Newsletter October 2020
The October 2020 newsletter is hot off the press, please click the link below.
Subscription Holiday
We hope that all members of the Tewkesbury Lodge Estate Residents’ Association have been keeping well during this difficult time. Although the AGM had to be cancelled due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the committee is continuing to keep an eye on the area, particularly our hard-working Crime Liaison officer Christine Noon. We welcomed our new treasurer, Kate Morris, who has taken over from Dagmar Vesely. Other members of the executive are continuing in post: Valerie Ward as chair, Stuart Checkley as co-chair, Tina Hildrey as secretary, Carole Abrahams as membership secretary. Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019 are available on request.
The TLERA Executive Committee decided that no subscriptions would be collected from existing members for the year 2020-21. The need for social distancing has meant that the Association hasn’t been able to hold the usual events for members, so there haven’t been the usual expenses. We also agreed that there are health considerations to delivering newsletters and collecting subscriptions. We continue to welcome new members; they are asked to pay £5 to join but this will be carried forward to 2021-22. New members will be able to receive Crime Cascades and other news, and will also be eligible to join our closed Facebook group.
Social distancing continues to make it pretty much impossible to hold any of our usual social events, but we’re really pleased that parts of the Estate have set up WhatsApp groups and organised a few local events. The Association is working on ideas for alternatives to our annual programme of events which can be held for all members, and any ideas would be welcome.
We are hoping to send you a regular short newsletter via Mailchimp, so watch this space! And please send us any feedback and suggestions. Above all, keep well and stay safe.
Social Events Programme 2020
January 26th | Litter Pick |
Postponed due to COVID-19 Virus precautions | Annual General Meeting |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 Virus | Easter Egg Hunt |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Open Gardens |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 Virus | Summer Picnic |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 Virus | Autumn Harvest Lunch |
TBA | Carols |
Winter Newsletter 2019
The winter 2019 newsletter is hot off the press, please click the link below.
Social Events Programme 2019
March 12th | Annual General Meeting |
April 21st | Easter Egg Hunt |
May 11th | Play Park Cleanup |
May 19th | Open Gardens |
June 30th | Summer Picnic |
September 7th | Litter Pick |
October 13th | Autumn Harvest Lunch |
November 3rd | Litter Pick |
December 15th | Carols |
NGS Gardens Open for Charity Sunday 19th May 2019 1pm – 6pm

AGM & Aircraft Noise
The Tewkesbury Lodge Residents Association will be held on Tuesday 12 March between 6.30-8pm at Horniman Primary School.
Some residents have noticed a change in the pattern and regularity of aircraft overflying Forest Hill as well as an increase in noise levels. Please click the link below for our news sheet giving further details.
Valentine’s Day Butterfly
Today, February 14th, I saw my first butterfly of the year. It was large and lemon coloured and against the clear blue sky it was a thing to behold. Or that is what its behaviour was intended to impress upon male rivals and female potential mates. The Brimstone is usually the first butterfly of the year to emerge. Today’s one would have hibernated through the Winter in evergreen cover such as Holly or Ivy and then the sudden warmth of today’s weather would have awoken it from hibernation.
When the female is eventually fertilised, she will lay her eggs on the leaves of a buckthorn bush or small tree. These have small white flowers, thorns, and later in the year simple leaves and then black berries: beneath the bark the wood is yellow. The next time you wonder about removing a small inconspicuous shrub that is growing at the back of a border look out for the tell tale yellow below the bark. If it is a Buckthorn keep it, for the sake of the Brimstone.
And as our climate changes for the hotter, more of these delightful insects will survive the Winter and so become part of our Spring time garden life.
Stuart Checkley