London Marathon 2011 – from start to finish
Meet Charlton’s German baker – every Saturday
Something you might not be aware of, especially if Saturday mornings are non-existent to you. Stefan (pictured), your friendly German baker, drives his van from its base in Kingston all the way to our neck of the woods.
Stefan explains that the only reason he started coming to Charlton was because “three years ago a German lady in this road asked us to make this our very first selling point”. In fact, looking at his website that’s exactly what lots of other people have been doing. Over the years Stefan has increased his circuit of London to over fifty stops a week – all because people can send him these requests. Do you reckon I could ask him to park further down the hill to save my legs?
But joking aside, Stefan offers freshly baked bread at a very convenient time and location. 8.00am – 9.20am on Saturday mornings means a quick weekend stroll is now one of my main priorities. I can assure you the bread ist wunderbar and is sold by its percentage of rye content. Another must is the pretzels (pictured) not to mention the extensive array of cakes – try the plum crumble.
Take a trip this weekend and you won’t look back. He’s very approachable and is willing to explain any of the German delights that his van has to offer. But remember to get there before 9.20am or else he may have whisked off to his only other South East London stop – Forest Hill. Here’s a map of where he plots so you don’t waste vital time wandering aimlessly. Fantastisch….
Open mic comedy night at Charlton House
This summer’s Horn Fayre seems to have survived the cuts, and organisers are getting ready for it by holding an open mic comedy night at Charlton House on Friday from 7.30pm.
The winner will be offered a chance to perform at the Horn Fayre in June, and all proceeds from the event will go to the Samaritans.
Audience tickets cost £5 – you’ll have to bring your own drink – and to register, call 8856 3951 or e-mail charlton.house@greenwich.gov.uk.
Sainsburys depot exhbition this Thursday
Plans to redevelop the Sainsburys depot at the end of Anchor and Hope Lane will be revealed at a public exhibition this week.
The supermarket chain plans to replace its current distribution centre with “a more efficient warehouse facility” with a new energy centre, vehicle wash and “fuel island”.
The exhibition takes place at The Valley on Thursday between 4pm and 8pm.
Charlton misses out on Countdown bus stops
Many Charlton bus users will lose out when Transport for London starts to replace its Countdown screens at bus stops across the capital.
The current system, which dates back to the 1980s, is being replaced with a new one based on the same GPS technology behind the automatic announcements recently rolled on London buses. Passengers will also be able to get bus times by text message for a 12p fee.
But not all stops will get the new screens – only selected stops will get them, and many stops which currently have the old Countdown boards will miss out.
In Charlton, stops around Charlton station and near Charlton Lane will get the new service, as well as stops by the shopping parade on Shooters Hill Road.
But no boards will be provided on Charlton Road, The Village, Charlton Park Road or Hillreach, meaning users of the busy 53, 54 and 422 routes will miss out. TfL says the locations were decided after discussions with each borough. The nearest screens on those routes will be at Blackheath Royal Standard and Woolwich town centre.
Nearby, Greenwich and Lewisham town centres, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Blackheath Village will also get the new screens, which will be introduced over the next two years. More details and maps are on the TfL website.
Heated pool for Charlton Lido, but no swimming this summer
Charlton Lido’s future is looking brighter after Greenwich Leisure Limited took on its lease in a deal which took effect on Wednesday evening.
GLL, which runs Greenwich Council’s leisure facilities as well as scores of others around London, took on the lease from failed company Open Waters Investments, which had promised to turn the facility in Hornfair Park into a diving centre.
The diving centre plans are now on the back burner, with the council now wanting to see a 50-metre heated pool at Charlton Lido open in time for summer 2012.
Work would have to begin this summer, meaning swimmers will have to wait for an open-air dip – just as they did when negotiations with doomed Open Waters were taking place in the summer of 2009.
The new lido scheme now depends on planning permission being granted by the council’s planning board in May, as well as raising funds from London mayor Boris Johnson’s community sports fund.
Planning permission was renewed earlier this month for the diving centre scheme, which collapsed after Open Waters failed to secure funding for the project. The council is now concentrating on creating a heated pool at the site which would be open all year round. The entire scheme, including plans for a BMX track in Hornfair Park, is due to cost £2.8m.
In response to a question from Conservative leader Spencer Drury, Culture and Olympics cabinet member John Fahy told Wednesday’s council meeting that the deal to transfer the lido to GLL – which had operated it before the doomed Open Waters deal – had only been signed at 5pm on Wednesday.
“With a fair wind, and subject to a funding opportunity from the mayor’s fund, and a contribution from Greenwich Leisure; we anticipate the lido will form a 50-metre heated pool, and we hope to have that up and running in advance of 2012,” Cllr Fahy said.
“We anticipate the refurbishment is likely to be in the region of £2.8m, and as a consequence, we don’t anticipate the lido will be open this summer, because the contractors will be on site as early as possible in the summer.”
Hear John Fahy’s full response to Spencer Drury’s question:
Japan earthquake fundraiser at Charlton House
There’s a thriving Japanese language school in the upstairs rooms at Charlton House. Ever wanted to learn Japanese? You can give it a try there for free, since it has students learning how to teach it as a second language. It’s a place we hope to return to in the coming weeks.
Naturally, though, many of its students’ thoughts have been elsewhere. So the school’s doing its bit to help, with a fundraising day this Saturday…
There’ll be origami and Japanese calligraphy workshops, a Japanese bazaar, sushi tasting and martial arts demonstrations. If you’ve got some time to spare on Saturday, it looks like a good way to spend an hour or so for a very good cause.
The Charlton Champion 