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Easter 2006

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JG General Store 417 - 419 Durnsford Road

Groceries - Wine - Fruit & Veg - News-agent - Lottery - Fax - Photocopies.

Open 7 Days

07:15 am to 10:30 pm

020 - 8947 - 8577 Tel 020 - 8947 - 9807 Fax

Link Cash Point Machine Bus Passes available

Wimbledon Park’s largest and newest Internet Café

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Wimbledon Park Hall by Stephen Chaplin

Front Cover

Mobile Phone Mast Victory 22

Chairman 4, 5 Easter Church Services 25

Stephen Hammond M.P. 6, 7 Front Garden awards 25

Andrew Judge, Leader LBM 8, 9 When is your Centenary 26, 27 Wimbledon Village Fair 11 Sue Knibbs, Friend &

Neighbour 28, 29

International Evening 12 Articles for publication & Advertising

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Mobile Phone Masts 13 Interior space planning 33 Wimbledon Park Primary School

14, 15 Jewellery in London 34, 35

20th Century Etiquette 17 Spring Watch 36

Crime Figures 17 Wimbledon Park birds 38, 39

Flower Preservation 18 WPRA Committee list 40

Stephen Chaplin, local artist 20, 21 Advertisers Index 42

Easter 2006 Main Index

LITTLE LEARNERS (IN THE PARK) PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY

FOR 2½ - 5 YEARS MONDAY—FRIDAY 9:15 a.m. TO 3:00 p.m.

MORNING / AFTERNOON & ALL DAY SESSIONS LUNCHTIME PICKUPS TO / FROM WIMBLEDON PARK SCHOOL

A high standard of quality pre-school education registered by Ofsted Sessions include: Letterland, Music, Cooking, I.T.,

Arts & Crafts, Educational Play, Outdoor Play, Observations records ( We also run EASTER / SUMMER PLAY-SCHEMES )

Principals: Angela Taggart & Lorraine Greeley-Ward DURNSFORD PAVILLION, DURNSFORD RECREATION, WELLINGTON

ROAD, WIMBLEDON PARK, SW19. TEL 077 4989 9976

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Chairman’s report

Wimbledon Park Hall - progress at last! At long last we can see a small light at the end of the tunnel. The outlook is now much more positive than that reported in the last newsletter. A number of the developers who bid for the site have fallen by the wayside and discussions have now come to rest with Shaukat Hussein (Shaw Associates) who were the original developers with whom we worked out the original business plan back in 2003. Initial talks have taken place be-tween Shaw Associates and the Council and a draft contract is in discus-sion.

The WPRA committee together with Councillors held a meeting with Mr Hussein and his architect Nigel Husband last week to see, at first hand, what sort of building was proposed and, more particularly, discuss the pro-posed community facility on the ground floor.

Just to remind you - the planning brief sets out the Council’s requirement for the redevelopment. It requires provision of a Community facility and a café on the ground floor with upper storeys of residential accommodation. The community facility itself comprises a hall similar in size to the existing hall, meeting rooms, conference facilities with IT and Internet facilities and the usual toilet facilities.

The outline proposal shown at the meeting showed a building with a ground floor dedicated to the community facility and four floors of flats, 14 in total. Four on each of the first three floors (above the ground floor) and two on the top floor. In line with the planning brief the design showed stepping back on each floor at the rear to avoid encroachment on the resi-dential properties in the Crescent and Crescent Gardens.

All of this is, of course, subject to obtaining planning consent and satisfactory arrangements between the Council and developers. At present the developers are intending to put in a planning application by June. Should they manage to do that I imagine it will take at least two months to obtain planning permission assuming their proposal complies with the planning brief and satisfies the Council.

In the meantime, as agreed with the Council, the WPRA will be working with the developers on finalising the detail of the layout and design of the community facility on the ground floor. As soon as this is accomplished and there are proper drawings of all the development available we will engage with the whole community in various ways to present the plans and invite your comments, suggestions and support.

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Safer Neighbourhoods Having suffered for years with approximately half a beat officer in the ward – and constantly changing at that – we are about to experience a veritable flood of police protection under the Safer Neighbourhoods scheme. This scheme was originally rolled out about two years ago and currently ten wards mainly around Mitcham, have a full complement in place.

From the 3rd April every single ward in LBM will be designated a Safer Neighbourhood. This means staffing of one Sergeant, one constable and two Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s). This is an accelerated implementation from the original target date. However there are, at the moment, insufficient staff to fulfil the total requirement, therefore training is going at full speed.

Inspector Paul Carter (Borough Community Officer) has advised me that Sergeant Graeme Elder will be heading up our team from the 3rd April. The intention is that by April 2007 we will have another two PCSO’s in place.

Our beat officer, as many of you already know, is PC Candi Spiers. What you may not know is that she has just got married so her surname is now Hulley.

So if you see her don’t forget to congratulate her! If you need her here is the contact information.

PC487VW HULLEY

Wimbledon Park

Beat Manager

Mobile: 07747461582

Office: 020 8649 3433

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From Stephen Hammond MP In December, I was extremely honoured to be asked by David Cameron to join his new team of Shadow Ministers. I have been tasked to speak and develop policy ideas for the Conservative Party on rail, light rail, London transport, buses and the British Transport Police. I am delighted to have been given this role as it fits neatly alongside a number of issues faced by us all in Wimbledon

Whilst South West trains service to Waterloo is for the most part reliable and efficient, the trains themselves are none the less, often over crowded. Indeed the Corporation of London believes that 60 per cent of the com-muter trains coming into London termini are overcrowded, on Network Rail’s definition. If you then add to that the estimate that useage is likely to grow by 14%, but capacity by only 2%. You will understand that one of the first policy items in my in tray is, how to get more capacity on the railways.

There are one or two obvious solutions such as add more carriages to trains, lengthening station platforms and ordering more trains. These could be achieved relatively quickly, in transport terms, that means within three years. However some of the other solutions such as an updated sig-nalling systems or the widening of the entrances to certain London stations would take rather longer. Of course, the issue of how much all this would cost has to be carefully taken into account.

Of concern to us all in Wimbledon Park is the performance of the District Line. After seeing some improvements in the middle of last year, in recent months and weeks, the performance has declined again. I am meeting the Manager of the line again in the near future and I shall be raising a num-ber of issues with him. Despite some revamping of the Edgware Rd service carriages, we still have the whole of that service on our line, which is the busiest. This only accentuates the overcrowding on the trains. The length of time waiting for a Wimbledon service at Earls Court, has increased again and perhaps it is time for the Olympia service to be curtailed and added to our line.

I will also be asking for the graffiti clearance team to make more regular visits to our end of the line. The graffiti on the bridge by Wimbledon Park entrance on Revelstoke Rd is unacceptable as is the trackside graffiti be-tween Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon. On a more positive note I hope that you will all support the campaign from Cllrs Ahmad, Mitchell and

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Serving Wimbledon Park since 1911

Services offered at D.Parry Pharmacy: FREE Repeat Prescription Collection from the local surgeries:

Medicines Use Review: Photo Processing .Blood pressure screening service. Stop Smoking Service: Holiday Medical needs.

020 8946 0414

D.PARRY PHARMACY

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PHARMACY

Moulton to have a disabled lift installed at Wimbledon Park. As we have a huge number of visitors every year during “The Fort-night”, and as we will have the Olympic Tennis tournament, ensur-ing access for all is terribly important. Finally I want to applaud the excellent work being done by Iain Simpson and his team to ensure that we get a Community Hall as part of the redevelopment of the old Wimbledon Hall site in Arthur Rd.. The original developers tried to reduce the new hall and ask for more residential space. Iain, along with your local councillors, rightly objected and ensured that the interests of Wimbledon Park were not overlooked by the local council. Discussions are now ad-vanced with a new developer to provide the desired facility. As ever, if you have any issues that you would like to raise with me, please do not hesitate to contact me by either writing to me at the House Of Commons, Westminster, SW1A 0AA or by calling 0207 219 1029.

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Taking a Decisive Lead The Council has a duty to reflect the best aspirations of local resi-dents. We also have a duty to take a decisive lead on the important is-sues that we all face. That is why we are taking urgent action to address the problems of two secondary schools in Mitcham by establishing two Academies: one being the first Church of England secondary school in the Bor-ough. That is also why we will take action to fulfil the need for sixth form education of quality in Wimbledon. On issues of educational op-portunity, we cannot afford to sit on the fence. We have also been decisive in introducing a system of “wheely” bins. We know that wherever wheely bins have been introduced the satis-faction of residents with street cleanliness has gone right up. We also know that we must encourage the maximum of recycling. Each house-hold will receive two “wheely” bins: one for general waste and one for recyclables. The weekly collection will be retained and the pro-gramme will be run out over the next 2 years. The Council has en-gaged in extensive research of this issue. No further investigation is required before decision. Again, we will not sit on the fence on this is-sue. Climate change is another area for decisive local action. We have led the way nationally in requiring significant new non-residential build-ings to obtain 10% of their energy from renewable sources. The con-sequence has been that many other councils have followed our lead and this has led to a greater national take up of renewable technolo-gies. Now we want to go further and require all significant new devel-opments to maximize the use of renewable energy. The time is ripe to adopt challenging ethical and environmental goals. After wide consultation, the Community Plan will now include local targets for the reduction of carbon emissions by 15% by 2015 and to obtain 10% of our Borough wide energy needs from renewable sources by that date.

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W. A. GARDNER & SON

157 Arthur Road, 020-8946-2215

Local Master Butcher, Michael Rooke & staff supply high quality:-

• Free range pork, chicken and eggs. • Pasture - reared Aberdeen Angus beef - specially selected for us. • Succulent Devonshire lamb.

Our service is tailored to your requirements.

Happy Easter to all our customers

At a recent Council meeting, Labour Councillors moved and spoke for important resolutions that were adopted as our template for future ac-tion. They included commitments to:

· Be an exemplary environmental borough with high levels of recycling and offering innovative local solutions to global problems · Promote Fairtrade principles and environmental justice to give

marginalised producers a fair deal · To ensure clean streets and public spaces · To work with ‘Friends’ Groups to improve local parks · To address issues of traffic congestion · To ensure children’s school dinners are freshly cooked from

nutritious and organic ingredients where practical to do so This is The Merton Commitment: I believe it deserves support across Merton. I hope it has yours! Andrew Judge Leader of Merton Council

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WIMBLEDON’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT ESTATE AGENTS ESTABLISHED 1885

*** FREE MARKET VALUATIONS AND ADVICE ***

FOUR LOCAL OFFICES WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF

* NO SALE - NO FEE *

HAWES & Co. THE PROFESSIONAL CHOICE

141 ARTHUR ROAD WIMBLEDON PARK SW19 020-8947-1000

Wimbledon Village Fair

24th June 2006

Wimbledon Common Southside

10.30 am – 5.30 pm

The Fair is a huge charity fundraiser

organised by The Wimbledon Guild, and

features a horse show (which starts at

8.30 am), a fun dog show, pony rides,

200 craft and product stalls, including

a huge children’s book stall,

entertainment all day on the central

stage by local schools, dance groups

and New Wimbledon Theatre, and loads

of food and drink in the Food Village.

There will be lots to do for all the family this year. Plans so far include

demonstrations by blacksmiths, the fantastic Essex Dog Display Team, activities

organised by the AELTC’s Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, The Army, AFC

Wimbledon and the YMCA including a human table football competition and a

climbing wall; Punch and Judy, Deen City Farm, Wimbledon’s Fire Engine,

Young’s dray horses and magic, juggling, unicycling and more from Mr

Alexander’s Travelling Show.

We even provide a crèche and entrance is free of charge.

For more general information please email the Organiser at the Wimbledon Guild, Jane Bretton, on jbretton@wimbledonguild.co.uk or call 020 8946 0735 To book a stall contact Chris Brown at The Wimbledon Guild on cbrown@wimbledonguild.co.uk or call 020 8946 0735 . Alternatively full details can be found on www.wimbledonguild.co.uk

Registered charity 200424

International Evening

Our second International Evening, held on the 19th March, was a great success.

Over 120 people were treated to fantastic entertainment from the Gold man and Brazilian Dancers; an exhibition of Indian drumming from two amazing 11 year olds and a wonderful demonstration of Bollywood dancing . Not to men-tion the very artistic Henna handpainting.

Great dishes from around the world adorned the buffet. Can you believe that in little Wimbledon Park we could have such a diversity of nationalities! All these countries were represented:

Fiji, Siberia, NZ. (North and South Islands), Australia, Bangladesh, India Mauritius, Bulawayo, South Africa, Rwanda, Spain, France Scotland, England, Romania, Germany, Japan, Poland, Greenland, Brazil and Uruguay.

As you can see from the pictures everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, from the very young to the .. more mature!

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Mobile Phone masts in Wimbledon Park As you may be aware together with Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond and residents, your local councillors are campaigning to stop a mobile phone mast being sited by Vo-dafone at the junction of Revelstoke Road and Durnsford Road. We have also have been working closely with Wimbledon Park School and local businesses, to object to the proposals on the site and received valuable support from our neighbouring MP in Put-ney, Justine Greening

Merton Council, despite our strong protests, a petition of over 500 signatures and numer-ous meetings, has failed to listen to valid planning and health concerns and allowed Vo-dafone to proceed. We have met directly with Vodafone who are now considering other sites away from densely populated areas, schools and nurseries.

Orange is also planning to erect 6 masts on Beaumont House in Arthur Road. This is an application which was fought off successfully in 2003, but has surfaced again due to Octagon moving out of Beaumont House. A campaign against this installation has been in full swing for the last two months which has included regular resident briefings and updates, as well as a petition to the Council of close to 800 signatures.

As yet the Council have not officially received an application but through correspon-dence with the Director of Environment and Regeneration who has responsibility for planning, we have been informed that the firm will not need formal planning permission as this application is regarded as “permitted development.”

A similar strategy to that deployed with Vodafone was used and Stephen Hammond in-vited Orange representatives to meeting with him and the councillors at the site on Mon-day 20 March. As a result of this meeting Orange has agreed to work with us to identify alternative sites which are removed from residential areas. We will provide a further up-date on these discussions as they progress.

Our experience of fighting such applications over the last few years has shown that the most potent argument and opposition to mast applications is the strength of local public opinion and the perseverance of local residents. Orange has still to make a final decision

on whether to proceed and are yet to in-form Merton Council of their intention to do so, therefore, it is vital you add your voice by writing to Orange directly. Ms J. Sibanda, Orange Community Liai-son Officer, ORANGE, The Royals, 55 Victoria Road, Acton NW10 6ND – Reference GLN 3221. We shall keep you posted. Councillor Tariq Ahmad

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Wimbledon Park Primary School Dear Neighbours, Since I last wrote to you so much has happened at Wimbledon Park School, the follow-ing is just a taster. We had a very good OFSTED which highlighted our many strengths, for example, our enrichment activities “promote very positive attitudes to learning” and our very good links with the community, to name but two. You can access our report on our website www.wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk along with our monthly newsletters and a wide range of information about the school. In February we were delighted with the amaz-ing response from our families to our Spon-sored Walk in Richmond Park to raise money for outdoor classroom space and individual Eco gardens outside the old building. Over 176 parents, 12 members of staff and two gover-nors took part. The overwhelming support for this event is the result of the dynamism and en-ergy of Suzi Jacobs and her team of parents who inspired and motivated members of the school community to take part. So far we have raised over £5,000. We now have two Keep Fit classes for parents and a regular walking club on a Thursday night. Our annual Pancake Race resulted in a stewards’ enquiry because the children raced magnificently, valiantly tossing the pancakes but unfortunately in the heat of the mo-ment there was some confusion about the winner. Money raised was sent to the Chil-dren’s Leukaemia Trust on behalf of 6 year old Rhys Hayward, recently recovered from cancer, who won a Cancer Research Little Star award for his bravery. We regularly hold special family breakfasts. The Anzac Breakfast was a brilliant success with delicious food from “down under” and the largest ever turn out of parents. At the St. Andrew’s Day Breakfast the husband of one of our staff provided a musical accom-paniment on the bagpipes! Our next Family Breakfast will be on St. Patrick’s Day Fri-day 17th March with Irish dancers and singers, smoked salmon on soda bread, barm brack and Irish coffees. For the third year in a row we are taking part in an Eco project to regenerate the River Wandle. We are growing over a 100 baby trout in a special tank in the library to be set free at the end of term. They are the size of your small fingernail, perfectly formed and growing fast. The pupils’ Eco Committee are keeping a daily diary of their develop-ment. Grandparents are our heritage and are very special members of our families and commu-nity here at WPPS. That is why we have a special day set aside for them every year –

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the last day before the autumn half term – to honour them, welcome them into the school and provide them with an opportunity to spend time in the classes with their grandchil-dren. This year they enjoyed learning how to surf the net with children in Year 6. A grandparent who was with us on Grandparents’ Day summed it up - “If I knew being a grandparent was going to be so much fun, I would have become one first.” We have over 26 clubs - the latest is Irish dancing. The children can take part in a wide range of musical, creative and sporting activities, from football, tennis, cricket, rugby, basketball, hockey, gymnastics, sailing and bell boating. Bell boating I can hear you say. Children from Year 6 represented Merton in the Mayor’s Bell boating Challenge held between Merton and Westminster and we are proud our children won the annual cup. We continue to win prizes in our three chess clubs. In memory of Doug Bellis, a much loved local resident, father of Elizabeth in Year 6 and founder of the Chess Club, who died last year, we will be planting a Fernery in the Eco Garden. He was a great example of the magic that can happen with the right teacher. Last year we used drama to integrate the curriculum and introduced the children to Shakespeare. Macbeth, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Romeo and Juliet were per-formed in the school grounds by the children. We won a “BT Communication Skills for Life” award because of our commitment to putting speaking and listening at the heart of everything we do. This year we are focusing on Music. All the staff learnt to play a mu-sical instrument on a professional training day and one of our teachers Ms Segolo is about to become an Advanced Skills Teacher in music. Every child in Year 3 and 4 is learning the recorder and Year 5 are learning to play the kettledrum. All Year 4 will learn the clarinet or drums in the summer term. No child says they can’t sing at WPPS. During the Easter holidays we will be transforming our library into “The Comfort Zone” using light, sound and touch, by installing a new lower ceiling, special lighting effects, a new soft carpet and furnishings. This development will be partially funded from our BT award. This will enable the space to be used for a variety of activities, particularly fo-cused on the development of emotional intelligence and a love of reading. Lunchtime has been transformed since we modernised our kitchen and introduced “Jamie Oliver” dinners. The number of children eating these healthy delicious meals has quadrupled. If you would like to join them once a month we would be happy to organise a monthly Luncheon Club. We will be celebrating our centenary in 2008 and we would like to involve members of our local community. If you would like to have a Jamie Oliver lunch with the children or would like to become part of the Centenary Working Party or have information or artefacts we can use as part of our celebrations, please con-tact Denise Brewer on 8946 4925. With warm wishes Dee Russell and all the staff, parents and children of Wimbledon Park Primary School

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WIMBLEDON PARK SOCIAL CLUB 163a ARTHUR ROAD

0208 946 1370

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CLUB

Small friendly relaxed atmosphere Cheap drinks Live Sports on Large Screen TV

New Members welcome Free introductory drink and entrance Offer.

Pool Snooker Darts Social Evenings Theme Days

Next to the Betting Brothers Bookmakers

Function Room Facility available

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21st Century Etiquette?

Take three scenarios

• Your friend pops in unexpectedly for a quick coffee.

• You are hosting a charity lunch party and are expecting 20 people.

• Two friends arrive by car. You all have a snack lunch and then go off to get the train to a football match.

What do these people have in common? They all arrived by car when parking restrictions were operating.

WHO PAYS? What would you do?

We would welcome your views on this modern day etiquette puzzler. Please send your answers to Pat Gomez at Pat@gomez.freeserve.co.uk or 103 Dora Road SW19 7JT

Street Burglary Vehicle Other Arthur Road 1 3

Ashen grove 2 2

Braemar Avenue 2

Dora Road 2

Durnsford Road 1 1 1

Gordondale Road 1

Gresham Way 1

Haslemere Avenue 1 1

Home Park Road 1

Kenilworth Avenue 3 1

Melrose Avenue 1 2 1

Normanton Avenue 1

Revelstoke Road 1

Strathearn Road 2

Vine Yard Hill Road 3

Wimbledon Park Crime & Disorder Types of crime For period October 2005 to February 2006

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Capture those special moments !

By Cécile Bridgens of the London Flower Box Editorial Advertisement

My family cradle is the Cévennes moun-tains, an area of amazing beauty in the South of France. With both alpine and Mediterra-nean influence, and Nature at its best, the countryside is particularly rich in wild flow-ers, hence perhaps my life-long passion for plants. Preserving flowers started as a hobby and quickly developed into a profes-sion as I learned more about the modern tech-niques available today and bought new drying equipment. Through www.londonflowerbox.com and by word of mouth, I soon got my first flower preserving commission, a beautiful wedding bouquet of shiny black calla lilies. Preserving flowers is great fun, but a bride can’t possibly preserve her bouquet between her wedding day and her honeymoon! For special occasions, DIY can be unreliable and costly, and professional services might be a better option. Drying a typical bridal bouquet will require nearly six kilos of desiccant agent at about £10 a kilo. Plus proper equipment for drying or pressing, and a lot of skill and experience if you don’t want to end up with a shower of petals. Gone are the days when flowers were hung up to air-dry or laid for months under a pile of dusty telephone directories: the latest desiccants and modern ther-mal presses will dry your flowers very quickly with much better colour retention. The great advantage of dried flowers is their endless versatility. They can be displayed in 3D in a container or a box frame, used to decorate a clock, a mirror, a candle... Delightful pictures or paperweights can be made with your own flat-pressed flowers. So let us preserve your pre-cious flowers, and keep a lovely memento of your special moments.

Preserved Hellebores

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Call today to arrange a free financial review.

Aaron Abraham Investment Representative

159 Arthur Road Wimbledon Park London SW19 8AD Telephone 020 8946 2179 Facsimile 020 8946 6039

aaron.abraham@edwardjones.com

Edward Jones

Serving Individual Investors Edward Jones Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange

CC:20371/N2 7061 UNK:197A 06/02

Advice

Investments and advice suited to your needs

Shares Mutual Funds Pensions Gilts

PEPs & ISAs Life Assurance Bonds Financial Planning

Wimbledon Park Dental

Surgery A NEW DENTAL

SURGERY NEAR YOU OFFERING NHS AND

PRIVATE DENTAL CARE FOR YOUR FAMILY

126 Revelstoke Road London

SW18 5PB

Telephone: 020 8879 1111

Wimbledon Books Music

•Our Selection of newly published titles •All award winners in our range of

classical music on CD •Fabulous collection of childrens

books •Gift ideas for everyone •Email

fo@wimbledonbooksandmusic.co.uk 40 High Street, Wimbledon Village London SW19 5AU Tel 020 8879 3101 The community bookshop dedi-cated to service

®

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Stephen Chaplin – Artist – Art Historian

Last year Stephen very kindly offered The WPRA a collection of his post 1991 diary drawings representing the many different aspects of and events in Wimbledon Park over those years. We are delighted to be the recipients of this largesse, and are in the process of concluding discussions on the best way of keeping the collection.

Stephen Chaplin and his wife have lived in Wimbledon Park for fifteen years. They decided to return to London after Stephen took early retirement, in 1990, from Leeds University department of Fine Art where he spent the better part of 30 years. Stephen held several posts dur-ing his years at Leeds including Senior Lecturer and Head of department becom-ing, ultimately, Senior Fellow after his re-tirement.

Since then Stephen has been extremely busy. In June 2000 you might have visited the WPRA Millenium Exhibiton in St Austin’s Hall in the Crescent entitled ‘Representations of Wimbledon Park in the 1990’s’ portrayed in six screens of paintings and drawings all by Stephen.

You might also have visited the Exhibition ‘Wandsworth Observed’ at the Wandsworth Museum, in 2002, which showed a significant (over 100) number of paintings and drawings of the Borough of Wandsworth prepared especially for the event by Stephen. If you are unlucky enough to visit A&E at St Georges Hospital and are still con-scious, you will be pleasantly surprised by the extensive murals and mounted paintings contributed by Stephen between 2002 and 2004.

Most recently I went to see his latest exhibition ‘Travels through Suburbia’ at the Bromley Museum in Orpington. This was a fascinating collection of 36 drawings and paintings of houses, buildings and some landscapes reflecting the national grid of the Borough of Bromley. Although most of the paintings were new there were a number of paintings from the past and in particular one or two interesting ones from his youth.

Stephen was born in Greenwich in 1934 and in 1938 his parents moved to Orp-ington (Kent). The family stayed there during the war years and unfortunately experienced the bombing of London at first hand. It was here from about the age of 7, Stephen acknowledges that, ‘as an only child, drawing created my

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identity much as, I imagine, playing with a brother or sister could have done’. By the age of about 15 his drawing had progressed to being a daily routine and has remained his constant friend ever since.

Stephen went to the Slade at the unusually young age of 18. There he studied under, amongst others, William Coldstream and was introduced to the Euston Road School of drawing (mathematics and geometry). Although in no way dominating his work you can see from many of his paintings that this style has been influential.

The product of years of pursuing his daily drawing routine has become colossal. In fact so prodigious that to date he has produced over 25000 drawings, in 377 volumes, all of which are contextualised in writing and recorded in a formidable index.

We are discussing with Stephen the possibility of his carrying out some fur-ther work by creating a grid of drawings on a basis similar to those he recently completed for the Bromley Museum exhibition. This would form an extraordinary historical re-cord of Wimbledon Park and surrounds.

We feel extremely fortunate to be honoured in this way and look forward, in the fu-ture, to displaying some of his fascinating work in a way that will do it justice.

Iain Simpson

* Nursery Rhymes * Action Songs * Musical Stories * Percussion Instruments

Sessions held in West Wimbledon,Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon Village. Please contact Jenny Tabori L.T.C.L. G.T.C.L. Dip. Music Therapy on 020-8946-6043 for further information.

A Musical Experience and Education for the Under 5s

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THE FUTURE COULD BE BLEAK…WITH PHONE MASTS

Wimbledon Park residents are breathing a huge sigh of relief that Golfrate Holdings have decided to do a U turn and no longer want any mobile phone masts on top of their building, Beaumont House, Arthur Rd. We have yet to find out why.. The next big question is ‘Where will Orange want to cite their mast?’

A recent Sunday Times article states “if you do nothing when a phone mast is built nearby, you could see 3% knocked off the value of your house”. Other reports claim this figure can be as much as 10%, depending on the proximity of the mast to the property. Homes next to a mast can become unsaleable. Why are Mobile phone masts causing such a drop in house prices? The visual impact of a 15-20 metre mast towering over the local community is a definite eyesore. But the main reason is because there is no proof as yet that the Electro Magnetic Fields that they emit (EMFs) are not seriously damaging our health. The gov-ernment now accepts that these health risks are an issue and are investing £7.5 mil-lion into researching the effects of mobile phone technology.

Mast Sanity, an action group, is currently collecting evidence from several sites across the UK where cancer clusters have become obvious around masts that have been up for only 4-6 years. Chromosomal irregularities, birth defects and miscarriage have also been linked to mast sites.

A BBC News investigation has just revealed: Council blunders have allowed doz-ens of mobile phone masts to win planning permission across southern England, on 68 occasions, councils have fallen foul of a legal loophole allowing masts to be approved if an operator is not sent an answer within a set time limit.

So, what can we do? Mast Sanity says: “Encouraging neighbours to write indi-vidually tends to be more effective than a petition. Letters from 150 different people are guaranteed to make an impact.”

If you object to the siting of a mobile phone mast in your area write now to the ad-dresses below: Orange Community Liaison Officer, Ms Jacqueline Sibanda, ORANGE, The Royals, 55 Victoria Rd, Acton NW10 6ND (Reference GLN 3221) or: jacque.sibanda@orange.co.uk

.Remember to copy/cc: any e-mails to Planning Officers: Steve.Clark@merton.gov.uk & Richard.Rawes@merton.gov.uk and local councillors MITCHELLB@parliament.uk, HAMMONDS@parliament.uk Oonagh.Moulton@merton.gov.uk tariq.ahmad@merton.gov.uk and also let your local community know your views on the Beaumont House site at wimbledonparkagainstorange@hotmail.co.uk

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ROBERT HOLMES & COMPANY

Chartered Surveyors, Valuers & Estate Agents

EXCLUSIVE AFFILIATE OF

Sotheby’s

We are delighted to support the Wimbledon Park Residents’ Association

and we are always happy to advise on property values and

any aspect of the market

35 High Street, Wimbledon Common, London SW19 5BY Telephone: 020 8947 9833

www.robertholmes.co.uk

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We have been serving Wimbledon

Park for the past thirty years & can help with any of

your Small Repairs and M.O.T.

Preparations, to a complete Engine

Overhaul Vehicle Collection & Delivery Available

Please telephone 020 8947 1808

YOUR

LOCAL GARAGE

FOR CAR REPAIRS & SERVICING

TRY

NAISMITH ENGINEERING LTD

176 Arthur Road Wimbledon Park SW19 8AQ

020 8947 1808 020 8947 3352

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Christ The King The Crescent Tuesday 8:00pm Reconciliation Service Holy Thursday, 8:00pm Mass of the Lord's Supper with, reception of the Holy Oils and washing of the feet. Followed by Watching before the Blessed Sacrament until midnight Good Friday 10:00am Stations of the Cross 3:00pm Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord Holy Saturday 8:00pm The easter Vigil commencing with the lighting of the Easter Fire, Candle, Easter Proclamation, and First Mass of Easter Easter Sunday 8:30am Mass 10:30am Family Sung Mass

Awards 2006

Preliminary judging: May 28th – June 4th

Wimbledon Park Residents’ Association

Front Garden

Final judging: Sunday June 18th

Easter Church Services

St Luke’s Farquar Road

Maundy Thursday 13th April, • 7.45pm - Informal Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

John 19:5-16 – The Judge on Trial? Good Friday, 14th April,

• 10.30am - All Age meeting John 19:17-42 – A King without a Crown?

• 1.30pm – 3pm – Meditation and hymns at the foot of the cross Easter Day, 16th April, Easter Sunday

• 10.30am – Holy Communion John 20:1-18 – Resurrection and Resolution

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Wimbledon Park –

When’s Your Centenary?

By James Manktelow

Travel back to the late 1800’s, and Wimbledon Park area comprises just Wimbledon Park House and parkland and fields. Vineyard Hill is a wood, which in medieval times had been a vineyard. Durnsford Road exists, but is just a rural road.

From 1889, everything changes. The catalyst for the growth is the opening of Wimbledon Park station in 1889. Even so, it takes six years before anything other than Wimble-don Park House, the Woodman pub (rebuilt 1898), the station and sta-tionmaster’s house exist in the en-tire area.

West of the District Line

First to be developed is the area West of the District Line and up the hill. This is a picture of slow, steady growth. In 1895, there are only two houses

on Home Park Road, and almost nothing else apart from fields and park land. This year, the first houses in Kenilworth Avenue are built. By 1897, 10 “half-detached” houses have been built, but it will take until 1905 before it expands to 55 house-holds. Vineyard Hill (originally a simple track) now has just two houses. Slowly, more will be added.

Nothing happens in Dora Rd until 1900, when 12 semi-detached houses are built. 24 are added in 1901, and growth continues. But amazingly, as late as 1900, the up-per part of Arthur Road is still just a path through the Vineyard Hill woods! And equally surprising, the part of Home Park Road facing the Park won’t be built until 1925, when the Council will sell some of the park-land off to developers.

The Grid While the picture to the West of the District Line is one of slow, steady expansion, the development of “the Grid” is a completely different

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story.

The whole of the “Wimbledon Park Estate” (bounded by the Crescent, Melrose Avenue, Rev-elstoke Road and Durnsford Road) is built in an explosion of construction between 1905 and 1907. Photos from this time are remarkable – picture rows of brand new houses – and an abso-lute lack of cars in the streets!

Shortly after the houses come the churches – with St Luke’s in 1908, and Christ the King, which although built in 1913, will be re-developed between 1926 and 1928.

Wimbledon Park School Area East of Durnsford Road is devel-oped a little later. Wellington Road, Havana Road, Gordondale Road, and Mount Road are built between 1908 and 1910. With Wimbledon Park School is established in 1907-08, initially in a corrugated iron shed. Children

will have to wait until 1927 for proper school buildings! And houses in Haslemere Avenue, Dawlish Avenue, and Mount Road will not be built until 1930 - 1935. Somewhere in this story, your house was built. So when is your centenary? With thanks to the Wimbledon Society Museum and Bernard Rondeau.

TRIO

HAIR & BEAUTY

405 Durnsford Road SW19 8EE

020-8946-5224

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SUE KNIBBS CBE FRIEND AND NEIGHBOUR

Judy and I moved into our house two doors away from Terry and Sue eight-een years ago. On the very first afternoon Terry rang our doorbell, introduce himself and invited us to tea. It was the first of innumerable tea and coffee sessions with them both, or individually. Sue was diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes at the age of four. This was only a few years after the advent of insulin treat-ment, and a long life was most unlikely. However, at least in my experience, Sue never allowed her diabetes to interfere with her ac-tivities and wholehearted enjoyment of life. In the face of all the odds she was eventually awarded a “Sixty Years with Diabetes” medal by the British Diabetic Association (BDA - now Diabetes UK), and was heading towards a Seventy Years medal. One of the most remembered things about her was her frequently heard extremely distinctive laughter, indicative of her enjoyment of so many things. She used her personal experience of her diabetes in her two lengthy periods of employment with the BDA, finally retir-ing as Director of Care Services. Along the way she was responsible for many ground-breaking ini-tiatives, including being one of the instigators, and the first Chair-man, of the Long-Term Medical Conditions Alliance, set up to co-ordinate the many services needed.

29

Between her two periods at the BDA she was an extremely success-ful social worker in child protection. Indeed, Sue’s actions were given unqualified praise in the report of a Public Enquiry into a tragic case, where all the other social-workers who had taken over the case from her were heavily criticised. After her retirement she continued to be involved in diabetic care, making several trips to Eastern Europe and to Russia helping to establish healthcare links with the BDA. She also became Deputy Chairman of a UK governmental advisory body (Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board) for assessing the needs of people with disabilities. In the 2000 Birthday Honours Sue was appointed CBE in recognition of her services to people with disabilities. In her retirement, she also helped the local com-munity by serving for several years on the WPRA committee, some of which with the planning brief. Probably Sue’s main delights were music and gardening. She was an enthusiastic choral singer and, in latter years, returned to play-ing the violin and viola. She lavished immense love and care on both her garden and her allotment. Perhaps not so well known was Sue’s love of malt whisky. She was a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and Judy and I often took in her deliveries from it. We did always manage to pass these wonderful cask-strength fluids to her un-sampled, but usually eventually tasted them at one of our frequent Whisky and Coffee mornings (and I did intend to put it in that order !). Sue had a major operation in 2002. Unfortunately, although the operation itself was entirely successful, she became infected in hos-pital with MRSA. She never really recovered, tragically suffered from increasing neurological disability, progressively resembling the results of a stroke, and died in February. Sue will be sadly missed by all who knew her, but always fondly remembered. Nigel Israel.

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For details of our comprehensive letting and management services at very competitive rates please call:

020-8875-0333 130 Brookwood Road, Southfields, SW18 5DD

www.plumlettings.co.uk

B. Davis & Co Chartered Accountants

Park House, 158/160 Arthur Road, Wimbledon Park, London SW19 8AQ Contact Mr. Barrington Tel 020 8947-3361 Fax 020 8944-1039

Established 1927

Accountancy, Audit, Taxation & Company Secretarial Services, Business Plans, Cash Flow and Profit Projections.

Computer Bureau Services including payroll, sales ledger, purchase ledger, periodic accounts, management accounts.

PLUM Lettings

Specialists in Residential Property Management

Articles for publication /advertising in the newsletter

Residents are welcome to submit articles and letters for publication. All articles may be subject to editing and are published at the discretion of the Editor. Please e-mail your article in any text format. Please name your article in the subject. i.e “When is your Centenary” If you prefer to submit handwritten articles or letters, we also welcome those. The cost of printing the 2,400 copies we distribute, to all households in the area, is covered by advertising from local businesses, for which we are very grateful. Please contact Noel Ranken on 020 8946 2283 to discuss advertising rates and copy dates. Where WPRA is asked to carry out all the artwork and design for an advertisement, it will be necessary to make a charge for the time taken to do this.

Readers are advised to make appropriate enquiries and seek advice before sending money, incurring any expense or entering into binding commitment in relation to an advertisement. Wimbledon Park Residents’ Association will not be liable to any person or organisation for any loss or damage incurred as a result of responding to any advertisement contained in this newsletter. www.wimbledonpark.com e-mail us at wimbledon.park@virgin.net

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Welcome to the London Computer Doctor

London Computer Doctor is a centrally located company of mobile engi-neers serving home users and small businesses in central, south and southwest London. Our engineers are fully qualified and have extensive experience of the challenges that face home and small business users in the operation & maintenance of their IT equipment.

Services provided

• Virus and spyware removal. • General fault diagnosis and repair. • Hardware replacement. • Wired and wireless networks • set up and maintained.

• Software problems resolved. • New systems built to order. • Data recovery. • Complete software overhaul. • Annual servicing.

Our home visit service has proved to be one of the most successful and competitive IT services in the region, with hundreds of customers scheduling an annual service to keep their systems in peak condition and many taking advantage of our referral discount scheme (Details below).

Referral discount scheme

Once you are on our database, should you recommend us to a friend, colleague, neighbour etc, we will credit your database entry with the sum of £15.00 against the next work you have carried out with us. (Some customers have already used this scheme to fully pay for their annual service!)

SIMPLY CALL 020 7652 4296

www.londoncomputerdoctor.com

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Short Run Digital Printing Black & White & Colour

High Volume, High Speed Photocopying Processing Directly from Disk

Quality Typesetting Guaranteed Delivery Service

020-8947-7863 Or e-mail us at sales@intypelibra.co.uk

French & Spanish tuition for Adults & Children Crash Courses t? Private Tuition t Group Classes t Play Group t GCSE & A Level Classes We can also travel to your School, College, Nursery, Home or Business. Also Holiday Classes

FRENCH and SPANISH A LA CARTE TEL 020 8946 4777 WEBSITE www.frenchandspanishalacarte.co.uk EMAIL frenchandspanish.alacarte@talk21.com

A.B.K. ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES for all your

All Services at Competitive Rates TEL: 020 8947 9931

Accounts & Wages Tax & PAYE Self Employed VAT Returns

Self Assessment Returns Limited Companies Book-Keeping Services Sub Contractors CIS 25 tax refunds Typing Services Advice to Small Businesses on Computerised Accounting Records

33

Space : How to show it off to maximum effect by Juliet Finkelstein of Fink Designs

Space. Everyone wants more of it, but what about utilizing better what you already have? When planning your space, the first question to address is “How is the space going to be used?” Take, for example, a Lounge. Is this space used for quiet reading or does the family watch TV every night in this room? With this infor-mation you can work out not only what’s needed in the room (ie. seating, stor-age, audio / visual equipment, etc.) but you can also part-determine the style and ambience required (ie. lighting, black-out window treatments, etc.). Budget is probably the next consideration. Are you planning to change every-thing, alter the colour scheme or just accessorize? Starting with a budget re-duces the likelihood of over-spend. (Note the use of “reduces” in the previous sentence!) I know it sounds a bit dull, but it’s quite a good habit to plan on paper first. A floor plan, drawn to scale, often highlights problems. Are the seats too large for the room? Do you have enough of them? Where will storage go? And drawing elevations to show vertical plans for walls is just as important as a plan of the floor. There are a few general guidelines to note when managing your space. The eye generally prefers symmetry and balance. Within a room there is often struc-tural symmetry. For instance, it is quite common for a fireplace to be placed centrally along one wall. If there is no symmetry, try tricking the eye by the strategic placement of furniture, or by creating a central focus to divert the eye away from difficult areas. And if you’re designing a small space, try keeping the floor free by using furniture with legs, wall mounted storage, or by bringing the furniture in slightly from the walls. Matching the size of furniture to the proportions of a room is an obvious, but often over-looked consideration. And don’t forget, the perception of size can be altered by the clever use of patterns, colour and lighting. Designing a room is a bit like cooking : consider what you want as an end re-sult, get all the ingredients and mix well. One of your main ingredients should be space planning.

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JEWELLERY in LONDON - SUMMER 2006 THE ROAD TO BYZANTIUM: LUXURY ARTS OF ANTIQUITY The Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 0RN from Thursday 30th March to Sunday 3rd September. Admission: Adult £5, Concessions £4, Under 18 and full time students free, audioguide included. This major exhibition brings to London for the first time an extraordinary collection of Classical Greek, Roman, Byzantine luxury artworks from The State Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, including finely decorated silver and gold , Athenian red-figure vases and exquisite cameos. These objects, which have seldom previously been seen outside Russia, tell a little-known story of the development of art and civilisation over more than a thou-sand years, from 6th century Greece to the Middle Ages, and they overturn familiar as-sumptions about the period.

FABERGÉ AND THE RUSSIAN JEWELLERS A loan exhibition to held at Wartski, 14 Grafton Street, W1S 4DE (just off Bond Street) from Wednesday 10th to Saturday 20th May, Monday to Saturday 11am to 5pm (closed Sunday). Admission £8 including catalogue (no concessions) in aid of THE SAMARI-TANS. Wartski, royal jewellers, are the worlds most famous dealers in Fabergé, and for over 50 years have been renowned for their superb loan exhibitions. This will have over 200 mag-nificent pieces, beautifully displayed. Fabergé is the most famous of the Russian Imperial jewellers, and produced wonderfully imaginative objects, always superbly made. How-ever, also represented here will be other Russian jewellers, who, although they have not at-tained the legendary fame of Fabergé, produced equally stunning pieces.

PRECIOUS STATEMENTS: THE SILVER OF MALCOLM APPLEBY and THE JEWELLERY OF JOHN DONALD An exhibition held by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths at Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, EC2V 6BN from Friday 19th May to Saturday 1st July. Admission free. Malcolm Appleby is one of Britain’s most talented silversmiths and artist engravers. Many aspects of Malcolm’s outstanding creative output will be featured, presenting a var-ied and richly diverse range of objects. These include large, high profile commissions for public institutions, such as dramatic centrepieces, in addition to all manner of silver for the dining table, medals and other purely decorative pieces. Sporting guns bearing Malcolm’s inimitable engraving, and his more modest, but ever popular, beakers, bowls, kilt and belt-buckles, and buttons will also be displayed. John Donald has been one of Britain’s leading artist-jewellers for nearly fifty years. He is credited with being one of the key figures who revolutionised British jewellery from the 1960's, and whose work has had a major influence on the subsequent direction of artist-jewellery in this country ever since. Always thoroughly modern in style and constantly adapted to complement the changing face of fashion, John’s jewellery is instantly recog-nisable by his predilection for mounting uncut natural crystals. A wide range of his work will be displayed, including ceremonial regalia made for important individuals and institu-tions in the City of London and around the country. Continued on next page >>

35

Simply stunning interior designs

“With a strong belief in affordability and with meticulous

attention to detail, our designs speak for themselves.”

juliet finkelstein 07778 547115

juliet@finkdesigns.com

Imclean

Fully Vetted Cleaners & Ironing Persons

Available

Local Reliable Staff with a personal pride in the cleaning of your home

We will visit by appointment to assess your requirements

£7.80 per hour inclusive, minimum 3 hours per visit

Call Richard Williamson on 077 698 911 82 or 0800 783 4810

BEJEWELLED BY TIFFANY, 1837-1987 The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 0RN from Saturday 24th June to Tuesday 26th November 2006. Admission: Adult £5, Concessions £4 to include the permanent collection. Tiffany & Co, since its foundation in 1837, has been a uniquely American brand, fa-mous for its glamour, creative design and fine craftsmanship. Some 180 pieces of jewellery covering the first 150 years of Tiffany’s history, up to 1987, will be included in the exhibition. This sumptuous and glittering array of jewellery will celebrate Tif-fany’s sustained pursuit of superb design and outstanding craftsmanship. Most of the pieces are loaned from the Tiffany Archive.

36

Spring Watch by Michael Moore

Well here we are again. That time of year, which is so wonderful it almost cannot be true; as the Max Bygraves song says, for those of you who are old enough to remember, “ When Mother Nature wears her newest gown.”

Once we get towards the end of January and the first tips of the bulbs push through the cold hostile soil, you begin to know that something wonderful is going to happen soon. Most years it will make us wait for a few more weeks, then one day you see the pure white innocent beauty of the first snowdrop on the dark dreary days of February. They shine out like a beacon of light with the promised wonderful things to come, no matter what the weather throws at them.

Very soon, without us even noticing, there are primroses and crocuses saying “look at me, I am here”.

As wonderful as these are the next miracle we see means spring is truly here. The golden yellow of daffodils flows like lemon wash all over our gardens. Yes, I know they are not all yellow but this won-derful colour means Spring is really here.

As this great show of colour is happening, there appears another gen-tler shade, taken so much for granted and yet so very beautiful. Our world is slowly turning green. Trees and shrubs all over take on dif-ferent shades of this perhaps the greatest colour of all, displaying their beauty to us. This pale colour does not last too long and soon the brighter colours of summer will arrive and Spring is over for another year.

Every year nature gives us all this wonderful show at no charge and all we have to do is look at it and appreciate it, and maybe say “thank you”. But I wonder do we? I hope I do, but so many of us are tied up in our busy lives that we never really see what is around us.

Please, I ask you all to take a little a look at this wonderful gift, and think how sad our world would be without it.

I wish you all, and our world, a peaceful Easter.

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COULTHARDS

Chartered Accountants Business Advisers and Tax Specialists

Contact us at : -

For all your • Accounts • Book-keeping • VAT & Wages • Audit • Company Formation

Tax Advice • Self Assessment • Tax & Vat Investigations • Partnership • Limited Company • Tax Planning

IBEX HOUSE 162-164 Arthur Road

Wimbledon Park London SW19 8AQ

Telephone 020-8944-1180 Fax

Carpentry Kitchens & Bathrooms Painting & Decorating

Paving & Property Extensions Renovations & Repairs For a free estimate call

0790 5324013 Local references provided

Would you like your child to do more creative play? The Creative Club

Introduces Art in the Park

Art and Craft classes for 2 to 5

year olds with their carers

Join us in Wimbledon Park After school and holiday

classes starting soon Call Valerie on 0208 946 4801

to reserve a place.

What did we do to save the blackbird? By Cécile Bridgens

In ‘Silent Spring’, in 1962, Rachel Carson bravely drew the world’s attention to some alarming facts: « Spring now comes unheralded by the return of birds, and the early mornings are strangely silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song. » In our last 2005 Newsletter, Linda‘s Murgatroyd’s article: ‘Where have all the small birds gone?’ painfully echoes this warning.

The Wimbledon area features fairly rich urban wildlife habitats like the Common, parks and lakes, railway embankments and allotments, boosted by schools’ wildlife gardens. But individual action is of paramount importance, and the owners of our typical handkerchief-size back gardens have various ways of helping Nature. (left : the Blackbird)

The most obvious action is of course to feed birds, especially through a harsh winter. All local garden centres offer a vast variety of food, peanuts, fat balls etc as well as natural-looking, beautiful bird tables and bird bath, nesting boxes etc that can positively add to a garden appeal.

Do you realise how badly birds need water all the year round? In winter, they must keep extra clean so that their feathers can fluff up properly and keep them warm. A very attractive birdbath can fit into the tiniest space.

But it’s equally important to provide natural shelter and safe nesting sites. Some shrubs and climbers, both very ornamental and attractive to wildlife, are perfectly suitable for town gardens. The pyrancantha, with its shiny evergreen leaves, beautifully scented spring blossom and cheerful winter berries (much appreciated by blackbirds and thrushes) is a good choice. If grown against a back fence, its ferocious spikes will also deter many would-be burglars.

For sound advice on how to make your garden wildlife-friendly, read Chris Baines’ best seller « How to make a wildlife garden » or search the Internet. Then, let your garden become a little overgrown (never prune much between March and July). An obsession for tidiness and « keeping

things under control » often leaves birds with no option but to roost and nest in exposed sites at the mercy of their predators.

Kestrels and cats are the worse predators of birds in this area. Kestrel attacks can be hindered by feeding birds under shrubs, and locking up your Moggy in the evening would give the birds a better chance to survive the night and early morning when they are more vulnerable.

Avoid spraying with pesticides: this would poison or starve your garden birds. Let them eliminate your juicy caterpillars and fat aphids for free.

Don’t be too precious about what birds you will attract. I once designed a wildlife garden for a school, and was rather shocked to hear some parents say: ‘Oh, but make sure we don’t get common birds here, you know, we really want « nice » birds!’

You may be surprised to learn that our humble sparrows and starlings are now on the RSPB

Red List of threatened UK birds (‘high conservation concern’)

In gardens, parks and in the streets, mature trees play a crucial role in the ecological balance of our urban environment. Some support 200 animal species and they are the lungs of our cities, so the human well-being benefits from them too. Don’t use them as scapegoats for all evils.

Wren Thrush

Dunnock

Black cap

Long tail tit

These birds are commonly seen in Wimbledon Park: But for how long?

Remember: « We don’t inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children. When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves » (David Orr). So enjoy the life you will see from your window every morning, and let the birds herald again the return of spring.

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W.P.R.A. Committee Easter 2006 Ken Ball - Graffiti Removal 20 Stroud Road SW19 8DH Cécile Bridgens -Vice Chairman 52 Home Park Road SW19 7HN

Tony Brown - Parks & Opens 50 Home Park Road SW19 7HN Judith Centofanti - Secretary 23 Crescent Gardens SW19 8AJ Andrew Dalton - Treasurer 92 Dora Road SW19 7HJ

Nigel Israel 14 Ryfold Road SW19 8BZ

James Manktelow 25 Crescent Gardens SW19 8AJ Paresh Modasia 124 Arthur Road SW19 8AA Michael Moore - Horticultural 344 Durnsford Road SW19 8DX

David Salmon 27 The Crescent SW19 8AW

Ceri Sheeran -Newsletter Production 4 Bentley Close The Crescent SW19 8AL Iain Simpson - Chairman & Editor 56 Home Park Road SW19 7HN

John Slater - Membership 19 Crescent Gardens SW19 8AJ Cllr Tariq Ahmad, ex officio c/o Merton Civic Centre

London Road Morden SM4 5DX

Cllr Beth Mitchell, ex officio 13 Melrose Avenue SW19 8BU

Cllr Oonagh Moulton, ex officio 21 Melrose Avenue SW19 8BU

Patricia Gomez 103 Dora Road SW19 7JT

Solicitors First LLP Successor practice to Davies Brown, who have provided legal services to the Wimbledon Park community for 35 years.

Can help you with:

• Residential and commercial conveyancing. • Wills and probate including Inheritance Tax planning. • Business advice. • Landlord and Tenant. • Family and divorce. • Accident and civil claims.

Contact us for a free initial interview at:

Ansa House, 2A Strathmore Road, London,SW19 8DB Tel. 020 8946 9555 Fax. 020 8944 1906 email wimbledon@first.uk.net With solicitors, Graeme Wood/Jonathan Mathews/Sally Shillito

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JOHN TIVERS DECORATOR

INTERIOR AND

EXTERIOR

FREE ESTIMATES

74 ASHEN GROVE WIMBLEDON PARK

SW19 8BN

TEL 020-8947-4327

Do you have a spare room?

We are looking for friendly households in Wim-bledon to accommodate our adult students from

overseas. We need the following:

Single room, private bathroom, walking dis-tance (half board £195 per week) Single room with private bathroom, up to 20 minutes journey time from school (half board £160 per week ) Single room, up to 20 minutes journey time from school (half board £120 per week) Single room B&B (£95 per week) Single room, no meals, share kitchen and bathroom with household (£90 per week)

If you can help please contact: Alasdair Ross 020 8947 1921

alasdair@wimbledon-school.ac.uk

OAKLEY LOCKSMITHS Ltd.

LOCKSMITHS FLOOR SPRINGS DOOR CLOSERS CARPENTRY JOINERY SMALL WORKS

® AGENTS

Tel 020 8871 1238 Fax 020 8875 1416

81 Replingham Road London SW18 5LU

QUALITY ACCOMMODATION NEEDED

Established 1964

Wimbledon School of English

41 Worple Road London SW19 4JZ

Exquisite floral design for

weddings, events and

corporate clients

Tel: 07932 561 346 34 Melrose Avenue Wimbledon Park, SW19 www.flowerevents.co.uk Email: marie@flowerevents.co.uk

Flower Events

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Advertisers’ Index Easter 2006

The best time for pruning trees and shrubs is between November & March.

The best time for lawns & turfing is between October and April. For the full use of your garden next summer, don’t leave it too late.

Phone now for a quick estimate. Work carried out quickly and efficiently, with references always

available. To speak to Mr Raynsford you can personally contact him between 5pm and 10pm every evening and at weekends on 020-8947-1062.

ABK Accountancy 32 London Farmers Market 10

Angel Building Services 37 London Flower Box 44

B. Davies & Co. 30 Musical Express 21

Coulthards 37 Naismith Engineering 24

Creative Club 37 Oakley Locksmiths 41

Sarkhel’s & Dalchini 43 D. Parry Pharmacy 7

Edward Jones 19 Plum Lettings 30

Fink designs 35 D. D. Raynsford 42

Flower Events 41 Robert Holmes & Co 23

French & Spanish a la carte 32 Solicitors First LLP 40

W.A. Gardner & Son 9 John Tivers 41

Hawes & Co 10 Trio Hairdressing 27

Imclean 35 Wimbledon Books & Music 19

Intypelibra 32 Wimbledon Park Dental Surgery 19

JG General Stores 2 Wimbledon Park Social Club 16

Little Learners 3 Wimbledon School of English 41

London Computer Doctor 31

43

Visit our new restaurant in East Sheen 020 8876 6220 199 Upper Richmond Road West

44

Let us preserve your precious flowers …

…and keep a lasting memento of a very special occasion.

(wedding, anniversary, christening…)

Contact Cécile for a leaflet on 0208 879 1960 Email cecile@londonflowerbox.com

Visit our website at www.londonflowerbox.com

Your flowers can be pressed and displayed as a picture or in a paperweight, or preserved in 3D and arranged as a dried posy

(as illustrated) or presented in a shadow box, a glass container etc

The London Flower Box Bouquet preservation & flower pressing

…taking care of your memories.