Happy New Year!
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Friday, January 3, 2020 at 15:31:50 Greenwich Mean Time WIMBLEDON UNION OF RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATIONS Newsletter 57 Happy New Year! OPPORTUNITY! Make money from your spare room and help an iconic local business. Wimbledon Village Stables is recruiting new staff and is seeking accommodation for professional horse riding Instructors while they work at the stables. If you wish to know more please contact the stables [email protected]. ***** Wimbledon Guild, in partnership with New Wimbledon Theatre, is delighted to announce that Merton Live! is back for a second year. A great day out at the theatre for the whole family, Merton Live! will showcase a fantastic line-up of local schools, dance, drama, music and gymnastics groups with performances throughout the day at one of London’s biggest theatres. This year, the event will be on Saturday 1st February from 10am -5pm. Merton Live! will be one of the charity’s main fundraising events of 2020. This family day out will help to raise money to aid the vital work Wimbledon Guild does to support local people in Merton who are experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Page 1 of 5 Merton Live! will showcase a fantastic line-up of local schools, dance, drama, music and gymnastics groups with performances throughout the day at one of London’s biggest theatres. In addition, the theatre will be throwing open its doors for ticket-holders to explore this historic building with backstage tours and a host of theatre related activities for all the family including: theatre workshops; face painting; slime making; insight to technical side of the theatre; arts and crafts; treasure hunt; food and drink, plus lots more. Already confirmed to perform on the day include Hollymount School, Kings College School, Willington School, Cricket Green School, The Study, Wimbledon Community Chorus, Ricards & Rutlish 6th form Schools, Wimbledon High School, Urban Dance City and the Merton Gymnastics Club. Tickets for the event offer superb value at just £6.50 adults, £4.50 child and under 3’s go free and are now available online via www.atgtickets.com/wimbledon (direct link: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/merton-live-2020/new-wimbledon- theatre/#showinfotabs=overview) ***** Wimbledon Society http://www.wimbledonsociety.org.uk/ Founded in 1903, The Wimbledon Society is committed to protecting all those local amenities which contribute to our quality of life. Community facilities and the built environment of open spaces, parks and buildings form a fundamental part of our lives. The Society has played a key role in the enhancement and protection of these vital facilities since its inception. Civic Societies provide an army of volunteers from their ranks of members, who bring time, skills and commitment in seeking the preservation of the best of our heritage for now and for the future. Societies such as ours form a truly independent body of opinion acting entirely for the community benefit and, importantly for today, are free of political or commercial influence. I am grateful to the Society and to Asif Malik in particular for allowing me to share their quarterly calendar with you. David Morris 1935-2019 David Morris was for many years the treasurer to both the Wimbledon Society and the Wimbledon Union of Residents’ Associations. Sadly David died in August 2019. WURA extends its sympathy to his family. Page 2 of 5 I attach a copy of his obituary with the kind permission of the Wimbledon Society. ***** St Raphael’s Hospice As many of you know, my wife, Caroline, spent her last days in St Raphael’s Hospice in Cheam. My son-in-law, John Forward is running in the London Marathon later this year to raise money for the hospice as a thank-you for the care that Caroline received. The link to donate is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-forword2?utm_campaign=pfp- share&utm_content=John- Forword2&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_source=Facebook&utm_term=RRyMPjwEM ***** Wimbledon and Putney Commons National Lottery Heritage Grant Award Important Survey The ‘Commons for the Next Generation, Green Space for All’ project to develop a new masterplan for the Commons was officially launched on the 1st November 2019 Funded by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project aims to better understand the challenges and requirements of the Commons as the 150th anniversary of the passing of the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act 1871 (‘the 1871 Act’) that brought the Commons into public ownership approaches. The first part of the work to develop the masterplan is now underway and whether or not you visit Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath or Putney Lower Common, as the charity which manages Wimbledon and Putney Commons we would like to hear your views on these green spaces and their current visitor offer. Your feedback will inform a new masterplan for Wimbledon and Putney Commons, ensuring they provide a sustainable, accessible and exciting resource for the whole community going forward. To have your say please complete the survey Page 3 of 5 This link gives some context and the link to the survey: https://www.wpcc.org.uk/about-us/heritage-lottery-grant This link is direct to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WimbledonPutneyCommons Thank you for taking the time to help shape the Commons of the future. Winter Talk - “Citizen Science Counts - the BTO’s Garden Bird Watch shows how” 13th February 2020 from 7.30pm London Scottish Golf Club Wimbledon and Putney Commons Annual Winter Talk “Citizen Science Counts - the BTO’s Garden Bird Watch shows how ” 7.30pm on 13th February 2020 at the London Scottish Golf Club For our annual Winter Talk in 2020, we are delighted to welcome to the Commons, Peter Almond, an Ambassador for the British Trust for Ornitholgy’s (BTO) Garden BirdWatch Scheme. Peter gives regular talks on gardening for wildlife in the Surrey area and he will be talking to us about the data the Garden BirdWatch scheme has gathered over the last 25 years, why this Citizen Science data is so important and what we can do for garden wildlife. This ties in with the launch of our own Citizen Science initiative here on the Commons later in the spring and our DEFRA appointed Conservator, Dr Ros Taylor, will outline how this scheme will work. Reserve your place here: Booking Form Page 4 of 5 Holding an Event on Wimbledon and Putney Commons As the Commons are now a popular location for events, you will need to seek permission from the Ranger’s Office before organising any formal or semi-formal event on or across the Commons. This is to ensure that there is no clash of events that would spoil the enjoyment of participants, or negatively impact our visitors, other users or indeed have a negative impact on the Commons – a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest. Whilst we are limited to the size and type of event we can host here on the Commons, we are always happy to see if we can help. Please complete the Enquiry Form and one of our team will get back to you to discuss your request. As a charity, we do charge for events on the Commons. The charges will depend on the nature of the event. Please contact the Ranger’s Office for further information. ***** ***** Nature Notes by Tony Drakeford We are extremely fortunate to have Tony Drakeford living in our area. Tony is a renowned naturalist, photographer, and author. His reputation grew as a result of his Nature Notes column first published in the Wimbledon News 15 years ago and subsequently in the Wandsworth Borough News, Surrey Comet and other newspapers. With his agreement we will be publishing Tony’s Nature Notes on a regular basis. As is the case every year, I dad been dreaming of a white Christmas, not a mild and parally wet on e. Likewise, I had hoped to enjoy walking in a winter wonderland, not a winter wetland and I have never seen the Thames flowing so swily as at Kingston on Boxing day morning. Prolonged wet weather like we have experienced recently can cause any number of problems for w ildlife especially hibernang insects including buerflies, moths, bees and wasps for insects spendi ng the winter tucked up in sheltered niches may find dampness creeping in causing mildew which c an prove fatal Fish can suffer too when rivers overflow onto surrounding countryside for when the floods recede, fish may become isolated and trapped with no way back. My two garden robins spent many nights singing in the rain. Unusually for birds, both male and fe male sing so the pair were clearly serenading one another at midnight. In the late aWernoon of the shortest day I heard my first songthrush delivering his full song, albeit b riefly, and on Christmas day a mistlethrush, two magical moments especially as both species are be coming scarcer by the year Page 5 of 5 David Morris – 1935 – 2019 David Morris, who died in August, was for many years a staunch supporter of both the Wimbledon Society and its Museum. As a member of the Museum Committee he was the Portraits Curator, making orderly sense of the motley assembly of oils, watercolours, engravings and photographs which make up the collection. He also advised on insurance, not just for the items displayed and stored, but also for when they went out for exhibitions (eg: in Eagle House) and on loan to other museums. In recent years he prepared a detailed long-term forward planning document for the Society’s Strategy Group. In this he outlined various ways to move the Society forward in the 21st cen.