July 2014 by Mark Wall

SEnine Eltham SE9

www.senine.co.uk

JULY 2014

Wimbledon

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SEnine ISSUE NUMBER 92 With the longest day now behind us we are well and truly racing through the summer. But hopefully there are some warm and beautiful days to come. It has been an interesting time since the last issue. Firstly, at the risk of boring some, and only because so many ask, let me talk briefly about my health. I am slowly on the mend. It will take some time (12 months+) to get back to somewhere near 'normal'. During that time it is a simple matter of rest when needed, eating well, medication and a lick of good luck. Thank you everyone for your cards and good wishes. The biggest event in Eltham was the council elections. The general balance of the council remains the same with labour gaining three more seats to reach 43 against the Tories 8. And within that result, the passing into history of Chris Roberts, the council leader who did not stand for re-election. In his place Denise Hyland has been elected by the labour party to be their new leader. This presents a wonderful opportunity for the labour led Greenwich council to draw a line under the previous administration that many viewed as vindictive and bullying in nature. Cllr Hyland will have a bit of a job in front of her if she takes this path. But with 13 brand new and fresh labour faces on the council, it is the best opportunity the council will get in a long time to push the old luddites into the back ground and forge a new, progressive and dare I say transparent form of local government.

JULY 2014

OPINION, FROM MY DESK

I know I am dreaming but one can only hope. I was interested to read on page 22 that in September there is something called a Non-League-Day? It is held annually, the day coincides with a weekend when there are no Premier League and Championship club games played. Launched in 2010 Non-League Day is a non-profit, volunteer run initiative designed to raise awareness of semiprofessional and amateur football. The aim is to encourage fans of League clubs to sample local non-league clubs while their League club is without a game taking its September International break. This year it’s scheduled for Saturday 6 September and it presents an opportunity to visit park football. Maybe it's the dated image of overweight beer bellied forwards booting the ball into neighbouring gardens, or the stigma of following "park football", but much has changed and the level of football played locally is of a very good standard. One local club that deserves our support is the Badgers Sports Club. The team carries the unfortunately non local but historic name of Cray Valley (PM) Football Club, the (PM) stands for Paper Mills which is part of their history. They are located on a great site on Middle Park Avenue and have a wonderful club house.

Totally Independent Main Office:

Mark Wall

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020 8333 7493 (For all matters) www.senine.co.uk SEnine Ltd: PO Box 24290, Eltham, SE9 6ZP

Closing Dates. Please visit our web site to get exact dates. Submissions: Contributions and Stories are always welcome from the residents of Eltham, they are subject to our overall editorial policy. Advertisers: SEnine Magazine does not recommend or endorse any advertiser. You should make you own enquiries as to the suitability of the service or product. We only use the very best industry standard vegetable oil based inks. We use environmentally friendly papers, from a sustainable source, with a chain of custody from well managed forests through the supply chain to our printer.

So that is your task for September, on the 6th role of to the game at Middlepark Avenue and sample some local football. The standard may not be at premiership level but the games are lively and interesting and there is a nice feel about watching football where you are at ground level, you can smell the grass and you are not being blasted with at sorts of advertising (apart from the boundary line sign board naming SEnine Magazine as a supporter). There is a sort of reverse snobbery involved in supporting your local team. So as well as having a league team that you follow, why not select to follow a local team also? Well, that wraps up another issue. We have two great and moving stories about soldiers in the WWI conflict. As well we have news items, entertainment and summer fayres. I do hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed writing it for you. Please feel free to write and express your opinion at any time. For your diary;

Non League Day September 6th

Enjoy life: Enjoy Eltham.

Cover: Ceiling and Lighting, Severndroog Castle Cover photo by: John Webb - June 2014 Cameo: Summer, July & Wimbledon

Friends Membership. Support for the magazine is always appreciated. You can help the magazine with an annual Friends Membership The standard membership is £24.00 per year (in the delivery area) Royal Mail membership is £36.00 per year (Outside the current delivery area and delivered by messenger or post)

Send your name, address and contact details along with payment to 'SEnine Friends' PO Box 24290 Eltham SE9 6ZP Or visit our web site www.senine.co.uk to pay on line. We look forward to hearing from you.

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NEWS

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Normans 100 Years Local business Normans Music has reached a remarkable milestone. come in for the extensive selection of sheet music, both pop and classical. Francis has been a well-respected figure on the Eltham music scene for many years, combining his love of music with a career in IT.

ne of Eltham’s oldest shops, Normans Music in Well Hall Road, is celebrating its centenary in style this month. A series of musical events is being organised to mark the founding of the shop in Eltham in 1914. It has moved twice and has had five owners during its existence, but the enduring appeal of music-making has kept the shop thriving over the years. The current owner, Francis Eastwood, took over in 2004, and says that the shop is trading as strongly as ever, keeping pace with the gently changing fashions and trends. Stocking the full range of classical and rock instruments, Normans is popular both with professional and amateur musicians. It started as a branch of Morley’s on a site in the High Street roughly where Lidl’s stands today. From there, it soon migrated across the road before heading around the corner to its current location in 1923.

advent of recorded music and for many years sold vinyl records; and for a time it also supplied radiograms and record players.

For 25 years until 1994 he was the organist at Christ Church in Eltham High Street and for more than a decade was Director of Music at Eltham Parish Church. He has recently been appointed as Director of Music at The Annunciation, Chislehurst. Many of you will have attended the regular concerts that he has run in the locality over the years, raising many thousands of pounds for the Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice.

It was re-named Normans in 1960 when bought by Clive Biley and his father, although the reasons for choosing that name have become lost in the mists of time. Clive retired in 2000, but still helps out in the shop, which is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am – 5pm. After a three-year interregnum when Terry McAloon ran the shop, Francis took over the baton in 2004. Although musical instruments are prominent in the shop, many customers

Francis said: “We thought the centenary was cause for a celebration. Although the shop has been called different names under different owners in different locations, its heritage can be traced back to its roots in 1914”. “We have arranged some performances on the pavement outside the shop from 2pm – 3pm on the Saturdays in June. Our main celebration was at the Bob Hope Theatre on Sunday 22nd June. It was a total sell out, with a concert of Summer Jazz featuring Clint’s Jazz Band. We are also sponsoring a performance of Elgar’s “Sea Pictures” during the Eltham Choral Society Summer Concert in Holy Trinity Church, Southend Crescent, on Saturday 12th July at 7.30pm”, said Francis.

Re-named Eltham Music House on moving to Well Hall Road, it took advantage of the

Don't be a litter lout, find a bin

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1914 - 2014 We are celebrating 100 years in Eltham. Saturday 12th July, Normans are sponsoring a performance of Elgar's "Sea Pictures" as part of the Eltham Choral Society Summer Concert. See advert page 9 or page 12 What's On for details "We offer free advice and guidance on all our products before and after your purchase." Francis Eastwood 32 Well Hall Road Eltham SE9 6SF www.normansmusic.co.uk tel: 020 8850 1263

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NEWS

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'Old Boy' Leads The Way Eltham CoE primary celebrated its 200th birthday in style with a series of events at the school.

he Dean of Westminster, the Very Rev John Hall, a former pupil, presided over a Service of Thanksgiving at St John’s Church, attended by the whole school, after which he toured the school, presenting each child with a bi-centenary package.

This included a short illustrated history of the school and a book by local children’s author Holly Webb, a fiction based on extracts from the school’s archive.

Some classes enjoyed trips to the West End musicals, The Tiger Who Went to Tea, The Lion King and War Horse and anniversary mugs were distributed to all children.

Illustrations in the book were chosen from work done by current pupils.

The Eltham National School, first opened in 1814 on a site near Pound Place, moving to Roper Street in 1868 and becoming Eltham CoE in 1906.

An exhibition of pictures and documents from the school’s 200 years was staged and attended by many former pupils and teachers.

The books, and the celebratory mug, are available from the school.

As part of the series of celebrations, children from across the school dressed up in Victorian costume for a tea party with cakes, refreshments, entertainment and maypole dancing.

Eltham C of E 'Old Boy' the Very Reverand John Hall leads the walk up the high street.

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Opening Soon latest information on when the 18th century folly is ready to open its newly refurbished doors. It will feature a ground floor café and spectacular first floor function room with historical and educational material on the floor above. Then up again to the roof-top viewing platform, which offers views of seven counties, and across central London. Entrance will be £2.50 for adults and £2 for children with an annual ticket also available. Initially, it will open only on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

he final preparations for the opening of Severndroog Castle are being put in place with a date later this month on the cards. Visitors are being asked to keep an eye on the Castle’s website for the

Find and Support Local Tradespeople

The Castle has been assembling a team of volunteers to help run the attraction with a variety of roles available. Anyone interested should contact project manager Laura Allan on 07739 017420 or email info@severndroogcastle.org.uk

JANE’S JOTTINGS

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Co-optedSEnine's Jane is invited to cut the ribbon J

ust down the pavement from the house where I was born was the village stores; a Co-op. Probably uniquely, it was on the ground floor of a Peel Tower, one of those solid

My mum knew her Co-op number by heart, and purchases were noted down on her ‘divi’ account to bring a welcome bonus from time to time. So, for my first nine years until we moved away, the Co-op was central to my life and that of the community for our sustenance, pleasure and friendship.

15th century houses, part of a defensive shield against marauding Scots. My friend Margaret Turble, whose dad ran the shop, lived upstairs. My early years were spent going to and from the vicarage, past the little Post Office to the 'stores' where Mr Turble would weigh out some sugar or flour into a brown paper bag for my mum to use in the kitchen. When I started getting pocket money, it was spent on the treats behind the long wooden counter. Of course, there was still rationing for tea, sweets until I was three and, until a year later for meat and bacon as well.

Many years later, up north and a few months pregnant, my house hunting husband rang to say he’d found our ideal property in Eltham. Close to the station, a nice school down the road, lots of parks. And a Co-op at the end of the road! That sold it.

So imagine my delight when the phone rang and breezy new manager Deborah requested my attendance at the re-opening of the Well Hall Co-op, not as a spectator, but to cut the ribbon! Now that’s what I call a real ‘divi’!

How we’ve seen that Co-op change. Opening hours expanded into the evenings and Sundays; attractive new displays; panelling and shelving gradually bringing the store into the modern shopping age to compete against the big beasts of retailing. As the race for customers hotted up, we all looked on with speculation when the Coop closed its doors for yet another refurb, promising hi-tech tills, even brighter displays and the latest up-to-date retail ‘offer’.

Jane Webb has lived in Eltham since '85 with her husband and daughter. She has taught at several local primary schools

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CULTURE

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Saturday 19th July 2014 7.30pm Holy Trinity Church, Southend Crescent, Eltham, SE9 2SD Tickets available on the door: £8 (concessions £6)

Greenwich Youth Choir, Stage Right Charlton, Stage Right Marlborough, GAMD Musical Theatre & GAMD Barbershop, and musicians from GAMD.

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how.

NEWS IN BRIEF

News in Brief CO-OP Well Hall Co-op has re-opened after a complete refurbishment. The store, which re-opened after 10 days of closure, has been re-branded as part of a nationwide programme of modernisation. The store was officially re-opened by SEnine’s own Jane Webb.

Tudor Dance A medley of dance styles including tap, ballet, jazz, musical theatre, lyrical and hip hop will be performed outside the Tudor Barn Canadian dance performance team, Snap Dance Performance are coming to the Tudor Green as part of their tour of London. The youngsters, aged from nine – 17 years, will put on their show ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ from 12.30 – 1.30pm on the grass outside the Barn on Sunday 6 July. The entertainment is part of the Barn’s summer festivities which see music each week leading up to the end of season Fun Day on Sunday August 31. In July, the featured singers are: July 6: Easy Company Jazz July 13: Huw Price July 20: Gordon Mark Webber Jazz Trio July 27: Espree

Honours Veteran community organiser in Middle Park, Lin Corbell, who we featured in our columns last month, has gained an even higher accolade, SEnine learns. After more than 30 years at the helm at Middle Park primary school, Lin was awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Well done Lin from all at SEnine.

SEnine

The Grove Construction work on the site of the old Grove Market Place will start in the autumn, according to developers Citygrove. Delays have been caused by Royal Greenwich council finalising the planning documentation. Approval for a new eight storey development of 144 flats brought to an end Eltham’s longest running planning wrangle when councillors voted in favour in February. Marketing of the flats is being done by Galliard Homes in the range of £294,000 for a one bedroomed apartment to £685,000 for a three bedroom penthouse with occupation expected in the autumn of 2016. After the details are signed off by the council’s legal department, Citygrove can engage contractors to begin a 15 – 18 month building programme. Toby Baines, chairman of Citygrove, said that the company was keen to start work on site to provide the area which much needed housing accommodation. The company has been buoyed by rising prices and demand for housing in the capital. Parking continues to be a major worry for local residents, with only 49 spaces available, some of which are ring-fenced for particular users.

On the Move Latest changes to the High Street. On the move is Home Choice, who have moved across the street to occupy the old Bedpost premises; their old gaffe to be occupied by Nationwide, who are traversing in the other direction. Percival’s Cameras needs some asbestos removed before being re-let; and the Crown public house in Court Yard has closed until further notice. Poundland looks like becoming homeless when their lease expires next March. Long-awaited proposals for improving the High Street look likely to be published later in the year; and Azzurro, an Italian ristorante/take away, has opened at the top of the High Street. The new Mexican in Well Hall Road seems to be pulling the crowds, and the 'BBQ come Grill' place renovating the old Pizza Hut has had the builders walk off the job.

A new Controlled Parking Zone will be created around the apartment block and new residents many of whom, the developers Citygrove believe, won’t own cars, will not be able to apply. Residents in Court Road and North Park fear a spill-over effect from new residents who do have cars seeking the closest available spots and the Bob Hope Theatre is concerned about competition for parking spaces in evenings and at weekends.

Pound 'Landing' SEnine strongly supports and is excited about the new cinema development. However, we are becoming concerned over the fate of Poundland, which is possibly Eltham’s most popular shop, barring Sainsbury’s. We would be surprised if there was a person in Eltham who has not at least entered the store and had a look around. The new Council boss, Denise Hyland, is in a very difficult position. The leader cannot be seen to be evicting a thriving business that employs local people, to support and build their own trophy development of a cinema and restaurant complex. Given that Poundland want to remain in Eltham, it seems to be incumbent on the Council to find suitable alternative accommodation for this very successful and popular high street retailer.

Join in a Community Activity

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Leighan n is back fr om Maternit y Leave looks fo rward to & seeing everyon e again.

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Opposite the Fire Station

Avery Hill Park, Fun Day Saturday July 26 12 noon - 4pm

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Soccer fun by Charlton Athletic Dog Show* Fun Run* Face painting Stage singing Exotic Animal Zoo

Judo sessions Willow Wildlife Community stalls Change4Life caravan Guided tours of the Winter Garden Catering from the cafe

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Don't be a Litter tosser, put it in a bin

WHAT'S ON Normans 100 Years Saturday 28 June

This page is sponsored by ElthamSE9 Limited

Wednesday 16 July Quiz night at the White Hart

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Gerald Moore Gallery Summer Art Adventurers

On behalf of local charities Includes carvery meal £10 per ticket from 8850 1562 Doors open 6pm, quiz starts 8pm

Multi art skills for ages 7 to 11 28-30 July - 4-6 & 11-13 August, 10am-12.30pm

Saturday 19 July

Thursday Club

Best of swing music with special guests Bob Hope Theatre - Tickets £13.50 and £11.50 from 020 8850 3702 - Starts 7.30pm

Greenwich Academy of Music and Drama Greenwich Community Choir and Friends. Holy Trinity Church, Southend Crescent, 7.30pm. Tickets available on the door £8, cons £6.

Art Classes for adults Bookbinding, Photography & Journaling 31 July, 7 August, 14 August, 4:30-6pm

Wednesday 2 July

Sunday 20 July

Create work and develop new ideas for ages 15-18 on 18 August, 10am-4pm

Eltham Farmers Market

Pre-GCSE Portfolio

A range of local produce Passey Place, Eltham High Street 10am – 2pm

Includes photography, collage, drawing and sculpture For ages 14-16 years on 19 August, 10am-4pm

The Folk Mob Pavement outside Normans Music 2.00pm - 3.00pm Free

Saturday 28 June The Shane Hampsheir Show

Quiz night at the White Hart On behalf of local charities Includes carvery meal £10 per ticket from 8850 1562 Doors open 6pm, quiz starts 8pm

Friday 4 July Charity Gala Night Buffet, live band and raffle - White Hart, Eltham Hill On behalf of ‘Checkemlads’ for testicular cancer awareness Tickets £10 More details from 020 8850 1562 Starts 7.30pm

Friday and Saturday 11 & 12 July ‘Heard It on the Streets’

Thursday to Saturday 24 – 26 July Hooray for Hollywood Glenlyn Academy Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road 8850 3702 or www.bobhopetheatre.co.uk 7.30pm (and 2.30pm Sat) Tickets £14

Lizards and newts Birdbrook Road, Page Estate, Next to the railway bridge 2 – 4pm

Saturday 12 July Summer Coffee Morning Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road Gifts, bric-a-brac, cakes, jewellery, refreshments 10.30am – 1pm. Free

Monday 14 July Folk and blues night Hosted by ‘The Grizzly Mutts’ Enjoy music and poetry; singers welcome Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road Members free, non-members £2.00 - 7.30 – 10.30pm

Eric Liddell Sports Centre Skills Academy Soccer Camp 28 July to 1 August, 10am-3pm, ages 5 to 12

Avery Hill Park Family Fun Day

Street Dance

Sunday 27 July

Open Day at the Birdbrook Nature Reserve

Bookings: info@geraldmooregallery.org or 020 8857 0448 www.geraldmooregallery.org

29 July & 19 August, 9am-10am, ages 4 to 7

Saturday July 12

Saturday 12 July

A-level Portfolio

Saturday July 26 Full day of entertainment and activities More details: friendsofaveryhillpark.webs.com or averyhillpark@hotmail.co.uk Free entry. 12noon – 4pm

‘Sea Pictures’ by Elgar, Rutter’s Gloria, Whitbourn and Palestrina. Holy Trinity Church, Southend Crescent. Starts 7.30pm. Tickets from Normans Music (sponsors) £12 (£10conc)

Photography, Magazines & Fashion 31 July, 7 & 14 August, 10am-4pm

Mini Movers

New Stagers annual musical production Realistic look at life in the concrete jungle Bob Hope Theatre 020 8850 3702 7.30 (plus 2.30pm Sat) - £6.00

Eltham Choral Society Performance

Teenage Kicks

‘Steaming Day’ at Crossness Pumping Station Working beam engine in Grade1 Victorian building Focus on transport. Dress: flat shoes and trousers. Light refreshments, shop, large car park. Belvedere Road, SE2 9AQ More details www.crossness.org.uk Adults £6, Under 5s free, 5 – 16 years £2 10.30am – 4pm

Sunday 27 July

29 July & 19 August, 10am-11am, ages 8 to 12

Drama Workshop 29 July & 19 August, 11am-12.30pm, ages 8 to 12 Bookings: 020 8851 9111 www.ericliddellsportscentre.co.uk

Sunday 31 August Family Fun Day Well Hall Pleasaunce Entertainment, exotic animals, stalls, catering Entry free 11am – 5pm

Every Sunday Eltham Cycle Club: rides Start Eltham Park 9.30am. All ages and abilities, varied routes. www.limitededitioncycling.co.uk

Comedy Night

Every Monday

Paul Adams, Wayne the Weird, Lenny Sherman and Martin Beaumont Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road Tickets £10 (£8 in advance) 7.30pm

Greenwich Community Choir Eltham Park Methodist Church on Westmount Road 7.45pm. All Welcome. An opportunity for people aged 18+ to enjoy singing in a fun choir. It meets every Monday during term time.

Wednesday 30 July Tudor Barn Wine Club

Every Monday

A range of six wines from regional France plus three course meal £40 in advance only 0845 459 2351 8pm

Opera Appreciation 7.00pm All Welcome. Royal Blackheath Golf Club. Phone Pam Norris on 020 8850 6710

M o r e has Wsomething h a t ' s Ofor n everyone Eltham Pa g e 2 8

PREVIEW by Beattie Slavin

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Heard It On The Streets

Bob Hope Theatre's junior theatrical group The New Stagers. Talent is not crucial, previous experience is unnecessary: But enthusiasm, loyalty and reliability is compulsory.

eard it on the Streets' is the July offering from The New Stagers. The summer is their time to hit the stage. They are the junior theatrical group of Bob Hope Theatre, started in 1976, which provides a basic hands-on grounding in theatre. The young people are all enthusiastic, reliable and loyal, and never fail to give us a show to remember. This is an original production written by Sheila Ingram (who is also the director) and is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, but also explores the recent London riots. The New Stagers have been rehearsing since April, but before this they work-shopped ideas to get the young people’s perspectives on the material. Sheila says this collaborative process gives the young people ownership of the play, and has found that they inevitably come up with good ideas, which have been incorporated into the play.

The music is also original, composed by James Rose with Lyrics by James, Sheila and the New Stagers. Again their collaborative process has delivered, resulting in some superb songs. Choreographer is Alicia Priddle, who choreographed the New Stagers production last year (The Story of Nowhere Near). You will also have seen her work in Sidcup Operatic Society’s productions at Bob Hope Theatre. James Priddle is in charge of lighting. Heard it on the Streets is about life and living in London today. Set in the worse council estate in London, The Bob Hope Estate (no reflection on the famous American comedian), it is called the No Hope Estate by the residents. The people who live there are a real bunch of characters but you wouldn’t want to live next door to any of them. However it is not all gloom and doom, a strong thread of humour runs through the story. This is a realistic look at life in a concrete jungle

without a job and no view of the way out. Heard it on the Streets will show how easy it is for things to get out of hand and once it has, can anyone pull it back before it is too late? These young performers of the future have risen to the challenge of getting a strong message across, whilst being both entertaining and thought provoking. Their hard work is bound to get you thinking about your own feelings, but this isn’t just a miserable look at No Hope Estate. This play is not suitable for children under eleven years old due to the language used. The language used is deened appropiate appropriate for the New Stagers who are aged eleven to sixteen. Get your tickets sharpish for this world premiere as it is a short run of only three performances. It is sure to sell out very quickly and it would be a shame to miss it.

COMIN G AT T R AC T IO N S B O B

H O P E T H E A T R E Be a good neighbour

ART & CULTURE

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Avery Hill's Biggest Parkfest A sizzling start to the summer holidays is on offer at Avery Hill Park with a family fun and activity day.

host of activities and entertainments for all ages in the area around the park café are being organised by the Friends group. Highlights of the entertainment will be songs from the shows and musicals performed by singers from Bromley Players and Eldorado. Leading the activities will be Charlton Athletic’s community team who will be organising a range of football-related fun for youngsters of all ages and a chance to get spotted by the coaching staff. A fun run for young and old alike with medals and prizes for all participants is being held running a circuit around the park. Dog lovers will be able to compete for prizes with a show.

Fun runners and dog owners will be able to register their entries on the day of the Greenwich Parksfest-funded event With free entry, it will run from 12noon to 4pm, details of the time-table will be displayed on the Friends’ website friendsofaveryhillpark.webs.com/. Other attractions will include guided tours of the Winter Garden in which the team from the University will be explaining their plans for a multi-million pound refurbishment. One of the country’s leading face painters, Eltham’s Debra Mills, who has won international competitions will be there throughout. The exotic animals, including snakes, spiders and lizards from ‘Animal Days Out’ are coming along allowing youngsters to handle the scary stuff, with a small-scale petting zoo for those that prefer something more cuddly.

For those that fancy ‘having a go’ at judo, Edo Judo Kwai, the local club which meets at Anstridge Hall, will be giving free taster sessions. For those seeking guidance on how to lead a healthier life, the Change4Life mobile caravan will be in attendance all day. In addition, the Avery Hill café will be serving light snacks, drinks and ice creams. Chair, Nuala Geary said: “We have a great line-up for the start of the summer holidays. We’d like everyone to come along and make it a real community event.” More details about the dog show and fun run can be found on the park website or by emailing averyhillfriends@hotmail.co.uk

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Help keep Eltham tidy! Put your litter in bins.

SEnine Continued What's On f r o m Pa g e 1 2

Every Thursday Eltham Chess & Games Club All ages and abilities welcome. St Mary’s Community Centre, 7.30 – 9.30pm (Recess all Aug & Sep 1st) Contact Alan 020 8355 4316

Every Thursday

2-6 Sherard Road, Eltham SE9 6EX

Tuesday (Every) French Group 2pm – 4pm Join other Francophiles and brush up your French. Beginners and improvers welcome. Contact: Community Volunteers Time Bank Tuesday (Every) Zumba Gold 2pm-3pm Friendly community based Zumba Gold Class, that lets you move to the beat of the music at your own speed! Contact: Yvonne Conway

Eltham Choral Society Westmount Road Methodist Church at 7.30pm. New members welcome. 7.30pm. www.elthamchoral.org.uk

Tuesday 8th Nutritional Advice 10am – 1.00 pm 1 to 1 tailored advice from our nutritionist. For more information contact: Wendy Smith

Second Monday of Month Eltham Park Townswomen Methodist Church, Westmount Road - 2pm

Fourth Thursday of Month Civil Service Retirement Fellowship Social meetings, talks and free raffle. Also open to noncivil servants. Meets United Reformed Church, Court Road Contact: Phyllis 020 8265 0810. -10am – 12noon

Third Saturday of Month Fairtrade Coffee Morning The Methodist Church Westmount Road Eltham SE9 Proceeds from sale of coffee & cakes to various charities. 10.30 until 12noon

Last Sunday of Each Month (Except August and December)

Wednesday 23rd History Group 10am – 12pm For more information please contact The Community Volunteers Time Bank Thursday 3rd & 17th Craft Group 10am – 12pm Bring along your own craft project or try something new with fellow enthusiasts! Contact: Community Volunteers Time Bank Thursday (Every) Forget-me-not Singing 2pm – 3.30pm. For older people, people with disabilities, those with Alzheimer's, dementia and their carers. Contact: Rose Waghorn

Thursday (Every) Acrylic Painting 1.30 – 3.30pm The course is suitable for beginners and is based on painting landscapes. So come along and be inspired by the world of acrylics and the friendly company of your fellow artists! Contact: Louise Donovan Friday (Every) Technology Club 10am – 11.30am Help and support on a range of subjects to help you Keep in Touch with Technology from mobile phones, tablets, cameras to laptops. Contact: Louise Donovan Saturday 26th Men in Sheds Creative Workshop 1am – 3pm Eltham’s Men In Sheds will be demonstrating how to make a bird box. Booking is essential by 19th June. Contact Steve Paxman Monday to Saturday, Men in Sheds 10am - 4pm For men 55+ who enjoy sheds, workshops, gardening or just chatting over a cup of tea. Contact Steve Paxman Yvonne Conway on 020 8315 1850 yconway@ageukbandg.org.uk Community Volunteers Time Bank 020 8315 1883 communityvolunteerstb@ageukbandg.org.uk Wendy Smith on 020 8294 3013 wsmith@ageukbandg.org.uk Rose Waghorn 0781 118 7490 info@forgetmenot-services.co.uk Louise Donovan on 020 8315 1850 ldonovan@ageukbandg.org.uk Steve Paxman on 020 8294 3011 spaxman@ageukbandg.org.uk

Eltham Park PSA Orchestral Concerts 3pm start - Free entry. All welcome. Eltham Park Methodists Church, Westmount Road, Eltham. Details 020 8850 8945

Every Wednesday Eltham Folk Mob Blackheath Rugby Club. Kidbrooke Lane. Singers welcome. 8.30pm

Every Tuesday Greenwich Soul Choir rehearsals Eltham Green Community Church, Westhorne Avenue 7.30pm, contact: 07958 612 582

Second Monday of the Month

Great food, Lagers & Real Ales, a large selection of wines & spirits. The White Hart has a friendly & comfortable atmosphere. You are guaranteed a warm reception.

British Cactus and Succulent Society Eltham branch meet at the Lionel Road Community centre Westhorne Avenue SE96DH. 7pm for a 7.45pm start. Contact the Secretary - Jim Earles 020 8851 1076. http://www.eltham.bcss.org.uk

Alternate Wednesdays Eltham Knitters Social craft group. St Mary’s Community Centre. 2-4.30pm

Make a difference in your community

If you have not been out in Eltham in a while, visit the White Hart. You will be glad you visited 'The Hart of Eltham'.

2 Eltham High Street Eltham London SE9 1DA

020 8850 1562 www.whiteharteltham.co.uk info@whiteharteltham.co.uk

WWI

SEnine

Never Forget This month, as the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One is being remembered, two of our readers relate their family links. The father of one survived four years of action; the uncle of other was not so lucky.

Fell

more real to her. He was just about to leave for the Front.

Every Remembrance Day, Brenda Dowding removes the picture of an 18 year old, dressed in uniform, from Her children her files. It’s one of her family’s links having left home to World War One. and with more time

Dear Mother, Just a few lines hoping that you reached home safely. I am sorry mother that we have to leave you but keep up hope and you will see us back again quite safe and sound . If I have to die I know you all will be proud of me because I am doing my duty, it is a great thing is duty to your country, and I know it is harder for you than me that I should go, but someone has got to do it for the dear old country and it is my turn to try and do mine . Let me know as soon as you can mother if you reached home all right as I been worrying all day, tell the girls that I will write soon as I can and give my love to Dad and all at home and say that I am sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye . Kiss them all for me and say that I shall be home to see them and will close with a son’s best love for his mother. Xxxxx With love to all xxx

For many years, her uncle George’s name was occasionally spoken about as having been killed in 1916 during the War. But it was only in the 1980s that a letter was found that the young soldier had written to his mother which made his brief life

on her hands, it sparked Brenda’s interest in her family history and the fate of the uncle she never had the chance to meet. She visited the Thiepval Memorial in northern France to find his name

carved high up on the immense memorial which features the names of tens of thousands of others. And left a cross at the Menin Gate in Ypres. “It really brings it h o m e , seeing all those names a n d knowing a member of your family is there”, she said. Each year, she arranges through the Royal British Legion to have a cross in the memorial garden at Westminster Abbey in his name. Brenda writes: “He was the third born of 14 children, 11 reached adulthood. My father was the youngest and only three years old when his brother was killed. The ‘girls’ George speaks of in his letter are his six younger sisters – they were a very close loving family. “He was killed at the age of 18 (he added a year to his age on volunteering in order to join up, as many young chaps did at the time) on the 15th September 1916 at Flers.

Take a walk in the Tarn

WWI

SEnine

“His brother, first born Arthur, was also with him at the Somme. During the days leading up to the 15th, he was wounded and George carried him on his back to the field hospital, returned to the battle and was never seen again.

“My father was involved in the gun batteries throughout the War. As well as the lives lost, he was also sorry for all the horses which were killed and injured. “I think as a way of hiding his deeper g thoughts about what he had been

“My father told me that his mother’s hair turned white overnight when she heard the news. She also had a vision of George standing at the foot of her bed.” Lance Corporal George Downing G/8827 11th Battalion, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) died on Friday 15 September 1916, aged 18. It was the first day of the Battle of Flers/ Courcelette, the third and last of the large-scale offensives mounted by through, he would tell us humorous anecdotes about the War; his shaving mirror became broken to a fragment; on one occasion he was half shaved as a long battle started, leaving him with half a beard for a few days; a consignment from his family containing knitted balaclava, mittens and a cake had been destroyed by a direct shell strike; one night, during a lull a comrade went for a walk and came back with a chicken to eat, a welcome change from regulation bully beef.”

Lorna writes: My father was born in Woolwich and served as a Corporal in the trenches with the Royal Artillery for the whole of World War One. He considered he was extremely lucky to have survived the War despite such things as being unable to remove his boots and patties for six months at a time, when they had to be cut off and finding both legs full of ulcers and other poisonous problems, as did his comrades. His school friend, Alfred Smith (no relation) who served with another unit was less lucky. He was buried alive by a shell burst, then blown out again by another shell burst, leaving him with his life but only one leg. As a result of shell shock he retained a stutter for the rest of his life and died in his fifties. My father and his ‘trench buddy’ Bob Laidlaw (who also survived unscathed) kept in touch for the rest of their lives despite one living in Newcastle and the other in London. My father always retained a strong interest in The Royal Artillery and I recall him taking me to their orchestral concerts under the baton of Captain Geary during the 1940s and, I think, 1950s.

He would be sad that so much of the Royal Artillery’s history is being lost He married in 1922 and Lorna was to Woolwich due to recent decisions. born four years later. the British Army in the Battle of the Somme. It was the first time the tank had been used in warfare. Its initial success was patchy and the hopedfor breakthrough was not achieved.

Survived

Stanley Morehead Smith ‘B’ Battery 178th Brigade Royal Field Artillery (Pictured right). His only child, Lorna, now 88, who lives in Prince Rupert Road, said:

Join a local community group

BUSINESS ELTHAM

SEnine

Mike-Ro Pub Eltham could see its first Micropub opening this year, joining a growing network across the country. John Webb spoke to its proposer Mike Wren. What are Micropubs? They’re small, friendly places serving locally produced real ales at affordable prices. Pubs like they used to be without TVs, loud music and slot machines. The idea is to create a community social venue and which is warm and inviting,

How else are they different? We aim to have an ever-changing selection of ales for people to taste and enjoy, mainly supplied by the 30 or so micro-breweries operating in Kent but occasionally from other parts of the country. We won’t serve lager.

Whose idea was it? Mine. I happened to go into one in Tankerton and just loved it. I thought ‘Eltham needs to have one of these’.

You can just down tools and do it? Not quite. But I was coming up to early retirement. I needed a project and a fresh start, so it was good timing for me. I’ve been working on it for about year now.

Have you got a location in mind? I have been looking at a site in Westmount Road, which used to be Abbey Plumbing. It would be good to get a derelict shop back into use and provide a facility for the local community. It’s the right size and easily accessible.

Where’s the nearest micropub from Eltham? A friend of mine has just opened one in Petts Wood called ‘One Inn the Wood’. Worth a journey to find out what it’s all about.

What’s been the reaction to your plans?

time speaking to local representatives, the residents association, police, churches, shop owners in Westmount Road and the council to get their views. They have been helpful and supportive.

And the local neighbourhood? Most people are in favour but obviously some have expressed concerns. I’ve been meeting as many as possible to give them re-assurance. I’m more than happy for people to get in touch so I can tell them what I have in mind, a locally run social venue for the community. Once people know exactly what I am proposing any immediate worries tend to diminish.

What re-assurance have you been able to offer? The opening hours are relatively limited for a pub and we’ll never open after 11 pm. It is not a venue for all day drinking. There will be no drinking outside and no smoking on the pavement; there will be a small smoking area at the back, out of public view. Most people will come here on foot, so any parking won’t spill into the residential roads. I’m in this for the long term, I want the pub to become a part of Eltham forever. With no amplified music or TVs, noise will not be an issue. It will be a modest establishment that unless you were in it, you’d hardly know it was there!

What would the opening hours be? Lunchtimes 11.30 – 2.30 Tuesday to Friday, until 3pm on Saturdays and on Sundays 12.30 to 2.30pm. In the evenings, 5 – 10pm Monday to Wednesday and 5 – 11pm Thursday to Saturday. Closed on Sunday evenings and Monday lunchtimes.

Will you do food? Bar snacks such as crisps and nuts, no hot food but things like Pork Pies and Scotch Eggs will be available.

Will it only be ales? We’ll do wines as well and we’re hoping to provide a good quality variety. But not spirits, cocktails, alcopops and so on.

When might it open? It’s going through the planning process at the moment; I’m really hoping to start work on fitting it out during the summer and hopefully start serving the first pints in the autumn.

Isn’t there a covenant on the Corbett Estate about serving alcohol? Historically yes, I have researched this and taken legal advice. There has been alcohol licences for Westmount Road for many years, including the convenience stores. I’m not sure what rules there were originally but they do not appear enforceable today.

And who’s Mike Wren? I am Eltham through and through. I have lived in Eltham for 40 of my 49 years. I went to Crown Woods School and have lived in Glenesk Road with my wife for 19 years now. We have two sons, one at University and one doing his A-Levels, they both went to Deansfield primary and Bexley Grammar and through the Royal Eltham scouting system. My wife works at a local secondary school. So we have a very wide circle of friends in the area and we are a true Eltham family and only want to improve and enhance the area.

Overwhelming. We had loads of support from the community. I have spent a lot of

Be active in your community

ART & CULTURE

SEnine

The Eltham Flyer & Remember T

his month we publish two more of the winning entries in the ‘Tales of Eltham’ short story competition. In June, we published the winner, Sue Head’s entry ‘Letter to Pete’ and ‘Cold Hands’, the runner up from Miriam Storey. Two entries tied for third place. They were Ann Tolladay’s short story ‘Remember’ and Ernest Jupp’s ‘Last Ride on the Eltham Flyer’. Entries could be no longer than 300 words and were judged by a panel chaired by Professor Andrew Lambirth of the University of Greenwich. Professor Lambirth said that Ann’s entry was “a heartbreaking story of life, love and death; it ends in tragedy but in an extraordinary way” and Ernest’s was “a well-crafted tale full of humour, based around a true event, told through dialogue.”

LAST RIDE ON ‘THE ELTHAM FLYER’ 5th JULY 1952. by Ernest Jupp ‘Please Dad - it’s our last chance to ride on a tram !’, pleaded Derek Skinner, aged 11. ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about . I’ll be glad tomorrow when the buses take over’. ‘But Dad’, it’s historic’, he tried. ‘Hysteric more like, and you’ve Sunday school in the morning.’ ‘But I want a ride on London’s very last tram - it’s a 38 from Woolwich’. ‘Woolwich? - not likely !’ Derek changed tack. ‘Can we catch the last 46 tram from Eltham Church then ?’, he asked. ‘We can walk there in five minutes’. ‘OK, but it won’t be London’s very last tram will it?’ Accepting this, Derek said, ‘Thanks Dad’, with scant enthusiasm. Thus, at the appointed hour, Skinner and son waited outside Burton’s, opposite Eltham Church. After a long gap between trams, what surely must be the last number 46 came swaying into view up the hill from Well Hall like a lighted galleon. Someone had chalked up ‘The

REMEMBER by Ann Tolladay When he and his brothers finished at Roper Street school, he felt such pride when he was taken on as an under gardener at Eltham Palace. Bill was working in the post office in Passey Place and Eddy worked in the bank at the cross roads. On a Friday they would meet up for a pint or two at the Greyhound pub. One night it was so crowded they went round the corner to The Rising Sun and there she was, fate had put the love of his life in front of him, all blond hair and blue eyes. They got talking and to his surprise she agreed to meet him the next afternoon.

Eltham Flyer’ on the front, and although it was plainly full, the kindly conductor, in party mood, helped them aboard. Even Mr Skinner was infected with the jolly atmosphere, and said to Derek ‘We’ll stay on to New Cross if you like’. Derek liked! However, progress was so incredibly slow through enormous crowds at ‘The Yorkshire Grey’, Lee Green and Lewisham that they were over an hour late at New Cross, and as the tramcar ground noisily to a halt outside the depot, which had seemed deserted, an irate Inspector ran up shouting, ‘Do you lot realise you’ve come in half an hour after the official last tram ?’ * ‘Blimey’, exclaimed Skinner senior, ‘We were on London’s last tram after all’. ‘Thanks Dad’, said Derek meaningfully, placing their tickets safely in his pocket. ‘Er, Dad, how are we getting home?’ ‘Blowed if I know !’

* The 46 tram from Eltham really did arrive at New Cross depot just as described, at about 1.45am, about 30 minutes after ‘London’s last tram’ , and well after an impressive ceremony had concluded !

they married at St. John’s Church and a year later the twins were born. They lived very contentedly in a two up two down in Sun Yard. Money was short, but his wife and children gave him a life full of love. Now he lay here in the mud, soaking wet cold and yes, angry. The anger welled up in him, the destruction and carnage they were causing must be stopped. It was for the love of what he had left behind, for little families like his that he was prepared to do this terrible thing. The whistle sounded then the movement of men going over the top like a great unstoppable wave. At that moment he knew that whatever his fate, in one part of London what he had planted would continue to grow and even in a hundred years’ time people would remember and be proud of the sacrifice they were making .

The Tarn could not have looked better, sun lush greens and flowers. Their feelings for each other blossomed too,

Help keep Eltham safe - report suspicious activity!

HISTORIC ELTHAM

SEnine

Cliefden

John Kennett looks at one of Eltham’s historic houses recently covered with scaffolding for the fitting of a new roof.

offee drinkers in Eltham High Street’s Costa outlet would probably not realise that most of the shop is within one of Eltham’s oldest surviving houses. Cliefden is Grade 2* listed and contemporary with Charlton House and dates back to the early 17th century which became apparent to English Heritage experts during recent renovations and accounts for their upgraded starred designation for the house.

Cliefden with its front garden in 1909

The frontage of Cliefden has been camouflaged by rendering to its red brick frontage which only becomes apparent when repairs are made. A telling sign of its age was when the Costa shop was

being fitted out and ancient timbers were exposed before the new suspended ceiling was installed; ancient walls made of lath and plaster rendering were also exposed which survive as part of the historic fabric and are only covered over. The wooden staircase, of great antiquity, leads to the upper floors now used as offices. No evidence of the early occupation of the house has come to light and ownership can only be dated back to the late eighteenth century. However the house is a substantial property, which had a large garden stretching back to the footpath of Orangery Lane. At right angles to the rear of the house stands another historic Grade 2 listed building of unknown provenance (Drawing right). It is probably later by some years than Cliefden and at times known as Cliefden Stables or Clifton Cottages but now in residential occupation following a damaging fire after closure as a wood yard. Until 1924 Cliefden had a walled front garden which was acquired by Woolwich Borough Council to widen Eltham High Street and accounts for the high pavement which is level with the front door of the old house which bears the name of the property. At this time the house was bought by a property speculator who turned the ground floor rooms into shops while some of the upper rooms remained as residential units. In 1931 Madame Pascoe Ltd, blouse specialists and Frisby’s Ltd, boot stores, occupied the shops.

Timber supporting the ceiling of the Costa coffee shop, 2010

From 1925 most of the rear garden of Cliefden was transformed by the construction of the Bon Ton Laundry. The employees, under the direction of a trained bricklayer, built the first bay and soon the premises were in operation with the tall chimney being a distinctive landmark. The firm started in Brockley in 1862 when a widow, Mrs Frost, dressed shirts and collars. The firm expanded under her son and grandson and after

visiting America in 1922 they saw up-todate machinery and methods, which they adopted for their Eltham laundry. Nearby stood the historic Orangery, at the end of the garden of the adjacent

‘Cliefden stables’ as a Llwyd Roberts drawing of 1929 (Gree Eltham House, which was part owned by Bon Ton. In 1965 I visited the then hidden building with Bon Ton owner Mr Frost. The former summer house was being used to store old gas cookers and in front of the building were parked some Bon Ton delivery vans. The road section of Orangery Lane (south of the footpath of that name) was later laid in front of the Orangery to aid construction of the

Bon Ton advert of 1949

HISTORIC ELTHAM

SEnine Merlewood Telephone Exchange. With ever increasing operating costs, coupled with the popularity of launderettes, Bon Ton closed in 1966 and never again would their familiar vans be seen making local deliveries. The Eltham Society has one of their collection/delivery containers in its care.

The laundry buildings were demolished including those once used by the erstwhile Merlewood Garage. The South Eastern Gas Board bought the land in 1966 for £140,000; a spin-off was that Greenwich Council was able to fully purchase the Oranger y, which they intended to restore for co m m u n i t y purposes – history p r o v e d otherwise! The SEGAS d e p o t housing 140 staff served customers in Eltham and Greenwich and was opened in 9 (Greenwich Heritage Centre) June 1984 with an egress off Orangery Lane; official opening was made by Councillor Phillip Graham, Mayor of Greenwich, in October that year. On vacation of the depot by Segas it was bought by Greenwich Council and opened as The Eltham Office on 8 July 1998 having

The Segas depot in 1989

absorbed services previously available from the Eltham Mini Town Hall at the corner of the high street and Westmount Road. The Eltham Office closed in 2012 and since mid 2013 has been used for the Greenwich Food Bank. Cleansweep was relocated to the car park here from Sun Yard at Archery Road in 2005 when the Eltham Centre was under construction. Other users of the high street shop following Madame Pascoe included Granada TV Rentals, which was opened by Coronation Street actor William Roach in 1977, Vodaphone, Tony & Guy,

Yeatman thimbles’ to worthy pupils at the National School, Roper Street. In June 1889 Miss Ann Allpress married Captain Percy Lees at St John’s Church, Eltham, with the reception held at Cliefden where the family lived for twenty years; the honeymoon was in Switzerland. Mr Hopkirk, a previous owner, ran a school for ‘young gentlemen’.

But perhaps the most interesting connection with Cliefden is through the personage of General Gordon the famous British soldier who was killed at Khartoum in the Sudan in 1883. Charles George Gordon was born at Woolwich in 1833 at a house facing Woolwich C o m m o n and was the ninth child of Henry Gordon and Elizabeth Enderby. Cliefden with shops and the high pavement in the early 1960s.

and Pickwick Pawnbrokers since 2009. The Frisby’s shop was extended with an incongruous shoebox style extension into the rear garden of Cliefden in 1969. Other shoe purveyors were Focus, Tandem, Shoefayre, and Stead & Simpson until 2008. Costa opened in February 2010. Prior to the 1920s Cliefden was in residential occupation and during the First World War was used by the Army Service Corps based at Grove Park Hospital, Marvels Lane, for vaccinations and inoculations as part of their brief to prepare drivers to take London buses to the Front in Belgium and France. I have a copy of Some Records of Eltham by the Rev Elphinstone Rivers published in 1903; inside the front cover is pencilled ‘ Yeatman, Cliefden, 1903’. The Yeatman sisters were keen on needlework and presented the ‘Miss

Charles’s widowed grandmother, Mrs Mary Enderby, came to reside at Cliefden from Crooms Hill House, Greenwich, while awaiting the building of a new house at Charlton. It is recorded in the Gordon family bible that Charles’s sister Wilhelmina Harriet was born at Eltham in 1828 as was his brother William Augustus in 1831. In all probability Charles would have visited his grandmother at Eltham and how appropriate that our local Gordon Primary School is named after him.

July 2013 All pictures are from the John Kennett collection

SPORT

SEnine

Badgers Sports Club

Home of Cray Valley (pm) FC & Erith Town FC For Cray Valley: Contact Dave Wilson (Secretary) 07715 961886 wilson433@ntlworld.com or Frank May (Chairman) 07778 987579 frankmay.cvpmfc@hotmail.com

For Erith Town: Contact James Davie (Secretary) 077807 712149 jamesdavie@ntlworld.com or Ian Birrell (Chairman) 07956 291274 ibirrell@hotmail.co.uk

Left - Steve Springett (Cray Valley) Coming Attractions at BADGERS with his proud mum, shows off his Saturday 12 July Cray Valley v Chipstead ko 3pm Player of the Year and Manager’s Tuesday 15 July Erith Town v Kent Football United ko 7.45pm Player of the Year trophies. Tuesday 22 July Sporting Dinner with Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock New Members Always Welcome, call ahead or just pop in (ask for the manager) to enjoy our warm hospitality. With the FIFA World Cup now into its knockout phase in Brazil, things are also hotting up here in Eltham! With both Cray Valley and Erith Town entering the new season with new managers, both clubs are now back in pre-season training and the warm up games will be coming thick and fast in the next couple of weeks. The Millers start off their pre-season fixtures with a home match against Ryman League Division One side Chipstead on Saturday 12 July, while The Dockers kick off their fixtures with a match against Seven Acre & Sidcup on the 3G pitch at Thamesmead Town on the same day. For a full list of fixtures please see our websites for confirmation of venues and kick off times as these pre-season fixtures can be liable to change at short notice. We still await the publication of our League and FA Cup and FA Vase fixtures but we will bring you an update in the next edition of this magazine, or again, check our websites! Off the pitch, Badgers will be hosting a Sporting Dinner with football legend and reality TV star, Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock on

Set in the grounds of Cray Valley & Erith Town Football Clubs, Badgers Sports Club is the ideal venue for a variety of functions & events. Our professional catering & hospitality team

Tickets are priced at £45 and doors open at 6.30pm. Wednesday 23 July Cray Valley v VCD Athletic ko 7.45pm Saturday 26 July Cray Valley v Eltham Palace ko 2pm Tuesday 29 July Cray Valley v Romford ko 7.45pm

Tuesday 20 July. The former Spurs, Liverpool, Millwall and England star, will be recalling not only his football exploits, but will also reveal behind the scenes secrets of his time starring in the celebrity jungle and in the Big Brother house. The evening is hosted by comedian Geoff Jukes, includes a three course dinner and doors for this event open at 6.30pm. Tickets for this unique opportunity to meet one of football’s most outrageous characters are priced at just £45 and must be purchased in advance. Call the number below to secure yours now! Have you heard about Non-League-Day? Held annually, the day coincides with a blank weekend for Premier League and Championship clubs and is designed to encourage fans of League clubs to sample their non-league club while their League club is without a game. This year it’s scheduled for Saturday 6 September and if you know someone who hasn’t been to watch us here at Badgers, maybe it’s time to mark their card? We’ll have more next time. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer and see you at Badgers soon! Frank May Chairman; Cray Valley (PM) FC

can tailor a package that best suits your requirements. Our newly rebuilt & refurbished Clubhouse has lifted the whole venue, now with air conditioning, while the large glass domed roof fills the

hall with sunlight. As part of our package we can also recommend a range of services, from Wedding cars & flowers, to DJs & even live bands if you require.

Middle Park Avenue Eltham SE95HT

020 8355 4378 Info@badgerssportclub.co.uk www.badgersportsclub.co.uk

Join you local neighbourhood watch scheme

SEnine

The Nottingham Flyer

NEWS

We’ve had the Giro D’Italia and this month it will be the Tour de France. In between it was the Meander de Marcus.

he Tudor Barn’s indomitable lessee Marcus Luck undertook his latest sponsored venture, a cycle ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

This year’s effort is on behalf of junior diabetes research and for Crohns disease, in memory of the Barn’s bookkeeper, Linda Brown, who died unexpectedly recently and suffered from the illness.

His 1,000 miles plus journey was on his trusty steed The Nottingham His journey started in early May and Flyer, a veteran of previous trips on hopes to be out of the saddle by the end of the month after staying at a series of B&Bs and hotels en route.

way that you never could in a car on a bus or in a train.” “The Nottingham flyer is performing well for an old un, not its fault that the crank fell off so early in the adventure although I did take it rather personally at the time.” “I never saw a single Golden Eagle or rutting stag. This needs attention from the Scottish Tourist board which lures us up here in the expectation of such happenings.”

Marcus is keeping a blog extracts from By mid-May progress had been rapid which include: but his blog contains the following denouement: “Physically it is demanding and “Finishing up in A&E was an mentally quite honourable enough conclusion to a c h a l l e n g i n g beautiful concept. too. But once you adjust to the The journey really is more important steady discipline than the destination. of pushing the pedals round As destinations go they do not get or alternatively much more tacky than Lands End.” recognising that that is not possible, Marcus, speaking from Royal Devon the incline too and Exeter Hospital, told SEnine: “I great, so you revert had issues with my panniers coming to pushing.” loose all journey. The bungee strap I used to hold it in place ended up “You are endlessly bouncing it along the road with a which he often makes the journey scouring for pot holes, ruts and large negative effect on the stability of the over Shooters Hill to the Barn in discarded objects that will imperil bike, depositing me on the tarmac.” training. your whole endeavour if you fail to take avoiding action in time.” And as for the Flyer? “Looks better The adventure follows from a than I do”, said Marcus, suffering previous fundraising cycle to Paris “Cycling past huge salmon rivers severe bruising but no broken bones. and participation in the London and bubbling brooks and waterfalls “It’s made of more robust material.” Marathon. is genuinely awe inspiring. You get to smell, touch and experience it in a

Take an interest in local events

NEWS

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Local Girl heads to Nicaragua Volunteering to help improve sanitation and environmental sustainability.

"One of the things we had to do was make a bridge out of paper."

Instead she has chosen to go on a 10-week trip to help less-privileged people in a relatively poor country in central America.

Having been accepted, Rachael has also had to fund 10 per cent of the trip herself, raising the ÂŁ800 through initiatives such as having a cake sale and a grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation.

nlike many other students Rachael Hickman will not be heading on a summer holiday to sit around a swimming pool and drink cocktails in the evening.

The programme is called International Citizens Service (ICS) and is 90 per cent funded by the British government's Department for International Development.

Rachael, 20, has volunteered to work for the charity Raleigh International in Nicaragua from June 30th to September 7th. Along with a small team of fellow volunteers from the UK, she will take part in projects to improve sanitation and environmental sustainability. Rachael lives with her parents and sister in Halons Road, Eltham She used to go to Eltham Church of England Primary School and then to Beaverwood School for Girls in Chislehurst. She's also a former member of the 8th Royal Eltham Scouts. Rachael will live with a host family in the rural village community where she will work. She found out about the trip by chance when she decided to go with a friend to an open day at Portsmouth University where she is studying for a degree in international development.

Anyone aged 18-25 can apply. There are no specific qualifications or experience needed, just a positive attitude towards making a change and helping end poverty. Rachael said: "I've wanted to spend a year abroad as part of my degree but this was different. I went to this event with my friend, just to accompany her, not with any plan to look for something. "But while I was there I came across the Raleigh International stand and I was very interested in what they had to offer. "I applied to go on one of their programmes abroad, went for an interview and then attended a weekend of training. "At the latter I teamed up with others and we were set a series of exercises to test our skills and how we coped with challenges.

Rachael added: "As well as helping the Nicaraguans I wanted to raise awareness and highlight opportunities that are available to young adults from Eltham who might be interested in doing something like this. "I've also set myself a personal challenge of learning Spanish (the native language) while I'm in Nicaragua." Although Rachael has reached her financial target to fund the trip, anyone wishing to make a donation to the projects in Nicaragua can do so on her justgiving page which is www.justgiving. com/Rachael-Hickman1

Eltham Park Dental Practice Eltham Park Dental Practice provides a friendly and modern dental service in the heart of Eltham Park, South London.

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New patients are always welcome. Normal Hours 9 am to 6 pm Mon to Thurs 9 am to 5 pm Friday. Closed for lunch between 1 pm and 2 pm.

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PERSONAL ELTHAM

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Mother Country West Indian born Donald Hinds has had his third book published at the age of 80. He spoke to John Webb Where were you born? I was born in Kingston, Jamaica but our family moved to the east of the island where they were farmers.

When did you start taking an interest in books? From a very early age. I came to love the English novelists, particularly the Brontes and Dickens. Also, Sir Walter Scott. The books were kept on a shelf behind the head teacher’s desk. The nearest actual library was 25 miles away.

Could you identify with books? Yes, in fact many of these books have black characters in them. I loved the language, particularly poets such as Tennyson. If I didn’t have a book in my hand, people thought there was something wrong with me.

Did you do well at school? Most people left at 14 but you could stay on to pass exams. I attained the Jamaica Local Examination to level 3. It would have entitled me to train as a teacher.

You decided to come to Britain?

It wasn’t what you’d had mind? No but I quite enjoyed it, I had some laughs with the customers. Also, I became involved in some of the early journalism of the black community. I wrote for a paper called the West Indian Gazette and also did some broadcasts with the BBC Caribbean Service and articles for the national press. I suppose that and the job was enough for me at that time.

After the buses? I got a position at the Postmaster General’s headquarters, working in their library. One of my jobs was to buy the minister (then Ted Short) a copy of Private Eye, which was considered a fairly racy publication and not available in many newsagents.

Yes, my mother was living over here and I thought it would bring me opportunities. In 1948, after the war, in recognition of the contribution that the Commonwealth countries had made to the war effort, the principle of ‘Civis Britannicus sum’ was established, giving individuals the right to travel and work here.

When did you train to be a teacher?

Your latest book?

I had always wanted to teach and decided to do a degree with the Open University. It was only the OU’s second year, in 1972. I studied history, which I loved, and social sciences. After that, I did teacher training at Avery Hill College.

It’s called ‘Mother Country’ which is a story, not based on mine but using my experiences, of Caribbean people settling in this country after the War. It’s the first of three, I hope to finish the second by the end of the year.

Where did you teach?

When did you come to Eltham?

What was your first job?

My first post was teaching history at Tulse Hill school, where I stayed five years, and then I was head of history at the Geoffrey Chaucer School in Southwark where I stayed until retirement.

It was in 1969; we didn’t like our digs and wanted somewhere cheaper to buy a place. A friend had just moved to Welling and recommended a move to this part of the world. We bought the house where we still live on the Progress Estate.

I came with the intention of working and earning a living, so I went straight to the unemployment exchange. The clerk hadn’t seen my exam qualification before, but inquiries made which established I’d had an education. They guessed it meant I could add and take away, so they suggested I become a bus conductor.

How did it go? I reported to the depot where I was told the basics of the job. Within days I was ‘on the buses’. I did it for nine years.

What was your first book? It was called ‘Journey to an Illusion’, written while I was still on the buses. It describes the experiences of Commonwealth immigrants to coming to their "mother country" and a guide to the emerging mixed-race world. Much later, in 1992, I was asked by Collins to write a book ‘Black Peoples of the Americas’ to accompany the new national curriculum.

Did you encounter problems? Not personally to any extent, although an Indian family who lived locally did. We live along side lovely people who were friendly from the beginning

And family? I’ve been happily married to Dawn for 54 years and we have three daughters; they all have jobs I could only dream of!

Help keep Eltham tidy! Put your litter in bins.

SEnine

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SITUATIONS VACANT

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S E nine S E nine Delivery Rounds Two rounds are currently available. Please visit the SEnine website at www.senine.co.uk for details.

Have a Vacancy? Looking for local people? SEnine reaches over 30,000* people, and all of them live near your business. Call 020 8333 7493 to book.

DO YOU HAVE A CAR? HAVE YOU A FEW SPARE HOURS EACH MONTH?

SEnine delivers a number of magazines by priority delivery once a month in the SE9 postcode and close surrounding area. Our current delivery person is moving from the area and we are seeking someone to take over this role. For more information send us an email and we will forward details to you. You will need a car, licence and be available at strict times and days for this role.

Townswoman's Guild Federation R

abbits were run, run, running and hippopotamuses were wallowing when the local Townswomen’s Guild Federation met recently.

There were also readings of prose and poetry as well and communal singing.

Choirs, including Eltham’s ‘Golden Girls’ Eltham has two entertained members of the guilds guilds, the Eltham from North Kent. Park Afternoon, which meets at Eltham Park The Golden Girls are the choir of the Methodist Church Eltham Park Afternoon guild, who take on the second part in Festivals and go out entertaining Monday of each old people's clubs and many other month at 2pm organisations. and the Eltham Afternoon, which At their celebration, they went to ‘The meets at the Ascot Gavotte’ via ‘Scarborough Fair Penford Room, before the Hippopotamus Song and United Reformed their very own version of ‘My Favourite Church, Court Things’, which took on a ‘senior’ theme. Road, Eltham on They were joined by the Blackheath the third Monday afternoon choir (also pictured) and the every month. Federation’s own choir.

Smile , it feels good

YOUNG ELTHAM

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Safe Hands

If Roy Hodgson needs someone to pull on Joe Hart's gloves, he need look no further than Eltham.

nd eight year old Connor Cooper might be just the the right one.

A born goalkeeper, Connor has signed a two and a half year contract with West Ham United’s youth academy which will see him playing against other Premier League teams in the coming season. The contract was also signed by first team manager Sam Allardyce and the director of United’s Academy Tony Carr.

Connor hopes to be able to gain a release from school, St Mary’s primary, one day a week to attend practice sessions at West Ham’s training group at Shadwell Heath and also attend training on two other days.

Dad Michael said: “As soon as one of the scouts saw him playing, they wanted to sign him because of the way he was reading the play and organising his defence.”

His natural ability as a shot-stopper became apparent from an early age as he would leap around with much older boys on Eltham Green in front of his house.

And Connor himself said: “I just love playing and this gives me the chance to learn.”

Playing mini-football in the local leagues and for Phoenix Lions in Crayford, Connor attracted the attention of a number of leading teams, including Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Tottenham. West Ham secured his signature in return for which he received £500 of kit, promising only to play for the Hammers until after his 11th birthday.

Mum Monica said: “As a small child, he was always very defensive minded and played with much older boys.”

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NATURAL ELTHAM

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Leaping Lizard in Eltham T

hose visiting the Mediterranean this summer will become familiar with the stationary or suddenly slithering sight of a lizard as they bask in the hot sun or head underneath a rock. A little known fact is that colonies exist not only in England, not only in London but here in SE9.

The lizard uses its speed and ability to leap in the air to catch all sorts of prey including flies, moths, butterflies and grasshoppers, as well as more slow moving food like spiders, caterpillars and woodlice. The lizard thrashes its prey to death on the nearest rock and swallows them headfirst. Wall lizards are active on sunny days through to October, and although they

scrub and rubble, including rocks, ideal lizard habitat. Normally the site is kept well under lock and key, the London Wildlife Trust opens it up on occasions during the summer. Not only wall lizards can be seen on these days but also other lizard species, newts and frogs, which are available for close viewing and handling.

One of them, the wall lizard, is fairly unusual in this country and so is probably the rarest species to be found in this part of the world. They exist in only about 50 sites in this country with around 20,000 individuals. The conditions they need to survive are fairly specific and, despite their intimidating appearance, are fairly defenceless leaving them vulnerable to predators of all kinds, including birds and the domestic moggy, hence why they disappear rapidly at the first sign of danger. They vary quite a bit in pattern, from brownish-greens to browns with spots and blotches of all sorts. Males are more marked then females which are often uniform with maybe a line running down the back. They reproduce by laying eggs, about an inch long, and grow up to six inches long, about two thirds of which is tail.

tend to disappear from November until February, they will emerge at any time for a bit of basking – if the sun comes out for long enough. The site they can be found in Eltham is the little-known Birdbrook Road nature reserve, just off Birdbrook Road on the Page Estate where about 100, probably originally released from a pet shop, live wild. The reserve is a mixture of ponds,

The next day is Saturday July 12 between 2 – 4pm. The Trust also needs help with maintenance work on the site and volunteers are welcome between 10am – 1pm. The entrance to the site is on Birdbrook Road just to the north of the railway bridge.

Eltham Against Business Crime Is your business and staff as safe as they can possibly be?

an you or your staff radio for police assistance? Can you or your staff talk to CCTV directly and have them capture events with the town centre cameras? Can you speak, by radio, to other retailers and get help if needed? Do you know when known shoplifters or troublemakers are on the high street or in Well Hall Road? Do you really know what is happening in your town centre?

If you have answered no to any of these questions it is about time you joined the local business anti-crime group which is part of the Eltham business association, ACE. If you would like to learn more about the scheme send for a business pack today. After the cost of the radio (less than £200.00) membership is just £150.00 per year or £15.00 per month by direct debit.

Email; mark@elthamse9.co.uk

Take a walk in the Pleasaunce

ART

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Winter Garden Summer Art Show An exhibition of wildlife photography is being mounted in the Avery Hill Winter Garden over the summer.

t is the result of the travels of Richard Winston, former language teacher at Crown Woods, and local resident. The photographs are displayed on a newly-created wall in the Winter Garden’s former tropical house, which is emptying pending its restoration by the University of Greenwich. Mr Winston said: “It’s an ideal place to exhibit the photographs. I happened to be visiting one day and came up with the idea which the University took on board.” The 30 framed prints of birds, animals and butterflies have been photographed in various countries he has visited since his retirement. They reflect some of the places that Avery Hill’s original owner, Col John North, would have visited in his travels in the 19th century including Costa Rica and Ecuador, also India, South Africa and the United States.

Your Community is what you make it

Mr Winston is a former student at Avery Hill and has been a regular visitor to the Winter Garden over the years. The photographs will be on display until August 10 and is free to enter via the main Winter Garden entrance. All the pictures are available for sale and visitors to Avery Hill are entitled to a discount.

SEnine

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SEnine

Sinking feeling… As readers will appreciate, SPY is loath to be proved right and seldom points it out when it happens. However exceptionally, in the case of the Avery Hill cycle path, he needs to report that his predictions that its incompetent installation would lead to Lake Avery have come to pass. Ever since the path was laid about a foot above the height of the surrounding grass, large pools of water have accumulated, occasionally over-lapping its surface and rendering large areas of the park out of bounds. In order to remedy the situation, huge diggers were dispatched to gouge out soakaways to relieve the floods. But to no avail. The sub-surface of clay rendered them, too, useless. And a drainage system is impossible, the land lying beneath the level of the nearby stream. SPY learns that, in order to make amends, the cycle superheroes in the council have offered to turn the area into a wetland, complete with bog plant species, reeds and rushes. There are two problems with this. The first is that it takes little foresight to predict that in another year, one perhaps of drought, that the whole lot would die a death. The second being that it would be an unnatural carbuncle on the face of a well-loved parkland friend. Cyclists clearly have no landscaping awareness. The question is, will the council take the obvious solution, that is plant a selection of water loving trees, for example, willow and black poplar, to atone their error and better to beautify the park for a change? Don’t hold your breath.

SPY Theatre Review A new indoor athletics facility on Sutcliffe Park has been approved by Greenwich Council’s planning board after a dramatic debate and a casting vote. Unfortunately SPY’s theatre correspondent was the only one available to be dispatched to the Town Hall to report. This is what we received. Royal Greenwich Players, Latest production* A moderately entertaining evening with a sad ending was enjoyed by a sparse audience in the Royal Greenwich’s latest Sham-Dram offering ‘Sheds Over Sutcliffe’, a taught drama in which a small sports club invades an attractive park squandering millions of pounds of public funds.

Have your say, your opinion counts

It provided a fitting final curtain call for artistic director Chris Roberts who, humbly admitting to having missed key rehearsals (e.g. the site visit), nevertheless delivered his lines magisterially, invoking the spirit of youth and thus flying high over the simple grey heads of the geriatric theatregoers before him. Increasingly and unhealthily (for such a sports fan) Falstaffian in stature, a condition caused by seasons of overindulging civic largesse, Roberts was puppet-master extraordinaire, his players each playing their part. Unusually, three of his own cast were allowed the role of rebel, breathing fire and fury over the plans to help a small cohort of shot-putters and local wouldbe Bolts keep dry in winter, the better to pursue their Olympian dreams, but in consequence piling a huge shed and parking lots over the green acres of Eltham. Comedy, Malvolio-style, came in the form of bumbling courtier Gittens, titular lead planner, who claimed the sacrificed turf would be replaced nearby. Audience catcalls (Oh yes, you have!) reminded him that his new turf had already notionally replaced at least two other bulldozed and blasted heaths. Gittens, each stumbled line peppered by lengthy pauses, never failed to amuse, promising the baying mob a new public café while not mentioning that this sylvan imagining would stare unpoetically across the athletic track’s finishing straight rather than the natural beauties beyond. He took comedic credibility too far, however, when pretending to over-look a 900 name petition in opposition. Veteran Shakespearean Dermot Poston, also taking his final bow, had been supplied by the regime’s rogue acolytes with a dodgy mic, forcing him to use his honeyed baritone vocals to cry ‘murder most foul’ as the western approaches to SE9 became threatened with tarmac and metal sheeting. The resulting lack of sound was a clever metaphor for the meaningless charade of a consultation exercise, a sure Roberts directorial touch which will be sadly missed in his retirement in ‘something to do with regeneration’, hopefully self-administered given his apparently baleful physical condition.

Yalways newsy, sometimes inaccurate or irreverent, often controversial or gossip, but never the opinion of SEnine.

‘Common Man’, played by Ray Walker, in the form of a blank-faced footslogging lieutenant, convincingly conveyed a person totally disinterested in either athletics or parks but just ‘doing his job’. The fitting epilogue was provided by a cypher character from Plumstead who was mute and motionless throughout the entire performance, moving only to mime his crucial vote in favour, happy in the knowledge that such dependable appearances on stage would guarantee future appearances on stage under the watch of new director Denise Hyland, whose comic Thespian credentials to fill Roberts’ boots seem flimsy to say the very least, rather more the Wagnerian maiden. *The council’s planning board gave Cambridge Harriers permission to develop their Sutcliffe Park athletics provision.

Walk of the Un-Dead… Like all good theatrical ogres, the Roberts era was long a-dying. Even after the council elections, in which he didn’t stand, the doomed Pravda was displaying gladhanding pictures of him described as ‘council leader’ and upbeat press notices arrived in our email intrays trumpeting the latest news on the Poundland Picturehouse. SPY is informed that council procedures dictate that a council leader is not deposed until a new one is elected, at the council’s annual meeting, even if he no longer is an elected member. Weird. OK, it’s the rules. But SPY would think that common sense dictates that he keeps his head down over this period, rather than stalk the Town Hall like Banquo’s Ghost?

Real Estate 'Poetic Licence' ....ideal for the DIY enthusiast, scope for modernisation and so on. All estate agent lingo, but it was plumbed to new heights in the blurb for ‘Grove Place’, the name now given to the new Grove Market Place development, currently a hole in the ground near Eltham crossroads. Galliard Homes says the apartments and penthouses will be ‘surrounded by rural ambience’. Even the keenest Eltham green space fanatic would blush at that. And the price to buy one of the 49 parking spaces sub-basement? Yours for just £25,000. An ‘investment opportunity’ perhaps?

MAILBOX ....... Have your say Cycle Path

Cycle Path

I am enjoying the current edition of SE Nine. I just wanted to register an alternative view on the cycle path between Butterfly Lane and Avery Hill Park. I like it because it allows me to exercise on a bicycle or by foot in an area that often became impassable and boggy. I can also now access Avery Hill Park from the north west with my little boy in a baby buggy or my father in a wheelchair without taking a long route around to the nearest paved access which previously made the trek impractical and unpleasant. Avery Hill Park is now the safest and most beautiful place I know for people of all ages to do recreational cycling. I now incorporate the path and park into my commute to New Eltham station which means I'm away from danger and car fumes for most of the journey. I'm not aware of any damage to the oak trees mentioned in the article. I would agree it is probably an ancient path, but I don't think this particular stretch is bounded by ancient hedgerows, but rather bushes and bunds. The bushes remain intact as a refuge for wildlife. There are plenty of problems with the way Greenwich Council and its contractors Riney have carried out the scheme and its final appearance, but I agree with it in principle. Regards David Banks

Today I cycled along the pathway from Butterfly Lane to Avery Hill Park and was shocked to see the recent changes. It’s on one of my favourite cycle routes because it was nice to be somewhere that looked as if it was deep in the countryside, and I’ve never had any problems with it. I’ve always been very courteous to walkers there, every time giving them right of way on what was, after all, a FOOTpath, and being scrupulously careful of children and dogs. So is it unfair to brand it a cycle path and blame cyclists for the changes? Well, the change does send a signal that it’s as much for cyclists as for walkers and so it could attract cycle nerds who tear along looking only at the heart rate monitor on their bike computer. On the other hand, the people who couldn’t go along it before and can now are those in wheelchairs and on motorised buggies for disabled. It’s nice to see old folks getting around Eltham on buggies and meeting one another where there are wide pavements like along the shops in Westmount Road. Sometime we’ll want to do the same, and may also want to independently get somewhere that looks like countryside. But there was no need for the path to be so wide. In fact along the short lengths where there were ancient hedgerows it could have been narrowed to as little as a metre thus saving the hedges. Also as your writer quite rightly pointed out, the Council would do far better to provide some decent cycle lanes along our roads (like those you see in Holland, Belgium and Germany). Current tokenism like the green paint along the Bexley Road gutter is useless. There for safety I always ride along the footpath (giving priority to walkers of course). Mike Davies

SEnine Either go to the SEnine web site at

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Surprise I was reading in your mag about Pre-Fabs and guess what? You had a picture of one in Gavestone road,I was born in number 102 Gavestone Road way back in 1960. I don't remember much about them but it was a nice surprise to see one again and it brought back a few memories. Barbara Wellbelove

Do you have an opinion? Do you have a 'pet' groan? Have you had a good experience? Do you have a story to tell?

Blanmerle Road D you possess any old photographs of the first Do hhouses in Blanmerle Road, New Eltham (or BBatturs Road, which I believe it used to be called) ? This terrace of houses dates back pre 1898 and, aas I live in one of them, would love to be able to find any old photos (the older the better!). Many thanks, Caroline Platts

Can anyone help Caroline?

or write to the Editor at:

SEnine, PO Box 24290 Eltham SE9 6ZP

Crow I was running i through th h Elth Eltham PParkk yesterday t d morning and was the victim of a crow attack it dive bombed onto my head and was pecking away - when I managed to shake it off the first time and sprinted away, it chased me and came back at me a second time faster and harder. I did manage to escape from it the second time when I ran away from the trees into the field, and a passer by advised me that they are nesting at this time and can view joggers as a threat. Anyhow I just thought I'd let you know in case you wanted to make other runners and park users aware of this risk. Many thanks, Sarah Green

Eltham Needs DLR As a frequent SE9 visitor I read with interest the comments from TFL in your June issue why they will non extend the DLR to Kidbrooke & Eltham. There is a connection promlem SE London endures which is not common in North London. In East Finchley for instance the Northern Line comes every few minutes. However at Eltham on a Sunday evening there are only two trains an hour. The DLR at Lewisham is more frequent, but you have to get there. There needs to be a campaign to bring the DLR to Eltham like the one which brought improvements to North Greenwich and Woolwich. Longer SE Trains are not an answer, frequency is. There is a conflict between private railways who want to support their country customers against in town commuters. We cannot run an expanding London with 19th Century communications and we need more infrastructure work to generate employment Roy E. Bennett Hackbridge

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SEnine

selling homes

redefining the art of

HARRISON INGRAM  ELTHAM  Greenwich: £550,000

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Eltham: £950.00 pcm

TOP FLOOR APARTMENT TWO BEDROOMS SPACIOUS LOUNGE FITTED KITCHEN ENTRYPHONE ALLOCATED PARKING

Eltham: £1400.00 pcm

WELL PRESENTED 3 BEDROOM SEMI IDEALLY LOCATED FOR DEANSFIELD SCHOOL LOCAL AMENITIES HUGE MODERN OPEN PLAN KITCHEN/DINER BRIGHT LOUNGE; MODERN BATHROOM OFF ROAD PARKING; UNFURNISHED AVAILABLE - 9TH AUGUST

Woolwich: £140,000

GROUND FLOOR MAISONETTE LOUNGE FITTED KITCHEN WITH OVEN & HOB BATHROOM WITH ELECTRIC SHOWER DOUBLE GLAZING GAS CENTRAL HEATING RESIDENTS PARKING TO FRONT

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SEnine

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SEnine

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Highlands

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Look out for you neighbour

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Gardener Planting, design and maintenance for family gardens. Free consultations. Contact Tom at 07534 577 299 tjackson.horticulture@gmail.com Â

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bar * winner *

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HERBACEOUS

SEnine

BBQ Season? A remarkable feature of Herbaceous’ allotment during summer is the antique rusting barbecue he rescued from a skip sometime in the 1970s.

A smile was raised at his latest feast when one of the guests spotted a half digested pigeon, the remains of an earlier fox attack.

Variously known as ‘the wizard’s cauldron’ or ‘salmonella on legs’, the crucible resembles two woks fused together on spindly metal legs with miniature wheels, handy for propelling it into the shrubbery when fire breaks out. A novel feature of Herbs’ barbeque technique is his use of garden tools as cooking implements. So the secateurs are used to divide strings of sausages, the tines of his trusty fork double as a spit, the food sits on a chicken wire griddle and his spade is deftly used as a scraper to detach charring meat from the flames and on to the waiting plates of guests. The nearby dipping pond, home to many-a species of amphibians and creepy crawly, doubles neatly as a champagne bucket, keeping the bubbly at the ideal drinking temperature of eight degrees centigrade. When challenged about the food hygiene status of his implements, he points to the nearby water butt, suggesting that he has only recently scrubbed them down in the foetid water and dried them out with some leaves of Swiss chard. He made a good start to the barbequing season when investigating the ‘cauldron’

in spring to reveal a dozen sausages which had been there all winter, the remains of the last burn-up of autumn. His wide invitation for guests to help him ‘eat them up’ unsurprisingly found few takers though.

“Here Herbs, you can have this for your roadkill kebab’, he was told, a tone of voice in which he detected more than something of a hint of sarcasm, he thought.

Most of his fraternity, in any case, know better than to actually eat anything that Herbaceous rescues from the flames and discretely pass around foil wrapped food parcels brought from their own kitchens. Any produce which survives the cauldron’s incineration is normally lobbed gently into the surrounding shrubbery for the perusal of the local fox population.

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Summer activities at Avery Hill Winter Garden Explore a Victorian gem at the heart of SE9 Historical tours

Family picnic day

Saturday 26 July, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm

Saturday 30 August, 11.30am–4.30pm

Discover the history of the Winter Garden on one of our tours. You can also enjoy Parksfest activities run by Friends of Avery Hill Park.

Picnic blankets, live music and creative trails will help you see the Winter Garden and its plants in new ways. Bring your lunch – we’ll provide the rest.

Photo competition Creative workshop

Closing date: Monday 21 July

Saturday 26 July, 12 noon–4pm At this Parksfest event, children and parents can get creative, inspired by the founder of the Winter Garden, Colonel John Thomas North.

Green ﬁngers at the Winter Garden Saturday 2 August, 12 noon–4pm

Post your photo of the Winter Garden on our Facebook or Twitter page and you could win a prize.

Go online To register for an event or find out about group visits and volunteer opportunities, please visit gre.ac.uk/averyhillwintergarden.

Our horticultural activity day is perfect for budding gardeners and members of the community who want to come along and get involved.

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