stalbanslife

I love fireworks, simple as that. I can’t get enough of them and the annual display at Verulamium Park is always excellent. Luck favoured the brave and the evening was still and crisp. The rain held off till later in the evening allowing for one of my favourite displays for some years. Here is an image to give a flavour of what we enjoyed. See you there next year…..

St Albans is extremely proud to have the world’s largest butterfly park, which is a £25 m project. Currently known as Future Gardens, it will eventually become Butterfly World.

It consists of 27 acres of land in the green belt area north of the M25 in Chiswell Green, St Albans. There are 12 inspiring gardens which have something for everyone, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar Garden for children. There is the Wildflower Meadows, a tropical butterfly house, a butterfly garden and a café.

Clive Farrell, a lepidopterist (butterfly enthusiast) is the inventor of this project. He has opened butterfly houses in Florida, Switzerland and Stratford-upon-Avon. When finished, the aim is to have 10,000 tropical butterflies of 250 species. These will freely fly under the 300ft-wide, walk through dome.

David Attenborough is concerned about the decline of butterflies in recent years but is delighted that the plants are already flourishing in this new habitat. David Bellamy, the celebrated botanist, is one of the trustees of this project and has already spotted some species of butterflies and bees at the gardens.

One little hiccup to overcome, it seems, is the issue of finding the place! Some signs say Future Gardens and some show a flower. This has caused some complaints but perhaps the stalbanslife readers can let us know how it went for them?

For information on opening times and directions, visit www.butterflyworldproject.com  or email info@butterflyworldproject.com .

This is actually my first ever blog and it is a great honour to be writing it for a website such as stalbanslife, as I consider this city very special and think that the website will reflect all that is good (and sometimes not-so-good) about it.

Yesterday, as I wandered across the Verulamium with two of my children, I wanted to photograph so many aspects of it; the scene of the lake with its swans, the River Ver, the ancient Fighting Cocks Pub, the rise up to the truly magnificent Cathedral (Abbey) of St Albans!

I wonder if everyone has that same connection and sense of belonging that I feel while sitting in the Cathedral. Whether it’s an official event going on or a quiet Saturday afternoon, it gives me a sense of awe. I feel the past meet the present here. When the choirs practice, its like magic in the air from the floors to the ceiling. The Christmas festivities are really worth coming for, if you want to be moved to tears. Personally, I like to ponder on the fact that Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) swung across the altar here during the making of Johnny English.

Anyway, the point I want to make is that this majestic city, with its amazing history, its churches, cafes, restaurants, museums, pubs and parks, is good enough to share with the rest of the world. And stalbanslife is hoping to do just that!

The event itself is a joint venture between the British Heart Foundation and St Albans Council in partnership with Leisure Connection. This year it took place on glorious Sunday, June 14^th and it was an amazing success with more than 4,500 runners entering.

One of the organisers told me “It is such a big community event and it’s about encouraging children to be active. It is nice to see a child as young as 3 months old and a seventy-year-old take part on the same day. Everyone is raising money for the British Heart Foundation.”

Robert Cox, event organiser, said that there were an unprecedented number of people registering on the day. ‘People turned up in droves to help save lives. I would like to thank everyone involved.’

One of the children said that she loved the spirit of the other children and that it didn’t matter when you finished the race. Another child was lucky enough to meet her favourite teacher on the Fun Run and said ‘I loved the Fun Run because my teacher ran too!’

Ss Alban & Stephen Infant and Junior School(s) proudly won the Schools Challenge Shield. They had the highest number of entrants for the second time in a row, with over 224 taking part.

The BHF is the nation’s heart charity. As they informed me this week; “It is dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, caring for heart patients and their families, campaigning for change and providing vital information to help people care for their own health.” They spend over £100 in every minute of every day on heart research! So every penny donated by each entrant was indeed gone to a worthy cause! Well done, St Albans.

Here are some of the upcoming events at Highfield Park in 2009

Where is the Easter Bunny?

Tues 14^th April, 10am til 3pm

Highfield Park, St Albans

West Lodge

Free Entry

Pick up your entry sheet from West Lodge and see if you can find all the bunnies.  All correct entry sheets will be put into a draw and one winner will receive a special Easter prize.

Moth Spotting

Sat 16^th May, 8pm – late

Highfield Park, St Albans

Highfield Park Centre

Barbecue £5 per person, booking essential

Join us for a barbecue followed by some moth spotting.  Learn all about the different moths and how to identify them.  Wear warm clothes.

Be a bat detective?

Thurs 2^nd July,  7pm

Barbecue £5 per person, booking essential

Highfield Park, St Albans

West Lodge

How many different bats will we find, how do you identify bats? Join us for a barbecue followed by some bat detecting.  .  Wear warm clothes.

Highfield Park Fete

Saturday 25^th July, 2pm til 8pm

Highfield Park, St Albans

Highfield Park Centre

Free Entry

Join the Trust and Charters Health Club for a day of family fun in the Park on Saturday 25th July.  Activities will include 5 aside football tournament, pony rides, archery display, tester sessions in the Charters Health Club, live bands, dancing displays, open air theatre from Trestle, plant stall, book stall, tombola, coconut shy, dog show, amateur radio club, fire engine, beer tent, food and craft stalls.

Love Your Park Walk

Thurs 30^th July, 6.30pm

Highfield Park, St Albans

Highfield Park Centre

Free Entry

Join in the celebrations of Love Parks Week with a walk around the Park, finding out about all the different wildlife living in the Park.

Petanque Tournament

Sat 8^th Aug,  All Day

Highfield Park, St Albans

Mediterranean Garden

Perfect you petanque skills this summer and enter a team in the tournament.  Or just bring along a picnic and watch the experts play.

Apple Day

Sun 4^th Oct 12 – 4pm

Highfield Park, St Albans

Highfield Park Centre

Free Entry

Find out about the apples growing in the park, taste our apple juice and watch apples being juiced.  Plus lots of apple related stalls including games, crafts and food.  Get baking now to perfect your Bramley apple pies and enter the competition for the best baked pie.

Tel 01727 847242

Email admin@highfieldparktrust.co.uk

Website www.highfieldparktrust.co.uk