The Friends are delighted to announce to all our supporters the creation of 20 new dwellings in the park, 10 this year and 10 last year adding to the previous 10 from previous years. Some of the dwellings have been occupied but unfortunately not all.
 
Each comes with a lovely front door and single living space for Mum, Dad and a few kids. They are in a great elevated location with leafy surroundings.
 
Unfortunately none come with a parking space but each has an abundance of fresh livestock to fill all those little mouths.
 
Friends would like to ask park users to adopt a dwelling and report on Facebook how the occupants are doing. Maybe post some pictures of the activities and report on the occupants.
 
We hope to add more in the years to come.
 
Let’s together look after our lovely feathered friends and essential park residents.

Just a bit dreich in the park today when Friends held its next volunteer morning. As well as clearing leaves around and on the Fossil Grove building to help maintain the building from water penetration and weeding the recently planted large planter at the toilet block, we were delighted to see the delivery of 2 of the 3 new Council planters beside the cafe. Friends thought it would help to create a feeling of community space at the cafe, offer some protection from the elements and enhance the seating area. Friends had requested these planters during the summer and at last they’ve arrived. What do you think; do you like the planters? Looking forward to seeing you great volunteers again in November. 😎

Cameron Thom has produced a short film about Victoria Park. Narration by Tom Urie.

This  year’s AGM will be a virtual affair starting at 7.30pm on Thursday 20 August. The Friends Annual General meeting normally takes place in May but this years had to be postponed because of the lockdown.
Friend’s Chairperson Michael Herrigan will provide updates on the Fossil Grove, the new Community Trust and other news. We will discuss the key role the park has played in our community over the last six months and whether parks should be given the same statutory status as other essential public services. Green MSP Patrick Harvie has very kindly agreed to be this years guest speaker. 
This AGM will include proposed amendments to the constitution and the election of office bearers.
Just email the friends to get the details required to log in to the zoom meeting.

Plans to develop the quarry area of the Fossil Grove as a magnificent Victorian fernery took a great step forward last month.
Bill Peebles, Deacon of the Incorporation of Gardeners met with the Friends of Victoria Park to present a cheque for £2300 for their fernery fund. Members of the Gardeners Guild had met with the Friends group at the Fossil Grove in November and were impressed with efforts being made to improve this area of the park which had become quite run down.
Bill Peebles explains: “The parks are very important to the city and when we visited this project we were keen to help. I used to love visiting the Fossil Grove as a boy - it was magnificent back then. It’s very sad when our parks are not maintained the way they used to be. We wish the Friends of Victoria Park every success with the fernery.”
Cathie Russell, Secretary of the Friends of Victoria Park said: “This is fantastic news and came as a great surprise. It comes only a few weeks after the Glasgow West Area Partnership awarded us £3000 which has enabled us to order plants for planting early Summer. We are hoping the funds from the Incorporation will allow us to do more planting this Autumn or in Spring next year. The redevelopment of the fernery will take up to ten years or so and all the work is being undertaken by volunteers. The plantinq scheme is being drawn up by landscape architect Richard East and the fernery is also supported by the British Pteridological Society.
Work scheduled to take place on the fernery in Spring 2020 has had to be cancelled because of the Coronavirus lock down but we will reassess what can be done if restrictions are eased.
Please note the photo above showing Cathie Russell, Secretary of The Friends with Bill Peebles, Landscape Architect Richard East and Friends Vice Chairperson Elizabeth Brown was taken early in March before the current restrictions,

Join members of the Friends of Victoria Park this Saturday 14 December to help decorate the little Christmas Tree near the Oswald Clock.
We will be meeting at 11.30am and would encourage everyone to bring any spare decorations or ribbons that will give the wee tree a Christmas makeover.
Once the tree is decorated we usually sing a few carols and share some mince pies. Everyone is welcome!

The Friends of Victoria Park will once again be hosting a simple Remembrance Service at Victoria Park's beautiful Cenotaph on Sunday 10 November at 2pm.
After an introduction from Michael Herrigan, Chairperson of the Friends, Gillian Mawdsley will pay tribute to some of the local people involved in World War 1 and World War 2.
The service will conclude with the reading of the citation  followed by  the last post, played by Jordanhill's Euan Aitken.
The Friends of Victoria Park reinstated the service several years ago.  The Cenotaph is a major feature of the park and was erected in 1922 to commemorate all those who lost their lives in World War 1.
The monument by sculptor Francis William Doyle consists of a bronze female figure with outspread wings standing on a globe and holding out a wreath with both hands - a symbol of peace crowning the heroes..
The inscription on the cenotaph reads: Our /beloved dead/to the glory of God/and in/Grateful & everlasting/rememberance/ of the men of /Partick & Whiteinch/ who fell in the Great War 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.
The sculptor Francis Doyle was from Yorkshire and graduated for the Royal School of Art South Kensington. Following the Great War he undertook a number of commissions for English War Memorials but we believe this is his only Scottish War Memorial and it bears many similarities with ones he produced for Brighouse, Yorkshire, Cockermouth  in Cumbria and the South African War Memorial in Saltwell Park, Gateshead.
More than 18,000 men from Glasgow were killed in World War 1 alone - too many to name on local war memorials. It was for this reason that a cenotaph where everyone could remember their own relatives and friends was built. You can see all their names listed in Glasgow's Roll of Honour
This youtube video shows just  how well attended the Victoria Park Remembrance Service once was.

The Friends of Victoria Park are taking part in this years Doors Open events. We are hosting two guided heritage walks around the park on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September at 2pm.
Just meet at the Jubilee Gates on Victoria Park Drive north and our guide will be on hand to tell you more about the history of the park, its Victoria benefactors, the Memorial to those lost on the Daphne, the Fossil Grove, the Cenotaph and much more.
The walks will last about an hour, finishing down at the Fossil Grove museum which is open on Saturdays and Sundays form 12 till 4pm.  On Doors Open weekend there will be guided tours of the Fossil Grove available on request.
Here is a link to Glasgow's Doors Open day website.