Nelson Street pocket park

I think we have finished the grant application, at last, although we can't submit the pesky online form until tomorrow morning. It has taken far longer than I had hoped but if we get the £7000 it will have been worth all that voluntary time and effort. Half way through the morning's meeting to finalise the details I had to head off for another meeting so that other colleagues could check the technical details which I had written about. I always like to get approval from those who know best.

I was pleasantly surprised when Helena walked into the Black Books cafe where I was having my second meeting. She had to change her plans and stay in town so that she could return to work earlier than planned late this afternoon. I left her there and returned to the council office for the final push, before then going to a printer to get quotes for some posters and other materials we need for the public meeting in two weeks.

When I had ticked all the boxes and given final approval to submit the form I walked up the hill out of Stroud's town centre, past Black Books cafe again and carried on up the rather steep Nelson Street. I had been carrying my camera all day and was now thinking that I wouldn't be using it all. But when I looked across the road as I passed this pocket park, I then thought 'why not'?

So I dropped my bags, changed the lens and stood in the road despite the occasional passing cars, looking up through this rather delightful little garden. It has been created by volunteers over the last couple of years from derelict ground where an old house used to stand. Beside it a path runs up to the newish housing development behind, across another abandoned site which has been 'improved' with some bits of tarmac.

There a few of these pocket parks which have been created around Stroud, particularly in the older quarters like this. The town council has taken responsibility for some of them and our Green Spaces team tend then carefully. We have also bought land to save it from unnecessary or inappropriate development. But as far as i know this one is looked after by local residents. All these areas are looking particularly good this week because the town has been judged for the Stroud in Bloom competition. Judges come to inspect us to see whether we match national criteria for the Royal Horticultural Society's judges of the Heart of England in Bloom competition.

We wil hear in a couple of weeks how we did. Last year we won a Gold Award the highest possible, so expectations are high. Fingers crossed. It does mean that the town looks as pretty and vibrant as possible at this time of year which cheers people up!