Due to other commitments I've not been to Cranford Park for ages. Today the Stable Block was open to the public as part of the Open House London weekend, and I was one of the volunteers showing visitors all of our historical relics, photos, maps and plans.
I've already got a scrapbook of nature photos in the Stable Block, but I've also made a small book so took that with me today.
Surprisingly three people asked if they could buy it. There are too many typo errors in it at the moment, so once I've edited them, I will be printing off some copies to sell at next Julys Open Day. A few of the other volunteers think I should also make up some calendars and postcards, so plenty to keep me busy over the next ten months.
Looking at some of the old photos on display, it's often hard to imagine how Cranford Park once looked......
It's such a shame that the old manor house was demolished. In this day and age, it wouldn't have been allowed. All we can do now is keep the memories alive.
The display in the Stable Block is starting to look a bit tired, so if anyone has any ideas and time on their hands to help the display 'sparkle' again, feel free to contact me so I can pass on your details to the relevant people. We'd be especially interested to hear from any model makers.
Before my stint in the Stable Block began, I had a brief walk around the woods with Sue and Jasper the bird-dog.
I received a gall identification email recently, so was keen to search for some today.
We found two types.
Oak apple gall......
and Knopper gall....
It's quite fascinating to realise these distorted 'lumps' are due to a tiny wasp grub living inside, and that there are over 30 species of gall wasps. Finding a gall on an oak isn't necessarily bad news, as numbers of gall wasps fluctuate from year to year and galls are not harmful to the oak.
The hoverfly season is slowing down, and I only found one by the river. This is Eupeodes luniger......
If the weather stays mild and wet, we can expect to see lots of fruiting fungi soon.
It wasn't just Open House London weekend, it was also the day of the annual meet of the Christian Motorcycle Association. This meet up is becoming more and more popular so other bikers often attend too. All a bit noisy for our Jasper, so Sue took him home. Jasper is completely blind now due to diabetes, but that didn't stop him recognising me by smell and the sound of my voice. It was lovely to be greeted by his wagging tail and snuffly lick. It's Jaspers birthday on Tuesday. He'll be eleven (human) years old.
Happy Birthday Bird-Dog.....
In the courtyard where all the bikers were gathering, I found a glamorous Angie.....
and lots and lots of motorbikes. From mopeds to trikes, from vintage to new, there really was a lot to see and admire......
There was even a couple of bears (Bob and Ivan)......
a biker boy in the making gave me the thumbs up.....
and a biker dog got lots of attention......
The weather stayed fine all day. The church ladies made a good profit with the barbecue, cakes and hot and cold drinks. The Stable Block display had over 135 visitors over the weekend including the Deputy Mayor and his lovely wife (who asked me why I hadn't entered any of my photos in to the Countryfile Calendar competition). The Secret Garden was open and crowded with spectators. I got to meet lots of interesting people and learnt some more historical facts from my companion for the afternoon, the lovely David. All in all a really great day. Roll on next year.
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