During the snowy days we had last week Jen and Richard along with Sean and the team fed the birds with a special feed to help them build up their fat store and give them the much needed protein. The birds have very little to eat  when the grass is covered with snow and the water freezes over.

The bird feed is supplied by the FORL who raises the money needed from raffles and subscriptions. Here are a couple of photos of Richard keeping the birds happy.

Many thanks Jen and Richard for lugging those heavy bags and braving the cold weather to help the waterfowl.

Photos by Jen

There have been three seperate sightings of a Roe Deer at the Lido recently which has been a wonderful surprise to those Lido visitors.

The Roe Deer is quite different to the Muntjac Deer seen quite often in the Lido environs.

Let us know if you see any interesting animals not usually seen at the Lido.

Muntjac Deer

Roe Deer

Waters Edge, Friends of Ruislip Lido and Ruislip Lido Residents Group present “Hogmanay at the Waters Edge”
New Year’s Eve party, with Carolyn Towner accordion
Come and see the New Year in at the Waters Edge, a local pub for local people.
Admission free. Bar open until 12.30pm
Details please phone 01895 625241

The Council has been questioned by the FoRL about the rumours regarding staffing and catering contracts, we are waiting for their reply.

1. The council plan to centralise the green spaces staff south of the borough. This, IF TRUE, would be ridiculous, in the past year the number of staff has been reduced (we all understand cuts) the hours of coverage for the Lido has been reduced. The staff now have no enforcement powers; we have lost our dedicated members of staff. Now they are not going to be based there, so travelling to and from, gets taken out of the day the most we could hope for is six hours actually at the Lido. Can you please confirm if there is any truth behind this? If they need a new base why not put it in the planned Woodlands Centre. We need staff at the Lido without them it is going to spiral into the mess it was in 2003!

2. The council have already put the Cafe out for tenure, yet we have heard nothing about the ‘improvement plans’ for months and months. If this has gone to tenure, where are the plans for the building and the woodlands centre? What sort of premises are they going to be, is it going to be a Cafe, type of food, hours of operation etc. and who has decided on this, has there been any consultation?

We along with the local residents, the railway, residents associations and Councillors attend the MAG, neither of these items have been mentioned, we have asked and asked for updates but heard nothing. The MAG has been totally side lined in every decision to date, how it can be classed as a public consultative or advisory group when no one is telling us anything or involving any of the interested parties in the decision making.

Friends, please contact the council independently and ask them about these two issues but especially to SAVE OUR STAFF

We might be losing the team who are based at the lido, we have heard that plans are a foot to just have one team of green spaces staff which will be based in Yeading, this will mean the team will be away from the Lido they look after and the equipment they need for their other sites, and they will spend more time driving than working!

Seems daft…please let us know what you think.

Thanks Jen for this picture of some rubbish left at Ruislip Lido……or could it be modern art?

With seven huge green bins placed at the top of Willow Lawn and all empty, it is a wonder why Lido visitors don’t use them.

Please clear your rubbish away properly.

With all the problems people bring to the Lido it is easy to forget why we love it so much, here are a couple of reasons why we do……(many thanks Jen for the Iris image)

Vandals in the shape of “picnickers” struck last night at the Lido, they ripped apart the woven fencing which guards a nesting area between the main beach and the dog beach and tore down shrubs. With the wood they built a huge bonfire and BBQ on the dog beach which they left burning through the night, it was still smouldering when we arrived at the beach at 7.15 this morning.

We tried to dampen down the fire as much as possible but the vandals seemed to have built a fire pit so even though there were just smoking embers on the surface the ground was still burning hot and the coals beneath the surface were still red and spitting.

We were wondering what they might have been on the menu for this feast, then we saw duck feathers on the dam by the green huts, it looks like a duck had been caught and feathers plucked. The bottle of tomato ketchup can be seen in the photo which shows the bonfire after it was dampened down.

The Police and Fire Brigade were notified, the good old Fire Brigade had cleared away all the coals

• No single person responsible for the lido and its welfare
• No cover for the lido after 4.30pm
• Council not taking responsibility for anti-social behaviour within the lido environs
• Faulty Splash Pad
• Disabled toilets – difficulties with access to the toilets
• Toilet doors with faulty locks
• No soap dispensers in the toilet block
• Faulty hand driers in the toilet block
• External lights still faulty
• Water quality and water level
• Rain/sun shelters
• Extra litter bins

The FORL are continually chasing the LB Hillingdon with all the issues listed above, we will keep you updated on any progress.

� If you have any comments you would like us to reaise with the council, please leave a comment below.