'The Pleasaunce Post'

Indian Bean Tree for the Pleasaunce

Visitors to the Pleasaunce on Friday 20th April may have witnessed a small dedication ceremony.

Whenever a Director of one Greenwich Council’s Departments retires, they have a tree planted for them somewhere in the Borough. Richard Thompson (centre left) asked for his tree to be planted in the Pleasaunce.

Richard was the Director of 'Greener Greenwich' and had been working on the Cafe project.

The tree is a Catalpa Bignonioides (Golden Indian Bean Tree) and when fully grown should look something like this:

Easter Bunny Visits the Pleasaunce

The Easter Bunny hopped into East Greenwich Pleasaunce on Easter Sunday to take part in our Easter Egg Hunt.

Organised by the Blackheath & Lewisham National Childbirth Trust in conjunction with the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce, the Hunt was a big hit with the 94 kids who took part.

As part of the event, attended by around 150-200 people, Ann Skillen, a Greenwich Foundation guide and resident of Chevening Road in the 1940s, also gave a much-appreciated free guided tour of the Park.

The event was made possible thanks to a cash donation from Tate & Lyle and raffle prize donations from Green & Black's, M&S Simply Food, Theatre of Wine, and Manchester's Flowers.

We would also like to thank The Creaky Shed fruit & veg shop which donated fruit to all the kids (and some of the adults!).

Our next event is the 'Picnic in the Pleasaunce' on 10th June to celebrate 150th anniversary of the Park's foundation.

Friends AGM: Summary

SUMMARY OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

27 MARCH 2007

LOVELL HALL, THE FORUM, SE10

·         Our first year ends with us having 212 members and a healthy bank balance.

·         Last year’s events in June and Christmas were extremely well attended.

·         This year we’ve just had an Easter Egg Hunt and Tour of the Pleasaunce on Easter Sunday and we’re planning another ‘Picnic in the Pleasaunce’ on Sunday June 10^th.

·         A lot of work has gone into setting up and updating our website, which you can find at http://fegp.typepad.com

·         We have sought feedback from members with a questionnaire last summer.

·         We are represented on the borough-wide Parks Forum, which supports Friends groups, and on the Police’s Safer Neighbourhood Team Ward Panel. A number of security worries were raised at the AGM, and we can use this regular contact to let the Police know about Members’ concerns.

·         The Liveability fund has seen major improvements to the Park: higher gates (which may need to be higher still) and a Dog Free Zone. Though there was some opposition to this at the time, the overwhelming view afterwards is that the fence is a good thing. This fund has also paid for new noticeboards and given the Friends group a much-needed start-up allowance.

·         There is still Liveability money available for building a small environmentally-friendly Café. The Friends group have met many times with Council Officers, Architects, and Landscape Gardeners and the plans are now quite far advanced, which if everything goes according to plan should be opening in the Autumn. The plans can be seen on the website.

·         The Friends group have been promised a say in appointing the Café Operator.

·         After the AGM, the Committee looks much the same: the Officers remain – Chair Kim Barrett of Fingal St, Treasurer Sue Gay from Humber Rd, Secretary Kate Powling from Chevening Rd. Committee members staying on are: Matthew Wall (who runs the website), Jon Thorn, Rob Whiley, Christine Braybrooke, Jack Chissick, Matt Hall, Jane Lydbury (who designed our logo), and Henry Nicholls. We have been joined by Laura Tear. Thanks to Emma Murray and Florence Dehodeng, who are both stepping down.

·         We’d like more people to get involved in our second year. We’re especially keen to hear from anyone who’d like to help with Fundraising or organising events.

·         We welcome suggestions and can be contacted at [email protected]

Kate Powling, Secretary, The Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce