Jerk Cookout is Back

As part of the 696 festival of Black music in south London, the Horniman Museum is hosting the Jerk Cookout, a family-friendly food and music festival on Saturday 31st July.

Back in 2009, this proved to be possibly the most popular event ever hosted in Forest Hill. With over 20,000 people attending the event it was a little too popular for a small park!
This year's event will be much smaller and will require tickets to be booked in advance. Adults £13.56, concessions £8, under 16s go free.

To find out more and book tickets, visit:
www.horniman.ac.uk/event/the-original-jerk-cookout/

Blythe Hill Fields Festival

The 2019 Blythe Hill Fields Festival will be held on Sunday 7th July. The festival is a local community event, attracting about 4,000 people, with a great line-up of stalls, performers and musicians coming together for yet another brilliant day out.

You can expect an eclectic mix of music on the main stage; family events on the woodland stage; huge varieties of stalls to browse and fabulous food and drink. Not to mention great activities such as the funfair, crazy golf, giant games and a treasure hunt!

To find out more visit https://www.blythehillfields.org.uk/festival-2019/festival

Devonshire Road Festival in the Forest

Saturday, 6th July, from 1pm to 11pm, Deveonshire Road Nature Reserve

An afternoon full of live Country, Folk, Americana, Blues and Irish music in South London's hidden natural paradise!

To book your tickets go to their Eventbrite page.

Summer Festival at Community Market Garden - Saturday 19th August

Sydenham Garden charity is holding its annual summer festival in its community market garden. It is being held on the De Frene Road site (between 35 and 37 De Frene Road, Sydenham, London, SE24 4AB) on Saturday 19th August 12-5 pm.

As well as live music from local bands there will be workshops. These include crafts, childrens activities (den building, magical clay faces on trees, creating bubbles and nature crowns), garden sustainability and bee keeping talks, hula hoop taster, pizza spinning and more.

The majority of the workshops are free, those that are charged for are all under £5 and there in a small charge on the door. All money raised is for Sydenham Garden which supports people recovering from mental and physical ill-health in Lewisham and surrounding London boroughs.
As well as on the door tickets can also be bought in advance online or alternatively email: david [at] sydenhamgarden.org

Saturday 1st July - A Day of Festivals in Forest Hill and Honor Oak!

 

Festival in the Forest - Sunday 5th July

Knickers!

We found out yesterday that the rumour mill was right and Mary Portas will not be coming to Forest Hill just yet, but we are not disheartened.  We always knew that the competition would be tough and that, with only 12 Portas Pilots for the whole country, it was unlikely that there would be two winning bids in London. We just hoped that our bid and supporting video were strong enough to win the day. 

However, we've not sat back and waited for Mary to come and get us out of our difficulties.  We've been working very hard to help ourselves.  The Portas Pilot bid process acted as the catalyst to bring many ideas to fruition, encouraging people who had been talking about possibly doing something to decide that this was the time to act.

• We have started building the database of traders, landlords and local organisations which Mary recommended in her review.  This was something we had been developing, but the bid focised our attention and we have managed to contact most of the retailers in Forest Hill and several of the landlords.  There have been some who are not interested in participating and others who are wary of our motives, but generally the reaction has been positive once the purpose was explained and the more we do, the more are willing to join in.
• We have organised and run a Food Fair, which far exceeded our expectations and lead to several retailers having their best Sunday ever.  The Food Fair was so much more than just a market.  With just ten stalls, we managed to prove that there is the demand for quality produce in Forest Hill.  Several stalls sold out in the first 90 minutes of trading while Franklins, who brought ridiculous amounts of stuff (their words), also sold it all.  The addition of the Tapas Taster Trail was a great success as it pushed the food lovers out to the restaurants and has seen many of the customers who tried the £2 specials returning for more.  Traders who initially feared that they would lose custom as the stalls were selling similar products, benefitted from the increased footfall and want to see the event run again.  Some of the stall holders would like us to run the Food Fair on a weekly basis, but that is probably a step too far.  However, we will be running another Food Fair on Sunday, 3 June from 10am to 4pm with a few more stalls.
• We have increased our planting at Forest Hill station, in the Town Centre and at Honor Oak Park station. We are entering the RHS "It's Your Neighbourhood" scheme again as well as "Lewisham In Bloom"
• St Augustine's have held the first of what they hope will become an Annual One Tree Hill festival, with nine concerts and several other events, this has celebrated the creative heart of Forest Hill, bringing together local artists, musicians and organisations with a fantastic line up of events from community singalongs to classical arias via folk music and clowning.  We worked really hard to get the recently rediscovered "Indian Lady and Tiger" clock by Kit Williams (of Masquerade fame) displayed in the church, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
• Havelock Walk artists have run two Open House weekends as part of the Dulwich festival and many other local artists also showed off their amazing talents and creativity.
• Two new businesses have opened up on Dartmouth Road.  We would like to welcome Chantel of Best of Both Boutique and Clare of Marie's Boutique to the street and wish them every success.  They have been overwhelmed by the support and reception they have received.  Agata will be opening a third business, Doopodopo, also on Dartmouth Road.  Doopodopo will be selling contemporary and designer furniture and accessories.  We just need to work with landlords to get the right tenants into the remaining vacant units and help those quality businessses which are struggling to survive.
• The Council has finally reached agreement with Network Rail on the design, terms and responsibilities for refurbishing the underpass which links the Perry Vale and London Road sides of the Town Centre.  This is the result of more than six years of campaigning and pressure by the Sydenham Society and Forest Hill Society.  Although Network Rail are currently refusing to refurbish the steps and provide handrails, we will keep the pressure on them to undertake this important work.  We have had initial meetings with several people regarding the replacement of the mural in the underpass and have met one of the young lads who did the work 15 years ago. We hope to bring the Horniman Museum together with Havelock Walk and other local artists to develop an idea which will celebrate the richness within our community.
• The Trader's Association had faltered following the death of Michael Davey last year.  We have organised two meetings, which have been well attended by traders from the Town Centre as well as councillors and Council officers, and a new committee has been elected.  It is wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm from this group and we have high hopes that they will be able to help drive our agenda forwards, working together to improve the Town Centre.
• We have met with local magazine publishers to discuss how we can work together to market Forest Hill better and improve their circulation.
• Boutique marketing consultancy, Bake London has run two networking events in local bars.  These events provide a venue for professional people to meet and form business relationships or simply to discuss local problems and provide solutions.
• The Local Assembly has met and is developing an action plan for the ward which will address the priorities of the Assembly, including the Town Centre.
• The new leisure centre is about to open, several months ahead of schedule.  Businesses along Dartmouth Road really suffered when the pools closed in 2006 and suffered further when Thames Water had the road closed to through traffic for two years during which they replaced the water main.  We are already starting to see the effect that reopening the pools will have on their prospects.

So what does the future hold? 

Firstly, congratulations to Bedford, Croydon, Dartford, Bedminster, Liskeard, Margate, Market Rasen, Nelson, Newbiggin by the Sea, Stockport, Stockton on Tees and Wolverhampton.  We will be bidding for funding in Round 2 of the Portas Pilots.  Before we do that, we will be talking to DCLG to try and find out what they thought of our bid, its strengths and weaknesses.  We will also be looking at the winning bids to see what lessons can be learned and how we should modify our bid.  Whatever happens, we will need to update our video so that Mary is aware of the progress we have made since the beginning of April.  If she or Grant Shapps would like to see the opportunities for themselves, here are just some of the events happening in the next few weeks.

One Tree Hill Festival

If you are in the mood for some culture, then you are in luck. St Augustine’s is very excited to launch their first One Tree Hill Festival. Building on their reputation for high quality, professional performances and exhibitions, they hope this will become an annual event as a way of gathering together local creativity in SE23 with local artists, musicians and organisations bringing you a fantastic line up of events.

The festival kicks off on Friday, 18th May with a party at the Hop Scotch Café, a great way to meet festival contributors, local residents and artists.

The festival has a wonderful range of music from classical to jazz, folk, contemporary and musical theatre. They will be celebrating the spoken word with poetry and readings as well hosting an amazing children’s show presented by Pirate Productions who’s sell-out production of Cinderella ran at St Augustine’s earlier this year. There will also be a community art show, including a children’s painting competition which will run throughout the week. If that wasn’t enough, the festival will conclude with the Annual Spring Fair, community picnic and festival celebration service on the final weekend. For more information see www.augustineonetreehill.org.uk and the festival programme.

Programme

Friday, 18 May at 7:30pm. Launch party at Hopscotch Cafe, Honor Oak Park.

Saturday, 19 May at 11am & 2pm (£5, £3 concessions – under 4s free)
Pirate Productions Present: Jason Mavrick goes bananas! A fun show for age 5-11s
Jason, who has performed for Her Majesty the Queen and Madonna as well as being the former Children's T.V Presenter of channel 5’s Havakazoo, presents a high energy all age family show of comedy, slow motion clowning, mime, incredible tricks with crystal balls, amazing juggling, robotic dancing, gentle audience participation and bananas!

Saturday, 19 May at 7.30pm (£5, £3 concessions)
Entente Chorale: A singing celebration. Trade Winds welcome L'Air de Rien with special guests Raise The Roof Choir and Raise the Roof Singers.
L’Air de Rien led by their musical director Olivier Capmartin perform songs drawn from their musical heritage in the south west of France as well as Corsica, Spain, Sardinia, Africa and England while Trade Winds will be presenting their repertoire of international songs drawn from many cultures and genres. Special guests Raise The Roof Choir and Raise The Roof Singers will be joining together with L'Air de Rien for a grande finale, truly an evening not to be missed. Bon Sante.

Sunday, 20 May at 3.30pm (£5, £3 concessions)
Chamber Music Recital: Orlando Jopling and friends
Cellist and conductor Orlando Jopling is joined by Matthew Truscott, Ania Safonova, Dorothea Vogel of the Allegri Quartet and Becky Truscott to present a concert of chamber music including works by Bach and others. Orlando regularly conducts the English Chamber Orchestra and has been a guest performer with some of the UK's finest orchestras, among them the Philharmonia and London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tuesday, 22 May at 7.30pm no pre sales - free entry with retiring collection
Fairlawn Singers present: Come and Sing! (clue in the title!)
The Fairlawn Singers invite you to join them for a fun sing along evening. Well known songs of all sorts are on the menu! With some special guest soloists and other surprises, this promises to be a great event. Come and Sing is led by the choir’s musical director, Alistair Digges, who plans to make the rafters ring at St Augustine’s. Come along and join the singing, or just to listen and enjoy.

Wednesday, 23 May at 7.30pm (£5, £3 concessions)
Epiphanies with Patricia Doyle (Poems/Readings)
Patricia Doyle, a Brockley actress and director, is presenting a programme of prose and anecdotes taking the lid off a life in the Arts, with extracts from plays and books reflecting her theatrical experience and her life.

Thursday, 24 May at 7.30pm no pre sales - suggested donation £5 on entry
An Evening with Nunhead Community Choir and friends
The Nunhead Community Choir present an evening of accompanied and a cappella contemporary music, from artists such as Queen, Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. They are joined by the jazz vocals of Konni Deppe accompanied by Martin Slade and ‘The Strum Pets’ - Dominic Spitzer and Corrie-Anne Burton, an acoustic dance/rock duo on guitar uke and mandolin

Friday, 25 May at 7.30pm (£5, £3 concessions)
Kaleidoscope: An evening of folk music & original songs
This energetic and colourful triple bill brings folk music and original songwriters to One Tree Hill. Acclaimed south London trio Shadrack Tye, all members of the same family, perform an eclectic and vibrant mix of original songs, folk and traditional music, and contemporary songs from different genre, combining rock and jazz inspired punchy rhythmic riffs and Innovative harmonies with skill and finesse. The Nunhead Folk Circle starring Emily Hall (violin, concertina), Datsun (banjolele, charango) and Matt Allin (guitar, melodeon) will perform original songs inspired by the folk music of Britain and Ireland and further afield. Finally, singer/songwriter Carollyn Eden is joined by Hannah Monaghan (cellist), Kate Jones (violinist) and Drew Stallcop(percussionist) performing a new set of her original songs in which she blends the influences of Celtic and English folk music with classical music in her own unique style.

Saturday, 26 May from 10am-4pm FREE
Spring Fair: stalls, craft, food, games, art, music...
A fun family event for all ages with community stalls, craft, plants, variety of foods, games, live music, community art show and judging of the junior art competition.

Saturday, 26 May at 7.30pm (£5, £3 concessions)
The Hills are Alive! featuring All Souls Orchestra & West end singers
Noel Tredinnick and the All Souls Orchestra present an evening of musical theatre classics and toe tapping orchestral favourites. Enjoy the delights of Broadway show music, offset with 2 of J S Bach's most popular Brandenburg Concertos - No. 2 and No. 4. Back by popular demand after their autumn concert at St Augustine’s last year, Noel brings his wonderful wit and charm to entertain and lead us through another uplifting musical journey. He will also be joined from London’s West End stage by David Erik, Kelly Rainham and Lisa Olsworth-Peter promising an evening full of excitement and energy!

Sunday, 27 May at 10.30am FREE
Festival Service to celebrate St Augustine’s
An opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the local community and the life of St Augustines. Come and join us in worship as we are joined by guest musicians from the festival.

Sunday, 27 May from Noon-2pm FREE
Community Picnic (bring a rug and your favourite food!)
Enjoy the beauty of One Tree Hill by picnicking in the grounds of St Augustine's. Bring your hampers and rugs to enjoy with old friends and make new ones!

Sunday, 27 May at 3pm (£10, £5 concessions - all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Children's Society.)
Orchestral Concert by members of the European Doctors Orchestra, conducted by Rupert Bond.
The European Doctors Orchestra will perform a concert conducted by Rupert Bond with pieces by Haydn: Symphony No. 101 ‘The Clock’, Bach: Double Violin Concerto [soloists Helena and Richard Gullan], Mozart: Overture ‘The Magic Flute’ and Schubert: ‘Unfinished’ Symphony.

Booking and Tickets

All ticketed events can be booked online or purchased on the door on a first come first served basis, subject to availability. For more information visit their website www.augustineonetreehill.org.uk or call the parish office on (020) 8699 0172.

World City - Music Village Festival at the Horniman

Cultiural Co-operation, a London-based arts and education charity with an internationally respected history of innovation and achievement, is bringing their World City Music Village to London this weekend and next.

The Music Village is Europe’s longest running festival of world cultures and the 23 Music Villages since 1983 have provided a public platform to over 3,000 world class artists from 80 countries, and a safe, yet fertile, ‘contact zone’ in which audiences of all races and faiths can learn about and openly celebrate each other’s cherished artistic traditions. Its abiding principle of free admission to all its events has enabled over 2 million people to attend.

If you want to enjoy the full flavour of their festivals, then go the main event in Victoria Park this weekend (July 3/4 - catch the Overground to Hoxton and then a bus) or Hyde Park next weekend (July 10/11).

However, they are also running a smaller show (aimed at families) in the Horniman from 1 pm tomorrow. There will be music in the Bandstand and dancing in the Gallery Square as well as various craft stalls.

Music on the Bandstand

1.30 – 2.15 pm Sumaya
Thrilling contemporary flamenco.

2.45 – 3.30 pm Hai La Drum
Hai La Drum (Let’s Hit the Road) are led by violinist Baz Stanescu with Pete Watson on accordion,Jason Henson on guitar and Dan Sheppard on double bass together they perform infectious Romanian and Balkan folk music and Gypsy jazz.

4 – 4.45 pm Mauricio Velasierra
Virtuoso flautist Mauricio Velasierra fuses the rhythms and melodies of the Andes and Africa.

5.15 – 6 pm Harare
Led by highly energetic ex-Bhundu Boy Kudaushe Matimba, Harare bring an eclectic mix of Zimbabwean styles from Jit Jive to the traditional hypnotic rhythms of the mbira (thumb piano) which reflect the different backgrounds of the group.

Dance in the Conservatory

1.15 – 1.45 pm Baila Peru
The UK’s longest running Peruvian dance group bring their Amazonian rhythms and carnival spirit to the Horniman having previously delighted audiences at the Thames Festival and Carnival del Pueblo.

2.15 – 3 pm Beeja
Classical Indian dance.

3.30 – 4.15 pm Deborah Alleyne-Degazon
Deborah Alleyne-Degazon’s high-energy Caribbean dance is complemented by live drumming.

4.45 – 5.15 pm Jose Navarro
Master puppeteer Jose Navarro.

In the Gardens

Children’s Area
Drop in for art and craft with Makendoo and facepainting from Face/Off, Hands On Masks at 1 – 1.45 pm and Storytelling from 2.15 – 3 pm and 3.30 – 4.15 pm

Food Stalls
Pizza in Piazza serve up authentic Italian delicacies, Bhangra Burger give quarter-pounders an Asian twist, plus Caribbean Jerk.

Youth Yurt
A chance to see a display of work by the Horniman youth project that explores the theme of teenage identity. Come along to the Youth Yurt to see the display, meet members of the project and find out about how to join the brand new Horniman Youth Panel that is being launched this summer!

Wildlife Garden
Meet Perrymount Primary School Museum Club and enjoy a tour of the Wildlife Garden. Drop in between 1 - 3 pm.

Gallery Square

Museum Club showcase activities 11 am - 1 pm
Meet Horniman Primary School and Eliot Bank Primary School Museum Clubs and find out some Horniman history. Make a Horniman tea packet and enter a competition.

Blythe Hill Fields Festival

The Friends of Blythe Hill Fields are holding their annual fair this weekend on Saturday 3 July, from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm.

As well as the usual stalls (cakes, plants, crafts, Punch and Judy, bouncy castle), there will be family games, sports, live music, drumming workshops and dance from local artists. Come along and see us there.

Time	Group	Type of Music
1130 - 1150	Dads Aloud	Classic 50s, 60s and 70s R&B and rock n roll from local dads.
1155 - 1215	The Artie Fufkins	Grown up pop - think Crowded House.
1220 - 1240	The Lost Cavalry	Indie folk band - mellow sound. Local drummer.
1250 - 1310	Dorian and the Modes	Traditional Irish folk music from the Blythe Hill Tavern
1315 - 1335	Brockley Rise Singers	Choral a capella from Brockley Rise Centre
1340 - 1400	Frank and Annie	Rootsy folky blues duo
1405 - 1425	The Hankdogs featuring Piano	Local folk group - with Andy Hankdog, Nunhead's easycome acoustic legend.
1430 - 1450	Sucker	Festival stalwarts with a fun punky sound.
1500 - 1520	Sid Sings	Blues acoustic three piece band from Catford.
1530 - 1600	Nzinga Dance	African dance and drumming.
1600 - 1630	Brockley Ukelele Group	A mix of songs from punk to pop to hip hop is given the uke treatment.

If you haven't been up already, go and look and try the new playground! Many months of planning and construction has finally come to fruition and there is now a brilliant new resource for children and parents to enjoy for many years to come. It is a fantastic addition to the Fields and is a major achievement which the Friends are delighted with.

Festivals Galore!

Living on the 'Culture Line', we really are spoilt for choice. Not only do we have excellent Museums to visit, but we have a wonderful selection of local festivals to choose from. The Sydenham International Music Festival is in full swing at the moment and runs until 27 June, while the Sydenham Arts Festival kicks off this Sunday and runs until September 11. Slightly further afield, Brockley Max draws to a close this weekend having been running since 27 May.

The Sydenham Arts festival has over 90 events scheduled, featuring dance, drama, poetry, film and comedy as well as workshops and childrens events.

The backbone of the International Music Festival meanwhile is the amazing, virtuoso St Bartholomew Festival Orchestra that gathers together the most prestigious players from London‘s internationally recognised orchestras. Together with Festival Director Robert Trory, their reputation is now well established. This year is the seventh anniversary and presents a real feast of live music to match anything on offer in London with a stunning lineup including international opera star Susan Bullock. All concerts are held at St Bartholomew's Church unless otherwise specified.

The festival was opened on 23 May by the ever-popular virtuoso Russian violinist Sergey Dogadin who gave a performance of Brahms' Violin Concerto. He also teamed up with Martin Roscoe on piano for a further recital last Sunday and there have been two other concerts; EMMA SELWAY - mezo-soprano performed at St Christopher's Hospice and the FIDELIO PIANO QUARTET made its fourth appearance in the Sydenham Festival.

However, worry not! There are still plenty of gems still to come.

On Tuesday 8th June at 7.30pm the LONDON CONCHORD ENSEMBLE will be performing at the Dolphin (£10). This fun evening with an American flavour (and some Mozart and Beethoven thrown in for good measure) is given by London’s leading mixed instrument group that has toured the UK, Europe and North America.

This is followed on Sunday 13th June - 7.30pm - by the SUSAN BULLOCK CELEBRITY CONCERT (£18, £12 concs.). Recognised as one of the world's leading Wagnerian sopranos, Susan Bullock will come together with Maestro ROBERT TRORY and the stunning ST.BARTHOLOMEW FESTIVAL ORCHESTA in Wagner's 'Wesendock Leider' and Cantaloube's 'Songs of the Auvergne'.

The ever popular CHILDREN’S CONCERT (£6) returns on Saturday 19th June - 11.00am and features 'The Carnival Of Animals' narrated by Jamie Ripman. This is a lively working of Scottish Dances with bagpipes for good measure and is a fun-packed concert for children of all ages. Children are encouraged to come dressed as one of the Animals in the Carnival (a fish - a lion - a donkey - an elephant - a kangaroo .....) for a Fancy Dress competition.

Also making a welcome return is the young Serbian cellist MAJA BOGDANOVIC who stunned the audience in 2009 with her performance of Shostakovich Cello Concerto. Maja will take part in the FRIEND’S EVENING on Friday 25th June - 7.30pm, an evening of talk with music, hosted by Noel Craven with MAJA BOGDANOVIC & ROBERT TRORY (£10 - free to Friends of Sydenham Music) before finally closing the Festival with Elgar's Cello Concert on Sunday 27th June - 7.30pm at the CLOSING CONCERT (£18, £12 concs.)