Enjoying park life

BATTERSEA Park was opened in 1858.

Stepping through its gates at that time must have been like walking into a dream to the inhabitants of a city far more ferociously urban than the one we know today.

" The tropical garden would have been particularly mind-blowing," says Jennifer Ullman who, as Wandsworth's chief parks officer, is the park's overall boss, supervising the "70 or so" people who work in the park every day.

Ullman, who is Amercian, has a degree in history of While many people enjoy a walk through London's fabled green spaces, few consider the people who devote their working lives to looking after them. Andrew Martin meets those behind the scenes at Battersea Park

Jennifer Ullman, chief parks officer

I MEET Ullman as she returns from a walk with her springer spaniel. "All good park managers will patrol their park on a regular basis," she assures me.

"Today, I'll be trying to choose a design for the rustic bridge we're going to restore to the Ladies Pond. It's hard to get one that's rustic enough.

Some of the designs that have been submitted just look as though they're covered in garden trellis."

She will also be having a meeting with the park's bio-diversity officer on wildlife issues. "This park, for instance, is one of two places in London where herons breed," she says. "And we have responsiblity for the peregrine falcons that nest in the chimneys of Battersea Power Station."

Stephen Grange, park policeman

PC 132 Stephen Grange is a member of the Wandsworth Parks Police, a subdivision of the Royal Parks Police.

Increasingly, parks are patrolled by the parks police rather than the traditional park keeper, the much demonised "parkie" figure found in the pages of the Beano and similar publications.

Historically minded yobs will sometimes shout "parkie!" at Grange, but they should be much more worried. "Our training is for 12 weeks, then ongoing," says Grange. "It's a potted version of the training for the regular police."

Parks Police have some, but not all, of the powers of regular police. "But that may change," says Grange, meaning that the powers may increase.

He politely refuses to mention the most bizarre crime he has seen committed in Battersea Park on the grounds that Just the Job is a family publication.

He has, however, pursued armed robbers through the park and "come across a chap hanged from a tree". A sundial was stolen, desite being firmly cemented in place.

Grange concedes that his day is sometimes "a walk in the park" but adds: "When you're in uniform, you never know what crimes you have stopped just by being there."

Jack Adam, events and filming manager

JACK Adam is based in the park because many of the events and film shoots he manages take place there; the annual firework display for example.

I suggest that events and filming manager for Wandsworth council sounds like one of those jobs where anything that goes wrong is his fault, while he hears nothing if it all goes to plan.

"You've got it in one," he says with a laugh. "About 50,000 people will come to the fireworks, and you might get five letters congratulating you."

The park is often used by filmmakers. A large part of the recent, non-animated version of 101 Dalmatians was shot there, and Brad Pitt was filmed walking through it slurping coffee from a paper cup during the making of Spy Game, which saw other scenes shot just outside.

Denise Todd, zoo manager

A LOVE of animals is the main qualification for zoo manager Denise Todd. She apologises for the clich and points out that she is also trained in animal management, adding that she is often asked how she got started because there are so many people who would love to work with our furry and feathered friends.

She stares for a moment at the pile of paperwork in front of her, and says she does miss the "hands-on stuff" that was more in her line when she was an ordinary zookeeper.

She stands up and beckons me outside to a monkey cage.

"These are emperor tamarins," she says. "One lost its mother so I put it under my coat, took it home on the Tube, and hand-reared it." I ask which one, just as a tiny moustachioed monkey sticks out its tongue at her.

"That one," says Todd with a grin. "The thing with the mouth is a sign of recognition."

Raymond Fox, gardener

RAYMOND Fox has worked as a gardener in the park for 20 years. "An indoor job would kill me," he says.

The work is hard: in the summer there are two waves of bedding plants to set out, in addition to relentless weeding and lawn- mowing, and things are little quieter in winter. "Whenever I get home my back is sore as hell," he says. I ask how he copes, and he gives a wicked grin: "Quick wash then down the pub for a couple of pints."

Jerry Birtles, principal parks officer

JERRY Birtles is second in command to Jennifer Ullman.

He is technically principal parks officer (greenspaces and arboricultural services).

He translates: "I'm the main man for trees. I can walk around the park and see a tree growing nicely and think, 'I did that'. And, of course, they'll be around long, long after I'm gone."

Park wages file

A junior keeper at Battersea Park zoo earns pounds 180 a week.

A newly recruited gardener in Battersea Park earns pounds 220 a week.

Junior tree officers with London council will start on about pounds 16,000, rising to about pounds 28,000 for senior tree officers.

The starting salary with the Royal Parks Police is pounds 22,000.

A trainee in the Wandsworth's events and filming office will start on pounds 18,000, rising quite rapidly thereafter.

Most park managers in Britain earn between pounds 30,000 and pounds 35,000.

Copyright 2002
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