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Ukrainian Support

Art On Parade is holding Art Days on 14th, 15th, 18th and 19th July for children of junior school age. They take place at Ripley Arts Centre in Bromley. To find out more about the next available dates call Nicky on 07736 400763 or email info@artonparade.co.uk

Rotary Beckenham recently organised a barn dance to coincide with St George’s Day. A good time was had by all – and the group raised £850 for Ukraine on the night. The music was provided by Whirling Skirmish and the caller, Philip Barber, was master of ceremonies. North West Kent Rotary clubs have now collected almost £25,000 to help those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

AMAZING ASTRONOMY

There has never been a better time to learn about astronomy. Dozens of space craft are deployed and being readied for exploration within our Solar System. The equipment available to amateur astronomers has developed to make stunning images possible – even in the light-polluted skies over Southeast London. Orpington Astronomical Society is an organisation for everyone interested in astronomy and space technology. No need to be a practising astronomer to join. Contact us at enquiries@orpington-astronomy.org.uk

KESTON POST OFFICE

The Post Office is proposing to relocate Keston Post Office to a new location - 19 Heathfield Road, Keston, BR2 6BG and undergo a refurbishment to incorporate a convenience store and Post Office. Consultation on the proposed move will close on 5th July 2022 and customers can share their views during the consultation online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 084012. Submissions can also be made via email to comments@postoffice.co.uk or by calling 0345-266 0115.

Caught speeding

PIB (People In Business) recently held a charity Speed Networking event at the Bromley Court Hotel to help raise funds for the MumMum Foundation and The Chartwell Cancer Trust. Just under £400 was raised as the ticket money was kindly fund matched by Southeast Legacies.

Best known for his role on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, the King of Ballroom Anton Du Beke will star in this year’s Churchill Theatre 3D family pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, running throughout December 2022. Tickets can be booked at churchilltheatre.co.uk

London neighbours

Richard Wraith from Wesh.uk has developed The London Neighbours Project, whose aim is five-fold:

• Develop a positive community within each London borough • Encourage residents in each borough to get to know each other • Promote the use of local businesses through community engagement • Reduce social isolation and loneliness for residents through engagement • Share all the good news that is in your borough and safety alerts Residents can join their respective forums online and discuss topics and issues that are important to them. Richard initially developed the platform to offer everyone a voice in their community and as a means of preventing loneliness. For more information visit

https://neighbours.london/

TICKET UPGRADE GIVEAWAY & £100 BAR SPEND!

In our final giveaway with Priory Live (taking place in Orpington’s Priory Gardens on Saturday 6th August), we’re giving one lucky reader the chance to win an upgrade on their Priory Live tickets to VIP plus £100 bar spend for the daylong event. For your chance to win, just purchase tickets at priorylive.co.uk and enter the code ‘LifeInMags’ to be entered into the prize draw.

*Shared competition with other media sponsors. For full competition T&C's see https://bit.ly/lifeincomps

Vivace Gymnastics is launching a new dedicated gymnastics centre in Bromley on 27th June, which is specifically designed for early learning, Key Stage 1 and 2 children.

The new centre offers classes for parent and toddler, pre-school, right through to young adults. See vivacegymnastics.com for details

POPPY APPEAL

Do you have a couple of hours a week to spare? Do you enjoy meeting people? Would you like to help the Royal British Legion?

The Locksbottom and Farnborough branch of the Royal British Legion are seeking volunteers to help on our stall in Sainsburys, Locksbottom, during the Poppy Appeal fortnight starting in October 2022. We are a small, friendly team and we welcome newcomers to help us collect donations for the traditional paper poppies as well as other RBL-licensed merchandise. All donations generate funds to help our current serving armed forces, and ex-servicemen and women and their families. For more information, please contact Catherine Melia (Deputy Poppy Area Organiser) by email at RBLPoppies@gmail.com

Local legend by Olivia Bridgen Bromley borough resident, Hamdi Faragalla, wrote to us to tell us about her neighbour, Irina Tiselita Tomsa, who ran a half marathon to raise money for AVUK, a charity that helps her son David, who was diagnosed with severe hearing loss at just two weeks old. Irina shares with us more about AVUK and the help it and others have given…

Q: First of all, congratulations on completing the half marathon Irina! Did you do any training for it and how much money did you manage

to raise for the charity? I did three months of training. This was my first half marathon and I did it in under two hours and raised over £800.

Q: Can you provide some background on David’s condition – and how did you discover

AVUK? Two weeks after he was born, David failed his new-born hearing test, we thought perhaps he was too little, but after failing it twice he was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. Just before he was one year-old he had his cochlear implant surgery. Not only did David have difficulty in hearing voices and sounds, it affected his ability to develop his speech, language and social skills. It was when I was looking online for help, when I found the charity, ‘Auditory Verbal Therapy’. A deaf specialist also recommended them.

Q: What help has the charity provided over the years and how has this impacted on

David? They focus on helping David’s speech, language development and social skills, while providing us with tools to incorporate into our daily routine. David is now 11, he’s very outgoing and has a good sense of humour. He speaks English and Romanian and has big dreams for his future. Without AVUK

David would not have thrived the way he did.

For further information about AVUK call 01869 325000, email info@avuk.org or see avuk.org/contact

Feature on the

Community Noticeboard!

Email hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk A small fee applies - we have limited space for free charity listings.

Music in the Garden 2022 Freda Davis BEM will be opening her garden (Gardenview, 6 Edward Road, Biggin Hill TN16 3HL) for her popular Music in the Garden event on Sunday 3rd July (2pm-5pm) to raise money for the NSPCC. The afternoon will feature a number of musicians and light refreshments will be available, as well as a small art exhibition and a range of stalls selling cards and gifts. For details see fredasgarden. co.uk The garden will be open again as part of the NGS on Sunday 24th July (12pm - 4pm), with more musical delights including the Orpington Rock Choir.

Bromley Arts Festival aims to celebrate every arts event in the London borough throughout July. To date, more than 100 dates have been registered, including theatre, dance, comedy, music, art and poetry. From the 1st July with Breaking The Code debuting at Bromley’s Little Theatre, to the 31st with Magpie Dances presenting Global Moves and Grooves - A Festival of Dance and Culture, there’s something for everyone. The aim is to bring people near and far together to celebrate the diverse and exciting arts events that Bromley offers year-round. For more information, turn to the special What’s On listings for Bromley Arts Festival in this issue or see bromleyartsfestival.com

Win annual family membership to Kent Life Heritage Farm

Kent Life Heritage Farm is giving one lucky reader of Life In…Magazines the chance to win an annual family membership worth £125! Kent Life is a 28acre working farm and visitor attraction situated in Maidstone, Kent. Open throughout the year, it tells the Kent farming story and provides a fun family day out discovering more than 200 farmyard animals, indoor and outdoor play areas, and Kentish gardens and orchards. The winner will be able to explore the wide range of activities available at the farm - from animal encounters to paddle boating and exciting shows. For your chance to win, send your answer to the following question to hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk with the subject line ‘Kent Life competition’: How many farmyard animals can visitors see at Kent Life Heritage Farm Park? (a) More than 100 (b) More than 200 (c) More than 500. For details see kentlife.org.uk/ plan-your-visit/membership

Charity spotlight

Name of charity: Greener & Cleaner

Location: We have a community Hub based in the Upper Mall in The Glades. What service do you provide? We support Bromley residents to find out more about what they can do to help sustain and protect our environment. We run workshops from our Hub ranging from mindfulness to eco crafting and have a very active Facebook group where members share tips on everything from creating wildlife ponds in back gardens to using less electricity and gas at home. We also have education and faith groups that support schools and local faith communities on their green journey. Who is it available to? Everyone! How are you funded? We receive funding from individuals who’ve been kind enough to donate to us, trusts, grants and also statutory funding. Do you accept donations? Yes, we have a Paypal account where people can make financial donations - see paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/4456033 Do you run any events? We run workshops at our Community Hub – to find out what’s going on follow our Facebook page at facebook.com/TheHubGreenerCleaner Are you looking for volunteers? Always. Our Hub is run by volunteers and we also always welcome volunteers who are willing to help with the running of the charity – from helping with fundraising, to PR and marketing support. How else can people help? By joining our Facebook group.Contact details: For more information see greenerandcleaner.co.uk or email greenerandcleaneruk@gmail.com