Report transcript in: Mash shares her thoughts about Longford Park

Please Report the Errrors?

So what do you enjoy about

Park?

I think as I as I was saying, I've been around the park a long, long time.

So it's been different over the different years that I've been there.

Um, obviously, when my kids were very small, it was great pushing them in in the, um

in the playground, et cetera, et cetera.

Um, I was very excited. I'll go back now. Many years, Actually.

What I was very excited about was a folk festival that happened in the park before.

I really got involved in doing lots of things.

And, um, yeah, I was involved with folk dancing myself. So, um, I was

I wanted to recreate some of that.

And that's how I got involved and started to,

um was one of the founder members of Friends of the Park and started to have events.

And, uh, so we did lots of different things. And, uh, yeah,

uh, very, very difficult things. Really.

Well, we've we had, um

we had

there were sort of folk days. I'm trying to remember what we call them, but,

uh,

it started off in 2000 when there was some money available and, uh,

Trafford council.

Uh, really ran that, but taught us a little bit about how to do events.

And that's why we did

subsequently run days with my two friends, um, Jean and and Sue

and we were the Yeah, we we actually organised them ourselves, and, um,

they were very successful, actually.

Um, but it was very hard work.

Um, so lots of people enjoyed them.

Um, but it was very hard work, but I think these days now, um, what I really enjoy,

um is going into the park, and I'm very involved.

I'm a coordinator of the of the community allotment there.

And, um, I love to to go there and meet my friends, but also,

to do a bit of digging, do a bit of planting,

uh, see the seasons rolling around,

and, um

yeah, yeah. Realising that we can capture carbon through the soil.

And, um, perhaps we should be doing more of that, you know?

So that's something that inspires me. Really?

Um, yeah, but I also at the moment I'm a grand a grandmother,

and, um, I bring, you know, we bring our our grandchildren to the park,

and they actually love the area.

You were talking about to, uh, to climb on the on the rocks. They love that,

Uh, and we too, we, uh, during lockdown.

It was very worrying to let them loose in the, um, in the playground,

especially if there are quite a few people there.

So it took us a while to do that,

That we've only just started really allowing them to go into the playground,

which they do always enjoy.

Um, and there's been fairy doors, uh, in the park. You can.

So you we've used that a little bit, Not lots, but, um,

there have been doors that friends of Longford,

uh, funded,

and, uh, there is a bit of a story linking up to that.

Uh, so that's been good,

but it's lovely to have just trees around, and, um, I remember,

um, My son in law's parents came from Canada.

Um,

and she couldn't believe when she looked at the trees, you know? So,

uh, we don't appreciate, You know, uh,

the fact that we've got such wonderful trees so

very old and it's lovely to see the changes,

and, uh

great. Now that we've Well, we've got a tree walk next week.

Miranda from city of trees is going to repeat her walk.

Um, after she did one so successfully on our open day for the community allotment.

Very recently.

So I'm really looking forward to that.

I mean, there's lots of things about the park I love.

Yes,

Yes.

And you talked a little bit about your kind of the climate

impact of planting and growing. And is that something

that is new to you from using the park and the allotment,

or has that always been an interesting?

Um,

no, not really. It's not new to me.

Um, I'm I'm a member of the green Party. I set up Trafford Green party.

Um, so I'm a bit of a set up, Really?

And, um

and, uh, yeah, um, So I'm very concerned with the climate crisis,

and, um,

yeah, uh,

yeah, I do believe that we do need nature,

you know, all of us. And it's covid that's taught me more of that.

But, um,

but yeah, uh, in terms of green space and trees, you know,

um, we need things growing in our ground.

You know, I I've just Recently, uh I was I was doing, um I was doing a talk, actually,

at the green summit,

Um, on behalf of, uh, the community allotment,

and, um,

I I went back to looking at AAA film I've seen called Kissing the Ground.

And it's about regenerative agriculture in the states

and how they need to change their practises in order to make,

because carbon is pulled down into the ground.

If you're using the ground properly,

if the soil is being, you know, nourished properly

and, um, yeah, yeah, So I am interested in all that.

Well, that's that's an interesting question. Because, um,

uh,

I'm just trying to think when we thought about this before,

but we did think of doing some sort of example of, um,

was it solar powered energy?

The area where, um, there are rocks,

right? There used to be a stream running through there,

and we were looking at the possibility at one time

I'm trying to remember whether it was another lottery bid.

It might have been,

um,

and we were looking at linking up to the where the athletics

club is and try and get power from there in order to,

uh, demonstrate,

um, how solar power could work, you know, or you know,

some of those different powers are wind power.

Yeah,

we were sort of We were looking at that sort of thing, but it never

it never

It never came to anything, sadly,

but yeah,

you've obviously been involved in the park since 2000.

You know, that's 20 odd years. What do you think?

Uh, makes it easy for people to use the park.

Um,

well,

when we first started friends of Longford Park, which was about 2000, you know, uh,

1999 we were really

getting going on it.

And, um, there was no cafe there then,

And, uh,

I remember there was one particular person who's

actually moved out of the area since then.

He was on friends committee,

and at the end of every meeting, he would say, Right,

what's happening about the cafe?

And in fact, the cafe has been very key

in encouraging people to use the park.

It's not the cheapest cafe around, so that can put some people off.

Um, but it is somewhere that you can go and,

um, you can eat Well,

um, you know, you can You can eat reasonably cheaply as long as you're careful.

and, um, it it has pulled many, many people into the park. Um,

to stay there, to look,

uh, to be So I think that's been one of the biggest attractions,

to be honest over the time that I've been involved.

Um,

so yeah, and also then there's been other things happening.

Like the disc golf course.

Um,

you know, that was thanks to our lovely Dave Sykes,

who's our parks officer who came to one of our friends meetings and said,

Right, Folks, I've had an idea. I've had an idea disc golf, and we all went What?

And um,

yeah,

so lo and behold, uh,

we now have a disc golf course run by great guy called Alan Heckman,

who's been behind it all.

And it's made so much of a difference to people in lockdown people,

people are really getting into it.

So that's another lovely poll for people.

And we are wanting to try and show our granddaughters how to do it.

Um,

you know, we're not not really been into it ourselves. I planted a tree there,

Um, but, uh, but but I've not really done it,

so hopefully our kids can we'll do it with our our grandchildren, and

they can teach us how to do it.

Yeah,

of the draws for the park, Um,

people like to cycle through.

It's on the bee line, isn't it?

For Manchester? I think it is. I think,

um, it's part of, you know, the cycle route into Manchester.

Uh, so people do cycle quite a lot through there.

You have the dog walkers groups who who love it as a

space for for dog walking and chatting with other dog walkers.

And, um,

yeah, we looking forward to Christmas. We always have friends.

Longford has always has the tree tree that we sell the trees

and it's it's lovely Near near to the cafe where there are,

um, you know, there are lights and it's it's just nice at Christmas.

We've not been able to have it the last year or so.

Um, but they're hoping to come again this time,

and it raises a bit of money for us as well.

Friends of Longford.

Uh and yeah, um, there's lots of things that we could develop in the parks.

So friends of Longford goes on.

Really,

That makes it difficult for people to

use the

most of the paths are OK for people in wheelchairs, and certainly

at the back of the cafe,

there is a particularly large room where people

who are very disabled can use the toilet.

Um, so it's a very big room for that.

So that was partly how the cafe was funded. Actually,

um, I'm just trying to think,

uh,

what would be difficult for people?

Perhaps people were worried at night they they might not go through at night.

The lightings are not terribly good at night, I presume.

I don't really go very much at night myself.

Um,

and yeah, we do have gatherings of young people.

Um, obviously not the small, not small gatherings we love to see people gathering,

and we love to see young people gathering in the park.

But we don't love to see them smashing our greenhouses, which has happened.

And, um, there have been very loud groups. You know what I mean? Drunken groups.

So there have been issues.

Um, and I think that does put people off sometimes going in

because of that

certain it's usually night time, actually.

but we want to encourage young people,

um, and want to give them things that they might like to do

as well. So skateboarding park is one thing we're looking at, actually,

as one possibility.

Um,

I'm just thinking about other things. That might

be difficult.

I'm not sure.

No, I think that's fine. I've talked enough.

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cat@curatorsof…

Post date

26/10/2021