Wilfie at Holland Park

Hello!  It’s me, Wilfred.  I usually live in Toronto, but for six months, I am living in England with my two dads.  My poppy needed to be here for his work so our whole family came to live life in London.

This week at my school, Ravenstone Prepartory, we learned about Florence Nightingale.   Next week, the Form 2s will put on a play about her at an assembly and I am playing the part of Florence Nightingale’s dad.

   Ravenstone

Florence lived in the Victorian era.  Her dad taught Florence and her sister at home, because girls weren’t supposed to go to school, they were supposed to stay at home and sew and look after the house, while the boys did all the fun stuff.  UNFAIR!   Florence wanted to be a nurse, so she went to the Crimean War (which was in Russia where my friend Vladi is from) and she became the most famous nurse ever.  They called her the lady with the lamp and if you want to know why, you will have to come to see our play!

Already this term, we learned about Christopher Columbus.  The Form 2s did an art project about him that decorates the wall in our studio.  I helped make his ship, the Santa Maria!

There are lots of exciting things about London, but the best part of living here is the parks.  We live near three really terrific ones – Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Holland Park.  We go to Kensington Gardens a lot. 



One time at Kensington Gardens...

Poppy and I saw an air ambulance take off

You never know what you will see in London

I like to feed the ducks and swans at the Round Pond.  But if you go – mind the swans!  They come right out of the water to get the food from you and they get very snappy.  So if you do feed the birds, BEWARE OF SWANS. 



Wilfred at Kensington Gardens: The Movie

Today, I want to tell you about Holland Park.  Holland Park is not far from where we live in South Kensington.  We walk there along the Kensington High Street (the English call the main shopping street the “High Street”.   I guess that is what they would call the Danforth maybe).  Kensington High Street has lots of fancy stores and restaurants (and a Tube Station!).



Me on Kensington High Street

Holland Park used to be the gardens around a palace that belonged to the Earl of Holland.  (My middle name is Earl.  No relation, says Dad).   It was called Holland House and the palace was older than Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace.  Today, the gates to the old palace are on Kensington High Street at the top of Earls Court Road. 

The palace was very beautiful and had a lot of famous parties, but in the war, a bomb hit the palace and blew it to pieces. 

Before the bomb

After the bomb

 Dad said that after the war people couldn’t always rebuild everything that was wrecked.   The earl’s family didn’t rebuild Holland House and now it is a park for the people of London.


Holland House today.

 All that is left of the palace are the ruins and its amazing gardens.

Me and Poppy at Holland House

One of the surprises there is that the old palace used to have peacocks wandering around the earl’s garden – and they are still there!  LOTS of them!  Boy peacocks have beautiful tail feathers, which they open like a big fan to show off to girl peacocks.  Girl peacocks are mostly brown.  They didn’t pay much attention to the boy peacocks when we were there.

The girl peacocks (peahens) are the brown ones.

Show off.

There is a Japanese garden there that has a nice little pond and a waterfall and HUGE GOLDISH!


Me in the Japanese garden

People from the neighbourhood go to Holland Park to play or do sports or walk their dogs (they even have DOG TOILETS.  Can you even believe it?).   There are two really great play grounds, one for little, little kids (under 5) and one for bigger kids (up to 14).  Sometimes my school comes over here in a coach bus so that we can play in the big kids’ playground.  It has a zip line, and a skate board thing, and stuff to climb on and swing on. 



Me on the ZIP LINE!



Me at the funnest playground ever

It really is one of the best playgrounds!  If you come to London, be sure to check it out.
Well, I will talk to you next week.  Bye for now.  Wilfred