It’s Monday, it must be….

For the past 2 years,  about 10am Monday morning at Erith Park, means it must be coffee morning. We meet in our community room in Corhaven House, where there is also kitchen facilities. It is advertised on the estate but as yet is still a small group but we hope it will get bigger. Soon as we arrive the kettle goes on and ask who wants tea & who wants coffee & out come the biscuits or cakes that someone has made. At the moment the talk usually turns to how each of us are getting on in our new homes. Most of us have moved from the old Larner Road estate. The idea of the morning was suggested by Rosemary White, who has lived here for over thirty years. It was very slow to take on but now we have a group of people of mixed ages, of both women & men. As more people move in,  we hope they  will come along, as we have a good laugh.

PHOTOGRAM WORKSHOP

Thursday, 27th March 2014.

On the wall of Erith Park Community Room, there are photograms of every day objects taken by Trent Strickland. Trent is a talented photographer & school teacher. He teaches  15 & 16 year olds photography at a school in Hampstead & has also taught at the local Pearswood School.

Francois Jensen, Community Liaison Officer,  suggested making a montage of photograms to be displayed on the hoarding around the building site of Erith Park.  Photograms are photos of pictures, black on white & visa versa.

Trent held a workshop, so that we could make some for ourselves. The theme was the now & then of Erith Park.  He had drawn some outlines in black, of tower blocks, the new low rise blocks & a nibbler , the machine used to knock down the buildings, for us to photograph & process. He showed us how it was all done & it was slow to start with but once we had taken our first photos, there was no stopping us .  Once we found our feet, we laid one image on top of another to create a scene. We also made each letter of the alphabet from different size keys & photographed them, to go on the collage. We all had a great time & are looking forward to the next workshop when we are going to do the reversals of our photograms.

 

THE TPAS AWARDS

The TPAS Awards

This years awards were held on the 14th February,  at the Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden.  I  travelled to London with two intrepid reporters,  Tracey Kember and Baeti Mothobi .  As soon as we entered you could see why it is call “Grand” it is magnificent, and the event was held in the Grand Hall, one of forty-eight rooms.   Some  of  the  Orbit Community Reporters were at our table, next to me was Paul from Margate and on the other side was Tracey. Teresa Wilson from Peoples Voice Media, who also taught us and Russell Heath , Orbit South Resident Engagement Advisor were also there.  The Orbit Communities Reporters  had been short listed  for the  Excellence in Digital Engagement Award and there were nine other awards. TPAS, recognises  excellence in resident involvement and empowerment.   The meal came first and  was quite nice but the moment we had been waiting for came next. Ours was the first  Award  to be announced and after days of anticipation,  we came down with a blow  to hear the winners  were, Viridians Older Residents.  They pilot tested how effective tablets and different training methods were at helping older people get online.  The other nine  Awards were mostly  represented & won by Amicus Horizon. To end off the day there was a Charity Prize Draw with many prizes, which I must say none of us won but I had had a lovely day in beautiful surroundings, which I shall never forget.

HIP OP

I am talking about my operation due to arthritis. I had to have a hip replacement prematurely because it became so painful & restricting. It took place nearly five weeks ago now & I was in hospital for five days. I did not have any stitches but it was miraculously glued together & has healed faster than I expected, albeit quite painful to start with. I did not expect the boredom that ensued while being housebound. At first I watched with interest, from my window, the view of the fast growing Erith Park but I’m afraid the novelty has now worn off. My friends & relatives have been very good in visiting me a lot. Also I have now got down to the jobs I had been putting off, like some needy sewing & sorting out the growing mountains of paperwork. I am going for short walks & all being well, on the 14th February, I hope to go to the TPAS Awards at the Connaught Rooms in London. Our Orbit Reporters Group have been short listed for an award. The group is the outcome of the Resident Media Reporter Training which took place last year.

“Neverland”

Neverland is not Michael Jackson’s one in California but the former Larner Rod Estate, Erith. Pretoria, Hamlet, Medina, Norvic & Verona Houses are no more. The site is huge, far bigger than you could comprehend when the buildings where standing. It was only the 5th April last year when we had the Demolition Event Day on site & they started to nibble away at Pretoria House. At the moment the sun is shining, a relief from the wind & rain, that has been for the last month or so. The men have been working  through all this, everything is happening so fast. The first four buildings are going up, at least one at full height, five storeys high & some glazing has gone in. The estate is taking shape fast, with roads marked out & the foundations of some houses. Topping out is taking place on 4th February & the first phase is set to be finished by early 2015.

SPIELBERG’S RIVAL

Wednesday 27th November 2013.

The last of the Orbit Resident Reporter, training sessions was held last Wednesday at Erith Library. A group of residents from Orbit South have been coming together and taught every aspect needed, to blog, film videos and vox blogging. The purpose is to report on community activities and events. The short test video we made, was filmed in Erith Library. I paired with and interviewed Lisa Cornish, winner of the Outstanding Service Award, at the Residents Conference, 2nd November. Tom Gaskins joined the session and has put our result on You Tube, it’s called rita’s movie. We had a great laugh, as you can hear on the video. The sessions have been a lot of fun, as well as informative. 

My third encounter

Saturday 12th October, Erith

I can’t remember in the past , the last time I had a cold. Now for the third time this year, I have a viral infection. It started with a terribly sore throat.  Now I am  in the, cough-sneeze-wipe-wee, loop. I think I must have “the man kind”, because I feel wretched. The sad thing is I don’t have anybody to fetch and carry for me. The only good thing about it is, that I have an excuse for not doing the housework and can look out my lounge window, watch The Thames and the world go by.

MY NEW TABLET

It’s Saturday, 28th September in a misty, Erith. No, I have not just been given yet another tablet to take, as could have been, as I am a fairly new pensioner. It is the kind I am sending this blog from. My last blog was from my slow but faithful PC.  I thought, it was now  time to move into the 21st century, so it is a tiny miracle if you are receiving this blog. It is a touch screen to start with, which Is all very strange and tap screen to enter. This is all too alien to me, so I have attached a keyboard. It should have been with a picture, but that will have to be for next time.

My first experience of voxblogging.

street interviews at erith

In 2008 Erith Riverside Shopping Centre opened. It was slow to attract people as many shoppers had gone to Bexleyheath. Many of the shops changed hands at the start. Now, it has a good mix of shops & people have come back. One I often visit, in between shopping is Mambocinos, a café. You get quick, friendly service & good food.
I arrived with Tracy and our recording equipment, but alas we made the cardinal mistake and asked a question with yes and no answers. We asked people, did they know the name of the new Larner Road Estate. As much as we tried, no one knew. Even a resident who had moved out a while ago did not know. So ended our first attempt at voxblogging.

PRETORIA, HAMLET, MEDINA & NORVIC.

These are the names of the first four of seven tower blocks that have been  demolished on the old Larner Road Estate in Erith. Making way for Erith Park.

Monday 5th August, it became a hive of activity along the North End Road of the site. I noticed a couple of white Portakabins had arrived, to accommodate the builders while on this part of the site. A crane was being erected, ready to lift materials as the new blocks grew.

Wednesday, I spoke to Gemma, Regeneration Contracts Manager, to see ask how the build was going.

Deep excavations had been made  & metal rods were in place, ready for the concrete foundations of the first blocks.

The interiors of Verona House will start to be taken out next Monday. One part of the carriageway opposite,  will be temporarily blocked off, when the demolition starts in early October.