Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground

This Week in London – Diana memorial playground reopens; ‘Does my head look big in this?’ and an appeal for Dunwich Heath…

by exploringlondon

• The world-famous Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens reopened to the public this week after a £3 million renewal project. The Peter Pan-inspired playground, which was reopened on Wednesday, the National Day of Play, first opened in 2000 to commemorate the princess who had lived at nearby Kensington Palace. The free to enter playground features a brand new 17-by-12-metre galleon moored on a sandy beach, a “treehouse of dreams”, brand new water play area and a redesigned area for younger children featuring timber houses, play ships and a large sandpit. For more, head to https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/kensington-gardens

• On Now: Does my head look BIG in this? The art of portrait caricature. This exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury charts the art of portrait caricature from its origins in Renaissance Italy through its “golden age” of 18th century England to its use in the present day. Admission charge applies. Runs to 1st November. For more, see https://www.cartoonmuseum.org/whats-on-exhibitions/does-my-head-look-big-in-this-the-art-of-portrait-caricature.

• Further afield: The National Trust has launched a public appeal to restore Dunwich Heath in Suffolk after a wildfire decimated the heathland and wiped out the habitat of some of the country’s rarest species. “We are looking at total devastation of a beloved and important landscape,” said the Trust’s Director-General Hilary McGrady. “We’ve lost precious habitats, wildlife, trees, and a place where people have made memories over generations. It’s heartbreaking. But together we can and will restore Dunwich, and crucially, make it more resilient and better adapted for the climate we’re facing now, and the climate we’ll be facing in future.” The heath and the neighboring RSPB Minsmere reserve is an especially important area for birds such as nightjars, skylarks and the very rare Dartford warbler, as well as adders, lizards and slow-worms, and butterflies including the rare silver-studded blue. To help with the appeal, head to nationaltrust.org.uk/dunwich-heath-appeal.

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Treasures of London – Elfin Oak, Kensington Gardens…

by exploringlondon

Elfin-OakDelightfully carved out of a hollow oak tree, the Elfin Oak takes its name from the many colourful figures that adorn it.

The sculpture, which sits beside the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground is the work of children’s book illustrator Ivor Innes.

He spent two years – 1928 to 1930 – carving “Little People” upon an ancient oak tree trunk that had been found in Richmond Park and relocated to Kensington Gardens (and in 1930, with his wife Elsie, published the children’s book, The Elfin Oak of Kensington Gardens).

The characters depicted include animals and fanciful creatures such as a gnome called Huckleberry, a series of elves including Grumples and Groodles and a witch named Wookey.

The hollow, incidentally, had been presented to The Royal Parks by Lady Fortescue in response to an appeal run to improve facilities in line with a scheme by George Lansbury (among other things, he also founded the Serpentine Lido).

Now a Grade II listed structure (and well protected by wire mesh), it has a few pop culture associations – among them, the fact that it appeared on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1969 album, Ummagumma (the head of the band’s lead singer and guitarist David Gilmour can be seen projecting from the trunk).

Meanwhile, in 1996, Spike Milligan – long a fan of the oak – was the face of a successful campaign to raise funds for its restoration.

Announcing the Grade II listing in 1997, then Heritage Minister Tony Banks noted that the oak sat alongside the late Victorian fascination with Little People and complemented Sir George Frampton’s statue of Peter Pan (also located within the gardens).

“Together the two sculptures make Kensington Gardens very much the world capital of fairies, gnomes and elves,” he reportedly said.

PICTURE: Lonpicman/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0/