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13th September 2015

Open House Weekend

St George mosaic at St George's Garrison Church after first phase of restoration — St George mosaic at St George’s Garrison Church after first phase of restoration

St George’s Garrison Church will be open for London Open House weekend, despite not appearing in the Open House brochure. Between 10am and 5pm on the 19th and 20th September we’ll be able to see the marvellous mosaics after phase 1 of their restoration and the new tensile fabric roof that protects them. It is planned to have a mini-autumn festival at the church, with food and arts and craft stalls. There is no charge for stalls, if you’d like to take part contact Julie Ricketts, the Heritage Project Officer, on hpostgeorgeswoolwich@gmail.com. Also contact Julie if you’re interested in helping other Friends of St George’s to show visitors round on either of the two days.

It’s a mystery why the restored church isn’t included in the Open House brochure, especially when an article about the restoration and the new roof appeared in the RIBA journal. The only reason I’ve heard is that they “had too many churches already”.

New tensile roof protecting St George's Garrison Church — New tensile roof protecting St George’s Garrison Church

The weekend of 19th and 20th September looks like being packed with interesting local events. As well as St George’s Garrison Church and London Open House, Shrewsbury House is hosting its own open house on the Saturday, there’s the Woolwich Carnival also on Saturday, Severndroog Castle are holding an autumn festival as part of their Open House on Sunday, and The Walking Time Machine has a Battle of Britain Anniversary Special walk on Sunday. More about all of these below.

Shrewsbury House‘s Open House is free and runs from 12 ’til 4 on Saturday. It includes:

Activities & Presentations by User Groups
Photography, Yoga, Keep Fit, Singing, Fencing, Wine Making, Short Matt Bowls, Tai Chi, Beavers, Jujitsu, Pilates, etc etc
Children’s & Family Activities
Toddler & Pre-School activities, Face Painting, Ballet & Street Dance.
Live Music & Dance
in the Princess Charlotte Room
Bubbly & Cake on the Kent View Balcony
A Pop Up Indulgent Cafe with a View complete with Millinery, Hand Made Jewellery & More
Tours of the House
with Spoken Guide by Local Historian

There is also a “What do you want your Shooters Hill to be?” wall chart quiz which sounds interesting.

Woolwich Carnival is on Saturday 19th between midday and 5.00pm. Sounds good from their description:

Inspired by the diverse and active community groups in the Greenwich area the Woolwich Community Carnival Committee are bringing back carnival to Woolwich this summer on Saturday 19th September.
Woolwich Carnival will be a celebration of local culture and community. There will be a parade, costumes, live music, dance, community stalls, food and crafts, steel drums and plenty of good vibes – a great way to bring neighbouring communities together for a day of collective summer festivities.
This year’s theme is Feeling Good – all things that make us happy.

The local highlights of London Open House for me are the Gordon Square walk and talk and the opening of the Christ Faith Tabernacle Cathedral (formerly Granada Cinema), both on Saturday, and the Severndroog Castle Autumn Festival on Sunday.

The Gordon Square walk and talk is intriguingly entitled “Many Ways to Sit: The Social Dynamics of Gordon Square“.

Meet: Sat 10.30am next to the big TV screen, General Gordon Square SE18 6HX. First come basis. N D T
A tour and talk looking at the problems and potential of seating in public places, focusing on Gordon Square, Woolwich. A ten minute documentary film will be shown in a nearby venue, made in collaboration with users of Gordon Square.
Gustafson Porter 2011.

An unexpected highlight of Open House a couple of years ago was a walk and talk about the Woolwich Squares. This gave a fascinating insight into the challenges of designing and developing Gordon and Beresford Square and the solutions that were adopted, often with tricky negotiations, such as the late addition of a requirement to have the large screen in Gordon Square. The description of the project to transform the square has some fascinating snippets:

This project aims to transform Woolwich into one of London’s best-connected, most sought-after riverside areas. Developed with the local community, the landscape masterplan draws on the town’s rich architectural and military heritage to create two multi-functional, fully-accessible spaces called ‘Garden’ and ‘Ballroom’, connected by Greens End’s revitalised streetscape.
Gordon Square is a daytime garden which can be layered with different uses, including specialist markets and public events. A scrim of water in its lawned amphitheatre can also be transformed into an ice rink. Beresford Square is a more formal space supporting a daily market. Its east side illuminates with the setting sun and changing patterns of light encourage local residents to linger and meet against the dramatic backdrop of Arsenal Gate.

I’ve never heard the water feature called a “scrim of water” before, and love the thought that it could be turned into an ice rink, though the slope might make it interesting!

The former Granada Cinema at the end of Powis Street, which is now the Christ Faith Tabernacle Cathedral, is a very welcome new addition to Open House this year. It will be open on Saturday between 1.00pm and 5.00pm. Its description in the Open House guide barely does it justice: “Lavish and atmospheric former cinema with interior by Theodore Komisarjevsky, converted to Bingo Hall in 1960s. Grade II* listed.” Komisarjevsky, once a stage designer for the Russian ballet, designed the interior in gothic style and used motifs from European cathedral buildings such as Amiens, Rouen and Lyons in the auditorium, so it doesn’t seem inappropriate that it is now used as a cathedral. I was allowed to have a look round the cathedral last year, some of my photos are here on Flickr, and was very impressed both by the building itself and by the care with which it had been restored. Well worth a visit.

Christ Faith Tabernacle Cathedral, formerly Woolwich Granada Cinema

Detail of auditorium at Christ Faith Tabernacle Cathedral, formerly Woolwich Granada Cinema

Severndroog Castle is always worth a visit, both for the building itself and the excellent views from the top. For this years Open House the volunteer team are also planning an Autumn Festival, with “singers, musicians and folk or Morris dancers. Also, local food producers, in particular fruit and vegetables or cheese.” The castle will be open on Sunday between 10.30am and 4.30pm, with tours every half hour.

On Sunday it would easily be possible to combine a visit to St George’s Garrison Church and Severndroog Castle with an afternoon guided walk, the Walking Time Machine Battle of Britain Anniversary Special, led by local archaeologist Andy Brockman. Andy’s last guided walk was fascinating, and this one promises to be equally so. It starts at at 2.00pm at the Oxleas Wood Cafe, and is described in the History Mill Facebook group:

To remember the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the Blitz the History Mill invites you take take part in a special guided walk to see how in the Autumn of 1940 Shooters Hill and Plumstead prepared to face the Luftwaffe and a possible German Invasion.
Where: Meet at the Oxleas Wood Cafe
When: 2pm Sunday 20 September 2015
Duration: Approximately two hours ending at the Old Mill Pub, Plumstead Common.
The Battle of Britain and the Blitz are part of the mythology of modern Britain but seventy five years ago they were all too real.
In September 1940 the sky above London was criss crossed with the vapour trails of Luftwaffe bombers and British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters while down below the ARP Service, the Home Guard and other civilian services worked with the anti-aircraft and barrage balloon crews to help protect London and its civilian population from the German onslaught.
At the back of everyone’s mind was the fear of a German invasion which could come at any moment and would inflict on London the damage wrought in Madrid and Warsaw.
This special anniversary History Mill timewalk will be led by conflict archaeologist Andy Brockman and will visit the sites associated with that momentous Summer of 1940 on Shooters Hill, including some of the sites seen in the Time Team “Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill”, and demonstrate how the local landscape was taken over by a Total War, the effects of which we are still seeing today.
Families and well behaved dogs welcome.
Please dress appropriately for the weather and wear comfortable footwear suitable for a two hour walk on pavements and through local parks.
Free: Donations to the Plumstead Make Merry welcome.

What a great weekend in prospect, I feel exhausted just thinking about how to get round everything. Oh, and I almost forgot that Woodlands Farm has its Autumn Equinox Walk on Sunday at 10.00am too.

Detail of decoration at Severndroog Castle

7th September 2015

Shrewsbury Park Bat Walk

September is the start of the breeding season for bats and also when they start to build up their fat stores for the winter hibernation, so hopefully there will be plenty of them around for the Shrewsbury Park bat walk on Friday. Kathy from the Friends of Shrewsbury Park e-mailed the poster and details of the walk:

Please find poster attached giving details of the Bat Walk on 11 September, starting at 7.45pm in the car park.
It is free to you as you are a member of the Friends of Shrewsbury Park. You will see that we have decided to charge non-members for the walk. If non-members join the Friends, then the walk will be free to them. By charging non-members, we will increase the funding towards our drinking fountain. If they join, then we will increase our membership.
We will have to spend a few minutes at the beginning of the walk checking membership.
Just a reminder, if it is raining, the bats will not be out, nor will we.
Fingers crossed for a dry evening.

This is the last local bat walk for this year as far as I know. Lots of bats have been detected and sighted on all the others, let’s hope Friday maintains the record.

Brown Long Eared bat from Jenny Clark's education team at Batfest 2015 — Brown Long Eared bat from Jenny Clark’s education team at Batfest 2015

Serotine bat from Jenny Clark's education team at Batfest 2015 — Serotine bat from Jenny Clark’s education team at Batfest 2015

22nd August 2015

Free Tai Chi in Eaglesfield Park

Following the successful Tai Chi session at Eaglesfield Park’s picnic last month the Friends of Eaglesfield Park have arranged two more Tai Chi sessions, the first tomorrow (Sunday 23rd August) at 2.00pm. Madeleine from the Friends wrote with details:

Following a wonderful Tai Chi session held as part of the Parksfest event on 12th July and the requests of local residents, Chew-Yeen has very kindly offered to come back to Eaglesfield Park to run 2 free classes for anyone to join in. Chew-Yeen has been practicing Tai Chi for over 20 years.   She is a member of the British Council of Martial Arts Federation and a European Tai Chi gold medal winner.
Tai chi combines slow and gentle movements with deep breathing and relaxation. It can help to reduce stress, improve balance and general mobility, and increase muscle strength in the legs.   You can get started even if you aren’t in top shape or the best of health. Come and join in on: Sunday 23rd August and Sunday 27th September (both days 2 – 3 pm)
A wonderful opportunity to try a few Tai Chi moves and learn how it can improve your health and well being and according to a local resident at the Eaglesfield Park Parkfest 2015   “Trying out tai chi for the first time and in such lovely surroundings with such a beautiful view was a very special experience’”
There is no need to “book a place”, just turn up. However it would be helpful if you could let Chew-Yeen know if you are interested so that she has an idea of the number of people to expect or if you need further information. Please email her at: chewyeenlawes@yahoo.com .
Having tried out a few Tai Chi moves, why not linger a while – relax and enjoy the peaceful ambience of the park and a “communal picnic” to share with other participants.   Perhaps you could bring a “covered dish” – some french bread and cheese, or mixed salad or cakes or fruit or a few sandwiches or your very own “signature dish”.    It’s a great way to make new friends and has proved popular on previous occasions.   Don’t forget the flask of tea or coffee !
It really is worth coming to see what Tai Chi is all about and Chew-Yeen’s enthusiasm and expertise may well inspire you too!
And it is Free !
Please note however ………… Weather permitting ! Check our blog www.eaglesfieldpark.org   on the morning of 23rd August and 27th September for cancellation due to bad weather.

Let’s hope the showers forecast for tomorrow afternoon hold off .

18th August 2015

Woodlands Farm Bat Walks

Bats are getting more and more popular, and there are lots of opportunities to see and hear native bats. The next local bat walks are hosted by Woodlands Farm. Hannah, their Education Officer wrote with details:

Thursday 20^th August 8pm, Thursday 27^th August 7.45pm, Thursday 3^rd September 7.30pm

Join us for a bat walk around Woodlands Farm. We have a number of different bat species living on the farm so this is a great opportunity to find out more about bats and see what we can find. You will need sturdy footwear, suitable outdoor clothing and a torch. This activity is not recommended for children under 6. £5 per adult and £3 per child. Booking is essential. To book call 020 8319 8900.

For more information, see our website or contact Hannah Forshaw on education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org

A good number of bats were detected at the farm as part of the Bat Conservation Trust’s National Bat Monitoring Programme in July, both common and soprano pipistrelles and some very clear noctules. Let’s hope they all show themselves in the bat walks, but even if they don’t there’s something magical about walking the farm’s woods and meadows in the half light.

Not too far away from Shooters Hill, there are also bat walks coming up at Hall Place on Tuesday 25th August and Thursday 27th August in their beautiful gardens along the river Cray, and on 11th September Thames Water Crossness have a bat walk around the nature reserve north of Eastern Way. Their walk along Southmere Lake last week was one of the best I’ve been on for visibility and variety of bats, despite the persistent rain. Quite a few noctules and serotines were seen swooping over the water, and pipistrelles darting just overhead around the lakeside trees. They don’t expect the walk in the nature reserve to be quite as spectacular.

Also on 11th September the Friends of Shrewsbury Park will be holding their second bat walk of the season. The perfect place for a lark in the park in the dark, hopefully enlivened by the heterodyned sound of echo-locating bats and the sight of them flitting just above head height.

Finally for bat fans there is annual Bat Fest at the Natural History Museum on 29th and 30th August, starring the marvellous Jenny Clark MBE and her education bats. Here is a video of Jenny at her bat hospital talking about bats in her own inimitable style.

17th August 2015

Attempt to de-list Elmhurst Cottage

An application has been submitted to the Royal Borough of Greenwich to remove Elmhurst Cottage from the council’s Locally Listed Buildings list. If successful this would remove the protections given to buildings on the list, and ease the way for redevelopment of the 0.3 Acre site. It was submitted by a local company, Building Design & Services Ltd., but appears to be on behalf of a company named Broadberry International Limited. There is no indication as to the reason for the request, but I suspect it is not out of academic concern for the historical accuracy of the local list.

The heart of the case to remove Elmhurst Cottage from the list, which is laid out in a Heritage Statement prepared by HeritageCollective and submitted with the application, appears to be twofold: that the cottage was not built until 1895-1896 and that it was too humble for important historical people such as the Lidgbird and Dallin families to live in.

The evidence presented that the cottage was not built until 1895-1896 relies on part of a hand-drawn map that was submitted with an 1889 planning application for a new stable on a property further down Shrewsbury Lane. The map, which is part of catalogue item MBW/BA/39056 in the London Metropolitan Archive, is shown below followed by the equivalent area from Alan Godfrey’s 1894 OS map, which clearly shows Elmhurst Cottage. The hand-drawn map does not include a number of buildings that are shown in the OS map from just 5 years later, and has a number of inaccuracies in the shapes, orientations and positions of the buildings compared to the Ordnance Survey map. For instance, it does not include the huge Haddon Hall, just over the lane from Elmhurst Cottage. Haddon Hall also appears on Alan Godfrey’s 1866 and 1914 maps, so it was certainly there in 1889. The size, shape and outbuildings of the large house named Elmhurst are not captured accurately on the 1889 map, nor are those of the Homestead. In fact it is an amateur map intended to show where a new stable would go, not to show the size, shape and location of neighbouring buildings.

It is clear that the 1889 hand-drawn map is not conclusive evidence of the presence or absence of Elmhurst Cottage, or of the date it was built. The Heritage Statement includes a snippet of the 1894 OS map mislabelled as being from 1896, plus a part of the 1866 OS map mislabelled as being from 1889. If nothing else the presence of Elmhurst on the 1894 map shows that it was there before the 1895-1896 claimed.

Map from HeritageCollective's Heritage Statement about Elmhurst Cottage — Map from HeritageCollective’s Heritage Statement about Elmhurst Cottage

Snippet from Alan Godfrey’s 1894 Ordnance Survey Map of Shooters Hill

The Heritage Statement provides no evidence that a wealthy family such as the Lidgbirds or the Dallins would not have lived in a cottage such as Elmhurst Cottage other than some information from a directory of 1910 about who lived at the cottage. This is many years after the Dallin family lived at Elmhurst.

The Heritage Statement quotes a passage about the history of Elmhurst Cottage from an e-shootershill post about buildings of local interest, however it fails to include any of the more detailed information about the historical associations of the cottage in a later post about Elmhurst. This cottage is one of the few reminders of the families – the Lidgbirds, Dallins and Jacksons – who shaped Shooters Hill. Colonel Bagnold also lists a number of senior military people who lived at Elmhurst: Col. Shipley; Lord Ribblesdale; Col. Foster; W Fitzhardinge; Col. Wooley-Dod; Col. Murray-Smith; Major Barstow; Col. F. Watts-Allen. A rich local history.

Why is someone trying to de-list Elmhurst Cottage now? Who knows – the applicants haven’t given any indications of their plans, nor have they talked to neighbours of Elmhurst Cottage, who first learned of the attempt to de-list when they got the Royal Borough’s letter. Although it seems clear that the cottage has been sold because it is no longer up for sale, the Land Registry has not yet been updated with the new owner’s details. HeritageCollective produced the Heritage Statement for Broadberry International Limited. No company of this name comes up in a search of the Companies House web site. and a Google search only gives a British Virgin Islands company for which the last information is 2007. It seems unlikely that Broadberry Data Systems, Broadberry Consulting or Broadberry Care Solutions have moved into property development, so the plans for the site remain a mystery.

The notice about the application gives details about how to comment:

Any person who wishes to make representations to the Royal Borough about the application should do so in writing (via email or post) by 08-Sep-2015 to building-conservation@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or to Planning Department, 5th floor, Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, Woolwich, SE18 6HQ

It is also possible to comment on-line on the planning pages for the application. The Royal Borough of Greenwich web site includes information about how buildings get on the local list, as well as the list itself.

9th August 2015

Woodlands Farm Summer Activities, Henri Le Worm and Flockstars

Woodlands Farm has been very busy over the summer so far, and there’s more to come over the next few months. As well as being the (secret) host for ITV’s new show Flockstars, there was the opening of the Henri Le Worm community garden by Raymond Blanc and also Rosie the Gloucester Old Spot gave birth. Next week the farm’s summer activities for children start, and a series of walks around the farm is planned, including three bat walks.

Hannah, the Education Officer at the farm, wrote with details of the summer activities for children:

Tuesday 11th August Orienteering 10am-2pm £1 per child
Can you find your way around the farm without getting lost? Try our different orienteering courses to see how good you are at navigating. No need to book, just drop in.

Thursday 13th August Pond Dipping Sessions at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. £1 per child, accompanying adults free
Come and see what you can find hidden beneath the surface of the water.   Using nets we will delve into this mysterious world.
Booking is essential, call 020 8319 8900

Tuesday 18th August Felt Making Sessions 10am-12pm £2 per child.
Did you know that felt is made from sheep’s wool? Join us at Woodlands Farm as we make some amazing felt flowers, butterflies and other animals using just wool. This is a fun and messy activity which everyone can enjoy. No need to book, just drop in.

Wednesday 19th August Be a Farmer for the Day 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm £3 per child, accompanying adults free
Ever fancied seeing what it is like to be a farmer? Join us as we have a go at feeding and weighing our animals as well as walking our fields to check all our animals. This event is only suitable for children over 8 years. It is essential to book, call 020 8319 8900

Thursday 20th August Gruffalo Day! 10am-12pm    £3 per child, accompanying adults free
Inspired by Julia Donaldson’s classic book join us as we journey into the deep dark wood in search of a gruffalo! This activity will involve a walk into our woods which is about 20 minutes and not suitable for buggies. It is essential to book, call 020 8319 8900.

Tuesday 25th August Gruffalo Day! 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm   £3 per child, accompanying adults free
Inspired by Julia Donaldson’s classic book join us as we journey into the deep dark wood in search of a gruffalo! This activity will involve a walk into our woods which is about 20 minutes and not suitable for buggies. It is essential to book, call 020 8319 8900.

Wednesday 26th August Dragonfly Day 11am-3pm £2 per child
Drop in for a day all about these fantastic insects. Go dragonfly spotting, follow our trail or make your own dragonfly to take home. Just drop in, for more information call 020 8319 8900

Thursday 27th August Pond Dipping Sessions at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. £1 per child, accompanying adults free
Come and see what you can find hidden beneath the surface of the water.   Using nets we will delve into this mysterious world.
Booking is essential, call 020 8319 8900

Everyone at Woodlands was sworn to secrecy about the celebrity guests and barn full of border collies that came to film parts of the new ITV series Flockstars , a kind of celebrity “One Man and his Dog”. Maggie e-mailed the story:

Woodlands Farm was delighted when the producers of a new reality TV show decided that this was the perfect place for their stars – dogs and sheep as well as people – to get to know each other and work on their skills before the grand finale in the Flockstars Showground down in deepest Kent.
For the six weeks that the crew were with us they needed peace and quiet, as well as our lovely fields, so the staff and volunteers at Woodlands Farm on Shooters Hill were all very discreet about what was happening here and made up some wonderful excuses to people who asked why we had so many sheepdogs in the barn. We did our best to provide a relaxing atmosphere for the celebrities and their shepherd mentors while carrying on keeping Woodlands Farm going.
We enjoyed having them all here – it was so quiet when they went! Our own farm sheep and cows may well feel differently as they now have all their fields back!
Just to mention, the celebrity shepherds competing are DJ Tony Blackburn, former Eternal singer, Kelle Bryan, Brendan Cole from Strictly, Fazer aka Richard Rawson, Lesley Joseph from Birds of a Feather, TV presenter Amanda Lamb, Corrie legend, Wendi Peters and the ten-time Paralympic Gold medallist, Lee Pearson, CBE. You’ll also see some stunningly brilliant dogs, striking sheep and pretty challenging geese and ducks. And did we mention those young, but experienced shepherd mentors, Welshman Ioan Doyle, Scotland’s Emma Gray and England’s Ed Hawkings?
Full details of Flockstars, which starts on ITV on Thursday 30 July and will run for eight weeks can be obtained from the ITV press release , available now, which was embargoed until today. See http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-packs/flockstars

The programme is on Thursdays at 8.30pm. It’s not quite as bad as the reviews make out, and the farm looks really good.

The Henri Le Worm community garden is a collaboration between Charlton Manor Primary School, Blue Peter horticulturalist Chris Collins, Olivier Blanc, the creator of Henri Le Worm and Woodlands Farm. The garden was initially exhibited at the Hampton Court Flower Show before being moved to a site at the farm. Olivier’s father, the Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc officially opened the garden in July, giving an impassioned speech about the importance of food education.

Raymond Blanc opens the Henri le Worm community garden

Rosie the Gloucester old Spot and her two surviving piglets — Rosie the Gloucester old Spot and her two piglets

The farm’s next monthly walk is in September, and then they take place each month for the rest of the year:

Sunday 20 September—Autumn Equinox Walk
Sunday 25 October—Mid-Autumn Walk
Sunday 22 November – Short days, cold winds
Sunday 20 December – Pre-Christmas Walk

More about the Bat Walks in a future post.

7th August 2015

Fan Museum Open Day

The Fan Museum in Crooms Hill is holding what has become its annual open day tomorrow, Saturday, between 11.00am and 5.00pm. Residents of Greenwich and Lewisham can get in free provided they bring along some form of identification with their current address (e.g. Driving Licence, utility bill etc.). The museum’s press release gives some background:

Located in the heart of historic Greenwich, The Fan Museum occupies two handsome Grade II listed Georgian townhouses – lovingly restored internally and externally. It is the only museum in the UK devoted in its entirety to the history of fans and the ancient craft of fan making. The museum houses in excess of 5,000 objects (not all on show at any one time) including works by Salvador Dali, Paul Gauguin and Walter Sickert.
The museum comprises two distinct displays. One is permanent, and serves as an introduction to fans: their history, manufacture, types and sources. The other is thematic, and changes several times a year. The museum’s current exhibition, Fans of the Belle Époque features a glittering array of fans dating from 1890s-1910s.

There will be curator-led mini tours for visitors and fan-making demonstrations throughout the day, plus a chance to sample their acclaimed afternoon teas.

14th July 2015

The Walking Time Machine and other walks in Shrewsbury Park

Greenwich Morris Men at Shrewsbury Park Summer Festival

Local archaeologist Andy Brockman will be the “Walking Time Machine” on Friday when he leads a walk through the history in and around Shrewsbury Park. This is the first of three free walks arranged by the Friends of Shrewsbury Park. Kathy from the Friends wrote with details:

One of our members, Andy Brockman, who is a Shooters Hill based archaeologist, is providing a free walk on Friday 17 July 2015 starting at 7.30pm. If you are interested, please meet at the car park off Plum Lane. He says, “your journey aboard the Walking Time Machine will last approximately one and a half hours and twelve thousand years, taking in the Bronze Age, London’s first Open Air School and the Battle of Britain. Families and well behaved dogs are welcome. This event is part of the Council for British Archaeology Festival of British Archaeology.

and then:

19th July, at 10am: Local birds. John Beckham will be leading the walk around the park and pointing out the local birds. Meet at the Garland Road entrance and bring binoculars if you have them.
25 July, at 3pm: Butterflies. John Denton will be showing us the different butterflies in the park. Meet at the Green Chain sign on Dothill (at the bottom of the concrete path that leads from the car park). Bring binoculars if you have them.

The “Walking Time Machine” is part of the 25th Festival of Archaeology which is co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology. There are over a thousand events taking place across the country between the 11th and 26th July 2015. I’m looking forward to learning about the Open Air School which was the first such school opened by the LCC in 1908 and based in Shrewsbury Park. David Lloyd Bathe’s “Steeped in History” describes the school, and includes a number of photographs of it such as the one below from the Greenwich Heritage Centre. Some of the pictures are of wooden buildings that formed part of the school. It’d be interesting to know where they were located. And where in Shrewsbury Park was Colonel Bagnold’s Bronze Age barrow number 6?

Nature studies at the Shooters Hill Open Air School, from the Greenwich Heritage Centre collection

6th July 2015

Picnic in Eaglesfield Park

The Friends of Eaglesfield Park are holding a “Picnic in the Park” on Sunday 12th July, with entertainment from a Brazilian/Latin band and a display of Tai Chi. Madeleine from the Friends wrote with details:

As part of the Parksfest 2015 celebrations Friends of Eaglesfield Park would like to invite everyone to Eaglesfield Park on Sunday 12th July between 2.00 pm and 5.00 pm to relax to the sunny music of Brazilian/ Latin band ‘Roots BR’ and see a display of Tai Chi with Chew-Yeen Lawes – and maybe even learn a few moves!
The aim of the afternoon is simply relaxation and well being. Learn how to improve our lives with the techniques of Tai Chi. Take time out to enjoy the company of friends, family and neighbours. Listen to the rhythms of Brazilian/Latin music. Experience the peace and tranquillity of Eaglesfield Park.
So, why not forget about cooking Sunday Lunch and instead bring a picnic and comfy chair, and chill out for a couple of hours! But don’t forget the sun lotion.
For the more energetic, you could also try Pond Dipping – we have the basic equipment.
Bring a picnic
Rediscover how the ancient martial art of Tai Chi can improve your life focus and restore calm and balance. No special equipment is required to join them. All it takes is your body and a willingness to learn.
Throughout the afternoon there will also be opportunities for Pond Dipping – come and see what you can discover. We have basic equipment and reference guides.

I’m looking forward to learning some Tai Chi in the park. Let’s hope the weather stays fine.

29th June 2015

Divest Greenwich

Local group Divest Greenwich, who are campaigning for the Royal Borough of Greenwich to move £17million of their pension fund investments out of fossil fuel companies’ shares, are holding a launch event at St Alfege’s Church Hall on Thursday, 2nd July at 7.00pm. Why should Greenwich do this? Well, if we are to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change most of the reserves that fossil fuel companies hold, which provide the basis for their share prices, must not be burnt for energy. Divestment will have the twofold advantage of protecting the pension fund from consequent drops in fossil fuel company share prices as well as making a stand against the powerful lobbyists of the petrochemical industry. Thomas Greenwood, who wrote to tell me about the event, succinctly summarised the case for divestment:

The Greenwich Pension Fund has around £17 million invested directly in fossil fuel companies and more invested indirectly. Such investments carry a high degree of risk on ethical, financial and scientific grounds and the Pension Fund’s investments therefore expose the people of Greenwich to those risks.
Already, hundreds of institutions around the globe have committed to divesting from (ending their investments in) fossil fuel companies to the tune of billions of pounds, including the Church of England and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Royal Borough’s Pension Fund can add significantly to this movement.
The reason we consider divestment such an important issue is because if global warming is to be limited to 2°C – the threshold for irreversible climate change – up to 80% of known carbon reserves must be left in the ground. Available evidence indicates that fossil fuel companies intend to burn enough reserves to push global warming far above 2°C, as they insist on searching for further reserves, often in the globe’s most ecologically sensitive areas. Around the globe, the first five months of this year were the hottest on record. We urgently need to act.
The Pension Fund has a fiduciary responsibility to maximise returns which can be met whilst divesting. In April 2015 MSCI, the world’s leading stock market index company, found that investors who divested from fossil fuel companies would have made an average return of 13% a year since 2010, compared to the 11.8%-a-year return earned by conventional investors, including in the years before the fall in oil prices. Moreover, if decisive action is taken by governments to limit climate change and a large amount of carbon reserves are left in the ground, shares in fossil fuel companies are likely to drop significantly in value. As such, pension funds currently investing in fossil fuels risk exposure to this ‘carbon bubble’.
We believe our local government has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying our future. By remaining open to investments in fossil fuels, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is supporting the power, influence and activities of the fossil fuel industry. We would like to see the Royal Borough of Greenwich lead the way on sustainability and cease to invest in activities that are damaging for the environment and human race.
Divest Greenwich’s launch event will take place on Thursday 2 July from 7.00-8.30pm in St Alfege Church Hall.

The launch event will include a screening of the film Do the Math which is narrated by Bill McKibben, who is the author of a dozen books about the environment, including “The End of Nature” published in 1989. He is also the founder of climate change campaigning group 350.org. Another of the directors of 350.org is Naomi Klein whose book “This Changes Everything” documents how fossil fuel companies use their money and influence to campaign against climate change, but also the successes that campaigners against fossil fuels are having around the world. As easily extractable fossil fuel reserves have been used up extraction companies have had to move into more dangerous technologies, such as deep water drilling and fracking which have larger potential impacts on wider areas of the countryside and many more people. The only good thing about this is that it has increased and broadened the number of activists campaigning against these developments.

In Greenwich the Labour councillor for Greenwich West is a supporter of the campaign and has arranged a meeting between Divest Greenwich and the leader of the council. Divest Greenwich also has a petition urging Greenwich to divest from fossil fuels.

London climate change march 21st September 2014