Shrewsbury House Tarts and Crafts poster
There’s another opportunity to stock up on Christmas goodies and buy Christmas gifts next Sunday, 27th November from 11am to 4 pm , at Tarts and Crafts at Shrewsbury House.
Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair Poster
The Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair will be held next Sunday, 27th November, starting at 11 O’Clock. A chance to listen to carol singers while drinking mulled wine, and browse the local craft stalls.
The Friends of Shrewsbury Park are looking for people to help clear the rubbish in the woods at the side of Dothill on Sunday 20th November. Their e-mail which was forwarded to me said:
Dear Friend of Shrewsbury Park,
we will be holding a “clearing up” session on Sunday, 20 November, at 12 noon. Please come along, with stout gloves, to help clear the rubbish in the woods at the side of Dothill.
We will meet at the Garland Road entrance to Dothill. If it is pouring with rain, please assume the event is cancelled and we will fix another day.
Help us keep the woods beautiful.
View up Dot Hill, Shrewsbury Park
Autumnal basket at Woodlands Farm
The atmosphere at Woodlands Farm Apple Day on Sunday was brilliant. The combination of a large, happy crowd, a perfect crisp, clear autumn day, the folk music of Skinner’s Rats and an appealing set of stalls made for a great afternoon. Not to mention more than 15 varieties of apples to try; 15 different varieties of English-grown apples, supermarkets take note.
The apples were obtained from Pippins Farm in Pembury who grow about 50 varieties of apple, and they included a few that I hadn’t tasted before. The most unusual was the Pitmaston Pineapple, much smaller than most apples and looking like a miniature Egremont Russet. It’s an apple that was first bred in the 1780’s but was presented to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1845 by a Mr Williams of Pitmaston. They tasted sweet and nutty, a little like a Russet, and I could only just about taste the pineapple flavour claimed in the farm’s description. It could be that the name refers to the warm yellow colour and shape, rather than the flavour. I added some to my bag to take home, together with some stripy red and yellow Cameos, some Cox-like Jupiters and some of my favourite apples, Egremont Russets.
One of Jambs Owls
Jambs’ Owls have become quite a regular participant at woodlands Farm events recently, but they still draw a queue. The well-trained birds sit patiently on their perches, or allow youngsters to pose with them for photographs, and accept gentle stroking. There was also a crowd sitting in the sunshine listening to Kent-based folk band Skinners Rats, who also play and call the steps at the Farm’s energetic and slightly chaotic barn dances. There were opportunities to join in on the (rather complicated) choruses, but most seemed happy to enjoy the music.
The Farm is right next door to the area where it is proposed that the controversial Equestrian Centre will be built. The problematic planning process for the Centre is covered very well in the 853 blog, but it was interesting to learn that before the Equestrian Center was announced the Farm had been negotiating with the Council for some time to lease the field, with the aim of using it for a locally-grown food project. This seems like a much better use for land that is designated as Metropolitan Open Land, and which is also part of the South East Green Chain described in the 2011 London Plan. This Plan gives such land the same level of protection as the Green Belt. Meanwhile the Blackheath donkeys who currently live on the land drew a small crowd as well, presenting themselves for grooming across the fence
Blackheath donkey, may be moving home soon to make way for the Equestrian Cantre
The next Woodland Farm event is the Christmas Fair on Sunday 27th November.
The title of Frances Ward’s next talk is “The End of an Era”, and it takes place at the Heritage Center, and also her last talk for the Centre before she retires at the end of the year. It really will be the end of an era for those of us who have been entertained and educated by Frances’ talks on the history of Greenwich, and her excellent walking tour of the Woolwich Arsenal site.
The latest Activities and Events Listing from the Greenwich Heritage Centre announces the talk and Frances’ retirement:
The End of an Era
Saturday 3rd December 2pm at the Greenwich Heritage Centre
A talk by Frances Ward on Greenwich in old postcards. £3 including light refreshments. Booking recommended.
Call 020 8854 2452 to reserve a place.This will be the last talk by Frances for the heritage Centre, as she will retire on 31st December 2011. She will be sorely missed by everyone who enjoyed her talks, sessions for schools, or visited the search room as well as her colleagues in the council.
There are seldom any spare seats at Frances’ talks, so I suspect this will fill very quickly.
Frances mentioned at her last talk, The Peopling of Greenwich, that she plans to continue her historical research in retirement, and also to return to the Heritage Centre to talk about it. I’ll certainly look forward to that, and would like to wish Frances a long and happy retirement.
