One possible future for the hospital involves a Social Enterprise ownership model where the development of services would be decided locally via partnerships with the community and the health and social care services – helping to secure its future as a local GP and community hospital. You can find out about how the investigation into this and other plans are progressing at several up-and-coming dates.

There are two January ‘Drop-In’ dates – informal meetings at Teddington Baptist Church Hall on Monday 16th January. This will be split into two sessions – parents with young families 11am-2pm to discuss services for children at the hospital (any suggestions will be welcome). Then 7:30-9pm for any member of the community to talk about any additional services, clinics etc. If you are short on time you can drop in for a brief spell as these will be informal in nature.

Following on from these sessions a public meeting will be held on February 2nd at the same venue 7-9pm where a presentation on work and progress so far will be made. Opportunities for feedback will also be available – TMH is the community’s hospital and the League of Friends want your involvement.

Although strong assurances have been recently made by NHS bosses that its future more secure than it has ever been (particularly with governments plans to move more patients to hospitals in their communities), the main concern still remains that the proposed creation of a Foundation Trust which may be at risk of a future merger. If you cannot attend any of the meetings you can show your support by adding your name to the online petition.

Recently a group of artists lent their work to the hospital for an exhibition so that patients and staff could enjoy them on site. Richmond Arts Service transported 30 paintings, graphic designs and old photographs (most of local scenes) to the hospital for this special exhibition.

Studies have shown that showing works of art in hospitals can reduce anxiety, stress and depression for patients, as well as staff and visitors! The hospital has run similar schemes involving voluntary visitors to chat to patients and well-behaved bed-side pet visits.

The League of Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital have a proud record of voluntary service to the hospital and have raised several million pounds since its inception to help improve facilities and equipment.

Based by the Wharf Restaurant the Lifeboat Station has always been run by local volunteers and the station is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 2011 saw an average of one ‘shout’ a week proving an invaluable service on their stretch of the river from Hampton Court to Richmond. The first shout of 2012 was at 3am on Tuesday 3rd January to assist a search for a missing man in the area, who was later found safe and sound.

The RNLI operates over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and since it was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.

Cathy with some fellow volunteers

The station would like to thank all it’s volunteers over the years and also the local community for all it’s continued support. If you want to help celebrate this milestone and help raise funds for the RNLI, an up-and-coming event at the Landmark Arts Centre will let you do just that!

West End performer and RNLI volunteer crew member Cathy Cogle will be presenting and performing ‘An Evening at The Musicals’ for one night only to raise funds.

Cathy Cogle lives in Teddington and has performed in West End shows such as Les Miserables, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and The Woman in White. She recently took part in the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert at the O2 and also appeared at this year’s Royal Variety Performance and the Classical Brit Awards.

Cathy: ‘It can be tough when the pager goes off at 3am but the adrenalin soon kicks in and we are out on the river within a matter of minutes. We get called out for all sorts of emergencies; suicide attempts, searching for missing people, rescuing swimmers and boats in trouble… The RNLI does not get any funding from the UK government and so I thought I would do my bit, combine my two passions and help a very worthy cause.’

‘An Evening at The Musicals’ is a spectacular concert of songs from the world’s greatest musicals performed by some of the finest West End performers. They will perform for one night only on Sunday 12th February 8pm. Tickets £15 /£20. Box office 0208 977 7558 or online at landmarkartscentre.org.

Handmade Frames will be hosting this show from 26th November to 24th December that will demonstrate her 35 years of her hugely popular instinctive and colourful oil paintings.

After training at Edinburgh College of Art in the 50′s, Liz spent years living in the West Indies where her love of vibrant colour was ignited. Her oil paintings are mostly of artistic or theatrical events and include new looks at local architecture including Hampton Court Palace and the newly restored Strawberry Hill House.

Another talented local artist you might not have heard of is Kimberley Scott – a freelance illustrator and designer, working in the world of Children’s Books, greetings cards, licensing and calligraphy.

Kimberley works in a riverside studio with a constant supply of green tea and pick and mix sweets to keep the creativity flowing. Her recent work includes charity greetings cards on the shelf at WH Smiths and Oxfam, Pocket Pet’s and Night and Day puzzles at Marks and Spencer and Little Shakers at Amazon.

Up-and-coming work due to be published next year includes two interactive Jungle themed stories, a heroic dog tale, a fun adventure called ‘The Terrible Time without Tilly’ for Egmont, and four little bouncing books for Small World Creations. Kimberley is also currently working on two funny and entertaining jungle and farm stories.

Kimberley Scott, a self-portrait

At the Architects Gallery (who will be celebrating their 3 year anniversary on Thursday), a mixed Autumn Exhibition brings together six artists: Esme Baker, Paul Bennett, Ray Gale, Elizabeth Rollins-Scott, Paul Smith, and Andy Waite.

Avignon – A Moment In Time, a photography exhibition by Mark Borgan will be taking place at the The Landmark Arts Centre on 2nd-5th December 12-5pm. The photos all depict Avignon, a former papal town and jewel of Provence through a collection of unforgettable images. Limited edition prints on sale from only £25.

Peregrine Roskilly is the artist of the month at Mackenzie Gallery – his work depicts London’s annual naked bicycle ride are a celebration of the bicycle and the naked form. The figures display a joyful freedom rarely seen in the city, juxtaposioned with famous landmarks. One rider describing the event said “It is wonderfully liberating but you don’t want to get left behind!“

The historic venue is one of the largest covered spaces in south-west London and by paying the small entrance fee to the fair, you will be helping with the upkeep of our treasured centre. Not many people realise that the Landmark has charity status and proceeds go towards keeping the building in good condition.

At the fair you will be able to browse a unique and vibrant collection of contemporary visual art including paintings, photographs, jewellery, prints, glass, collages and sculptures from talented artists.

This is a firmly established event in the London arts scene where visitors have the chance to browse collections as well as meeting and buying direct from the artists.

Click for show catalogue

Admission £4 – Concessions £3 – Under 16’s free. If would like to get a chance to experience the fair before anyone else, there is a complimentary ticket to the Friday night preview available. Email contact@teddingtontown.co.uk if you wish to claim this (admits two people, preview is from 6-8:30pm).

The gallery is a hidden gem on the high street – a constantly changing exhibition of affordable and original art from mediums such as paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, glass and jewellery.

Jim Woodman on his work:

“My paintings attempt to convey my response to the colours, mood and forms found in such diverse places as the Scottish Highlands and the Mediterranean.

I like to capture too the presence of human beings in the landscape – often a small isolated homestead dwarfed by the grandeur of nature reflecting the indomitable spirit of man to survive”

The “Road to the Isles” exhibition will run from 16th September to the 1st October 2011 and you can also meet the artist on the evening of 23rd September for a glass of Presecco to discuss his work (6:30-8:30pm).

Designed by kinetic artist and designer David Watkinson this moving sculpture of sycamore is powered by only slight breezes of wind. The installation of this piece is designed to complement the new building’s modern but green credentials which have made it one of the most environmentally rated buildings in London, using sustainable power such as solar power.

The 5 meter-tall bronze kinetic seed sculpture is intended to show the natural world in motion and enhance the street scene for those who use the building as well as anyone who passes by.

The RHP building didn’t sit quite right with some neighbouring houses especially considering its next door to the 100 year-old baroque-style Carnegie Library. Some nearby residents objected to the sculpture plans citing issues of artistic taste and potential unwelcome attention that it will attract and also how it might not sit well next to a conservation area.

Other locals with an interest in art are welcoming this modern public art in their midst and the unusual sight it will create. You can see what the movement of this sculpture will look like in this video of a smaller version:

Kinetic Seed Sculpture from David on Vimeo.

Happy Potter Ceramics recently held a hugely successful craft fair at their cafe. All of the available spaces were filled with craft-makers offering their wares to visitors – local talented designers included: Douetil Holistic Therapies, Clare Catherine Kelly, KitzieG, Neeksie and Reinvention Design.

More pics of the evening here.

The recently reformed Teddington Business Community held its first public meeting recently at Teddington Baptist Church. After an introduction from minister Richard Littledale about the strong community spirit that exists in Teddington, TBC chairman Mel Ellis outlined the group’s reasons for creation, its objectives and scope for future plans.

Just under a hundred attendees turned up from varied local businesses – high street shops, restaurants, salons, local office-based businesses and home workers – all of whom were keen to find out all about the new association and how it can make a difference to the business community.

There are now many initiatives and plans underway to help improve the business environment for the group as well as future meetings and networking events – the first of which is a BBQ on the 5th of July at Shambles. Non-members are also welcome and can find out about the group and chat to committee members. RSVP Bhavna on 020 8977 3793 if you are interested – the BBQ (or dinner if weather is bad) + drink is £30.

Richmond Council is listening to residents! The All-In-One events being held across the borough visited Teddington last weekend and 220 locals dropped in to have their voices heard.

The Hampton Wick and Teddington session took place in Elleray Hall and residents could leave feedback about what they like and dislike about their neighborhood – the most pressing items will become the council’s priority in future planning.

A few issues were abundantly clear, a huge number of comments were pinned to the roads, pavements and traffic boards – clearly we are not happy with parking in our town as well as some roads being used as rat-runs and short cuts where speed-limits aren’t low enough. Conversely almost all of the comments about refuse and recycling were positive, we love our refuse collection and want to keep it that way!

It was useful to talk directly to council officers about specific issues, the re-building of the central roundabout that caused so much delay in February was actually due to contractors not carrying out work to a satisfactory standard, twice! In fact 80% of roads dug-up in the borough are actually energy and other suppliers rather than the Council themselves.

The Housing Development Manager was kept busy with questions – displays detailed up-and-coming housing developments including the now agreed Somerset House demolition and new housing build. Many concerns were about the amount of affordable housing in the area for key workers – some of which are included in several planned builds.

If you didn’t have your say and wish to, Richmond Council have made available a new area on their website for this initiative including forums: richmond.gov.uk/my_richmond_villages.

Artists, groups and schools will be opening their doors to the public to help celebrate the diverse and exciting artists that live in the area.

The exhibitions will showcase talent from a variety of mediums – graffiti art, school projects, jewellery, print making, ceramics, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting and much more.

It’s a great opportunity to meet the artists behind the work, discuss their (& other) work with them and see where the pieces were created.

Be sure to check-out the full brochure and artist list that covers the whole borough.

Teddington-specific studio details:

View Larger Map

Opening times, unless otherwise stated are Fri 6-9pm, Sat/Sun 11am-6pm

You may have spotted their community barge moored at Teddington Lock during their ‘School on the River’ program. The Boat Project is working with together with local Teddington choir’s director Michael McLaughlin and with St Mary Magdalene Church in Paradise Road Richmond TW9 1TP who have offered to host the recital.

The recital also features soprano Christine Cunnold and pianist Christian Dawson who, with Michael, will be performing a selection of classical and popular pieces. The concert takes place at 8pm on 20th May.

To book tickets (£12.50 advance; £15 door, £10 concessions), or for further information about the holiday appeal, email ccp.concert@gmail.com or write to the River Thames Boat Project, 66 Hill Street, Richmond TW9 1TW (tel: 020 8948 8690). Even if you cannot make the concert you can donate this cause (supported by HRH Prince Michael of Kent) online via their fund-raising page.

In addition, Richmond Venturer will take a special cruise downstream from Kingston to Richmond in the early evening and a pre-concert reception will be held on board.

Also a limited number of special all-inclusive packages are available including the cruise from Kingston, drinks reception and concert, or reception and concert. Please email ccp.concert@gmail.com for details.

The Drowsy Chaperone is both a modern comedy and an affectionate visit to the world of the 1920s musical. A bride who’s giving up the stage for love, her debonair bridegroom, a harried producer, jovial gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a flaky chorine, a Latin lothario and an aviatrix…and of course the drowsy chaperone!

Based on the book by Bob Martin & Don McKellar, music and Lyrics are by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison. Directed by Richard Eliot, Musical Director Nic Luker. If you’re a fan of old-school musicals you’ll love the show within a show that is “The Drowsy Chaperone”.

What more do you need for a great evening’s entertainment! For tickets please visit www.teddingtontheatreclub.org.uk or call 0845 838 7529.

The Drowsy Chaperone
Sunday 20th March 6:00pm
Monday 21st – Saturday 26th March 7:45pm
Tickets £10 – £14