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.

Nominate your Favourite Businesses

It's time for Lewisham's Business Awards again.

Nominations can be made at any time by customers, suppliers, partners or the business themselves, but the deadline for the current awards is Tuesday, 19 June.

All nominations will be considered by a judging panel which meets four times a year and includes people from business and professional business advisors. Winners are able to use the Mayor of Lewisham Business award winner logo in promotions and the Council will promote them through existing channels, such as Lewisham's website, Lewisham Life and in local media.

There are eight categories to choose from:

• ​Corporate and social responsibility
• ​Creative digital entrepreneur
• ​Customer care
• Environmental practice
• Fairtrade business​
• ​New business
• ​Social enterprise
• ​Young entrepreneur

Further details on the categories can be found on Lewisham's website (here). Nominations must be made by Tuesday 19 June 2012 using the online form or you can download a paper copy

The Mayor of Lewisham Business awards are an opportunity for local businesses to celebrate their successes and to increase their profile within the community. The awards are open to any business in the borough.

Vote for Forest Hill

Show your support by 'liking' our Portas Pilot video on YouTube.

The Forest Hill Society has been working with our bid partners to secure £100,000 funding for the Sydenham, Forest Hill and Kirkdale Town Team. This will help pull together the various traders' groups, civic societies, landlords and organisations in the area to drive improvement in our Town Centres.

The aim of the Portas Pilot is not to pay for all the improvements that we would like to see - it is much more about effecting change which will lead to those improvements through dynamic leadership.

We would love to get the street clutter removed, install better signage, let people know where the car parks are, link the Horniman Museum with Forest Hill, and fill our empty shops with quality independant offerings, but this is not going to happen unless we make it happen. We cannot just sit back and wait for TfL, the council or whoever to do it for us.

The Town Centre Team will work together to promote Forest Hill, Sydenham and Kirkdale, address the issues and effect change. It will benefit by sharing the many talents and enthusiasm that we have in the area and, by sharing the workload, will result in more changes for the better.

We look forwards to being active participants.

(The Forest Hill Society's bid partners include Lewisham Council, Sydenham Society, Kirkdale Village Traders, Sydenham Town Centre Steering Group and many other individuals.)

Pools Update - July Opening?

At a recent meeting of the Stakeholders' group, presentations were made by Fusion Lifestyle and Willmott Dixon. The facility will be open 7am-10pm on weekdays and 7am-6pm at weekends and will include:

• a 25m length swimming pool
• a 16.7m length learner pool
• a 54 piece, state-of-the-art fitness suite with 20% of the equipment being IFI accredited. The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) is a programme supporting the fitness industry to become more inclusive - catering for the needs of disabled and non-disabled people, as well as raising physical activity participation levels.
• two studios
• a café area. Fusion are currently tendering for the café operator. They have advertised through local and national press and received 14 expressions of interest, of those 8 have submitted pre-qualification questionnaires (the first phase of selection) and will be invited to submit a full tender brief on how they will manage the café. Fusion stated their desire to work with a partner who will actively engage with the local community.
• a community room for hire
• spectator viewing and
• an exhibition area

Fusion's presentation included provisional schedules for the pools. These can be viewed on our Flickr account - Blogger refuses to display them correctly. Please feedback any comments to email@foresthillsociety.com.

The timetable for the main pool can be found here. One lane will usually available at all times during a general swim session for lane swimming.

The timetable for the Learner Pool can be found here. The community sessions are a new addition for Forest Hill Pools which have been created to allow community groups such as disabled groups a slot on the timetable to use their local leisure centre. These sessions will be open to the community and Fusion Lifestyle would like groups to come forward who are interested in using them. If you email us, we will forward your email to Fusion.

Fusion Lifestyle also asked for any opinions on how the studios should be used to be fedback

Two other items were also discussed. A specialist design company called Atelier has been commissioned by Lewisham to design a permanent exhibition or artwork reflecting the history of the old Forest Hill Pools which will be displayed in the new building. Stakeholders were encouraged to bring forward any old pictures/ photographs or information they may have of the building or the area that could be contributed to this work. Contact Tim Andrew for further details.

Finally, the Council wish to go out to tender for an organisation to take on Louise House. They are open to innovative ideas on how to feasibly develop the site whilst retaining a community focus to the site.

The Council are hoping to open the building by July 2012, with an official opening ceremony on 22nd September 2012. Photos of the current progress can be found on Lewisham's, Willmott Dixon's and Forest Hill Society's Flickr accounts.

Be a star!

We want you to make a 20-30 second video for our Portas Pilot bid.

Each bid needs to include a video which shows how much the local community cares about their Town Centre and how they would improve it. We would like to include locals' views about the area in a way that will make our bid unique and personal. Your video should therefore include a high and low about either Sydenham, Forest Hill or Kirkdale shopping areas. It can be as simple or complicated as you like, with or without commentary - use your imagination! But it needs to be done quickly. We must have your video by 6pm on Sunday (March 25).

We need the actual file for editing purposes, so please use www.sendspace.com to email your video to myfilm@foresthillsociety.com. If you post your video to YouTube as well, please add the tags se23, se26, forest hill, sydenham and portas.

The legal bit.
You will keep the copyright to your video in its raw format. By sending the video to us using sendspace.com, you will grant Forest Hill Society full rights to include the video in our Portas Pilot bid. Forest Hill Society and its bid partners will have full copyright of the bid video.

Lewisham selects Forest Hill for Portas Pilot

We are delighted to announce that Lewisham will be putting forward Forest Hill and Sydenham for funding from the Portas Pilots. Now all we have to do is beat the other 300 candidates.

Portas Pilots - Urgent!

We have just heard from Lewisham that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is inviting partnerships to pilot the idea of ‘Town Teams’ set out in the Portas Review.

The Portas Review believes that Town Teams can help drive innovation in the way the high street is managed, and develop a strategic and collaborative approach, and should be made up of a wide range of local interests including landlords, developers, retailers, local authorities and local communities.

DCLG are looking for 12 pilots and are offering successful bidders grant funding of up to £100k each. Given that only 12 pilots will be funded across the country, and in order for Lewisham to have the best chance of success of having one of these pilots in the borough, the Council will support one application. Forest Hill has been offered the chance to submit an application to Lewisham as the Town Centre is one of the ward priorities.

If you feel that would be interested in putting together an application for our town centre then please let us know by Monday 27 February, with some of your initial ideas so that we can submit an initial bid to Lewisham by Friday, 2 March. We can be contacted on (07833) 315563 or by email

The Council will then review these initial expressions of interest and choose one area to support with a more detailed application. In considering which area to support, they will take into account previous investment in that area.

Selection of the pilots by DCLG will be based on the following criteria:

• Mix. The twelve pilots will be a mix of high street types, geographical spread and areas with both low and high vacancy rates.
• Strong Leadership. Pilots must have a transformational vision for their high street and the backing for this from their community and partners.
• Commitment. Pilots must demonstrate commitment to the approach amongst businesses, landlords, the community and local authority.
• Potential for improvement. Resources will be allocated on a value for money basis.
• Innovation. DCLG are looking for the most innovative ideas that will have maximum impact and could be replicated elsewhere.

The deadline for applications is 30 March to DCLG, with successful applicants announced in May. Further information and the application form can be downloaded from the DCLG website. Each partnership application must identify an ‘Accountable Body’ which will be the local authority. A confirmation letter from the local authority is required with the application.

So much going on in Forest Hill

We have a busy period coming up in the next week or so.  The main events we are organising are a History Talk from Steve Grindlay and a Bring and Take day.  Steve's talks are always interesting, and this one on Thursday, 23 February should be no exception.  Read on for more information...

This week
There are four local events on Saturday 18 February.
Firstly, the Sydenham Police Station is threatened with closure, which will mean the loss of a front counter, but more importantly will also mean that the Safer Neighbourhood Teams for Forest Hill, Perry Vale and Sydenham will be relocated to Catford.  We feel that this is far from ideal and are calling on the Metropolitan Police to review their decision.  There will be a demonstration outside Sydenham Police Station on Saturday 18 February, from 10-11am.  There should be plenty of media coverage as the Sydenham Society have arranged for Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick to attend. You can sign the petition in support of Sydneham police station at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-sydenham-police-station/

After that, help Nature's Gym will be planting whips at the Horniman Triangle  from 11am - 2pm.  Nature’s Gym have been donated more “whips” from Woodland Trust, so come along to the Horniman Triangle to help with planting them and creating a stag beetle loggery.
Also on Saturday, Friends of Albion Millenmium Green will be holding their first AGM at Holy Trinity Church Hall, SE26 4EA just off Sydenham Park from 2-4pm.  Go along to hear about plans for how it is to be used and managed, or to let them know what you want from the green (www.amgfriends.org.uk)

Finally, Canvas & Cream will be opening their doors on Saturday, 18th February, next to Santander on London Road.  The Dining room/Restaurant, Gallery, studios  and healing room will all be open to the public for the first time. Go  and have a nose around at what they have been doing. They will have some Art 'Taster' workshops and information showing you  what will be on offer and therapists will be there to talk to you and  show you their wares.  After the 19th the  studios will be private and the healing room will only be open to the  therapists' customers.

On Sunday evening, 19 February,  Canvas & Cream will finish off with a  one-time-only Dinner and film night. A set menu of two courses followed  by a full screening of Garbage Warrior, an inspirational true story of  maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce  radically sustainable housing. The event is £30.00 (including the film). Tickets can be purchased from their website,www.canvasandcream.com, but thelittlegreenscreen also has a limited number of cinema only tickets for £6.50 if that is too steep for you.

Next weekOn Monday, 20 February, the Sydenham Arts Festival will be holding their AGM from 7.30pm at Here For Good, 17 Sydenham Road SE26 5EX.  Sydenham Arts Festival 2012 is now underway and will take place from 1st to 15th July 2012.  This year it is part of Lewisham's Cultural Olympiad celebrations. All supporters are invited to attend the AGM and find out what is planned. There are plenty of opportunities for local residents to get involved. If you are unable to attend the AGM but would like to be involved please contact the Festival Administrator at Operationssaf@gmail.com
The next Forest Hill Local Assembly is being held on Wednesday 22 February,  ​7.30-9.30pm​ at Sydenham Girls' School on Dartmouth Road, SE26 4RD.  Topics for discussion will include your chance to suggest improvements for Forest Hill and feedback on progress form the grants which were awarded from the Assemblies Fund.

Steve Grindlay will be giving a talk entitled "The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker.  A history of commerce in Forest Hill" on Thursday 23 February from 7:30pm at The Hob, 7 Devonshire Road, SE23 3HE (opposite Forest Hill Railway station).  These talks are usually well attended and provide an interesting insight into Forest Hill's past.

Our next Bring & Take event will be held on Sunday, 26 February from 11am - 3pm at the Holy Trinity Centre (between numbers 35D and 37 on Sydenham Park) just across the street from the entrance to Whittel Gardens.   
Bring usable items you no longer need eg bicycles, pushchairs, books, toys, CDs, DVDs, tools, small items of furniture, musical instruments, good‑quality clothing, electrical goods, kitchenware etc.  
and take items you will find useful - this isn’t a swap so no need to match a 'Bring' item with a 'Take' item.

Please note: items should be in good working order. In addition, Lewisham Council will provide a van for WEEE waste (electrical and electronic equipment), so if you have any small electrical items that no longer work bring them along to be disposed of properly.

Later on..
The next Sydenham Local Assembly will be held on Tuesday, 6 March from 7-9pm at The Grove Centre, 2 Jews Walk, SE26 6PL

Calling all budding artists!As part of the planning permission for the redeveloped Greyhound in Sydenham.  Purelake (the developers) have to incorporate a piece of public art (made from ceramic tiles) on the north wall of the building. A new design competition for 2012 has been launched, replacing the previous competition which failed to find a winning entry. It is open to anyone who lives, works or studies within 2km of the Greyhound, and their family and friends. The design should capture “the Essence of Sydenham” and there's a £1,000 prize for the winning entry. Entries must be submitted before the end of March and the winner will be announced by the end of April. Anyone who wishes to enter and receive a competition brief should email greyhoundcompetition@gmail.com or write to Greyhound Competition, c/o 43 Bishopsthorpe Road, London SE26 4PA before March 17 2012.

New businesses
Finally, three new businesses are opening in Forest Hill.  As mentioned above, Canvas & Cream will be opening their doors on Saturday.   Leaders Estate Agents is now open for business next to the station. The other business due to open its doors very soon is the Sylvan Post, Antic's new pub located in the former Post Office next to Paddy Power on Dartmouth Road.  No date has been finalaised yet, but they are hoping to open before the end of the month and it's looking good inside.  There will be a couple of sungs in the old safes as well as the main bar and a back room. 

 

I hope there is something interesting here for you.  Next month, we will be looking for help with oiur Britain In Bloom entry, which will spread to Honor Oak Station this year, as well as further planting in the Town Centre.  Please let me know if you would like to help in any way.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Richard Hibbert
Chairman, Forest Hill Society

Christmas in Forest Hill

This year saw Forest Hill Society decorate the Christmas tree for the second year, adding baubles and tinsel to the tree. The weather outside was chilly but that did not prevent crowds gathering in the forecourt of Forest Hill Station on December 10th to see Cllr Philip Peake lead the countdown to switch on the Christmas lights.

A string trio led the lusty carol singing as pleasantly surprised crowds gathered to sample the mulled wine, pumpkin soup and hot sausages on sale from Mark and Helen's Smokehaus tent (smokehaus5@hotmail.com) and coffee and cakes from Ellie's On the Hoof corner coffee stall.

If you would like to help remove the baubles, please meet at the station on Monday next, 9th January, at 2.00pm.

Our thanks go to LOROL for permission to partially close the forecourt to parking on December 10th and to Skanksa and their man Pete for providing the lights and making them work on time.

Success at Assembly!

We are happy to report some excellent news following our campaigning! The Forest Hill Local Assembly voted to fund 13 projects across the ward and the Forest Hill Society was lucky enough to receive funding for all four of our proposals - totalling just under £19,000. Two projects will improve the Horniman Triangle play park: the addition of two new sets of equipment; swings for the young and games tables for all ages. The games tables will allow park users to play table tennis on sturdy outdoor tables.

The two other projects improve the town centre. We’ll be able to continue the flower planting around the station and opposite the Horniman Museum. The funding will also allow us to maintain the planting and expand the scheme to other locations in the town centre, as well as improve watering facilities at the station, to make maintenance much easier. The final project will target empty shop fronts in the town centre and use them to display large images from the Horniman collection, brightening up the town centre and providing a visual link between the town centre and the Horniman Museum.

A great result for us, and for the community. Well done to the Society members and SE23 people who worked so hard to develop and submit these bids.

Forest Hill Localities Fund

The Forest Hill Society has submitted four bids for funding from the localities fund in the Forest Hill ward. We selected four projects that we believe are of particular importance to the local area and fit with the assembly priorities.
1. Empty Shops - Horniman themes posters - £1,600
2. Flowers for the town centre and watering facilities in the station forecourt - £3,800
3. Swings for the Horniman Triangle - £9,500
4. Games Tables (Table Tennis) for the Horniman Triangle - £4,000

In addition there are a number of other excellent applications from other organisations to improve facilities and services within the ward. All of the project will be put to the vote on Sunday 14th August at 2pm at Sydenham School on Dartmouth Road. Please come along and vote for your favourite projects.

Outer London Fund bid

On June 13th, the Outer London Fund which had previously been announced by Boris Johnson, went live. This is a £50m fund to boost regeneration and rejuvenate town centres at the very heart of local London communities. The funding will be distributed in two rounds; up to £10m in Round One, the remainder in Round Two.

Round One applications had to be made through the Boroughs, so we held meetings with our local councillors and Lewisham. Thanks to our approach, Lewisham have now applied for Forest Hill as one of their places. We should hear in August whether they have been successful.

We are very excited by this as the Fund is aimed directly at the issues we have been campaigning on including letting empty units, greening of the Town Centre, better signage, improved environment, Pop Up events and removal of street clutter.

The second round will continue the package of support, adding more places and shifting the balance towards more substantial physical projects that can deliver lasting improvement. Round Two applications are required by midday on 14th October 2011 and are limited to £2M per place. We will continue working with Lewisham to develop their bid for Round Two.

Cafe Society

We’ve been featuring some of SE23’s new coffee shops and, in this issue, we move further away from Forest Hill town centre to find out what makes the perfect coffee experience. This time we speak to Ben Morris from Hop Scotch in Honor Oak Park and Anna Marciniak at The Brothers, Dartmouth Road

Hop Scotch

Ben was asked about his coffee: “Good, balanced, middle-of-the-road beans (not too strong or weak but 'rich'), freshly ground coffee bean dispensed by knowledgeable, trained baristas on a classic manual / lever machine for maximum flavour, cream and perfect froth!”

The Brothers Cafe

Anna, who is introducing a touch of Eastern Europe to SE23, gave her views on cafe culture: “A great café is a convivial place where people can sit and meet surrounded by friendly and helpful staff who are willing to bend over backwards for their customers.”

A magical PopUp Night

Tibetan Monks trudging through the snow. Carols wafting out of the shoe shop. Drummers making Robert Stanford’s estate agents rock. Something very special happened to Forest Hill on Thursday, 2 December.
Our town centre was taken over by a ‘community happening’ that saw local businesses become mini performance spaces, local people transform empty shops into Christmas pop-ups, and local pubs and restaurants turn into community networking venues.
We had people sipping cocktails at the old Post Office, becoming rock and roll stars with full band and recording kit at the Hob and then relaxing with a massage at Carers Lewisham.
It all started when Hugh Dames mentioned the idea at our AGM in October. We thought it sounded exciting and ambitious so the Society got on board and worked hard with him to turn this idea into reality.
The snow, ice and cancelled trains forced us to make last minute changes to the schedule. But it all came together and there was a real buzz that night.
Hugh hopes the event “inspired the people of Forest Hill to see themselves as members of a vibrant and dynamic local community with great skills, shared interests, groups and associations, businesses and facilities that benefit us all.”
Richard Hibbert said “This is the largest event the Society has helped organise. The response was fantastic and people are already asking us when the next pop-up is happening!. A lot of people worked very hard in freezing conditions to make this event a success. We are very grateful to them and immensely proud that our community can do this.“

Find out more at popupforesthill.wordpress.com

Forest Hill will Bloom in 2011

The Forest Hill Society plans to enter the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ section of London in Bloom 2011. With a February deadline for submission, the inaugural ideas and volunteers planning meeting will be held on Sunday, January 16th 2011 at 3pm at the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve.

The geographical limit – what “our neighbourhood” will cover – will have to be defined, but we will probably start modestly in our first year, perhaps limited to a small central patch to see how things develop. We might just start with the green area in front of Forest Hill station. But all decisions have yet to be made on what and where to plant; what sponsorship or funding we might attract and generally how we are going to proceed with this new enterprise. So input from the wider community is essential: this is YOUR Forest Hill so we need to know what you think about sprucing it up with flowers.

If you have ideas, this is your chance to be involved in beautifying Forest Hill and greening up our town centre. If you have green fingers and would like to get dug in, would like to learn, or just have some thoughts about what you would like to see, please contact quetta@foresthillsociety.com. Better still, come along on the 16th to help shape our entry.

With a little bit of work, Forest Hill will bloom in 2011.

Reaching New Heights

Some of you may have noticed the Christmas Tree in Forest Hill this year.

After last year's miserable effort (despite being very generously sponsored both financially and in goodwill by the local Winkworth office), we were determined that the tree should be one to be proud of and worked with Lewisham Council's Town Management Team and FHTA to ensure a great finished product this time.

Last Thursday a number of Forest Hill Society members met the Lewisham Lighting team and their cherry picker and proceeded to add baubles, tinsel and extra lights to the tree.

From this

To This

Our thanks to Winkworth for sponsoring last year's tree and buying lights for it, FHTA for the extra lights to replace those which were stolen, Liz Bannister and the Town Centre Management Team and Alan Agent and the Lighting Department for making this possible.

PopUp Forest Hill

We have been hard at work organising a Pop Up event for Thursday night, 2 December 2010.

What started off as an idea with small ambitions has rapidly grown due to the phenomenal response we have had. The Mayor will be at the former Post Office to open the festivities at 3 pm and with over 50 events at more than 30 venues, there is something for everyone between 3 pm and 9 pm.

Highlights include the reopening of the Post Office as "The Sylvan Post" for the night, a performance in the Library by Buddhist monks from the Tskeramo Monastery, Drumming lessons at Robert Stanford, live music at Wetherspoons, The Hob and All Inn One and making your own Christmas decorations at Stag & Bow. If you don't know where they are, have a look at the website.

Why not pop along to Alhambra Home and Garden, Bunka or The Fitting Studio for some Christmas bargains (and 10% on the night off if you mention PopUp Forest Hill) and then have a meal at Question Bar who are offering 20% discount on the night.

Nip over to popupforesthill.wordpress.com for details of all the activities and venues or click on the map below to download your own guide to What's on Where.