2024
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]
Festive event in Holland Park
On Saturday 30 November The Friends will run a festive pop-up stall in Holland Park’s Café Yard. We will be there to catch up with members and other visitors to the park, and will have Christmas cards for sale, as well as tea towels printed with pretty paintings of either wild flowers, or autumn berries. There is a jute shopper with a tree design, and note cards. All of these make lovely Christmas gifts. The Holland Park Café will offer tasty treats with a festive theme, all as part of The Friends’ stall.
previous event in Holland Park
If their duties allow, two of the Met police horse division will visit us on horseback. There will be carrots available for children to feed to the horses, provided adults check first with the police riders. There will also be Polo mints to feed to the horses, not to the police, who prefer coffee. Did you know horses like Polos?
Rassell’s has promised a festive fir tree, which will become our ‘wishing tree’. Some people are less fortunate and do not have a friend or relative to wish them well over the festive season. Any visitor to our stall can write a best wishes message on the coloured labels provided and tie it onto the tree. Once it is decorated with best wishes labels, the tree will be donated to a local charity.
Come and say ‘hello’. We will be at the stall from 10am to 3.00pm.
Photo by Jennie Kettlewell
[November 2024]
We need a volunteer to run events
As you will know, The Friends run many events in the park each year and we are looking for someone to help organize some of these events. If you enjoy working as part of a team, have an eye for detail and would like to volunteer to run events, please get in touch with Jennie Kettlewell on 020 7243 0804, or jennie.kettlewell@thefriendsofhollandpark.org
[November 2024]
News update as at 4 November 2024
Rare tree
In our autumn issue, we wrote about our rare Styphnolobium japonicum ‘violacea’, saying we had not been accorded Champion Tree status as that title was held by a tree in Cannizaro Park. An interested member of The Friends took the trouble to check and found that the Cannizaro tree is now a dead stump. David Alderman, the Hon Director of the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland, visited our tree and agrees it can now be considered a Champion.
Open-air gym
Refurbishment is well under way, but was temporarily delayed for a very good reason. When it was found that the concrete bases for the equipment would affect the roots of the big London Planes in the area, the layout was re-planned to avoid the problem. The trees were given a helping hand with aeration of the roots and surface mulching. A large beech tree was found to have fungus at its base and is now being checked out by RBKC tree officers. By the time you read this, the gym should be open again. If you haven’t tried the equipment yet, do visit the new gym and have a go. Photo by Jennie Kettlewell
Fukushima Garden
Following the celebration held to mark the friendship between Motomiya City and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The Friends were delighted to receive a letter from the Mayor of Motomiya City, Mr Gigyo Takamatsu, thanking us for attending the event. This letter included the words: ‘Please allow me to convey my utmost gratitude for your attendance at the Culture Exchange Event in the Fukushima Garden earlier this month. I was so very pleased to be able to celebrate our Friendship Declaration with the Friends of Holland Park at the Fukushima Garden – itself, a symbol of our city’s bond with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.’ We have thanked the Mayor and said we feel honoured to have received his letter.
Photo by RBKC
A chequered spring
There have been many positive comments about the hard work done by the idverde team as they planted out some tens of thousands of spring bulbs and Forget-me-not plants in the Dutch Garden.
The four beds surrounding the Armillary Sphere look very green, being full of Festuca glauca and still more Forget-me-nots. But the design is clever. Look closely and you will see the beds have been divided into chequerboard squares. The bulbs planted in the squares alternate ‘black’ and white tulips, with 2,000 bulbs in each of the four beds. They will look a fine sight when they bloom in spring and will mirror the chessboard just over the hedge.
Photo by Jennie Kettlewell
Natural Flood Management
We had been given to understand that work would be done in winter 2024 and spring 2025 to reduce uncontrolled water runs in Holland Park during heavy rainfall. As yet we have no update on when this will start and which paths will be closed. We hope to be able to update you around the end of November in an email version of the News Update.
Jennie Kettlewell
[November 2024]
Please don’t feed the wildlife!
Visitors to the park have been asked not to feed the wildlife. It is not good for the wildlife and not good for the park either. Many people feed squirrels and birds because they think it is kind, but it is not. Thousands of visitors offering food does more harm than good, so we need your help to protect the wonderful wildlife we enjoy in our park.
Children, in particular, love to feed squirrels, so this is an opportunity to teach them that these charming little mammals have plenty of natural food to support them. Be kind, and let them stay wild. And remember that squirrels can bite!
The council has a page on its website, explaining the important reasons not to feed the animals, birds, or fish. You can find the information on: www.rbkc.gov.uk/parks-leisure-and-culture.
We notice that some park visitors arrive with large bags of peanuts to feed the squirrels. Please remember that some people are allergic to nuts and could suffer a serious reaction if they come into contact with nuts left on the ground in the park.
Many of London’s parks have signs saying Don’t Feed the Wildlife, so why haven’t we? Royal Parks are running a campaign: ‘Help us keep wildlife wild’ and encouraging all to help nature thrive by appreciating and observing wildlife in its natural habitat rather than seeking an up-close, personal experience. That includes choosing not to feed wildlife, because it causes harm to them and the environment. An information campaign in Holland Park is long overdue, but still expected, with posters advising people to help nature and not to feed the wildlife.
You may wonder why we have two bird feeders in the park when we are asking for your help with not feeding wildlife. The feeders are managed by the Ecology Service and are targeted at smaller songbirds whilst (hopefully) excluding squirrels. Being situated up in a tree, there is no encouragement for birds to come into direct human contact. The birds visit the feeders just like they would go to feed from berries on a tree.
Photo by Jennie Kettlewell
[November 2024]
Bird ringing demonstration
Professional ornithologist, Bill Haines, ran a bird-ringing demonstration in the Wildlife Enclosure on Saturday 5 October. 33 birds of 11 species were captured, almost half being long tailed tits and wrens, but included blackcap, chiffchaff, robin, blue tit, great tit, magpie and song thrush. There were two welcome additions of glorious goldcrests and fire crests. Numbers were slightly down on 2023, but insect and butterfly numbers are down too.
The last time a magpie was captured
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and ringed in the park was in September 2013 and may only be the second of this species ringed in the park. The last time a firecrest was captured was in 2016 and there have been five ringed or re-trapped since 2011. The only bird that already had a ring was a blue tit that had been ringed as a juvenile at last year’s demonstration.
The demonstration involved erecting fine mist nets which do not harm the birds captured in them, and the ringing is carried out under licence. This annual event is organised by the RBKC Ecology Service and sponsored by The Friends of Holland Park.
Jennie Kettlewell
Photo by Bill Haines
[November 2024]
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 gives The Friends clout when negotiating with the Borough on the park’s future.
Large charities with offices and paid staff usually have members’ subscriptions running for a year from the anniversary of their joining. The Friends’ admin is done by volunteers working from home in their own time and on their own machines. There is a limit to what we can ask and therefore, like most similarly-sized charities, our membership year is the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December. This makes it much easier to know who is up to date with their subscriptions. It also saves money and work, by enabling general requests to be made in the newsletters. To compensate those who join after 1 September, they get the rest of that year plus all the following year included. So some of you have already paid for 2025 and a healthy number (about 60%) pay by bank standing order on 1 January.
New members, who have joined since 1 September 2024, or existing members who have renewed since that date, are already covered for 2025.
To the rest of you, i.e. those who last paid before 1 September 2024, now is the time to pay, using the order form enclosed with the Winter newsletter, or on our website, click HERE, or by contacting your bank.
If in doubt, check with Graham Franklin 07802 761 548 or ggfranklin3@aol.com. We would like to emphasise that it is less trouble to both you and us if you pay by standing order. If you do not yet do so, the most reliable way is to contact your bank by your usual method, whether that is by telephone, letter, banking app or walk in. (We can supply forms and send them to your bank for you but these are not always fulfilled.) Our bank details are Account No. 60636975, Sort Code 20-47-34 Barclays Bank, Kensington. You will find the amount of your subscription online HERE.
You will know that your membership discount card, which entitles you to discounts under our Friends & Neighbours scheme, expires on 15 March 2025. Those who have paid their subscriptions for 2025 will receive a replacement card with their spring newsletter, which will reach them about 1 March. Please be careful opening your newsletter, as the cards can easily fall out and be lost.
Rhoddy Wood
A big thank you!
You will know from reading our newsletters, just how much our funding of projects in Holland Park has helped to enhance and improve the natural and historic assets we all enjoy. It is so important that these wonderful community benefits continue to be looked after and that we make sure our funds continue to be used appropriately.
We are most grateful to all of you who have already made donations to The Friends, whether it is £1 from rounding up a subscription, or a larger sum donated because you love the park. We hope that this newsletter will encourage others of you to support our important work, and you can do so on our website where you can find a donations button.
Some generous members have left a legacy in their will, the most recent being Kathleen Hall, who died in early 2023, when she was only a month short of her 100th birthday. Many of you will remember her as a much-valued trustee and contributor to our newsletter. We had not known she planned a legacy for The Friends and are most grateful for the £10,000 she has left for us.
A very big ‘thank you’ to all of you for your support.
[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
Holland Park team
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.
at the bottom of the
North Lawn
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.
Sun Trap gate.
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
West Woodland
Enclosure
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
Park head gardener, Owen Rogers.
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.
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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
of Holland House
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]
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]
News Update as at 7 February 2024
Marouflages
to surface of panel 1
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
the 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]
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]
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.
Health Club & Spa
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
visitors at the pop-up desk
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]
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]
2021