🌿 Gardening and Citizen Science Afternoon – Saturday 5 July, 2–4pm
Come along to Watermans Park for a relaxed and rewarding afternoon of gardening and citizen science! We’ll be weeding and tidying up the flower beds near the western entrance, training climbing plants over the pergolas, and taking part in 10-minute flower-insect timed counts—with results submitted to the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme.
It’s a great way to meet neighbours, support biodiversity, and enjoy the outdoors. Families welcome! Please wear suitable clothing and gloves and bring tools if you have them (we’ll also have some to share). Afterwards, you can always stay on for our Summer Bandstand at 4pm.
🎶 Summer Bandstands – Every Saturday in July, 4–6pm
We’re pleased to welcome back our Summer Bandstands each Saturday afternoon in July (5th, 12th, 19th & 26th). Enjoy live music from talented local performers, hosted by our friend and musician Edwin Addis.
On 5th July Gareth Haze and Compound Radius will be performing.
Gareth Haze is a South African-born, London, UK-based singer-songwriter whose musical journey is deeply rooted in both family tradition and a diverse array of influences. Drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of folk, rock, pop, and blues, Gareth’s music is a vibrant fusion that is both acoustic and dynamically electrified when the song calls for it.
Compound Radius’ music is such that at the core they are an alternative rock band with constantly evolving inspiration from other music genres such as funk, soul, baul, folk, pop, Indian classical, ethnic, electronic, heavy metal, etc. just to name a few.
Edwin and Ian David Pass will also introduce their book, The Real Alfie, the story of Ian's life, and sing together.
Line-ups for other dates are being finalised—check our website and Facebook page for updates. There’ll be deck chairs and cushions available, or feel free to bring your own seating or picnic blanket. We hope the shade from our parasols and gazebos will be welcome too!
This year, we’ll be raising funds for Speak Out in Hounslow, a local charity supporting adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. Speak Out empowers people to express themselves and take an active role in the community.
We’re especially excited to welcome back the Speak Out Choir on Saturday 12 July. Come be inspired—and please consider donating to help their incredible work continue. You can find our fundraising page here.
🗓 Event Details
- When: Saturdays – 5, 12, 19, and 26 July
- Time: 4pm – 6pm
- Where: Watermans Park, Brentford
- Cost: Free and open to all
Many thanks to the LB Hounslow and Thames River Moorings who are sponsoring this year's Summer Bandstands.
🎧 Mental Health & Wellbeing Playlist
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 in May, we created a feel-good playlist of uplifting songs to play in the park. You can listen on Spotify here: Watermans Park 180525. We hope it brings you joy!
🦇 Bat Walk
May’s Bat Talk and Walk was much enjoyed by many so we’re planning another Walk towards the end of August—when the evenings start to draw in—borrowing detectors again from Habitats & Heritage.
🌱 Community Garden Update
Sadly, our application to the LB Hounslow Thriving Communities Fund for a community garden wasn’t successful this time. Given recent investment in the park, other projects were prioritised.
We’ll consider next steps after the summer and may apply to the 2026/27 Capital Fund in the autumn. In the meantime, the TCF team has offered to support us with advice and contacts if we explore other funding routes.
💳 Membership Subscriptions
There’s absolutely no obligation to join the Friends, but if you’d like to, please let me know. I’ll be sending out £10 membership subscription notices next week for the year ending 31 March 2026 to our current members.
If you're not already a member I very much hope you’ll consider joining. You can pay online or at any of our events in the park during July. Of course, if you choose not to join, that’s absolutely fine — join our mailing list and I’ll keep you updated about our talks and events.
If you have any comments or ideas about the park, please do get in touch—we’d love to hear from you.
best regards
Philip
Philip Jones
Chair, Friends of Watermans Park
chair@friendsofwatermanspark.org
29 June 2025