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!
Benjamin e-mailed to let me know about the Blackheath Art Society Autumn Show which is called “Impressions of Greenwich and Blackheath”. It is on at the Discover Greenwich upstairs gallery at the ORNC, Cutty Sark Gardens, SE10 9NN from Saturday 07 September – Friday 01 November. Entry is free and it is open from 10am-5pm. It will include artwork from local artists, many of whom opened their studios to the public in the Open Studio event in April and May this year.
Katy from Greenwich Oxfam Group wrote with details of their 2nd Annual Great Greenwich Treasure Hunt which takes place this Saturday, 31st August:
On Saturday 31st August the Great Greenwich Treasure Hunt will take place in and around Greenwich town centre. It will be a fun day out suitable for all ages.
Teams will be given a number of questions to answer by searching for clues in Greenwich and the area surrounding it. And this year we have a wider area to explore now that Greenwich Park has re-opened after the Olympics.
There’s some great prizes up for grabs too, including a football signed by the current Charlton Athletic team and more to be announced soon.
The treasure hunt will end at the lovely East Greenwich Pleasaunce Park where there will be live music, a bar & food on offer at Pistachio’s Cafe.
Tickets are available now via the below link, places will be limited so book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Adults £8, under 16’s at £5 and family tickets (up to 2 adults & 2 under 16’s) are £20. Under 5’s are free. Teams can be any size as tickets are per person. If you would like to be teamed up please email info.oxfamgreenwich@gmail.com in advance.
The ticket price includes a goody bag with discount vouchers for local businesses to be used on the day or in future.
All ticket proceeds will go directly to Oxfam.
Participants should arrive at Greenwich Tourist Office to collect their treasure hunt packs between 11 & 11.30am on the day. The prizes are expected to be given out at around 2.30pm with the live music following this.
www.wegottickets.com/greenwichtreasurehunt
The aperture Woolwich Photographic Society’s latest photography exhibition is now on at the Elixir Gallery in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The free exhibition is reached by turning left inside the main entrance of the hospital and walking along the corridor past the fever bell and up the slope. It includes some prints from the Charlton House exhibition in July plus some new ones from aperture members. The exhibition runs until the end of September.
aperture have also announced details of their “Bridge Programme” which starts next Tuesday (3rd September) at 7.45 in the library at Shrewsbury House. It’s called the bridge programme because it spans the change in the club’s calendar which used to run from September to May but in future will run March to December. This evening’s meeting will be a social event to introduce the programme and review some of the best images from aperture’s last season. The new programme includes talks by The Flamsteed Astronomy Society about astrophotography and by Graeme Webb about his diorama and miniature photography entitled “A Journey into The Arcimboldi Studios“.
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park will be hard at work next Sunday, 18th August, tidying and weeding at the Lilly Pond starting at 11.00am. The pond will also be open for some pond dipping. They would welcome any assistance with the tidying, as Madeleine from the Friends writes:
We really would welcome your help and support to ensure that the pond and wildlife meadow continue to flourish. If you can spare some time to help with weeding or litter picking it would be very much appreciated. We know from comments received from visitors to the park that the pond area provides a wonderful focal point and is much valued by the local community. It is also attracting a wide range of wildlife. I like to think of it as “the little oasis on the hill” and believe there is so much potential for further development. It would be really terrible if everything became overgrown and neglected.
We are meeting Sunday 18th August between 11 am and 1pm to carry out pond and meadow tidying up. Could you join us, whatever time you can spare will be helpful?
Pond Dipping will also be available, we have the equipment – so bring the family !
The Friends work in the park was recently recognised with the award of a Green Flag by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
Hannah, the Education Officer at Woodlands Farm, wrote with details of their Summer Holiday Activities for children and about a series of bat walks at the farm in the next couple of months. The children’s activities are:
Orienteering Wednesday 21st August 10am – 2pm
Come and have a go at our orienteering course at Woodlands Farm; can you find your way around without getting lost?
£1 per child, accompanying adults free. Drop in any time between 10am-2pm.
Corn Dollies Friday 23rd August 2pm-4pm
Have a go at this traditional craft, to make lovely corn dollies to take home with you.
£1 per child,
Explore Woodlands Farm Day Tuesday 27th August 11am-3pm
Drop by Woodlands farm to have a go at craft activities, meet our animals and have a go at our milking challenge. This event is free and you can drop by any time between 11am-3pm to join the fun!
Farmer for a day Wednesday 28th August 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm
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. Booked is essential to book call 0208 319 8900
£2 per child, accompanying adults free
Farm Storytelling and crafts Friday 30th August 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm
Come along to the farm for a day or crafts and storytelling. The farm is a place full of wonderful stories so come along to hear some lovely farm stories and take part in our craft activities.
£1 per child, accompanying adults free
The Bat Walks are on Thursday 22nd August 2013 at 7.45pm, Wednesday 28th August 2013 at 7.45pm and Tuesday 10th September 2013 at 7pm. Booking is essential, and you’ll need to be quick as I hear places are filling fast. Hannah’s e-mail said:
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. £2 per adult and £1 per child. Booking is essential. To book call 020 8319 8900.
Shooters Hill is a great place for bat spotting, and they have been seen or detected at various locations around the hill as can be seen in the Bat Conservation Trust‘s Big Bat Map, Shooters Hill snippet above. As well as the Common and Soprano Pipistrelles seen in Shrewsbury Park on the Friends’ bat walk, the two Pipistrelle species, Noctules and possibly Leisler’s bats have been detected in Oxleas Wood and Soprano Pipistrelles regularly forage over Eaglesfield Park Lilly Pond. Woodlands Farm contribute to the National Bat Monitoring Programme annual survey, which means they look for bats on a transect route of 12 walks and 12 stops at the beginning and end of July each year. This year they detected quite a few Common & Soprano Pipistrelles and Noctules, which bodes well for their bat walks.
There are likely to be other species of bat in the area, and it would be interesting to know which of the UK’s 18 species are here. At the end of the nineteenth century 8 species were recorded in Woolwich and West Kent according to the 1909 Woolwich Surveys by Grinling, Ingram and Polkinghorne. Their section about mammals starts with a list of bat species that had been seen:
This list is compiled from the “List of Mammalia” in the “Fauna of Blackheath,” published in 1859; the “List of the Mammals of Bromley, Kent,” published by the Bromley Naturalists’ Society in 1895; a ” MS. List” from A. S. Kennard ; and a “MS. List” from B. W. Adkin. It will be interesting to note that several species, now very rare or extinct in the area, were at one time even common in the heart of the district.
Probably if more lists were available from the outlying part of the area, a better view of the distribution would be obtained. The contractions used are as follows :
B.W.A. = B. W. Adkin.
A.S.K. = A. S. Kennard.
Fn.B. = Fauna of Blackheath.
B.L. = Bromley List, mainly A. S. Kennard’s records.
CHIROPTERA.
VESPERTILIONIDÆ.Vesperugo noctula, Schreb. Great Bat. Common all over district, Hayes (A.S.K.) ; Lewisham, rare (B.W.A.).
Vesperugo serotinus, Schreb. Serotine. Occurs (Fn.B.).
Vesperugo pipistrellus, Schreb. Common Bat. Hayes (B.L.) ; Blackheath and district, very common (Fn.B.) and (B.W.A.).
Vesperugo leisleri, R.- Hairy-armed Bat. Chislehurst (A.S.K.).
Vespertilio mystacinus, Leis. Whiskered Bat. Chislehurst (Fn.B.).
Vespertilio nattereri, R. Natterer’s Bat.Chislehurst (A.S.K.).
Plecotus auritus, L. Long-eared Bat. Chislehurst (Fn.B.) ; Hayes (B.L.) ; Lewisham, fairly common (B.W.A.). ; Beckenham,. 1903 (A.S.K.).
Synotus barbastellus, Schreb. Barbastelle. Chislehurst (Fn. B.) ; Dartford (A.S.K.).
RHINOLOPHIDÆ.
Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum, Desm. Greater Horseshoe Bat. Hayes, 1904 (A.S.K.).
Some names have changed: the Noctule is referred to as the Great Bat, which is fitting for one of the UK’s largest bats, the Pipistrelle is called the Common Bat which is also apt as it is the most common in the UK and Leisler’s bat is the Hairy Armed Bat. Also at that time it wasn’t known that there was more than one Pipistrelle species, and that the Common Bat was two species: the Common and Soprano Pipistrelles. That wasn’t certain until 1997 when it was confirmed by DNA analysis. The Long-eared Bat was “fairly common” in the 1909 Woolwich Surveys, and the Brown Long-eared is still common throughout the British Isles. It is quite difficult to detect because its echolocation calls are very quiet, and my bat guide says it is more often seen than heard on bat detectors. They are such amazing looking creatures, with ears that are almost as long as their bodies, that they are definitely one to look out for on bat walks in the woods.
If you fancy a 22 mile night hike along the length of the Green Chain Walk from Crystal Palace to Erith then you’re in luck because Ian Bull will be leading one on Friday night. This is a repeat of last year’s successful “megawalk”, but without the Oxleas missiles. Ian has led a number of walks in the area, including the Best Landscape and Views in London, the Thames Path Super Walk and London’s best woodland and views – without doubt. He e-mailed to say:
A leisurely 22 mile stroll over the most popular sections of the Green Chain Walk from Crystal Palace to Erith, but with a difference, the walk is nocturnal!
Meet outside Crystal Palace railway station at 23.45pm. After the first five miles we enter pitch black woodland. Quite amazing! By the time we get to Eltham we’ll see wonderful views of London at first- light. This was so good last year that we spent about 20 minutes watching. At around 05.00, after much more dark woodland we arrive at Shooters Hill for sunrise, and there’s no where better to see it as the view extends right over Essex and the estuary. The rest of the walk is mostly in woodland which looks lovely at that time of the morning. We arrive at Erith and the Thames at about 08.00 for plenty of trains home.
The walk was very successful last year but I must stress that the event is wholly unofficial and just for fun. If you take part you do so entirely at your own risk. For further information please contact Ian Bull – ianbull at btinternet dot com
If you prefer to hike by daylight then Ian will be repeating the walk on Saturday 28th September during the day:
TfL has offered to fund Walk London’s ‘Autumn Ambles’ and thus the 7th ‘Green Chain Megawalk’ will go ahead on Saturday 28th September starting from Crystal Palace railway station at 9.15. It’s the same as the above but in daylight.
How do you make a Suffragette Cocktail? An American recipe from 1909 says it contains gin, Italian vermouth and French vermouth stirred with ice and a dash of orange bitters, and that it has very strange effects on men, such as turning them into dish washers. Well, there’s a chance to try the Greenwich Heritage Centre’s interestingly coloured version of the cocktail next Wednesday, 31st July.
The Heritage Centre is holding a “Museum Late” Suffragette Evening starting at 6.00pm, organised in collaboration with the University of Greenwich. Shooters Hill-based actor Natalie Penn will be performing extracts of her one-woman drama “Lie Back and Think of America” which she recently took on tour, commencing with two performances at Shrewsbury House in April. The Woolwich Singers will be singing popular songs from the era, including the music hall favourite “She works at the Woolwich Arsenal Now” – a munition worker’s romance written by Robert Donnelly. The sheet music for this song featured in the “Freedom of Spirit” exhibition about suffragettes in Greenwich at the Heritage Centre. Donnelly wrote a number of sentimental songs, including “There’s love in my humble home“, “Please let Mother Come Home Again” and possibly “Don’t Go Down in the Mines, Dad“.
Other activities during the evening include historical talks, a DJ and the launch of a new publication about local suffragette Rosa May Billingshurst written by third year University of Greenwich History student Carolyn Ayers. Carolyn was the co-curator of the “Freedom of Spirit” exhibition.
The evening is also a celebration of the Heritage Centre’s tenth anniversary at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Entry is free.
Emily from the Fan Museum in Crooms Hill e-mailed details of their local community open day next Saturday, 27th July, from 11.00am to 5.00pm. Entry is free if you live in Greenwich or Lewisham boroughs, as long as you bring along proof of your address such as a driving licence or utility bill. The museum is in a beautiful Georgian house at the bottom of Crooms Hill, address: 12 Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London SE10 8ER.
The Fan Museum has a huge collection of fans from different cultures and historical periods, many of which are artistically decorated. As well as the chance to see the collection the open day will include demonstrations of fan making and mini-tours of the museum led by the museum’s curators. There will also be refreshments in the elegant orangery – a taster of their afternoon tea which was rated one of London’s ten best afternoon teas by the Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph’s list also included the far-more-expensive Claridges and the Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair.
It’s several years since I visited the museum and it was slightly surprisingly absorbing, so it’s definitely time for another look around, even if only to replace the fan tea towel I got from the museum shop last time.
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park are holding a ParksFest2013 event on Saturday (13th July), with an afternoon of music by the pond. Madeleine from the Friends wrote:
The Friends of Eaglesfield Park would like to invite you to join us at the Eaglesfield Wildlife Pond and Meadow for an afternoon of fun and music on Saturday 13th July between 2 pm and 5 pm. An exciting Afro-Brazilian band and the Greenwich Gospel Choir will be providing the music. Why not bring a picnic. Enjoy an afternoon In Eaglesfield Park and check out the Restored Wildlife Pond and Meadow – it’s amazing how quickly everything has grown and the amount of wildlife it is attracting. Take a closer look at the pond life – come and try POND DIPPING (we will supply the equipment).
Madeleine also mentioned the Friends’ participation at the EPNWS Community Fête on the 15th June, which was memorable, in part, because of the strong winds and heavy rain that that struck bang on the stroke of 1.00pm when the Fête was due to open. But they managed to “Carry on Pond Dipping Regardless” and the weather didn’t spoil their photo display detailing the various stages of the restoration of the pond and meadow.
Madeleine gave an update on the Friends’ plans for the pond:
Our aim is to provide a habitat that will encourage a wide range of wildlife – wildflowers/grasses, insects, bees, butterflies, pond life, birds, etc and a healthy well balanced pond environment. Creating the appropriate habitat is not just a question of “let everything grow, let Nature do its own thing”. Some plants are “thugs” and will take over very quickly, which smother some of the important nectar rich wildflowers. So it does mean we need to carry out maintenance and tidying.
This aspect of work is very much a learning curve for FOEP. We are compiling reference guides for identification of wildflowers, pond creatures, butterflies, birds, dragonflies/damsel flies, bees etc. If anyone has an interest in this type of research or monitoring we would love to hear from you. FOEP is not just pond dipping, digging and gardening! Although I enjoy hands-on gardening, I must admit since I have become more involved with identification and research, I am more aware of how much there is to see, once you start looking!
FOEP will arrange another Pond Dipping and Tidying Session as soon as possible. Please keep an eye on our notice board at the Foxcroft Road entrance to Eaglesfield Park.
Finally, please keep in touch with us. We would like to hear your comments and suggestions about any aspect of Eaglesfield Park – don’t forget the area on the other side of Eaglesfield Road is also part of the park.
We are only a “small band” – so anything you could do to help would be very much appreciated.
There will be another ParksFest2013 event, Plumstead Live, on Winns Common on Sunday 21st July, with a line up of four Jazz, Soul, Funk and Blues acts.
The Mulberry Tea Rooms in Charlton House play host to an exhibition of photographs by members of the Aperture Woolwich Photographic Society, one of the groups who meet at Shrewsbury House. The Exhibition is a selection of images that have done well in AWPS competitions over recent seasons by members of the society including Stu Mayhew, Andy Linden, and Trudie Mackie. There are a variety of amazing images, some spookily atmospheric, some surreal and some that have you asking the question “how on earth did they do that?”
Entry to the exhibition is free, and it runs until 4.00pm on Wednesday 31st July. The AWPS are planning another exhibition to be held later in the summer at the Elixir Gallery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and they will have a stand at the Horn Fayre at Charlton House on 28th July.
