The cafe was unable to open for Christmas, but scores of people helped anyway
More than 120 customers of the Old Cottage Coffee Shop in Charlton Park rallied round to help 24 elderly people have a happy Christmas, writing cards and helping to deliver food.
The cafe usually invites older people round for Christmas dinner – but with that not possible this year, it asked customers – including readers of The Charlton Champion – to help with donations of gifts, food and money, and to help drive the parcels to the recipients’ homes.
Thank you very much for your huge support and help this challenging this Christmas. The community spirit was unbelievable. Donation was £1619.50 we still can donate to the Greenwich and Bexlay hospice. You helped many people. Thank you very very much 🙇🏻 pic.twitter.com/RG1vnl2mdQ
As well as the gifts and food, 280 cards were written, and a total of £1,619 was raised – meaning £1,031 can be given to the Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice.
Help came from as far away as St Thomas a Becket primary school in Abbey Wood, whose pupils sent cards, while the Co-op in Charlton Village, Tesco in Woolwich and Hachi Sushi Grill, also in Woolwich, helped out too.
The Charlton station mural showed that good things can happen here
It’s been such a bumpy year that we missed an important date – this website’s 10th birthday. The Charlton Champion began as an experiment on October 18, 2010. Could a small slice of SE London sustain a hyperlocal website? A decade on, we’re still here. Site founder DARRYL CHAMBERLAIN looks back and says thank you.
Strange time to have a birthday – we couldn’t even meet up in the pub. But here we are, marking 10 years since The Charlton Champion appeared for the first time. Whether you began reading last week or were here when we published 10 good things about Charlton, thank you for reading.
In publishing terms, we’ve survived despite a revolution. During 2010, a rash of hyperlocal – strictly speaking, aimed at a small geographical area – websites sprang up in London. I was still running 853.london more or less as a personal blog, and had always wondered whether Charlton could sustain something of its own. So I gave it a go. The local papers weren’t great, even then, and there was a terrible weekly council propaganda rag, Greenwich Time. There was no way it could be worse than them.
A threat to the Maryon Wilson Park animals was our first big scoop
Many of those other websites are long gone – their owners lost interest or moved, or readers weren’t interested – but we’ve survived. Our first big story – Greenwich Council’s plan to stop funding Maryon Wilson animal park – got us ahead of the pack. Back then, the local press was competition – and amazingly, they did appear to take us seriously. A Charlton edition of the Mercurywas briefly launched, showing the commercial acumen which would later kill off the whole paper. And the News Shopper experimented with a Charlton Live website, which quickly turned up its toes. Now the Mercury has gone, barely missed, and few noticed the Greenwich print edition of the Shopper disappearing earlier this year. We don’t have a traditional local media left any more.
Instead, we’ve got Twitter, Facebook and Nextdoor, and those who feed from them. Social media has become an existential threat to any form of sustainable independent local publishing and to a certain extent we’re here in spite of them, not because of being able to promote our site on them. It’s striking how many do huge favours for these American giants by regularly sharing their news with them, giving them material to sell advertising around. Then they wonder why the local media struggles. A couple of years ago, I wrote to the local police to suggest they share their crime messages with us rather than on a registration-only social media site. I didn’t even get a reply.
The Old Cottage Coffee Shop is one of the best things to happen in the past decade
The Champion has kept going with lots of help, for which I’m hugely grateful. The readers who pay into PressPatron each month help us cover the bills; without Neil Clasper’s much-appreciated help in recent years, this site would probably have closed. It’s been a real treat to host Kevin Nolan’s Charlton Athletic match reports after growing up reading his write-ups in the Mercury. Champion alumni have done well – Linzi Kinghorn, who helped in the early days, is now at BBC Radio Solent; Matt Clinch is now an early riser with CNBC. Lara Ruffle Coles has gone higher than any of us, blogging from all the way up Shooters Hill. More help is always appreciated; and if you’re studying for a journalism qualification and can bring some ideas we can offer you a place to practice your skills and get a few bylines.
We’re remained unashamedly parochial – the odd sally towards Mycenae House or East Greenwich Pleasaunce notwithstanding, we don’t feature anything more than a few minutes’ walk from the boundaries of SE7; the point of this has been to help people discover their own neighbourhood, not to get in their cars or on the bus and head off elsewhere. It’s come into its own in a pandemic when people are urged to stay at home. But this does mean some fringe issues, such as the Silvertown Tunnel and Ikea, have never had the showing they maybe should have done here, because they’ve been covered for 853 instead.
We tended to ignore the retail parks, but made an exception for Primark as it recognised the local community
We’ve also tended to ignore the retail parks, even though if we slavishly covered their ins and outs we’d have healthier page views. (Our most-read stories were the ones we did around the opening of Ikea.) Most can’t even be bothered to acknowledge they’re in Charlton, and the retail parks’ design make them outwardly hostile to anyone trying to walk there. Indeed, the traffic-clogged Greenwich Shopping Park is one of the worst neighbours you could hope to have. (Fun fact: it was wondering why the hell the council was still allowing retail parks on the riverside that got me digging around local issues.) Primark Charlton invited us to their opening, though, and were absolutely lovely. And they don’t pretend to be in Greenwich either.
We kicked off with a 10 great things about Charlton list; it’d need some updating now. Blackheath FC sloped off to Eltham a few years ago, so they’re out. The Old Cottage Cafe would definitely be in there, we’d have to find room for the Village Greengrocers. The skate park has proved more popular than its backers ever hoped, and is attracting an increasingly diverse crowd – a relief after a truly dispiriting squabble over its construction. Charlton Lido has come into its own, and I suspect those who took lockdown walks there would add Maryon Wilson Animal Park. The White Swan would have been in there had it not closed with remarkably fortunate timing – its closure was the biggest non-Ikea story we’ve run on the site, a testament to the amazing work put into the place before the rent got too much.
In the next decade: More hard hats, construction, and photocalls
We’ve never been an uncritical cheerleader. Just as 10 years ago, the state of The Village remains a worry – is it us or are there more closed shops than open ones now? And what’s the plan for its future? We may be “defiantly unfashionable” (all the hipsters moved to Catford instead) but austerity, insularity and complacency continue to hold our neighbourhood back – thousands of people have moved into Charlton in the past decade and more will come, many with expertise and experience of other parts of London: where are the forums for them to feed in their ideas?
Relations with the council are better than they were 10 years ago (remember the “Royal Greenwich Lido” fiasco?); but we’re still a neighbourhood that has things done to us rather than having things done with us. If we’re to see The Village – and more besides – out of the doldrums, that has to change. For our part, we’ll keep trying to alert you to things when we can, though we’re sometimes the last to know too.
What about the next 10 years? After a few false starts, it’s highly likely we’ll have a couple of thousand new Charlton residents down by the river – the biggest question is which will get planning permission first; closely followed by whether government changes to planning laws will completely screw up a carefully-calibrated masterplan. Hopefully we can avoid the huge mistakes being made on the Greenwich Peninsula and – even worse – across the river in Silvertown, and create a community that knits into the 9,000 existing households in Charlton. Plus we’ll have a rebuilt Morris Walk Estate next to Maryon Park – the designs look good, though developer Lovell could learn a thing about talking to the community.
We wanted to do something on this mural – but ran out of time this year
Transport and infrastructure is going to remain an issue – especially with a new bit of Charlton appearing. Chronic rat-running to and from the retail parks and may see the introduction of low-traffic neighbourhoods if the council has the courage – while with even more development on the peninsula, it may be time to accept that North Greenwich tube station just ain’t all that convenient any more. And will a cycle lane on the Woolwich Road lure you into getting on your bike?
Thousands of new residents could also be an opportunity for local media – I knocked up a small print version of The Charlton Champion on an InDesign course a couple of years back and it looked great. But I juggle this with two part-time roles that can balloon out across the week, Neil squeezes his work here with a full-time job and a family. Time and resources will always be a major issue – but with enough people on board, we could do something special if there’s the demand.
And with that, time to kick 2020 into the bin where it belongs, but raise a glass to 10 years of The Charlton Champion. Here’s to the future.
Charlton Toy Library’s play room has been storing items to be sent out to families
The pandemic has forced major changes for Charlton Toy Library, which has helped families in SE7 and beyond for nearly 40 years. LAURA DAY found out more about a much-needed local charity.
When a Charlton resident was rehoused to a home without white goods, Charlton Toy Library was one of the organisations that were able to help. When a lady had triplets and needed a triple buggy, the toy library was able to get it for them thanks to support from the local community.
“Whatever we ask this local community for, they come up with it,” says Janine Khoshnevisan, the toy library’s treasurer. She describes the Charlton community as being full of kindness and empathy.
Since it was founded in 1982, Charlton Toy Library has helped families with children under five who are vulnerable, lending toys and equipment, providing an outreach service and community sessions.
This has always been its mission – to help families who Janine describes as being in “dire straits”. But 2020 turned its usual offering upside down.
While its stay and play sessions, craft mornings, storytelling and singing with Susan on a Friday morning are no longer part of the weekly calendar, the team have been working tirelessly in other ways to make sure the community knows it is still there to help. From fundraising for food vouchers and cataloguing its entire inventory, to community treasure hunts and outreach services, Charlton Toy Library has been available throughout, despite the challenges.
Based in Charlton House, it aims to help families with children under the age of five across Greenwich borough. Ordinarily, during term time, families can come to the toy library and for a very small membership fee, hire educational toys and games as well as high-quality dressing up clothes and child safety equipment such as baby monitors and stair gates.
The library lends out toys as well as equipment such as stair gates
The library has a play area too, but this has been closed since March. “We haven’t reopened the play area because we don’t feel that we can do so safely,” says Janine. It now lends more items for free to make up for the loss of the play area. The play mats have been lifted and the room is now used to store equipment that is going out to families, and those coming on for quarantine and cleaning – all part of the toy library’s new click-and-collect service, which began in the summer.
But the lending side of Charlton Toy Library reflects just half of its work. The other half is its outreach service, which has received funding from BBC Children In Need for seven years running to pay for an outreach worker, Sharon Jay. The library has just received a further two years’ funding from Children In Need, which Janine says is “absolutely fabulous”.
As the outreach worker, Sharon goes out to families, assesses their needs, and comes back to the library to load up on child safety equipment, clothing and toys. “She goes out to families that are struggling so much they would have really struggled to come in and access our main service,” says Janine, adding that Sharon will help families complete forms if English isn’t their first language. “We don’t charge them for anything whatsoever.” In the year to September 2020, Charlton Toy Library helped 117 children in 67 families through its community outreach alone.
“Outreach was a very little part of what we did maybe 20 years ago. It’s now on a par with the main service. We cannot meet demand. There are more families out there than we could possibly hope to to deal with.”
Sharon Jay – pictured here with her son, Ben – goes out to families in need of help
Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop the toy library. For the second year running, it has been fundraising to supply shopping vouchers for families in need. In the past, the library team had parcelled up food hampers and giving them out to families. This new way, Janine says, means families can shop for exactly what they need in line with their needs.
“We’ve aimed big this year and thought we’d go for £2,000,” she says. To date, the library has raised £2,580, which will buy £50 Asda vouchers for vulnerable families. “We knew there were 40 families that could do with the food. We are absolutely made up.”
The toy library ran a campaign to provide as many Christmas presents for children as possible, with toys donated through its Amazon wish list. At the last count, Sharon had delivered presents to 44 children.
While the toy library’s usual activities are on pause, it has still been able to arrange successful outdoor activities for families, with Halloween and Christmas treasure hunts in Charlton Park drawing long lines of families.
“I couldn’t see the end of the queue,” says Janine. “Nobody complained about waiting. We were expecting maybe 30 or 40 people. About 100 or 120 children turned up in the space of two hours. It was just amazing.”
While no one knows what next year will look like, Charlton Toy Library will continue its click-and-collect service for as long as it’s needed. “It just doesn’t feel the same,” says Janine. “We’re waiting to hear what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do, and adapting accordingly. It’s quite hard.”
Charlton Toy Library is also thinking about what activities it could offer outdoors, given the success of its treasure hunts. “We would dearly love to be able to reopen again,” Janine says. “If we could do an open-air singing group, that would be brilliant.”
The toy library has given assistance to 278 families in total this year, helping 423 children. For the families, it means a huge amount. “They are just absolutely bowled over by the generosity of people,” says Janine. “We can at least alleviate some of the stresses and the worries in their lives so that they can focus on trying to get themselves back on their feet.”
To find out more, to support Charlton Toy Library or become a trustee, visit charltontoylibrary.co.uk.
LAURA DAY is a freelance journalist specialising in health and wellbeing. She is based in Hither Green.
This is one of a series of stories published here and on our sister site 853 about how SE London’s communities have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic. See all the stories published so far.
Charlton’s last match of 2021 was a frustrating affair – another reminder that League One is not a walk in the park. KEVIN NOLAN was at The Valley to watch the Addicks take on Plymouth.
While appraising Charlton’s progress so far through this eerie, tier-stained campaign, it’s wise to remember the mantra that a football season – especially one spent outside the Premier League – is a marathon, not a sprint. With 18 games completed, the Addicks appear to have hit a metaphorical but negotiable wall.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that only four of those games have been lost. And that this fifth stand-off had the virtue of moving Charlton into the last promotion play-off position. That’s not bad going when weighed against the crippling list of injuries which have undermined them.
For the visit of mid-table aspirants Plymouth Argyle, Lee Bowyer performed his usual juggling trick, involving square pegs and round holes. It was a surprise to find right-back Adam Matthews starting at left-back, where his instinctive move on to his favoured foot had an awkward ripple effect on a defence already struggling to cope without the rock-like solidity of Ryan Inniss and Akin Famewo.
Matthews’ redeployment pushed Ian Maatsen into midfield, where his tireless contribution included a ferocious drive against Argyle’s crossbar in first-half added time. Meanwhile, Darren Pratley continued his yeoman service alongside Jason Pearce in central defence. But a lopsided line-up was still finding its feet when the visitors went in front.
Charlton had already survived a warning shot across their bows fired by Danny Mayor’s perceptive pass and Conor Grant’s dangerous but unrewarded cross, but the Pilgrims proved briefly irresistible. Scottish winger Ryan Hardie picked his way through a ponderous defence to reach the left byline, from which a crisp cutback left Luke Jephcott the easy task of tapping Argyle’s opener past Ben Amos. The Welshman claimed the goal which knocked the Addicks out of the FA Cup in November and was celebrating his 20th birthday on Saturday.
Clearly in relaxed mood, he scored again before the interval, but not before the home side sandwiched a party-pooper between his goals.
The equaliser just past the half hour was scruffy but not entirely unexpected. Charlton were improving but Michael Cooper kept them at bay with a smart save from Conor Washington. From the resultant right-wing corner, Jake Forster-Caskey’s inswinger was nudged on by Chuks Aneke and gleefully biffed home by Chris Gunter from all of two yards. The relief was heartfelt but lasted just four minutes.
A free kick conceded unnecessarily by Ben Watson was the beginning of Charlton’s second downfall. From a promising position on the right, Grant’s delivery was headed down by rangy defender Kelland Watts to Jephcott, who beat Amos to the loose ball and stabbed home a predator’s goal. Before the break, Maatsen’s piledriver unluckily crashed back off the crossbar. Bowyer’s post-game comment that “we played well, the better of the two teams in the first half” was, however, a subjective version of events and hard to credit. Charlton had actually come close to being outclassed and were fortunate to make it to the break just one goal behind.
Bowyer’s remark might have been justified had they been applied to the second period, because his 64th-minute introduction of Marcus Maddison for the tiring Jonny Williams tipped the balance Charlton’s way.
Maddison divides opinion with his infuriating blend of studied nonchalance and effortless class. If you seek indefatigable energy and total commitment from your midfielders, then the tattooed enigma is unlikely to win your favour. Should you, on the other hand, be willing to overlook chronic laziness in the hope of occasional flashes of genius, you’re more likely to overlook the flaws and savour the delicious moments of giddiness. Maddison’s fantastic equaliser, only three minutes after joining the fray, briefly united both schools of thought. His was a goal of unique quality and he was the only Addick capable of scoring it.
Receiving a routine pass from Maatsen. he disposed of his marker Lewis Macleod with an insouciant nutmeg to set up a shooting opportunity from fully 30 yards. The left-footed rocket he uncorked left a vapour trail as it scorched past Cooper on its way into the right corner. How to solve the dilemma that is Marcus Maddison?
In a side not exactly brimming with creative flair, start him -and work openings for his gun of a left foot to exploit. That’s one answer but there are undoubtedly others.
And there you have it at the end of the 21st century’s second decade. Charlton are still driving us nuts but you have to love ’em. We’re in it for the long haul; no sense diving overboard this late in the relationship.
See you in 2021 when the struggle resumes. Because, as they say in football, there’s always next year…
Charlton: Amos, Gunter, Pratley, Pearce, Matthews; Watson (Morgan 64), Forster-Caskey, Maatsen, Williams (Maddison 64); Aneke (Bogle 79), Washington (Smyth 88). Subs not used: Maynard-Brewer, Oshilaja, Gilbey.
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Seen the Christmas wreaths on the walled garden at Charlton House? They’ve bene placed there by the Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society, whose volunteers have been restoring the Old Pond Garden this year between the lockdowns. The society’s KATHY AITKEN explains what’s been happening.
If readers are out on a walk over Christmas, perhaps they might like to go past, admire the wreaths and peep in to see what the Old Pond Garden Volunteers have been doing to restore this lovely garden. The garden looks a bit bare and new at the moment but there is such promise for spring, when we hope the gates will open again, and 2,000 newly planted bulbs, primroses and Hellebores will brighten everyone’s view!
Our volunteer scheme to restore the Old Pond Garden was started by the Charlton & Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society in February and has been going from strength to strength this year despite the intermittent lockdowns.
Just before the latest one, we decorated the iron gates between the Old Pond Garden and the Long Borders garden at the back of Charlton House, sustained by mince pies from the Charlton Bakehouse. The garden is perfect to work outdoors and be able to keep a safe social distance but still manage to be sociable!
Our volunteers have been a fantastic support all this year and have had lots of fun in between doing some very serious weeding and pruning. The beautiful new planting scheme for the garden is by Charlton garden designer Jason Carty, and helped by the recent mild weather, we have got some beds fully planted up already. There is much to look forward to, and that is so important at the moment!
New volunteers are welcome, any gardening ability, details are on our website. The scheme will start up again once Tier 4 restrictions are lifted.
You can find out more about the Old Pond Garden project at cahbas.com.
A few weeks back, we mentioned the St Luke’s and St Thomas’ churches were asking people to leave messages that could go on their Christmas trees. Well, the trees are up, and at St Luke’s, it’s good to see some familiar names on them. Something to take a look at if you’re having a Christmas Day walk…
An update from Greenwich Council’s public health team on the developing coronavirus situation…
As of yesterday, there were 1,188 confirmed new cases of coronavirus in Greenwich borough. Cases are increasing rapidly across London and the South East, and this is happening in Greenwich too. We need to tackle this increase by following the guidance explained in this update.
87 people are in hospital right now in Greenwich because of coronavirus. Although this may seem a relatively low number, to have to go to hospital because of coronavirus means your case is very serious. We need to make sure that this number doesn’t rise, and eventually ends up at 0 by following the guidance in this update and supporting each other.
As you will be aware, the situation has developed significantly in the past week. Coronavirus cases have continued to accelerate very quickly, a new strain of the virus has emerged, and the government has placed much of the country, including Greenwich, in the highest Tier 4 restrictions.
Everyone needs to stay at home, except for essential activities.
For those who were planning to celebrate Christmas, Tier 4 changes mean you will probably not be celebrating the way you had intended. We hope that for those celebrating, and those not, there is an opportunity to at least get some rest over the next couple of weeks.
Thank you for all your involvement and hard work over the past few months – we could not have made the progress we have without you, and we thank you for helping to keep our communities safe at this difficult time. Here’s hoping for a happier 2021! Take care and stay safe, and we look forward to continuing to do lots of good work together in January.
Mental health support
Whether or not Christmas is part of your life, your mental health might be affected by it happening around you. It’s a time of year that often puts extra pressure on us, and can affect our mental health in lots of different ways. This year especially may be even harder due to the effects of coronavirus.
Mind has some great information specifically around coping with mental health at Christmas, and also specifically around Coronavirus and Christmas: mind.org.uk
Live Well Greenwich also has lots of local support, advice and information if you, or someone you love, are struggling at this time of year. Visit the Look After You hub for local support, ranging from top tips and self-help to support if you’re struggling to cope with difficult feelings or behaviours. livewellgreenwich.org.uk
You can also call 0800 470 4831 to talk to a friendly, local advisor. Open every day 8.30am – 6pm, but closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Sunday 27th December, New Year’s Day and Sunday 3rd January.
Getting tested for coronavirus
If you have coronavirus symptoms: (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste), even if they’re only mild, it’s important to get a test and stay at home until you get your result. Please go to gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test. If you have problems using the online service, cal 119. Lines are open 7am to 11pm.
Testing is not available at the Emergency Department at the hospital or at your GP practice, so please do not attend here trying to get a test.
Support if you test positive and have to self-isolate
If your test result is positive, you and your household will need to stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days. (This has changed from 14 days.) This is important to stop the virus spreading and to keep your community safe.
This can be stressful and worrying when you need to go to work. If you are unable to claim sick-pay from your employer and are a low income household, a one-off £500 payment may be available from the government to support you and your family during these 14 days. Find out if you are eligible to apply for this payment or call 0800 470 4831.
Training available
If you’re interested in helping your community through volunteering, a short training programme is available to introduce and prepare volunteers for the role of Neighbourhood Champion. This is an opportunity to learn, ask questions, share information and practice.
For more information, please email victoria.smith[at]royalgreenwich.gov.uk.
The Charlton Champion 