It’s a year ago almost since I began visiting Newsham park to run our Pets and Pals community walk so it seems timely to reflect on this experience. Its a nice thing to do in fact, as `I have made so many connections in the last year and my head fills with lots of thoughts about the characters and happenings that I wonder how I will fit them all into this blog post, I’ll try.
It all began by chance, I was in the area as I had been meeting up with a support group for people who used a Richmond Fellowship service called Our Time; a new project in the city piloting skills sharing to promote mental health recovery. One of Pets and Pals directors Rod works for them and felt that the Timebank members might a) be interested in attending the community walks that we had begun organising in Sefton Park and b) the project generally. I had enjoyed meeting the group and been made very welcome. I was in the company of my friend Al who is also a Timebank member and we were cutting through Newsham Park on the way to Al’s place the other side of the park. It was a sunny day as I recall and we were taking our time enjoying the views of the park. It’s an old park designed and built in the Victorian era, ringed by mansion houses, bridged lakes and a bandstand, all the kind of things that the Victorians really excelled in. Its days of grandeur however were very much in the past and the Kensington area of Liverpool now is characterised by all the indicators of urban decay; poverty, unemployment, crime, all high; the residents mental health and wellbeing is of the poorest in the Liverpool area. On this sunny afternoon I could push this knowledge to the back of my mind and more so as up ahead I saw a striking modern building in the park made of sandstone and timber and on the tarmac outside were set up tables were people were sat with drinks. They were being served from a kiosk within the building and while ordering two teas I struck up a conversation with the proprietor whose name was Rob. Other bystanders were joining in our conversation which was the usual small talk about the weather and the like. I did ask about the park building and was told it had been built a couple of years now and had emerged as a great hub for regular park users to meet up. I was by now speaking to model boat enthusiasts, dog walkers and others who just came for some fresh air and pleasant company. I mentioned why I was in the area and how I had been running the dog walks in Sefton Park for the previous 6 months and was looking to expand. I was advised to speak to Christina who had set up a project called Treehouse that was organising events in an around the park, nods from everyone indicated to me that this lady was well thought of. On cue she arrived in person in the company of her dog and we were duly introduced. For 15 minutes or so she chatted enthusiastically about the work that Treehouse had done to date, how the park has such potential to improve peoples wellbeing, bringing people together under the shade of trees, watching the changing seasons, I heard lots to agree with at was already resolved to have this park as the location for the next Pets and Pals walk. Al and myself talked as much as we went on our way with Christina’s contact details in my phone and an invitation to get in touch.
So 12 months later we have run a monthly dog walk on the third Friday of each month in the park meeting up at the Park kiosk at midday. We have also been able to join in with lots of the other stuff that Treehouse have organised. We have help painted murals on fences and buildings, joined in philosophical discussions, picked up litter, played in drumming circles and that is just to name but a few. In this time we have met lots of the locals, had some good laughs and look forward to another 12 months of similar. I want to give a particular big shout out for the dog owners in the park who have made us welcome. They do this for all visitors whether dog owners or not. Like myself they are to be seen at lots of the other activities happening in the park and when we meet up monthly we hear lots of the latest news and stories that I find most entertaining. We have turned up on some of the coldest and wettest days to run the monthly walk and the kiosk is still peppered with owners and dogs chasing down balls thrown from the protective windshield provided by the park building. The group have begun organising trips out of the park which our dog friendly and I was pleased to have been invited to the Newsham dogwalkers 2015 Christmas Social, taking deposits up till the end of September!
I could go on, as I said at the beginning of this blog my head was filled with all the goings on of this lovely part of Liverpool, but don’t take my word for it, go down and visit, follow the links to Treehouse and as their strap line stated at one of there park activities this year said, “Feel the Love”.
It all began by chance, I was in the area as I had been meeting up with a support group for people who used a Richmond Fellowship service called Our Time; a new project in the city piloting skills sharing to promote mental health recovery. One of Pets and Pals directors Rod works for them and felt that the Timebank members might a) be interested in attending the community walks that we had begun organising in Sefton Park and b) the project generally. I had enjoyed meeting the group and been made very welcome. I was in the company of my friend Al who is also a Timebank member and we were cutting through Newsham Park on the way to Al’s place the other side of the park. It was a sunny day as I recall and we were taking our time enjoying the views of the park. It’s an old park designed and built in the Victorian era, ringed by mansion houses, bridged lakes and a bandstand, all the kind of things that the Victorians really excelled in. Its days of grandeur however were very much in the past and the Kensington area of Liverpool now is characterised by all the indicators of urban decay; poverty, unemployment, crime, all high; the residents mental health and wellbeing is of the poorest in the Liverpool area. On this sunny afternoon I could push this knowledge to the back of my mind and more so as up ahead I saw a striking modern building in the park made of sandstone and timber and on the tarmac outside were set up tables were people were sat with drinks. They were being served from a kiosk within the building and while ordering two teas I struck up a conversation with the proprietor whose name was Rob. Other bystanders were joining in our conversation which was the usual small talk about the weather and the like. I did ask about the park building and was told it had been built a couple of years now and had emerged as a great hub for regular park users to meet up. I was by now speaking to model boat enthusiasts, dog walkers and others who just came for some fresh air and pleasant company. I mentioned why I was in the area and how I had been running the dog walks in Sefton Park for the previous 6 months and was looking to expand. I was advised to speak to Christina who had set up a project called Treehouse that was organising events in an around the park, nods from everyone indicated to me that this lady was well thought of. On cue she arrived in person in the company of her dog and we were duly introduced. For 15 minutes or so she chatted enthusiastically about the work that Treehouse had done to date, how the park has such potential to improve peoples wellbeing, bringing people together under the shade of trees, watching the changing seasons, I heard lots to agree with at was already resolved to have this park as the location for the next Pets and Pals walk. Al and myself talked as much as we went on our way with Christina’s contact details in my phone and an invitation to get in touch.
So 12 months later we have run a monthly dog walk on the third Friday of each month in the park meeting up at the Park kiosk at midday. We have also been able to join in with lots of the other stuff that Treehouse have organised. We have help painted murals on fences and buildings, joined in philosophical discussions, picked up litter, played in drumming circles and that is just to name but a few. In this time we have met lots of the locals, had some good laughs and look forward to another 12 months of similar. I want to give a particular big shout out for the dog owners in the park who have made us welcome. They do this for all visitors whether dog owners or not. Like myself they are to be seen at lots of the other activities happening in the park and when we meet up monthly we hear lots of the latest news and stories that I find most entertaining. We have turned up on some of the coldest and wettest days to run the monthly walk and the kiosk is still peppered with owners and dogs chasing down balls thrown from the protective windshield provided by the park building. The group have begun organising trips out of the park which our dog friendly and I was pleased to have been invited to the Newsham dogwalkers 2015 Christmas Social, taking deposits up till the end of September!
I could go on, as I said at the beginning of this blog my head was filled with all the goings on of this lovely part of Liverpool, but don’t take my word for it, go down and visit, follow the links to Treehouse and as their strap line stated at one of there park activities this year said, “Feel the Love”.