Latest / The Discussion Podcast / The Lunch Discussion: Stamford Park's Revival: Vinnie the Duck, Bug Hotel & Community Heart

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The Lunch Discussion: Stamford Park's Revival: Vinnie the Duck, Bug Hotel & Community Heart · The Discussion Podcast

0:00
This is The Late Late Lunch Show with Rod Maxwell.
0:04
You're listening to Radio Alty, it's The Late Late Lunch Show,
0:06
and today I'm delighted to be speaking with Jackie Richards,
0:10
who's the chair of Friends of Stamford Park.
0:12
Stamford Park, for some of you may know, is not far away from where I live and
0:17
not far away from the primary school down there.
0:20
Beautiful park, which has now, over the last number of years,
0:24
found a new lease of life thanks to Friends of Stamford Park putting the time,
0:29
the energy, the investment of their time in.
0:32
And here to talk about it is Jackie, who is the chair of that organization.
0:36
Jackie, hello, how are you?
0:38
Hello, I'm good, thank you. Nice to meet you. Lovely to see you.
0:42
Now, I met you and I came across you one day. I think I was walking back from
0:47
Ultragame. I think I was with my dog, actually.
0:50
And there was some activity going on around some wood carving or something like that.
0:55
And I bumped into you and I said, I must do an interview with you.
1:01
I can't remember what it was that day. It was something going on. Can you recall?
1:06
Yes, we were installing a bug hotel near the pond. That's it.
1:10
So, yeah, the bug hotel had been funded by Friends of Stamford Park from donations we received from
1:18
the community and had been built by Chapel in the Fields, the woodworking shop in Dunham,
1:26
and was being installed by a Trafford Council contractor.
1:31
So, yes, it was all hands to the deck as the assembly was taking place of the Buck Hotel.
1:38
And, you know, I mean, I picked up at that time that, you know.
1:45
It might be one thing that you were doing, But it was monumental in terms of
1:49
investing and putting something in the park that young kids could really engage with.
1:56
And that's what these parks are really about, aren't they?
2:00
Yes, definitely. The Bug Hotel has been very popular.
2:04
We're not sure how many residents we've got in there, and we've called it Stamford Lodge. Yes.
2:12
It's almost a bug teak hotel so we're waiting for bugs to actually take,
2:19
take residence in the bug hotel but it it adds to
2:24
a number of areas of the park that really we've tried to improve on and you
2:30
may have seen in the pond with the island the big willow duck that is in the
2:36
it's beautiful on the island.
2:39
That was made by Willow Goat Crafts, the frame of it.
2:44
And then for two days, the frame of the duck was in St. Vincent's Primary School.
2:51
Which is obviously very close to the park.
2:54
And approximately 600 children each put one of the twigs into the Willow Duck to create the Willow
3:03
So for two days, Des from Willow Goat Crafts was in the school and they had
3:09
a rota of class after class, including the infants, who each came and took part.
3:15
And then we put, or Des put Vinnie, as he's called, after St.
3:21
Vincent's, Vinnie the duck, was put on the top of his van, taken to Sailmore
3:27
for a few days before installation in the park.
3:32
And that was done by the conservation volunteers, because they have the waders,
3:37
they have the risk assessments, etc., to carry Vinnie onto the island.
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I love it.
3:46
Yeah, and we had a few children came from St. Vincent's, not 600,
3:50
came to watch him being carried across the water.
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So that was very exciting for them. And he's been there now since, I think it was March.
4:00
Vinnie has got brambles overgrown, nettles, etc.
4:06
So you can only just see a little part of him. But we've got the conservation
4:10
volunteers coming back, hopefully in November sometime.
4:14
And they will do a bit of clearing. so he's on full view yet again.
4:19
But he's very popular. The children learnt about being artistic because they created him.
4:26
But also, he will perish. There's no metal in him. He's all made of wood.
4:31
So nature will reclaim him in time. And in fact, the brambles and the nettles
4:37
have started to try and reclaim him.
4:39
But he will perish ultimately, you know, as life goes on, which is a good learning
4:45
for the children as well.
4:47
Well, I want to talk to you about the park and I want to talk to you about the
4:50
volunteers and talk to you about some of the challenges because...
4:54
We're very lucky. Not many places have Greenland like that.
5:00
And, you know, it is used a lot and, but it doesn't happen just by chance.
5:07
You need volunteers behind it. You need coordination.
5:10
So we're going to talk a little bit more about that. My guest today is Jackie
5:13
Richards. She's the chair of Friends of Stamford Park. It's a wonderful park.
5:18
I've spent many, many Sundays there with my kids.
5:21
And we're very lucky to have parks like that across the area.
5:24
We'll be back with her in a couple of minutes time.
5:27
This is the Late Late Lunch Show with Rod Maxwell.
5:30
Jackie, the people, I guess I'm trying to think about, was it the Victorians
5:35
or whoever started building in this area?
5:40
They were well ahead of us in thinking about what people needed by way of relaxation,
5:46
a headspace, etc. Especially when people don't have their own gardens to play in.
5:53
And the purpose of the park that goes back to when it first originated still
5:58
stands true today even though we have technology and all of that type of stuff,
6:03
people still feel the need to get out into the fresh air to let kids kick a
6:08
football go and see Vinnie the Duck or,
6:12
whoever and that's.
6:15
Somewhere to meet as well that
6:17
purpose is still the same today as it was back maybe 150 years ago Yes.
6:23
Well, the park was created in the late 1800s, and we've got access to some old
6:30
plans of the park, and it was very much sports-oriented.
6:36
There was croquet, bowling, bathing, football, cricket. The big oval in the
6:43
center was for cricket, apparently.
6:45
So really, as a result of the decades have moved along, we've still got the
6:53
tennis courts, we've now got basketball, unfortunately no bathing.
7:00
There's big areas of the park that can be used for football and rounders and
7:05
you see people playing tennis.
7:08
It's very much leisure oriented.
7:13
But also I think nowadays people need some places of calm to sit.
7:20
And we've got a couple of very nice circular beds that the volunteers actually look after.
7:28
We work closely with the council because ultimately the council own and manage the park.
7:34
So everything we do in the park is with the OK from Trafford Council.
7:41
We cannot just cut out a new bed. We cannot just nail things to trees.
7:48
We cannot just put in a bug hotel because we fancy it,
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we have to ask them they have to approve it they have to make sure it's going to be safe for,
7:58
the public yeah and i guess so part of the skill is managing that relationship
8:04
in a positive way and in respecting the fact that they put in their time and effort to maintain it,
8:11
and them respecting you guys as being volunteers who want to do that a little bit extra to it.
8:17
Yes, we really have to work alongside them. It can be very, very frustrating at times.
8:24
There isn't the money to go around. There's seven big parks like Stamford Park
8:31
in South Trafford. You know, we all want a piece of the cake.
8:35
We all want our grass cutting more often than it is.
8:39
We all want our paths sweeping. We want our paths mending. Yeah.
8:43
But we have to bide our time because the money is not there.
8:47
So, but we work closely with the council. They are very positive with us.
8:55
We take them to task. We don't let them get away with things,
8:59
but we do it with a smile and with understanding.
9:04
But with a little bit of, come on, it's been a long time since we asked for this.
9:10
I also like to see that the volunteer group and the friends group is proactive,
9:16
so we just don't sit back and say, we want, we want, we want.
9:21
We'll say, we've raised money, we'd like a bug hotel, we'd like to paint the
9:27
frog and croc, will you help us by putting the fencing around it?
9:32
Will you help us by installing?
9:35
And that to me gets better results than just demanding and and the thing about it is that it,
9:44
it's a community asset it brings communities together and more so we need that
9:50
more so than than than ever and i mean i,
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i remember my son winning a competition for the hippo which sadly has been destroyed,
10:00
to be painted and the sense of relationship to that part we got from him having
10:07
won that you know and then and when we found out that it had been vandalized
10:11
you know you're sort of thinking.
10:13
That that's it's it's very very sad you know and and and i was glad to see when
10:18
i saw the bulk hotel going in and hearing about it that that that personal investment
10:23
that It is a very personal investment of time and energy.
10:27
It's not all about money. It's not somebody handing you thousands of pounds.
10:31
It's people coming together as a community to look after this.
10:35
That is a very special thing, Jackie.
10:38
Yes. Yeah. And we did, talking about your son and the hippo,
10:43
when we repainted the frog and croc, although...
10:47
I have been told it's an alligator and a toad.
10:53
Because the shape of the snout of what we call the crock is square,
10:59
and that's an alligator.
11:01
So it should be alley and toad. Alley and toad. Not frog and crock.
11:05
All these years we've been wrong. But I love the fact that you have honoured
11:10
what was there with the plaques, actually.
11:13
Yes. And they're wonderful. They're really good. Yeah. The little plaques.
11:17
So with the frog and croc, when they were repainted, we went to Stamford Park
11:22
School and they raised money and they did the design.
11:26
So all the children that wanted to did a design for the frog and or croc.
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And then we chose. And as a prize for winning, they received from OEA Arts some painting equipment.
11:41
Oh, lovely. So OEA provided those because the team from OEA Arts,
11:47
Joe and Polina, actually did the painting, et cetera.
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And this is where you need people, all their groups, to get involved and to
11:58
support. And ultimately then people get more out of it when that happens.
12:03
Yes. And not only working with schools, with businesses, but also working with schools.
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It all has gone towards helping us to achieve our very first green flag last year.
12:18
So there were 11 green flag parks in Trafford.
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We have become the 12th. And you can only really become a green flag,
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the park becomes a green flag, if there is a strong friends group with community
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involvement across lots of different areas.
12:39
We didn't nominate ourselves. Trafford Council have to believe in the friends
12:44
group, but also they have to deliver.
12:47
They have to keep the grass cut. They have to keep things looking good.
12:52
And then all the community stuff, and whether it's volunteers doing the gardening,
12:57
taking over flower beds, which I'm sure you've seen, there's some beautiful dahlias.
13:03
We've looked, the hydrangeas are looking amazing. They're changing color now
13:08
in the quiet circular beds.
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And they do a great job. Every Wednesday morning, there's maybe half a dozen
13:16
people weeding, sweeping, clearing.
13:20
It's the small jobs that we do. And it's the icing on the cake that the friends group do.
13:26
We can't do the big jobs. We don't have the equipment or the expertise.
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But the little bits that make the park look loved, the Frog and Crock repainting,
13:37
the fence around the Under Fives play area together with the council,
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the multi-access play unit that was put in the Under Fives play area,
13:47
Vinnie the Duck with the school,
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the Bug Hotel, and the gardening areas, you know, that all comes together to
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make people think, you know, the park's looking good.
14:01
It feels loved and when it does people take pride in it and then respect it
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even more I want to take a break and come back because there's so many other
14:08
things going on in there Cafe in the Park, the counselling centre I want to
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talk to you about that as well so I'm delighted today to,
14:15
be speaking with Jackie Richards she's the chair of Friends of Stanford Park
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which is literally just down the road from us and I'm sure many of you have
14:23
very happy memories or maybe even are using it lots today as parents or,
14:28
otherwise We'll be back with Jackie in a couple of minutes' time.
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This is the Late Late Lunch Show.
14:35
Jackie, you mentioned a lot of things that go on around the park, and.
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The cafe in the park and the counselling centre play a big role as well,
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and the counselling centre are based there, and I'm right in saying that?
14:51
Yes, they are nothing to do with the park, but they sit adjacent to the park.
14:59
The cafe is a great asset to the park right by the under fives play area,
15:07
and they serve lots of lovely food and are very welcoming to people with push
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chairs people with dogs etc,
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so we work reasonably closely with them they will advertise our events and for
15:23
example we've got at halloween On the 1st of November, we've got a spooky spider search,
15:30
for families with youngest children.
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So they will, the cafe in the park will let us borrow a table and chairs and
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we'll put our gazebo up by the play areas and children can then go and do our spooky spider search.
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And I've been into a cafe in the park and I was actually.
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I was quite surprised and delighted to see how many, say, families were there
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or mothers who were looking after their kids, maybe on paternity leave or whatever,
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and sitting around and talking and chatting.
16:04
And it does create another hub, really, right in the center of the park.
16:08
And it's very affordable in terms of the prices of the drinks and the cakes, et cetera.
16:14
Yes, definitely. You know, they're right by the play area. There's a seating
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area outside when the weather's good.
16:22
And I think quite a lot of the staff in there, I'm not for sure,
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but are volunteers as well in the cafe.
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So yeah it's good to have that right by the play areas there's another couple
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of cafes as you know on stanford park road which again are great for feeding people into the park or,
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the people wanting refreshments if they're that side of the park so,
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yeah we're very lucky to have those you know we've got three cafes nearby you
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have indeed and now you know i see people going to say a block or a little deli
16:55
and then grabbing a drink or maybe a bit of lunch and going sitting,
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on one of the picnic benches in the park.
17:04
Can I ask you, do you feel as the people behind Friends of Stanford Park that
17:09
there's a bit of a renaissance with parks and people, maybe because of lockdown,
17:14
for example, that people have,
17:16
appreciated space, green space, appreciated just a very simple thing of sitting
17:22
on a bench and smelling the fresh air and therefore they're engaging in parks again definitely i mean,
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particularly around stamford park most of the houses do not have a garden,
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so this is your green space to go to and it's you know you'll see so many different
17:44
types of people walking around and.
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They may have a dog, they may not. They may be pushing a pram.
17:54
They may be just taking it easy. And we also get not only residents,
17:59
but because of the businesses in Scott Drive,
18:02
which is just off Moss Lane, we do see people sometime having walking meetings in the park.
18:09
Sometimes they'll bring in their lunch or walking through from Altrincham.
18:14
So yeah number of businesses there are using the park as well and i'll tell
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you one of the things that i i love to see and recently my wife and i went down to,
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london during the summer and we i forget what the parks we were in but you could
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see right over the hall of london and we just had a picnic right and we just
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sat there and i see young people,
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sometimes often sitting out in the green space to stanford park sitting down
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together having a picnic and meeting and chatting and it's probably the most affordable way
18:49
that you can do that you know and you think well that the memories that the
18:55
park facilitates the relationships it facilitates if the trees could tell a story my god,
19:02
you know i'm sure yes they would yeah but it's it's so lovely when the weather
19:08
is nice And if you go into the park and you'll see groups of different ages, different ethnicity,
19:16
you know, some with prams, some not with prams, you know, it's just lovely to
19:21
see people enjoying the outside space.
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There's some shade as well, lots of mature trees.
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So you don't have to be out in the sunshine. A few benches.
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It's just, it's heartwarming when you see that. Jackie, I wonder how many children
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have taken their first steps down by those crocs or around the ponds,
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you know, because I'm sure there's countless numbers.
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We'll take a break and I want to come back. I want to ask you actually about
19:47
the bowling club and the facility there, because it used to be very well used.
19:53
And I guess clubs always struggle. I want to ask you about that.
19:57
And I'll also ask you about what's the plan going forward with the park and
20:04
what do you need? So today we're talking about Friends of Stamford Park.
20:07
We're talking about Stamford Park.
20:09
My guest is Jackie Richards, and she is the chair of that organisation,
20:13
all volunteers working alongside Trafford Council and local businesses.
20:18
We'll take a break and be back with Jackie in a couple of minutes' time.
20:21
You're listening to Rod Maxwell on Radio Alty.
20:24
So, Jackie, it's been a little while since I walked through the park, actually. But,
20:33
the bowling green there used to be quite busy and in very good condition.
20:38
Now, a wee while ago, I noticed it wasn't as busy and maybe hadn't been used.
20:42
Has the bowling club moved on or died away? Or what's happened?
20:48
No, the bowling club is still there. and it's called Hale Moss Bowling Club.
20:56
They have one bowling field, maybe it's called, bowling field,
21:03
which is surrounded by the fence to the side of the bowling pavilion.
21:08
They used to have another two pitches, fields,
21:12
to the other side of the bowling pavilion. Those have been left to,
21:19
nature, not nature, but they are mowed, but they are not maintained as bowling
21:25
greens because there was not the demand for those practice areas. Gotcha.
21:30
So Trafford Council maintain the single bowling green.
21:35
Now, from the end of September, early October, it must be the end of September
21:41
until March, It is under maintenance.
21:44
So if you look at that Bowling Green now, you will see it's been scarified, it's being treated.
21:51
It's not bowled on between September and late March.
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There are a couple of other Bowling Greens in Trafford that remain open,
22:02
but ours usually closes.
22:04
The Bowling Club, I have a contact at the Bowling Club, are always looking for new members.
22:11
I think they want some younger people to join.
22:16
They meet normally, I think, and I'd have to check this out.
22:22
During the season, Wednesdays and Fridays, but that's when they have matches.
22:29
But then anybody who is a member can practice anytime.
22:33
So you might just see one or two people practicing. They're given a golden key
22:38
to let themselves in to practice.
22:42
However, in the winter, what tends to happen is some of the ladies do use the
22:47
bowling pavilion for a little bit of bingo. So they have bingo.
22:53
So get together in the winter. Do you know, when I've been walking through sometimes with my dog.
23:01
And this is some time ago, but I love to see the scene where people were making
23:06
tea and having cakes and also involved in the bowling.
23:12
And I thought to myself, there's something so quintessentially British about
23:16
that. And it was so lovely to see the small bowling, that part of the bowling
23:21
pavilion still being used to brew tea, make coffees and people bringing cakes together.
23:27
And moreover, that is actually, that creates connections for people.
23:32
And that's what the park, I guess, overall is about.
23:35
Yes, yes, it is making people feel included and.
23:43
All the facilities in the park, ideally they are all accessible,
23:47
but it takes time to ensure that things are accessible.
23:52
But we're trying particularly when we had the multi-access play unit installed
23:58
in the under fives it will take a wheelchair,
24:01
a child's wheelchair and it's an accessible play unit Oh, is that something that's coming, Jackie?
24:08
No, that's there already. That was installed in 2024, a piece of equipment.
24:14
And it was funded by a family who wanted to donate money towards making the
24:21
park more accessible for their daughter. There you go. That's wonderful.
24:25
What we're waiting to be installed very soon is a communication board,
24:31
which is for nonverbal children. It has pictures on it. They can point at pictures.
24:36
So we have bought that with the help of a local company that's made a donation
24:41
and hopefully in the next few weeks that will be installed in the under fives
24:46
play area as well i i want to come on to
24:50
the um the organization the people behind that and what you need as well and
24:54
and how people can get involved with the wish to so today my guest is jackie
24:58
richard she is the chair of friends of stanford park it's been.
25:02
I'm delighted to speak to her brought back so many memories of my time sitting in there.
25:06
I'm sure many of you are the same, especially on a Sunday with the kids.
25:11
We'll be wrapping up with Jackie in a couple of minutes' time.
25:15
You're listening to Rod Maxwell on Radio Alty.
25:19
So, Jackie, I mean, you were talking there about your relationship with Trafford Council.
25:24
Of course, we know councils are a bit more strapped for cash.
25:28
And I think the country runs on volunteers in some ways, to do that extra little bit.
25:34
And I think volunteers also get something from it because it can connect you
25:39
into the community more, but it takes a lot of work.
25:43
How many of you are involved in Friends of Stamford Park? Well,
25:47
we have a small committee of about probably five active participants.
25:54
We have, out of that, two of the ladies are primarily involved with the gardening
26:00
group, and we have a gardening group on a Wednesday morning,
26:03
10 till 12, a couple of hours.
26:06
And we have those people dip in and dip out, but we can sometimes have six or
26:12
seven volunteers at one time helping out. Good.
26:17
Then I'm primarily responsible for most of the admin and also all our community
26:24
work is coordinated by myself.
26:28
Also, we do have a treasurer. So she does behind the scenes work.
26:32
So if we need QR codes for donations or bank account stuff, she is the lead on that.
26:41
And she keeps her book straight, so income and outgoings as well.
26:47
So that's her responsibility.
26:51
But we always need new volunteers either to do some gardening or you could even
26:56
do some litter picking if you wanted on a Wednesday morning while the gardeners garden.
27:01
We're quite lucky recently the amount of litter is controlled we do have litter in the park but
27:08
it could be a lot worse and it is a lot worse during the summer when people
27:12
are out having picnics but the park's looking really good at the moment but
27:16
there's always some litter somewhere the other thing that,
27:20
we could do with is more volunteers to help with networking to local businesses
27:26
to see how they can help to maybe nurseries that use the park.
27:31
Is there anything that they would like to see that they can help with?
27:37
Maybe do a little fundraiser for us.
27:41
And also behind the scenes, from an admin perspective, you know,
27:46
we need advice on social media. I tend to do all our Instagram and Facebook, but I'm no expert at all.
27:54
So we could do with somebody to give some advice on that, somebody to say,
27:59
I'll get some banners organized, I'll speak to a company, we'll get them designed,
28:04
we'll run them by you, this is how much they'll cost.
28:08
Those kinds of things behind the scenes. You don't have to be a gardener to join us.
28:14
There's other things. And organizing small events. I've got a couple of ladies
28:18
who are organizing our spooky spider search.
28:22
Also, one of our committees is doing a cake sale. So we've got a cake sale on
28:27
the 18th of this month of October, Sunday the 18th, two till three,
28:31
by the pavilion to raise funds.
28:34
And then also our spooky spider search is free of charge for children,
28:39
and that's on Sunday the 1st of November, two till three. Great.
28:44
I was going to say, is there a bandstand in the park at all?
28:48
No, there used to be. It's now a wildflower garden.
28:52
Or it should be a wildflower garden. It's as you walk in past the car park and
28:57
the toilet and follow that path straight ahead of you. Yes.
29:01
There are some old photographs on our website that we've got from Trafford Local
29:06
Studies that show the bandstand.
29:09
And you'll see in that area of wildflowers, there is a circular area that has
29:15
got concrete and rocks in it, which was the base of the bandstand.
29:20
No, because I was just thinking about, you know, Altrincham is such a musical place.
29:25
And, you know, do people use a bandstand, for example, just to go and practice,
29:32
or busk or something like that, you know?
29:36
I don't know. But so if people want to volunteer, because I guess the great
29:41
thing is some people downsize and they lose their gardens or they don't have as much garden space.
29:49
Or some people can learn how to do a bit of gardening as well.
29:53
But if people want to volunteer in any capacity, maybe even social media,
29:58
which is a nightmare, by the way.
30:01
How should they get in touch with you, Jackie?
30:04
They can reach us either by looking at our Facebook page, which is not as simple
30:11
as Friends of Stamford Park.
30:13
It is capital F for Freddie, O for Oscar, S for sugar, and P for Peter,
30:19
hyphen Friends of Stamford Park, or Instagram, friends underscore of underscore
30:25
Stamford underscore park.
30:28
Or they can email us or me at info at friendsofstanfordpark.org.uk.
30:37
Right. So if you go to Facebook or Insta, then you'll also find your contact
30:42
details on there as well. Yes.
30:44
Yes, you will. Wonderful. I've got to say, you know, each season brings its
30:50
own magic, doesn't it? The colours are different.
30:53
The Bug Hotel will be a hive now, won't it? It'll be really getting into zone now. Yes, it will. Yeah.
31:01
And it's lovely to get into the park first thing in the morning while the sun's
31:06
rising or it's setting. There might be mist in the park, a few early morning dog walkers.
31:12
There's also the strong in the park, strength training as well.
31:18
There's also the bicycle society. He's in the park sometimes on a Sunday,
31:22
Saturday, Sunday, teaching children to cycle on the path. So there's quite a
31:28
lot going on, as well as just being able to sit and relax.
31:33
It's a wonderful space, I have to say, and we're very lucky to have it.
31:36
And very lucky to have people like you and the volunteers at Friends of Stamford
31:40
Park doing that bit to keep it in a good condition.
31:45
Jackie, wonderful to speak to you. Thank you very much for all that you do at
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Stamford Park and for joining me today.
31:52
Thank you. This is The Late Late Lunch Show with Rod Maxwell.