On Sunday 26^th September at 6 p.m. in the Holst Hall, James Allen’s Girls’ School, East Dulwich Grove, the James Allen Community Orchestra (JACO) will be giving a concert in aid of local charity Dulwich Helpline.  There is now a well-established partnership between the two organisations and this will be the orchestra’s seventh concert in respect of this.  Tickets priced at £7 (Concessions – £5) can be obtained by sending a stamped-addressed envelope and cheque (payable to “JAGS”) to “Music Department, JAGS, East Dulwich Grove, London SE22 8TE”.

JACO is a vibrant high-calibre orchestra made up of local professional and non-professional musicians.  They currently perform twice-yearly, and they always play major works from the orchestral repertoire.

Dulwich Helpline, founded in 1993, is a small local charity providing friendly volunteer support for over 300 isolated older people living in Dulwich and neighbouring areas.  Through their team of excellent volunteers, they offer practical help with escorted shopping, gardening, odd jobs, and transport.  They also provide social and emotional support through befriending visits, and a variety of activity and friendship groups.

The charity has recently introduced a Friends Scheme and if you’d like to become a Friend of Dulwich Helpline, please contact them for a Friends form on 020 8299 2623.  You will receive their quarterly Newsletter and will be kept up-to-date on their various events.

Contact details: 020 8299 2623; info@dulwich-helpline.org.uk; www.dulwich-helpline.org.uk

Saturday June 6

2pm to 5pm: Victorian Afternoon. Upper Norwood joint library, Westow Hill SE19. Includes Professor Heard’s Magic Lantern show; storytelling, Punch and Judy; historical talks; Victorian-style magician; stalls and period entertainers.

5pm: Arts Festival launch. Including art work by Audrey Hammond, Mike Conrad and Brian Dann. The Grape and Grain pub, top of Anerley Hill. OPEN ALL WEEK

Sunday June 7

(Anniversary of Paxton’s first visit to the Hyde Park Crystal Palace site 1850)

3pm: Joseph and his amazing Crystal Palace Open air theatre performed by CREEPS (The Crystal Palace Re-enactment Society). At the Paxton statue, Crystal Palace park. Free.
Festival Music. Jazz at the Grape and Grain pub, top of Anerley Hill.

7.30pm. Crystal Palace themed quiz at the Royal Albert pub, Westow Hill.

Monday June 8

(Anniversary of Paxton’s death at Rockhills, 1865)

7pm: Ghost Walk in search of the spirit of Joseph Paxton. Starts: Crystal Palace rail station. Finishes: Grape and Grain pub, top of Anerley Hill. Free.

Tuesday June 9

7pm. Local historical walk with the Crystal Palace Community Association. £5. Limited places. Start at the smaller transmitter, far end of Church Road SE19. Finish: Dulwich Wood House pub. Phone 0208 670 4395 or e-mail cpca@onetel.com

Wednesday June 10

(Anniversary of the opening of South London’s Crystal Palace 1854)

10 am Hyde Park to Crystal Palace 1854. Journey re-enactment by CREEPS. Start: Crystal Palace rail station

7.30pm Festival Music. Crystal Palace Band open rehearsal near the Crystal Palace museum in Crystal Palace park.

8.30pm. Festival Poetry. Grape and Grain pub, top of Anerley Hill.

Thursday June 11

(Anniversary of Paxton’s first sketch of Crystal Palace – the blotting paper ‘Derby Doodle’ 1850)

9.30 am. Victorian ‘Waggle and Hum’  Upper Norwood junior library
11 am. Victorian ‘Waggle and Hum’ Upper Norwood junior library

7pm: Darwin Symposium with speakers from Spurgeon’s College and University College London. Free.  Upper Norwood joint library.

EVENTS MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

josephpaxton@hotmail.com 0208 778 1865

With the closing date for registration fast approaching – entries close Sunday, 17 May – the Wellness Run offers a 5km or a 10km track as well as a host of family activities, from bouncy castles and penalty shoot-outs through to musical entertainment.   To enter, simply log on to www.wellnessrun.org.uk and complete the application form.

Now in its fourth year, the Wellness Run has chosen to support Diabetes UK – the largest organisation in the UK working for people with diabetes, funding research, campaigning and helping people live with the condition.  All money raised from the event will be donated to the charity and anyone wanting a free fundraising pack should contact the Diabetes UK Support Team www.diabetes.org.uk or call
020 7424 1116.

Diabetes UK is committed to funding more than £7 million of medical research every year to help find a cure.  Currently 2.3 million people in the UK are diagnosed with diabetes and more than 500,000 also have the condition, but are not aware of it.

Roz Rosenblatt, London Regional Manager at Diabetes UK, said: “We are delighted that once again the Wellness Run has chosen to fundraise for Diabetes UK and raise awareness of diabetes. The run will not only be a fun day for all, but will also raise funds which will go towards the vital work of Diabetes UK and raise awareness of the importance of physical activity – a key factor for good diabetes management.”

This year’s Wellness run will also see a series of children’s running activities organised  alongside the main event.  These include:-

• 25 metre tots race – for ages 0 – 4 years
• 100 metre kids race – for ages 5 – 10 years
• 3km active race – for ages 11 – 15 years

All races for under 16 years are free of charge.  A registration fee of £10 applies for members of GLL’s Wellness prepaid health and fitness or £15 for non-members.  GLL also offers 5k and 10k training plans to help people prepare for the event.  For further information log on to www.wellnessrun.org.uk

Comments event organiser, Wendy Balch: “The Wellness Run is a fun day out for the whole family to enjoy – it’s the perfect way to keep fit and enjoy yourself at the same time.  Having a goal really helps to keep people motivated as they train in the gym, pool or on the track.  There is something for everyone – even if you just want to support and cheer the runners on.  And, everyone who completes the race will receive a medal.  We’re also out to raise awareness for this year’s charity, Diabetes UK.  So, sign up now and secure your place on the run.”

Chris contemplating the enormity of the task before him. Photo © Greg Woods

“One year ago I was three stone heavier and very unfit. I really needed to get off my a**e and do something for the sake of my health”, explained Chris Thomas founder of the Palace Magazine and now publisher of this website. We caught up with him at his final training session for the London Marathon in Crystal Palace Park.

“Twelve years previously I had run half-marathons but that was a dim and distant memory. Bad eating habits and a more sedentary lifestyle had taken its toll (I couldn’t just blame the closure of the Crystal Palace Pool) I needed a big challenge to get myself motivated and the London Marathon seemed the obvious choice. To strengthen my resolve I decided to raise sponsorship for a charity. There could be no turning back!”

“I started by visiting the Crystal Palace gym now housed in the Lodge at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. I began walking and running for 20 minutes. Gradually I was up to twenty minutes of solid running and then I began to increase my time. Soon I was out and about running around  Crystal Palace Park, Dulwich Park and Richmond Park. By January I completed a circuit to Greenwich and back via Beckenham which was fifteen miles and I knew I was on track. Three weeks ago I completed a twenty-mile run in South Wales so injury-permitting I am spot on course. Coming from Wales I find that Crystal Palace is a home away from home as it’s just one big hill. One of the great things about the London Marathon is that it’s totally flat!”

“I have always been interested in housing issues and seeing the economy going into recession with many people having their houses repossessed made running for Shelter seem the obvious choice. Shelter believes that everyone should have a home. They help people find a home and campaign for decent housing for all”.

Chris is halfway to his target of £1,600 and has got this mainly from family and friends. Now he is turning to the support of the businesses and people of Crystal Palace for his final push.

If you have sponsored him already, he thanks you…if not, you can still sponsor him up until the end of May. Just go to www.justgiving.co.uk/christopher_thomas. Having missed getting a place in the Crystal Palace triathlon due to its popularity he is now planning for the Lake Dorney sprint triathlon in May.

You can follow Chris’ progress on Sunday morning by texting the word “RUN’ to 83040 (Texts charged at your standard network rate) and adidas will send you a link to the mobile tracking service.  Simply enter his race number 45111. You can locate him, check his speed and get start and finish times. Alternatively you can track him online on www.adidas.com/running

This year’s sponsored St Christopher’s sponsored Fun Walk takes place on Sunday 31 May in and around Keston Common. This is great event for families and friends of all ages – so please get together and help us to raise our target of £200,000 to fund more specialist support and training for care homes.

St Christopher’s wants to enable more people in our community to die in a dignified and calm way with the skilled care and support they deserve. Many care home residents are rushed to hospital as they approach the end of their lives – and can end up dying in Accident and Emergency. This is not necessary and not what most people or their families would want if they had a choice. More training and support for care homes could change this.

You can choose to walk three, five, eight or eleven miles starting out from the Greyhound pub at Keston Common near Bromley.

By asking family, friends and colleagues for sponsorship, you’ll be raising money for St Christopher’s every step of the way.

Our Fun Walk promises to be an exciting and exhilarating day out with food and entertainment at the start, finish and half-way points. Remember there are trophies for the teams and individuals raising the most money, the best fancy dress costume and the oldest and youngest walkers.

How to register

St Christopher’s is looking forward to welcoming around 3,000 walkers so please encourage your friends, families and work colleagues to sign up as soon as possible.

This year we are delighted to offer all walkers who pledge to raise over £50 a free t-shirt. This offer is available on a first come, first served basis.

If you are over 18, you can sign-up online and get your unique walker’s number at www.stchristophers.org.uk/funwalk

If you are under 18 entry forms can be downloaded from www.stchristophers.org.uk/funwalk or are available from St Christopher’s shops or by ringing the Fun Walk hotline on 020 8768 4577.