Singer/songwriter Peter Swaffield at St Thomas Church

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

Did you know there are concerts at St Thomas Church, tucked away on Maryon Road? I didn’t, but I do now. Coming up on Friday 7 June (7.30pm, £4 admission)….

Peter Swaffield1970s BBC singer songwriter Peter Swaffield will be performing Folk, Country and Gospel music.

Peter was featured at the recent ‘Keynotes 50th Anniversary Concert’ at Tommy’s and returns to perform solo by popular demand.

Peter’s vocal and guitar style has been compared to the USA superstar James Taylor.

When a student at Oxford University Peter became a BBC songwriter, performing “The Song of the Week” spot for BBC Radio Oxford. For the Tommy’s concert Peter will be performing a solo set and playing the second half with his band

Peter will play some of his own songs, country music hits and some well-known gospel songs plus a few James Taylor favourites.

Peter’s band includes blues guitarist Richard Chambers OBE and Tim Anderson who has played the drums for Peter Green, Cliff Richard, and Country star George Hamilton IV.

The proceeds from the evening will go to WaterAid, the charity dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation.

This concert is one of a series of musical events being held at St. Thomas, Old Charlton, SE7 under the banner Music at Tommy’s.

Musicians and audiences have discovered that the church has wonderful acoustic properties commenting that the music whether opera, folk, gospel or jazz sounds great.

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Give Windrush Charlton school a crossing patrol

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

Petition page
You might have seen that the old Holborn College site on Woolwich Road has now become a primary school, Windrush Charlton.

Unfortunately, and incredibly, the kids there haven’t been given a school crossing patrol – despite the fact that it sits on a dual carriageway that sees some pretty poor driving at the best of times.

Ed Simmons’ petition hopes to change that – and is well worth your support.

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Ready for three years of train pain from Charlton?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

Charlton Station, 9 May 2013
Are you ready for three years of travel disruption through London Bridge station? From 2015, many trains won’t be calling there while the station is rebuilt.

Find out more, and find out what Southeastern and Network Rail are doing about it, at the Charlton Rail Users’ Group open meeting on Monday at 7.30pm at Charlton Liberal Club, Charlton Church Lane. Other topics will include trains stopping at the far end of the platform, and the mooted switch of Southeastern services to TfL.

More details at CRUG’s new website.

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Charlton: home of London’s fastest broadband?

Posted on March 29, 2013 by

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The Guardian this week highlighted a report on the postcode lottery of broadband speeds across London, with some suburbs having notably better service than areas in central London. The report claims that the fastest average download speeds to be found across London are actually in Charlton. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that there’s a wide range of speeds even within our postcode.

So what’s your experience of broadband in SE7? Good, bad or indifferent? Have you any tips for improving your broadband speed? Let us know in the comments below, and maybe we’ll get an idea of which broadband providers are serving Charlton best.

 

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Who wants to join a Charlton book group?

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

charlton_station_bookshelfThe book-swap scheme at Charlton station has been a roaring succcess, but if you prefer your reading to be a little more social, what are your options?

New-ish SE7 resident Gemma (well, she’s been here for a year and a half) has an idea…

“I’ve been looking recently for a book group in the area in the evenings, and have found that there are a couple run through the library but they all seem to be during the day.

“If you could let me know if I’ve missed info on the blog, or if not if you could do a shout out, I’d so so appreciate it. If there’s not an after-hours book club in existence, I’d really quite like to start one and I think the blog would be a good place to find members maybe?”

I certainly can’t think of one (and there’s a separate post to be had on how Charlton House only seems to come alive when people are at work, but’s for another day), but I reckon Gemma’s onto a winner. So who’s up for joining her? Leave a comment below…

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Easter egg hunt at Maryon Wilson Park this Saturday

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

Kat from Maryon Wilson Animal Park has a message for you about this Saturday…

This Easter, Maryon Wilson Animal Park invites you to join us for an afternoon of fun for all the family.

Henrietta hen has lost her eggs! Can you help her find them? Count the Easter eggs hidden around the park to win a prize… but look out for the golden eggs; they have questions on the back!

A great afternoon out for all the family. Come and enjoy the park, meet the animals, listen to our storyteller, stop for lunch and get messy on the craft stalls!

This event is suitable for all children at nursery/primary school and their families – everyone is welcome!

All money made on the day goes towards managing and maintaining the Maryon Wilson Animal Park.

If you want to help the park, which lost its council funding, then it’s now become a charity (number 1149051), which is trying to raise funds to keep the park running. More information at its new website.

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Charlton Lido reopens this week…but in what state?

Posted on March 25, 2013 by
Charlton Lido, 14 March 2012

The old lido entrance has been demolished

Good news for local swimmers as Charlton Lido is set to reopen on Thursday this week. While the local press reports suggested that it would be reopening “after a £2m refurbishment“, recent photos suggest “will reopen while building works go on around it through the summer” might be a more accurate summary.

The plans are available to view online now but, in short, the developments will mean the introduction of:

  • indoor changing rooms
  • gym facilities
  • a cafe.

While some regulars will look back fondly on the basic facilities provided previously, anyone familiar with London Fields Lido will know that the addition of the cafe should prove very popular, providing somewhere to socialise and warm up or cool down after a swim. (In the current weather conditions anyone enterprising enough to turn up with a supply of hot chocolate this weekend could prove very popular).

What price a swim in SE7?
Pool users will be pleased to see that prices seem to have been held since last year, but would be justified in wondering why, at £6 for a pay-on-the-door adult swim, they pay a third more than swimmers at London Fields Lido, an identically-sized pool run by the same operator. A Twitter conversation with GLL earlier revealed not a great deal more than ‘prices vary from borough’ because of differing arrangements with ‘local partners’, ‘the majority of whom are local authorities’. This is presumably a reflection of the amount of subsidy that councils provide to the operator, but we’d greatly appreciate any insight into how this arrangement works in the comments box below (particularly if you’re a local councillor!). It’s also interesting to note that when I visited London Fields Lido on a chilly January morning, it was busier than I’ve seen Charlton Lido, save for the very brief heatwave in August last year.

Overall, though, it’s great to see the return of one of London’s few heated outdoor pools; if you go this weekend, tell us what it was like (and remember to wrap up warm when you get out of the pool).

Posted in Charlton | Tagged , , | 18 Comments