The stars and snowflakes in memory of your loved ones (human or pets) are up again this year at the small Kelcliffe Lane entrance . New ones have joined old ones from previous years – although a few older ones are now too weather worn and have had to be discarded.
They look lovely ‘twinkling’ in the snow as they hang from the branches of the old hawthorn trees. They will be lit by ‘fairy lights’ just before dusk
If you’d like to have one added please email Joanne Brooks at parkinsonspark@gmail.com before 10th December.
Cold but Beautiful
The cold weather has made the Park look picturesque which has brought out the photographers – here are a selection that have been pasted on Facebook by Matt Barker, Liakat Ali Parapia, and Jennifer Kirkby.
The Queen’s Jubilee Plaque that was stolen last Christmas has now been refurbished and returned to its place under the Jubilee Tree which is part of the Queen’s Green Canopy. We’d like to thank everyone who helped in it’s return and repair.
We’d also like to thank Phil Todd, Gavin Birkett and the Honey Badgers Explorer Scout Unit (ESU) for creating a tree pit around the Jubilee Tree in July. And also to Phil Todd and Roger Garnett for putting the plaque back in place. Fingers cross there are no more Jubilee Tree happenings !
New Bug Hotel
Another casualty of vandalism was the old bug hotel, which had been made by the local cubs. However, we are very pleased that Year 4 from Guiseley Primary School helped us create a lovely new one in July. The hotel is in the top copse which was cleared and tidied. Then it was built using waste wood and pallets, the children then filled it with a variety of bricks, pipes, wood and cones – donated and collected by various people.
Atop the new hotel is a shiny new name plate. We hope the bugs enjoy using it
Children’s Gala 2023
We are pleased to announce this year’s Children’s Gala on 3rd September, the theme is Superheroes.
Heritage Open Day
FoPP will be taking part in Heritage Open Days this year with a talk and film on the social life of Crompton Prakinson’s on 8th September, 2pm in St Oswald’s Church, where there will also be a display of Crompton’s memorabilia. Details here.
Frank Parkinson, known as Britain’s shyest millionaire in the 1930’s, together with brother Albert, ran a family business in Guiseley that was also a highly renown international company. Their staff were at the heart of this successful company, and the brothers ensured that there was a full programme of social activities.
The event involves an introduction to the Parkinson brothers and their legacy by Jennifer Kirkby of Friends of Parkinson’s Park, followed by a film made by ex Crompton employee David Myers, ‘MEMORIES OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT CROMPTON PARKINSON’S GUISELEY FACTORY‘ as remembered by staff. It features the Children’s Gala, Horticultural Show, Annual Events and the legacy of the Parkinson brothers which continues into 2023.
St Oswald’s will also be running an open day on 9th September. Details here.
The bottom of the Park is fairly wet, and there is a lot of willow growing there. A few years ago FOPP decided to make use of this and create a Willow Walk. Money was raised from the Co-Op Community Fund throughout 2021/22 and yesterday (16 March 2023) the first part of the Walk was put in place – a willow tunnel to form the entrance.
In the dark days of 2020, when meeting with friends was restricted and Christmas looked as if it just might be ‘banned’, FoPP asked local residents to bring some joy into the world by lighting up different areas of the Park in a Christmas Elf Trail. This is one tradition of those times that has been kept, it is an ill wind that blows no good at all. This year there is no official trail sheet, but there are lots of inventive displays around the Park which have been taken on by different families and groups. The only theme – ‘reuse, recycle’.
The weather looks awful tomorrow 23rd October, so we are postponing Apple Day to Sunday 30th October.
GATHER UP YOUR GARDEN APPLES AND COME ALONG
Every year FOPP hires the apple juicing kit from Urban Harvest for local people to make use of all those unwanted apple crops that would otherwise go to waste. (You may have seen Monty Don doing it on last week’s Gardener’s World.)
This year there has been a bumper apple crop, so if you have run out of apple baking ideas, bring them along to our Apple Day, help make some juice and take some home- this can be kept in a fridge for 3-4 days or frozen.
All apples will be mixed together to create a blend and the juice shared out – bring a plastic container if you’d like some. It would be helpful if you can wash the apples before your bring them.
We’ll also have some apple recipes to try
There are still apples around the Park to gather up. So we’ll be sending out foragers to gather those.
If it has rained make sure you have sturdy footwear, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Clean hands are also vital.
To get the Park Jubilee Picnic ready, we are having a litter pick and Park tidy, next Sunday, 29 May, from 10.30am. Come along and help ‘dig’ out the litter from all the more hidden places, and around the benches.
The apples in the Orchard are ripening, but they are not ready to pick yet. In previous years we’ve had people picking them far to early and then throwing them away – which is such a shame. So, this year we’ve tied a label on each tree with apples with the rough time when they should be ready to harvest. Some will be ready in September, others not until November, for most in will be October.
You can tell when an apple is ready to pick when when you cup it in your hand and give it a slight twist, and it comes off in your hand. If you need to give the fruit a yank, or it leaves its stalk behind, or even a bunch of leaves, it is definitely not ready!
You can also tell from our apple guide – each tree is labelled with its name, and there is a note in the guide to the time when it should be ready. You can download the guide here. It will also tell you if it is a desert or cooking apple or both.
The Orchard Trail
Unfortunately, it has been a poor year for pears, and there are none. But the two plums have fruit, which will be ready, hopefully, during September.
Our thanks go to student Lily Davies who has spent the Winter and Spring doing her Craven College, Land and Wildlife Management, work placement in the Park supervised by Chris Parapia and Joanna Brooks. Lily has helped plant the Greenshaw Wood, the herb planter, winter pruning in the orchard, the Parkisons Python, and the Easter Trail. We’ve all been impressed with her hard work, and enthusiasm.
For her main project we asked her to improve the Greenshaw Gate entrance with a suitable planting scheme and are pleased she was just able to complete that before the end of her time with us. (Labour and advice were provided by Martyn Hornsby-Smith and Jennifer Kirkby.)
The gate is on the edge of woodland, and is in shade for a lot of time, so it was ideal for a woodland planting scheme of ferns, foxgloves, bulbs and woodland edge shrubs. Our aim is to improve all entrances into the Park over time, and there are different groups of people who look after each entrance. If you would like to take on Lily’s work and look after the Greenshaw Gate email us at parkinsonspark@gmail.com.
Our thanks also to Bettys Harrogate who provided the woodland plants for this and other entrance gates through their Trees For Life Fund. Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate donated over £3,300 to disability charity Open Country, to pay for nine days of their time on conservation work at parks and nature reserves across Lower Wharfedale as well as the purchase of plants and saplings to create new habitats for nature. An article from the Wharfedale explains more:-
A big thank you to Martyn Smith and Colin Alexander for mending the wall at the Nethercliffe Entrance today. Both are Friends of the Park and also experienced members of Otley and Yorkshire Dales Drystone Walling Group. Both have done walling exhibitions at the Great Yorkshire Show – so we hope the area is now much much improved !!
The wall is one of the original Kelcliffe field walls dating back centuries, and although there was a lot of missing stone, they found enough lying around in other areas of the Park to just finish the repair.
Michael Buckle will now be doing some planting improvements to the entrance with some willow that has been donated by G Clarke Landscaping Ltd. There are also some new trees being planted which has come from a grant for woodland from Betty’s of Harrogate.
If anyone would like to learn dry stone walling, the Group are the ones at Surprise View on the Chevin, and they do regular training courses. Details here
Earlier this year a planter was installed in the Park, which has now been filled with herbs for community use. The Planter is dedicated to Anne Grant who lived on Kelcliffe Lane for 40 years and died last October after a long illness.
Anne was a friend to many of us locally and took part in many community events held by the neighbours; including an annual bonfire on the allotments, summer garden parties, and winter barn dances. So, her family thought the planter would be a fitting and lasting tribute.
Anne came from Halifax, but was born in Edinburgh, and had a very soft Scots accent. She was an excellent Secretary and married John Grant, a university lecturer, in 1975. They have three children, Andrew, Frances and Christopher who all grew up, like many around here, playing in the Park.
Anne contributed a lot to local groups, including The Chevin Handbell Ringers, and Guiseley in Bloom: she loved both music and flowers. But some of us particularly remember her prowess in anything to do with literature, words and spelling in quizzes.
Anne had a lovely, gentle nature, and was greatly missed by many neighbours when she was admitted to a nursing home permanently a few years ago. But the planter will remind those of us who knew her with great affection, and for others it will provide a means to make food or a walk more pleasurable
Both are Friends of the Park and also experienced members of Otley and Yorkshire Dales Drystone Walling Group. Both have done walling exhibitions at the Great Yorkshire Show – so we hope the area is now much much improved !!
Friends of Parkinson's Park CIC 
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