With the Christmas and New Year lull out of the way, I thought I would resume with the weekly round-ups of what’s been happening in Greenwich.

London’s Air Ambulance service has been marking its 25th birthday – and trying to raise funds for a second helicopter – so it gave me a good chance to post on twitter this picture I got last year of the helicopter next to the Cutty Sark. Here’s some information about how you can support the service.

It’s also been a week of local anniversaries. Last Monday, it was 108 years to the day since the rather wonderful Woolwich Town Hall was first opened by Will Crooks MP. On Thursday, it was the 141th anniversary of the order that first established the Royal Naval College at Greenwich in buildings that had been left empty since the Royal Hospital for Seaman closed.

Those anniversaries come from Dave Male’s Greenwich Day by Day, reproduced on the Greenwich Guide website.

Information has come, via a Port of London Authority notice to mariners, that work will soon begin on the swing bridge across the mouth of Deptford Creek. Contractors are expected to begin work around the 11th February and the project should take nine months to complete. I’ve put more information on the forum.

Also on the forum is a query from new user Dan who has noticed a number of properties going on the market in Christchurch Way.

If you have a question or something to say about Greenwich, it’s easy to register and start a discussion.

You may have heard that HMS Argyll is currently up in the Upper Pool of London, moored next to HMS Belfast. The Type-23 frigate quietly made her way up river on Wednesday morning, passing Greenwich about 1am. She departs on Sunday afternoon, shortly after 4pm, so there’s a chance to see her sailing by. It will be after sunset but there should be enough light to see her – expect her to pass Greenwich at or shortly after 4.30pm. Here was her sister ship HMS St Albans passing the Old Royal Naval College a few years ago.

On Tuesday evening, Rev Chris Moody from St Alfege Church will give a talk to the Greenwich Historical Society under the title Hawksmoor and the Commissioning of the New St Alfege. Non-members are welcome but there’s a £3 admission charge.

If you know of a community event coming up, you can add it to the website’s What’s On section using this page.

As well as appearing on the website, this round up goes to many hundreds of subscribers via email. If you would like to receive it in your inbox, you can sign up here.

A day later than normal, here’s a round up of some of what’s been happening in Greenwich this week.

Woman In Black sequel

Yet another  movie crew descended on the Old Royal Naval College this week, just days after the last one! Parts of the grounds were turned in to bomb-hit London during the Blitz for the sequel to Woman in Black which will be called Angel of Death. Here’s a photo from the set:

Standards Committee

The Standards Committee of Greenwich Council convened on Friday at Woolwich Town Hall to examine the now-famous voicemail left by the leader of the council for his colleague, John Fahy. Their decision was published on the council’s website on Friday afternoon.

Pantomime Horse Race

Sunday sees the 4th annual Pantomime Horse Race take to the streets of Greenwich in aid of Demelza. There race starts at 1pm at Devonport House and there’s music and entertainment before and after the event. More details here

If you have a free community event coming up, you can add it to the website here.

Calendars

Last Sunday I was selling my Greenwich and Thames calendars at St Alfege church hall after the Sunday morning service and £47 was raised for the restoration fund. Thanks to everyone that has bought one, whether it was online or in local shops. It’s been fun to do it again and they’ve proved to be pretty popular. If you’d still like one before Christmas, they’re available in shops and cafes across SE10, SE7, SE9 and SE18.

So all that’s left to do is to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Here are a couple of Christmas videos that I made last year.

Here’s our weekly round up of things that have been happening in Greenwich this week…

Greenwich Inc

Not long after last week’s update was completed came the news that Greenwich Inc Limited had gone into administration. It was announced in last Friday’s edition of the London Gazette. What it means and what venues it actually affects isn’t immediately clear but on Thursday of this week, the Spread Eagle ceased trading. Sad news just before Christmas for those working there. A spokesperson for the company told the Mercury newspaper that they were “working towards a positive result.”

Johnny Depp returns

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Johnny Depp was in Greenwich making that Pirates of the Caribbean movie where he raced through the Old Royal Naval College on a carriage and swung through a Painted Hall window (no real windows smashed, I’m told) but he returned last weekend for his latest movie. He is the lead in crime caper Mordecai which co-stars Ewan McGregor and Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s another film to the add now very long list of movies made in Greenwich.

I went along to the Painted Hall a few days later and it was nice to see their Christmas trees up.

Foggy Greenwich

The fog that descended upon London on Wednesday had everyone reaching for their camera to post up photos on social media and there were some really spectacular photos. I didn’t manage to get out and get myself but this was a great one from the cable car (it seems fog is the one adverse weather condition that doesn’t affect it!)

Did anyone see #London in the fog yesterday? This photo of the Emirates Cable Car looks pretty cool! pic.twitter.com/a77ZvsLem8

— Travel Republic (@TravelRepublic) December 12, 2013

And here’s a beautiful photo from Greenwich Park

This fog rolling back from Greenwich Park is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in London. pic.twitter.com/PoJIw5e4eV

— DanSung (@DanSung) December 11, 2013

Royal Greenwich Brass Band

It was wonderful to see the Royal Greenwich Brass Band with conductor Stephen Maw performing a Christmas carol concert at St Alfege church on Thursday lunch time. The music was beautiful and there was plenty of audience participation too including jangling keys to accompany Prokofiev’s ‘Troika’ – I didn’t expect to be playing with a brass band this week.

You can listen to a very short clip here

Speaking of St Alfege, as I was, I will be selling my Greenwich calendars in the church hall after the service on Sunday. The cover photo and one from inside were both taken from the tower of the church.

There’s another carol service at the church on Monday at 6.30pm in aid of St Monica’s School, Zanzibar. It will be led by St Alfege with St Peter Primary School, Greenwich and Downe School, Bromley.

Oh… just one more thing

The Millies – or the Military Awards sponsored by the Sun newspaper as they’re more formally known – were held at the National Maritime Museum this week. The event can be seen on ITV1 on Monday evening.

Matt Pennycook

Local ward councillor Matthew Pennycook has been successful in his bid to become Labour’s parliamentary candidate at the next General Election which will be held in 2015. He won the selection battle in a ballot of local Labour party members held at the Woolwich Grand Theatre last Saturday. When I hear of other parties selecting their candidates, I’ll no doubt share that news too!

Princess Anne’s visit

The Royal Borough received a royal visitor this week when Princess Anne officially opened the equestrian centre that has been built on Shooters Hill next to Woodlands Park Farm.

The equestrian centre is run by Kent-based Hadlow College – here’s some photos from when I had a look around last year.

Thames Barrier closures

London’s flood defence system was called into action in the early hours of this morning and then again this afternoon to protect the capital from the risk of a very high tide. It was the first time that the barrier has been fully closed this year in response to flood risk and in doing so it protected London against the highest tides since it was completed in 1984. Luckily towns further down river that had been warned of potential flooding seemed to have got off lightly. Here a picture from this afternoon’s closure with one of the Woolwich ferries just coming in to view.

Kevin Nolan

Much loved Charlton Athletic match reporter Kevin Nolan has a new sponsor! Grant Saw Wealth Management, based up at the Blackheath Standard, are backing Kev which means there will be lots more top quality, witty sports writing from Kevin over the rest of this season.

Calendars

I have again been trudging across the borough armed with a box of calendars and a invoice book doing my best impression of a contestant on the Apprentice. After getting them into the National Maritime Museum last Friday, this week I have restocked shops like Pegga at Blackheath Standard, Warwick Leadlay by the market and also taken a new delivery to Lizzie’s lovely cafe in East Greenwich Pleasaunce and also to Charlton House. They are, along with my River Thames calendars, available online too.

Santa in the Pleasaunce

Speaking of the Pleasaunce, the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce, along with the Bridge community centre, are bringing Santa to the park in East Greenwich this Sunday. From 1pm-3pm, there’s a Winter Barrow sale, a chance to meet Father Christmas between 2pm-4pm (I heard the real one is coming which is something of a coup) and there will also be carols from the Halstow Community Choir during the afternoon.

There will also be carols on Monday 9th December at Mycenae House excerpts from Scrooge performed by the Mycenae Players. Free entry with a retiring collection in aid of Epilepsy Action.

You can keep an eye on other upcoming events here.

If you were near the river on Friday morning you might have seen this warship go past.

The Belgian frigate BNS LOUISE MARIE went up to moor alongside HMS Belfast and took with her some sacred soil from the battlefields of Flanders. The soil will be taken through London tomorrow by the Kings’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and it will eventually be added to a WWI memorial garden.

Advent Windows

With it being December 1st on Sunday, it means the start of this year’s St Alfege Advent Windows. I’m sure you know what it’s all about by now but 24 homes local to St Alfege will be each unveiling their “window” throughout December. Keep an eye on the to see where the windows are!

Winter Fayre

I don’t think there will be many places in Greenwich doing a BBQ this weekend, but one place that will be is the Greenwich Ecology Park on Sunday. They’re having their Wild Winter Fayre where there will be wintry wildlife quiz trails for children, barbecue and winter warmer drinks, plus gift and second hand book stall. Full details are here.

Rushgrove House

Did you go and check out the art exhibition at Rushgrove House in Woolwich last weekend? As I mentioned in the previous round up, it was a rare chance to look inside this hidden gem near the barracks. There were lots of great pics floating around on social media – do check out this great set by Chris Mansfield on his new (brilliant) Historic Woolwich Facebook page.

In the grounds of Rushgrove House is Mulgrave Pond and here’s a photo I took of that earlier in the year.

Kevin Nolan

Fans of CAFC match reporter Kevin Nolan can rest easy: a new sponsor has been found and we look forward to unveiling them on the site for the first match of December. In the mean time, why not look back at Kev’s reports of the season so far.

Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark has announced a series of shows which will take place in its 85-seater studio theatre. The performance space in the lower hold will welcome acts such as Alan Davies, Ross Noble, Richard Herring and even Sir Robin Knox-Johnston early next year. Full details of that are on the forum.

The Cutty Sark, as seen from the tower of St Alfege Church, features on the front cover of the calendar I’ve made. I was lucky enough to go up in the tower twice this year, once as a dry run just to get a look at it and then again in London Marathon day. It was a great privilege to be allowed to go and there’s a photo from both visits in the calendar.

I am very pleased that the Greenwich calendar, along with my one about the River Thames, will both be stocked very shortly by the National Maritime Museum gift shop, as well as lots of other shops around the borough. Full details about both and where to get them are on the website.

Oh, and staying with the National Maritime Museum – who have just announced Sir Charles Dunstone as their new Chairman, by the way – there’s a free event next Friday afternoon called “Caricatures and Yinka: Life, Love and Laughter.“

Thanks to the NMM for adding it to the What’s On section of the website – you can advertise community events on there too!

I thought I would kick off this Weekly Round Up with a photo I took of autumnal Greenwich Park on Tuesday morning.

Always good to be out and about with the camera although I did forget to check out the Old Royal Naval College where at the start of the week, a new version of Cinderella joined the incredible list of films that have used it as a set. Such is the popularity of the stunning ORNC that Empire magazine recently asked it was the most popular filming location in the world.

Another location in the borough to be used for filming recently has been Rushgrove House in Woolwich. This Georgian mansion is tucked away near the Royal Artillery barracks and it was used in the summer as a set for Mike Leigh’s new movie about JMW Turner, starring Timothy Spall. There will be a rare chance to see inside the property this weekend as it will be one of the venues for an exhibition by students from the Royal College of Arts.

If you’d rather see the works of Turner, it just so happens an exhibition of his marine art has just opened at the National Maritime Museum.

Greenwich Revealed

Historian, and councillor, Mary Mills has had a first look at a new book called Greenwich Revealed. The book is an investigation in to some early 18th century line drawings of Greenwich. It “may be the most important book written about ‘West’ Greenwich,” commented Mary on Twitter. Written by much-respected historians Julian Watson and Neil Rhind, it’s available now in Warwick Leadlay and Sabo’s newsagent, priced £10.

Trident Hotel

It hasn’t been a very busy week on the Greenwich.co.uk forum but there’s been some more posts to the forum thread about the proposed hotel where Trident Hall currently stands, including details of a petition.

Speaking of petitions, Stewart Christie has just started one to try and win support for the idea of protecting the Woolwich Grand theatre by getting it listed as an asset of community value. This is as a response to a developer’s proposal to replace it with flats.

Cable car’s four commuters

Snipe had a bit of a scoop this week when it revealed that the cable car is down to just four regular commuters. The story got picked up by plenty of other news outlets, too.

West Greenwich House

As part of the big development called the Movement behind Greenwich High Road and Norman Road – which is made up of new flats, student accommodation, a hotel and more – there has been extension provided for West Greenwich House. Local residents are invited to go and see the completed extension to the community centre on Monday, between 3pm and 7pm.

Charity carol concert

for the Bexley & Greenwich Community Hospice carol service in the stunning surroundings of the chapel at the Old Royal Naval College. Find more upcoming events here…

And finally…

It wouldn’t be one my weekly round ups without a plug for my calendar. This week I delivered some copies to the lovely Avery Hill Park Cafe, which means it’s now finally on sale in all of the postcodes that are pictured inside: SE10, SE7, SE18 and SE9. You can get it online or see all the stockists here.

Halstow Craft Fair Thanks

I thought I would begin this weekly round up by thanking everyone that came down and got a calendar or two at the Halstow Craft Fair. It was lovely to meet, amongst others, Eve, Hilary, Sue and Holly and also to see Lara and Sam again. After a pretty barren first hour – think the heavy rain can be blamed – the rest of the afternoon worked out quite well and I learned important lessons such as, contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right and it’s a good idea to take a flask.

Here’s a photo of councillor John Fahy who attended the event and is pictured just before gamely trying a very hot sauce. Well done to Eve for organising what seemed like a very successful event.

Speaking of my Greenwich calendars, as I am prone to doing at this time of year, I must say thanks to Mandy Little for this article which appeared in the South London Press and the Mercury this week. Thanks also to Anthony from Warwick Leadlay for stocking them again this year – full, updated list of stockists is here.

Christmas Fairs

There’s a couple of Christmas fairs on this weekend in the area if you’re looking for any crafty gift ideas. On Saturday there’s a Christmas craft market at Thorntree Primary School in Thorntree Road, Charlton between 12pm and 4pm. Admission is £1 for adults (includes a raffle ticket) and is free for kids.

The Blackheath Christmas Fair in aid of Age Exchange takes place at Blackheath Halls on Sunday (17th)between 10.30am and 4pm. Admission is £1 or free for Friends of Age Exchange and children under 16. Looking ahead a bit further, on the 1st December there’s a Wild Winter Fayre at the Ecology Park on the peninsula.

A new hotel behind the Trafalgar?

A new hotel is being proposed behind the famous Trafalgar Tavern. The large hotel would replace Trident Hall – Simon has kindly posted up details on the Greenwich.co.uk forum along with information about how you can make your views known before the closing date which is December 3rd. Do take look and see what you think.

The forum is a good place to start a discussion about anything at all that’s on your mind about Greenwich or nearby.

Elsewhere on the web, Darryl from 853blog.com went to the IKEA exhibition last week and has posted up his thoughts and, as ever, a good discussion followed. There’s also some thoughts on it, along with a range of other local stuff, from Peninsula ward councillor Mary Mills on her blog.

Boycie at the Nag’s Head, Greenwich

Actor John Challis, most famous for playing Boycie in Only Fools and Horses, is doing a book signing in Greenwich on Saturday. After doing a couple of autobiographies, he has now turned his hand to fiction and will be signing books in the Pelton Arms pub from 6pm. The Pelton is a very good choice of location, of course, because it was the pub they used as the Nag’s Head in the prequel to Only Fools and Horses. John is a good friend of local actor, presenter and hotellier Robert Gray – here’s an interview they did a while back.

Keep an eye on the Greenwich.co.uk What’s On page for other events coming up or why not add your own?

High Tides

Twitter has been awash with photos this week of the very high tides which looked quite startling at places like Greenwich and Putney.  I got some photos outside the Old Royal Naval College where the path was covered in water in parts.

There’s more on the forum. It was completely different from the day before when I had been in Twickenham, where the tide was so low because of the annual Draw Off at Richmond weir that huge swathes of the riverbed were exposed.

St Alfege Advent Windows

The advent calendar with a difference returns next month: St Alfege Advent Windows. The format will probably be familiar to you by now – participating windows decorate a window that is opened on each day in December, all the way up to Christmas Eve. I hear there are still spaces available for anyone that would like to give it a go. You do need to live in the parish of St Alfege, though. .

Halstow Craft Fair

There will be two floors of cakes, gifts, cards, soaps, pottery and more at the Halstow Craft Fair on Saturday afternoon between 12-4pm. And when I say more, what I really mean is “calendars” because I will be there with lots of my Greenwich and Thames calendars so do come and say “hi”. In fact, feel free to do more than say “hi” and buy a calendar, too. If you can’t make it, you may like to know that my 2014 calendar is now in stock at SBS Printing in Greenwich South Street, the Firepower museum gift shop in the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, and also at the Woolwich Coffee Lounge (but you need to ask for it at the counter). Full list of stockists here. As we’ve just had bonfire night, here’s a photo of some fireworks that appears in the calendar.

Peninsula housing

Over on the peninsula, news has emerged that Hong King based Knight Dragon has bought out its former partner Quintain and is now in sole charge of Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration company. on that and what it might mean. There’s a lively comment thread below, too.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Also on the peninsula, the top male tennis players in the world are battling it out at the O2 to win the end of season ATP World Tour Finals. It’s the fifth time the tournament has been staged at North Greenwich and despite the absence of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray because of injury, the venue has still been packed out for its afternoon and evening sessions. And since I mentioned Andy Murray, it does give me a chance to share this photo of the very moment he won Wimbledon. Great celebrations from the spectators who watched on the big screen in General Gordon Square, Woolwich.

The tennis concludes on Monday – this is the place to check for any last minute tickets.

And talking of sport, and therefore fitness, I just heard that the new outdoor gym at the Caletock Estate in East Greenwich will be officially opened next Tuesday. If you are involved in any community events coming up, don’t forget you can add them all for free to the Greenwich.co.uk What’s On section.

And that’s it for this week…

In a new feature on Greenwich.co.uk, I’ll round up some of the interesting content that’s appeared on the site over the past week and elsewhere on the web.

IKEA in SE10?

News emerged early in the week that the Swedish giant IKEA are eyeing up the Sainsbury’s and old Comet on the peninsula. Sainsbury’s already has plans to move to Charlton but would the popular flat-pack furniture store prove too popular for the already busy roads? There were mixed opinions in the debate that followed.

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park sadly lost four trees in the storms of Sunday night and it was closed for most of Monday while Royal Parks assessed the damage. The howling winds and driving rain was a big change from a few days earlier when the park was looking stunning in the autumn sunshine. I posted up a set of autumn pictures from the park and I also got lucky when I found some beautiful parakeets who were happy to pose for my camera.

New schedule for foot tunnel works

A new Friends group for the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels was established recently under the acronym FOGWOFT. The new group, chaired by Mary Mills, has had a meeting with the council and released details of a new timetable for the works that need to take place in the river crossing to be finally, hopefully, completed.  The full press release from the group is here.

Also on the forum, discussion has continued in a long running thread about the impact of the changes that will happen for train passengers on the Greenwich line after 2014. If you’re not up to speed yet, do take a look.

Greenwich Calendar

Many of you will have a copy of my 2013 Royal Greenwich calendar and I enjoyed it doing it so much last year, I thought I would do it all over and again – and this year I have TWO calendars! My Royal Greenwich 2014 calendar features photos from around the borough and features the Cutty Sark, the Thames Barrier, the Old Royal Naval College, the King’s Troop, jousting at Eltham Palace and lots more. It and is also available at:

• Sabo Newsagents – Stockwell Street, Greenwich, SE10
• Karen Woolven Flowers at Greenwich – 18 Royal Hill, Greenwich, SE10 8RT
• Susan Clark Interiors – 113 Humber Road, SE3
• Pegga Stores – Cards & Gifts – 188 Westcombe Hill, Blackheath Standard, SE3 7DH
• Old Cottage Coffee Shop – Behind Charlton House, SE7

More stockists coming soon! My other calendar for 2014 is all about the beautiful ships and boats to be found on the Thames and features a lovely picture of a tall ship passing the Old Royal Naval College with fireworks overhead.

Charlton Athletic match reports

Kevin Nolan continues his superb match reports for the site and this week he covered the Addicks’ nil-nil draw at home against Wigan Athletic.

“This earnestly contested stalemate featured Charlton’s third consecutive clean sheet, an achievement which eluded them during their first ten league games. With a paltry total of nine goals so far, only three of them scored at The Valley, it’s just as well they’ve defiantly clamped down at the other end. Their spirit might be bruised but remains unbroken.” Click here to see the full report. We’re still trying to find a CAFC-loving business to sponsor Kevin’s columns and an intriguing suggestion for some fan-funding appeared in the comments section on that report.

Lewisham Hospital

The Court of Appeal ruled this week that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt did not have power to implement cuts at Lewisham Hospital in south-east London. Greenwich Council’s cabinet member for Health, Cllr John Fahy, welcomed the news in a tweet: “Good news about the Appeal Court decision on Lewisham Hospital. Well done to the hard work of campaigners. Time to look to the future.”

Woolwich Granada

As this is the first of these weekly round ups, I will take the minor liberty of going back slightly further than a week to recommend a look at this recent set of pictures I posted with photos from inside the glorious Woolwich Granada building – now owned by the ChristFaith Tabernacle church – and also some great images from the Heritage Centre showing how it looked when it opened over 70 years ago.

What’s On in Greenwich

The Greenwich Series – a live event at the Greenwich Tavern where interesting speakers get five to ten minutes to tell their story – returns on Monday, as it does on the first Monday of every month. There’s more details here and you can keep an eye on more upcoming events on our What’s On page. If you’re involved in a local community event, why not add the details.

And that’s it for this week!