Month: May 2013

The Guardian on ‘defiantly unfashionable’ Charlton

Darryl Chamberlain7 Comments

Cherry Orchard Estate

“Estate agents have started calling it Charlton Village.”

Hmmm. But for a series that’s usually written without ever setting foot into the place in question, the Guardian weekend magazine’s Let’s Move To… Charlton is unusually bang on the money.

Charlton has fine schools, magnificent views from its rolling hillside, great transport links to central London, leafy parks such as Maryon Wilson and, at its heart, what was once a Kentish village, with old church, ye olde pubbe, village green and a Jacobean stately home, Charlton House. Its little high street contains useful shops that in other, posher spots might have been turned into candle purveyors and poodle parlours. There is no Starbucks. Its homes are well built and affordable. Plus it has an (almost) restored lido. Heated water, too. Beat that, Blackheath.

Indeed, who needs Starbucks now there’s The Old Cottage Cafe and Brew & Choo? But what did the Guardian miss out? Share your thoughts…

Visit Charlton Manor Primary School on Open Garden Squares Weekend

Neil Clasper

The annual Open Garden Squares Weekend takes place 8-9 June, and Charlton Manor Primary School are opening their doors to the public to show off their Secret Garden.

Charlton Manor Primary School pupils work with the gardener
Charlton Manor Primary School pupils work with the gardener

Headmaster Tim Baker writes:

Visitors will get a tour of the garden and a talk about how the garden is used to support the curriculum. For those that wish we will also give a tour of the children’s kitchen.There will be tea and cakes available on the day. The cakes are made from produce in the garden, ie eggs, honey, carrots etc.

The Secret Garden at Charlton Manor is hidden behind the dinner centre. It provides the children with a quiet area to go at break times and at other times during the day when they may have difficulties concentrating in class. It is packed with learning opportunities and as well as having allotments, a greenhouse and raised beds it also has 4 bee hives, a chicken run home to 10 chickens of different breeds, a stag beetle environment, a composting area containing 4 different composting methods including a wormery, a hide for bird watching, a bird box with cameras linked to the internet, a wildlife area together with pond and an area for conducting investigations using computers such as pond dipping. The children use it through most of the curriculum. Much of the produce is used in the school’s newly built teaching kitchen, enabling them to understand how this all fits with healthy eating.

Champion readers may have seen the school featured on BBC News recently, as they contributed to a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Pupils have been attending the show and manning a stand to tell the public about the plants they grew, and have been visited by a number or members of the royal family and celebrities visiting the garden.

This correspondent went along to the school’s Open Garden event last year and enjoyed the experience very much (the cake was particularly good). Why not call by to see what’s going on in this green-fingered corner of SE7?

The address:

Charlton Manor Primary School
Indus Road
London
SE7 7EF

Singer/songwriter Peter Swaffield at St Thomas Church

Darryl Chamberlain

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.

Give Windrush Charlton school a crossing patrol

Darryl Chamberlain6 Comments

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.

Ready for three years of train pain from Charlton?

Darryl Chamberlain2 Comments

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.