Bunhill Quaker Gardens

Wild-flower garden on a summer's day

2006-06-11T15:24:00.000+01:00

Wild flower garden on a summer's day #4
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

May was wet, and June so far has been hot and sunny; so no surprise that there has been a lot of growth in the garden.

A lot of the temporary fencing was removed a short while after the photos I took a month ago, and the gardens now look much more attractive and welcoming. Some people think it's all weeds, but they'll learn.

Here's a picture of the jam-packed climbing frame and roundabout, and another showing the benches being put to use.

Working on the Meeting House finished ahead of schedule, and meetings resumed there last Sunday. I attended then, but didn't make it today (for no very good reason!). Today's meeting was actually still in progress when I took the picture on the left — hence the open door.

Open day in the gardens, 8 July

2006-06-08T18:49:00.000+01:00

Advertisement for opening
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This is an advert that appeared in Quaker journal, The Friend, recently. Events will run from 10am to 6pm, and are for the funders of the redevelopment, Quakers, and the neighbours of the gardens. Please come if you belong to any of these categories!

Bluebell ridge and metal fence

2006-05-05T16:20:00.000+01:00

Bluebell ridge and metal fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

In the foreground is the area of the gardens described on the plans as the bluebell ridge (first mentioned here ). There are two bluebell plants on it, which you can see if you look closely (click on the photo for a larger, annotated version).

At the back left of the photo (at the foot of the tree) are the discarded sections of the metal playground fence, which were allegedly kicked down by someone, leaving a large gap in the fence. A few minutes after this photo was taken, this afternoon, someone came and took away these fence sections in a Glendale van.

Here is the full set of photos I took today. (I'm happy for Glendale to put any of these on their home page). The recently planted bamboo is not looking very healthy — I'm unclear who is responsible for watering it. On a sunny Friday lunchtime, every bench in nearby Bunhill Fields was full, but those here were sadly empty.

Spring is later this year

2006-04-17T14:01:00.000+01:00

Spring is later this year
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Compare this photo, taken this morning, with one taken on 3 April last year, and I think you'll see the buds are at about the same stage. By 17 April last year, you could see green leaves.

Sporadic work

2006-02-12T17:22:00.000Z

Replacing the broken tree
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Valentine's Day will be the first anniversary of work starting on the gardens. In the last couple of weeks there have been sporadic visits to the site to do some basic maintenance.

First some of the leaves were cleared and I think possibly some new plants may have been planted, though there's little evidence of this if you look up close.

Then both the broken stripling tree and its healthy twin were removed, to be replaced by slightly more mature trees.

Quaker Gardens, tree and Chequer Court

2005-12-18T17:37:00.000Z

Quaker Gardens, tree and Chequer Court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A picture of the gardens on a December Sunday afternoon.

Some enjoyable carol singing at the Friends' Meeting this morning.

Tree felled

2005-12-12T00:22:00.000Z

Tree felled
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This was taken on Thursday. I don't know when it happened. It doesn't look like an accident. So much preparation and care, and it only takes one person one moment to snuff it all out.

Winter leaves

2005-12-02T17:04:00.000Z

Winter leaves
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

It's been four months since I last wrote here, but I do occasionally add photos, which you can see in the full set of pictures.

The photo on the left shows the collection of the vast volume of leaves caught in drifts against the many fences in the gardens. At the end of October, I took this picture of the plane tree as it started to lose significant numbers of leaves. Other activity includes Lisa Bowers Isaacson talking about the history of the site at a Friends' Meeting for Learning; and a small film crew that arrived in the playground one afternoon in late August, for purposes unknown.

Gardening

2005-08-04T18:22:00.000+01:00

Gardening
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The original gardening company paid a visit this morning — seen here mowing the new turf. They also did some other general maintenance.

Nothing else to report.

Open garden

2005-07-31T13:26:00.000+01:00

Meeting House and its garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

For the first time I was able to get to this morning's Friends' Meeting through the gardens, rather than round them. Here's the Meeting House with its garden.

Apparently the new wooden fence is indeed a temporary measure to protect the plants while they bed in. Phew. Some areas of the garden are still quite barren, and some of the new plants have been parched by the recent heat.

Good bye security fences

2005-07-30T18:02:00.000+01:00

Taking the security fences away
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

On the right you can see the truck that removed the security fences today. At last. Lucy likes the wooden fence and disagrees with my comments in the previous posting, but I'm sticking to them.

New wooden fence

2005-07-26T20:00:00.000+01:00

Fence posts going in
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Completed fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

In the first building activity in almost a week, a new landscaping company turned up this morning to erect a new fence. The upper photo shows the posts being driven in, and the lower one shows the completed fence.

All the signs are that this was not on the original plan. I hope it's temporary — perhaps while the new plants are bedding in — because it doesn't fit well with the other fencing and landscaping at all. Instead of the zen garden theme this fence has the feeling of an Orpington semi's back garden. Which is fine in itself, but doesn't really fit with the design here.

Rolling again

2005-07-20T17:18:00.000+01:00

Rolling again
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I heard a rumble this afternoon and, looking out, saw that the Quiet Garden path was being rolled once again.

Ball court fence complete

2005-07-19T18:16:00.000+01:00

Final segment of ball court fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The ball court fence now appears complete on all four sides. Now hopefully there will be fewer of the cymbal crashes that ring out every time a ball is kicked into the temporary security fencing.

Fourth side of the ball court fence

2005-07-18T21:24:00.000+01:00

Drilling holes in the end of the ball court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Fourth side of the fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

There's a distinct whiff of 'afterthought' about the digging, drilling and sawing that went on today. Presumably if it had always been intended that the ball court would have new fencing on all four sides, then the foundations would have been put in place from the start? But throughout the day the tarmac at the far end of the court was dug, the fence posts were cut, and bit by bit the fence was installed.

This work was done with ball games going on around it. In the upper photo the lunchtime regulars from a nearby school are just about to collide with the two guys in the corner. In this lower photo, later in the day, bits of the fence are starting to go up.

New thoroughfare surface

2005-07-17T17:26:00.000+01:00

New thoroughfare surface
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I've been on holiday in Sicily for a couple of weeks. It feels like a lot has happened in London in that time, though as far as I can tell the only development in the Quaker Gardens is a new beige surface for the thoroughfare.

We also seem to have a new security guard. This is his dog van, and you can just see the head of his alsation to the right of the van.

The grass on the turf seems to be growing nicely, but elsewhere some of the plants are looking a bit parched — apparently it's been hot here — and some rearguard watering was being done even this morning.

More re-working

2005-06-27T19:12:00.000+01:00

More re-working
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Again there is work on the border of the tree beds, involving digging, sawing and banging.

Everything was watered today, including the tarmac which was hosed down.

Clean up

2005-06-26T14:09:00.000+01:00

Cleaning up #3
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

After the Quaker Meeting we went round the site collecting all the rubbish that accretes at a rapid rate — even including a pair of trainers! And in this picture you can see the security guard (in black) helping us out.

More rolling

2005-06-25T18:42:00.000+01:00

More rolling
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This morning the area under our window was rolled. I didn't notice if any of the surface was dug up or re-laid before the rolling — it's only when you hear a noise that you can't locate anywhere else that you look straight down.

Path re-constructed

2005-06-24T17:53:00.000+01:00

Spreading the new surface #1
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Rolling the new surface
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A couple of days ago I asked "how many layers do they have to dig before the path can be relaid correctly?", and the answer seems to be: about half a one.

This morning some new surface material was ferried in by wheelbarrow. Then it was spread — upper photo on the left — and rolled — lower photo.

Apparently one of the problems with the original construction was that what I call the 'hover-roller' (apparently it's slightly more proper name is 'whacker') was used for the rolling, and it shouldn't be — though I noticed it was still on site today.

De-snagging

2005-06-23T17:44:00.000+01:00

What's going on here?
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I couldn't work out quite what was going on here, but I think it was a construction issue, rather than a horticultural one. It involved repeated hammering on the metal plate along the edge of the tree bed.

There was more work on the path, but nothing very significant that I could see through the leaves of the tree.

Back to the path

2005-06-22T22:43:00.000+01:00

Digger back on the path
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

As my collection of photos of the Quaker Gardens re-development reaches three hundred, here's a bit of dejà vu.

When I went to the Quaker meeting last Sunday, I heard that there were — as I said yesterday — contractual issues with a number of aspects of the site. One is the Quiet Garden path, which apparently was not laid in line with the instructions. Some of it is being dug up again. The question is how many layers do they have to dig before the path can be relaid correctly?

So far it's a slow process with the digger scooping the surface layer into wheelbarrows that were then wheeled away by hand.

The planting seems to be more or less complete, though watering continues through the heatwave.

Glory be: some turf!

2005-06-21T14:25:00.000+01:00

Turf
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I think I may have hinted before at how much I've been longing for some grass, so this is good to see.

I'm not quite sure what's being done to the concrete wall round the Meeting House Garden: as it's turned the corner, it looks as though some kind of varnish is being applied to the surface (the smell wafts upwards). I understand there remain some 'contractual issues' with this wall.

Last night someone was playing basketball on the ball court at 1.15am. There's something about the weight of a basketball, and the thud-boom of its bounce, that makes one or two people playing the game a much more disruptive sound than ten playing football.

New topsoil

2005-06-20T17:14:00.000+01:00

New topsoil #2
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

New topsoil was spread and brushed or raked over several of the beds today: you can see the richer brown on the right hand of this picture.

One of the guys from Coblands Landscapes has a bandaged hand (I'm told he's the Boss), and to see him picking up the uprooted plants, now sorry and dried out from the sun, with his one 'good' hand was an image of pathos.

Uprooted

2005-06-19T14:27:00.000+01:00

Uprooted #1
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A handful or two of plants have been uprooted around the site. It seems to the kind of casual destruction that asks, "I wonder how easy it is to pull up these newly-planted shrubs?" and arrives at the answer, "Pretty easy, but it gets boring quickly".

Watering

2005-06-17T15:15:00.000+01:00

Sprinkler
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Hose
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A hot weekend is forecast, so perhaps it's the right time to be watering the plants.

This planting business seems to involve large stretches of sitting around on benches, though. I guess you have to be patient to be a successful gardener.

Someone came to service and change the portaloo today — not a job that many people would envy on a hot day.

More planting...

2005-06-16T17:31:00.000+01:00

Planting and pots
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

... and nothing more to say beyond that.

Plant bed

2005-06-15T17:16:00.000+01:00

Plant bed
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I was out for most of today, but here's some of the evidence of further planting I found on my return.

There are also some ferny things along the borders of the Quiet Garden.

The portaloo is standing again.

A hint of green

2005-06-14T17:47:00.000+01:00

First planting
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A batch of plants was delivered this morning, and here are some of them planted in the Chequer Court side of the site.

I guess they will fill out in due course, but is it too disparaging to say they look rather like desert scrub at the moment?

Planting about to begin?

2005-06-13T18:48:00.000+01:00

Landscapers arrive
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Little has happened since I last posted here. After persistent efforts, the security fence was finally broken. A supermarket shopping basket appeared on site, and then disappeared. There's a broken umbrella and packaging of several varieties of snack and fast food.

There were a couple of people inspecting the site again last Wednesday, but, apart from that, nothing.

Last night I snuck into the Quiet Garden — well, everyone else in the neighbourhood seems to have done so — and discovered that the Hoggin is not 'scarred' as I put it. The surface is actually sandy and loose. So again I'm not sure if it's actually finished.

Today this van turned up, apparently from Coblands Landscapes (see their clumsy web site). If that's the case, then perhaps the planting is about to begin. But if they did anything today other than tip out the soil in their trailer, I didn't see it.

Scarred Hoggin

2005-06-07T23:11:00.000+01:00

Hoggin after
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Hoggin before
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The top photo shows the Quiet Garden path just after 7pm today. Compared with the how it looked yesterday afternoon (lower picture), it appears the surface of the Hoggin has been scuffed and scarred.

In limbo

2005-06-06T16:47:00.000+01:00

In limbo
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The gardens seem forlorn today — and lifeless, apart from a 30-minute football game at lunchtime, when boys from the nearby school realised they could move their kickaround from the platform outside Braithwaite House to the ball court.

I assume this is a period of review, before the finishing and de-snagging. I saw a couple of people inspecting the site on Saturday morning.

In the meantime, the only people with access to the gardens are those willing and agile enough to get round the rudimentary security, which makes the site a kind of outlaw zone.

Moving out

2005-06-03T17:36:00.000+01:00

Moving out
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

There goes the last portacabin. I'm not sure if that's the end of the job for the main team: there was little other activity today, aside from putting the odd litter bin in place — yet the portaloo is still there, as is the security fencing at the far end of the site.

If this is indeed the last week of major work on the site, it's finished with a whimper rather than a bang.

Still to do: paint some lines on the ball court (?), plant some organic things.

Incremental steps

2005-06-02T16:29:00.000+01:00

Cutting the fence at the top of the steps
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The picture shows the old fence cut away at the top of the new steps, and now with handrails.

There was more detailed work on the Meeting House Garden, and another layer of the orange-brown stuff (is this the CEDEC hoggin, or just the base on which it is to be laid?) was spread over the Quiet Garden path — as shown in this photo and this one.

Making a din

2005-06-01T16:51:00.000+01:00

Hover-roller from above
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Here's the hover-roller in action again. Now that the fences are up, the larger roller cannot get into some areas. It makes quite a noise, this thing — louder than a hover-mower.

But not as loud as a band saw, which was used this morning to bevel the edges of the Meeting House Garden wall, sending plumes of concrete dust into the air. I had to shut the windows.

Becalmed

2005-05-31T17:44:00.000+01:00

Air hose again
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Not much seemed to be happening today. Perhaps that was because some of the work was out of my sight at the edge of the Meeting House Garden. Some pizza was consumed.

This picture shows the air hose being used on the thoroughfare this morning. I'm still at a loss to figure out what this achieves.

Playground all messy again

2005-05-30T15:39:00.000+01:00

Playground all messy again
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Less than 48 hourse after the playground was 'hosed down' on Saturday, it's covered with detritus again. Someone has found an old timber and broken it into splinters, and fast food packaging seems to get everywhere.

No work on site today as it's a Bank Holiday.

End of week fifteen

2005-05-29T14:02:00.000+01:00

Quiet Garden 02005-05-29 #1
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Quiet Garden 02005-05-29 #4
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

On my way to the Meeting this morning, I think I saw Marianne Park walking around the site, taking stock of progress.

Six weeks ago, I heard that the main work (aside from the planting) was due to be complete on 6th May. It's interesting to compare the top photo on the left with a photo from the same perspective in my entry for that day. I'm guessing it may now be complete at the end of this week (3/4 June). We'll see.

The lower photograph shows all four cubes now in the positions shown on the printed plan. The plan also shows a further new bench, not yet installed, to the right of the cube in the foreground.

Clearing leaves

2005-05-28T15:50:00.000+01:00

Leaves
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

After the hot weather yesterday there were strong winds in the night and the site looked almost autumnal with the number of leaves blown down. Thankfully the new trees don't seem to have suffered.

In this photo the yellow generator-trailer is being used to blow air through the hose for clearing up the detritus, which you can see in the bottom right hand side of the playground. Another wonderful day, but not quite as hot as yesterday.

New trees

2005-05-27T17:37:00.000+01:00

New trees 1
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This must be the hottest day of the year so far, and definitely shirt-off weather if you're working outside.

The new trees have been planted, the first bit of green that has been added to — rather than taken away from — the site.

No further developments on the CEDEC, but some more soil was ferried to the Meeting House Garden (though its final destination is out of site of my window).

Quiet Garden bench

2005-05-26T17:42:00.000+01:00

Quiet Garden bench
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Some of the old benches from the Quaker Gardens are being retained, but this one is new.

Throughout the last week or two, there has been daily activity in the Meeting House Garden, but — apart from the new paving — it's been difficult to spot significant changes. Today the surface was hosed down.

Preparations for CEDEC Hoggin

2005-05-25T18:32:00.000+01:00

Rolling 1
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Rolling 2
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Preparing the Quiet Garden path
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The printed site plan shows several areas designated with CEDEC (hoggin). According to this source, "CEDEC™ self–binding footpath gravels and traditional hoggin are available for low maintenance surfaces. The gravels give a porous but firm surface, and are suitable for pedestrian or recreation areas where grass would be subject to excessive wear." (Though how our eyes cry out for some grass on the site now.) Here are pictures of CEDEC footpaths and gravels.

In the top photo the area under our window is being rolled and prepared, and in the second one — an hour and a half later — the base sand for the CEDEC is being spread and rolled.

The third picture shows the same process in action on the Quiet Garden path.

On the right of this picture you can also see the cubes, which I've referred to before. They've been unwrapped, and — pardon my pedantry — they're not exactly cubic.

Macadamising the thoroughfare

2005-05-24T23:20:00.000+01:00

Macadamising 4
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Having missed the macadamising of the ball court, I took plenty of photos of the process today. It's characterised by slow build-up — tipping the black stuff into the dispenser and so on — followed by rapid and labour-intensive laying of the black slug's trail. One guy is shovelling the black stuff to spread it to the hard-to-reach spots, one is raking it to make it more even, one is rolling it, and another is hosing water onto the newly rolled surface. So they have to all wear luminous waistcoats so that the slug-driver doesn't lose track of them and run one over.

The new trees were delivered, but not planted; and the paving was extended to the side of the Meeting House Garden.

Excavating and surfacing

2005-05-23T18:55:00.000+01:00

Excavation and pipes
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Rolling the surface near Chequer Street
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

You may have spotted some long pipes in previous photos and wondered, as I did, where they were going to be used. Here you can see one of them buried in a trench, which was filled in later in the day.

Lots of piles of soil, sand and gravel here as well. And you can see that the paving round the George Fox memorial is complete. This photo shows the paving inside the Meeting House Garden.

While I was away the surface of the Chequer Street end of the site was developed, with the beds for the new trees clearly marked out, and gravel spread around them. Today the gravel was rolled — see the lower picture to the left.

Spreading soil in the rain

2005-05-20T10:37:00.000+01:00

Spreading soil in the rain
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A miserable morning today (and I'm about to set off for a boating break on Oxford Canal!). More soil was delivered and distributed to different places across the site.

Quiet Garden takes shape

2005-05-19T17:00:00.000+01:00

Quiet Garden takes shape
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

You can see the different grades of soil in this picture, and more was delivered this afternoon.

Final stretch?

2005-05-18T16:36:00.000+01:00

Meeting House Garden cement mix
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

There's still a lot of work going on (and at least eight people on site all day), but it's starting to feel like the end is in sight — at least getting to the point where the planting can begin.

In this picture the patio surface for the Meeting House Garden is being mixed and applied. The plant beds are looking increasingly fertile, and the Chequer Street fence is being re-painted. There was much more cutting of paving stones, spewing forth dust clouds across the site as well as noise that drowned out the radio.

Paving round George Fox memorial

2005-05-17T17:00:00.000+01:00

Laying the first paving stones
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This morning sand was spread round the George Fox memorial, and rolled. Then paving stones have been meticulously laid around the memorial (and more sand was delivered in the afternoon). Lots of very noisy sawing of stones to fit round the edges of the memorial. My plan says the paving stones are "york stone diamond cut".

The soil round the borders of the ball court was dug fairly intensively, as if to prepare it for seeding. A gate for the playground is now half-way installed, the digger having been used to assist with this and other tasks, despite having its windscreen vandalised yesterday evening.

An inspector calls?

2005-05-16T18:43:00.000+01:00

An inspector calls?
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Puddles on ball court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I haven't seen this man before. He was wandering around at lunch-time making notes on his clipboard. A surveyor of some kind, or inspector from the local council?

This afternoon we had the first rain since the tarmac was laid on the ball court. As you can see from the lower photo, there are quite a few puddles. Could the drainage be better?

Big holes for trees

2005-05-13T13:06:00.000+01:00

Big holes
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The plan shows new trees being planted in this area of the site, and I assume they wouldn't take root in such stoney, concrete-ridden earth, so big holes were dug today by the returning JCB. They were later partly filled in with newly delivered topsoil.

The original shovel buggy is back too — with the smaller one taken away — as can be seen in this photo, which also shows the thoroughfare being 'rolled' as though in preparation for a new surface.

Chequer Street entrance

2005-05-12T18:12:00.000+01:00

Removing more soil
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This morning the small digger dug some holes and built the old surface around the Chequer Street site entrance into piles. In this photo you can see one of those piles being removed by our old friend the Muck It lorry.

The digger was also at work in the Quiet Garden but hidden from my view by the increasingly dense foliage of the plane tree. The gravel was moved temporarily (?) into the space of one of the plant beds, and work continues sporadically in the Meeting House Garden, but leaves no significant visual trace!

Goodbye portacabin

2005-05-11T20:27:00.000+01:00

Small portacabin airborne
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The larger portacabin was taken away this morning, and the smaller one moved onto the ball court (a tricky operation) to clear the Chequer Street end of the site.

Elsewhere during the day, topsoil was tipped into the plant beds along the west of the site, and there was a delivery of gravel.

Missed it!

2005-05-10T20:39:00.000+01:00

Ball court with tarmac
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

We got back from our Cornwall trip at 6.30 this evening, and of course we'd missed the macadamising of the ball court. That may seem a trivial matter to you, but I'd been anticipating that transformation for weeks…

Another kind of Quaker garden

2005-05-08T21:29:00.000+01:00

Trebah: house from down by the river
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Lucy and I had a long weekend down in Cornwall, and visited Trebah Garden, which was designed in the nineteenth century by a Quaker, Charles Fox (I don't know if he's related to the George Fox buried at Bunhill).

Stretched out over 26 acres and reaching down to the beautiful Helford River, it's not in the same ball court (sorry) as Bunhill Fields. To the left is one of the photos I took, and here's a full set of all the photos of Trebah Gardens on the Flickr site.

Under the gate

2005-05-06T23:52:00.000+01:00

Under the gate
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I was out from 7am until 10.30pm today, but Lucy took this picture of a rather bizarre device being installed under the gate, before being buried in concrete.

The new mould for the Meeting House Garden wall was filled with concrete. Better luck this time.

I thought this might be the day the tarmac arrived for the ball court, but it was not to be.

Preparing the surface of the ball court

2005-05-05T17:48:00.000+01:00

Preparing the surface of the ball court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

After the spreading of earth yesterday, there was a lot of rolling of the ball court today. The 'hover mower', as I called it before, was back in use. It seems to be used for compressing those hard-to-get-to areas where the roller cannot get.

The sides of the ball court fencing were also undone, and I presumed this was to allow access for the macadamising process. But nothing further on that today.

I went to vote at lunchtime at the Vibast Community Centre on Old Street. The candidate for whom I voted acknowledges that he's unlikely to get elected, but my vote is not wasted. The results will be here on the BBC site.

Soil on the ball court

2005-05-04T17:30:00.000+01:00

More drilling and fencework
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Soil on the ball court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

More drilling this morning as the fence extends straight towards the Banner Street entrance.

I'm not sure what the 'final' surface of the ball court is going to be — I'd assumed some kind of tarmac, though I don't know how that will be laid. The stuff that was distributed over the court today looked like ordinary topsoil, thinly spread.

Early evening, after the day's work is over

2005-05-03T23:38:00.000+01:00

New wall for Meeting House Garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Earth for Quiet Garden beds
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I was out today, so these two photos were taken just before 7.30 in the evening. I didn't see any of the work taking place, but it's clear from the top picture that the Meeting House Garden wall has been re-constructed — and this time it seems to accommodate all the paving stones.

The second photo shows that topsoil has been distributed in the inner bed of the Quiet Garden, where (according to the printed plan) 'woodland-type grass' will be planted. What is that thing that looks like an upturned pram chassis at the end of the path (top left quadrant)?

Concrete for Quiet Garden

2005-04-30T23:04:00.000+01:00

Mixing concrete in situ
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I only caught this at the point where I took this photo, but it looks as though concrete is being mixed in situ in the shovel buggy, before it was shipped over to the Quiet Garden and tipped out there.

Meeting House Garden wall, Take 2

2005-04-29T23:45:00.000+01:00

Meeting House Garden wall, Take 2
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Playground and Quiet Garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The carpenter was on site again today, and looks to be reconstructing the beginnings of a mould for the wall.

Elsewhere the second layer of surfacing was completed on the playground. There being no rain during the working day, the new surface was hosed down. If you look under the tree in the lower photo you can see people making fine adjustments to the borders in the Quiet Garden.

The missing bits of the ball park fencing were put in place, and security fencing put along its farther (eastern) edge. I don't know how effective that was, as I was out this evening.

Setback

2005-04-28T10:36:00.000+01:00

Setback
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

It looks as though the up-and-down paving was more than just a playful game, as the Meeting Garden wall — for which the wooden mould took days of carpentry to build — is being demolished. This must surely put the 6th May target finish date in question?

April Showers

2005-04-27T16:30:00.000+01:00

Playground 12:30pm
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Playground 2:24pm
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Less than two hours separates these photos, as a sunny morning turned to a showery afternoon, including a few claps of thunder. But an hour after the second photo there was sun again.

It was another day at the office. More surfacing on the playground: you can see the new grey advancing over the old black from the far end, like fog rolling in from the sea. More measuring and marking in the Quiet Garden: Ms Park seems to be here almost full-time these days. And more putting down of paving stones in the Meeting House Garden, only for them to be picked up again an hour or two later: I tell you, it's as if they were playing backgammon or solitaire in there.

Drilling and (un)paving

2005-04-26T16:53:00.000+01:00

Drilled concrete
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Today may have been the noisiest day so far. A pneumatic drill was used to dig the hole in the concrete trench that you can see on the left of this photo. And the 'soft surfacing' reached the end of the playground (though I'm not sure if there is going to be a second layer).

In the Meeting House Garden, some of the paving laid yesterday was removed, as can be seen from this photo. Did they get the measurements or layout wrong?

And in the morning (wet, again), there was more detailed measuring of the Quiet Garden by one of the men in yellow jackets and Marianne Park. At one point I thought perhaps the designer looked up and gave me a small wave. I felt embarrassed and 'found out', having passed, I thought, as an unseen voyeur for so long. Keeping the Hitchcock theme I started a couple of days ago, I felt like James Stewart in Rear Window… I wonder if there's anyone buried out there?

Paving for Meeting House Garden

2005-04-25T18:09:00.000+01:00

Paving for Meeting House Garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

A miserable day, though heavy rain mid-morning cleared in the afternoon. Here you can see the first paving going into the Meeting House Garden.

In the background, just outside the gate, are the last remains of a delivery of a very large number of sacks. The digger proved unsuitable for lifting them, so they were ferried in several loads on the mini-shovel-buggy to a safer place.

The sooner the final surface is put on the ball court and there are no stones to throw, the better.

Hanging out

2005-04-24T21:48:00.000+01:00

It's not supposed to be exciting
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I heard today that one of the Friends from the Bunhill Fields Meeting talked to the young people on the playground yesterday. Their comments on most of the playground features, including the blue ring, were positive. But they pointed to the climbing frame and said it was boring. Apparently it was designed not to offer white-knuckle thrills, but to encourage small-scale congregation and informal contact. As the Friend said, and as this photo shows, that appears to be what is happening. (For some reason, though, the idea of this 'hanging out' on the climbing frame reminds me of Hitchcock's The Birds).

This afternoon some boys decided to move a fair bit of the site-builders' equipment around as part of some loosely-structured fighting games. If there was any damage done, I may be able to help identify those responsible.

Thirty minutes later

2005-04-23T15:23:00.000+01:00

Rotating bidet
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Ah, I see: it's a rotating yellow bidet.

Hoops and swings

2005-04-23T14:48:00.000+01:00

Putting the hoops up
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Hanging the swings
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The bodies are mostly obscured in this photo, but if you look closely you can see elbows, legs and bums of men tightening the climbing frame and fixing the basketball hoop at this end of the ball court.

In the lower picture the swings are being hung from their frame. I'm sure they will be in use soon after the guys leave. (I've noticed the security has been increased for some of the equipment.)

I don't know what that thing that looks like a yellow bidet is (extreme left of top photo, left of centre in lower photo), but I expect its use will become clear shortly.

Sorry there was no posting here yesterday. I left home early in the morning (here's a photo of the site at 8.24) and didn't return until after dark. As you can see, the apron of black extended further once again yesterday.

Back to the Meeting House Garden

2005-04-21T16:59:00.000+01:00

Back to the Meeting House Garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Down the steps to the sea of black
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

It's been two weeks since there was any significant work on the Meeting House Garden. Today the little digger was at work there, and the wall is being built up from its concrete base.

Separately, the wet pour soft surfacing was extended (see lower photo). It now seems that starting with an apron of surface round the climbing frame yesterday may have been a deliberate and considerate step to head-off the risks of little invaders hurting themselves. If so, full marks!

Soft surfaces

2005-04-20T23:08:00.000+01:00

Soft surfaces
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Mess
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

At the far end of the site you can see the steps that were installed this morning. Unfortunately they lead to one of the several areas of the platform that have bad drainage: you can see the puddle from last night's rain at the top of the steps. I'm not sure if the steel of the steps is going to be covered in any way — it looks cheap and tacky by comparison with the brick and concrete steps on the far right.

The men from softsurfaces.co.uk arrived today, and you can see them at work here. The red drums turn out to be part of the mixture they use: the lower photo shows the mixing apparatus. I guess this is their 'wet pour' soft surfacing. I'd have wished for the chance for some more grass to grow back on the site — as soft mats allow — but I assume this wasn't possible.

I hope the wet pour surface dries quickly and resistantly, because it's now covered in hundreds of children's footsteps.

There was a further outbreak of stone-throwing, some of it vicious and aimed directly at the little digger, roller and shovel-buggy.

Long day

2005-04-19T18:27:00.000+01:00

More fencing
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I left home at 8.30 this morning, and got back at 6pm. There were people working on site before I left and after I returned — admittedly not the same people. The first bit of the fence on the near side of the thoroughfare is now in place, and the slide has been installed.

Colours

2005-04-18T18:36:00.000+01:00

Colours
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Today started miserable and wet, but brightened up from mid-morning. I was out during the day, and returned to find some more colourful additions to the playground, as well as some red drums (in the distance in this picture).

Quiet Garden in the sun

2005-04-17T16:25:00.000+01:00

Quiet Garden in the sun
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Site from the Banner Street end
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This photo shows how the Quiet Garden is shaping up. The smaller oval at the foot of the tree is where the Bench and cubes will be.

The lower photo shows a different perspective, with the George Fox memorial stone in the left foreground. And some children are on the site again. Boys will be boys.

I heard at the Quaker meeting that the main work (not including the planting) is now scheduled to complete on 6 May, the first day of a new Government.

Climbing frame

2005-04-16T20:02:00.000+01:00

Climbing frame
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

These guys (who are clearly playground equipment specialists, rather than part of the 'core team') stayed well into the afternoon installing the climbing frame.

Happily I haven't seen any further invasions since Thursday evening — though I was out this afternoon, watching Baisers Volés — which is just as well, because anyone falling from the climbing frame onto that concrete would not be in good shape.

Topsoil for the Quiet Garden

2005-04-15T18:00:00.000+01:00

Topsoil delivery
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Here's the delivery of some fresh new topsoil. Later the mini-shovel-buggy tipped it over the edge of the Quiet Garden.

The site architect was back for at least the second time this week, reviewing the developments and comparing them with plans in animated style.

Invasions

2005-04-14T19:46:00.000+01:00

Chasing off the first invasion
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Trying out the new toys
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

It's over a month since I first wondered if children would be tempted to try out the ball court before it was finished. Today a football game began on it, before the man at the top of this photo put a swift and decisive stop to that.

But he could not stand permanent guard, and it wasn't long before second and third waves came along. Of course, none of the protective covering has been installed on the playground yet. And, most worryingly, a small fight broke out with the stones on the ball court surface (though it was over before there was time to intervene at all).

Spirit levels and tape measures

2005-04-14T17:32:00.000+01:00

Spirit levels and tape measures
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The attention to details is often impressive. Here you can see the use of spirit levels to check that each fence post is vertical and the fence itself is horizontal, while a tape measure is used to check the frame for the basketball hoop is centred in the court.

Playground fence almost complete (this time)

2005-04-13T17:07:00.000+01:00

More digging for the playground fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Quiet Garden digging
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

In this picture, the core team are digging another trench for extending the playground fence — on the right you can see cement being mixed by hand, for the fence posts. I've thought before that the fence had reached its full length, but now I think it really has, barring the gate. Here's a photo of it at the end of the day.

Elsewhere the playground specialists continue to install frames for the swings, and such like. You can't really see them through the branches of the tree in the lower photo, but they are there, trust me. More metal plating is going into the Quiet Garden, segmenting the bank inside the path that is marked on the plan as 'woodland type grass'.

Tarmac and installations

2005-04-12T16:49:00.000+01:00

Squirrel on the tarmac, close-up
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Playground installations
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The area under the window, where the patio used to be, has been macadamised (I looked that up) — here's a squirrel exploring the new surface.

The frame for the basketball hoop has been erected at the far end of the ball court — here's a photo of the process half way through.

In the lower photograph you can see that the Quiet Garden path has been extended and bordered, and the some as-yet-unidentifiable bits of the playground are being installed. Meanwhile the leaves are emerging from their buds on the plane tree.

Playground furniture delivery

2005-04-11T17:23:00.000+01:00

Playground furniture delivery
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Extending the Quiet Garden path
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This van arrived at noon today, and delivered some furniture for the playground. Some of it is now on the playground, including a first pole, while the rest is secure.

As you can see, the playground fence is also being extended along what will be the main thouroughfare of the site. The printed plan shows it having more of a distinct corner, which kind of backs up what I said before about one of the segments being bent round a bit further than it seemed it should be.

Elsewhere, the small digger extended the Quiet Garden path, as shown in the lower picture.

Other communities of faith

2005-04-10T17:24:00.000+01:00

Cubes up close
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

At the Meeting today, the following text was read from the Quaker advices and queries:
"Do you work gladly with other religious groups in the pursuit of common goals? While remaining faithful to Quaker insights, try to enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other communities of faith, creating together the bonds of friendship."

Rolling the rubble

2005-04-09T14:07:00.000+01:00

Rolling the rubble
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Having cleared away much of the rubble from where the patio used to be, what remains was rolled this morning. A fairly bumpy ride.

On the right is a new pile of grey/black surface material: it looks like it might be made into tarmac.

The fence is definitely growing on me

2005-04-08T17:18:00.000+01:00

Fence with hover 'mower'
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I like its curves, which look particularly good from the Braithwaite House platform, just above ground level — see this photo and this one. It's just the final segment of the fence that looks out of place, as though it's been bent a foot or two extra to reach a set end-point.

I don't know what the guy in this picture is pushing in front of him (he walked all the way along the fence with it): it looks like a hover mower for gravel…

The light roller was in action again today, on the ball court and elsewhere. And we had at least the third site visit from Marianne Park in a week.

Cubes

2005-04-07T17:29:00.000+01:00

Moving the first cube
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Spreading the surface for the playground #2
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

On the printed plan of the Quaker Burial Ground that I have, the centre of the Quiet Garden has — under the tree, opposite a bench — three things marked 'cubes'. For the last couple of days there have been some cubic things (OK, there are four of them) on the playground. In this photo one of them is being carried by the little digger to an out-of-the-way location on the far side of the site. All four of them are there now.

Now that the playground fence is complete, more surface material is being spread on the playground. As you can see in the lower picture, this is finer-grain, browner and less shaley. The plating at the foot of the playground fence will be below ground level.

Meeting House Garden developments

2005-04-06T17:07:00.000+01:00

Revealing the concrete of
the Meeting House Garden wall
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

At the top left of this picture, the wooden mould/scaffolding for the concrete has just been removed. That's a lot of hard carpentry work being dismantled, having done its job. Bottom left, the little digger is dealing with the rubble where the patio used to be; and, bottom right, the metal plating is being fixed at this end of the playground fence.

Later part of that pile of shaley grit was spread over the inside of the Meeting House Garden by the mini-shovel-buggy, and then evened out by the light roller.

Playground fence reaches full length

2005-04-05T17:20:00.000+01:00

Playground fence reaches full length
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I think this as long as this section of fence is going to get, though work is continuing putting solid metal plates along the foot of the fence.

Near the top of the picture you can see a new bit of hardware, the mini-shovel-buggy, which seems to have replaced the larger version. This afternoon it was being used for distributing more of the shaley surface material on the Quiet Garden path.

The figure nearest to camera in this picture is the one I believe to be Marianne Park, the architect of the redevelopment.

All round activity

2005-04-04T16:36:00.000+01:00

Tipping grit into Quiet Garden path
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

On the left you can see the shovel-buggy tipping grit into the the path for the Quiet Garden. The little digger, bottom centre, is spooning the grit into the buggy. And on the right, the playground fence is extended.

The fence is growing on me, now that it has a curve to it. It starts to hint at the beautiful Lyme Regis cobb.

Earlier in the day the Meeting House Garden wall was filled with concrete shipped in from Banner Street.

Plane tree

2005-04-03T17:12:00.000+01:00

Plane tree
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The buds on the tree are about to burst into leaves. Soon parts of Braithwaite House will be completely obscured behind it.

You can just about see the buds if you look at the original size version of this photo (warning: very large file; slow to load on dial-up connections).

Playground fence

2005-04-02T18:05:00.000+01:00

Playground fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Erection of this fence began yesterday. I can't say it looks attractive to me, but I believe it's going to be partly obscured by plants.

Just two people on site this morning, working mainly on carpentry.

Digging up the patio

2005-04-01T18:03:00.000+01:00

Digging up the patio
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.
More soil gets shipped off
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

This patio, underneath my window, has gone now; turned into a pile of rubble. And as you can see, you go ten days with no sign of a digger on site, and then two come along in close succession.

This new JCB model has been put to use shifting cement mix and, in the picture below, shovelling soil into a lorry to be removed. It's been thumping the ground a fair bit as well. Oh, as I've hinted before, I don't like that.

And then it drove away again at the end of the day.

Little digger returns

2005-03-31T17:37:00.001+01:00

Little digger in the ball court
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Not seen since Day 3 of work on site, the little digger made a welcome return today. It is seen here spreading more surface material on the ball court, but also helped dig the Quiet Garden path before the path border was extended.

Not only is the digger more photogenic than carpentry work, but it also seemed to accompany a general increase in the buzz of activity, as the men in yellow jackets were back drawing more lines and the headcount increased again.

Cutting blocks for the ball court border

2005-03-30T21:52:00.000+01:00

Cutting blocks for the ball court border
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Building this third border for the ball court is much more labour-intensive than the first two, which were created simply by pouring concrete into a wooden mould, and then removing the mould. (These two sides have solid concrete trenches underneath them, whereas the third has concrete only under the fence posts, as shown in this photo from four weeks ago.) Concrete blocks have to be cut with the band saw and then cemented into place.

Work started on the border for the Quiet Garden path.

Metalwork for garden path

2005-03-29T18:22:00.000+01:00

Metalwork for garden path
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

It was a cold day today, and wet at the end. Activity was muted, with some work on the final border for ball court surface left half-finished.

One of the yellow-jacketed engineering/surveying staff was back, and lines for the garden path have been painted on the ground for what seems like the third time. The arrival of the metalwork shown in the picture suggests some imminent construction in the garden area.

Lying fallow

2005-03-26T13:14:00.000Z

Soil for bushes
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Here, in the foreground, is the soil where bushes or small trees will be planted.

There is no work on site during the four days of Easter — probably the longest break the site will have until the work is finished.

Sounds

2005-03-24T22:54:00.000Z

You may imagine that I do nothing all day except peer out of the window, photographing anything that moves. That's not true — though when I'm in the mood for being distracted, it's consoling and convenient to be able to wander to the window and see what's going on.

However, I witness the work on the Quaker burial ground much more with my ears than my eyes. The timbre of the sounds has changed this week, with the departure of the digger. There's much less motor rumbling (the shovel-buggy has also been on light duty), and thankfully fewer big thumps too. This week we've had the return of the buzz-saw (used a lot in the first week, when the railings were being cut down), and a large amount of hammering, associated with the carpentry work going on in the Meeting House Garden. Then there are subtler sounds: the shaker percussion of the small cement mixer, or hand-held spade work, either scraping the gravel under the ball court fence, or shovelling some black soil, via a wheelbarrow, to the gap between the court fence and the Chequer Street border.

Details

2005-03-23T22:39:00.000Z

Meeting House Garden
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The character of the work has changed now that the big digger has gone. The daily developments are on a smaller scale, as detailed work continues on the border for the Meeting House Garden.

A further concrete 'ridge' has been put along the bottom of the ball court. This makes me think that ultimately the inside of the ball court will be 'filled in' until the surface is flush with the top of the ridge. This would cover and anchor the foot of each fence post.

More fencing arrives

2005-03-22T16:53:00.000Z

More fencing arrives
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

The day began dark, gloomy and ominous.

This fencing arrived, presumably for the playground. The Meeting House Garden woodwork was extended.

Carpentry

2005-03-21T17:05:00.000Z

Meeting House Garden fence
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

I noticed something missing today: the big digger (and its driver). It must have been taken away last Friday.

At one end of the site, today, there was a lot of carpentry as the fence for the Meeting House Garden was constructed — or, more likely perhaps, this is the wooden mould into which more concrete will be cast.

At the other end of the site, it turns out the brown pile that was delivered last Tuesday is cement mix, which was mixed up and then spread in the small wooden moulding on the far side of the ball court.

Palm Sunday

2005-03-20T16:31:00.000Z

St Ethelreda Church, Ely Place
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

About 35 years ago, Alan Watts wrote that "[t]he Roman Catholic Church recently made the serious mistake of having the Mass celebrated everywhere in the vernacular, so that it could be 'understood,' and added insult to injury by having some person standing with a microphone beside the altar to 'explain' what was going on, thereby depriving Christendom of the last widespread stronghold of mystery".

So presumably he would have approved of the Mass sung in Latin, which Lucy and I attended this morning at St Ethelreda church — the oldest Catholic church in Britain. The service began in the crypt before a short procession, each of us with a small palm leaf, along Ely Place and into the main church. Beautiful singing by the choir and of the St Matthew Passion. To quote Watts again, "[f]or many people, the contemplation of God, of the Ground of Being, is most easily reached through the contemplation of pure sound".

Chequer Court and Meeting House garden

2005-03-19T18:55:00.000Z

Chequer Court from the north-east
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Another beautiful day, probably the warmest yet. Our friends Tim and Eileen came to stay last night, and we ate in an Italian restaurant in West Smithfield. This morning we walked round Hoxton, Shoreditch, the Barbican and St Luke's: I took several photos, all of which are in my 'EC1 and EC2' set.

A quiet day

2005-03-18T16:58:00.000Z

Taking away the temporary fencing
Originally uploaded by davidjennings.

Aside from the loading of this temporary fencing onto a lorry, there didn't seem to be much going on on the site.