Readers will be acquainted with the notice board on the wall near the stable yard which says which plants are in flower during the current month.  For the last three years this has been updated by one of our members who has now left the country, so we are looking for someone else.

The job involves keeping a box of slats at home and coming to the park to change them at least once a month.  It would suit someone who likes strolling in the park and finds it interesting to do so with a purpose.  You would need to be interested in naming the plants but it is not necessary to be able to recognise them all from the beginning as part of the fun can be working out which is which as our last helper found.  Rhoddy will always give help with identification by phone or email.

If you think this could be you, please give her a ring on 020 7602 0304.
[Autumn 2007]

We announced in the summer newsletter that Mark Camley, Chief Executive of The Royal Parks, will give us an illustrated talk on The Royal Parks for our autumn event.  He is responsible for managing and enhancing the historic landscapes of Bushy, Green, Greenwich, Hyde, Regent’s, Richmond, and St. James’s Parks as well as Kensington Gardens, Primrose Hill, Brompton Cemetery, and Victoria Tower Gardens.   A vast and fascinating portfolio, which will make for a most interesting evening.

Please apply for tickets at £10 each using the enclosed Order Form.  Wine and our usual delicious canapés will be served afterwards.  [Autumn 2007]

The estate agent is hosting a reception and lecture where Tom Avery - one of the UK’s leading young explorers and a consultant to GreenSteps - will guide the audience through the confusing green market place, highlighting genuinely eco-friendly products and ideas as well as identifying ways by which Londoners can live more sustainable and responsible lifestyles.

Tom walked into the record books by becoming the youngest Briton to complete the perilous journey to the South Pole and is one of only 38 people to have reached both the North and the South Poles on foot.  An excellent and inspirational speaker, Tom will also talk about his extraordinary journeys and adventures.

The drinks reception and lecture will take place at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 14th June at 7.00 for 7.30 pm.  Tickets are available from Angela Man (0207 368 2484) or aman@marshandparsons.co.uk   A donation of £5 is suggested and ALL proceeds will be donated to Ground Works, a London-based charity providing environmental regeneration in deprived areas. [Summer 2007]

For up to date details and more information on becoming a member of the Out & About Scooter Loan Scheme, contact Westway Community Transport at T: 020 8960 8774. F: 020 8969 5733. E: scooter@westwayct.org.uk  [Summer 2007]

Longer established members will recall that Sir Hugh, who lived locally, was President of FHP as well, of course, as President of the Royal Academy.  So when our then Secretary, Christopher Wood, wanted to start our Art Exhibition it was natural that he turned to Sir Hugh for advice.  The advice came in the form of several pages of small type describing how the Royal Academy ran its exhibitions.  Christopher boiled this down to one page and on submitting it was pleased to get the comment “Masterly”.  We have been organising the exhibition in the same way ever since so it is especially appropriate to have the card this year which is the twenty fifth show we have held.

Sir Hugh loved Holland Park and gave us two paintings to exhibit every year which were always snapped up.  It is fitting that a tree near the entrance to the Kyoto Garden was planted in memory of him and Lady Casson who, as Margaret MacDonald, was a distinguished artist in her own right. [Spring 2007]
 

18th October in the Orangery at 7.00 pm

We are delighted to announce that Mark Camley has kindly agreed to present an illustrated talk on The Royal Parks for our autumn event.  Mark is Chief Executive of The Royal Parks, an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for managing and enhancing the historic landscapes of Bushy, Green, Greenwich, Hyde, Regent’s, Richmond, and St. James’s Parks along with Kensington Gardens, Primrose Hill, Brompton Cemetery, and Victoria Tower Gardens.   Quite a handful and a far cry from our own Holland Park, but of such strategic importance to London and our enjoyment of it.  Prior to his present position Mark’s previous roles have included spells at the Cabinet Office, Central Statistical Office, Lord Chancellor’s Department, Court Service and the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Please apply for tickets at £10 each using the enclosed Order Form.  Wine and canapés will be served afterwards. [Summer 2007]

Despite the horrible wet and windy weather there was a full house in the Orangery for this year’s carol concert. The form of the programme was slightly different from those which we have had for the previous six occasions on which the Tallis Chamber Choir have entertained us. There were one or more readings after each carol and the carols and readings constituted what was more or less a continuous theme.The readings were made with great dramatic effect by Crawford Logan , whose voice may be known to some of you as Paul Temple in the BBC radio broadcasts last summer. For me the most hilarious highlights were “Talking turkeys” by Benjamin Zephaniah and “Ghost story” by Dylan Thomas. Unlike previous years, there were no very early carols but some old favourites, such as “The Lamb” by John Taverner, and Philip Simms’s arrangements of “ I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus” and “When you wish upon a star”.  New numbers included Hubert Parry’s “Welcome yule”, John Ireland’s “The holy boy” and Walford Davies’s “Christmas is coming”. As always, Philip Simms and the choir were in tremendous form and the audience was in rather better voice than usual in singing the traditional carols assigned to it. It was an evening of great musical and dramatic quality, greatly enjoyed by all those present , topped off  by plentiful quantities of wine, and the usual delicious canapés provided by Janice Miles. We all hope that Philip Simms and the choir, and Crawford Logan,  will keep coming back, as they seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did.

[Spring 2007]

Those of us who go to a lot of concerts always welcome hearing works that are unusual or rarely performed , as we can hear the well-known more or less whenever we wish to  at one concert venue or another.. At the Orangery on 8th February we were privileged to hear a work that, although well-known, was certainly unusual in the form in which it was played and , consequently, rarely performed in that form. This was  J.S. Bach’s  Goldberg Variations BWV 988 arranged for string trio by the Russian violinist, Dmitri Sitkovetsky.The Goldberg Variations, comprising 30 variations on an original theme, were commissioned from Bach in c1741 by Count Keyserlingk in Dresden to be performed on the harpsichord by the celebrated German keyboard virtuoso and composer, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, allegedly to cure or alleviate the Count’s insomnia. There was no chance of falling asleep during the dazzling performance by the Russian/ Armenian Virtuosi String Trio of  Natalia Lomeiko (Violin), Yuri Zhislin (Viola) and Alex Chausian (Cello), the first two of whom entertained us during the Art Exhibition last year. For me, the performance gave me a new perspective on a work that I know very well. This was because  the different “voices” of the string instruments in the trio made it easier to appreciate the brilliance and ingenuity of Bach’s counterpoint ,and also to realise how many of the variations use French and Italian dance rhythms,.than when the variations are played on the harpsichord or the piano . This appears to have been Sitkovetsky’s objective when making the arrangement .. It was a fascinating and memorable evening and I hope that the trio will return to entertain us again in the future.

[Spring 2007]