February 2021

Look how far we have come...

With this year marking Hardie Park’s 5th Anniversary since the opening of the cafe building, it’s a great time to have a look back at what we’ve achieved in this short space of time. With the help of an army of loyal, hard-working, close-knit and quite frankly, fantastic, volunteers we’ve been able to turn around the community’s perception of Hardie Park. Previously a no-go zone, the park is now a thriving community space for the very young to the young at heart.

If in 2016 someone had said to you that you could go to Hardie Park (take a deep breath…)

for a game of petanque > to drink fresh coffee > to buy a bike (or to fix one) > to use the skate park > to play on new park equipment > to wonder at the beautiful flowers > to sit on the decking with a Rossi’s > to get the latest surplus food > to take part in a Men’s Shed > to attend (although not this year sadly) a festival or sports day >  to volunteer and meet new people > to bounce your heart out on bouncy castles in the summer > to take part in one of the many clubs that happen on site!

…then you’d have thought that person was pulling your leg.

Yet, that’s what’s been achieved in this time – it’s incredible! Life-long friendships have been created, memories have been made, and SS17 is all the better for it, even inspiring other local parks to follow our lead.

The last year in particular has been a challenge – not just having to deal with the repercussions from Covid-19, it was also the year where we said goodbye to Rob Groves who after giving his all for the park since the initial concept of the project way back in 2009, has stepped away to take some time out and focus on other things. Both Rob and Mandie have been instrumental in getting the park off the ground, and we really wouldn’t be where we are today without them – so it’s another opportunity for me to say a big thank you from the Hardie Park team and the community as a whole!

Whilst it’s been tough, we have a strong multi-talented Board of Trustees and a fantastic team of staff and volunteers. I know that as a result of everyone’s hard-work, Hardie Park won’t just survive, we’ll thrive and come out of this even stronger. If you want to play a part in our exciting future, check out our volunteer link to see how you can join the Hardie team.

We really can’t wait to see you all in the park soon – naturally, we don’t know when this will be, please rest assured that as and when restrictions ease, we will do what we can to re-open.

As ever, if you have any thoughts or comments about the park, do drop the trustees a line on trustees@friendsofhardiepark.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.  

Stay safe, Matt Adams (Chair)

Food glorious food

The pop-up shop has proved successful since it’s move from Mandie’s drive in Scratton Road. Thank you for taking the time to park and use the service in its new location. Flowers, fruit, bread, pastries and a range of ready meals are continuing to be collected on a daily basis from Marks and Spencer and Lidl for redirection to the community. We ask that you take what you need and donate if you can. The funds keep the systems ticking over and help run the little green van on its daily roundtrip journey to Basildon Mayflower. Thanks to volunteer James who has continued to chauffeur the produce, Fabiana our trustee who has without fail manned the pop-up since opening the cafe doors. Our volunteer team are now coming on board to take over a few shifts to help provide this regular service with a smile at the pop-up.

We are open daily 12-3  In bad weather or if all the produce has flown out the door the pop-up may close early. Please continue to adhere to our Covid safe system, keeping distance and wearing your mask of course.

Snowfall in SS17

The year when the snow fell. We snapped some pictures and put together a little video to mark the occasion! Enjoy...

'You made my day!'

Sometimes it's the simple things

A bicycle basket full of LOVE-ly Valentines chocolate put smiles on the faces of our park visitors on Valentines Day. It was a pleasure to offer some complimentary boxes of Maltesers to our park users, sharing the LOVE with all generations.  One elderly gentlemen said, ‘You’ve made my day!’ Those words say it all. We are pleased you all enjoyed your surprise delivered by one of our team on their bicycle (with mask of course).

Hub's wheels keep on turning...

The Cycle Hub Team have been delivering their service on a ‘click and collect’ basis during this most recent lockdown. This method has allowed the team to help those in the community in need of a service or repair get back on the road swiftly. They are also able to supply a range of ‘ready to go’ bikes that have undergone re-furb. Available stock is posted regularly on local selling pages and placed in the FOR SALE folder on the Hardie Cycle Hub Facebook page. Thank you for your continued offer of bike donations, collection can be arranged if you contact the Hardie Cycle Hub Facebook page or call 07935 868835. If you have bikes clogging up your shed that you no longer need please get in touch with the team.

Kid's meals

Thanks to Stanford le Hope Primary for mentioning the efforts of the park in their recent newsletter. Stanford-le-Hope is one of the primary schools we were working with to offer Free Weekend School Meals to families who would normally receive free school meals during term-time. The initiative supported by DP World was successful, although due to Covid and the temporary closure of the cafe we suspended the offer. If however you are in need please, please make contact and we will try to help where we can.