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The Blitz

A new local podcast and blog has arrived in the form of a spin-off from the queen elizabeth hospital radio show, in the meantime. Matt the producer has kindly allowed me to re-host his initial show as it includes several reminiscences relating to the wwii history of Shooters Hill. This finely crafted bit of broadcasting comes complete with atmospheric sound effects and neatly connects together of a series of independent accounts. I have reproduced Matt’s credits below.

These accounts, which are voiced by actors, are from Emily and Florence Hunt, FW Condor and Len Perry.

I would like to thank June Balshaw at the University of Greenwich for her generosity.

Also the BBC historical archives, The Woolwich Firepower museum and Reg Weaver and Roy Wilson.

Finally, the producer stresses that In The Meantime is your voice in your local community so feel free to contact the show to express your views on local issues www.inthemeantime.org.uk As I write the site is covering the work-in at ravensbourne, as students and pupils up and down the country ask david cameron to reconsider his massive cuts to education.

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Fever Pitch Carols at Woodlands Farm

I went to the christmas fayre at woodlands farm on Sunday, and to my eyes numbers were down on last year despite the increase in the amount of stalls. In other events this year, the apple day was well attended, the summer show a bit quieter than last time, and the lambing day was absolutely massive this year. On balance I’d say it was a good year for enjoying festivities at Woodlands.

In other farm news, Bella the pig (saddleback I think) had five babies in November. The piglets are very sweet, and they also remind me of the days when the co-op made bacon there.

The accompanying audio is a short clip of some nice multipart harmonies recorded live at the farm, I’m not familiar with the second song, but it’s an interesting arrangement. The date of the event also marked the advent of Christmas, and I am trying out a new christmas pudding recipe which is mainly beeton #1:

Fever Pitch at Woodlands Farm Christmas Fayre by eshootershill

Well, I wish you well this Christmas.

hilly's christmas pudding (as yet untasted)
4 oz organic fairtrade muscovado (carbon footprint marks coming soon, will probably be shocking for tropical goods.)
4 oz suet (lawson uses butter)
4 oz sultanas
4 oz raisins
2 oz currants (or dried flies as my dad calls them)
2 oz shredded mixed candied peel (some people hate these, and there are less victorian ways to get the taste of oranges and lemons in)
2 oz of plain flour
2 oz breadcrumbs (now possible to buy these in packets from polish shops, very good for fried fish too)
1 oz almonds (ground, flaked, or best of all hand blanched, peeled and shredded)
The grated rind of a 1 lemon (I didn't have a lemon handy so I just hope the mixed peel did the trick)
2 eggs
½ teaspoon of nutmeg grated (if you like nutmeg then put more in)
½ a teaspoon of salt
1⁄8 pint of milk
1 small wine glassful of dark rum
lawson also puts in couple of ounces of cocoa

pack in a heatproof bowl cover with greaseproof paper and tie with string.
steam for 5 hours.
steam it for at least 2 hours on christmas day, and serve with rum butter.

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Welling and District Model Engineering Society – A Film

Last year I uploaded a sound recording of the model railway at falconwood, well now here’s a video to go with it. It was filmed whilst holding on to the driver with one hand and the camera with the other, which looking back on it was probably a bit reckless and could have ended up with me falling into the suspension bridge, but in a way it was worth a bit of a risk. I especially like the bit where we go through the tunnel and you can see the steam on the lens, plus all the friendly bystanders of course.

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Shooters Hill, the Cupcake

jamosie sweet
jamosie sweet's enchanted garden cupcakes
Well, so far there’s been the comic, the poster, and the painting, and here’s another example of the inspiration that can be found on shooters hill, and it takes the form of a cupcake! It’s made by jamosie sweet, who has recently started to sell these decorations.

Inspired by the walks we take in the forest every Saturday morning up on Shooters Hill […] Theres only one thing missing and thats some little garden fairies.

via Jamosie Sweet: whimsical enchanted garden cupcakes!.

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Woolwich

Walking from the top of hare st straight down the middle of the powis street and then round the market a bit various sounds can be picked out of the din, an acoustic guitar being tuned up, an incomprehensible preacher, some market traders, a rattly barrow, and a couple of stalls playing music.
Powis St and Market Square, Woolwich by eshootershill

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Time Team

Grimly contemplating the coming of the cuts and the hikes, I notice that plummy mummy and greenwich phantom both sought reassurance in the knowledge that times have been bad before, so I dug out this reminder of a time when a much more sinister force was advancing on Shooters Hill.

In November 2008 Channel 4 screened ‘Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill[1. To watch the full 48 minute episode in the 4 on demand player, clickme]’ in which Tony Robinson and Andy Brockman conducted a rapid but fairly extensive survey of the area, finding some interesting items of wartime concrete, electrics, and military uniform, along with what turned out to be some highly significant remnants of early iron production activities dating back to 700-400 BC.

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Green Legacy Gym

20101010greenlegacygymoxleaswood

The New Oxleas Gym

There has been some talk on this site about the olympic legacy money that has been allocated for work on Eaglesfield park (gym or trim trail, plus path and signage improvements). Similar goings on are happening all over the borough[1. the new hyperlocal kidbrooke kite has also covered this], with at least one possibly negative outcome: the once tranquil haven of eltham pleasaunce has become something of a playpark since the mini adventure playground was introduced recently, and tensions have arisen between those seeking beautiful gardens, and those seeking a football pitch (who have access to several nearby sporty parks). Over in greenwich, the friends group at the pleasaunce have apparently managed to avoid this scenario by diverting their olympic money into other projects, nice touch! On hearing this, the thought did spring to mind that perhaps the eaglesfield park money might be better spent on updating the 15 year old swing park… anyway, consultations are going on via the hill’s councillors at the moment.

I had absolutely no idea that oxleas wood was going to get an olympic legacy, until today that is, when I stumbled across the gym in the picture, just near the café, by the conker trees. Currently it’s fenced off, but it looks like it could unveiled at any time soon.

Since seeing the gym, I’ve found out that whilst the olympic legacy fund has donated the money to install these new facilities, their upkeep has not yet been provided for. This may mean that once the facilities have been damaged by the elements, the joggers or the vandals, they will not be repaired!

Well, in an effort to lighten my mood after thinking about the potential olympic legacy shambles that has been unleashed on the area, I unearthed a cheerful anecdote about a free open air gym from a guyanese writer called sapodilla, here’s a clip:

Work out in sea-flavoured breeze, sunshine and the scent of sweet ixoria. Get all the benefits of indoor gym without pungent sweat and socks.

Stretch, bend, squat, pull, climb, lift, haul heavy equipment, oooerg, argh, grrr, &^%$!, moan an’ groan an’ complain just like in your indoor gym.

But unlike that indoor gym where the instructor punish you, torment you and holler Go, Go, Go like he is a wanna-be army man, in this gym your instructor gon work right alongside you, telling you stories about this plant, that plant…
…
Okay, back to work, please pull out all them weeds over there, aha, feel your legs getting stronger with all that stooping and squatting? Hold the plant cutter steady, yes, I know the iron pole is heavy, but think how firm your arms gon get, mm-hm, them pecs gon firm up too…fetch this bucket-load of compost and empty it over there…

Ahhh, thank you ladies and gentlemen for doing all this work in we jungle-garden…remember, one man’s jungle is another man’s gym…

Whilst reading this, it struck me that in a way Oxleas Wood does already have its own free outdoor gym, it’s called the Oxleas woodland working party.

–update–
I forwarded this story to kidbrookekite and gamesmonitor, mr kite unearthed a 2008 council document on the adidas gym in charlton [photo], which is available on gamesmonitor, see below for a snip of Clause 7.2 noting that the olympic ‘green legacy gyms’ are possibly going to be managed differently from the one described here which has initial contingency support from adidas:

Adidas will provide a 5 year warranty for the equipment from the time of installation dependent on the equipment being properly maintained to an agreed standard by the Council. It is understood that the cost of that annual maintenance will be in the region of £7,000 per annum. In addition, the Council will be responsible for the replacement cost any items of equipment damaged by vandalism and other misuse. It is understood that it is intended that the Council intends to negotiate a capped limit of 10% of the replacement cost of the equipment in any one year. This will limit the Council’s liability for repair and replacement costs.

— update —
The comments made about the olympic legacy at well hall pleasaunce have led to secretary of the friends of the pleasaunce to write in with a very detailed :

Hi,

Hilly’s post on Green Gyms contains the following statment:

‘with at least one possibly negative outcome: the once tranquil haven of eltham pleasaunce has become something of a playpark since the mini adventure playground was introduced recently, and tensions have arisen between those seeking beautiful gardens, and those seeking a football pitch (who have access to several nearby sporty parks)’.

The idea that three pieces of equipment tucked away in a previously unused corner of Eltham (sic) or rather Well Hall Pleasaunce have turned it into ‘something of a playpark’ shows a strange sense of proportion.

The area is neither visible nor audible from any part of the formal gardens or informal woodland. The Pleasaunce is 13 acres in all and the play features occupy an area about 10 metres square.

The Friends did a survey of park users over the summer and found overwhelming support for the new play features, which were supported unanimously by the Friends committee.

There’s a reference to a football pitch? There are no proposals to this effect.

Well Hall Pleasaunce was, until a year or two ago, very under-used and it was a key objective of the Friends group to reverse this, making sure the park was as relevant today as it was when first planned in the 1930s.

At that time, it was provided with two bowling greens, four tennis courts and a putting green. Therefore, sport was always seen as an integral part of the design. The new playable space, therefore, is entirely consistent both with the park’s history and original objective.

It was designed by a leading play designer with experience of dealing with heritage environments. The vast majority of people consider it has been sympathically designed, sitting between mature trees. The atmosphere in and around the front of the Tudor Barn and Kidbrooke Lane has been transformed, making it a safe and pleasant family space, used by people of all ages and backgrounds. Anti-social behaviour has been steeply reduced, as the area has become more populated.

Neither the council’s Parks dept nor the Friends group have received any correspondence complaining about the development.

I hope this sets the comments in a proper context.

With thanks to the secretary for getting in touch. I should clear up things from this end: I relayed a grumble that play was spreading out from the adventure playground into football games on the lawn in front of the tudor barn. From what the above email said this must have been a fairly low-key grumble as it has not been made officially, and so it would be a shame if this site was to cast a negative light on what is one of the more sympathetic olympic installations around (low lying, natural materials, secluded location, landscaped surroundings etc). This is in contrast with the acid green metal gym that has landed on oxleas meadow.

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General Election Vote Percentages

At the last poll it was relatively easy to find out how Shooters Hill voted in the local election (Greens 4%, Tories 29%, Liberals 17%, Labour 48%, Bnp 3%). The ward results were published on the council website.

It wasn’t so easy to find out how locals voted in the general election, with the council only publishing constituency results, however today I received a Liberal Democrat leaflet, and it included this information: Liberals got 15%, Tories 25% (40% combined) and Labour got 42%, so that leaves 18% for the other candidates. [actually the reason I thought these figures were for the national election is because they were different to the published local figures and because of the picture of cleggy, but as it turns out the figures used are local election votes reported in a different way].

I’m not sure why the Liberals are distributing leaflets at the moment, although the fact that this communication coincides with the first full day of the Tory conference might not be just accidental. I emailed the address on the back to ask for more info, but apparently the address doesn’t exist (yet)? (shootershill@greenwich-libdems.org.uk)

libdems201010041
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Freebie school

A few posts back I speculated that the late opening hours offered by the proposed free school might be reflected in a direct fee to parents (as opposed to the indirect
use of their tax), however following the recent report in the mercury, I looked at their website again, and couldn’t help but notice several mentions that the free school will be free in the money sense of the word as well as the lea one.

Actually if I’m reading things rightly this could actually represent good value for money for working families as it could end up being cheaper than using an after school club at a non-free school.

Elsewhere in the unfolding story of the school, things are looking very promising in terms of uptake, the one form intake policy has been revised to two with the reception class being oversubscribed! Years 1 and 4 are also looking busy, so now’s the time to join the bonanza!

Parents that have expressed their interest in a place are being invited to a forum next wednesday, details can be obtained following registration on the school website.

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Open Garrison

woolwichbarracks

The Woolwich Garrison

As part of this year’s london open house weekend[2. It was notable that severndroog castle was missing from this year’s openings, although hopefully before too long it will be open almost every day!
] I visited the officers mess of what was once the home of the royal artillery, Woolwich’s long standing military inhabitants of nearly three centuries.

Woolwich has a long military history, which stretches back to the tudor period when weapons were stored here for henry the eighth’s hunting expeditions. Until recently, the royal artillery were an important part of this history, however some time around the beginning of the new century, the army was seeking to capitalise on the sub-prime mortgage boom, and planned to sell off its London properties at bumper prices. Moves were afoot to sell both Woolwich and Chelsea barracks to speculators who were going to turn them into, yes, you’ve guessed it, flats… but then the country found itself at war, and it was decided that it might be worth keeping a few soldiers in the capital after all. By that stage the dizzying prospect of the £900 million (record breaking sale) that could be made by selling Chelsea made it clear that Woolwich would be the last home of the armed forces in London. Unfortunately by the time this about face had been performed, the artillery had already started the process of moving out to their training grounds in Wiltshire, and so that was how hundreds of years of traditional life in woolwich came to an end.

Nowadays the garrison plays host to the second battalion of the The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, until they go off on-tour again, at which point another section of the army will move in, and things will probably continue in this way for a while.

Interestingly the current inhabitants have extended the front parade and added a fence, which has had the pleasant side effect of a public footpath being opened alongside which runs parallel with the front of the garrison, making it possible to walk the full length of the allegedly longest georgian façade in europe! If you do venture that way, please remember to stick to the path, or you might find yourself looking down the wrong end of a gun.

The visit itself was by guided tour, and took in the front parade, the silver collection, various meeting rooms and display pieces, including some tigers and tusks, a table on which the peace treaty of Italy in ww2 was signed, and we wound up in the chandelier festooned dining hall, while I was there i saw a small group of soldiers tucking into some cornflakes, but it’s clear that this place was built with royal dinner guests in mind! I would wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone that might be interested in going next year.

Grade II* listed (1776-1802), commissioned by the then Board of Ordnance. Front Parade, at 1080ft, is said to be the longest Georgian frontage in Europe. Comprises both the Officers’ and WOs’ and Sgts’ Messes of the Barracks, linked in centre by magnificent South Arch. Officers’ Mess, opened in 1802, was the first communal Mess to be used by the Army.