Val talks about how she started to come to the park with her grandchildren, how she has now moved near the park, participates in bowling and the choir. Also talks about the flooding stopping people using the bowling and the childrens play area. And how lovely it would be to see some more colour from resurrecting the rose beds. Making use of the park during the lockdown was really important when she visited 4-5 times a week. She loves the variety and the cafe too.

uh, hello. Uh, thanks for coming today to the Lady Bowlers. Um and, um, it's good of you to take part. And I just wanted to ask, um, how long you've been coming to Longford Park

I started coming to Longford Park about eight years ago. Um, because my daughter and her husband have two sons who live nearby, and from from them being born, I would come over here every every other Friday to look after them while Mom and Dad were at work. And because we were close by coming to the playground, the Children's play area at the park was absolutely ideal

So I've spent hours and hours putting on the swings, um, put put, pushing them around on the roundabout, listening to the musical tunes and, um, helping them climb up the climbing frame and which all of which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was it was a good play area, and now the Children are 12 and nine. They've progressed to the big boys area with the zip wire and the big clothing mounted

Um, I think they've done some improvements to the the young Children's play area, and I think that's pretty good. If it's well fenced in and safe. But perhaps some attention could be made to the bigger boys play area

Um, it gets very, very muddy when it's wet, and there is a very big variety of, um, activities for them to do so that that could be an So I I've come been coming all those years up and down. And then last December I actually moved here into a flat opposite, um, Longford Park, um, to be near my daughter and the family. Um, and I've used the park a lot

Uh, I I've used it to get out in the fresh air. I've used it for walks and enjoying being outside. I think it's a really, really nice park because you've got such a good mixture

You've got some big open spaces for for games and football. And it's lovely in some of those big open places to see families sitting around having picnics and playing games. And that's really, really nice

It's lovely to be around such big trees and that nice mixture of trees. Uh, there are some flower beds which are very, very pretty, but I don't think there are enough. Um, like I've heard other people say it would be nice to have I

I I'm not a massive fan of Rose Gardens, but, um, to have some colour, some rests of some of the rose gardens and some colour in those beds would be really nice. Um, I like having the cafe. Um, it just it just a nice food

Um, it's useful to have the toilets there, but obviously they're only open when the cafes open, which is perhaps not such a good thing. Um, I can't think of anything else at the moment. Yeah

So, um oh, and I joined the bowling. I've joined the bowling club this this march one or two people live in the flats where I live have been members here for a long time and encouraged me to come and join. So it's lovely to to play a game which I find interesting and challenging, And also to meet a really welcoming, lovely group of people and make make friends, which has been excellent

Have you joined any other clubs in the park? Yeah. Um, no. I mean, I I take the I take the Children

I take the Children to scouts and beavers because that that's not for me to join. Um, I mean, would you would you trust the the community choir? Um, where we meet at the at the, um, first hall and again, thinking of what you were saying earlier, the last last week, when we went, we noticed that some of the really really, really bad holes in the road have been patched. So perhaps if they patched some of the holes near the beacon centre, Um, perhaps they could do the holes elsewhere

Yes. Yeah. So, um, so you you you use the community centre end as well

So so you use quite a lot of the part, Really? Don't you know, coming in at different entrances. So, um, I would just wondered if you got a favourite part of the park that that you like, you know, or any particular activity that you do within the park. That, you'd say is your the park

The area of the park I like is is the variety of places where you can walk. I do like to walk up the main footpath. Um, that leads, um, from edge lane up to the cafe and the little pets corner, because the trees walking that avenue of trees at different times of the year is is is lovely

Um, and I I live My flat is opposite the park. So in the spring, I get a wonderful display of DA of the daffodils, so that's really that's really nice, um, walking around, I enjoy walking around. I enjoy walking around in all the different places

Um, the one thing I would say was that they do need to check on the drainage because there are times particularly near the bowling green, where they have are absolutely flooded, and there's no chance of walking around them at all. Yeah. So if there was money available, you think drainage would be? I think so, yes

And was it it sort of, um January February time This year. The rain was was so bad, so heavy in parts of the park just outside the bowling green, it was up to people's knees. It was really it was very, very, very deep

And, um so you you walk off that main path and is it quite a decent path there? When it's not flooded, you're quite happy with the main path doesn't get flooded. The main, the main drag I call it. It's covered in leaves at the moment, which could be a bit slippy

But there you take your chances, do it, but yeah, and it's It's quite interesting watching the squirrels, a mixture of birds. So it's Yes, yes, there's a lot of variety to see when you walk down. Yes, I do

Because I wouldn't walk on my own at night. No, no, not at all. But during the day time, absolutely

Walk a lot on my own. And when you came to live here, was that draw in the lockdown? Yes. And do you feel that you use the power more because of the covid crisis? Did it have any impact on how frequently you use the power? I think it probably did

Yes, because, um, when you live on your own, it's important to get out. Um, and And now that I've been here a while and lockdown is is is eased, I've got more things I can go to. So I I don't don't need to get out

And just to just to get out and walk. So what? During the lockdown period, how often we coming into the park? Oh, four or five times a week, but sometimes I wouldn't come into this park. Sometimes I would go on to turn moss and go for a walk around, turn moss along the lanes there

So I did vary it a bit. But I do prefer the park because there is more variety, more to see. And it's nice to have a coffee

Oh, yeah. Um Oh, thank you for telling me your thought. Anyway, it's good to know

Is there anything else that you want to? I can't. I can't think of anything else, so you just turn it off.

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