Page 12 - HGS Suburb News 134 - Spring 2018

Sunday Summer Fun Day
Secret This year the RA’s annual Sunday local HGS Art groups. Come home-made Suburb cakes. Music

Suburb PHOTOS: GEORGINA MALCOLM Summer Fun Day takes place on along and show your original will be provided by the ever
popular ‘Sound of the Suburb’.
Sunday June 10 at its usual
artistic talents and skills. Photos
location in Central Square. The of the best may appear in a future An exciting display of cars
Lyttelton Playing Fields animal charity All Dogs Matter issue of Suburb News! will be hosted by Volvo Cars
has again agreed to hold a ‘dog
The event would not be
North London who have kindly
competition’ to find the ‘Cutest complete without the ever popular agreed to sponsor our event.
Everyone knows the Suburb began hedgerow is over 100 pages long. Pup’ and the ‘Waggiest Tail,’ as Donkey Rides and there are also Picnic tables are available to
in 1907, but what was here But even a not very expert survey well as many other categories. the usual attractions: Face Painting, book now for £17 for a table
before that? It was farmland for (and no leaflet) on one hot day
the most part, and if you know in April I spotted oak trees, elder, There will also be a much Punch & Judy, Fizzie Lizzie. There and 6 chairs. With promises of a
where to look and have the holly and yew, horse chestnut larger Children’s Arts and Crafts will be a Plant Sale, Raffle and a good summer, we hope to see
section (ages 3-11) this year, which
variety of Refreshments with a
many of you on Central Square
right maps you can still see (not a native but it’s very will be organised by experts from Cake Stall selling wonderful, to enjoy the festivities.
where some of the roads respect successful locally), hawthorn
the old field boundaries. (possibly two types of hawthorn
However, there’s one boundary but I can’t tell them apart if
that anyone can see. There’s an they’re not fruiting), hazel, wild
old hedgerow, which would have cherry, blackthorn and hornbeam.
marked the boundary between Plus a lot of ivy and bramble.
fields, in Lyttelton Playing Fields. And I didn’t even think about the
If you enter from Kingsley plants that might be growing
Way, follow the path round the under the trees.
Millennium Wood (that’s the That’s 10 different species of The ancient hedgerow
wooded area with an illegible tree without trying too hard. So qualifies as an ancient hedgerow.
sign) and stop before you get to this feature in Lyttelton Playing Which is quite exciting for an
the children’s play area. On Fields could, perhaps, be a area only 110 years old.
either side of the path there is a thousand years old and surely GEORGINA MALCOLM Last year’s Summer Fun Day
slightly scruffy looking curving
belt of trees and shrubs. It’s a
hedgerow: a mix of standard trees Northway Rose Garden
and lower-growing ‘under storey’
trees or shrubs. bursts into spring
There’s a rule of thumb, called
Hooper’s Hypothesis, invented The Volunteers at the Northway With fundraising under way made from local trees, and 4
in the 1960s to calculate the age Rose Gardens are looking forward for 2018, the Northway Gardens new traditional benches to
of a hedgerow. Very simply, you to Spring openings! “Already to Organisation already have formal replace broken ones. Locals are
count up the number of trees be seen are Snowdrops, Daffodils, sponsorship from Ellis and Co. looking to add one more bench
and shrubs in the hedge and Hyacinth, and Wallflowers as well Estate Agents, Streathers Solicitors in the sunniest place for
multiply that by 100. So three as many spring shrubs, such as as well as the HGSRA and HGS evening and autumn sunshine.
species of tree – 300 years old, the amazing yellow Forsythia,” Trust. All residents donations are
eight species – 800 years old. say Moses and Monika two of also much appreciated, allowing
It’s more complicated than the keenest volunteers. The many us to go that extra mile in helping
that of course. The official govern- beds of Roses are ready for their to develop these historic 1910
ment leaflet on how to survey a best summer display in many Suburb Gardens.
years. Visitors will see a lot of “We hope to buy and bring
new colour. in some 300 sacks (over 15,000
litres) of organic material with
the physical muscle of all the
great young people from The
Harington Scheme and Good
Gym,” says Kristin Green.
Local volunteers do tasks such
as planting, pruning, composting
and watering with more than
100m of hosepipe. Visitors can
see how many leaves have been
collected for leaf mould. If you
have a suggestion for the NGO,
do let them know of it using
the contact information that is
Wild cherry blossom Blackthorn in bloom
on the site.
Working with Barnet Parks,
there are three new benches

105th RA AGM

(continued from front page)
comments about how poorly budgets. If this is the case, then Petersen and Simon Sackman
repairs were carried out so that we should expect the situation were all re-elected to RA Council.
the holes reappeared soon after to get worse in the future. The position of RA Treasurer
the repairs were finished. Terry Rand’s perennial remains unfilled and any reader
The councillors present complaint about cyclists using who thinks they would be suitable
acknowledged the feelings of the pavement in Falloden Way for the post should get in touch
residents and said they responded was left unanswered. There seems with the RA.
to all the complaints they received to be little that can be done to The meeting concluded with
by logging them with the help him avoid being struck Emma Howard thanking her
appropriate officers. They told down outside his own home by predecessor, David Lewis, for
the meeting that there was a pavement cyclists. Like potholes his contribution to the RA over
programme of road renewal due in the road and fixing broken the years, and inviting those
to start in April. All reports were pavements it is a question of present to enjoy the refreshments
investigated and repairs prioritised available resources in a time of available and a chat with their
by the severity of the problem. shrinking budgets and increasing Suburb neighbours.
For some people the reason spending on statutory obligations. TERRY BROOKS
for the council’s inability to It was time to end the questions
keep our roads and pavements and get the results of the ballot. Residents who wish to report
in reasonable condition lay in Emma Howard was elected as the potholes, faded road markings or
the relentless succession of cut, RA’s new Chairman, with Hella missing signage can do so directly
cut, cut by the Treasury over the Schrader as her deputy. Peter to Barnet Council at: https://www.
last eight years in the central McCluskie was confirmed as the barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/
government grants, which used Honorary Secretary and Tony council-and-democracy/report-it-
to bolster local government Ghilchik, Colin Gregory, Max now.html, or phone 020 8359 2000.

Please help make Suburb News your newspaper. Articles, letters and news items welcome,
send to the publisher with High Res pictures at rapublications@hgs.org.uk
EDITOR: Terry Brooks, rapublications@hgs.org.uk
WHAT’S ON EDITOR: David Littaur, raevents@hgs.org.uk.
Views expressed in Suburb News are not necessarily those of the publishers
the Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents Association.
Deadline for the Summer issue is June 30, for publication on July 28

The RA website is www.hgs.org.uk