In other local film news, the 3rd annual Charlton & Woolwich Free Film Festival will take place September 7th-15th, in venues around the area; we’ve heard rumours that Charlton House and the White Swan pub will be involved again this year and are looking forward to hearing the full line-up. You can keep up to date with film announcements – and get involved with the festival – via their Twitter account.
After years as a council pipedream, then a much-delayed period of planning and construction, the Thames Path’s “missing link” between the Thames Barrier in Charlton and King Henry’s Wharf in Woolwich will finally open next week.
Greenwich Council cabinet member Denise Scott-McDonald and City Hall walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman will open a link between the two sections of path on Wednesday 20 June at 3.30pm. (Want to go? Sign up here, and thanks to Greenwich Council for letting us know.)
The pathway – which includes a ramp from the Thames Barrier site into the adjacent industrial estate, and an elevated path at Warspite Road on the Woolwich side – will end years of aggravation for walkers and cyclists who have had to divert onto the unpleasant Woolwich Road when travelling along the Thames.
It also removes one of the few significant blockages of south-east London’s stretch of Thames Path – including an almost-interrupted riverside pathway (save for one or two blocks) through Greenwich borough from Deptford Green to Thamesmead – and makes it easier for people to cycle from riverside parts of Woolwich and Thamesmead to North Greenwich station.
However, signs on the route indicate it will only be available from 6am to 9pm. Signs also eventually indicate it will be added to Quietway 14, a cycling route from Blackfriars Road to Canada Water station.
Although someone may need to change the spelling mistake on the signs before it opens…
Not long til new elevated cycle and walking route opens up next to Thames Barrier to avoid Woolwich Road detour. Signs for Q14 route been Woolwich & Peninsular [sic] are up. pic.twitter.com/HTYpOWVZ6R
We’ve picked up the baton. Our mums have designed the service that they want to tackle postnatal isolation and loneliness.
Together we take a positive whole family approach to good mental health. The Baby Blues Choir brings together a parent- led stay and play, post-natal peer help & support and of course free choir lessons.
One in eight mums live with post-natal depression and many more live with isolation and loneliness.
The Big Red Bus Club is a charitable family wellbeing centre, free to use and run by local people and families.
If you fancy singing your heart out, join the Big Red Bus Club each Friday from 10am to noon during term times.
June’s here, which means ParksFest season has started across Greenwich borough. Charlton Park will host the Great Get Together on 24 June, with a range of entertainment including World Cup-themed live music and workshops from Global Fusion Music and Arts, the Great Charlton Cake Off with Greenwich Clandestine Cake Club, and well-being activities organised by the Big Red Bus Club.
It’s your chance to visit one of the area’s hidden gems this weekend – the Thames-Side Studios Open Weekend. Tucked away on the river at the Charlton/Woolwich border, it’s full of fascinating artists and you’ll definitely come out having discovered something new. But don’t just take my word for it….
Thames-Side Studios is the largest single-site studio provider in the UK. With nearly 500 studios we are home to an impressive array of artists, makers and designers, and this is a unique opportunity to meet them, talk about what they do, and to buy directly from their studios.
Painting and drawing, fashion design, carpentry, jewellery, millinery, photography, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and installation, tailoring, leather work, picture framing, stained glass making, writing, upholstery, illustration, shoe making, textiles, conservation and restoration, lutherie, graphic design, furniture making, film and video, skin care, architecture, wood working, laser cutting, clock making, product design, book binding, and much more.
A memorial dedicated to those who worked on London, Kent and Essex’s flood defences has been unveiled today at the Thames Barrier.
The sculpture, at the entrance to the barrier’s control centre, was designed by a team led by senior technical advisor Jas Dhariwal, with materials coming from firms who already supply the barrier team.
It provides a permanent place for family and friends to remember and reflect on those who contributed to the work of the Thames tidal defences, but who have now passed away.
Work began on the Thames Barrier in 1974, following 1953’s catastrophic flooding from the North Sea. The barrier opened in 1984, but is one of only a series of defences along the Thames, including barriers on the River Roding at Barking and River Darent at Dartford.
“I think that everyone who has contributed in delivering this special memorial have done a wonderful job, in providing a lasting tribute to colleagues who are no longer with us,” Barrier engineering manager Steve East said.
Original Thames Barrier design engineer Dick Tappin speaking at the inauguration of the memorial today
The barrier’s visitor centre is due to reopen later this month after a major refurbishment, while a test closure is scheduled for this Monday (4 June) between 10.35am and 1.05pm. Tours are also available for small groups. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/the-thames-barrier.
Prize guys: Andrew Donkin, Eoin Colfer and Giovanni Rigano
A graphic novel about a boy’s epic journey to Europe co-written by a Charlton author has won a prestigious book award in Ireland.
Illegal, written by Eoin Colfer and SE7-based Andrew Donkin, and with illustrations by Giovanni Rigano, scooped the Judges’ Special Award at the Children’s Books Ireland Awards in Dublin yesterday.
Judges said: “This timely and powerful graphic novel charts a young boy’s journey across the Sahara Desert on the long, dangerous trek towards Italy and the potential for a new life there and reunion with his sister.
“This affecting book weaves together real stories of migration with immersive, naturalistic illustrations and carefully paced, minimalistic text. Combining intensity with accessibility, this is an important book that will stimulate important conversations and reflection about human rights, inclusion, solidarity, and prejudice.”
The trio, who have previously worked on adaptating Colfer’s sci-fi fantasy series Artemis Fowl as graphic novels, have picked up a string of plaudits for Illegal, which was published last year.
Colfer collected the prize at the Irish capital’s Smock Alley Theatre.
The Guardian called the book “a deeply affecting and thought-provoking account of the 21st-century refugee experience”.
Huge congratulations to @EoinColfer et al who have won the special judges award 2018 @KidsBooksIrel for a book that judges say ‘will stimulate important conversation & reflection about human rights, inclusion, solidarity & prejudice’ 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/PaGRa7rod2
Donkin said the inspiration for the book came from seeing a small news report of a migrants’ boat sinking in the Mediterranean, killing scores of people: “It seemed extraordinary that thousands of people were dying on Europe’s doorstep and there was hardly a mention in mainstream media at the time.
“When a sinking was mentioned it was just in terms of numbers – no individuals, no personalities, no names. Eoin, Giovanni and I decided that we wanted to take one of those numbers and tell their story.
“What we wanted to do was to ask our readers to see each of those numbers as a human being with a favourite colour and a favourite football team just like them.”
He added: “We knew straight away that we wanted to tell the story of Illegal as a graphic novel. Graphic novel just means a posh comic and it brings a wry smile to the faces of life-long comic readers who remember buying comics on grubby newsprint for five pence when they were a kid. We wanted to reach an audience that wouldn’t pick up a broadsheet newspaper.
“Eoin and I did more research for the writing of Illegal than for any other book. We read everything that we could find, attended conferences, and conducted interviews with people who had made the journey as well as aid workers.
“We were determined to get every detail as accurate as we possibly could. We worked closely with two fantastic charities: Women For Refugee Women and Migrant Voice. Hearing the stories of the people that they help was incredibly humbling and also a great motivator for the three of us.”
The book has already been translated into 10 different languages – and has also been a hit in France – and is due to be published in the US in August.
The Charlton Champion 