Christmas Concert

Sunday, 8 December in the Holland Park Orangery, 7.00pm.

Bookings are already coming in, so don’t delay and make sure you get your tickets for our very special Christmas Concert. 

Once again, we will be entertained by Douglas Somers-Lee and his Ariel Consort of London. Douglas has sung in The Friends’ Christmas concert for many years, he knows just what we like and is busy working on an exciting programme for our very special end of year event. There will be many familiar faces in the choir. We can be sure of joyous voices ringing out in the beautiful Orangery, readings to interest and amuse you, and some carols for all to sing.

We think our Christmas Concert is different to the others and of course we think it is better. It seems you do too, as it is always so popular. If you haven’t been to this event for a while, or indeed if you are a regular, we can promise you a highly enjoyable evening.  Do book your tickets, now! 

After the concert, we will be treated to tasty canapés and a glass or two of wine. Tickets, at £27, can be ordered online HERE.

Please note that this year’s concert starts at 7.00pm, earlier than in previous years. 

[November 2024]

Discount at Holland Park Café

Daisy Green have been running the Holland Park Café since May. They are a community-focused business and are working hard to understand the quirks of Holland Park and its regulars.

Some of our members have expressed disappointment that they couldn’t just drop in for a coffee as they had been accustomed to do, but this was a misunderstanding. You can!  The misunderstanding was due to the rather formal look of the Café which had the tables set out with knives and forks for a meal. We notice that this is no longer the case for most tables and the Café looks more welcoming for it. Daisy Green will need the regulars when it comes to the quieter winter months. 

Table service inside the Café and on the terrace means tables are cleared and cleaned quickly and we notice that pigeons are much less in evidence. If you prefer, you can go to the counter and order a coffee and sandwich to go. The kiosk opens at 12 noon.  

Daisy Green have joined the Friends & Neighbours programme, so that paid-up members of The Friends are entitled to a 15% discount on all purchases in the Café, when you show your membership card on ordering. 

Some regular groups have been used to pushing tables together for easier socialising. If you wish to do that, just ask the on-duty Café staff, or ask the manager in advance.  

If you haven’t already been to the new Café, come and try it out, bring your friends and claim your members’ discount.

Text & photo by Jennie Kettlewell

[September 2024]

News update as at 31 August 2024

Treatment of sports field trees 

In November 2021, four Kentucky Coffee trees and four SouthernNettle trees were planted at the north end of the sports field, to replace the row of failed Red Horse Chestnut trees. Bartletts Tree Experts did the planting and have checked up on them several times since then. All are growing into handsome straight trees, but the Southern Nettles have looked a little peaky of late, with their leaves mottled with unhealthy yellow. Bartletts came to inspect these trees on 16 August, told us it looked like nutrient deficiency and treated them appropriately. They took samples of the leaves and the soil for analysis. Let’s hope that does the trick, but it was found that the surrounding soil was parched and the trees badly needed watering.  We’ve called on help from idverde.

Open-air gym
By the time you read this, work to refurbish the Holland Park open-air gym, at the extreme south west of the sports field, will be well under way. The facility has been extremely popular and the equipment was coming to the end of its life. The same applied to the golf practice area. The council held well-publicised on-site meetings in autumn 2023 to hear the views of those who use the gym and there was an on-line questionnaire. The improvements are expected to be completed in early October. If you haven’t tried the equipment yet, do visit the new gym and have a go.

Master classes from the Japanese gardeners

At the end of June, expert Japanese gardeners made a visit to Holland Park’s Kyoto Garden to work with Parks Management and idverde. The home team benefitted from master classes on pruning in the Japanese way. Not only must a tree or shrub be a beautiful shape, but it must leave a pleasing shadow on he ground. That is art!

History display in Café

For quite a few years, The Friends have offered to create an information panel describing the history of Holland House, designed to go on the long brick wall inside the café. There is virtually nothing to tell park visitors the significance of Holland House and its story. At last, Daisy Green agreed to the proposal and the panels are now in place. They are designed to whet the appetite with pictures, and offer a link to finding out further information. Permission had to be sought for each of the illustrations to be included and credits agreed. Designed by Column Communications, who created the Kyoto and Holland House signs and The Friends’ guides to the park, the panels are slightly smaller than expected, because a notice board will fill the space immediately to the right. We hope you enjoy the new information panels. 

Jennie Kettlewell

Photos by Jennie Kettlewell and RBKC

[September 2024]

Managing floods from torrential rain

The Council is currently working on a project to introduce Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions within the northern woodland area of Holland Park to reduce the rate and volume of runoff leaving the park. 

Natural Flood Management means working with natural processes to reduce the risk of flooding. This includes diverting water to where it is needed or can drain naturally, and this can help increase habitat diversity and provide wider climate resilience. While there are existing hard interventions within the park through Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which help capture surface water and filter it back into the ground rather than the sewers, these are not able to deal with the fast flow of water from increasingly frequent heavy rainfall down the woodland paths and rainwater still ends up in places where we do not want or need it. 

The hard solutions used on the formal pathways in the park (soakaway drains and bound paths) are not appropriate for the woodland areas and a more natural solution is being sought. The challenges being looked at are: 
• Surface water runoff frequently leaves the woodland area
• Woodland footpaths frequently become preferential flow paths during heavy rainfall, bypassing the absorption of the woodland floor and eroding the tracks.  
• The existing pond within the Wildlife Enclosure receives very little water due to bypassing down the footpaths and therefore requires supplementary top-ups during summer months.  

Solutions are currently going through a design process, and these designs will be ready to share shortly but the interventions may include:
• Earth banks and scraped channels along the woodland paths, with wood or natural stone, to direct surface water flow into the woodland margins and the Wildlife Enclosure pond
• Renewed leaky barriers within the drainage ditch
• Some narrowing of the path on Chestnut and Lime Tree Walks.
• Enhanced woodland margins with additional woodland plants to reduce the footpath catchment and provide additional water infiltration

The woodland paths will remain as an unbound surface. Any earth banks introduced will be staggered and direct water to woodland margins where it can discharge into the soil. 
This project is being supported through funding from the Council and the Environment Agency. It is expected that the work will be carried out in winter 2024 and be complete in Spring 2025. Some pathways may be closed during works for safety reasons, but the interventions proposed work with the natural landscape so any disruption should be minimal. 

Monica Castelino, RBKC Parks Manager

Photos by Jennie Kettlewell

Chairman, of The Friends, Jennie Kettlewell adds that The Friends have been involved in this initiative from the start and wrote to support the bid for external funding (which was successful). While we agree this work is very necessary to retain rainwater in the park, where it is needed, and not let it run off to where it can’t be used, we emphasized that the solution must look natural and retain the integrity of the woodlands. We also asked that it improve the marginal water-dependent habitats. It is pleasing to see the proposed use of earth banks and scraped channels, rather than concrete gulleys. We have asked to be kept informed as the project progresses. 

[September 2024]

Our Parks Police

The work of the Parks Police team is much appreciated and their familiar faces reassure us as they patrol the paths, fields, enclosures and buildings of Holland Park. Two of the most well-known police constables retired this August and we shall miss them. Pc Phil Crowther spent 15 years with the force and pc Dave Pullan worked in the team for 12 years. The Friends have wished them well in their retirement.

Fortunately, three new police constables have joined the team. Pc Warren Cummings arrived in April this year, while pc David Lane and pc Jeff Cresswell are more recent arrivals. The Parks Police work in two teams, one headed up by Sergeant Helen Tilbury and the other by Sergeant Arron Haynes. One or other of the two teams is on duty during daylight hours, with some late evening patrols, 365 days of the year. In a three-shift day, they enforce bye-laws, Dog Control Orders, deal with traffic issues, respond to accidents in the park, find missing people and deal with more cases of anti-social behaviour than you might imagine. 

Though based in Holland Park, the Parks Police cover around 40 parks and four cemeteries in the Borough, so they are obviously extremely busy. The reason you might not be aware of all this activity is that they take a preventative approach and aim to solve each problem before it escalates. They strongly believe that a problem-solving approach is the most effective way of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, so they work with local communities and park users to identify concerns and find solutions. In addition, they can be called to help out with events such as the Notting Hill Carnival, cycle coding, Remembrance parades and to provide assistance to the emergency services during major incidents. 

The Parks Police are dedicated to ensuring that the Borough’s parks are safe and welcoming places for everyone, but they cannot be everywhere in the park at once, so they urge that we call the Parks Police number (see below) when their assistance is needed. In my experience, they are quick to act and do so firmly but with tact. They can only help us if we help them to do so.

Jennie Kettlewell

Photo: RBKC

Parks Police 
Holland Park is generally a safe place, but we should never be complacent. If you see any antisocial behaviour, such as vandalism, please contact the Parks Police on:
 0300 3655 101
 Remember three key points:
 • Keep yourself out of danger
 • Take a description of the person, location and exactly what         they are doing
 • Contact the Parks Police and report the facts.

[September 2024]_

Congratulations!

Two gardeners from the idverde team, Sheku Maringa and Canice Osuagwu, have succeeded in completing their City and Guilds level 2 Award in Horticulture. The course was delivered in-house at Holland Park by Gerry Kelsey, idverde’s  Community & Training Manager, and focused on plant identification and propagation, with emphasis on plants found in Holland Park. You will probably recognise both Canice and Sheku. Canice is one of the team who care for the Kyoto and Fukushima Gardens. Sheku works at weekends, undertaking many tasks and can often be seen in the Kyoto Garden, making sure visitors treat it with respect. 

Monica Castelino, RBKC Parks Manager, said: “It is really encouraging to see more of the team sign up to gain horticultural qualifications and, more importantly, enjoy and excel in their training. Well done Sheku and Canice , and well done Gerry.”   

The Friends send their congratulations and wish them a successful future with the new qualification.

Photos by RBKC

[September 2024]

Kew take cuttings from rare tree

The rarest tree in Holland Park is a Styphnolobium japonicum ‘violacea’, next to the West Lawn. S. japonicum is often seen in parks, but ours is different because it’s flowers have a mauve stain in each pea-like flower. This variety flowers later than the usual form. We had hoped this tree might be accorded Champion Tree status by The Tree Register, but there is evidently a better example in Wimbledon’s Cannizaro Park. However, it is rare and even Kew Botanic Gardens don’t have one, so they gladly agreed when we asked if they would be interested in taking cuttings. The head of Kew’s propagation unit, Sal Demain, visited in person to take cuttings and is now growing these on in Kew’s tree nursery. We hope to receive one or two very small trees from her in about three years’ time.

Jennie Kettlewell

[September 2024]

Green Flag Award

It's great news that Holland Park has won the award yet again after over 20 years of success. The judges looked attentively at everything, from hedges to habitats, and from litterbins to loos. They asked lots of questions and clearly understood the complexity of our park.     

All the hard work paid off and Holland Park has a Green Flag once again.

It’s tough to win this prestigious award as there are eight criteria for the judges to assess, so it is not only about stunning flower displays, but includes subjects like absence of litter, clear information displays, biodiversity, conservation of buildings and implementation of a management plan. That means there are a great many people in the RBKC Parks Management and idverde teams whose work in the park contributed to the award. RBKC Park Officers, Hassan Elkholy and Bulent Kazim were responsible for hosting the judges and putting together the visit programme. 

Thank you to Parks Management, the Ecology Service, the Parks Police, the idverde gardeners, maintenance team and the front-line staff in the park reception office. 

Photo by RBKC.

[September 2024]

Holland House conservation listed for award

The conservation work on Holland House was carried out over 2021/22 and involved Allies & Morrison, architects with special expertise in conservation, and Boras Construction who implemented the work. Allies & Morrison have already been accorded a Civic Trust Regional Finalist award for their work on Holland House and have now been shortlisted for a further recognition by New London Awards, under the conservation category. There is strong competition, but you can do your bit by voting for the People’s Choice Award. Go to the website: nla.london/awards/new-london-awards and cast your vote, but please do so under your own name and not as The Friends of Holland Park.

Photo by  Ståle Eriksen

[September 2024]

Phillip Fei Hou – new trustee

We are delighted that Phillip Fei Hou has agreed to become a trustee of The Friends.

He joined The Friends after spotting a plea for volunteers and soon became a regular at the pop-up events in the park. He readily engaged park visitors and got them interested in what we do. Every so often, the trustees have got stuck trying to do something, and Phillip said ‘Oh I can help with that’. And he did. Most were tech solutions where he could coax data into something useful.   

The reason he can do all this is that he holds a BSc in Physics and another in Software Engineering. He taught physics and enjoyed nurturing young minds with a passion for science, before transferring to work in the software industry. Next, he ventured into life as an entrepreneur, running his own business for over 30 years. So he has technical skills and business skills, gained from software development, tech consulting, the restaurant industry, digital publishing and property investment. That translates into a lot of very useful support for The Friends, and the trustees decided they would like him to join the committee.

Phillip and his wife live not far from the park and know it well. He is a team player and we enjoy his company, as we all do our best to run The Friends as successfully as we can. There’s one other thing: Phillip’s dog has been taught by him to be exceedingly polite and well-behaved, so he hasn’t forgotten his teaching skills!

Welcome Phillip. The trustees look forward to working with you. 

[May 2024]

News update as at 2 May 2024

Bolle’s poplar

Many of you will have noticed the loss of the very big tree just inside the Ilchester Gates, a Bolle’s poplar. Sadly, it was badly diseased and unsafe with so many people walking underneath it. Bartletts tree experts warned some years ago that it was one to keep an eye on. When the RBKC Arboricultural team checked it in 2020 they found fungus at the base. At that stage it was crown reduced to remove weight from the top so that it could be kept  a little longer. In March 2024 a further Picus test showed extensive decay at the base. It had to go. The decay was caused by Ganoderma bracket fungus which eats slowly but relentlessly into the tree.  Picus is a non-invasive way of determining the extent of decay inside a tree and it works by taking readings of soundwaves passing through the trunk and measuring the density. This can reveal damage in an otherwise healthy-looking tree.

Photo by RBKC

Water Management in Holland Park

For a long time, there has been discussion about managing torrential rain which causes small rivers running through the park, taking soil with it and gouging out troughs in the woodland paths. The water pools where we don’t want it, the north lawn becomes a quagmire and too much water channels out of the park and into the sewerage system. The new flood management officer in the town hall understands how to manage water in parks and is developing a proposal, with Parks Management, to absorb rainwater near where it falls and channelling surplus to where it can be used. The Friends have been consulted and support the concept. We will bring you further news when it is available.

Marouflages

The story continues. Alvar Mailan from Richard Rogers Conservation has painstakingly removed panels 1&2 of the paintings under the arcade by the Iris Garden. The panels are now back at RRC’s studios where the canvas backing is being repaired following discovery of mould. We await news of the next development and of when it will be possible for artist, Mao Wen Biao, to retouch the surfaces of these two panels. After nearly two years, we still await to hear when the Council will do the work to prevent water ingress from the walkway above.  

Jennie Kettlewell

Photo by Gilead Limor

[May 2024]

New café in Holland Park

By the time you read this, you may have had a chance to visit the Holland Park Café under its new ownership. Daisy Green Foods signed the lease in late April and has wasted no time in getting the café up and running, even if not with its full offering just yet. The new name is still to be decided.

Daisy Green is a family business, run by Prue Freeman and her husband Tom Onions. Founded in 2012, they have grown the business and now have a mix of cafés and restaurants across London, with each venue individually designed to fit its local environment and community. They live near Holland Park, which means they know the park well and can tailor our café to what park visitors really want.

The main point of a café is to offer really good coffee at a fair price and that is something on which the owners pride themselves. To go with the coffee there will be a choice of cakes and pastries. There are light dishes on the menu, made with responsibly-sourced fresh ingredients in a Mediterranean style, with accents of Asian flavours. That means plenty of choice, whether you want a quick coffee, a meal, or one of Daisy Green’s special breakfasts.

The long-awaited changes to the service area will be made, once agreed, so that the frustrating queues at busy periods are a thing of the past. No doubt the interior will be freshened up, while respecting the nature of the listed buildings in our park. Table service will be a new feature, which will be a benefit in that the tables will be clean, and it will also help reduce the queues. That doesn’t mean you can’t go to the counter and buy a coffee and sandwich to go.

Many of our members have asked if the café staff, under the management of Ade Phillips, will still greet us in the café. We are delighted to tell you that they will.

We understand the opening hours will be 7.30am to half an hour before dusk, when the park closes.  A limited number of appropriate evening events may take place, with the agreement of Parks Management. It is good news that Daisy Green is community-focused, both in terms of relationships and in terms of donating to local charities. They operate an environmentally friendly business, and encourage keep cups. 

At this point we would like to say a big thank you to Cooks and Partners, who have run the café for the past 17 years and who have co-operated, on so many occasions, with The Friends.

The Holland Park Café has always been a welcome meeting point for local residents and all park visitors, and Prue Freeman intends to keep it that way. So, drop in and sample the new coffee, snacks and meals, and bring your friends. We very much look forward to working with the new owners and to supporting their successful business.

Photo from Daisy Green

Jennie Kettlewell

[May 2024]

Thank you from the Parks Manager

I asked Jennie Kettlewell, your chairman, if I could have a small piece in this edition of the newsletter. This is my thank you to every member of The Friends for the support you provide. My role exists to care for the parks and make them as good as they can be for everyone. This is the core function of my job, but it takes a small army of people from all across the Council and community to truly make this happen.

I don’t take for granted the effort, commitment and support that you all give to the park and its visitors and how lucky we are to have such dedicated friends. 

With your help and support we are making this park more accessible, allowing members of our community who could previously never use the park to visit and feel safe and provided for. We are caring for our trees and giving them the best chance to thrive with a programme of proactive tree health works. And thanks to you the Ecology Centre are able to make their adult education programme free to all. 

So thank you all from me and the team.

Monica Castelino, RBKC Parks Manager

Response from Jennie Kettlewell

I was very pleased when Monica Castelino told me she wanted to write a piece for the newsletter. She is always so busy, yet remembered and found the time. 

We are fortunate to have a great team of Council officers to run our park – Parks Management, the Ecology Service, the Project Management team and the Parks Police. They all work closely together and with contractors idverde. Most visitors comment on how wonderful the park is, and it is wonderful, but they are rarely aware of the sheer quantity of very hard work that goes into making it so. The Friends appreciate being included in all matters related to the park and it is for that reason we can enjoy making a positive contribution.

[May 2024]

Matthew Rose wins award

The Ecology Centre is proud to announce that Matthew Rose, one of their Education Team, has been awarded the 2024 Robert J. Jones Award in Environmental Education by the Educator’s Trust, the charitable arm of the Worshipful Company of Educators.

This national award, is given to an outstanding practitioner in environmental education. Matthew was nominated by Dr Melissa Glackin and Shirin Hine of Kings’ College London, having worked with them in support of an Environmental Education Masters course, PhD research and the publication of the Heartwood collection of essays. In the award citation, Matthew was described as ‘an exceptional, knowledgeable and professional environmental educator, who has offered his community an inspirational personable service, provided with care and humility’. The Friends agree with that and send congratulations to Matthew. 

Photo from Max Weaver

[May 2024]

Peter Barrett saves the day

Technical problems with Mailchimp can be challenging and we got thwarted with a mailing one weekend in March. It was thanks to Peter Barrett of Rapidpage, who manage The Friends’ website, that it was sorted out. In spite of being unfamiliar with Mailchimp, having no responsibility for our account, and it being a weekend, he worked out what changes were needed and gave us the all clear. Should the problem recur, we now have instructions to deal with it. Thank you Peter.

[May 2024]

Report on the 2024 AGM 

A record number of members attended the AGM this year, with some 70 wanting an update on park matters and keen to participate with questions and comments. All votes were carried.

·  Minutes of the 2023 AGM were approved

·  Accounts for 2023 were approved and have since been filed with the        Charity Commission

·  All trustees standing were re-elected: Jennie Kettlewell (Chairman), Silvi Spassov (Treasurer), Rhoddy Wood (Secretary), Nigel Brockmann (governance), Graham Franklin (member database), Sandra French  (art exhibition), Nicholas Hopkins (website), Joy Puritz (editor). 

·  Roger Foreman was re-elected as independent examiner

Nicholas Hopkins reported on achievements in 2023: repairs to the damaged terra cotta bricks, retouching of the surface of the marouflage paintings under the Iris Garden arcade, border hedging for the woodland enclosures, installation of 50 bird boxes and continuation of the proactive tree health programme.

 Rhoddy Wood reported that 100 members had joined since the 2023 AGM but that members failing to renew in January meant the net increase was just 15. She encouraged members to pay by standing order if they did not already do so. 

Chairman, Jennie Kettlewell, explained the continuing challenges of high visitor numbers resulting in erosion of grass and compaction of ground, for which there is no simple solution. Action is being taken to improve the area round the Walking Man statue. Drought and torrential rain will be managed through a water-management plan. Current projects are conservation of the murals and the Old Dairy. JK informed members about the current licensing application for the Café, which was a concern due to proposed late opening. She said this may be misleading as the lease stipulated closure when the park closes, save for some 10 events p.a. Members asked JK to respond to the application by saying the condition for not objecting was the existence of the lease.

Thanks were given to the French family for another highly successful art exhibition, to the trustees for their dedication to running the charity, to president Eric Ellul for his support and to the members for their loyalty, without which The Friends could not operate.

[May 2024]

Planting in Holland Park

Work continues to implement the Holland Park Woodland Management Plan and you can see where idverde’s Gerry Kelsey has led his teams of volunteers to plant hedging whips along the borders of the woodland enclosures. It is good to see planting in the park once again, and planting trees in carefully selected spaces will be next. The Woodland Trust says: “Trees are a powerful weapon in the fight against climate change, absorbing and locking up a staggering 213 million tonnes of carbon in UK woodlands. Yet the woods that we need so vitally are themselves impacted by climate change – spring now arrives on average 8.4 days earlier than the first part of the 20th century which means some wildlife is struggling to keep up. Woodland wildlife is already under immense pressure…” We must ensure that future generations can enjoy tranquil  green space in Holland Park.

[May 2024]

Michael Volpe’s new book

Former General Director of Holland Park Opera, Michael Volpe, is remembered by many opera-loving Friends. On 29 April, he was back in Holland Park for the launch of his second book ‘Do I bark like a Dog?’ The launch was at Daunts Bookshop, Holland Park Avenue, where his family and friends joined the celebration. The book tells the story of his Italian roots and is a testimony to his mother and her family. Many extra-ordinary events took him from his childhood in Fulham to a life in opera where he has been a significant influence, being awarded an OBE for services to opera. 

[May 2024]

News Update as at 7 February 2024

Marouflages

Mao Wen Biao, the artist who painted these wonderful panels depicting a party in the grounds of Holland House, has worked on a surface retouch of the paintings. We are grateful to him for this and for his original work which all park visitors can enjoy. 

We have always called them The Murals, but they are ‘marouflages’ because they are painted on canvas and not directly onto the plaster wall. That is unusual for work in the open air and is part of the problem the council is trying to solve. Damp has got into the fabric of the building on which the canvases are fixed and it is necessary to examine the state of the two panels on the left, to see if damp has affected the canvas. Richard Rogers Conservation is carefully securing the paint surface with Japanese tissue paper and is exploring the possibility of removing both of these canvases for conservation. While that is happening, any damp in the wall can be dealt with and the spaces will be filled with same size photographs of the paintings, kindly donated by Gilead Limor.

The aim is to conserve these works so that all can enjoy them for a long time to come.

Bird boxes

Look carefully, and you will see bird boxes fixed to trees around the  park, especially in the woodland areas. These are safe places for wild birds to nest and they come with different size entry holes to suit different species of bird. They include boxes for Tree Creepers and Tawny Owls as well as the many small birds to be found in the park. Each box has a number for easy reference to what birds are nesting where.  The Friends funded the cost of £1,081. 

Mediterranean Bed

This is the long bed next to the old brick wall along the north edge of the Dutch Garden. When, in 2017, it was in need of refreshment, The Friends worked with the head gardener to choose appropriate plants. The agreement was ‘for a structure provided by sizeable anchor plants interspersed with plants of varying size, shape and texture. Predominance of evergreen species meant the bed would look good in winter as well as summer. Bulbs and perennials were to add colour, but not so much that it clashed with the main attraction, the formal beds in the centre of the Dutch Garden.’ The chosen species were bought and planted, but not maintained, and it became quite out of line with the agreed concept. You will have noticed recently that many plants have been removed and the bed has been cleaned out ready for new planting in line with the original plan. 

The late Andrew Whiteley left money to The Friends, and the donation of over £11,000 covered the original plants and a soak hose. In Andrew’s memory, we would like to see this Mediterranean-themed bed looking resplendent and as originally intended.

Old Dairy

It’s early days yet, but The Friends are intent on conservation of Holland Park’s Old Dairy. It had been used as a store for the café, but another site was found for that purpose and the little building is now locked while work is scoped and costed. Part of the planning process is to research the history of the Holland estate’s farm, which was rented out for pasture to a commercial dairy company in the early 19th century. This dairy company, Tisdell & Tunks, may have sold milk to the Fox family and later to the Earls of Ilchester for use in the big house. It may be that the estate dairy was used for making butter and cream.

Text & photos Jennie Kettlewell

[February 2024]

AGM – come and hear about plans and achievements

Wed 10 April 7.30 pm in The Orangery, Holland Park 

Be sure to put the date in your diary and come along, with your comments and questions. The formal part is usually over quickly, and we will have time to talk about our plans for future projects and hear your ideas. There is a great deal going on in the park. As always, there are real challenges and we have to learn to cope with floods as well as drought, and to manage our complex park with very tight RBKC budgets.

Our president, Eric Ellul, will chair the meeting and keep it all on track and on time.

Often, when it seems things are going well, people don’t feel they need to come to the AGM.  But please do come as there are still issues, as there will be with any park. We also need your votes at the meeting to ensure your committee remains in place to carry on the work. Come and challenge us with thoughtful questions and share your ideas. The trustees need your support and want to know that we are representing you.   

After the meeting, you can join old friends and new over a glass of wine, while admiring the wonderful display of art in our annual exhibition. You might even be tempted to buy a piece.

Members should please register to attend by contacting your chairman on jennie.kettlewell@thefriendsofhollandpark.org or calling 020 7243 0804.
 
We look forward to seeing lots of you on 10 April.

Jennie Kettlewell

[February 2024]

Please don’t feed the wildlife!

By Dr Alice Laughton, Ecology Service Manager

We need your help to protect the wildlife in Kensington and Chelsea. We understand that, for many people, feeding the animals is an important part of your visit, and something that children particularly enjoy. Unfortunately, with so many visitors to our parks, the overall result of thousands of visitors feeding wildlife is causing more harm than good.

Our parks are managed to provide enough food to sustain the wildlife that lives here, whether through planting of nectar-rich flowers, hedges and trees that bear berries for birds, or well-managed soils that maintain a wealth of worms and other invertebrates that birds and small mammals feed on. It’s vital that we maintain this balance to support biodiversity in our parks and green spaces.

Here are some of the reasons why it’s important to stop feeding the animals:
• The parks contain enough food to support the wildlife that lives here. When opportunities come up, our teams plant trees, hedges and shrubs that provide the berries, nuts and seeds that animals love. 
• Feeding encourages overcrowding of bird populations. Large numbers of crows and magpies that arrive bully the smaller song birds in the park, reducing the numbers that successfully breed here. 
• Processed ‘human’ food is not good for wildlife. They haven’t evolved to eat the same foods as us, and so these foods can cause harm. Bread doesn’t contain much nutritional value but fills up the birds’ stomachs so that they don’t forage for foods they would normally eat, which can lead to malnutrition.
• Animals that are used to being fed by humans now behave unnaturally around people, putting themselves and visitors at risk. For example, squirrels that have become too confident are more at risk of attack by a dog.
• Food such as bread or rice left on the ground attracts rats and other vermin, which is not good for other wildlife, or local residents and businesses.
• Uneaten food thrown into ponds or on banks which has been left to rot leads to a decline in water quality. This in turn results in more algae growing on the water, more disease and pests, and causes animals and plants to become sick and die.
• Encouraging large groups of birds to gather creates an excessive amount of bird droppings, which is detrimental to the health of the soil, and increases the need to clean park benches and other features.
• The high numbers of squirrels encouraged by feeding damage and kill trees.
• Throwing food for birds encourages them to group together, which can increase the spread of diseases, like bird flu.

[February 2024]

Award for Holland House Conservation

The Friends are delighted, but not surprised, that Allies & Morrison have been accorded a Civic Trust Regional Finalist award for their conservation work on Holland House. The work was carried out over 2021/22, and the award will appear in the Civic Trust 2024 Commemorative Brochure of Winners. 

[February 2024]

Butterfly Volunteers Needed

By Dr Alice Laughton, head of the RBKC Ecology Service

The Ecology Service started regularly recording butterflies in Holland Park in 2023 to help inform future habitat works and contribute to the local and national species data records. This is done by walking a set route through the park each week from April through to September and noting what species can be seen.

The Ecology team are looking for more volunteers to help monitor the butterflies in 2024. You don’t have to commit to recording every week (unless you want to!) and it’s a lovely way to bring new focus to a familiar walk around the park. 

If you think this is something you would like to do, please email ecology.centre@rbkc.gov.uk, mentioning Butterfly Survey in the subject box. The Ecology Service will be providing training on species identification and recording in the spring (more will follow on the park notice boards).

[February 2024]

NEW!  Butterfly leaflet

We are fortunate to have thriving pollinator habitats in Holland Park and that means we have lots of butterflies. The Friends have produced a fold-out leaflet with photos of all 16 species, explaining where and when you can find them in the park. There’s useful information, such as the life cycle of a butterfly, behaviours, what makes an appropriate habitat, as well as some useful contacts to find out more. We are grateful to professional photographer Jed Corbett, Butterfly Conservation’s Steve Bolton and Andrew Wood, a moth and butterfly recorder for Hertfordshire Natural History, for letting us use their stunning photos. Technical advice was given by Andrew Wood, who leads the butterfly and moth walks in Holland Park. Phil Lyndon of Column Communications created the design and artwork, as he does for other Friends’ brochures. 

The leaflet costs a modest £3 if you buy it from the Holland Park Reception, or online for £3.90 (postage and packaging costs apply).

Butterflies are beautiful, so find out more by buying this leaflet. Then go and find them in the park.

Order online HERE

[February 2024]

News update as at 3 November 2023

Kyoto pond clean up 
The Kyoto Garden was closed for three days in October, so that the pond could be emptied, then scrubbed out, before being re-filled. So, what happened to the koi carp?

What looked like a children’s paddling pool, but was actually a temporary fish pond, was erected in the garden. When the main pond was refilled, some of the old pond water, complete with the good bacteria that nourish the fish, was included. That’s how the fish like it. If the water were to be cleaned of all bacteria, for example water direct from the mains, the fish would probably become ill because tap water has chlorine in it and that kills all the good bacteria. 

Visitors are asked not to feed the fish, or birds in the Kyoto Garden, or elsewhere in the park. The wildlife doesn’t need it and it can cause harm.  

Lord Holland statue

Over the years, this statue has attracted dust, general grime and the unfortunate result of pigeons sitting on Lord Holland’s head. Recently, specialists were brought in to clean up the bronze, which started with a jet wash. The work will be completed when the weather is more clement.

Holland Park Café
Following The Friends’ contact with the council to express concerns about some aspects of the proposed new lease, a meeting was called between council officers, councillors and the chairman of The Friends, Jennie Kettlewell. We were reassured to hear that the terms that impact on the park would be negotiated with whoever is chosen as the future operator of the café to ensure the lease is appropriate to the running of the park. The Friends were to be kept in touch with progress, before the proposal goes to the RBKC Leadership Team in December for a decision. It is understood that the new lease will start from April 2024. Since the meeting on 7 September, we have heard no more.   

Open-air gym and golf practice area
The open-air gym, to be found at the extreme south west of the sports field, is about to undergo  improvement. It has been extremely popular and this means that the equipment is coming to the end of its life. The same applies to the golf practice area. The council has held well-publicised on-site meetings in October to hear the views of those who use the facility. There is an on-line questionnaire, but the deadline is 27 November, shortly after you receive this newsletter.
If you want your view to be heard, act quickly by completing the survey on Holland Park | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (rbkc.gov.uk). If you need a hard copy or have queries, please contact the Parks Project team via email parksprojects@rbkc.gov.uk or by phone 07971 391404.

Marouflages
We have always called them The Murals, but they are ‘marouflages’ because they are painted on canvas and not on the plaster wall. The conservation expert will remove panels 1 and 2 in March for repair work to the canvas itself. We are waiting to hear when Mao Wen Biao will retouch the surface of the other nine panels, which should be as soon as possible so that they don’t deteriorate further.

Text & photos by Jennie Kettlewell

[November 2023]

Subscription Renewals and Membership Cards

Thank you again for all your support and we hope you will want to continue to help through these troublesome times when the park is more appreciated than ever, but also has had extra strains put upon it. Your membership also gives The Friends clout when negotiating with the Council on matters relating to the park’s future.

The Friends’ subscription year runs from 1 January each year. 
• New members, who joined since 1 September 2022, or existing members who have renewed since that date, are already covered for 2023.
• A useful number (about 60%) pay by bank standing order every year on 1 January, so will be covered for 2024.  
• Others, who do not pay by bank standing order, have already paid in advance for 2024, because you have paid since 1 September 2023.
• If you do not have a standing order and have not paid since 1 September 2023, your membership needs to be paid for 2024. You can do it online HERE.

If you do not have a standing order, please check when you last paid and whether your membership is due for renewal. Members who have not kept payments up to date will no longer receive the members’ discount card. If in doubt, check with Graham Franklin 07802 761 548 or ggfranklin3@aol.com. 

It is less trouble, to both you and us, if you pay by standing order.

To pay by standing order, please contact your bank and get it to set up a standing order, payable on 1 January each year to The Friends of Holland Park, Account Number 60636975 Sort Code 20-47-34, at Barclays Bank Kensington Branch. 

Rhoddy Wood

[November 2023]

Mike Quaia revisits the park

We had a surprise visit at our pop-up event on 25 October, from Mike Quaia, whose family ran the Holland Park Café before Cooks & Partners. Mike’s parents, as well as Mike and his wife Yvonne, are remembered with affection as a wonderfully warm Italian family who made the café  welcoming and engaged enthusiastically with the Holland Park community. Mike said he had lots of stories he could tell us about the café in those days, but they will have to wait. His focus has changed from running a café to painting and he hopes to enter work in The Friends’ 2024 Art Exhibition. 

Jennie Kettlewell

[November 2023]

History tour for Open Age

On 11 October, The Friends organised a second tour for members of Open Age. This time, Blue Badge guide, Rowan Freeland, entertained his audience to facts and intriguing stories about Holland House and the families who had lived there. We devised a route that made wheelchair access possible, with regular stops where there was seating to listen to Rowan in comfort. Ewa Donnachie, Outreach & Engagement Coordinator for Open Age, shared the very appreciative  feedback, such as “The guide was very good, mixing history with extra amusing tidbits, ending in the surprise revelation which was perfectly delivered. All very enjoyable. Look forward to the next time.”  

Look out for dates for our 2024 Blue Badge guided tours. The information will be on The Friends’ notice boards in the park, and on our website.

Jennie Kettlewell

Photo by Ewa Donnachie

[November 2023]

Holland Park on BBC Channel 5

BBC Channel 5 ran a series of programmes on ‘The Royal Borough’.  Sadly, it focused solely on the rich and famous and did not explain that the borough is made up of a diverse community. We are grateful that Holland Park’s head gardener, Owen Rogers, was filmed giving a more balanced view, when he and his idverde team of gardeners explained the gardens and assets of the park, which is open for all to enjoy. Owen starred in the final episode, on a day when the team was under a lot of pressure to finish planting the Napoleon Garden on a sweltering day in September.  

Jennie Kettlewell

Photo courtesy of Channel 5

[November 2023]

Friends & Neighbours news

As a member of The Friends, your membership card entitles you to a discount on purchases from a number of named local businesses. Not only is it a benefit for you, but it helps us build a community round the park.

One of the founding participants was the health club and spa at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Wrights Lane, south of High Street Kensington tube station. This used to be run as a franchise, but has recently been taken back under the management of the hotel and has changed its name to the Kensington Health Club & Spa. That’s not all that has changed. Smiling staff in smart new uniforms greet members and guests, the changing rooms are being upgraded, the reception now boasts a display of swimming and sports equipment for sale and everything is sparklingly clean. The new manager, Mo Abbas, told The Friends about the possibility of future events, such as the wellbeing session organised recently to experience the wonderfully fragrant spa products from Templespa.

Facilities include an 18-metre indoor swimming pool, a fully equipped gym, sauna, steam room hot tub, swimming classes and treatment rooms. Friends enjoy a special membership price of £75 per month for minimum of 3 months, paid by direct debit, with no joining fee. There is a 20% discount on food and beverages in the hotel restaurant and a there is a ‘secret’ garden behind the hotel.

Jennie Kettlewell

[September 2023]

The Friends pop-up in the park 

The Friends like to get out and meet people in the park and so hold a pop-up desk several times a year. It allows us to engage with park visitors, tell them a about the park and The Friends and of course encourage those who are not already a Friend to join. We also sell plants grown in the plant nursery by Holland Park gardeners from idverde. Many who know us well also take the opportunity to drop by and say hello. 

Keep an eye on The Friends Café Yard notice board for future pop-up dates. Plants won’t be on sale during the winter, but we will have Christmas cards for sale at our October pop-up and we will organise a special Festive Pop-up event on Sat. 2 December. 

Text and photo by Jennie Kettlewell

[September 2023]

Bird flu delays action on peafowl  

The Government advises that the scale of recent avian influenza (‘bird flu’) outbreaks across the UK and Europe has been unprecedented, with cases being confirmed into a second year for the first time. The threat to poultry and other captive birds has meant an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been in force nationally. 

The peafowl in Holland Park are not captive, but wild. If they were to be managed in any way, such as introducing new stock, they would no longer be considered wild and would be subject to government restrictions, such as locking up the birds and restricting access to them for all but essential bird keepers. These keepers would be required to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

It is for this reason, that action to strengthen the park’s stock of peafowl has been delayed. The peafowl would have been locked away for much of the past year. 

As you will have read in previous newsletters, the first stage is to build a peafowl lock-down cage, well away from where park visitors can reach it. Park visitors must stop feeding the peafowl, for two reasons. Feeding birds in the park encourages them to congregate and thus increases the chance of spreading bird flu from one bird to another. The peafowl need to learn that they are only fed at the site of the cage, so that they think of the cage as ‘home’. 

We all want to see these beautiful birds strutting round our park, looking healthy and breeding successfully. Let’s hope that bird flu declines and the council can get on with their programme to create a new pride in Holland Park. 

Jennie Kettlewell

[June 2023]

Defibrillators in Holland Park

We have been asked to let our members know about the availability of defibrillators in Holland Park. All Parks Police vehicles are equipped with a defibrillator and there is also one in the Holland Park Police Office in the Stable Yard. If you find someone in Holland Park in need of a defibrillator (not breathing or appears to be suffering a heart attack), please call 999. This will alert the London Ambulance Service. Any call made to the London Ambulance Service concerning someone in our parks and open spaces, is automatically forwarded to the Parks Police duty phone. This is to ensure the fastest possible response until an ambulance arrives.

[June 2023]

Please help prevent Avian Influenza

There have been 144 confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in the UK since 1 October 2022, but none have yet been confirmed in Kensington and Chelsea. We want to keep it that way. RBKC Parks Management and the Ecology Service are following government guidelines, but you can help too.

Please don’t feed birds, including peafowl, in the park. Feeding encourages birds to congregate which could spread the disease. Do not touch surfaces where it is evident that lots of birds have been e.g. where there are bird feathers or bird droppings. And please don’t be tempted to pick up peafowl feathers, however attractive they are.  If you see a dead bird, do not touch it but please do report it to a member of the idverde staff, or email: Parks@rbkc.gov.uk.

RBKC will launch an impactful poster campaign with a QR code link for updates on the Government website. Or try:   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-avian-influenza-latest-situation-in-england#full-publication-update-history

The avian influenza situation means we have had to postpone our plans to re-invigorate our depleted pride of peafowl in Holland Park. 

Thank you for helping keep Holland Park’s birds safe.

[February 2023]

Parks Police

The Friends would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Parks Police for working even harder than usual to help keep park visitors safe during the challenge of the pandemic. You are appreciated.

Should you need or wish to contact the Parks Police for any reason concerning Holland Park, please call them on 0300 365 5101.