Children’s story-telling now available at Dulwich Books

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Children’s Stories Come to Life at Dulwich Books

Last Saturday our award-winning local bookstore Dulwich Books launched a new, twice weekly free storytelling and activities session for under fives.

Each week parents and children are welcome to come along and hear new stories with some old favourites on Saturdays and Thursdays at 11am. No booking is necessary and a specialist member of staff will be on hand all day to offer advice and personal recommendations.

Here at South Croxted we love Dulwich Books. It has been serving the community for the past 29 years and we are particularly pleased they’ve been awarded the title of ‘London’s Independent Bookseller of Year 2012’ by The Bookseller magazine.

Call Dulwich Books on 020 8670 1920 or email dulwichbooks@yahoo.co.uk for more details. And if you attend an event leave some feedback here on the site or on the South Croxted Facebook page to let us know what it’s like.

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New Leaf Project at West Dulwich Station

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Have you ever wondered who is behind the clean-up and planting along the railway sidings at West Dulwich station? It’s a voluntary community group called New Leaf.

Started in 2006, the project aims to help the local community learn about nature, plants and wildlife by creating a garden on the wasteland by the station. The garden is open to other voluntary groups, including Southwark Youth Offending Services, to come and do gardening.

The old shop by the railway bridge has been painted with a mural and now sells second hand books to raise funds. The longer term plan – subject to successful fundraising – is to:

  • plant a time line of plant history
  • put up information boards
  • develop the site as a resource for learning about the local environment
  • get more local people involved
  • keep the project running as a resource for young offenders to help them learn new skills

New Leaf are looking to raise funds and attract more volunteers to help out in the shop, for fundraising and to garden. They are also interested in receiving spare plants.

Drop in to the shop at 134 Thurlow Park Road for a chat or contact:

Vinnie O’Connoll
m. 07740 954942
e. info@new-leaf.org.uk
w. www.new-leaf.org.uk
Or check out their Facebook page.

Picture courtesy of the New Leaf website.

 

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Lambeth Community Freshview Project

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Councillor Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council, has just written to residents outlining the Freshview project that is now trialling in our area.

Freshview aims to make local communities cleaner, safer and greener by focusing on the quality of the environment. Originally a 12 month pilot started in 2006, it has been running since in selected wards and is now permanent. Full information is available on the Lambeth website.

What’s happens when Freshview comes to your area? The council work with Veolia to:

  • jet wash pavements
  • removing graffiti
  • clear fly-tipping
  • clear fly posting

The Safer Neighbourhood team look at illegal parking, abandoned vehicles, littering and dog fouling. They also work with supervised young offenders on specific projects to improve the environment. I could go on, but you’ve all hopefully seen the leaflet that this information is taken from.

Lambeth are now running an offshoot called Community Freshview where they work with residents to clean up an area. A Big Society with a mop, if you will.

Would you be interested in getting a community group from South Croxted Road together and putting an expression of interest in to the Council? Is this something you’d like the South Croxted Road Residents’ Association to coordinate? What would you like to see cleaned up?

Comment on this post or email southcroxtedroad@gmail.com to let us know.

 

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Christmas Tree Collection January 2012

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Both Lambeth and Southwark are offering a free Christmas Tree Collection service in January 2012. We’ll be sad to see the back of ours. It’s provided a lovely pine fragrance all season. We bought ours at The Secret Garden in Crystal Palace who are also accepting trees. Details below.

 

  • Lambeth: free real Christmas tree collection w/c 9th January.
  • Vale Street recycling facility: 9th – 22nd January during normal opening hours on Monday, Thursday, Friday, weekends.
  • The Secret Garden in Crystal Palace is accepting trees on the 7th and 8th of January. Click the events tab on their website for further information.
  • Southwark: can be collected with garden waste, taken to one of the special collection points or arrange a free collection.

Happy new year!

 

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Young Lambeth and Young Southwark information

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Just spotted this website link in the last Lambeth Talk update. Young Lambeth is a dedicated directory of services, activities and events for children, young people and families in Lambeth. And it’s really not bad looking for a council website. Simple to navigate, colourful and engaging. You can follow them on Twitter and there’s a Facebook page.

However, on further digging, I couldn’t find information on local firework and bonfire displays for next weekend. Some more thought needs to be given to accessibility and type of content. Have you used it? What do you think?

For those living on the even numbered side of the road, Southwark have their family services information listed on their main site. If anyone knows about a dedicated site, please list the link in the comments field. Their Twitter account is for all their services.

And just in case you were wondering, here’s a list of local firework displays on 5th November.

Time Out have produced a nifty guide to all displays happening next weekend. Wherever you go, Have fun and stay safe.

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Dulwich Books: Forthcoming Events

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

We wrote about the regular Taste Thursdays @ Dulwich Books events in August. They have a couple of events coming up that may be of interest.

On October 27th between 12 and 2pm, they will have free lunchtime samples from a promoted cookbook and at 8pm David Collison will be in-store talking about The Perfect Pickle Book, with hints, tips and examples on preserves and pickling alongside samples from the book.

November 24th has more free lunchtime samples from a promoted cookbook between 12 and 2pm. If you want to do a bit of celeb spotting, then come along at 8pm to see TV presenter Emma Forbes talking about her new cookery book Life and Soul.

Tickets for each evening event are £2 and redeemable against copies bought.

There are also a number of free events on Saturdays for children:

  • Oct 22nd 10.30 – 11.15 Amazing Animals – storytelling with Vanessa Wolf – for under sevens.
  • Oct 29th 10.30 – 11.15 Halloween – storytelling with Vanessa Wolf – for under sevens.
  • Nov 5th 10.30 – 11.15 Margaret Bateson-Hill reading from Legacy of Fire – the second book in her Dragon Racer series. Ideal for the 5-8′s

Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, West Dulwich, SE21 8SW T. 020 8670 1920 E. dulwichbooks@yahoo.co.ukwww.dulwichbooks.co.uk

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Concerned about speeding traffic on South Croxted Road?

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

In 2011 there have been several accidents, a couple of which resulted in the road being closed while vehicles were recovered.

The speed camera has always been a useful way of slowing people down, but it has been out of order for several weeks. Michael Mitchell, Conservative Greater London Assembly Candidate for Lambeth and Southwark, has circulated a petition to residents to raise the issue.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: The South Croxted Road Residents’ Association contacted Lambeth in September. Southwark has responsibility for the speed camera’s maintenance, but nothing has been heard from them.

If you haven’t signed the petition or would like to write directly to Lambeth, email: tandhcallcentre@lambeth.gov.uk or send a letter to: Transport and Streets Department, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, London SW2 1RW.

If you would like to write directly to Southwark email: environment@southwark.gov.uk or telephone 020 7525 2000.

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Foodie Thursday at Dulwich Books: mmmm, ice cream…

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

Would you like to taste the work of an award winning ice cream maker?

Dulwich Books will be continuing their Foodie Thursday series with a visit from Robin Weir, author of Ice Cream, Sorbets & Gelati. He will be talking to customers until 2pm and if you’re lucky you may get to try his work. The book has just won a Food Guild Writers award so if you love ice cream, don’t miss this event.

Listen to an interview on Woman’s Hour here.

Meet the man himself on Thursday 25 August until 2pm, Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, SE21 8SW.

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Madness strikes south London

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

This was going to be a post about last (Sunday) night. When a drunken woman called Sarah turned up at our house at 2.30am. She demanded that we order her a cab and pay for it. We didn’t know her so we refused. She then tried to kick our front door in. And destroy our fence. For nearly two hours.

The police couldn’t help. They were very apologetic, but tied up dealing with the Brixton disturbances. We sat it out until she broke our doorbell, gate and fence. Then finally, thank God, she got bored and went somewhere else, leaving an empty bottle of wine and debris on our front path.

So, I’m now sat watching Sky News (the best TV coverage by far in my opinion), Facebook, Twitter and the web, horrified by the diseased spread of riots, crime and civil disobedience across London.

And tonight, South London is hogging the limelight. There are shocking pictures of whole blocks burning in Croydon; total lawlessness in Clapham Junction; convoys of black police vans creeping down Walworth Road; and rumours of small clashes in East Dulwich and Crystal Palace.

Having had only 3 hours sleep last night, I’m going to have to go to bed soon. But when I wake up, I want it all to be over.

I know that residents of South Croxted Road will want to do something to help any nearby business or family affected.

There are volunteer groups setting up on Twitter and Facebook already offering to help out. Let’s get something going for our neighbouring areas. Ideas include:

  • check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours to see if they are worried and need some reassurance, support or company
  • sheets, bedding and other household items for those burnt/chased out of their homes
  • offers of accommodation for those who are homeless
  • help cleaning up buildings or streets that have been vandalised (once police forensics are finished)
If you can think of anything else let me know. southcroxtedroad@gmail.com 

Suzanne

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Elmwood School reception places: another meeting on 12 July 2011

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Suzanne Kavanagh

We posted recently about the problems local families are experiencing when trying to gain reception places for their children at Elmwood School. Even those living on the same street are struggling to secure a place.

There will be another public meeting held on Tuesday 12 July at 7.30pm. If you share these worries, please attend at Elmwood School, Carnac Street, SE27.

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