Ye who have a spark in your veins of cockney spirit, smile or mourn acccording as you take things well or ill;— Bold Britons, we are now on Shooter's Hill!
Because of our Welsh connection, (our manager, Dai Jones is from Ceridigion and is a native Welsh speaker), we had a visit from the Farmers Union of Wales and children from the London Welsh School for a totally Welsh speaking visit on January 29th. The report of the visit has just appeared on the Welsh speaking channel SC4 on a programme called “Ffermio”.
I append a link to the programme http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_level2.shtml?series_id=503056891 This is episode 5, the piece about the farm begins at 17.00 mins into the programme and you can get English sub titles by pressing “S” on the bar!
It’s an interesting programme, all in Welsh with English sub-sitles, and I learned some new things about the farm and that the Welsh for guinea pig is guinea pig. It is available to view on the S4C web site for another 32 days.
Steve e-mailed me to say that the MoD has closed the footpath next to the former Cottage Hospital on Shooters Hill, without any consultation and at very short notice. There is a notice about the closure of the footpath at one end of the footpath which has been completely blocked with fencing at each end.
Academy Place end of the pathShooters Hill end of the path
Steve wrote:
Just to let you know about a permanent footpath closure next to the Red Lion Lane bus stop and the former Castle Wood Day Hospital, now social housing just below Red Lion Lane on Shooters Hill.
Closure took effect on Monday 4 February and was done without any public consultation. The footpath is well established and I first saw a notice about closure on Friday 1 February.
The notice which is from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation gave the phone number 020 8781 3157 for the Estates Team Leader. The reason for closure is litter and nuisance to residents on the M.O.D. estate; also the footpath is on land owned by the M.O.D. but then so too is Woolwich Common!
The litter problem is not new and could be dealt with by the M.O.D./Greenwich Council and the Neighbourhood Watch could address any nuisance issues.
Followers of e-shootershill might want to challenge this decision and get it reversed.
The blocked path is shown on the Google Map snippet below. As Steve says it is an established path, frequently used by members of the public. My rambles round the area often include the path as part of an alternative to Red Lion Lane. This way down to the bottom of Red Lion Lane near the Shooters Hill Campus has a very open, rural feel and passes close to the embankment of the former miniature rifle range shown in the 1914 OS map of the area. Although it is MoD land it is open to the public at both ends and the path closure won’t prevent general access to the area. Quite a lot of land in the area is MoD owned, including Woolwich Common.
Google Map snippet showing blocked path
I tried a number of times to get through to the Estates Team Leader on 020 8781 3157, but always got an answerphone. However I did manage to talk to Chris at the Defence Infrastructure Organisation via their Aldershot office. He explained that the path had been closed because of nuisance caused to local residents by schoolchildren gathering there after school – it had become a local meeting place – and there were also concerns about food and litter dropped there. They had checked their records and confirmed that the path was privately owned by the MoD and had consulted the local council before putting up a notice saying the path would be closed. He also pointed out that Red Lion Lane provided a nearby alternative route.
If we want to express concern about the closure and ask for the path to be reopened we can do so via e-mail to dioopssouth-lms13d1@mod.uk, and we can always contact local MP Clive Efford on clive@cliveefford.org.uk. I have an increasing collection of letters from Clive on House of Commons headed note paper so I’ll be interested to hear what he thinks about this.
Greenwich Oxfam are marking International Women’s Day with a “Touch of Glamour” in the Nelson Rooms at the Trafalgar Tavern on Thursday 7th March starting at 6.30pm. Part of Oxfam’s national Get Together, the event aims to showcase local female talent and raise money for Oxfam to transform the lives of women living in poverty around the world.
The evening’s entertainment includes music from south-east London singer songwriter Sarah Flotel, a reading from her new novel “How to Create the Perfect Wife” by Eltham-based author Wendy Moore and stand-up comedy from writer, broadcaster and comedian Viv Groskop. It ends with a cat-walk show from local boutique Traffic People.
Nails Inc will be offering free manicures throughout the evening, stylist Bee Barnsley of the Stella & Dot Foundation will give style tips and there will be a range of fashion and craft stalls.
Here’s one of Sarah Flotel’s songs as a taster:
Tickets cost £8.00, which includes a free cupcake, and must be bought in advance. They are available from :
Berkeley Homes are holding a Crossrail station box completion event on the 27th February to celebrate the completion of the 2-year long construction project 4 months ahead of schedule, and to raise money for Demelza House Children’s Hospice and the Berkeley Foundation.
The event offers the opportunity to take a tour of the station box or to participate in a fun run 20 metres below ground level. Tours will last 30 minutes and will start out every half hour between 3.00pm and 5.00pm with a maximum of 20 people per tour. The fun run starts at 6.00pm and, in the words of the Berkeley information leaflet:
With the emphasis on FUN! This will not be a competitive event, there will not be any timekeeping and there will be no winner. In fact the only prizes will be given for the best fancy dress.
The fun run will take place inside the station box, approximately 20 metres below ground level! The size and nature of the space makes this a unique and not to be missed event.
One lap of the station box is approximately 500 metres. Runners are free to run, jog or walk as far as they want within the time limit of (30 to 40 minutes). How far will you get?
The fun run will commence from 6pm. All participants will need to arrive to register and access the station box by 5.30pm.
Fancy Dress – Yes, fancy dress costumes are encouraged. Exciting prizes will be given to those judged to be wearing the best costumes. However, sensible running footwear is essential.
Because of the location of the event it is restricted to people over 14 years old, taller than 1.2m and who are happy traversing a seven storey scaffolding staircase. Anyone under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
Registration is necessary to participate in the event. This can be done either by by phone on 020 8331 7275 or e-mail to woolwichstationbox@berkeleygroup.co.uk. A minimum donation to Demelza House Children’s Hospice of £5.00 is requested for the tour and £10.00 for the fun run. Berkeley will match all donations with a donation to the Berkeley Foundation.
Unfortunately the Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines, Sophia and Mary, won’t have arrived by the 27th – they are on their way from Plumstead.
Completion of the station box is a major milestone for Crossrail, but the funding for the rest of the station is still to be agreed between Berkeley Homes, Greenwich Council and the Department for Transport. Once complete Crossrail will run 12 trains per hour into central London and on to Heathrow. It is expected to lead to an increase in house prices in Woolwich and other areas along the route. Berkeley Homes plan to build 2517 homes in the Royal Arsenal site.
Festival audience in Bhutan, where they measure Gross National Happiness
Our well-being is average, those of us living in the Shooters Hill ward, according to figures from the Greater london Authority’s London Datastore. Their composite values for the probability that people living in the ward will have higher well-being are built up from 12 different measures:
Health – Life Expectancy, Incapacity Benefits claimant rate Economic security – Unemployment rate, Income Support claimant rate Safety – Crime rate, Deliberate Fires Education – GCSE point scores Children – Unauthorised Pupil Absence Families – Children in out-of-work families Transport – Public Transport Accessibility Scores Environment – Access to public open space & nature Community – Elections Turnout
The average value for England and Wales for this measure of well-being is zero, which is what the Shooters Hill value for 2010 worked out to. Shooters Hill had the third highest score in Greenwich, as can be seen in the spreadsheet snippet below, but was 270th out of 625 London wards. The highest Greenwich well-being score was +5 for the Eltham North ward and the lowest, -14, for Woolwich Riverside, which was 619th out of the 625 wards across London.
Compared to other boroughs Greenwich residents don’t do so well, as the map snippet below shows, with most wards having a well-being probability below average. Well-being probability values are higher in some nearby boroughs such as Bexley and Bromley. Not surprisingly the London ward with the highest well-being probability was Knightsbridge and Belgravia in Westminster borough, and the top ten included 4 wards from Merton, 3 from Richmond upon Thames and one each from the City of London and Kensington and Chelsea. In general the indicators of well-being have a negative correlation with indicators of deprivation, such as the Ward Level Indices of Deprivation published by the GLA, but also with individual data items such as the Income Support Rate and the Unemployment Rate. In simple terms, the more deprived the ward, or the higher the level of income support or unemployment the lower the well being probability and the lower the indicators of well being such as life expectancy.
Snippet of London Ward Well-Being Scores Map
The life expectancy data were particularly striking indicators of the differences between wealthy and poor areas of London. The Greater london Authority’s well being figures are based on an average of the male and female life expectancy figures; a more detailed breakdown of ward level data is contained in the ward profiles dataset. In the gender averaged life expectancy figures people living in the Shooters Hill ward have the longest life expectancy of any ward in Greenwich, with the 2005-2009 life expectancy of 82.1. The lowest in Greenwich is Glyndon ward at just 75.3 – a difference of nearly 7 years! The highest life expectancy across London is an ancient 96.4 years in the West End ward of Westminster borough, and the lowest a mere 74.1 in the East Ham ward in Newham. So people in one of the wealthiest areas of London can expect to live over 14 years longer than we in Shooters Hill, and over 22 years longer than people living in East Ham!
Average Life Expectancy for Greenwich Wards against Index of Deprivation
The Greater London Authority criteria I’ve used are not the only way of measuring well-being. The Office for National Statistics also have a programme to develop measures for national well-being, which is graphically represented in their Wheel of Measures. This programme was kicked off by David Cameron in 2010. The ONS use a larger set of data items in their well-being assessment:
Individual well-being, e.g. Percentage with medium/high rating of satisfaction with their lives overall Our relationships, e.g. Average rating of satisfaction with family life (1-10) Health, e.g. Healthy life expectancy at birth, Percentage who reported a long term illness and a disability What we do, e.g. Unemployment rate, Percentage who were somewhat, mostly or completely satisfied with their job, Percentage who volunteered more than once a year Where we live, e.g. Crimes against the person, Percentage who felt very or fairly safe walking alone after dark Personal finance, e.g. Percentage of individuals living in households with less than 60 per cent of median income after housing costs Education and skills, e.g. Percentage with five or more GCSE’s A*-C incl English and Maths, Percentage of UK residents aged 16 to 64 with no qualifications The economy, e.g. Real household actual income per head, UK public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP, Inflation rate (as measured by the Consumer Price index) Governance (involvement in democracy and trust in how the country is run), e.g. Percentage of registered voters who voted The natural environment, e.g. Total greenhouse gas emissions (millions of tonnes), Air pollutants – PM10 (000’s tonnes), Energy consumed within the UK from renewable sources
Although the UK’s use of a well-being index has been criticised as being too woolly, and the ONS approach to the contributory metrics seems a bit scatter gun, I’m in favour of using other measures than GDP to assess how we are doing as a country. I’ve always been a bit uneasy about the idea that growth has to continue year after year. We can’t grow forever; eventually we will fill the planet and raw materials will start to run out. The idea that economic growth is more important than health or the environment seems very short sighted, and if followed to its ultimate conclusion would mean that one day we will only be able to see the great animals of Africa on a David Attenborough documentary. I also sympathise with the Skideslkys’ concern about insatiable, socially-generated conspicuous consumption: the observation that in wealthy countries such as the UK those who have enough to live on comfortably continue to work long hours to be able to acquire the latest gadget, or a bigger car or wider TV. The Skidelskys also define a “good life”, a kind of well-being at the personal level.
Bhutan is credited with being one of the first countries to downplay GDP as a measure of success, in favour of Gross National Happiness – their measure of well-being. As wikipedia says: “The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.” The Bhutanese use GNH to guide their policies; one reason they are supporting conservation initiatives such the Tiger Corridor which featured in a BBC TV programme recently. Bhutan is also one of the most photogenic countries I’ve visited, so I’m pleased to have the chance to use some of my photographs of the Pholay Molay dance at Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in Bhutan.
The Pholay Molay dance at Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in BhutanThe Pholay Molay dance at Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in Bhutan
I didn’t know that there was an old pet cemetery just off Shooters Hill Road near the Charlton Lido until I received an e-mail from Kathy at the Friends of Shrewsbury Park about the Pet Cemetery’s friends group. The friends group are looking for volunteers to help with a clean-up day on Sunday April 21st from 11am-4pm.
It’s not surprising I’d missed it because the cemetery is tucked away near Hornfair Park, but not accessible from the park. Although the walled and fenced area needs a little bit of care and attention it’s a calm, secluded place, and studded with a number of poignant, small pet gravestones from the 1930s and 40s. Several of the gravestones commemorate the pets as “Our Pal”, or “My Chum” and they all include their names – Ikkety Man, Flossie, Rags, Sadie, Kiki, Queenie, Barney – but not necessarily what kind of animal it was. Flossie’s seemed especially sad, with its epitaph:
From six weeks old we had her
But age crept on with time
A dear old girl that we loved so well
She will always be in our minds
Flossie was about 16 years old when she died in June 1939.
Another gravestone with letters eroded by the years, about a dog called Simba, recorded the animal’s 12 years of military service, with the 93rd, at home and in Jamaica, China and India. I wonder if the 93rd is a reference to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders?
Pet Cemetery
Kathy’s e-mail included the following information from the friends:
A community group has been set up, as a non-profit organisation, to enable the Pet Cemetery to be restored and maintained for all to enjoy.
Approximately 80 years ago, kennels were organised by the Blue Cross who ensured that the pets and working dogs of service men and women would have a safe haven while their owners were on active duty during the WWII. The kennels were also a place where injured animals were taken – especially those dogs that were used on the Front Line. There was also a cemetery here for animals that either did not survive, or simply died of old age. This place enabled service men and women to give a well-deserved resting place for their beloved pets.
There are over 240 gravestones, and some of the dogs buried here received medals for their service during WWII. The site is therefore of historical importance.
The cemetery is little known about, and less loved than it was back then, and this is why the Friends of the Pet Cemetery Group (FOPC) hope to improve the site, and make it a special place.
The group will also promote the area as a visitor attraction, encourage links with community groups, schools, colleges and other organisations to ultimately achieve a memorial garden for working animals and local pets to be remembered.
We will have a clean-up day on Sunday April 21st from 11am-4pm, to which all are welcome. The cemetery cannot be accessed from the park itself, but via the entrance on Shooters Hill, (just by the footbridge, and opposite ‘The Fox Under the Hill’).
We are also in the process of arranging an Open Day, and more details about this will be given in a newsletter to be produced later.
Contact details for the group:j-patrick@ntlworld.com (Secretary); Toni Hale (Chairperson) 07786 895 799. If you would like to become a member (subscription £2), please contact either of the above committee members.
We are also on Facebook – ‘Pet Cemetery Group Charlton’, and Twitter: @FOPC Group.
There has been more vandalism at Woodlands Farm. Just a few weeks after the last incident when a fence was broken down and a volunteer threatened, the fence has been broken again and a mini-motorbike ridden around one of the fields where sheep are often kept. Maggie from the farm sent me details of what happened:
Following the incident on 30 December, when the metal fence at the far end of the farm was broken into twice on one day, yesterday the bolts were cropped once again and metal staves removed. This time, however, we discovered it after two people were heard with a motorbike riding round the top of Hillview Field late in the afternoon.
When they realised they had been spotted they made a quick exit, the motorbike rider got through the hole in the fence first. The second youth was challenged as he hurried to the gap. He denied making the break in the fence and said that as the fields were part of the Green Chain Walk they could ride a motorcycle there. He then threatened the elderly volunteer with violence and the farm with further vandalism.
Fence was repaired before end of day and police informed.
Jackwood, Shooters Hill, the home of Nat C. Goodwin and his wife
Many thanks to reader Mike Smith for sending me a copy of an article entitled “The Splendour of the Modern Actor” from a weekly newspaper called The Sketch dated August 2nd 1899. The article was about the American actor Nat C. Goodwin and his wife, the actress Maxine Elliot, who lived in Jackwood at the end of the 19th Century and who I mentioned in a previous post about Jackwood. It includes a number of fascinating photographs of Jackwood as it was in 1899. The appearance of the house, shown in the photograph above, is the same as the Old English style mansion that was put up for sale in 1874.
Maxine Elliot and her sister Gertrude in their carriage in front of Jackwood House
The author of the article describes their journey by horse drawn buggy from Blackheath station up to the mansion in the woods of Shooters Hill. The description of the interior of the house matches that in the sales literature:
The interior is entirely lined with polished pitch-pine, and the great staircase with its open gallery is a triumph of workmanship, while the overmantels are of dark wood handsomely carved, many displaying the Arms of the first tenant, Sir William Plasted Wilde, whose crest and motto decorate the richly moulded ceilings, especially that in the drawing room, which is adorned with heavy pendants.
I think the Sir William Plasted Wilde mentioned should be really be Sir James Plaisted Wilde who became Lord Penzance, of the Mysterious P atop the gate leading into the walled garden in Jack Wood. Some of the details of the drawing room can just about be made out in the photograph below.
The drawing room at Jackwood: Miss Maxine Elliot and Mr. N.C. Goodwin
Much of the Sketch article is about the lifestyle of the tenants of Jackwood, and the way in which they had decorated the house, for example with Nat’s collection of native American artefacts which included the feathered head-dress of Indian chief Big Mouth and a selection of leather belts, one of which was fringed with a number of human scalps. There is a brief mention of the gardens:
But your hostess is insistent on showing you the grounds before luncheon, for the charming pleasances and the terraced rose gardens, enclosed on one side by a dwarf wall adorned by rounded Kentish gables and copied from Haddon Hall, are amongst the sights at Jackwood. These pleasant walks, paved in places with smooth red tiling, overlook the lawn tennis ground, at one end of which a mighty oak gives agreeable shade to onlookers, while further down the hillside the thistle-grown slopes are the playground of wild rabbits, which emerge from the thick underwood around in the cool of the evening. Through a vista in the forest, a favourite resort of the family, you may watch on Thursday nights Brock’s fireworks at the Crystal Palace far away in the distance.
Parts of the terrace shown in the photograph below are amongst the few remnants of Jackwood that survive today.
A fascinating glimpse into “society” life in Shooters Hill at the end of the nineteenth century. Thanks again Mike.
Miss Maxine Elliot and her sister Gertrude on the terrace at Jackwood From photographs by Thomas, Cheapside
2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment march through Woolwich
Shrewsbury House are holding a Big Curry evening in April to raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund, a charity that supports soldiers, former soldiers and their families. The Soldier’s Charity Big Curry has been running for 6 years and is supported by a number of celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Brian Turner and Heston Blumenthal. Since it started it has raised £860,000 for the ABF.
Len’s e-mail with details of the Shrewsbury House event said:
Shrewsbury House are holding a charity night for the Army Benevolent Fund, this charity has been going since the early 1900’s and they have been holding charity events all over the Country to raise money for those that need it.
We are restricted to 70 tickets which are on sale at £16.50 pp, this includes Curry, Entertainment, Complimentary drink on arrival and entry into a prize draw. The dress is smart casual and is to be held on Saturday 20th April from 7 pm to 11 pm. We have tried to make this coincide with St George’s Day and will hopefully bring out the best of British and aid and assist our soldiers that need that little bit extra.
If you wish to purchase tickets, either let me know by email or by going into Shrewsbury House.
Sounds like a great evening for a very good cause.
2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment march through Woolwich
The campaign to save Lewisham Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department have organised a march to object to the SLHT Administrator’s recommendation to close it to help sort out financial issues at the South London Healthcare Trust, which includes our local Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Why should we be concerned? Well apart from the effect on the health of people living near Lewisham Hospital who will have to travel much further if they need emergency medical help, and apart from the outrageous unfairness of closing a facility in a financially stable hospital to solve a problem elsewhere, and apart from the real terms reduction of the health care budget for south-east London and the flawed consultation process it will also add to the pressure on Queen Elizabeth A&E and increase the waiting time for patients there.
The demonstration will assemble at the main roundabout outside Lewisham Rail/DLR/Bus station at 12 noon on Saturday 26th January.
March through Lewisham shopping centre along to Lewisham Hospital, then up Davenport Road to Mountsfield Park for rally, music and giant petition. Details of the route will be available here shortly.
RALLY AT THE END OF THE MARCH
This will take place in Mountsfield Park in Catford. There will be speeches, music, food, and other entertainments.
