BEAULIEU HEIGHTS IN NEED OF FRIENDS

A recent article in The Croydon Advertise drew the readers? attention to this beautiful but apparently unloved remnant of the Great North Wood..

It was acquired by the then Croydon Corporation as long ago as 1938 as a public open space, but it was not until March 1965, after an approach by the Norwood Society, that it was opened as such. ?Paths have been built through the woods, old trees and undergrowth removed, and tons of rubbish, dumped there over the years, carted away. New trees have been planted too, a hundred of them along a grassy open space which has been laid out where the old allotments used to be. Later, there are plans for a walled garden, where old people can sit in quiet and comfort, as well as a play space for children?, the Norwood Review was happy to report.

Ten years later the Norwood Society and local residents fought off a proposal by Thames Water Authority to construct a reservoir and booster pumping station in this oasis of peace.

I remember the many walks that we made there with our young children in the seventies and eighties and children sledging on the few occasions that it snowed. One could almost say that, 40 odd years later, we have come full circle and are faced again with grounds that are overgrown and litter strewn. Beaulieu Heights has gained an unsavoury reputation and the public hesitates to go there. It seems ironic that, having battled in the past for the grounds to be opened to the public and then for their preservation, this beautiful spot is now unloved and unvisited.

It is for this reason that Sgt. Clifford Baxter, who leads South Norwood Safer Neighbourhood Team, and Reverend Beverley Mason from St. John the Evangelist Church have been taking matters in hand. After sending out questionnaires they have been looking at several possibilities.

A meeting has now been convened on Thursday 6th November at 7.30 p.m. in the Church Hall of St. John the Evangelist (on the corner of Auckland Road and Sylvan Road). There will be representatives from BTCV (The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) to explain what a ?Friends of Beaulieu Heights? could do, together with representatives from Croydon Council and representatives from the South Norwood Police Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

Sgt. Baxter?s ?phone number is 020 8649 1323


Anna Lines

ONE COMMUNITY.
ONE BOOK.
TWO MONTHS

The first ever ?Crystal Palace Park and Read? event takes place this October and November, with the Upper Norwood Joint Library challenging the whole of Upper Norwood to read the same book during the same two months.

Reading is one of the most fundamentally important activities in society because reading can literally change people?s lives. From basic literacy skills to simply reading for pleasure, everyone can benefit from the ability (and opportunity) to read. Reading can be creative and fun and enrich lives, but is also critical as a life and employment-based skill.
With the pace of modern living, it is a pleasure that is becoming increasingly difficult to indulge.

This year has been designated as the National Year of Reading ? the first event of its kind since 1999. The NYR aims to change the nature of reading in the nation forever by helping to build a greater national love of reading and a better understanding of its power as a fundamental life skill that opens doors ? for children, families and adult learners alike.
Public libraries have a key role to play in helping everybody to discover or re-discover the joy of reading.

The Upper Norwood Joint Library is the only remaining independent, joint-funded public library in the country. It serves the residents of Crystal Palace and this year marks the 110th anniversary of the signing of the first Joint Library Agreement between the forerunners of the Croydon and Lambeth Councils of today, in 1898.

From October this year we are challenging the whole of Crystal Palace to read the same book during the same two months. We want to turn Upper Norwood into one gigantic reading group, with opportunities to meet authors, reviews and promotions, a quiz based on the featured book (with twelve prizes - kindly provided by the Upper Norwood Library Campaign - and a first prize of £100 for the winner) and multiple copies to borrow or buy.
This is a Crystal Palace-specific initiative and the first time that such an event has been staged in this part of South London.

For these two months, library staff are taking on the role of ?Richard and Judy? by highlighting and recommending featured titles which they feel will be compelling and enjoyable reads, but also stimulating and challenging. We want people who feel that they ?have no time to read? to change their minds. Hopefully they may then find that reading becomes a habit!
We are also hopeful that the shared experience of a whole local community reading the same book at the same time could prove to be instrumental in strengthening neighbourhood bonds. ?Crystal Palace Park and Read? can provide a common talking point that everybody can relate to. People will have the opportunity to talk to each other about why they loved (or hated) the book and hundreds of enthusiastic ?new readers? could emerge.

?Crystal Palace Park and Read? means taking time out to read at least one book this year. We think that our recommendations will be worth the effort!


FEATURED BOOKS

TITLE FOR ADULTS - ?Something might happen? by JULIE MYERSON

Title for younger adults ? ?The dirty South? by ALEX WHEATLE
Title for children - ?Bridge to Terabithia? by KATHERINE PATERSON
Title for young children ? ?That pesky rat? by LAUREN CHILD

CHILDREN?S/YOUNG CHILDREN?S BOOKS LAUNCH ? 4th October
ADULT/YOUNGER ADULTS BOOKS LAUNCH ? 13th October
EVENT RUNS UNTIL DECEMBER 13TH 2008

READERS WHO WRITE A REVIEW OF THE BOOK THAT THEY HAVE READ COULD WIN 3 MONTHS OF FREE DVD LOANS FROM THE UNJL!

STOP PRESS - AUTHOR VISITS

JULIE MYERSON will be visiting the Upper Norwood Joint Library at 7.30 pm on Thursday 30th October to talk about her book ?Something Might Happen? and how she crafts her novels.

ALEX WHEATLE will be visiting the Upper Norwood Joint Library on Saturday the 29th of November at 3.00 pm to talk about his work and his most recent book, ?The Dirty South?.


LAUREN CHILD has agreed to judge the Park and Read children?s competition, inspired by ?That Pesky Rat?.


FURTHER INFORMATION
The Chief Librarian, The Upper Norwood Joint Library, 39-41 Westow Hill, London SE19 1TJ. Tel: 020 8670 2551.