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< Back Previous Next> Recent working parties update Things are looking great! It's been some time since we updated this page with working party information. However, things have been continuing with gusto. Much reed has been moved since the Truxor came to cut down reeds along the stretch at the top end of Lady Bay. The Grantham Canal Society helped us enormously too, by coming to cut down an overgrown Hawthorne Tree. Included here are a series of photos from the past few sessions. Thanks again to Paul Abel for organising and to the fantastic volunteers!

Reservoir 13 But the Owens siblings are desperate to uncover who they really are. Each heads down a life-altering course, filled with secrets and truths, devastation and joy, and magic and love. Despite the warning handed down through the family for centuries – Know that for our family, love is a curse – they will all strive to break the rules and find true love. Author Author Imprint Harper Collins ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 9780008204891, 0008204896 2017 £8.99 336 I found it hard to suspend my disbelief regarding the magic, but enjoyed Hoffman's vivid imagery.

< Back July 2023 Monthly Litter Pick Abbey Park & Gamston Canal A small group of us headed out today. Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of litter to be found until we got to the area just before Gamston Bridge (opposite side to Morrisons) where some local youths have recently been frequenting. Previously, I have twice taken four shopping trolleys back to the shop. This time we were able to clear away all the trash they had left; that is apart from the car tyre which has been dumped in the water!. Previous Next

< Back Previous Next> Saturday 23rd September - Canal House entrance to the Canal (what3words ///fork.loves.glue). Canal House final clearance Thanks to Pam, Jez, David and Chris Holmes, Liz & Margaret for recent work in clearing the reedmace in the area behind Canal House: there is now a continuous channel through all the reedmace in the stretch between the Twitchell and Gamston Bridge. We also discovered that swans love to eat the white root tips of the pulled reedmace left in the water, or on the bank. The final photo is one Sue Mallender sent us. She found a freshwater muscle! Who knew they even existed in our canal?

< Back October 29th Monthly Litter Pick ​ What a beautifully bright October day to spend a worthwhile hour tidying up our neighbourhood. Thank you as always, to our ever reliable pickers for their dedication in making Abbey Park a cleaner place to live. Previous Next

Log In Click of the logo to go to Abbey Park Local Facebook Group Why not head over to see our Litter Picking Facebook Group Abbey Dogs Facebook Group (Private) Advertise here Our Aim: Our aim is to bridge any gaps and empower everyone within our community and to build a better place to live for a brighter, safer future for ourselves and our children. Please take a moment to scroll through our many pages for information on our Committee Meetings, Gardening & Beauty Tips, Events, Calendar, Children's Pages, Abbey Park History, Recipies, Challenges & Links to various external agencies. For any queries or comments, please contact us at our dedicated email address: abbeypark.ng@gmail.com Abbey Park Community Association Contact us Our lovely new notice board Our beautiful park Artwork by Simon Middlecote We are lucky to have some very talent people here on Abbey Park and Simon Middlecote is just one of them. Here, in this soft pastel drawing, he portrays the three Maple Trees next to Mountsorrel Drive as seen in October 2022

< Back Previous Next> Sunday 20th August Reed Clearance near Morrisons Clearing Norfolk Reed south of Morrisons' footbridge in Gamston were Chris, Beth, Gary, Elaine, Cath, Geoff, Kathryn, Margaret, Paul and David. Two lessons learned: the reed can be pulled out in deeper water, and it becomes very deep just 1 metre from the bank.

How to Kill your Family Shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2023 Pageturner Book of the Year I have killed several people (some brutally, others calmly) and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit. When I think about what I actually did, I feel somewhat sad that nobody will ever know about the complex operation that I undertook. Getting away with it is highly preferable, of course, but perhaps when I'm long gone, someone will open an old safe and find this confession. The public would reel. After all, almost nobody else in the world can possibly understand how someone, by the tender age of 28, can have calmly killed six members of her family. And then happily got on with the rest of her life, never to regret a thing. A wickedly dark romp about class, family, love... and murder. Author Author Imprint HarperCollins Publishers ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 9780008365943 14 April 2022 £9.99 Waterstones 368 There are times you want to hurry the story along - I felt it dragged on a bit. But there is a twist at the end that I did not forsee and that in itself deserves a few points. Would I recommend the book - probably not. 6/10 Theona Grace's millionaire biological father has always refused to acknowledge her. His final rejection of her dying mother sets Grace on a path to plan and execute the murders of 6 of his family...but then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didnt commit. Grace shares a cell with Kelly and writes her sarcastic, cold blooded with a touch of dark humour story. Mainly a page turner, but some chapters are a bit long. 2 twists at the end, 1 a bit predictable and 1 not 8/10 Annette Grace's mother died when she was young and her estranged millionaire father did not step up to parent her. This is where she plots to murder him and his family. Being raised by a single parent gave her all the hate and fury needed to execute this plan. She is an unlikable character killing other unlikeable characters (except Andrew). The story lost steam half way, but the plot twist at the end was worth sticking with it. The moral of this story is 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch'. Jo 6/10 8/10 Laura

The Lido Rosemary has lived in Brixton all her life, but everything she knows is changing. Only the local lido, where she swims every day, remains a constant reminder of the past and her beloved husband George. Kate has just moved and feels adrift in a city that is too big for her. She's on the bottom rung of her career as a local journalist, and is determined to make something of it. So when the lido is threatened with closure, Kate knows this story could be her chance to shine. But for Rosemary, it could be the end of everything. Together they are determined to make a stand, and to prove that the pool is more than just a place to swim - it is the heart of the community. The Lido is an uplifting novel about the importance of friendship, the value of community, and how ordinary people can protect the things they love. Author Author Imprint Orion ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 1409175227 4 April 2019 £4.98 400 The Lido is a lovely book about friendship across the ages and a shared goal of saving their local Lido. Predictable in places but well written. Cathrine 7/10 The Lido is an heartwarming, uplifting and light read. Focussing on isolation, loss, friendship and community. Set in Brixton it tells the story of Rosemary and Kate and their developing friendship which starts when they come together to try and save the local lido.Tracey 8/10 Waves of joy, grief, hope, fear... and love... literally spill out of 'The Lido' . Libby Page's delightful debut novel centres on a unique, life-changing friendship that brings a whole community together when they need it most. It's not too deep - but worth diving in! Sheila 7/10

This is Going to Hurt Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you. Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn't – about life on and off the hospital ward. Author Author Imprint Picador ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 978-1529062335 3 Feb 2022 £7.85 304 Annette Adam's story as a junior doctor over many years Dark humour, satire, politics, a tale of survival in the harsh world of the dog eat dog NHS 9/10 Catherine Funny and painful in equal measure, this is a book everyone should read to realise that our precious NHS badly needs help. 8/10 Ruth An easy read but not for the squeamish (in parts) It's a true reflection of the stresses and strains of a junior doctor, interspersed with hilarious accounts of patient/doctor consultation, this book had me in stitches (no pun intended). N.B. Every politician should be made to read this 9/10

The Camomile Lawn The Camomile Lawn begins with a family holiday in Cornwall during the last summer of peace before the Second World War and charts the family’s lives during the war years. When the family reunites for a funeral almost 50 years later they realise how much the war acted as a catalyst for their emotional liberation. The book's title refers to the fragrant camomile lawn of their aunt's cliff top home in Cornwall, the scent of which is remembered fondly by all. Author Author Imprint Vintage ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 0099499142 1st June 2006 £8.19 352 Five cousins visit their aunt's house in Cornwall for their annual summer holiday. With WW2 looming, this is the last summer of youth, and the loss of innocence. Mary Wesley takes you from Aunt Helena's home on the Cornish cliffs to London during the blitz and on to the 1980's where Aunt Helena is travelling to her lover's funeral. A story of love, loss and grief is written with humour and warmth. 8/10 Review by Jo A well written story of upper class cousins who meet up for a final holiday in Cornwall before the start of the Second World War. We follow their stories throughout the war and beyond. Life changes all of them and we particularly see wartime London from the point of view of the young women and how they survived in unexpected ways. Mary Wesley writes from her own experiences which are at times quite shocking to read. 8/10 Review by Liz Entitled rich people breaking the rules. Sound familiar? The Camomile Lawn charts the progress of a group of cousins through the war years and afterwards. Beautiful Calypso breezes through parties and soirees (as well as men) and actively enjoys the war years. Polly and Helena are liberated in their own ways. I found the characters rather shallow and self obsessed and the undercurrents of child abuse and brutality jarred with me. Some nice vignettes, falling over Richard's artifical leg, a startled cow in the living room...but not enough for me personally to seek out any more of her novels, although Mary Wesley's biography "Wild Mary" was certainly an eye-opener. 6/10 Review by Linda