Latest news with #TheRailwayChildren
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Campaign to revive ‘neglected' Grove Park allotments which played role in WWII
A campaign to revive allotments in Grove Park, with community history dating back over 100 years, has been launched with the goal to raise £12,500. Baring Road Allotments in Grove Park were first established in 1913 as a Co-Operative Land Club and managed by the Lee and District Land Club. Spanning over 11 decades, these historic allotments played a key role during WWII as part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign, providing food to local residents. But over the years these allotments – described as an 'amazing community asset' – have become uncultivated and neglected, with the Covid-19 pandemic playing a major role in their decline. These historic allotments played a key role during WWII as part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign. (Image: Donna Ford) A campaign, established by the allotment's new committee Wild Rangers, could see the allotments transformed to their former glory. The non-profit organisation, which is dedicated to enhancing underused green spaces, is set to launch its Aviva Crowdfunding Campaign with a £12,500 goal fundraiser, with an Open Day and Plant Sale set to take place this Saturday (June 7) between 12pm and 2pm. Kay, founder of Wild Rangers, said: 'It's disappointing to see the neglect of such an amazing community asset. Growing together has so many benefits for mental wellbeing; helps combat social isolation; improves physical health; and helps to strengthen local communities.' A campaign could see the allotments transformed to their former glory. (Image: Donna Ford) The revitalisation of the allotments are part of a wider community-led imitative to establish The Railway Children Urban National Park to safeguard Grove Park's greenspace, which is believed to have been the inspiration for E. Nesbit's The Railway Children. Work has already commenced to clear the allotments, with work led by staff and volunteers, however the fundraiser is hoped to raise needed funds to help the organisation tackle larger capacity jobs to get the allotments up and running again. The reduction of local allotments has been impacting communities across the UK over the last decade, as research conducted by Sheffield University revealed that allotment land has decreased by over half (65 per cent) by 2016. The revitalisation of the allotments are part of a wider community-led imitative to establish The Railway Children Urban National Park. (Image: Donna Ford) However, these spaces can be vital for local communities in a bid to help tackle food poverty, with Lewisham Council passing the 'Right to Food Borough' motion committing to helping communities in Lewisham have more access to healthy and sustainable food. Kay explained: 'Allotments up and down the country are often under-appreciated. This despite a growing demand and long waiting lists. 'With new fresh community-led energy now getting behind bringing this vital space back to life, we can enable many more people enjoy the benefits as the revived plots can be taken up by new tenants. 'We also hope we can raise enough funds to also deliver a community garden within the allotment.'
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Grove Park may have been inspiration for E. Nesbit and The Railway Children
Grove Park and its railway station may just be the inspiration behind The Railway Children. E. Nesbit, or Edith Nesbit, is famously known for her published works like The Railway Children, Five Children and It, and The Phoenix and the Carpet. Over the course of her life, the esteemed author lived in a number of areas around south east London including Eltham, Blackheath and Grove Park. At one time Nesbit lived in Well Hall, with her home backing onto what is now Well Hall Pleasaunce, and there are even records of the author punting in the moat around The Tudor Barn when she used to live there. At one time Nesbit lived in Well Hall, with her home backing onto what is now Well Hall Pleasaunce. (Image: Emily Davison) She was also friends with fellow south east London writers H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw, who she would frequently entertain as guests. Whilst the village of Strines in Stockport also lays claim to being the inspiration for The Railway Children, Grove Park's strong claim is one that is highly regarded. Whilst the village of Strines in Stockport also lays claim to being the inspiration for The Railway Children, Grove Park's strong claim is one that is highly regarded. (Image: Loco Steve/Flickr) Nesbit lived in Baring Road between the years of 1894 and 1899, in a home called Three Gables next to The Ringway Centre – a rather similar sounding name to the fictionalised Three Chimneys house where the children move to. The building is no longer standing, however a short way from the former house you'll find Railway Children Walk, which leads to the nature reserve and Railway Children Point, a spot that would have given the author views of the railway line and surrounding countryside. This connection was marked with a map and trail financed by The Heritage Lottery Fund, which highlights sites of interest in Grove Park since the town's birth in the 1870s. A short way from E. Nesbit's former house you'll find Railway Children Walk, which leads to the nature reserve and Railway Children Point. (Image: Google) Edith was later to move to an 18th century house in Well Hall in 1899 with her husband Hubert, where she remained for 22 years. This home is also believed to be the inspiration behind another of her books – The Red House, published in 1902. A plaque was later erected in Well Hall Pleasaunce in 2004, commemorating the author for her work, and reads: 'Edith Nesbit, with her magic touch of writing children's stories which still live on today in television and film adaptations, is the name now most associated with Well Hall House."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Thousands attend Keighley and Worth Valley Railway steam gala
More than 4,000 people attended the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway's annual steam gala recently. The event, which took place from March 20 to March 23, featured a dozen steam locomotives in action and attracted steam enthusiasts and visitors from across the region to the five-mile branch line. More than 120 volunteers supported the event on each day of its operation. A dozen steam locomotives were in action across the four days of the gala (Image: Tom Marshall) Noel Hartley, the railway's operating and business manager, said: "I am very proud of what has been achieved, particularly how we can create a journey back in time where, as a customer, you are completely immersed in a world that just doesn't exist anymore in everyday life. "To continue to bring this world to life is really important to give some balance to what's on offer in the leisure and tourism industry, but also to provide opportunities for people to be involved in or experience how railways changed the world 200 years ago." Oakworth Station, known for its role in 'The Railway Children,' was a hub of activity during the gala (Image: Tom Marshall) The gala featured a lineup of historic locomotives, including the Class 8F freight locomotive No 48305 and the Class 3F 'Jinty' shunter No 16440, both restored by the Great Central Railway in Loughborough. Industrial locomotives such as Sentinel No 7832 'Ann' and Avonside locomotive 'Dora' also participated, with 'Dora' making a notable return to K&WVR after her brief stay in the 1960s. Oakworth Station, known for its role in 'The Railway Children,' was a hub of activity, offering wood-fired pizza and showcasing the operation of the historic level crossing gates. Passengers enjoyed on-train bars serving hand-pulled real ale. At Haworth yard, visitors were able to watch locomotive preparations and shunting operations, while freight demonstrations added to the event's appeal, offering photo opportunities for enthusiasts. At Haworth yard, visitors were able to watch locomotive preparations and shunting operations (Image: Tom Marshall) Forthcoming special events include the 'Easter Express' trains and the Diesel Gala in June. For full details on upcoming events and bookings, please visit or call 01535 645214. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge line which joins the national railway network at Keighley and runs five miles up the valleys of the River Worth and Bridgehouse Beck to Oxenhope. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed upon the closure of the line by British Railways in 1962, and it reopened the branch line from Keighley to Oxenhope in June 1968 - just weeks before steam finally ended on British Railways in August of the same year.
South China Morning Post
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Poetry is a necessity we can afford today, and public displays make it easier to absorb
Poetry is 'a luxury we cannot afford', Singapore's founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, said many years ago. He intended it to be a maxim for the then-fledgling nation to focus on matters more pressing and of greater practical value for its survival. Advertisement Yet poetry's worth is widely recognised as surpassing luxury. On a different continent, poetry became a companion to the daily commute, with poems – classic, new, translated – displayed in London Underground trains and stations. The subway operator's first collection appeared in January 1986. The 'Poems on the Underground' project is nearly 40 years old now and hundreds of poems have been displayed for people going about their everyday to ponder, find amusement in, and be inspired. 'We were small and thought we knew nothing / Worth knowing. We thought words travelled the wires / In the shiny pouches of raindrops …' – The Railway Children, Seamus Heaney; Poems on the Underground, January 1986. Advertisement In Singapore, in the same vein, 'Poems on the MRT' was launched on the Mass Rapid Transit network, initially with six poems on in-train panels in 1995; there have been several iterations of the project over the years.
BBC News
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bradford 2025: Casting call for The Railway Children ensemble
The organisers of Bradford's City of Culture year are searching for children aged eight to 15 to take part in a new production of The Railway stage adaptation of the children's classic will be set on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway at Oxenhope, where the 1970 film was play, which will take place between 16 July and 7 September, will be a co-production between the York Theatre Royal and Bradford casting call said no prior acting experience was needed to join a community ensemble cast supporting the production, "just confidence, enthusiasm, and a love for performing". Originally a children's novel by Edith Nesbit published in 1906, The Railway Children tells the story of three children whose lives change dramatically after they move from a comfortable townhouse to a small Yorkshire cottage near a railway line.A Bradford 2025 spokesperson said the show would begin when audience members board a steam train at Keighley Station, then travel the full length of the Worth Valley Railway."When you reach the end of the line at Oxenhope, you'll find a purpose-built auditorium within the station's Engine Shed – and a new version of the production, which tells the story of three children forced to move from London to Yorkshire after their father is falsely imprisoned."Organisers are seeking 30 young people for the interested can apply for an audition on the Bradford 2025 website by 10am on 17 to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
