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Focus Summer 2001 - Menu - Index - Previous
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CHAIRMAN'S NOTES
In the last issue of Focus No: 78, an item
appeared entitled "A Park Hill Curiosity' which concerned
an inspection cover spied by Sonia Hawking, one of our members.
It was a cast iron manhole cover with the words 'DOULTON LONDON'.
Doulton is the name of the factory which produced the pipes introduced
in Croydon especially for the purpose of taking away sewage.
A new book has now been produced which tells
of typhoid, which was common at that time in Old Town, it is
called 'The Croydon Case: Dirty Old Town to Model Town' and it's
author is Brian Lancaster. The book gives a good account of how
the pestilence in 1845 1855 period was dealt with.
Copies are available at a cost of £2.75
each, please send your cheque, together with your name and address
to: May Johnson, Flat 2, 30 Howard Road, SE25 5BY. The book will
also be on sale at various fairs during the summer and in the
Autumn at our various meetings.
We had an overstock of Shirley Poppy seeds
for the Cicely Mary Barker Garden, and offered them to the Shirley
Windmill Group. They have now been planted around the Windmill.
We may yet see our Shirley poppies growing in Shirley as they
will possibly self seed, they may also be put in packets and
sold to boost the Windmill funds.
I would like to thank Allison Plant and other
members of the Parks Department for their never ending help on
all sorts of matters. The plot at Park Hill has been watered
and hoed to keep the weeds down and lots of new plants put in
at the right time.
I would also like to thank Mr Reeves for allowing
us to put up the roundel to the Surrey Iron Railway, and Steve
Whiteside of urban Design Department for getting it safely put
up.
We look forward to some interesting talks
and walks (see back page, during the Autumn period.
Agenda 21
A visit was paid to the ZED/Bed site recently.
BED/ZED stands for Zero Energy Development/Beddington. This is
a housing workshop development by Sutton Borough Council in conjunction
with Peabody Housing Association. The reason for the visit is
that this section of the development will use passive air/quadruple
glazing and will use seedum plants on the roof and have the means
of re-using water (rain) from the roof to flush toilets. There
are some workshops also using the same methods which may be sold
separately or can be added to the apartment, thereby giving a
useful no travelling workshop on the doorstep. There is much
to be done before the complex is finished but there is a show
house open for viewing. There is a mix of building and Peabody
are also including flats suitable for disabled people.
Unfortunately, when we visited it persistently
poured with rain and we listened outside in the mud, the rain
pouring over us and the man giving the description of the new
methods of heating and lighting used in the development. The
interest was such that nobody seemed to notice they were getting
very wet!
Membership
The gathering in of subscriptions was delayed
at the beginning of the year as everybody was required to fill
in a form declaring whether they agreed to us claiming tax relief
under the new charity rules. We cannot, obviously, claim this
allowance of 28 pence per pond unless members pay tax and we
do not know this unless the correct forms are filled in.
Our membership year starts in January and
those who have a standing order do not normally complete a form,
therefore most of them ignored the three forms placed separately
in the 25th Anniversary and two ordinary copies. With March approaching
and seven eighths of the renewal subscriptions not in we wrote
pointing out the return of these were needed. I am pleased to
report that most of these are now in but there are still a few
outstanding. Some members have complained that they were used
to a loose leaf membership form and that including the form in
the Focus book meant that it was overlooked. It seems prudent
to include the form because it saves time having a separate interleaving.
It also saves the cost of a special run, especially when we have
a blank page in the Focus. The Society can benefit from this
extra money, and it doesn't affect your tax payments. We are
creatures of habit and old customs over the last 25 years had
to be changed at this time.
Thank you for all your help at this time.
Cabinet Government
I attended an education and cultural services
meeting in this new Council year, and was amazed to find that
Ashburton School and grounds are being discussed for a joint
private finance initiative, and that a viable business case is
being established. To take this forward the Ashburton Library
is going to be included on the site and that a rigorous appraisal
of all feasible options will be considered to deliver the vision
for the site.
The conduct of the meeting allowed other persons
than the councillors to speak, and I sat next to the Union delegate
and had ex mayor Shafi Khan on my other side. Both spoke for
and against certain points. We were seated in the Council Chamber
with the Councillors and no one upstairs in the gallery. Hearing
all the discussions clearly was of benefit. Also discussed was
the lack of care of Norwood Grove Park and the possible closure
of the bowls club and their difficulties having to go through
5 doors to get to the only toilets on site.
I really came for this one but had to sit
through the Ashburton and other education matters, but was glad
I did. You can leave the meeting whenever you wish. So far, so
good!
May Johnson
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