This just in from the hardworking volunteers at Friends of Platt Fields:

OUR MIDSUMMER STRAWBERRY AND CREAM TEA PARTY
THIS SATURDAY 19TH JUNE
On the lawns in front of Platt Hall, in Platt Fields.

There will be

• lots of Victorian games and activities (stick and hoop, jacks, croquet, hopscotch, egg and spoon races,  giant chess and draughts, three-legged races, sackraces),  along with a few more modern ones – giant jenga, spacehoppers, and traditional floor mazes …
• a Victorian juggling show,
• try your hand at hulahooping,
• strawberries and cream tea, lemonade, cucumber sandwiches etc!
• Also we shall have a go at tea-dancing (I’m sure children’s grandparents may remember that but we would love parents and indeed children to try out a polka or a foxtrot, especially people coming from different cultural origins (where gentle dancing is acceptable)
• we shall have our wonderful Poem for Platt Fields – dedicated “to the children” read out by its author Mike Garry, with copies for people to keep as postcard souvenirs, and a plan for where it will be permanently installed in the park
• a chance to see the exhibitions in Platt Hall costume gallery (open all afternoon)

Free for all local families  (pay for food)
2 – 4.30pm

SEE YOU THERE!

This sounds like another excellent event organised by the Friends in Platt Fields’ centenary year, and I look forward to seeing people there!

I took a few snaps of the Platt Fields Centenary Festival when I was in the park last night. I caught the Bollywood Brass Band, who were awesomely entertaining, in the big marquee. I was examined by Arthur the Health Inspector, and sampled a pint of bitter from Kro’s inflatable pub. The bandstand looked wonderful - Friends of Platt Fields have done a fantastic job of decorating this section of the park for the festival.

If you didn’t make the festival on Friday or Saturday, then it’s still well worth going along tomorrow for the last day; you can check out the programme of events on the Friends’ website. Here are some photos - click on them for the bigger versions!

I’m really looking forward to the election being over. Not only because with any luck I’ll be representing the people of Fallowfield in Manchester City Council, and Qassim the constituency of Gorton in Parliament. Not only because I’ll be able to catch up on sleep, let the blisters heal and actually see my friends when they’re not helping me deliver leaflets.

I’m looking forward to the Platt Fields Centenary Festival this weekend, which starts on Friday 7th May, the day after the election. There’s a lot going on this weekend, with celebrations, live music on the bandstand, food stalls and plenty more. Check out the Friends of Platt Fields’ website, and hopefully I’ll see you there!

Every third Sunday of the month, Friends of Platt Fields holds a volunteering afternoon. A couple of weeks ago, I went along to find out more, accompanied by some friends.

Platt Fields is supported by the Council, but a lot of the excellent work done in the park is undertaken by volunteers. On this particular afternoon, I found myself working as part of a team of half-a-dozen, stuffing barley hay into tubular bales. These bales will be dropped into the boating lake at Platt Fields, where they will counteract the troublesome lake algae by natural processes. It was hard work but enjoyable, and the organisers and other volunteers were great fun. Other groups were planting seeds in pots, and painting things for the celebration weekend on 7-9th May.

Platt Fields is an excellent resource for Fallowfield, and I will continue to support it if elected. I’m also planning to return for more volunteering, and I’d recommend it as a fun and rewarding way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Platt Fields Park has kicked off a year of centenary celebrations with the unveiling of a new clock on the boathouse today. Friends of Platt Fields organised the event in conjunction with the Council’s parks and leisure department, and arranged funding for the clock from Sainsburys. The Friends have also received a £4,850 grant from Lib Dem councillors in Rusholme, towards the centenary celebrations.

The clock on the boathouse has been missing for around 50 years - nobody can quite remember when it went! However, even in these days when everybody’s got a mobile phone to tell them the time, it’s still very nice to see it back.

Friends of Platt Fields have organised a great series of events throughout the year to celebrate the Park’s centenary, and I’m looking forward to getting involved in many of them. I hope to see you there!