Conservation

Sign the petition to save Kirkdale Learning Centre from closure

Stop closure of the Kirkdale Learning Centre by signing the petition.

This small nature reserve has woodland and a meadow. A special feature of the site is the wetland area which is a remnant of the old Croydon Canal, bypassed when the railway was built.

The Friends of Mayow Park and the Forest Hill Society have organised an open day at the Dacres Wood nature reserve. Activities include a history talk by Steve Grindlay, guided walks, indoor and outdoor activities for children, stalls by the Mayow Park Community Garden and a master gardener’s table. With tea and cakes available in the field centre, this will be a great way to celebrate the return of spring!

How to find the Dacres Wood Field Studies Centre and Nature Reserve:
Entry will be via the Field Centre which is near the junction of Dacres Road with Silverdale, between Homefield House and Catling Close. An unmarked driveway leads directly to the Field Centre from Dacres Road. Parking is available on Dacres Road and other nearby roads.

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“Pear Tree” statue to be erected at Bell Green

One of the conditions of the planning permission for the “Snail” development currently being built at Bell Green is that there should be money made available for creating some urban artwork within the development as part of the gateway to the pedestrian link within the scheme. The design brief was that the concept should relate to the site’s history and location.

The sculpture which is be erected on the site is based on the fact that the area around Bell Green was once mainly farmland with a preponderance of pear orchards with the abundant production of pear cider (perry) as evidenced by the local street names around the area – Perry Vale, Perry Rise etc.

The unnamed artist’s vision is that on approaching Bell Green one will become aware, from a distance, of two white flower structures, apparently “floating between the two buildings, presenting a soft, gentle poetic presence, amidst the bustle of Bell Green.

“Moving closer the petal structure forms and the shape emerges with clarity, revealing rhythms, movement and a magnificence of gestural curves. Amidst the whiteness sits yellow and pink centres giving a focus around which the flowers radiate. On approaching the car park your eyes are lifted upwards and away from hectic noisy technology, attracted and enticed by the quiet, peaceful, contemplative white pear blossom sculptures.”

A planning application for the erection of “Pear Blossoms” has been submitted to the LBL planning department.

Pear Tree sculpture

Visit to High Elms Country Park – Thursday 17 March

Meet at Penge East station at 10.15am for 10.26 train to Bromley South, then bus to Farnborough village and a walk of less than 1 mile along good country footpaths to the High Elms Estate.

The visit will take in BEECHE (Bromley Environmental Education Centre at High Elms). Distinctive features of the BEECHE building include its straw bale walls and natural light via sun pipes.

The visit includes a guided tour, £1 per person. Enjoy lunch at the BEECHE cafe.

For more information or to say you wish to attend, please contact: Alona Sheridan on 8244 4259 or Iris Humphries on 8693

9525

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24052676@N03/4598730942/

Beckenham Place Park walk – Sunday 6 March, 1.30pm

A walk around this beautiful park with a special look at the trees. Several have had to be cut down this winter for safety reasons but this beautiful open space still boasts many impressive specimens which you will be able to see during the course of this interesting walk.

Meet at the Mansion steps

Mayow Park bird walk – 7am Sunday 6 March

Join the Friends of Mayow Park for their annual bird walk around the park. The walk will last for approximately one hour. And if you have a pair of binoculars, don’t foget to bring them.

Meet at 7am at the Pavilion

Visit the new Arcola Theatre in Dalston

The long-established Arcola Theatre in Dalston has now moved to a new home just down the road. They’re now next to the Reeves Colour Works (where JMW Turner and Constable used to buy their paints). That’s in Ashwin Street, 200m from the entrance to Dalston Junction station.

http://www.arcolatheatre.com/

Now you can join the Sydenham Society using PayPal, Visa or debit card

Joining the Sydenham Society has now been made easier. Just click on the Join Us for £6 per year button on the front page and take it from there.Don’t worry if you don’t have a PayPal account – PayPal allow you the option to pay by Visa or debit if you want. It’s only £6 pa for an individual (includes partner) or £5 pa if you are a senior citizen.

Help to make Sydenham a better place to live and work – join up and receive our quarterly Newsletter delivered to your door.

Great Library Read-in goes with a swing at Sydenham

On Saturday, libraries all over the country threatened with closure, including Sydenham,celebrated the Great Library Read-in. See Joyce Treasure’s blog and flickr thread for more photographs and a description of the day.

http://joycetreasure.blogspot.com/2011/02/lewishams-read-in.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joycetreasure/sets/72157625861857069/

The home of the future?

The home of the future is empty.

There are no books in the home of the future. Books aren’t needed any more, they’re simply clutter. If you’re after celebrity memoirs, upload an e-book. If you want Dickens, get the app. If you need an atlas, check an online map. Encyclopaedias are like, so dead already. Who needs books when you’ve got screens? Who wants rows of dusty spines clogging valuable wall space when a Kindle swallows the lot? Empty the shelves and join the on-demand library instead. Books are for grandads, grandad.

There are no printed words in the home of the future. Newspapers aren’t needed any more, nor magazines. Catch up on the latest political scandal on your tablet. Try the crossword on touchscreen. Read the sauciest celeb gossip in your kitchen on wi-fi. Who needs once a week when you can get regular updates? Who needs once a day when you can get rolling headlines? Clear the coffee table and fire up your iPad instead. Words are instant, two-way, temporary.

There are no compact discs in the home of the future. Physical music formats aren’t needed any more, everything’s digital now. Dupstep samplers and Dvorák’s third, always available. Everything the Rolling Stones ever wrote, at the touch of a button. Lord Cowell’s latest protégé, streamed to any room in the house for a one-off fee. A vast music library hidden behind the scenes, whenever you want it. But nothing that’s actually yours. Nobody owns music any more, they only borrow it.

There are no DVDs in the home of the future. Disc-based audio-visual formats aren’t needed any more, because everything streams. Fancy a film, just click, it’s here. Lazy box-set on the sofa, premium Disney movie, 3D porn flick, your choice. It’s just how Blockbuster video used to be, except withdrawal and return are instantaneous. Cherrypick your favourite bits from thousands of disassembled TV channels, anytime. Lie back and fill your big screen, all for a very reasonable subscription.

Bin your printed photographs and upgrade to projected images. Switch to electronic mail and seal up your letterbox. Scan your archived paperwork and shred all the evidence. Paper has no point and ink has no place. Everything’s going digital, pixellated, virtual. Empty that corner where the television once sat and get used to watching the wall. Turf out your clutter, clear your surfaces, and throw out the physical. The living room of the future is nothing but screens and furniture.

Nobody owns stuff in the home of the future. Everything exists only in The Cloud, at the whim of your online service provider. That film’s only yours for two hours, that album’s transfer-protected. Your record collection’s nothing but a list of bookmarks, your photos all vanish once the subscription ends. Your books all need updating once a new format comes out, and your emails won’t survive a change of provider. There’s nothing concrete left to own, and nothing personal to pass onto your kids. The price of choice is the abdication of control.