Spring Walk
Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic the Spring Walk had to be cancelled. We were going to meet in Cator Park by the central Friends notice-board at 2.00pm on Sunday March 22. and learn something about the heritage and history of the parks as we walked to Alexandra Recreation Ground via the delightful Pool embankment, spring flowers en route. Walk would take about 90 minutes. Free; but donations gratefully received towards Friends of Cator and Alexandra projects. A discount on drinks and food at Alexandra Nurseries at the end of the walk.
Walter de la Mare’s Birthday Party
Walter de la Mare’s Birthday Party will now take place on Saturday April 24, 2021 in Penge Library from 7.30pm. Seats can be booked on Eventbrite. £10 [plus £1 booking fee] includes wine, nibbles and a slice of birthday cake. To book on Eventbrite go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walter-de-la-mares-birthday-pa…
With Iona Duncan, harpist; Mikey Kirkpatrick singing de la Mare poems; special guest Giles de la Mare; local poets reading their work; Martin Spence on de la Mare’s ghost story All Hallows; Erica Steenkamp performing de la Mare; Dr William Wootten on de la Mare’s poetry; results of the de la Mare Poetry Competition.
Walter de la Mare was a resident of Anerley between 1899 and 1924. He lived in Worbeck Road, Samos Road and Thornsett Road. This is a celebration of his legacy. Members of the de la Mare family hope to be there. De la Mare’s work is gaining new interest. The first international conference on his work was held at Cambridge University in September 2018.
Blue Heritage Plaque
A new blue heritage plaque commemorating the former police station building on the high street has been installed by the owners, Milton Lloyd. The plaque was designed by Dom Richards and financed by Bromley Council for the Penge Heritage Trail.
Penge Poets Evening
Penge Poets met again on Saturday March 7 at 7.30pm at the Bluebelle Cafe, 182 Maple Road, SE20. About 25 poets read from their work. Full details are given on the flyers. Do join us at future meetings. Dates to be announced. £5.00 entry includes a drink and nibbles. Wine £2.00 extra.
Penge Heritage Walk 2
Penge Heritage Walk 2 took on Saturday November 30. We met at 9.30am outside the Penge West entrance to Crystal Palace Park. Walk ended at 11.00am in Empire Square. A free walk but donations were gratefully received towards Blue Plaque projects. More than 20 attended the walk.
Pavement Plaques
The Penge heritage pavement plaques have now been installed, Spring 2020. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the official launch has been postponed. But an inaugural guided walk will be arranged in the not too distant future and various children’s activities are planned. Details to follow.
Fundraising
Fundraising was arranged for the cost of the Blue Window-Plaques. A sold-out wine-tasting What’s My Wine?quiz evening took place on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at 7.30pm at the West Beckenham Bowls Club in Alexandra Recreation Ground. A Jazz Band evening proposed for April/May, 2020 will now take pace in 2021. Further details later.
International Conference
Chris O’Shaughnessy, coordinator of the Penge Heritage Trail project, gave a well-received presentation on Walter de la Mare at the first international conference on de la Mare at Cambridge University last September.
Birthday Party
Plans are in place for ‘ Walter de la Mare’s Birthday Party‘, a celebration on Saturday, April 24, 2021, involving music, song, poetry, talks on Penge’s most famous poet and his ghost story All Hallows, the resut of the poetry competition, wine, cheese and a slice of birthday cake! Tickets at £10 plus £1 admin fee may be purchased via Eventbrite.
This event had to be postoned from April 25, 2020, owing to coronavirus concerns.
Painting of the Month
All of the Paintings of the Month, replicated at the foot of each page, are by Penge artists.
Walter de la Mare Walk
A new edition of Selected Poems of Walter de la Mare, edited by Dr William Wootten, will be available in the shops next year. We were delighted that Dr Wootten came on the Walter de la Mare walk earlier in June during the Penge Festival. We are hoping Dr Wootten will give a presentation here in Penge on his new edition of the poems later next year.
Researching the Plaques
The Blue Plaques project for shop window display in Penge gathers apace. A working party of seven is busy researching and negotiating past stories and histories of Penge businesses and shops. We have discovered lists of all the shops in Penge High Street from 1878. That’s the easy bit. Now which ones do we celebrate? And what are their beginning and end dates?
Sadly, owing to the pandemic, our efforts to research and install the plaques have been put on hold. But we still hope to install the first 10 plaques sometime in 2021.
Invitation to Oxford
Kellogg College at Oxford University extended an invite to the editor to give a presentation on the Penge Heritage Trail at a forthcoming seminar. The editor accepted the invitation and was looking forward to presenting at the seminar. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic the seminar was postponed and Oxford colleges closed to the public. It is hoped that the event will take place at a later date.