Kids, mums, dads, nans, grandads, aunts and uncles brought play back to basics at Crawley council’s ‘How we used to play’ fun day on Saturday.
The special event at Northgate Playing Fields, inspired by a 1955 report into Crawley’s first ever adventure playground, also saw the mayor officially open Northgate’s brand new play area.
Mayor, Brenda Burgess, said: “I step down on Friday and this was my last event with Crawley Borough Council’s Community Services who organised the playday and it was absolutely fantastic. I spent the whole day there and had a wonderful time – I even picnicked on spam sandwiches and ginger beer which really got me in the spirit of things.
“It was wonderful to see generations playing and working together to make things from scratch; and opening the fantastic new play area was a real honour too.”
After enjoying the new park which includes equipment like the Hurricane Swing, the Freeride and the Kickwall, aimed at eight to 13 year-olds, the youngsters teamed up with family and friends to build dens and go karts.
Local companies and organisations including Central Sussex College, Viridor Recycling Centre, Crawley Metal Supplies and B&Q generously donated tools, wood, material and old wheels to help teams join in the fun of adventure play the way it used to be.
Natalie Rice, mum of two from Three Bridges, said: “We’ve had a great day; my husband’s parents have come along and we’ve played in the new park, had a picnic and now we’re building a den. It’s been a lot of fun and really nice way to get everyone together.”
The first adventure playground was set up in West Green in 1954 and regularly saw up to a hundred children building huts, dug-outs and bonfires using materials and tools donated by local businesses.
A document called ‘Crawley Adventure Playground’ published in 1955 by The Crawley Community Association Adventure Playground Committee, tells the story of the playground and its grand opening, including pictures and extracts from the Play Leader’s diary.
Mayor Brenda Burgess officially opened the new play park at Tilgate lakes with the sun proudly beaming down on a fantastic day.
On Friday children from all over Crawley made their way to Tilgate for the launch of the new play park. The ribbon was cut by Mayor Brenda Burgess who also tested out some of the play apparatus to make sure it was up to standard.
The new equipment includes a 2.2m-high tube slide, rope tunnel and bridge, sliding pole, monkey bars, basket swing, snake swing, boulders, giants causeway steps, cradle seats, play net, rotating and rocking bouncer, swinging steps and a balance log.
Crawley Borough Council’s Play Rangers were on hand to organise games and fun for all the children, who had a wonderful day. We feel the council have gone a long way to setting up such a great play area in the park. Councillor for Tilgate, Nigel Boxall told us “we feel we have really accomplished great things with this new park, and that is not the end of it. We have plans to install an outside gym-like area and to put a track all the way around the lake. We would like to get the pub and restaurant opened again, but this is up to the brewery, who hold a long lease on the property. We are also trying to reduce the cost of the car parking fee to £2, which is a much needed fund for the park and the animal farm. We never want to charge for the people to enjoy the farm so this is the only way to help with the upkeep”.
The park definitely has a rejuvenated feel to it and we look forward to seeing the new plans being put into action.
We had a lovely day and is it was a joy to see all the little faces light up with each different apparatus being tested and pushed to its limits. We took some pictures and video of Mayor Brenda Burgess, Cllr Bob Burgess and Cllr Nigel Boxall reliving their youth on the amazing slide, which is one of a kind in the UK.
Were you at the opening? Have you taken your children to the park yet? Please let us know what you thought of it by commenting below xx
On Saturday 10th April Toby Anstis played to the crowd at Bar Med.
Most will remember Toby Anstis as the entertaining presenter on CBBC from 1992 to 1995 but Toby has done so much more. Born in 1970 in Northampton Toby has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Marketing but decided the stage was his calling. Toby then went on to present the morning show on Heart FM radio station. In 2010, Toby Anstis played the role of Teen Angel in Grease until 20 March.
Toby answered the phone to invite the caller down to Bar Med
Shelley and Michelle went down to see Toby at Bar Med where he was ‘on the decks’ belting out some great tunes for the massive crowd who came to see him. Toby told Shelley and Michelle he had been to Bar Med on many occasions as he found it very friendly and Sam, the Manager of Bar Med, always made him feel more than welcome. Shelley and Michelle found Toby to be friendly, polite and very down to earth, as well as being a true gentleman with a great sense of humour!
Here are some pictures of the evening and below is the interview with Shelley and Toby.
Crawley Happy Times were graced with a visit from Amy Othieno who bought us a copy of her latest album.
Amy has been singing since she could talk and is now on her second album. Amy, a local artist, recently released some great songs on her new album ‘Tryna Get By’. We first met young Amy at the Black History Event at the Hawth back in October ’09 where she sang for the audience which included special guest, Kezia Obama, stepmother of US president Barack Obama.
Amy is very passionate about her music, writing and compiling all her own songs. Amy told us “I try not to stick to one type of music as being labelled as a reggae, rap or hip hop artist can limit the audience you can play too. Times constantly change within the music industry and what the public like so it’s nice to keep moving with the times”.
Amy has played in many clubs and events but is now looking to break into the recording studios with a record label behind her. We feel with Amy’s commitment and drive this will be around the corner at this rate.
We asked Amy where people can purchase her album. Amy said it is in various shops in Crawley or you can contact her via email amyothieno@yahoo.co.uk.
Amy had heard of someone else famous in Crawley and was excited to meet them. We are, of course, talking about CHT Finger Puppet!
Shelley interviewed Amy in the CHT offices and here it is for you to see
When Gossops Green Primary School had a meeting about an Ofsted report, one of the parents, went in support of her five year old son who is a pupil at the school. Who was this parent? Why, Shelley, the founder of the Crawley Happy Times of course! Shelley asked Mrs Martin, Head Mistress, why the playground had been shut for the year her [Shelley's] son, Logan, had attended in the reception year. The playground in question was for the reception classes; years one and two, but of course, being shut meant the young children had to play with the older ones (for the morning and afternoon breaks) who may play ‘harder’ than the little ones.
Mrs. Martin explained that the playground required some work to make it safe but they had run out of money due to excessive costs on various serious issues that had occured at the school. Shelley, being a local businesswoman, pointed out that she may know a few people (including herself) who would be willing to give up their time to help these children, if they were also able to raise some funds to pay for the necessary materials.
Before - Work in progress
Before - Dull and dangerous
Tangled web of shrubs
Shelley never one to welch on an offer, went to speak to her friends David and Tina Pring of D&T Properties to see if they would consider their time for free. David and Tina were more than willing to help out. The next step was to raise the money. Shelley had wanted to lose weight for some time, so decided to go on a sponsored diet to raise at least £1000 by shedding 3 stone. Shelley then wrote a letter to her local Council representative, Keith Blake, and got a reply from Henry Smith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, who explained it was more his jurisdiction and that he would see if he could arrange a meeting to discuss the possibility of funding.
David of D&T Properties cleaning up
Martin Toyne of Toyne Gardening
Martin hard at work
In June, Shelley met with Leigh Houlgrave and Peter Proudley in the school offices alongside Mrs. Martin and Tina. It was agreed the council would fund the project up to £2000 which would go with the £1000 Shelley had committed to raising through her sponsored diet. This was more than enough money to get the playground up to scratch and open for the children’s return to school in September.
After - Number Ladder
After - Martin's great work
All hands to the painting
August came and the work was under way. David and John of D&T Properties erected a wonderful wooden fence all the way around the playground, preventing any chance of the children playing on the concrete banks, safe from harm. Whilst David and John worked hard on this, Shelley and Tina set about painting the snakes and ladders and number games by hand so the children could see them properly and could play on them. They were so faded in places they were virtually non-existent! They even had help from Miss. Crawley (Natalie Fagence), who took time out to come and help. There was plenty of help in the form of our children too. Logan & Stacey (Shelley’s son and daughter) and Lilly (Tina’s daughter) both added their artistic skills with a paint brush. Shelley’s friend Rebecca Fuller was happy to help as her son is attending in September.
Nearly there!
The last finishing touches came from Martin of Toyne Gardening. Martin, a self employed gardener, donated his time to sort out the the shrubbery and the weeds and made the flower bed look a lot more inviting than the tangled mess which had presented itself previously. Shelley was there too, busily trimming the hedges around the top, sweeping up and generally making the playground look presentable for the children.
The end result is a fantastic playground with brightly coloured games, clean and tidy plants and, more importantly, a safe area for the young ones to play and learn freely without any chance of harm. We spoke to Mrs Martin who said “Shelley should be really proud of what she has accomplished here. Without Shelley’s determination and help from her friends, this would not have happened. It looks wonderful and the children love it”.
Finished Playground
After - Bright and beautiful!
After - Fenced off, safe for children to play & learn
Shelley has yet to complete her diet, but has just finished four weeks with Sussex Bootcamp and is feeling and looking great. Shelley is about to embark on another four weeks’ training regime on the 7th September at Hazelwick School. If anyone would like to join Shelley, please visit the website or call Ben Davis on 07832110311. We will be speaking more about that in the next couple of days. Please keep your eyes out for Shelley’s progress.
Crawley Happy Times would like to thank all the people who helped Shelley in this project. Shelley went on to tell us that if there are any other projects that need her attention, ask someone else, as she will be on holiday!
So, we are rapidly approaching the end of the school summer holidays and the children are probably getting a little bored by now. So what can you do with them that will keep them occupied and assist them in sleeping well? The answer is to bring them down to Cherry Lane Adventure Playground in Langley Green, Crawley on Friday, 21st August!
“What is happening?” I hear you ask. Well, this is what we put to Dawn Parkinson, Manager of the Playground. Dawn said, “Cherry Lane Adventure Playground will be holding its annual Fun day on Friday, 21st August, from 11am – 4pm.”
“Entry is free, but, to access all the inflatables for the whole day, there is a charge of £3.00 for a wristband. This will include face painting and games so everybody can have a go! Make sure you stick around to see our Belly Dancing show at 2pm which the children have been preparing for bt attending workshops, ready to perform on the day. You can also become a star for the day on the Karaoke!”
Dawn went on to tell us; “There will also be a BBQ selling hot food, a Tombola and Raffle, with prizes donated by local shops and businesses. All the proceeds will go towards buying new games and equipment for the coming year”.
We asked Dawn how the event went last year, and she said; “last year we raised £800, which we spent on a new TV, computer games and mixing decks, plus lots of Art & Craft materials. This year, with your help, we hope to match this amount, plus raise even more, as we would like to buy new equipment for our music room and add to our collection of Go Karts, which have been really popular this year. We look forward to seeing all our old friends and many new faces to make this a fantastic family event”.
The day is for chiildren of all ages but please note children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
It sounds like it is going to be an excellent day, and for just £3 the children can play, get tired out and go to bed early. The best value for money a parent could buy!
Crawley Happy Times will be attending, so if you want your picture on the site, meet us down there! Our thanks go to Michelle Matthews for making us aware of this event and Dawn Parkinson for inviting us along.
If you have any further enquiries as to what Cherry Lane Adventure Playground can offer your child, then please call 01293516163, where a member of staff will be available to provide any help or advice.
Following on from the success of last year’s event, Crawley Borough Council, in partnership with the Crawley Young Person’s Council, West Sussex Youth Service and Freedom Leisure, would like to welcome anyone from 6-18 to come and join in the fun at Southgate Playing fields, Southgate Avenue, Crawley this Wednesday, 5th August.
What you can expect
Giant inflatables, a climbing wall, a nomad football cage, dance workshops, a circus workshop, loose parts and messy play, penalty king, football, golf, a treasure hunt, a graffiti art workshop, tug of war, football golf, sports activities, BMX and skateboarding workshops on the skate park; ‘find an MC’ competition, live bands and ‘It’s a Knock Out’ to round off the day, all for only £3:00!
The fun starts at 11am and goes on until 4pm.
As it is national playday, the Crawley Venture services are all coming together to celebrate this Event so the four venture sites across town will close for the day.
This is an open access event. For more information, contact Kathryn Ripley on 01293 438633.
Some activities are subject to change & age restrictions.
Today Crawley Happy Times Online had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the new rejuvenated park on Breezehurst Drive, Bewbush, Crawley. Although the rain decided to fall on us for the first hour, it did not deter the residents of Crawley coming along to see what the rejuvenation project had to offer its community.
And what a splendid park it is! The new site has been put together with such attention, it really can’t help but be impressive. In four sections you will find a toddler’s park, kitted out to a very high specification, with safety in mind throughout. There’s also a teenagers’ park with some wonderful features, including an inventive trampoline built into the ground which was admired and thoroughly used when we were there.
West Sussex County Councillor Chris Oxlade
In between each of these sites stands the climbing wall, with a fantastic sponge flooring for a safer drop. Then last but not least stands the most amazing and spectacular parkour site, with varying architectural concrete blocks and an abstract metal sculpture. Alister was part of the consultation and design team and absolutely vital to the project, assisting in the technical placement of the concrete blocks. Alister, Urban Playground Team, told us he was very pleased with the outcome and hoped it would encourage the youth of Crawley to come together in a focused and energetic environment. You can hear more about what Alister had to say about the site in the following interview below.
The Worshipful the Councillor Mayor Brenda Burgess was present to officially open the new park. Mayor Brenda Burgess told us that, although she didn’t do parkour herself, she would be keeping a close eye on how the park influenced the youngsters, with the intention of using the knowledge and learning to build other parks within Crawley. Mayor Brenda Burgess also told us how
Mayor Brenda Burgess showing how it should be done
they had built the new park once consulting with the local community on exactly what they needed and what would be best for the youths of our town. We apologies for the lack of sound, it was a very windy day!
County Councillor Chris Oxlade (West Sussex County Councillor for Bewbush) was also present to give his support and to welcome the families and children who attended. Chris was very happy with the outcome and hoped it would lead the way for future projects.
Alister aka Buster speaking to the children about parkour
Appreciation for this wonderful project includes Nikke Gladwin-Paffett, Community Services Manager for Children & Young People. Nikke has worked in this field for many years so has a massive amount of experience to tap in to. Nikke arranged a design and play consultation where around 30 children from the Bewbush area where invited to design and draw what equipment they would like most in the park. Nikke then took them on a play tour of various other parks so they could see the different types of play equipment available to them. Along with Nikke and four of the main contractors, the children then sat around and worked out what was best for the new site. Geoff Waller who was from the civil engineer company also played a vital part in the project as did the designers and parkour professionals Urban Playground – Alister and Miranda. And not least, the young parkour people of Crawley who advised us in the early stages.
Liz Hart deserves a big mention as Liz was heavily involved with this project and helped to make it a great success. Liz is the Community Arts Officer based at The Hawth and has been working with the youth of Crawley for many years, improving their access to performing arts in various forms. Although when we spoke to Liz she prompted there is no I in team! Liz said former colleague Dave Downey was a part of the ‘team’ and his title was Active Crawley Officer, Extreme Sports, who now works at K2 was a great contributor to this project. Dave’s interaction with the children’s ideas and his input into the the parkour site were invaluable. Yvonne Newman, Client Project Manager, Property Services and Procurement was another great contributor of time and effort. The whole concept was built up over a two year period and it took twelve months to complete and construct.
We were amazed with the different types of equipment which made up the four sites. They are innovative, educational and great fun to play on. Personally I had a little go on one of the pieces of equipment called ‘ridgerider’ and fell off with great style may I say. Not completely recommended for the larger people of the town. Here are the pictures to prove my bravery.
Going, going......
We are very excited about this new park and look forward to the invite to the next rejuvenation project Crawley has to offer.
xx
