Local History Day

FoPP had a stand at the Local History Day on 6th June at Dudley Archives and Local History Services in Coseley. This was part of the Discover Dudley Weekend.

GREEN SPACES VOLUNTEER AWARDS

On Tuesday 2nd June 2009 FoPP were represented at the annual Dudley Volunteer awards ceremony held in Dudley Council house.
Almost all of the 33 Friends Groups were present and our display board and leaflets (thanks Mike) shown prior to the formal proceedings raised much interest. However the climax of the meeting was the presentations of the awards which were anticipated with as much suspense as the final of Britains got Talent.
Imagine our surprise and delight when not only did our Thelma win “The Womble Award (Litter Picker Extraordinaire )” but Mike Hessey made it a double by winning “The Best Friends Website (Use of IT to promote a group)".
Congratulations to both for continuing to promote the name of FoPP to a much wider audience.
Our picture shows The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Pat Martin, visiting our display.

More photographs of the event can be see HERE.

WALK FIT

Julie, Thelma and Pepper are the first of our regulars to to reach the target of 10 attendances at our regular Wednesday morning sessions. Here they show us their certificates while taking a well earned rest.

FoPP hope that they also enjoy their vouchers to be spent at local stores.

Weekly Lap Walking

A slight variation of our normal walk, but non the less worthy.

Do join us.

WALK FIT

After a couple of false starts we at last got the Lap Walking under way today. The picture shows our first group ready to go not forgetting Pepper. Free refreshments were provided in the Pavilion. Please come and join us every Wednesday from 9.45 am and dont forget there is a voucher for 12 attendances.

WALK FIT

Regretably due to inclement weather conditions we are advised that the commencement of the Lap Walking sessions in the Park sheduled for tomorrow is delayed for another week.
This did not however stop our intrepid FoPP litter picker from doing her usual stint. Many thanks to Thelma and Pepper (not Patch -sorry Thelma).

WALK FIT

DMBC have produced an excellent booklet detailing guided winter to Spring walks around Dudley Borough - you can access it HERE.
This booklet will take you through a series of guided walks, which take in some of Dudley borough’s most spectacular beauty spots, from the council’s qualified walk leaders.
The programme includes weekly short walks, one-off longer walks, tours that take in local history and visitor attractions, rambles and ambles for parents and children as well routes that are accessible for wheelchair users, pushchairs and buggies.
You can take walks at your own pace without worrying about being left behind because everyone sticks together. They are open to everyone and are free of charge so it’s a great way to be active, socialise and have fun.
Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear and arrive at the meeting point ten minutes before the walk starts. Feel free to bring someone with you. Dogs are welcome on most walks.
To find out more call Kim Braznell, parks physical activity co-ordinator, on 01384 816992 or 07799 070089 or visit:
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/

Lap walking at Priory Park in conjunction with FoPP
Our weekly lap walking sessions start on Wednesday 6 January. You can walk at your own pace and by walking a circular route you can decide how many laps you want to do – making it suitable for all levels of fitness, ages and abilities.
As you get fitter you can build up your distance and monitor your fitness. We are also offering an incentive scheme of free Merry Hill Vouchers for all lap walkers.
Day: Wednesdays from 6 January
Time: Registration from 9.45am, lap walking from 10am to 11am
Meeting point: Priory Pavilion, Priory Park, Priory Road, Dudley
Refreshments from 11am to 11.45am

Musical Evening

FoPP together with the Registration & Celebratory Services of DMBC are having another of the popular Musical Evenings in Priory Hall.
Limited tickets and details are available from your local Committee member.

We are sure you will all be pleased to know of the following Press announcement which was released today.

Priory Park to receive HLF boost

Multi-million pound plans to transform a key Dudley park have moved a step closer to reality after the award of £110,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

This money will help develop an application of £1.8million for this ambitious project.

The funding will see exciting plans for Priory Park, which went out for consultation at the start of the year, come to fruition. Dudley Council and the Friends of Priory Park are celebrating the news which could see flood lighting installed at the old Priory and the establishment of an arboretum.

Other works could include the planting of tree avenues, the introduction of a teen shelter, repairs to path surfaces to allow better access, resurfacing of the five-a-side football pitch and bowling green and the demolition of the old toilet block and installation of new facilities.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environment and culture, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have received this funding promise which will see Priory Park improved and transformed for the benefit of the local community. It is great news, following on the back of the HLF and BIG funding for the Wren’s Nest caverns project, and proves these are very exciting times for Dudley.”

Following the successful first stage bid, the council will initially receive around £100,000 to help produce detailed plans of the scheme. The detailed plans will then be submitted to complete the bidding process before physical work can begin on the park.

The works carried out through the HLF/BIG bid will follow on from a range of improvements at the park that were carried out with the recent Liveability funding which enabled the tennis courts to be refurbished. It also follows the Transforming Your Space programme which funded the multi-use games area and play area extension.

Janet Alderman-Rowe, committee member of the Friends of Priory Park, said:
“This is fabulous news as the funding will enable us to continue the improvements that have been made to the park over the last few years. There has been considerable effort from the friends group working with the council and we are very excited about the proposals and look forward to seeing them become a reality in the near future.”

Anne Jenkins, head of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said:

“We’re delighted that Dudley Council has been given the green light to develop its exciting plans. Heritage lottery money has already played a vital role in the renaissance of the UK’s parks for more than a decade but there is much more to be done. This scheme is designed to get the local community really involved and to ensure a much-improved environment and standard of living for all those who use the park.”

John Taylor, Big Lottery Fund head of the West Midlands region, added:
“This investment comes at a time when healthy living is on the top of the agenda and our parks play a vital role in improving well-being, the environment and community life. This funding is a tremendous starting point for plans to transform Priory Park into a community space that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.”

REVISED DATE

Now the 4th October at 2.00pm. Other details as previous

FUN DAY

Treasure Hunt

The Treasure Hunt unfortunately had to be postponed due to inclement weather (fairly typical at the moment). Apologies to the few hardy souls who turned up. A new date will be announced soon.

Treasure Hunt

The poster alongside has been received from Age Concern.
For those of you whose eyesight is in the same state as mine the text at the bottom reads:-

How well do you know Dudley?
How much do you know of its history, buildings and odd nooks and crannies?
Come and bring your family and friends to form teams of 4 people to pitch your knowledge, expertise and walking legs on this 2.75 mile TREASURE HUNT.
Saturday 9 August 2008 from 2.oopm
Start & Finish- outside Priory Hall Priory Park
Entry fee £2.50 per person- proceeds to Age Concern Dudley
For more information contact:
Maggie Thompson
Leap over 60 project Coordinator,
Age Concern Dudley, 1 Cradley Road, Netherton Dudley DY2 9RA Tel: 01384 343535;
email : acdleap@btconnect.com

What a great idea. If you want to become part of a dedicated F.o.P.P. team ring Phil. Griffiths on 01384 252832.

Big Lottery Fund

Further to the joint bid for funding from BLF by FoPP and Dudley Council a follow-up meeting was held today on the Park.
Representatives from all parties including T. Bashir and L. McRobie from BLF had a tour of the Park and a meeting within Priory Hall at which various aspects of the bid were discussed in detail. This will enable DMBC to fine tune the appropriate elements in question and resubmit our application by August.
We will keep you advised of further developments in due course.

ONGOING REPAIRS

Much needed work has been carried out to the night stair element of the Priory ruins and the walls within the rose garden. Many thanks to DMBC and particularly their contractors Messsrs. Russcott – Stone masons for the excellent attention to detail.

Heritage Lottery Fund Application

At a Cabinet meeting of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council on the evening of 13 February 2008 the next milestone on our long running efforts to obtain funding for regeneration of our Park was reached.
Approval was given by DMBC to provide monies to enable Stage 1 bid to proceed.
DMBC will now submit the bid ( with a project cost estimated at around £3.5 million) to meet the HLF deadline of the 31st March 2008.
Congratulations to all involved over the last 4 years in reaching this important landmark.

Duncan Edwards

Wednesday 6th February 2008 saw the 50th anniversary of the horrific Munich Air Disaster which resulted in 23 people losing their lives, one of those being a local Priory lad, the great and legendary Duncan Edwards.The Friends did not want the day to pass unmarked and decided to hold a simple tribute to all those who lost their lives in the crash or in the days to follow as a result of injuries sustained. The tribute was held at the Duncan Edwards statue in Dudley town centre and included a public address, a roll call of the victims of the disaster, a minute's silence and a final poem "We will Remember" by Alan Laine. FoPP were proud to have members of Duncan Edwards' family attending the tribute and they along with the Friends, representatives from the three Duncan Edwards' football teams and local ward councillors laid wreaths as the music "The Flowers of Manchester" was played. FoPP committee wish to take this opportunity to thank the many hundreds of people who attended the tribute, laying many of their own floral tributes and paying their respects.
Rest In Peace Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Liam "Billy" Whelan, Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley, Tom Curry, Alf Clarke, Frank Swift, Don Davies, George Follows, Tom Jackson, Archie Ledbrooke, Henry Rose, Eric Thompson, Capt Kenneth Rayment, Bela Miklos, Willie Satinoff, Tom Cable.

J Alderman-Rowe

Duncan Edwards

On February 6^th , the anniversary of the Munich air disaster some 50 years ago, the Friends will be having a short wreath-laying ceremony at the statue in Dudley Town Centre at 12.30 pm.

Representatives from FoPP together with the Duncan Edwards Junior football teams and close family will be in attendance. All are welcome.
For more information about Duncan Edwards, please see the web site http://www.duncan-edwards.co.uk, and for more about the Munich air disaster see http://www.munich58.co.uk

Park Plan on Display

The plans for upgrades to Priory Park will be on display at Dudley Council Plus, Castle Street, until 18th January 2008. The exhibition will be manned on Saturday 12th January 2008 from 9:00am until noon, and on Wednesday January 16th from 1:00pm until 5:00pm. Please visit the exhibition if you can, and provide comments by 18th January. You can also find out more at THIS WEB SITE.

Walk of Life 2007

Sunday 24th June saw a bedraggled collection of walkers in the Park for the annual Action Heart “Walk For Life”. Well over 100 brave souls ignored the early rain in order to do as many one kilometre laps between 10 and 12 o’clock as possible. Fortunately it eased off for the last hour and all participants lined up at the end to present their score cards and received their T- Shirt and Certificate.

Congratulations to all that took part and the organisers for such a well controlled event. At least two people completed 10 kilometres but as usual it was the taking part that counted.

Mrs. Margaret Allen

Margaret Allen, a member of FoPP from its inception unfortunately died in a road accident a short while ago.
The Friends of the Black Country Museum of whom Margaret was a Vice President are holding a memorial service in her honour on Sunday 17th of June in the Providence Chapel at the Black Country Living Museum beginning at 2.30 pm.
There are a limited number of tickets available and FoPP have been invited to send along representatives.Tickets are available from ALAN HALLMAN Senior Chapel Steward on 01384 279900 and these will also give free admission to the Museum after 1.30p.m.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Well how early can you get.
A chance discussion with one of our founder members Clayton Thomas led to an introduction to another longstanding local group - Dudley Society of Artists. Having seen some of their excellent work, one thing led to another and FoPP have invited them to submit suitable designs for a new card. As an incentive (if necessary) FoPP have offered a small prize for the one which we consider most suitable.
We will check with our webmaster and perhaps a small selection can be displayed here for your delectation.

Daffodils

A little bit late I know, but some of you may have noticed in the last few weeks the additional displays of daffodils throughout the Park. These were kindly provided by Innovative Marketing, a market research company on behalf of The Marie Curie Cancer Trust and planted by Future Skills. Many thanks to all concerned.

Snow!

Today saw the heaviest snow of the century so far. It provided an opportunity for many to enjoy the conditions in the park. Click here for more pictures.
Photo below by Phil Griffiths

An email - Out of the blue

It's Sunday February 4th 2007. Cold as the Devil's heart outside, yet a great deal warmer inside, after the spectacle I was privileged to watch this early morning.
I return, like a compass to north, to Priory Park at every possible opportunity.
I played there as a boy. I courted there as a besotted teenager. I discovered contemplation there in manhood.
Now, closing rapidly on my sixtieth birthday, not so good on the legs as I was, I return weekly to my roots - if only to look out of the car window.
Back to this morning.
A man. Booted, hatted, wrapped against the frost, scoured the verges, hedgerows, pathways, and gutters armed with a stick. He was collecting litter in a plastic bag. A sort of Womble.
This was not the cursory glance of a council worker. This was an avid eradication of detritus that comes from a deep love of his environment.
To my shame I did not get out of the car, ask his name, shake his hand, or thank him.
I'd never heard of FoPP
To the unknown 'warrior' may I say: "Thank you, Sir. More strength to your elbow".

Friends of Priory Park & The Green

Park on TV
I have just caught the tail end of Midday "Midlands Today" on BBC1 showing people walking in Priory Park.
I believe it was to do with breast cancer.
It is almost certainly to be repeated at 6.30 p.m.
A recording would be a good idea.

HERITAGE LOTTERY BID - Good News

At a meeting today with John Millar - Director of Urban Environment DMBC, we were advised that Dudley Council had agreed to provide monies for the first stage of Phase 2 for Lottery Funding to proceed.

This will enable a consultant to be employed to formulate and present the bid by the next deadline of September 2007.
Congratulations to all those involved in moving us another step along this long road especially Ian Austin M.P. for Dudley North and local Councillors Margaret Aston and Alan Finch.

Web site updates - more DVD's

The Sales section of the web site has been updated to include the DVDs of the Medieval Festical and of the Musical Evening. The Links page has also had a minor update.

Friends of Priory Park & The Green

Friends of Priory Park & The Green

A Happy New Year to all FoPPs from a virgin blogger!!
Not much to report on the Park at the moment but further happenings on our Lottery bid later this month and I will give you a full report as soon as possible.

A new look for the FoPP web site

A rather late 'Happy New Year' to all our members!

As you may have noticed, 2007 brings a chan ge to the web site. The objective of the change is to make it easier for members of the committee to post news on the web site without having to depend on the webmaster. This should result in more news, less delays, more variety in the material in the news section, and better quality too.

We hope you find the new site useful. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the web site design and operation, please email us.