Wormwood Scrubs Family Day

Kids show Scrubs inmates how to climb high walls

Friends of the Scrubs tent

Donkeys on the Scrubs

Reptiles put in an appearance

Saturday sees the annual family day on the Scrubs return and it's well worth getting down there on past performances.

Music, food, stalls and even animals make an appearance and all for the princely sum of nothing whatsoever.

Supported mainly by Groundwork, who look after the nature reserve on the scrubs and our own Council it's a really nice part of the W12 calendar so get yerself along if you haven't before.

Sunday update - success. I had my worries about the threatening clouds looming ever threateningly over the horizon but the day had a decent turnout, with the animals being the star attraction again. Kids could get up close and personal with goats, ducks, pigs and even snakes - guess which ones had the longest queues!

Inside the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs information tent was a giant map with the history of the Scrubs dating from the middle ages. Apparently the ground was given hunting ground status and changed hands between knights and dukes. But there was also an entry for 2011 entitled "saved from developer rape" (below) which told the story of how our own Council had tried to get rid of the Linford Christie athletics stadium in order to allow a property developer to build some, you guessed it, luxury flats.

The Friends were not invited to "consultations" and the scheme looked set to be another to be added to this Council's infamous list. But on this occasion, as with the Goldhawk Road, locals overcame the Council. A sad reminder that local amenities like this should never be taken for granted - you have to fight to protect them sometimes.