For many reasons many people would like to haul 2021 to the tip. But the Friends of Heaton Moor Park have marked a number of milestones. Thanks to the talents, skills and hard work of the Friends, so much has been accomplished!
Even before 2021, and at the height of the pandemic in summer 2020, the park was graced with its own blue plaque honouring Sir Thomas Thornhill Shann, who in the 1890s, had been a major player in transforming the four acres given by Lord Egerton in 1894 into the beautiful park it still is today. The plaque was made and hand painted by the family firm Leander and installation of the plaque was through the generous efforts of the Heatons Heritage Society.
In autumn 2020, the toddler area saw the old tree stump transformed into a magnificent owl by the chainsaw artist (yes, you read that correctly) Mike Burgess.
The council also installed a new surface and other improvements in the toddler area.
In spring 2021, the council installed the long awaited soakaway to improve the drainage and say good bye to the swamp in the path along the corner of Buckingham Road and Park Road.
During summer 2021, we re-started our monthly gardening days in the park; as always there is a lot to spruce up.
August 2021 saw a new and very popular event – Picnic in the Park around the theme of our new Owl. Despite an overcast day and spluttering of rain, everyone seemed to enjoy participating in the Name the Owl Contest, having a go in a raffle for a beautiful ‘home garden sized’ carved owl and other owl-themed prizes and following the Owl Trail, which gave you a chance to spell out a favourite summer picnic treat – Sausage Rolls! Lunches could be obtained at the local Heaton Moor Producers’ Market, and at the park, delicious coffee was available from Nick from B’Spoke Coffee and the Heatons WI served up some tempting cakes.
Also in August, the noticeboard, which had seen many years of wear, got itself a brand new cover thanks to the Heatons Men in Sheds.
The winners of the owl naming contest were Molly and Emily, and a plaque with the owl’s new name – HARRIS – was added in October 2021.
In September, the Friends participated in the Young Christian Climate Network Eco event at St Pauls, which saw the Rise to the Moment boat on its way to the Glasgow COP26 meeting. We were there, handing out meadow flower seed rolls – each ready to provide 1 square metre of meadow grasses and flowers to help pollinators. These seed rolls were also available later at the Heatons Post Hub.
October 2021 also saw another new and very enthusiastically-attended event – Halloween in the Park. After all, what child wouldn’t want to come to the park in their Halloween costume, with the possibility of climbing a tree or log in the process? With dry if windy weather on side, the Friends served up spooky cakes and drinks in the Pavilion, which helped sustain visitors as they followed the Goblin trail, signed up for a raffle with a wonderful range of prizes from our local traders, took a chance on a toy tombola, stocked up on Halloween craft kits, played ‘poke the pumpkin’ or had a chat with the wandering mummy.
December 2021 happily saw the return of the 24th Carols in the Park, which had been skipped in 2020. Besses o’ th’ Barn Band provided live music to sing traditional and modern carols. Meanwhile the Friends dished up mulled wine and other hot drinks, minced pies, cakes and even hot dogs to help those voices soar. Not stuck in a grotto, Santa roamed freely through the park while the kids could chase off some of that holiday energy with the Elf Trail. An amazing tombola and raffle of prizes from local traders must have filled some stockings quite nicely. We were also joined by stalls from the British Red Cross and Wild Spirit Training. We did have a surplus of hot chocolate, which we were able to donate to Wellspring, a charity who works with the homeless in Stockport.
And to start off the new year, the Friends were one of the three Heatons groups spotlighted in the Cheshire Life magazine monthly feature, ‘The Place we Love.’
2022 looks to be full of events – Covid allowing! – the annual Easter Egg Hunt will take place in April 2022, and the Summer Festival on 12 July will help us mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of Heaton Moor Park.