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!
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 20th August 8pm, Thursday 27th August 7.45pm, Thursday 3rd 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.
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.
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
Efts (baby newts) at Woodlands FarmNewt at Woodlands Farm
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.
Raymond Blanc opens the Henri le Worm community gardenRosie 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
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.
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
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.
Friends of Eaglesfield Park’s photo of Tai Chi in the parkEaglesfield Park
The Friends of Shrewsbury Park have excelled themselves with the number of attractions and events in year’s Summer Festival, which takes place on Sunday 28th June from 2-5pm. Kathy from the Friends wrote with all the details:
We hope to see you at our Summer Festival on 28 June. The fabulous dog show will start registration at 1.30pm, and the classes are:
* fun agility course
* best rescue dog
* best child handler
* sing with your dog
* puppy class
* obedience class
* fastest dog.
It costs £2 per class, and the profits go to Friends of Shrewsbury Park (to go towards our drinking fountain).
We will have the Doriel School of Dancing at 2pm, Greenwich Morris Men at 3pm, and Leo’s Kpop group at 4pm. They will be presenting a routine, then teaching any willing participant to do a routine.
We will have the Greenwich Rock Pop Community Choir from Abbey Wood who will run a small singing workshop. They will get a bunch of passers by, give them a lyric sheet and teach them the harmonies to a song like daft punk’s – Get Lucky, Beatles – Help, Mama/Papas – california dreamin’.
Hawk and Hood will be there with their birds of prey, and Woodlands Farm Trust will bring along some of their sheep to the event.
We will also have the Dogs Trust, Flamsteed Astronomy Society, Friends of Pet Cemetery, Friends of Bostal Heath, Guide Dogs, the Police, RSPB, Severndroog Castle, Paws and Co, Riverford Home Delivery, Season, the local Councillors, Aloe Vera alternative, Robert’s Walking Sticks, Shabby Chic, and Phoenix Cards. The Friends of Shrewsbury Park will be providing a Tea and Cake stall, lots of goodies in the bric a brac, a children’s play area, used books and membership stall.
It’s worth going to the Shrewsbury Park Summer Festival just for the brilliant, entertaining dog show, but with all the other events and stalls too it is just unmissable.
Obedience Competition at 2013 Shrewsbury Park Summer FestivalFastest Dog Competition at 2013 Shrewsbury Park Summer Festival
Dr David Carrington and Kalypso Kampani with part of the mosaic restoration
Greek mosaic specialist Kalypso Kampani and her team of conservators expect to complete the current phase of mosaic restoration work at St George’s Garrison Church by the middle of July. The marvellous mosaics, which were installed by Antonio Salviati around 1870, include the Venetian glass mosaic of St George and the dragon, part of the Victoria Cross memorial. Kalypso’s team come from historic building repair and restoration specialists, Skillingtons who won the contract for the restoration of the mosaics in late 2014.
There was standing room only on 9th May in the meeting room at Woolwich Library for the presentation about St George’s Chapel. Julie Ricketts who is the Heritage Project Officer responsible for the St George’s project gave an interesting presentation. She talked about the history of the Garrison Church and showed some old pictures of the church before it was partially destroyed by a V1 flying bomb, with some I hadn’t seen before of the 1500 capacity interior. I was also unaware of the extent to which cast iron was used in the construction of the church: there were cast iron pillars and iron was also used for the roof and balconies structures. Cast iron column capitals can still be seen in the ruin today.
As well as the Heritage Lottery Fund a lot of other organisations provided funding for the project:
The Heritage of London Trust Ops. has been working on a restoration project at St. George’s, with funding and assistance from a variety of sources: Ministry of Defence, Royal Artillery, HLF, English Heritage, John Paul Getty Foundation, Community Covenant Fund, Pilgrim Trust, Cory Landfill, Lord Ashcroft, Foyle Foundation and VC and GC Associations.
Julie’s presentation also gave details of the on-going restoration work and the plans for the future of the chapel.
Mosaic restoration in progress at St George’s Chapel
There are two aspects to the first phase of work on the mosaics by Skillingtons’ team. The mortar backing on many of the smaller mosaic panels needs to be replaced. Those panels were removed from the chapel after fixing the mosaic tesserae in place by attaching muslin cloth to them using a glue made out of rabbit skin. Then the mortar between the tesserae is replaced from behind in the workshop, following which the panels are replaced in the chapel. In this phase missing parts of those mosaics are not being renewed; it is hoped this might be done in a future phase if funding is found.
Missing parts of the St George mosaic are being replaced in situ in the chapel. Missing sections are created, as shown in the photograph above, using new tesserae which are made by a producer in Greece. As well as the mosaic the letters in the marble tablets inscribed with the names of the deceased gunners who won the Victoria Cross from the Crimean War to the middle of WWII are being restored.
The conservators are concerned about the stability of some other memorial panels in the chapel, especially the alabaster panel shown below which is to the right of the St George mosaic. There has been a request for emergency funding to ensure this panel doesn’t deteriorate further.
Alabaster panel in St. George’s Chapel
After the presentations we all walked up the hill to the chapel where the new tensile fabric roof was being attached to the glulam timber-framed arch. The tensile roof was constructed by Fabric Architecture, with Thomas Ford and Partners as the conservation architects for the project. There’s much more detail about the project and photos of the work progressing on the Fabric Architecture website, for example: the main vaulted roof beams each weigh around 6 tonnes and they sit atop 8 supporting columns weighing around 750kg each.
It had been expected that the roof would be in place in time for our visit, but completion was delayed by strong winds. Resisting strong winds was an important factor in the design: the structure’s foundations need to be strong enough to prevent the roof being blown away as well as supporting the glulam framework.
Some of the visitors at St George’s Chapel in May
What will happen to St Georges once the work is complete? Whilst the chapel will remain a consecrated place, there are plans to make the space available for community group events and school visits. Current ideas include concerts by the Royal Artillery Band, Greenwich University Big Band and Woolwich Singers and services for local veterans organisations and the Woolwich British Legion.
In the short term the chapel will be open to the public on the following dates:
Saturday 27th June – Armed Forces Day
Saturday 12th September – Ride & Stride
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th September – Open House weekend
Julie is looking for volunteers to help for a couple of hours at the Greenwich great get together/Armed Forces Day festival on the 27th June to “greet members of the public at St. George’s Garrison Church, give out an information leaflet, ask them to sign the Visitors’ Book and shake a collection bucket!” You can sign up for this using an online calendar or by contacting Julie Ricketts by e mail: hpostgeorgeswoolwich@gmail.com or telephone 0754 6265480.
In the longer term Heritage of London are setting up a friends group to look after future events. Volunteers are sought, for the following areas: Events, Finance, Membership, Education & Outreach, Building & Gardening, Publicity, Media & Communications and Fundraising.If you’re interested contact Julie using the contact details above. St George’s chapel is also on Twitter and on Facebook.
The restoration of the Garrison Church was originally agreed before the 2012 Olympics, so it’s been a long project, but its looking like it will have been worth the wait.
They’re celebrating the summer solstice at Woodlands Farm this weekend with a barn dance on Saturday and a midsummer meander through their marvellous meadows on Sunday. Hannah from the farm wrote with details:
Midsummer events at Woodlands Farm
With the summer solstice coming up this weekend there are opportunities to celebrate at Woodlands Farm. On Saturday 20th a riotous barn dance starting 7.30pm until 11pm. The band is the famous Skinners Rats and a good tune is guaranteed. Bring your own choice of food and drink. Tickets £12 per person.
On Sunday 21st June a chance to take part in a fabulous guided walk through our stunning hay meadows. Walk starts at 2pm and finishes in time for high tea, with scones, sponge, finger sandwiches and refreshing tea, all it costs is £10 per person.
Book tickets by calling the office on 020 8319 8900 or email admin@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org
Woodlands Farm Trust Chair, Barry Gray says ‘The events this weekend are a chance to have fun and see Woodlands Farm at its best in high summer at the time of the solstice. We are looking forward to seeing many of our friends at this event’.
The farm’s barn dances are great fun, as you can see in their photo below. No experience is necessary as Skinners Rats call the steps as well as playing the tunes. Recent dances have seen an abundance of stetsons, gingham, denim and boots, though I did wonder if the blow up cactus and mule were taking things a bit too far at the last dance.
Barn dance at Woodlands Farm
The BBC are forecasting good weather for Sunday so the farm’s meadows should be at their best. You will be able to see a wide variety of wild flowers with ancient names such as mouse ear, sheeps sorrel, goats beard, tansy, lesser trefoil, common vetch and grass vetchling. If you’re lucky I’m sure your guide will point out the Rapier missile resisting corky fruited water dropwort. Then, if you’re really interested in wild flowers, there’s a chance to help with a meadow plants survey next Wednesday 24th June, at 3.00pm.
Hadlow College’s Equestrian Centre on Shooters Hill is holding a community open day tomorrow, Saturday 13th June, but you’ll have to book a slot on 020 8331 3410 to be able to take a look round because the advertised on-line booking system doesn’t seem to work. Visitors will be able to see all aspects of the centre, plus riding displays and demonstrations and they will get to meet the horses. It’ll also be an opportunity to find out about the college’s courses and riding lessons.
The Equestrian Centre was built following the 2012 Olympics as an Olympic legacy project. There was some controversy over Greenwich Council’s decision to grant planning permission, not least because the centre was to be built on a site next to Woodlands Farm that had been designated as Metropolitan Open Land. One of the conditions attached to planning permission was that there should be a minimum of 82 horse-riding hours a week access to the facilities by the local community. The centre is now offering riding lessons in the evenings and at weekends to Royal Borough of Greenwich residents who are over 14 years of age, but at a price.
According to the Hadlow College leaflet you’ll have to pay for:
Membership, costing just £40.00 a year includes:
* Free initial assessment on our mechanical horse
* Discounts on courses and events run by Hadlow College
* Ability to book lessons up to 2 weeks in advance
Lesson Costs (per lesson)
30 minute private lesson £45.00
45 minute group tuition (2-4 riders) £35.00 per person
30 minute private lesson on our mechanical horse £40.00
I managed to have a look round the centre shortly before it opened, but couldn’t take any pictures. I’m hoping to be able to photograph one of the only equine baths in the south-east of the UK tomorrow.
Reception building at the Shooters Hill Equestrian Centre
Woodlands Farm‘s Summer Show is combined with Open Farm Sunday again this year, so it will include farming related demonstrations such as sheep shearing and a vintage tractor display. It takes place on Sunday 7th June between 11.00am and 4.30pm. Maureen from the farm wrote with details:
All are welcome at the Woodlands Farm Summer Show. Come and meet our animals, and enjoy the chance to buy quality local produce at reasonable prices, including home-made preserves and cakes. Relax in our café, get involved in craft activities and games, and enjoy displays of country crafts. Entry is £1 adults, 50p children. All proceeds go towards caring for our animals. A great family day out!
Since Open Farm Sunday started in 2006 over over a thousand farmers have opened their farms to the public for a day. This year hundreds of farms will be open on Sunday 7th June. In London, as well as Woodlands Farm, this includes Stepney City Farm and Kentish Town City Farm. Open Farm Sunday is organised by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming).
Woodlands Farm’s 2014 Summer Show
The farm will also be participating in the pollinator survey which is being run as part of Open Farm Sunday again this year. The pollinator survey is one of a series of ecological surveys that the farm will be repeating this year, following the same approach as in 2014. Others already lined up are an amphibian survey on Tuesday 16th June, a meadow plants survey on Wednesday 24thJune, two bat surveys in July, a dragonfly survey on Wednesday 8thJuly and the Big Butterfly count in August. If you’re interested in being involved in the surveys contact Hannah Forshaw, the farm’s Education Officer, on education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org.
