This year we are changing.

Instead we will be having our management meeting on the last Tuesday. But the open welcome is still the same. We are happy to see people who want to come along. You might want to have an idea you want to suggest, or simply to find out what the Friends are all about. We only ask that you contact the Secretary Farid beforehand – 07859 014215 – just in case we have a full house and can’t fit any more in.

* every month except for December and August, for obvious reasons.

To see more of Arnold Circus being used for what it was designed for (and what it does best) check out the Bandstand Busking website, where you can also sign up to their mailing list to make sure you don’t miss any future busks!

We replanted all the bulbs (Bluebells & Daffs) & plants (Hellebores, Hollyhocks & Geraniums) and  spread  the seeds (Hollyhocks, Musk Mallow etc.) which we had saved from before the work began, and we put in new plants (Epimediums, Foxgloves, Geums, Aquilegias & ferns).

The water supply was eventually turned on in May, but the pipes are continually being bitten through and pulled up – by dogs, rats, and people going onto the beds – and have to be repaired and re-anchored.

The South side has looked good some of the time, but can look pretty drab & scruffy at others.Here it is looking at it’s best.

Some of the plants are being trampled, and litter (mainly bottles & cans) is being thrown onto the beds, and some irresponsible people are still bringing their dogs onto the Circus and letting them run wild, fouling the footpaths and the beds.

(The contractors (Fountains) do a good job and come most days to empty the bins & clear the litter from the paths, and I clear the litter from the beds when I am here).

Somebody brought their fighter dogs onto the Circus in May and they ripped the bark from the trees.

Great Tits nested in a bird box and hatched a clutch of eggs in May.

Somebody buried a dead cat on the Circus in November, and they had to be asked to remove it. They made  a mess, uprooting plants etc., and we don’t want people to do it as it encourages rats, foxes and dogs to dig it up.

The planting contractors came back in October (and again this month), and did more planting. to finally fulfill their contract.

It is so good to see so many people visit the Circus, to meet friends, have their lunch, to come to the events, or just to look and be here.

Minutes of the Trustee’s monthly meeting in November 2011

Minutes of the Trustee’s monthly meeting in October 2011

They are featuring two fantastic bands for their very last busk of the year:

Forest Fire – 1.30pm :: http://on.fb.me/vBoMxg
The Lampshades – 2.15pm :: http://on.fb.me/uD1qVc

Wrap up warm and cosy!

Here’s a video of Jesca Hoop at the bandstand this summer, to get you in the mood – there’s lots more great videos on the bandstand busking blog.

Let them know you’re coming on Facebook (it really helps) and on twitter @bandstandbusks.

If anything changes they’ll post it on their blog. So check!

See you there!

More details to follow, but well done to everybody involved!

The project was created to raise awareness and funds for BirdLife International and their frontline conservation projects.  Each artist was asked to adopt an extinct bird and breathe the life back into it through their art.  The gallery will be full of artworks resurrecting Gone Birds so that we can learn more about what has been lost.  A section of the exhibition will be dedicated to telling stories about the work being done around the world to stop any more bird species becoming extinct.

Here’s a taster of some of the excellent work featured:

The exhibition includes work from major British artists like Sir Peter Blake and Ralph Steadman, wildlife artists like Dafila Scott and Harriet Mead, plus young rising stars of the contemporary art scene like Kai & Sunny, Charming Baker, Jamie Hewlett and Rob Ryan.  Music is by Jimi Goodwin (Doves) and writers such as novelist Margaret Atwood and poet John Barlow.

The project aims to “raise a creative army for conservation” – to establish a new meeting point between art and the environment.  As well as enjoying the multimedia exhibition, local schools are invited to fulfil the same brief as the artists and create their own artistic tributes to extinct birds, and get the opportunity to discuss the work with a representative of the RSPB or BirdLife or even one of the artists themselves.

Check out the Ghosts of Gone Birds facebook page for more information and some more images of the exhibition.

The exhibition is at Rochelle School, Arnold Circus, Shoreditch, E2 7ES from Nov 2-23rd.

Sept 2011 FOAC MINUTES

Looks like some joker has mistaken one of the trees on the circus for a hot girl.  Whoops.

Really though, why spoil the garden that so many members of the community have put so much effort into creating?  And with such a rubbish tag?  Hope this hot girl doesn’t come back.