Horniman Museum having a facelift

Yesterday I took the children for an Easter holiday visit to the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill. It's a great favourite of ours and is a fantastic resource for families in South London. Luckily I didn't take a picnic because unfortunately we were greeted with this scene, approaching the picnic benches and mini-zoo area.

It's as shame I didn't see anything obvious on the website about this. All the gardens and grassed areas were fenced off and out-of bounds. So now you know.

(I now see that "The Horniman has secured a significant part of the funding needed for the £2.3m upgrade of the Gardens, due for completion in Spring 2012. This includes a grant of £978,500 from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund, as well as support from a number of other funders. We still have £150,000 to raise and are seeking support from the community to fulfil the project." You can see the new plans for the grounds here.)

Gripe over and despite this though, we had a great day. The Museum is mostly free remember, with only certain sections charging an admission fee.

The kids joined the 'family fun activity' of making Balinese masks to chime in with their current exhibition (the paying bit), 'Bali: dancing for the Gods' (until Jan 2012). Here are their creations - my son obviously went for a union jack/royal wedding theme...

The other bit now charging admission, previously free, is the Aquarium - it's a small charge and understandable given the Museum's funding challenges ahead.

Instead of enjoying the Museum grounds we popped across the road to the great playground, sandpit and large grassed area. The kids spent ages there - I enjoyed a coffee from the cafe and almost managed to read the whole of my New Statesman (that's not happened for many years!).

Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ.

Previous post about Horniman museum:  Myths and Monsters

Greenwich Soul Choir sings

We spent a lovely hour or so at the Tudor Barn, in Eltham, this afternoon. We popped down to hear the Greenwich Soul Choir give their Spring concert, free but donations in aid of the Marie Curie Cancer Care Daffodil appeal.

The choir is run by the very talented Abi Gilchrist, Blackheath-born singer and song-writer who has made a career in jazz, pop and soul.

The 16 or so amateur singers gave a wonderful performance of the mixed programme of songs shown here (to get better view, click to enlarge), accompanied on most numbers by piano. The choir was a mixture of ages, and talents, mostly women, I spotted two male singers. They were much appreciated by the audience at this perfect venue for such an event.

I imagine it takes a lots of bravery to get up and perform like this. If you'd like to have a go, the choir is recruiting for their next 12-week term which begins 10 May 2011. They rehearse every Tuesday evening at the Eltham Green Community Church Hall, 7.30-9.30pm (£5 per session). Contact greenwichsoul@gmail.com.

Eltham and SE London events - April (2)

More random local events:

Saturday 16 April 2011
The Plumstead Make Merry Association hosts a benefit bash on April 16 from 7.30pm at the Greenwich Rugby Club Pavilion, Plumstead Common.Funds are being raised after Greenwich Council cut the funding for this festival.
Entry will cost £5 at the door and all proceeds will go towards supporting the festival.  There will be karaoke, disco and fun and games.

Saturday 23 Apr 2011
Fair, Food Fair, Fun Day
Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, 3 Erith High Street, London DA8 1QY
Erith Riverside Shopping Centre are holding an Easter Fair on Saturday 23rd of April. There will also be an animal farm, a face painter and a variety of stalls.

Sunday 22 April
11am and 4.30pm. 
Children’s activities at William's Morris' former Bexleyheath home over Easter. The Red House will be hosting a free medieval card-making activity in the gardens of the house on Good Friday between 11am and 4.30pm. Children will use stamps, stencils and colour-in designs to make their own illuminated  manuscript. Also Easter eggs trails. (read more)
at Red House Ln, Bexleyheath, Kent DA6 8JF
Tel: 020 8304 9878

Sunday 24 Apr 2011
Easter Egg Hunt
Well Hall Pleasaunce, Well Hall Road, Eltham London SE9
Open to all children up to age 10 years, 11am to 1pm

Sunday, April 24 and Monday 25, from 10am until 5pm 
Easter egg hunt
Eltham Palace are hosting  the special event on Sunday, April 24 and Monday 25, from 10am until 5pm - an Easter egg hunt with a chance to win a real golden egg.
Tickets cost £9.30 for adults, £5.60 for children and it is free for English Heritage members. In total, 27 English Heritage properties across the country will be hosting the special event during the Easter holidays, to be in with a chance of winning the one special egg. But each child taking part will also receive a chocolate one. Read more here.
at Court Yard, Eltham, London SE9 5QE

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Lost Boys

Cinema in a tent, on Blackheath
7:30 PM (doors open 7 PM). £12.50
Zippos Circus, Blackheath Common, Shooters Hill Rd,  London SE3 0TY

Friday 29 April 2011
Royal 'knees up', royal wedding event
"Arranged by The Friends of Halstow School, Pistachios in the Park café, and the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce, the event offers the chance for locals to come along to this secluded, beautiful park and share what’s set to be a most memorable occasion.

The event is scheduled to start at 11am and run through to 9pm.  All are welcome and children are encouraged to come in Royal fancy dress.  Guests are invited to bring a picnic dish-to-share, gazebos, picnic chairs & tables and there is a fun-packed itinerary for both children and adults alike.
As well as a music marquee and a TV-screening of the Royal Wedding itself, events will include:  a crown-making competition for children and a Royal cake-making competition for adults with prizes from the O2.  Family games including old favourites like the ‘tug-of-war’ will commence at 2pm, with afternoon tea at 4pm, a BBQ at 5pm, leading up to a children's disco from 5-7pm, followed by chill-out music for adults from 7-9pm.

Friday 29 April
Watch the Royal Wedding on the Big Screen.
Coverage starts at 10.00am, ceremony at 11.00am
This is a free screening and everyone is welcome - reserve your seats in person at the Box Office or on 0871 902 5732
This will be followed by a special screening of The King's Speech (12A) at 15.45

at 180 Greenwich High Rd, Greenwich, London SE10 8, UK

Family Cabaret at Greenwich Dance Agency

Dancers from the Attakkalari Centre

Last Saturday afternoon we went to the Family Cabaret at the Greenwich Dance Agency (GDA) at the Greenwich Borough Hall, an event part of the Greenwich Children's Theatre Festival.  The blurb implored us to "Bring your baby brother, your Gran and the next door neighbour’s guinea pig for an afternoon of bite-sized bits of dance, circus and music".

And so we thought we'd give it a try. And we really enjoyed it. The 3.15pm event, for one and half hours, really suited us as a family of two live-performance-starved adults, and an eight and a six year old. Tickets cost us £35 in total, though large groups are invited 'to haggle'. The set up, in the first floor hall, was round tables dotted around the floor-level dance space, with cushions scattered around for younger children to sit on. A bar was set up and the audience were free to drink and snack, including BYO.

It was a very convivial space for a family to watch a performance.  We had the pleasure of the Mayor of Greenwich, Barbara Barwick, joining us on our table, complete with mayoral chain. She chatted easily to us and the children, explaining how her husband couldn't make it. A thoroughly nice women I thought.

Compered by a child-friendly act from the Levantes Dance Theatre, we watched a variety of eight pieces. Amongst them, two pieces by two powerful dancers from the Attakkarlari Centre in Bangalore - their contemporary powerful and pared-down style was reminiscent for me of something of Akram Kham, a current British-Asian dancer. Ajeesh and Santhosh managed to create through their second piece a mounting sense of tension and sustain it to a single percussive beat. They'll also be performing as part of the South Bank's Alchemy programme just starting there.

Another highlight was the coup by the GDA in securing two dancers from the English National Ballet. James Forbat and Fernanada Oliveira (right) danced 'Trois Gnossiennes' in a modern classical style. It was utterly haunting - just listen to this music, by composer Eric Satie, to which they danced (I have every day, ever since!). Their power, grace and drama left me stunned, then very moved, and then I remembered to breathe (but good dance does that to me!)

The programme was also balanced by swing jazz  dance from Lewisham College (with their devoted Principal Maxine Room spotted in the audience clearly delighted by them), some GwoKa from Guadaloupe, a pair of dancing lampshades and the High Rollaz with their thrilling hip-hoppy 'jamskating' act.

It really was a fabulous afternoon. The GDA makes good use of the 1930s ex-town hall building, where my lovely parents-in-law, then Greenwich dwellers, had their wedding reception many decades ago...  Sure, there were some slight (but only slight) 'community project' moments but there was also lots of high-quality dance. I would definitely sign up when it comes round again. For those aghast at the thought of all those kids in the audience (all hardly noticeable btw), the GDA also have evening cabaret events - next one on Friday 21 May, 7.30pm.

Camping again

Latest addition to the family

Hubby has just bought this tent. It's a serious tent. I think this means we'll be going camping some day soon. Oh lordy lordy.

It's a step, or two, up from our previous 'starter' tent - you can see that and read about our earlier camping experiences here:
Carry on Camping
Camping it up again
(yes I'm running out of camping puns now)

and you might be interested in this post: A socialist's guide to camping, (including the fan mail at the end of it...)

Any suggestions for interesting family camping places in the UK?

Rest assured though that I shall be insisting on a 'proper' holiday too. A girl's got to plug her straightners in somewhere...

Eltham and SE London events - April (1)

More random Eltham (and nearby) events:

Fri 1 April and Tues 26 April
Things that go BUMP in the night!
Woodlands Farm event, following nocturnal animals.
Children must be accompanied, 7.30pm to 9.30pm. £1 per person.
331 Shooters Hill, Welling DA16 3RP

Saturday 2nd of April 2011

Charity Event for TOHOKU region heavily damaged by the earthquake

Time 12.30-16.00

at Charlton House SE7 8RE

Saturday 2 April 2011
‘Simply Entertaining’
Evening of comedy and music. Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road. Tucker and Shane Hampsheir. 2.30pm and 7.30pm. £14.50 - £11.50

Friday 8 April
Open Mic Night 
Charlton House is running a comedy club for one night only in a hunt for the best local amateur comedian. £5 tickets. BYO drinks. 7.30 - 11.00pm
Charlton House, Charlton Road, Charlton SE7 8RE
To participate or buy tickets: 020 8856 3951

9 April 2011 from 11 to 4pm

Greenwich live
Friends of Greenwich Park are holding wildlife free open day on April 9 from 11 to 4pm. Events incl guided walks, puppet shows, craft.

Sat 9 April
Elmer the Elephant
Stage adaptation of the children's book. 11am
Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hills, Greenwich SE10 8ES
Tel 020 8858 7755

Sat 9 - Sat 23 April 2011
Hunt the Golden Eggs Competition
Can you find 12 golden eggs hidden in shop windows around Eltham Town Centre?
Full details at the Eltham Centre. Free
The Eltham Centre, 2 Archery Road, Eltham SE9 1HA

Sun 10 April 2011
Spring at the Tarn
Guided walk with Friends of the Tarn. Flowerpot painting and seed planting for children.
Light refreshments. Free. 2 - 4pm
The Tarn, Court Road, Mottingham SE9 5AQ
Tel  07729 364506
[they seem to have a new website - www.thetarn.org - including an events page]

13-16 April 2011
Anything Goes
Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road, Eltham
Sidcup Operatic Society will be presenting Anything Goes 13-16 April at the Bob Hope Theatre, Eltham. Evening performances start at 7:45pm with the Saturday matinee at 2:30pm. Tickets cost £12.50 and £10.50 for concessions. Contact Details: 020 8301 2681

Sat 16 April 2011

Eltham Centre Monster Day

Build a giant monster and win monster prizes, apparently. Children's author and artist Guy Bass will be there. Free. Drop in anytime from 9.30am to 4.30pm
The Eltham Centre, 2 Archery Road, Eltham SE9 1HA
Tel  020 8921 5641

Sunday 17 Apr 2011

London Marathon
9.45am Main Start, Greenwich Park Blackheath. Popular viewing areas include Greenwich,  Tower Bridge, Victoria Embankment and The Mall. 40,000 Runners and one million spectators expected.  

Sunday 17 April
Vegetable growing
Practical workshop by Growing Greenwich. Well Hall Pleasaunce
2pm. Details 07894 711765

Sunday 17 April
‘Swing Commanders’,
1940s swing band. Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road. www.bobhopetheatre.co.uk. £13 (£12 conc). 8pm

23, 27-28, 30 April, 1 May 2011
The Tragedy of Macbeth, by River productions - Charlton House 


River Productions presents The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, at the Charlton House, a grade 1 listed manor house built in 1607 for Sir Adam Newton, the tutor of James I’s son Henry, in south east London,

This tale of murder, betrayal and ultimate downfall is presented with the witches played as children. The world of the play is their domain and everything in it is theirs to control, manipulate and play with, as 'all is but toys' With the design inspired by graphic novels, River Productions shows the dark inner workings of a child’s mind in the form of the three weird sisters. Using movement and physical theatre, sound and light, this interactive performance takes a fresh, new approach to one of Shakespeare’s most popular stories.


23 Apr 2011 
Vaisakhi, Canary Wharf London  
Saturday. 14:00 -17:00 Cabot Square. Bhangra music, dance, Sikh martial arts and delicious food. NuSound Radio live from the event. Free entrance.
[A Guide to Vaisakhi By John Roath] 

LOOKING AHEAD:

Sunday 22 May, from 9.30am
Greenwich’s grand inter-Children’s Centre championship five-a-side football tournament.
It's time for dads to start registering for this tournament.

The tournament will be held at:
Charlton School
Charlton Park Road
London SE7 8HX.
There will be a trophy, match tickets and a ground tour donated by Charlton Athletic’s CARE Partnership. Email: dads@greenwich.gov.uk or tel: 020 8921 6921

24-26 June 2011
Tudor Barn Eltham Summer Arts Festival
Following the great success of Last Year's Tudor Barn Eltham Summer Arts Festival, the 2nd Annual Tudor Barn Summer Arts Festival will be held over the weekend of Friday 24th, Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th of June 2011.

The Tudor Barn would like as many local individuals and groups to take part as can be contained within the Well Hall Pleasaunce. They would like to see all forms of artistic expression represented and for it to be a genuinely inclusive event. Any individuals or groups interested in taking part or wishing to find out more details should contact Marcus Luck at the Tudor Barn - email marcus@tudorbarneltham.co.uk.

Joining the London blogosphere (soon!)

Oh how very nice. From the Guardian's, David Hill's Metropolitan Lines last Friday:

"London blogosphere
Last week I declared my firm intention to get a whole load more London blogs added to my Top London Bloggers aggregator page. I have, of course, failed to do this. I offer in mitigation my assurance that this noble work is just about in progress and the following links to some of the blogs that will benefit from it in a tiny but tenderly-meant way: Crosswhatfields; London Masala and Chips; The Charlton Champion; E-Shooters Hill; Chislehurst News. Visit them all. And watch this space."

Look forward to it!

In the meantime, just to remind you that David Hill is currently running round parts of London for charity. He's raising money for Shelter. You can sponsor him online at his Virgin moneygiving page.

He is documenting his runs on his Guardian blog. At the top at the moment, there's a lovely write-up about 'Leg 21 - Bexley to North Woolwich', amongst other SE London areas, complete with delicious bits of history and links.

Peckham - a South London area on the up

Not exactly my usual geographical territory, but hey, it's South East London - in the Independent today:

"Introducing the new Montmartre: it's Del boy's manor, Peckham SE15

It's not as odd as it sounds – the deprived south London area is rebranding itself as the capital's contemporary art hub, much like the Parisian district during the 19th and 20th centuries

One boasts the Sacré-Coeur, Salvador Dali, Picasso and Van Gogh. The other has abandoned car parks and dark echoes of the murder of Damilola Taylor. On the face of it, Paris's famed Montmartre and London's infamous Peckham have very little in common. But all that is about to change..." Read the rest of this article by Simon Tait

Such pieces do appear from time to time about run-down areas - New Cross and Brockley have had the treatment too in the past.

Some local bloggers/tweeters are not impressed though:

carolineld Caroline:

Infamous: check. Murder: check. No tube: check
RT @deptforddame Another paper wheels out cliches about SE London http://tinyurl.com/65e4ong.

So Peckham has 'infamous', murder' and 'no tube'. I wonder what the media 'checklist' for Eltham would be ....

March for the Alternative today

So today over 250,000 marched against the budget and related plans of the coalition government.

Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the TUC on LeftFootForward explains why “The March for the Alternative has come at just the right time”:

“On Wednesday we had what was proclaimed as a budget for growth which the chancellor’s own advisers in the Office for Budget Responsibility promptly said was no such thing, and most people seem to have already forgotten. It is now much harder to dismiss the warnings we made last year that these deep cuts will harm the economy by hitting consumer and business confidence.

Even the boss of Sainsbury’s is blaming poor results on what the Daily Mail calls “uncertain employment prospects and government spending cuts.

Next week, as the financial year starts, the cuts will really start to bite. Local councils and community groups will start closing services and sacking staff in their thousands.

The NHS reforms seem to run into more difficulties every week as first the Lib Dems and even Conservative backbenchers get increasingly assertive in their opposition.

The government is losing the argument. Big majorities now say the cuts are unfair and that they are damaging the economy.......”

There are examples here of how cuts are affecting people: http://falseeconomy.org.uk/cuts/uk/all/t2

Despite this a challenge remains - even if the depth of cuts is accepted (ie. it’s not just the ‘undeserving poor’/‘scroungers’ being affected), for some people it is still a necessary evil which the shining knight Tories are, with regret, having to perform. For these people, the need for the proposed cuts is down to Labour mismanagement (see almost any edition of the Daily Mail). Each further example of pain is seen (and sometimes relished almost) as further proof of what a hard job the Tories have. Labour are going to have to clarify their message around these areas and articulate the credible other choices for reducing the deficit. This difficult for any opposition party, especially if you are still regrouping and having policy reviews.

street theatre on the march

I’ve not seen much on the local blogs - there’s Transpontine’s post on the SE London contingent on the march (with great photographs) and e-shootershill on the local effect of cuts. Jenny Jones at The Londonist explains why she was marching today. Jenny Jones is a member of the London Assembly and was recently nominated as the Green candidate for London Mayor.

Apart from the political issues involved, the violence by a small minority dominated the media today at the expense of more good-natured scenes - all that will be debated ad naseum no doubt, I've run out of steam now. As I write, the police are still dealing with about 200-300 protesters, some out to cause trouble, in Trafalgar Square in central London - I don't envy individual police for having to deal with these situations.

I leave you with a collage of tweets from the day:

TheMichaelMoran RT @mashythetictac: GUARDIAN: "Protesters in good spirits as hundreds of thousands march in London"...DAILY MAIL: "ANARCHISTS THREATEN TO UNLEASH HELL" #march26

Just after 3pm, according to @SteveCurran, “Hyde Park. Like a massive village fete. Brass bands, pensioners &Tony Robinson.”

GuardianEdu GuardianEducation
Nurses, lawyers, students, teachers: the faces of the anti-cuts protest http://gu.com/p/2z3vy/tf

sueluxton Sue Luxton
Finally marched into Hyde Park at 4.45pm - lots still behind us. Definitely the biggest demo I've been on since the big anti-war one.

jon_trickett jon trickett
by ns_mehdihasan
ActIons by 150 gets wall to wall BBC coverage. Half million on demo now being ignored.Balanced Editorial Priorities?

riprap007 Nicholas Ripley
RT @sturdyAlex: #BBC coverage of the demonstration is disgraceful. 10 minutes of bonfires followed by 2 minutes on the huge #march26.

Good luck to the March for the Alternative tomorrow

PCS projection on Battersea Power Station. Credit link

Good luck to those marching tomorrow on the TUC's March for the Alternative.

The March for an Alternative forms at 11am on the Victoria Embankment, London and proceeds to Hyde Park - for details see the March for the Alternative website.

In a nutshell (I don't have time for more...) I totally agree, too much too soon, there are other ways without decimating such public services. Have a look here at the Guardian's ongoing round-up of public sector cuts or click for NHS cuts, Children's services cuts, Housing and regeneration cuts, Local government , cuts, Social care cuts, Voluntary sector cuts.

More lucid arguments for the need to protest here from people like Michael Mansfield (QC), Anthony Jones (first-time protester), Avis Gilmore (regional secretary, National Union of Teachers), Darren Lockley (bus driver) and Michael Chessum (National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts).

From my own experience I know that, despite the best efforts of staff involved, higher education is never going to be the same again.

There are details on the Transpontine blog about how to join the marches from the SE London area.

And if you can't join:

"Can’t march on 26 March? There's loads more ways to get involved

March 26th is expected to be the largest civil society demonstration in almost ten years. However we realise that it’s not practical or feasible for everyone join in the march.

Whether you're attending the march or not you can help create an online protest that matches that on the street. Here's how...". Read more at False Economy.

I've signed up with a 'twibbon' which explains the strange footprints on my head, on my Twitter image...

Eltham's Grove Market development approved by Greenwich

Courtesy of darryl1974 via Twitter tonight: 

Breaking big Eltham news: Greenwich Council planning board backs Grove Market Place hotel/supermarket redevelopment by 6 votes to 2.

and he neatly summaries for us that: "Eltham development is six-storey building, supermarket, 86-bed Travelodge, restaurants and 71 new homes."

My previous post:

Eltham's Grove Market Developers try again

Clive Efford MP questions UK's arms trade

Good to read that our local MP has been questioning our role in the arms trade...from a debate in the House of Commons on Monday 14 March:

• Email me when Clive Efford speaks
• View voting record
• Most recent appearances
• Numerology
• Full profile ...

Clive Efford (Eltham, Labour)

The fact that arms that could have been sold by this country and many other western countries are being used against the people fighting for freedom in Libya highlights the unacceptable nature of the arms trade. Were there any discussions at the European Union about the possibility of international agreement about who we should deal with regarding arms in the future, to prevent such circumstances from coming about?

David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative)

There was not that discussion at the European Council on Friday, because we were really talking about the two issues of the immediate situation in Libya and the neighbourhood policy that Europe should have towards north Africa and countries that are yearning for democracy.
The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have to consider such issues closely. I do not believe that the arms trade is always and everywhere a bad thing, because small countries have a right to defend themselves. A responsible trade, properly regulated, is acceptable, but although we have some of the toughest rules, we have to ask ourselves, “Are they working, and how can we improve on them?”

Axe freezes over BBC Asian Network

Alesha Dixon at the Asian Music Awards

Following the announcements last year about closure of the BBC Asian Network (my post on it here 'Axe hovers...'), I was glad to see in the press in recent days news of its reprieve. Here's the Guardian's take on it:

"The BBC has reversed its decision to close the Asian Network digital radio station – but will look to cut its budget in half....

BBC executives are understood to have concluded that a national digital radio station remains the best way to reach Asian listeners, rather than a collection of medium-wave services that was mooted as one possible replacement.

The station's audience has already increased by about a third since the closure plan was announced in March 2010 and it had an average weekly reach of 477,000 listeners in the final three months of last year. Management is expected to demand a further increase in its audience, as well as cutting Asian Network's budget." More here.

I must admit that only last night I enjoyed using the 'interactive red button' thingy on the BBC Asian Network via Freeview, to watch last week's UK AMAs at the Roundhouse in Camden, London. The Asian Music Awards are like the Asian MOBOs and reflect a growing and influential music scene - I don't think those awards were broadcast anywhere else, at least I'm not aware (and didn't Alesha look great in a sari - she was there along with Tim Westwood, Apache Indian, Jay Sean and a lot of younger people!)

Eltham and SE London events - March (2)

More ocassional and random events:

Tuesday, 15 March
7.30pm
'The Birds of SE9'
ST MARY'S COMMUNITY CENTRE, Eltham High Street, Eltham, SE9 1BJ
An illustrated talk by John Beckham, Greenwich Park Ranger, hosted by Eltham Nature Club
Contact Details: £1 entry. Email here  Visit Website

Wed 16 March 2011
7.30pm

Me and the Crown Jewels

A former senior guardian at the Tower of London, John Newson, will be giving a free talk
Tudor Barn, Well Hall Road Eltham SE9
For details call 07894 711765

Sunday 20th March 2011
5:00pm to 7:00pm

Kirtan (Chanting) in Greenwich

by The Yogi Tree
Kirtan/Chanting evening to celebrate the Spring Solstice and Full Moon in March. A new chanting group being established in South London lead by Katie Rose at The Yogi Tree, Yoga Studio in East Greenwich.

Sunday 20 March 2011
National Frog Day
11am to 3pm
Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, SE10
Fun free event celebrating all things froggy!
Pond dipping & bug hunting, prize trails, froggy art, barbecue (no frog's legs), things to buy and more.  All ages and no booking necessary. (there's 2 hrs free parking nearby).

Friday 25th March - Thursday 7th April 2011 
Telegraph Hill Festival 2011
Now in its 17th year the festival brings together thousands of local residents to celebrate home- grown arts, creativity and engagement.
This year's programme is the biggest and most varied ever with over 70 events packed into the 10 days. You can find out what's on by looking at the day by day programme here.

Wednesday 30 March
History talk at Erith Library
A local historian will be talking about the history of Erith riverside from the founding of its Dockyard by Henry VIII and the fitting to its part in the D-Day landings. Ken Chamberlain is due to give a talk at Erith library in Erith High Street, on Wednesday, March 30, at 2pm, when he will look back to the 19th century when the area was known as a riverside resort.
Tickets cost £2 and are available in advance from the library. Call 020 8303 7777 and select option four.

Looking ahead:

Sunday 10 April

Bromley Fun Run 2011

Norman Park, Bromley
Closing date for entries: 20 March. See www.bromleyfunrun.co.uk

Sunday 17 April 2011

Vegetable growing

Practical workshop by Growing Greenwich
Well Hall Pleasaunce, Well Hall Road Eltham, SE9

ONGOING LOCAL EVENTS:

Eltham Cycle Club rides

Start Eltham Park cafe (Glenesk Road, SE9)
All ages and abilities, varied routes
Details: www.limitededitioncycling.co.uk

Click here for other What's Ons

Bexley council votes through £35.3 million cuts

More SE London budget cuts - this time from a Conservative Council, and where all the Labour councillors opposed the budget.

From the Bexley Times:

"...The budget will see £35.3 million cuts over a three-year period to 2014. The council intends to save £15.3 million in the forthcoming financial year. This includes £1.6 million in children’s services and £1.2 million in health and adult care.

Protesters gathered around the back doors to chant “care, not cuts” as councillors entered the emotionally charged meeting..."
 
"...There were deafening boos as 51 councillors voted in favour of the budget while all 11 Labour councillors voted against. One member was absent."

The cuts to many valuable services are a sad state of affairs which are being repeated around the country.

Meanwhile, here's the approach of another Tory London Council, as Liberal Conspiracy have described it:

"More than 140 staff at Barnet Council’s Regulatory Service’s Department will take industrial action, in a bid to remain directly employed by the council.

Barnet council is a flagship for the Tory’s small-state vision of outsourced public service delivery.

Instead of directly providing services, the council plans to shrink the workforce down to a small core of a few hundred staff, who will commission services from outside providers. The current workforce is 3500."

I was aware that some Councils were exploring this approach but here it is about to happen already. Can out-sourcing a public service to anything other than a not-for-profit operation ever be a good thing? A longer debate...

Co-incidently last week I saw the table above, in the Evening Standard, showing the reserves held by London councils, and the percentage that represented of their annual expenditure.  It shows that Greenwich holds that largest actual reserves though Kensington & Chelsea holds the largest percentage of expenditure. The government is saying that the 'rainy day' has arrived for councils to start drawing on their reserves. The problem is that drawing on reserves is generally not a good idea for recurrent expenditure, for funding services for which there will be bills year after year. I'd like to know more about how councils view and treat these reserve budgets.

Vaguely related posts:
Greenwich-council-approves-budget-cuts
Fate-of-lewishams-libraries
Protests-against-government-cuts
Angry-protests-at-lewisham-council