On Saturday March 2nd a working party will be out on the Park picking litter, planting some saplings and carrying our other jobs as needed. All are welcome. Meet at the Farm Gate on Kelcliffe Lane at about 09:30.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Snow – A Thing of the Past; Apparently! – by Chris Parapia
Winter Holiday Time for the Bug Hotel
Little Kelcliffe – No Longer A Sea of Mud
The first January snows of 2013, have certainly provided some magnificent scenes of Parkinson’s Park; whilst crowds of children have been trying out the traditional sledging runs.
What better way to enjoy a day off school and get plenty of outdoor exercise.
(More snow scenes from Jane Blake in the gallery.)
Buglife Beetle Drive, World Record Attempt – by Josie Brooks
The Charity Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust needs your help …
On Thursday 29th November they are attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the most people playing a Beetle Drive Game. It is a game that evokes fond memories of childhood past and long summers, and should prove to be an evening of great light-hearted fun.
Buglife are hosting the event at the ZSL London Zoo, and would very much like to invite you, and your colleagues, family and friends along to help them break the world record. Please spread the word about the event Continue reading
Thanks!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our successful day at Otley Buttercross on Friday morning. Whether you donated cakes, bric-a-brac, books, items for the tombola or came along to help on the day, many thanks. A magnificent total of £127 was raised. The weather was kind and the people of Otley very generous in opening their wallets and purses.
Jonathan Peate Blue Plaque – Invitation to Attend Unveiling
Jonathan Peate
Philanthropy amongst local businessmen during the ninteenth century industrial revolution, was a fairly common characteristic. Our towns are littered with civic buildings and parks given to ‘the people of wherever’ by the ordinary men and women who used their skill and entrepreneurship to build successful enterprises. In some places, such as Saltaire, Bournville and Port Sunlight they built whole communities to better the lives of their employees.
Guiseley and Yeadon had three (possibly four, see comments below) big philanthropists; the first was Jonathan Peate (1837 – 1924). The seventh child of a Yeadon wool spinner, Jonathan built a thriving woollen business at Nunroyd Mills Continue reading
Park Entrances – Gallery
Oxford Ave 6-Lot of logs
The official photos of the Park Entrances Project (Day 1!) are uploaded into our Gallery. Click here to find a link the Gallery pages.
Solving the Puzzle of the Wall
Renewed
On the first warm day for months, Colin Alexander, Crawford Smith and Martyn Smith, of the Otley & Yorkshire Dales branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association set out to complete a complex puzzle. How to rebuild the tumbled wall at the ‘sheepfold’ entrance?
Tumbled Down
“There are many ways it can be done, it’s finding one that works”, said Martyn. The gentlemen were particularly hard pressed with this wall, as not all of the stone was still lying around. As this is a traditionally built wall, the batter, or slope of the wall, is a key feature. The A shape of the wall means the stones get smaller as they go up, and this shape is a crucial part of the structural strength – a vertical wall would topple over much more quickly, as the stones settle.
The puzzle was solved by building the wall on a small platform, and then shaping the top in a U, “so that you’ve got a dress gallery to watch the sunsets”, quipped Crawford, “you’ll be able to set up the stalls the other side”. Continue reading
Wild about Wildflowers: Sunday 15 April 2012
Today the rain just held off for the latest project to take place at Parkinson’s Park. As part of the RHS Britain in Bloom launch celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the beginning of National Gardening Week, a small band of volunteers sowed a 10 m square patch of prepared ground near the farm gate with a packet of cornfield annuals donated by the environmental charity Landlife. The seeds in the seed mix include corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas), corn marigold (Chrysanthemum segetum), corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis), corncokle (Agrostemma githago) and cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) and should create a bright and colourful display. Councillor Latty came along to support the event and got his hands dirty!
Scattering the seeds
In this photo (from left to right): Jane Blake, Josie Brooks, Nicola Denson, Chris Parapia and Councillor Graham Latty. Photo taken by Barbara Winfield
In the UK our wildflower populations are in serious decline with an estimated loss of 97% of the wildflower meadows between 1930s and 1980s. This is having a knock-on effect on the rest of the food chain. When wildflowers are lost the insects which feed upon them are lost too in many cases. Insects pollinate our plants, control other pests and provide food for birds and other animals. Continue reading
Park Gets Its First Bench
Paul Whittaker and the Bellway telehandler
One of the features of the Park people reminisce about are the benches: the quiet summer evening spent talking with friends, the lunchtime sandwiches away from the shop-floor, the first stolen kiss at dusk. So, we are thrilled that local log merchant Paul Whittaker, has donated the first bench, which now adorns a copse ‘alcove’ – all ready for Easter strollers.
Paul has known the Park all his life, and remembers the old benches well: when he saw the Park was being regenerated he offered to replace one. So, on Maundy Thursday 2012, Paul brought the log bench to the Park; it was hoisted into a place pre-prepared by Friends, using a telehandler lent to us by Bellway for the occasion (a great boy’s toy)!! Continue reading
Taming the Copse
Daylight is let into the copse to encourage scrub and healthy trees
We know, from all the feedback we have received, that the ‘taming’ of the two copses in the Park has been a priority with a lot of people. The main reason being their use as a ‘drugs den’ (both plastic packets and needles have been found in quantities) and the associated accumulation of unsightly rubbish and bottles – a danger to both children playing in the Park and dogs. The situation got so bad, that ‘vigilante’ groups threatened to chop the hawthorn down themselves. So, the sight of the thicket coming back under management between now and April will be a welcome sight for many.
The idea is to lay the hedges Yorkshire style and thin out the wood in the middle so that light floods back in, thereby encouraging brambles and scrub to flourish and provide a quiet, undisturbed habitat for wildlife; including the nesting birds. A lighter, airier atmosphere will also help preserve and strengthen the pine trees and silver birch in both areas.
Friends of Parkinson's Park CIC 
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