As with much of the rest of England London & the S East have now been officially declared to be in drought – & this picture taken from Head Gardener Jan Melkenbeek’s drone gives a sense of the devastation it has wrought on our beautiful Garden. Among the casualties has been the herb bed, only relatively recently brought into cultivation – the soil is bone dry & the sage in particular looks as if it’s struggling to survive. If anyone living nearby has the time -- & the watering can -- could they perhaps put in five minutes or so of an evening to give the ground a good watering? With no rain forecast for at least the next week it could be that only direct action is going to save the day!
Residents should be aware that there have been sightings recently of a black Range Rover & a black Mercedes parked up on Castellain Road with the occupants behaving suspiciously. According to local resident Giorgios Giannakopoulos over five consecutive days they have been driving up around midday & staying put for a few hours with their engines running. Today at a slightly earlier time they were joined by a silver BMW. Originally they parked at the bottom of the road near Formosa Street but since then appear to have been working their way up towards the Sutherland Avenue end.
Mr Giannakopoulos has reported the cars' details to the Metropolitan police & been given a case reference number of CAD3249/30Jul26. If other residents spot these cars in the vicinity & do not recognise the occupants do please also report the matter to the Police using that same reference number.
Dear Residents,
Given the dry conditions and extreme wildfire risk in London at present, we wanted to remind all residents that there is no smoking, barbeques or other sources of fire (eg candles) allowed in Formosa Garden (excluding private gardens/terraces).
We also would be grateful for residents to remind garden users of this policy as necessary, and to take particular caution when smoking, barbequing or using candles in their private gardens/terraces given the risk from embers.
Further information regarding ways to prevent grass and wildfires can be found via the London Fire Brigade: https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/grass-and-wildfires/.
We are grateful for your cooperation and hope that everyone has a safe and relaxing summer.
