Saturday 5 December 2015

Security Street Meet, Saturday December 12th

Are you concerned about the recent spate of burglaries?  Come and receive some free valuable home safety and crime prevention advice.
  • What other concerns do you have within the Triangle?
  • Are you fed up with motorist ignoring the one way signage in Devonshire Drive?
  • Have you noticed the recent fly-tipping in the area?

Air your concerns to our local PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) at tomorrow’s Safer Neighbourhood December Street Meet.
When? Saturday 12th December
Where? Ashburnham Retreat (Play Street), outside the Ashburnham Arms Pub, or inside the pub if the weather is bad.  (Good excuse for a quick tipple)
Time? Drop in anytime between 2pm and 3pm
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Tina Pugh
ATA Security Hub

Friday 4 December 2015

Fly-tipping in Play Street

 


This is what greeted local residents this morning at the Ashburnham Place end of Play Street (Ashburnham Retreat).

This is the second time in a matter of weeks where a dismantled cupboard has been dumped.
Dumping waste illegally is a serious criminal offence that can carry a very large fine and can ruin the appearance of our neighbourhood. An offender can even be sent to prison. It is also an offence to allow fly-tipping to take place.

What is fly-tipping?
Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of rubbish or bulky items on land not licensed to receive it. It can be dangerous to health, it pollutes land and costs significant amounts of public money, which could be better spent elsewhere, to clear away.

How Can I Prevent fly-tipping
Don’t put up with it – report it. If you report it, the rubbish can be removed and with your help the crime can be investigated. If you see someone fly-tipping or would like to report an area where fly-tipping has taken place, take note of the following:
–  the date, time and place of the occurrence;
–  what the waste looks like and how much of it there is (take a photo if possible);
–  a description of any vehicles involved along with their vehicle’s registration numbers.

You should then contact the council.  You can now log a report easily by using Greenwich’s Fix My Street website.  Did you see the article in Greenwich Time free newspaper reporting on such issues as fly-tipping?  Go to www.greenwich.fixmystreet.com or visit http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/659/council_-_publications/703/greenwich_time  for more information.

Let's be more vigilant and name and shame the individuals polluting our community.

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Security Alert – Guildford Grove & Safer Neighbourhoods November Street Meet

David Scales Nov 03, 2015 


Guildford Grove
Our Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team have informed us of a recent burglary in Guildford Grove. This happened overnight  between 29th and 30th October. The suspect gained entry through the lower ground floor sash window, a wallet and credit card were stolen. Please ensure you are taking all reasonable steps to lock and secure lower ground floor windowsparticularly older sash windows which have been forced open in recent burglaries notified to us.
Suspicious Activity in the Triangle
Separately to the above, the Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team have notified us they have been getting a few calls from residents of individuals going around looking at premises and possibly marking premises in the Triangle. If you see or suspect any suspicious behaviour of this nature, please report it to the Police by dialling 999, 101 or the Safer Neighbourhoods Team on 020 8284 5494 depending on the severity of the incident.
Safer Neighbourhoods November Street Meet
Saturday 21st November 2015,  2pm – 3pm, Ashburnham Retreat (Play Street) outside the Ashburnham Arms Pub, SE10 8UH
In view of the recent spate of burglaries, we have been notified of five incidents in the last six weeks, we are holding another Street drop-in for residents to raise any policing related matters or concerns with our dedicated PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) Henry Lawton.
Henry will also be available to give home safety and crime prevention advice and arrange for an Officer to visit your home to review security if required. You can drop-in at any time between 2pm and 3pm on Saturday 21st November outside the Ashburnham Arms and do not have to give any personal details unless you have a specific query which you need Henry to follow up. The drop-in may be held inside the pub if the weather is particularly bad.
We hope to see many of you there and will also send out another reminder nearer to the date. This event is open to anyone who lives in or near to the Ashburnham Triangle.
David Scales/Tina Pugh

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Burglary in Ashburnham Grove

Tina Pugh, Oct 28, 2015 


Unfortunately, we have been advised by our Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team that there has  been another burglary within the Triangle, this time in Ashburnham Grove.  This happened between 10pm on the 21st October and 6am on the 22nd October.  Entry into the property was via the ground floor window.
This is now the third burglary within the Triangle in just over a month.  Remember, most burglaries are opportunistic, not planned, so they’re easy to prevent.  Here are a few reminders to keep your home secure:

Lock up

Deadlock doors and close and secure lockable windows if you go out or upstairs. Unlocked UPVC units can be sprung. Keep keys away from doors and windows in a place where they are not visible to anyone looking in, and don’t hide them outside.
Get a strong door with insurance company-approved locks.
Fit an entry viewer and/or a good door chain or door bar. A letterbox cage will prevent lock release or theft via the letterbox. Change locks in new houses so only you have keys. Don’t give keys to anyone you do not know well.

Windows

Visible window locks may deter thieves. Secure easily accessible windows. Draw the curtains in the evening.

Lighting

Lighting with timers, movement or night sensitive switches on external doors, gardens etc. will deter thieves. Neighbours get used to movement sensors being set off by cats etc. so don’t rely on them alone.
Did you know that leaving an upstairs light on is a much better deterrent than a downstairs light? Burglars can quickly work out that no one is in downstairs, but if someone might be upstairs they will probably not risk it. The majority of burglars do not want to be seen or heard and certainly don’t want a confrontation. Specialist light boxes that flicker like a TV can be purchased quite cheaply and make a good deterrent too.

Valuables

Keep valuables hidden out of sight and not viewable from windows. Keep jewellery and credit cards secure and house deeds and other important legal documents in banks. Burglars look in ‘safe’ spots such as under mattresses and in shoeboxes and tins. Never keep large amounts of cash at home. Never leave packaging from new valuables such as computers and televisions visible with your general rubbish. Secure bikes by locking them to an immovable object inside a locked shed or garage. If possible, use a property marking service.
It’s worth remembering that an expensive car parked on the driveway or outside the house can be a clue that there are valuables inside the house.

Alarms

Visible alarms can deter burglars.

Gardens

These can be routes into homes. Secure yours with lockable gates and good quality fences, with 12 inch/300mm trellising and/or thorny plants. Lock away tools and ladders so thieves can’t use them to access your home. Lock outbuildings. Don’t store valuables in sheds unless well secured, e.g. with anchor bolts for large items, and use electronic shed alarms or padlock alarms to deter thieves.
If you would like home safety or crime prevention advice then please telephone 020 8284 5494 or email either PCSO Gemma, Gemma.Black3@met.pnn.police.uk or PCSO Henry, Henry.T.O.Lawton@met.pnn.police.uk of the Greenwich West Safer Neighbourhoods Team who will arrange for an Officer to come and visit your home.

Community policing could be axe

Imogene Russell, Oct 28, 2015 



Even more police cuts are looming. Write in if you want to keep West Ward’s one remaining police community support officer (PCSO). It will be decided in December whether PCSOs have a future in Greenwich.Already there is only one PC and one PCSO in Greenwich West Ward. PCSO numbers have been reduced by 73% in Greenwich overall since May 2010, and Greenwich Police Station in now only open for three hours a week: Wednesday 7-8pm, Thursday 7-8pm, and Saturdays 2-3pm. Email Julia Harries of the Mayors Office for Policing and Crime at Enquiries@mopac.london.gov.uk if you want to retain some 

Friday 23 October 2015

Security Report from the AGM & Remember Crimewatch?

David Scales, Oct 23, 2015

The Security Hub report presented at the AGM on Thursday 22nd October is attached here in full, please click on the link, and if you were unable to make the meeting and have questions or would like to make any comments please feel free to send me an email at david0902@talktalk.net
At the meeting, we said goodbye to Carolyn Carter our longstanding Representative who has moved outside of the Ashburnham Triangle area and put such dedication and commitment into the Security Hub and police liaison over the last five years or so.
Carolyn campaigned tirelessly against drivers flouting the No Entry signs in Devonshire Drive and took effective action on other issues such as graffiti removal and making our streets less cluttered and we are very appreciative of all her efforts in moving the Hub forward and feeding back residents’ concerns at the Safer Neighbourhoods meetings. We wish Carolyn well and all the best for the future and hope she will continue to stay in touch.
As mentioned in the last AGM newsflash, Tina Pugh has now been appointed as our new Security Hub representative and we extend a very warm welcome to her. Tina attends the Safer Neighbourhoods meetings as well as serving as a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator and will be contributing to all aspects of Hub activity.
Finally we have been notified by our Safer Neighbourhoods team of an event being hosted by Nick Ross of Crimewatch fame taking place this Sunday 25th October from 7.45 – 8.45pm on board the Cutty Sark. Please note there is a charge for this event – see below:
Nick Ross
Crime, how to solve it and why almost everything we’re told is wrong
£15.00
Can it really be that almost everything we’re told about crime is wrong? Nick Ross, much loved broadcaster and visiting professor at UCL, explains how to solve crime, and how to learn from medicine – where for millennia almost everything doctors said was wrong. He presented The World Tonight and Newsdesk while still in his twenties and became a household name in the 1980s when launching breakfast TV, Watchdog and Crimewatch. Followed by a Q&A.
If you would like tickets then please either email Margie on Margie@dandyassociates.com or phone 07759 382 103.

Thursday 22 October 2015

Ashburnham Triangle Association AGM


Neil Sinclair, 22 October 2015

Annabel Cowell was last night (Thursday 22nd October) elected as the new treasurer of the Ashburnham Triangle Association (ATA) in succession to Zach and Tara Veitch.

Re-elected as chairman and secretary respectively were Chris Ward and Imogene Russell.
The annual general meeting (agm) of the ATA also formally welcomed Simon Barrs as new head of the planning hub in succession to Andrew Steeds. Maureen Romeril will be assisting Simon as planning associate.

David Scales, senior representative of the security hub, introduced to the meeting Tina Pugh who has become the other security hub representative in succession to Carolyn Carter. Tina will focus,  among other things, on communication of security hub issues across the Ashburnham Triangle.

Robin Stott, deputy chairman, formally chaired the AGM in the absence of Chris Ward.

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Agenda for Thursday’s AGM

By imogene russell on Oct 21, 2015 08:32 pm



Agenda for the ATA annual general meeting, 22nd October 2015, in Greenwich west House
1) Wine and sandwiches at 7.45pm
2) Welcome from the chair at 8 pm (Robin Stott – 2 minutes) (Timings given throughout are what we aim for, so that there is time available where needed for discussion at unexpected points)
4) Hub updates (average 5 minutes each including discussion, ie 40 minutes)
Security hub (David Scales)
Fun hub (Neil Sinclair)
Green hub (Janet Stott)
Newsletter and ATA booklet (various)
Planning Hub, including suggestion the Triangle become a designated
Neighbourhood Area (Simon Barrs)
ATA discount card (Rob Willett)
Website and Facebook (Tom Webb – he’ll arrive at about 9pm, so this may have to be later)
Local history project (Tom Webb)
5) Financial report (Imogene Russell – 5 minutes, including discussion)
6) Invitation to all for ideas for use of residual funds, including good causes (allocation of finances to be made as usual by a committee of all officers and hub heads at their next meeting) (10 minutes)
7) Presentation of last year’s minutes and matters arising (Imogene Russell – 5 minutes)
8) Election of officers: chair, secretary, treasurer (presently Chris Ward, Imogene Russell, vacant); and election of planning team, and security representative (5 minutes)
(These timings bring us to just after 9pm! The Neighbourhood Area question and the suggestion for a Local History Hub are among topics which may take longer than scheduled)

Saturday 17 October 2015

Be part of deciding ATA policy at the AGM this Thursday

By imogene russell on Oct 17, 2015 12:21 pm

Find out about ATA activity, finances and plans, over a glass of wine at Greenwichwest House this coming Thursday, 22nd October. The AGM is at 7.45pm (not 7pm as given in the ATA newsletter). We’ll elect a new treasurer and a new planning head. Could the Triangle become one of Greenwich Council’s new Neighbourhood Areas to give it more control over planning? – Simon Barrs will tell us. Should we form a new local history hub? – Tom Webb will suggest yes.  There will be pitches for good causes for the ATA to support, and for what events to put on. These are some of the topics for discussion. You are welcome to suggest others.
Venue for the Annual General Meeting: The William Mills Room, 1st Floor, Greenwichwest House, 141 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8JA
Time: Drinks at 7.45 for settling down to business at 8pm. Escape is possible at any time – just come for part of the meeting if you like. Deputy chair Robin Stott’s muscular chairmanship will ensure all business is done by 9.45. The building must be cleared by 10pm.
Nominations for the posts of chair, secretary, treasurer or planning head, should be given to the secretary (imogenerussell1@gmail.com) by this coming Tuesday 20th October. The posts of chair and secretary are not currently vacant, but new people are very welcome to stand for them – incumbents can get tired!! There is so far one nomination for treasurer: Annabel Cowell, and two for planning head: Simon Barrs and Maureen Romeril, possibly as a team.
Other hubs have no vacancies for heads at present, nor do communications (website, newsletter, Facebook), but new people are invited to join the teams from which hub heads will emerge when needed. Contact details for all departments are on the website.
The ATA’s new local history project needs volunteers to reshape into a Triangle history resource the 4,000 facts in the late Richard Cheffins’ research notes – about the streets, houses, businesses, churches and pubs of the Triangle and their residents down the years. For example, the Triangle was home to Russian revolutionaries in the 1870s; and Greenwich High Road was the first street to be lit by a public electricity company. If you’d like to take part in this project, contact Tom Webb (thos.webb@gmail.com) or Mick Delap (mick@delap.plus.com).
Good causes in and around the Triangle can now benefit from some of the money the street party made. The management committee makes financial decisions, but invites suggestions (to the secretary as above). The causes suggested so far are: the Deborah Ubee Trust, the James Wolfe School breakfast club, the 999 Club in Deptford, Hacan, the Greenwich Food Bank, Redthread, and Clean Air in London (not to be confused with the Mayor’s Clean Air for London website).

Thursday 8 October 2015

Security Alert – Ashburnham Place & Peabody Close – Devonshire Drive

By david scales on Oct 08, 2015 07:37 pm

We are sorry to be the bearer of more bad news within two weeks but as the saying goes forewarned is forearmed. We have been advised by our Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team that there have been two recent burglaries in the Triangle: 
Ashburnham Place:  This happened on the 7th October 2015 between the hours of 00:01 – 08:45 hours.  The suspect gained entry through a basement sash window which had been forced open with an unknown object.  Items stolen were – Apple IPAD, Photographic equipment and a handbag.  The items value totalled to approx £4,500.
Peabody Close, Devonshire Drive:  This happened between 28th Sept 14:00 hours and 3rd Oct 2015 20:30 hours. The gate entry system had been broken for a number of weeks and was only fixed on the 1st of October 2015.  The home owner had been away and noticed the property had been burgled on return; a rear door had been left open and the door had been damaged.  Items stolen were a pair of headphones and a bracelet, approx £50 in total.  The damage to the door is estimated to cost approx £200. 
Although we previously contacted Peabody Housing Association (after the September Safer Neighbourhoods Police Street Meet) that undesirable groups were gaining access to the back gardens posing a threat to the security of residents there, we never did get a response so this will now be followed up with a formal complaint.
Please take all possible steps to secure your windows and doors etc with appropriate locks and use them particularly when you are away from your property.
If you would like home safety or crime prevention advice then please telephone 020 8284 5494 or email either PCSO Gemma, Gemma.Black3@met.pnn.police.uk or PCSO Henry, Henry.T.O.Lawton@met.pnn.police.uk of the Greenwich West Safer Neighbourhoods Team who will arrange for an Officer to come and visit your home.

Friday 2 October 2015

Street party credits

By imogene russell on Oct 02, 2015 09:59 am


STREET PARTY 2015 – CREDITS – Big thanks to everyone!
Infrastructure  Neil Sinclair, Tom Webb, Robin Stott, Graeme Elkington, Julian Burgin, Chris Ward
Food stall


Lysanne Wilson, Annabel Cowell, Blanche Cameron, David Walker, Stuart Mulholland, Richard Tyson, Steve Cowell, Cllr Aidan Smith, Cllr Mehboob Khan, Vicky, Neil Bailey, Tom Webb, Emel Guçel, Graeme Elkington, Jo Hall, Roz Weeks, David Williams, Adam Deal, Tom Webb, Matthew Pennycook MP, Andy, Jane Saunders, Tina Pugh
Eyja’s cake stallEyja and Anastasia Haydulina
RaffleBarbara Reid,  Janet Stott, Maureen Romeril, Mary Carter
Face paintingFrances Currie, Lee Bamsey, Naomi Davis, Xim, Amy Dewit, Emma Cole, Carlotta, Mar, Hannah
Spin paintingCaroline Elkington, Ceri and Edmond Rose, Liz McClean, Lee Bamsey, Miew-Cheng Stangroome, Sonia Jarman
Bouncy castle    Josh Stott, Robin Stott, Marion Sands, Zoe Willett
Plant stall    Peter Hulme, Caroline Siggins, Alison Haworth
Honey and bee visitsRobin Stott
PotteryJonathan and Elizabeth Gravil, Joyce and Kathleen, of the Devonshire Drive Baptist Church
Biscuit decorating Alice, Irene Nash, Gideon Nash, and Declan of the South Street Baptist Church
Gate              Rob Willett, Derek Fordham, Chris Ward, James Kellock,  Alastair Currie, Neil Sinclair, Imogene Russell
Music James Andrew, Ruth Currie and the Jazz Ashes, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Jo Honey and Emma
Burgers & sausagesW H Wellbeloved, Butchers
Food stall supplyThe Ashburnham Arms
Climbing wallAltitude Events Ltd
Sponsorship of the climbing wallHamptons International
AnimalsSupreme Animal Foods
Bouncy castleLily’s Bouncy Castle Hire
Furniture and equipmentJames Wolfe School, South Street Baptist Church, St Alfege’s Church, Devonshire Drive Baptist Church, St Mark’s Church, Rachel Hale
Party productionNeil Sinclair, Imogene Russell, Tom Webb, Barbara Reid, Frances Currie
If you lost a red V-neck jumper, a blue towel, or if your name is Thea Viale of Camberwell, contact Neil Sinclair on neil.sinclair@hotmail.co.uk

Friday 25 September 2015

Security Alert…Shed Break-in

By david scales on Sep 25, 2015 10:05 pm

We have been made aware of a recent garden shed break-in in Devonshire Drive and also of an attempt to steal bikes from the same Street.
Fortunately nothing was stolen from the Shed and the padlock used to secure the bikes was too strong to remove but we would remind residents to be extra vigilant and use strong locks to secure sheds and outhouses as well as bicycles.
Please also look out for your neighbour’s property as one of the most successful ways of preventing and reporting theft or attempted theft of this kind throughout the Triangle is effective ‘Neighbourhood Watch’.
Some Streets in the Ashburnham Triangle do have Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and NW Co-ordinators but if you are interested in setting up a scheme for your street, helping out or finding out more then please contact PCSO Henry Lawton of the Greenwich West Safer Neighbourhoods Team for further informationHenry.T.O.Lawton@met.pnn.police.uk or myself david0902@talktalk.net
There is some useful information on the Metropolitan Police Total Policing website on security measures you can take to secure garden sheds and outbuildingshttp://content.met.police.uk/Site/crimepreventionsheds
Here http://content.met.police.uk/Team/Greenwich/GreenwichWest you will also find details of forthcoming drop-ins where you can speak to the Police about any policing related matters or concerns you may have or you can report them to PCSO Henry Lawton Henry.T.O.Lawton@met.pnn.police.uk 
We hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend sunshine and that any cyclists who did attend the Exchanging Places cycle event at Cutty Sark Gardens from 16:30 – 19:00 on Friday 25th September found it useful.

Friday 31 July 2015

Good Japanese restaurant comes to Triangle

By imogene russell on 31 Jul 2015 11:50 am


July saw the much awaited opening of Kitcho, a family run Japanese restaurant, at 57 Greenwich High Road. Owners Nicole and Andy Zhang, whose hugely successful Aji Ichiban was rated in the 10 best Japanese restaurants in London by Culture Trip, have re-opened their doors to loyal followers by setting up Kitcho.
With long-time and loyal head chef Jimmy, Kitcho has an outstanding menu of traditional and fusion Japanese dishes – fresh fish and sea food, maki & temaki style sashimi, spicy tuna and dragon dishes. Jimmy sources all the food daily from Japanese suppliers and makes all his own sauces and dressings at the open kitchen bar.
The food is so beautifully presented that it’s almost a shame to taste it. But make no doubt once you do you will be hooked. This local gem is here to stay and, with over 20 different sakes to try, you’ll need to work your way methodically through the menu over successive visits.
With reasonable prices, Kitcho is set to be one of the Ashburnham Triangle’s destination restaurants, open from 3pm to midnight, 7 nights a week, at 57 Greenwich High Road SE10 8JL, with space for 60 diners. And if you have an Ashburnham Triangle Residents Card you’ll get 10% off your bill.

Friday 26 June 2015

A tree and plaque for Audrey

By imogene russell on 26 Jun 2015 11:32 am


A Scrumptious apple tree and a slate plaque in memory of Audrey Ringrose, late of Ashburnham Grove, now grace the raised bed at the Ashburnham Place end of the Play Street. Audrey’s friends and family, including daughters Kate and Leonie, gathered after the recent Plant Swap to mark this planting.
Audrey Ringrose
1931-2014
A good neighbour
John, Audrey’s widower, gave a moving introduction to the plaque’s unveiling to the thirty or so people there. He said that a tree in this garden was a very fitting memorial to her, since she was very much part of the local community and had been joint founder of the gardening group.
John Ringrose near Audrey’s tree and plaque
If you are wondering who she was, below is the obituary we posted last year.
Many plants and seedlings now keep Audrey’s tree company. The mini forest garden will grow up around it. 
We have lost a good neighbour, Audrey Ringrose
Audrey Ringrose died on 1st February 2014, aged 82. She lived in Ashburnham Grove from 1966, loved Greenwich, and was very active in the community. She contributed a great deal to the ATA when it first formed in the 1970s and after its rebirth in 2007, leading communal gardening, writing for the newsletter and organising its distribution. She consistently advised the ATA to reach out to less-advantaged people, and in 2009, with Sara Emanuel, took the initiative in integrating the Ashburnham Grove hostel for people with learning difficulties into the Triangle community. The result was the gardening project there, which soon formed a strong bond and has continued successfully ever since.
Most of Audrey’s working years were spent as a teacher in Greenwich primary schools, including Morden Mount and Annandale. This fitted in with raising three children. Earlier she had been a librarian and a theatre wardrobe mistress. Outside work she had always had a strong interest in drama and theatre: she was a member of Soho Theatre Players and Playwrights from the 1950s onwards, and it was through theatre work that she met John, who became her husband, an actor whose work involved everything you can do in theatre. She took this interest in drama into her school-teaching, and many students remember her bringing the regular curriculum to life with acted presentations.
After Audrey retired when she was 60 she defined herself as a writer. The short stories and plays she then wrote evince her interest in the everyday life of local people, past and present – they are about real events in the area, like the foundation of a C19th library and an incident in a C20th supermarket. She brought them to vivid life with compelling characters and realistic dialogue. These are community plays both in their subject matter and in involving a wide range of local people of different ages and backgrounds – some professional actors, some who had never acted before. She put in crowd scenes expressly to include many actors.
Six of Audrey’s plays have been staged, including Reds at the Union Theatre in Southwark and Bacon Pudding and Velvet Cushions and Dead Secret in the Greenwich festivals of 1996 and 1998. Dead Secret, based on a local murder and trial in 1871, was reviewed in The Mercury as an ‘engrossing, provocative and physical theatrical experience’. There were prizes too: Bananas and Rainbows and Rosie’s Shoes each took Best Play in 2007 and 2008 at the Drama Association of Wales, and Neverland, about two fraudulent sisters in C18th Greenwich, came third in the 2005 Sussex Playwrights’ competition and appeared as one of Soho Theatre Player Playwrights’ best plays of 2005.
Another skill emerged when Audrey co-edited Stitches in Time: The Making of the Greenwich Millennium Embroideries published in 2010. Embroidered by local craftspeople, these cloth pictures depict Greenwich history. Audrey edited a catalogue and handbook for them with Mary-Ann Cattle. The printers of this successful book were amazed that Audrey had had no previous experience of editing, because she knew exactly what she wanted on every page. Her librarian’s training may have helped her. She also campaigned to make the embroideries publicly available, and they are now on permanent display at the Greenwich Heritage Centre in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich.
Audrey showed a great interest in everyone around her. She listened to people and sketched them and made friends of all kinds up and down the streets and groups and shops of Greenwich and beyond. She was a volunteer teacher of children with learning difficulties at West Greenwich House for several years and chair of Greenwich Connexions, a local charity for teenagers which helps young carers. The Seventh Day Adventists gave her a community award in 2013. Members of her book group and of her art class were keen to hear her insightful views, pithily expressed.
Audrey could draw, paint, sew, design, garden, write, edit, teach, talk, chair committees, upholster furniture…  But many of us had no idea that she could do all these things because she always talked to you about what you were interested in. You’d find out about her only by chance. This was part of her empathy with others but also reflected her keenness for new knowledge and experiences. It was in character that it was on a new experimental course for parents that she had taken her B.Ed. She was inquiring, energetic, feisty and fun, not in the least afraid of conflict and argument, ready to stand up for what she believed in, and a happy presence. Even in her last few difficult years of rapidly declining mobility, she never stopped being good company.
When she couldn’t garden at the hostel any more, she would still be there with the residents and gardeners, sketching them all. Her creativity made something out of everything. She had tremendous spirit and humour.
Audrey didn’t stop creating and learning in her last days. When she died she was midway through writing a play about Rachel MacMillan Teacher Training College, where she’d trained, and also midway through an advanced creative writing course at the Open University, as well as going regularly to a University of the Third Age art class and to her book group. She wrote a full page in her diary the day before she died.
The celebration of her life on 19th February at Eltham Crematorium and then at the Hare and Billet was overflowing with people. The exit music she chose for her funeral reflected her originality, her gaiety, and her interest in everyday folk life – it was children’s singing games.
Audrey will not be forgotten. Members of the Ashburnham Triangle Association who knew her will plant a tree in her memory. They send their sympathies to her husband, John, to her three daughters Kate, Sophie and Leonie, and to her grandchildren Seth and Rowan.
By Imogene Russell, Sara Emanuel, Janet Jenvy, Mary-Ann Cattle, Nick Carter, and Jane Dewit

Sunday 31 May 2015

Requirements for planning applications

Andrew Steeds,  


Greenwich offering consultation process on document
I have received the letter below from Greenwich Planning, which may be of interest to anyone who’s thinking of applying for planning permission, or affected by someone else’s planning application. There are a number of links embedded in the letter itself.




RE: Royal Borough of Greenwich consultation on draft local information requirements list for planning applications

The Royal Borough gives notice that a draft local information requirements list (a ‘local list’) for planning applications has been published for consultation.  The local list, once formally adopted, will set out the information that Royal Borough of Greenwich will require to be able to register, assess and determine planning applications.  The level of information required varies upon the size and type of the application as well as the specific site constraints and nature of development.
The purpose of setting out information requirements in the local list is to ensure that planning applications are accompanied by sufficiently detailed information to provide greater certainty and consistency for applicants. Consulting on the draft local list follows the Government’s planning practice guidance on validation requirements.
Royal Borough of Greenwich is inviting comments on the draft local list over a period of six weeks from 11 May to 22 June 2015.  Consultation responses will be taken into account by the Royal Borough when preparing the final revised list.  If you require further information please e-mail planning.policy@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or phone 020 8921 3673.
The draft local list can be viewed on the Royal Greenwich website at the following link: http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/haveyoursay.  Paper copies of the local list will be made available at Royal Greenwich public libraries (opening times below).  Representations can be made via email or by post to:
Email: planning.policy@royalgreenwich.gov.uk
Post: Planning Policy Team, Directorate of Regeneration, Enterprise and Skills, Royal Borough of Greenwich, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18 6HQ
Yours sincerely,

Clare Loops
Planning Policy Manager
Directorate of Regeneration, Enterprise and Skills
Royal Borough of Greenwich

Saturday 30 May 2015

Open Gardens 6th/7th and 13th/14th, Open Studios 13th/14th and 20th/21st

By imogene russell on 30 May 2015 10:26 pm

Embrace the embarrassment of riches. For the next three weekends you can visit first gardens, then both gardens and studios, then just studios. The first weekend’s gardens, on 6th and 7th June, are in Hyde Vale, Crooms Hill, West Grove, Prior Street, Gloucester Circus, Park Vista, Kidbrooke Gardens, Morden Road, Blackheath Park, Orchard Drive, Eliot Place, North Several, Pagoda Gardens, and Shooters Hill Road.
Some of them are quite grand. Most are impressive. All are worth visiting even if you’re not a gardener – it’s like an outdoor moving party without music. Some hosts give you tea and cake, others Pimms or wine. You pay £3 a garden or £10 for the lot. The money goes to the Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice. Full details at
or at www.communityhospice.org.uk  where it says
‘Entry is free for children and dogs (unless specified) are not permitted’  I hope the erratic newsflash formatting doesn’t break this line at the wrong place. It also says gardens are open from 2-6pm, even if it rains.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Adult Education on Royal Hill under threat

By imogene russell on 26 May 2015 02:54 pm


Lucy Stubbs, an ATA gardener (the one in the pink hat), writes, “Greenwich Council has maintained the same grant as last year to GCC to provide adult education in Greenwich. However, although funding levels are the same, Lindsey Noble and Barry Langfield, external consultants, are making almost all permanent full-time adult education teaching staff and many support staff redundant. They claim that 35% – 40% of the adult education grant must be kept by GCC for ‘management services’. At the same time as making many staff redundant they are being paid very large consultancy fees. Greenwich adult education received a glowing Ofsted report, ‘good’ across all departments. How can Greenwich adult education maintain those standards if almost all its permanent teaching staff are made redundant and most of its support staff are gone? GCC in Plumstead where more vocational courses are taught, was rated as poor by its Ofsted. What institution(s) will benefit from the 35-40% management costs being taken out of the adult education budget by GCC?”
Here is the link for anyone who’d like to sign the petition:
The petition website states, “Adult and community education centres in Greenwich provide high quality courses for people in the borough and across the whole of London in a wide range of subjects ranging from upholstery, woodwork, computing, painting, photography, sculpture, and cookery.  Adult education offers specialist opportunities for people with learning difficulties, helps unemployed people build confidence to find a new job, and people in work to gain new skills.  It enables people of all ages and backgrounds to come together to learn and make new friends. Greenwich has stronger communities because of it.  Sacking experienced teaching staff and paying external consultants huge amounts of money to do it and ‘manage’ is a tragedy.”

Thursday 30 April 2015

Jack-in-the-Green to reach Triangle 4.30-5pm, Friday May 1st

By imogene russell on 30 Apr 2015 09:17 pm


This is the route for this year’s May Day procession of the the Fowlers Troop and Deptford Jack-in-the-Green, 11.30 am to around 5pm. The Ashburnham Arms is the last pub on the route. 
Background of the tradition
The Jack in the Green tradition developed from the 17th Century custom of milkmaids going out on May Day with the utensils of their trade – silver cups, pots, spoons – decorated with garlands and piled into a pyramid which they carried on their heads. By the mid eighteenth century other groups, notably chimney sweeps, were moving in on the milkmaids’ territory as they saw May Day as a good opportunity to collect money.
Over the last 25 years several popular festivals have grown up around the Jack in the Green tradition. These are mostly on the May bank holiday weekend at Bristol, Brentham in North Ealing, Guildford, Hastings, Knutsford, Oxford, Rochester and Whitstable.
The Hastings and Rochester gatherings are now very large festivals. In contrast, the Deptford Jack in the Green, in South East London, is not very widely known although it has been running since the early 1980s.
Contact us: S.J.Crofts(@)gre.ac.uk

Sunday 26 April 2015

Davy’s Wine Vaults licensing extension – a resident’s complaint

By andrew steeds on 26 Apr 2015 07:56 pm

Davy’s wine Vaults and shop (161–71 Greenwich High Road SE10 8JA) wishes to have live music and a late bar until 1 am on Thursdays and up to 2 am over Fridays and Saturdays in its wine bar vaults. There is currently a lot of noise emanating from the outside bar of Davy’s. I think that a late licence will attract people from all over Greenwich, creating a huge increase in footfall to and especially from the venue. Unless there is specific soundproofing I am wondering how the music noise will be contained.
There will be no DLR or mainline trains after midnight, so customers will gather outside the venue before finding their way home in taxis or by other means. The outside area of Davy’s is tiny, and has no provision for parking of any vehicles or for more than a few people to stand in. It is only metres from flats and residential streets so at turning-out time customers will cause unacceptable noise and nuisance to local residents.
Currently there are single yellow lines on Greenwich High Road opposite Davy’s and outside Maitland House (three residential blocks of flats), and cars are consistently parked there by visitors to Greenwich. The local residents’ car parking spaces are also used, particularly those in Langdale Road – as 5 pm is the cut-off point for restrictions – which causes nuisance as drivers arrive and leave at late hours. I am hoping that local residents will be able to foresee the problems this licence will cause in future if left unchecked and I urge all ATA residents to object in writing by Wednesday 29 April to;
The Licensing Register of Royal Borough of Greenwich, The Council Offices, 4th Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Security Alert: Motor Vehicle Thefts

By david scales on 14 Apr 2015 12:46 pm


At our most recent Safer Neighbourhoods Ward Panel Meeting, we have been made aware of a spike in thefts from motor vehicles not only in the Ashburnham Triangle but throughout the West Greenwich area.
There have also been reports of serious damage and vandalism to cars in Ashburnham Grove and Greenwich South Street.
In general, Vauxhall Zafiras and Astras are being targeted but we would remind all car owners not to leave Sat Navs, Valuables, Bags and Blue Badges (when they’re not in use) or any items on display or on seats and to always lock all car doors, shut windows and use internal security devices.
The Safer Neighbourhoods Police will be holding some more drop-in surgeries this May:
Friday 15th May, 7pm – 8pm at
Waitrose, New Capital Quay, SE10 9DD;
Wednesday 27th May, 9am – 10.00am at
Holy Trinity Centre, Bennett Grove, SE13 7RF.
We are hoping to arrange a drop-in surgery in the Ashburnham Triangle for the near future.
If you have any concerns about motor vehicle crime or want to speak to the Safer Neighbourhoods Team about anything police related, just turn up to one of these events. It’s a way for the police to listen and speak to the community and find out what affects people’s daily lives.

Thursday 9 April 2015

Do you have an event to publicise?

By imogene russell on 09 Apr 2015 06:04 pm


If you have an event you feel people in the Triangle would be interested in, let us know. It can be happening anywhere reasonably reachable. We can post notices by ATA email and website, and on the physical Community Notice Board outside St Marks. Send to imogenerussell1@gmail.com
We are also thinking of creating community pages on Facebook and Twitter. Has anyone any views on that?

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Safer Neighbourhoods Meeting, 9th April 2015

By david scales on 08 Apr 2015 06:54 pm


There will be a meeting of the Greenwich West Ward Safer Neighbourhoods Panel on Thursday evening 9th April 2015 at 6:30pm.
The Ashburnham Triangle is a standing item on the agenda under ward issues. At the last meeting in January a few thefts were reported from motor vehicles in the Triangle WGSNT minutes 29 Jan 2015.
These meetings are not open access but are attended by the Ward Councillors, the Safer Neighbourhoods Police, Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators, Royal Borough of Greenwich staff, other agencies and both myself/Carolyn Carter as the Security Hub Representatives on behalf of ATA residents.
If you have become a victim of crime or have experienced any anti- social behaviour, please email either David Scales  or Carolyn Carter cartercarolyn@btinternet.com as soon as possible so that we can feedback any issues to the Safer Neighbourhoods police at the meeting. Any incidents of crime we are made aware of also strengthens the case for dedicating more police resources to the area. We will not give out any personal details or information unless required to do. 
Alternatively, if you have any concerns or want to speak to the Police about anything directly you can do so in person at one of the Spring drop-in surgeries already listed in the previous Security Hub post.

Friday 20 February 2015

Outdoor film showing?

By imogene russell on 20 Feb 2015 11:20 am


Would people like an outdoor film showing in the Play Street?  It would have to be on a date and time when it’s dark enough early enough, but on the other hand not too cold. On Saturday May 9th sunset is predicted to be at 20.34. The film could start half an hour later.
There’d be no noise from the film, because we could all have our own wireless headphones. Or we could have a silent film. There’d be a tiny amount of noise from the eight or ten bicycles providing the power. We’d need volunteers to take turns on the bicycles. And we’d bring our own chairs.
If so, what film? Not too long. Suitable for any children who might be there. We could go for films you can’t get hold of easily, or we could concentrate on crowd-pleasers-for-all. Or preferably both, if possible. Here below are some suggestions made by people of various ages, from 21 to 69. We haven’t vetted the list to see if they meet the criteria above. Any film we chose would have to meet them.
The Big Lebowski; The Sting; Dodgeball; Anchorman; The Fugitive; Con Air; Hobson’s Choice; The Longest Day; Enemy of the State; North by Northwest; Les Enfants du Paradis, Last Year at Marienbad, An Officer and a Gentleman; The Big Easy; Return of the Pink Panther; The Pursuit of Happiness; Three Men and a Baby; Clue; Being John Malkovich; Cabaret; Jerry Maguire; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Some Like it Hot; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; The Seven Year Itch; Oceans 11; Gladiator; Amélie; Plains, Trains and Automobiles; Gravity; The French Connection; Enigma; Trading Places; It’s a Wonderful Life; Liar Liar; The Truman Show; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective; Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; Aviator; Once Upon a Time in the West; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Wall Street; Casablanca; A Royal Affair; The Great Gatsby; Bubba Ho-Tep; Blow-Up; The Royal Tenenbaums; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; Bringing Up Baby; Diary of an Unknown Woman; Moby Dick; or anything by Wes Anderson.

Tuesday 10 February 2015

New old-fashioned physical notice board

By imogene russell on 10 Feb 2015 10:24 pm

“Attractive, up-to-date and well-maintained” is what the new community notice board will be, said Tony Othen, as 40 or so people, including artist Peter Kent and ATA founder Ewan Hooper, watched its unveiling outside St Mark’s Church on Sunday. “It’s for the community to use to post up events and opinions that have nothing to do with our church,” said Tony, of The Gallery in Peyton Place, and church member.
St Mark’s is inviting us all to send notices of what’s going on locally to stmarksgreenwich@gmail.com by Friday for posting on Saturday. Tony will post them on the Community Page of the website at www.stmarksgreenwich.org.ukand also display the page on one of the church’s four ‘‘good old-fashioned physical notice boards” outside.
The premises at St Mark’s were redesigned several decades ago to make it easy for outside groups to use them, and many have done so ever since. This notice board, dedicated to the community, is another way for the church to make contact with its neighbours.
The board was unveiled by Imogene Russell, ATA secretary, and John Twydale, who is interim moderator at St Mark’s while the search is on for a permanent minister to replace Martin Cole who left a year ago. Sometimes individual members of the church give the address in the service, and on Sunday Tony gave one on Communication, Community and Christianity, which people had come to hear from as far afield as Dorset. In it he said, “My take on the Jesus stories is that we are all one community – no insiders and outsiders.”

Monday 9 February 2015

Owners of Vauxhall Zafiras Beware

By david scales on 09 Feb 2015 08:41 pm


We have been notified by the Millenium Quay Neighbourhood Watch Scheme that there’s been a spate of Vauxhall Zafiras being broken into in the Greenwich area.
Apparently the small back triangle windows are being smashed in order to open the back door. If you are an owner of this vehicle, you are advised to activate the child locks on both sides and make sure you remove the log book and other valuables from the car.  
Although incidents of theft of and theft from vehicles are relatively low, owners of all vehicles are reminded to lock car doors and not leave any items or possessions on the seats.As ever, if you see a crime being committed call 999 twenty four hours a day where life or property are in danger, a crime is being committed or the suspect is nearby and the police are required immediately; to report anything suscipious or less urgent, call 101 (calls are charged at local rate).
You can also report any concerns or police related matters at the upcoming Police drop-in surgeries, see the previous Security Hub post for further details.