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.
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.
The 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…
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.
(This information is now out of date – see this post on 853 for 2013’s route)
Charlton Champion exclusive: Plans for this year’s Run To The Beat half-marathon will cut off Sunday footballers in Charlton Park and Meridian Sports Club, this website can reveal.
The route proposed by organisers will enclose Charlton Park on three sides and cut off access to the adjacent Meridian Sports Club. Both are used by scores of Sunday morning footballers each morning.
Run to the Beat, run commercially to promote a sportswear firm, has run every year since 2008, but has been regularly criticised by locals for poor communication and its road closures, as its circular route effectively shuts in residents in parts of Greenwich, Blackheath, Charlton and Woolwich for most of the day.
Greenwich Council ignored a resolution from local Labour Party members to give the race the go-ahead without full consultation. The council later admitted “errors” had been made in organising the race.
This year’s race – scheduled for 8 September – was launched on Monday, but full details of the route have not been publicly revealed, apart from a decision to reverse the direction of the route, divert it away from Woolwich town centre and to start/finish it in Greenwich Park.
However, this website has seen plans which involve a change of route through Charlton, so the race avoids The Village to run via Charlton Road, Hornfair Road, Canberra Road, Charlton Park Lane, Cemetery Road and Little Heath. It then continues into Woolwich via Hillreach, Repository Road, Ha Ha Road, Grand Depot Road, John Wilson Street and Woolwich Church Street. Route maps indicate possible short diversions in the route at Royal Artillery Barracks and Artillery Place.
Back into Charlton, the race will run via Woolwich Road, Anchor & Hope Lane and Bugsby’s Way, before heading onto the Greenwich peninsula, where the route is not yet clear.
Race organisers IMG told the News Shopper newspaper that the loss of the route through Woolwich town centre would be made up by using Greenwich Park. However, it appears encircling Charlton Park is also part of the plan to avoid using Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal development.
Local councillors have been in discussions with them over the route, trying to persuade organisers to switch to a route which would not cut residents off. Organisers plan to repoen roads around Charlton Park at 11.45am and Woolwich Road at 1.20pm.
Organisers would only send out a generic launch press release when asked for details of the route. A petition against the race route has been launched by Charlton resident and Labour Party activist Annie Keys, while local councillors are keen to hear feedback.
Paul the Royal Oak quizmaster has a message for you…
Hello everyone. Just a quick reminder that the Indie Pub Quiz returns for its record breaking second outing this Saturday (23rd) at The Royal Oak on Charlton Lane. The first attempt in January was a glorious and highly enjoyable shambles. This time we are going one better by actually playing Indie music and not having to make do with a drunk bloke at the bar singing Tom Jones covers, although it was good of my Dad to try and help.
The quiz starts at 8pm sharp so get there beforehand to secure a decent seat. Teams were supposedly capped at 4 last time but in reality it was tough to tell groups of 5 they had to split so, in a new twist, this time teams can be up to 6 people but each person over 4 (I mean the number in the team, not in age) will incur a 3 point penalty. So for instance team of six has a numerical advantage but starts on minus 6. Fair? Let me know in the comments.
As before cost is £2 per person and money raised goes to local causes as yet unconfirmed. If you are don’t have a full team let me know via the contact details below and I will put you with a team of – guaranteed – lovely people.
Northern Soul Night!
But the exciting Charlton entertainment news doesn’t stop there folks. Following on from the success of the first quiz, Landlady June has let us loose on her pub again and on March 29th I am very excited to announce The Royal Oak will play host to – I think – Charlton’s first Northern Soul night! Local DJ and man about town Ed Simmons will be selecting the floor stompers and we’ve agreed a new lighting strategy with June – no longer will planes be attempting to land in the bar,
instead the mood will be mellow and moody. Nice.
Both the events above are part of a concerted attempt to get at least one Charlton pub doing something a bit different to the norm so your continued support is much appreciated. If you want to get in touch with me with any questions either respond in the comments or you can
find me on Twitter (@CharltonPubQuiz) or by email – paul@redhotbelgian.com.
Thanks for reading,
Paul
Thanks for writing, Paul. A Charlton Champion-powered team won the first quiz, but will any of the CC writers be able to repeat the triumph?
A word from Annie, who runs The Big Red Bus Club for under-fives….
The government is changing the way welfare benefits are calculated and paid including:
– Working tax credit
– ‘Bedroom tax’ (housing benefit and council tax)
– Statutory maternity pay
– Child benefit and Child tax credit
– Crisis loans
– The Health In Pregnancy grant
– Disability benefits
– ‘Granny tax’ – freeze to age related payments
And much more. Come and find out more this Friday — with toys, teas, coffees and 1-2-1 sessions tailored to you.
The Big Red Bus Club was founded by local mums in the wake of council cutbacks in 2011. If you’re a local parent and worried about benefit changes, here’s where to find it…
The Charlton Champion 