Dear Members.
Due to the current restrictions on holding public gatherings, I am unable to invite you to attend an
open Annual General Meeting (AGM) this year. However, I have asked our various officers to
prepare their reports on the activities of The Friends year to date. They are given below and, of
course, if you have any questions or you would like more clarification on any of the entries within
them, please contact our Secretary Peter de Figueiredo (0151 652 1027) who will then ask the
relevant officer to reply to you directly.
Annette Capper (Chair)
Report from The Chair:
Well Friends, I think I can safely say that this year has been the most challenging any of us have ever
lived through. As we are unable to hold an AGM as usual, I want to give you a sense of what has been
achieved by The Friends committee and our volunteers since we were all together at our last AGM.
Before Xmas last year we planted a Mountain Ash (Rowan tree) on the Oxton Fields in memory of
one of our founding members Jim Fryer, and it was lovely to have his wife Val and their family there.
We also had a very enjoyable day just before Xmas. We converted The Shed into Santa’s Grotto and
welcomed families and their furry friends with hot drinks, mince pies, chocolates, tangerines and
treats of course for their doggy family members.
In February we planted 200 Alder and Willow whips, provided by Wirral Borough Council (WBC),
on the Oxton Fields. We concentrated our planting to developing new small clusters of trees in those
areas of The Fields where the drainage is poor. The young trees are still doing well, and once well
established, they will become an attractive feature of The Fields.
In March we attended the annual Wirral History and Heritage Fair at Birkenhead Town Hall, but
after that it was not possible to organise any further events as we were restricted from arranging many
volunteer group activities. We had planned to have a plant sale, an Easter Egg hunt, a plant stall at
the Oxton’s Secret Gardens event and our Patron, the Earl of Shrewsbury, had accepted our invitation
to visit Oxton on that day, but all of that had to be cancelled. However, we carried on undeterred.
The finishing touches to the structure of The Shed have been completed, adding rain-water butts,
making the gutters secure, painting the floor and putting up fixtures and fittings inside. Currently,
our volunteers are painting and decorating the outside walls. The gardening group have been working
throughout the recent months of restricted group activities - and, of course, observing social distancing
to keep the Rose Garden looking at its best: Planting new rose bushes, pruning, weeding, composting
and during the hot dry periods in Summer watering the rose beds. In late June we were allowed to
re-commence our group gardening activities, but still with strict social distancing rules in place.
We have been working jointly with the Oxton Society to put together an Oxton Calendar, but this
project has been shelved this year due to the currently limited opportunities to market and sell it.
Hopefully it will be published next year.
Two Bee Hotels were put up in the Rose Garden in September, each on a mature tree in the
Long Border, and we held a ceremony jointly with the Oxton Society to dedicate one of them to
Bill Blackledge MBE - a long standing Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS)
North West in Bloom, and from whom we were awarded last year an assessment of Level 5
(Outstanding). Unfortunately, they weren’t able to continue with their award assessment
programme this year, but if they had I’m sure that you would agree that they would have found
The Arno looking even better thanks to our volunteer gardeners.
Our gardening group and volunteers have done a magnificent job clearing and tidying up the
entrance to the Quarry Garden and in October they planted 750 mixed Spring bulbs there.
So many visitors to our park who saw the planting in progress have said how much they look
forward to seeing those bulbs in bloom next Spring. Our Notice Boards and Blogspot are being
regularly updated and refreshed, and both are well deserving of a regular visit.
We have also retained our Green Flag Status this year, and for 10th year in succession. Being awarded
a Green Flag recognises that our park meets the highest national standard. A great achievement
given this year’s difficulties, and well deserved for all the hard work put in by the gardening group
and our many other volunteers.
Your Committee Members have been meeting regularly recently , but “virtually” via Zoom
technology, to address issues, make plans for improvements and generally to keep in touch. We have
been over-whelmed by the many very kind words of appreciation we have received from the public
for our efforts. We have gained 14 new members this year, and we have also received Thank You
cash donations totalling £500. It is clear that one good thing to come out of these very difficult times
is a greater recognition of the importance of parks and open spaces and the contribution they make to
the whole community towards both our mental and physical well-being.
If you know of anyone who has equally appreciated our park recently and would like to support us
by becoming a “Friend” please pass on their details to our Membership Secretary Linda Atkinson
(0151 652 9016) or alternatively tell them that they can find us on our Facebook page, or
at www.friendsofthearno.blogspot.com. Our Membership Fees are still just £7.50 for a household
or £5 for an individual (just 10 pence a week!).
It is not possible at the moment to organise events but we will carry on gardening and keeping the
park looking good - meeting from 10am to 12noon each Monday morning and the first Saturday
of each month, current restrictions and weather permitting of course. Looking forward, we are in
discussions with WBC to trial a picnic bench in the Quarry Garden. We have also submitted plans
to WBC for an extension to The Shed for a toilet block. There might also be a funding opportunity
next year to allow us to “refresh” the Little Arno and to make it more attractive to visit. Still lots to do!
Annette Capper (Chair)
Treasurer’s Report:
Income 2020 YTD 2019 Full Year
Membership 1,050 1,017
Donations 500 590
Events 24 1,067
Bids & Grants 600 0
Total: 2,174 2,675
Expenditure 2020 YTD 2019 Full Year
Gardening Group 990 902
Membership & Publicity 212 314
Shed restoration 294 2,518
Other 185 137
Total: 1,683 3,871
Notes:
Income: Donations: £500 from Thank You donations.
Bids & Grants: £600 from WBC to provide gardening tools
Expenditure: Gardening Group: £600 purchasing gardening tools
Ray Johnson ( Treasurer)
Membership Secretary’s Report:
Current membership number: 131 (including 14 new and 6 free Life Members)
Members renewing by cash or cheques: 66
Members renewing by Standing Order: 59
If you can renew your membership by Standing Order, it would be a great help both to me and to
our Treasurer. Creating a Standing Order is a quite simple process.
Simply, give OUR bank details to YOUR bank together with the amount to be paid and the
annual date on which payments should be made. Our bank details are:
Account Name: The Friends of The Arno & Oxton Fields
Sort Code: 40-10-26 Account: 11489127
Linda Atkinson (Membership Secretary)
Re-election of Officers and General Committee Members:
All of the current Officers and General Committee Members are prepared to act for another
year with the exception of John Hall who is stepping down as a General Committee member
but stays committed to continuing to support us in volunteering activities.
Those members seeking re-election are:
Officers:
Annette Capper (Chair)
Peter de Figueiredo (Secretary)
Ray Johnson (Treasurer)
Linda Atkinson (Membership Secretary)
General Committee Members:
Heather Jones, Alison Clarke, Patrick Toosey, Janice Gronow, John Booth
and
Sian Turner
Peter de Figueiredo ( Secretary)
Close:
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued support and I hope to meet you
in better times next year. In the mean-time look after yourselves, keep safe and stay well.
Annette Capper (Chair)
November 2020
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