.

Evening Event 14th May

This evening there was a special opening of Dudley Museum & Art Gallery to view the exhibition marking the 1100th anniversary of the Cluniac Order.
Adrian Durkin gave a most entertaining talk about the Cluniacs, services and vestments.


We then walked down to the Priory, where John Hemingway gave a very informative and enjoyable guided tour of the Priory.

The event was enjoyed by all, and we must thank Adrian and John for their efforts.

Cluniac celebrations 14-15th May

The exhibition at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery will have an evening opening at 6pm on Friday 14th May, followed (weather permitting) by a visit to the Priory.

On Saturday 15th there will be re-enactments and other events at the Priory, including a service at 3pm.

We hope to see you there.

Action Heart Amble 2 May 2010

Today's Action Heart Amble was very successful, and the weather was kind, though the turnout (15) was rather disappointing. Two of the walkers managed 6 laps of the Park in the time allowed (1.5 hours) - more importantly, everyone seemed to enjoy the event.

Lottery Funding bid

Our picture shows representatives of the Heritage Lottery Fund together with your Committee and DMBC Leisure Dept. during their FINAL visit today before the bid is presented to the Trustees for their approval.
Notification of the decision should be with us in the next three to four months. We hope that all the hard work over the last eight years will give a positive result..Everyone keep your fingers crossed.

Dorothy Round

Some of you may have seen images similar to the above in the local press.
This model is the winner of a public competition for a statue of our local Wimbeldon champion which will form part of the art to be placed in the Park should our bid for Lottery monies be successful.
Many thanks to Steve Field and his team in the Borough Artist department.

Action Heart Amble Sunday 2nd May

The annual Action Heart Amble takes part in Priory Park on Sunday 2nd May from 10:30 until 12:00. Walkers can complete as many, or as few, laps as they want around the marked course. Please check in at the Pavilion - there is a small entry fee.

Exhibition at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery

There is currently an exhibition at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery relating to Dudley Priory and the Cluniac monks. It is a fairly small exhibition, in a room on the ground floor, but well worth a visit. The exhibition will be on until 3rd July.
There will be a special event on Friday 14th May, in the form of a special evening opening of the museum at 6.00 with a guided tour of the Priory Exhibition at about 6.30. At just after 7.00 there will be a departure from the museum for the Priory for a guided tour of the ruins. There may also be some sort of event, including a re-enactment, on 15th as well - more information will follow.
Apologies for the quality of the photos below - taken with a mobile phone!

Easter Egg Hunt

Once again FoPP's magic was worked on the weather and our Egg hunt was blessed with one of the best days of the year so far.
Thanks to a partnership between our Chris Rich and the local community police about 20 local children, mostly under the age of 10 years were able to have a good search around the park for the hidden bird pictures and be rewarded with quite a large Easter egg.

Easter Event

Our tireless Chris Rich is preparing another Easter activity for the community.
The poster above which will be displayed locally is self explanatory. Chris can be contacted at
christinefopp@hotmail.com

Stump Grinding

Some time ago several large trees were removed from the Park as they were diseased but unfortunately left behind some rather unsightly stumps.
However today this rather fearsome looking machine appeared and proceeded to reduce these to large piles of sawdust. This will help greatly (assuming our Lottery bid is successful) when the proposed large scale replanting takes place.
Incidentally several members of the public have recently made unsolicited comments on the neat and tidy appearance of the Park despite the hard winter, many thanks to Stuart, Lee and the teams from Greencare and Future Skills.

HLF Stage 2 Submission

The submission has now been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund. You can read the summary version (in pdf format, which can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader) HERE.