Whose for a delicious cup of tea? These three amigos (Keith McMahon, Julian Meers and Elliot Newton) were depicted by illustrator Lisa Tolley at a pre-COVID get-together at the pocket park along the Queens Promenade.

Tools Down, the fourth in a series which denotes spring time, shows the work and camaraderie of the volunteers who have cleared, maintained and nurtured an area of land around the caretaker’s hut by the towpath. Others show a fence being painted, a cast iron heritage post being cleaned, and the ingenious adaptation of a chair as a planter for tulips.

The Thames Ditton artist explained: “Julian approached me at Surbiton Farmers’ Market about illustrating the pocket park, and once I saw it I realised how unique and inspiring it was – from its scale, to the social history and the passion of the volunteers who have created it.

“For the first series of illustrations I have focused on the activities of the volunteers and their enthusiasm for the garden.”

Julian Meers, chair of the Queens’ Promenade Friends group, said there were two main aims of the pocket park – to transform what had effectively become a piece of wasteland and, most importantly, to use the community to do it.

“The community came first in my mind, then the transformation was second – that is why I love these pictures because they centre on the volunteers and what they do, and what they are about, and how they get on with each other. That to me is the most important part of what the pocket park is all about.

“Lisa has got it, she has understood us totally. That’s why they mean a lot to me – they are not just pretty pictures. Her detail is amazing. I am thrilled that she has taken such a keen interest in the pocket park and its volunteers; her witty interpretations demonstrate the sentiment of the project so charmingly.”

Julian said the Friends group hadn’t yet decided on the best way of displaying the illustrations but one idea was to have them on mugs and tea towels so they could enjoy seeing the pictures at every tea break.

To see a short film about the pocket park and the volunteers creating it click here.