Petrina Sargent for Abbey Wood

A place to rest your head, and awake to the sound of birds.

2010-02-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

"Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to The Abbey Wood Caravan Club?" Asks a German man rather anxiously behind the wheel of his mobile Caravan. My Uncle whom I was with at the time enthusiastically responds "Sure follow my car, and I'll lead you to your destination."

There is something quite fulfilling in aiding someone to find a place to rest their weary head, and even better if that place happens to be The Abbey Wood Caravan Club. I often pass it on my rounds and like to peer behind the big gates into the deep open woodland filled with caravans nestled together.

People from all over come to stay here mainly because Abbey Wood train station is a two minute walk from the Caravan Club and one can get to Central London within 25 minutes on the South Eastern Train; Lesnes Abbey isn't at all far either. Yet my favorite is neither, I think it's a great place to wake up because Bostall woods surrounds the Club and the sounds of the birds are sweet enough to put someone straight back to sleep.

Is it too obvious I'm enjoying standing for Abbey Wood?

Where is my post?

2010-02-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

A worried resident of Abbey Woood is unfortunate enough to only receive post twice a week and that's if she's lucky. This lady informed me that her postal worker is not able to leave the depot until 10:30am and as a result the easy access button to gain access to the property doesn't function. According to this resident the local council office based on Eynsham Drive has not provided postal staff with fobs to gain access to the individual floors.

Each floor requires a unique fob as a safety precaution, leaving most tenants left without post for up to four days. It is obvious better organisation and communication skills should be practiced among the postal and the council office. However all is not lost; thanks to this helpful tenant The Abbey Wood Action Team are in talks with the Postal dept and the local council office to raise the concerns and find a resolution on behalf of these post less tenants.

19th February 2010: - Update.

Well, the Abbey Wood Action Team aren't ones to wait around. I have made contact this morning with Eynsham drive Neighbourhood Housing Office to report the postal issue. A helpful young lady informed me fobs are available for postal workers to enter each floor and no complaints have been received from Nathan Way's Royal Mail Depot. Nevertheless, I made contact with Royal Mail to register a complaint on behalf of the tenants at Eynsham drive and anticipate a response from Nasthan Way's Depot delivery manager explaining why post has only been delivered once - twice a week if fobs are available.

Efficiency is the buzz word for today folks.

Being Safe with Abbey Wood Safer Neighbourhoods Team

2010-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today has yet been another fulfilling one in Abbey Wood. The only down side was the weather, but it takes more than a rainy day to keep us away. When dusk fell upon Abbey Wood this evening I thought it imperative to remind people about the importance of Personal Safety.

I have listed a number of good practice safety precautions we should all follow when out alone particularly of an evening.

Think ahead and plan your journey, avoiding deserted areas.

Try to avoid walking alone at night, and keep to well-lit main roads where possible.

You should try to avoid short cuts like alleyways, waste ground and wooded, bushy areas.

Stay alert: be aware of what's going on around you.

It is always worth letting someone know where you are going, the route you intend to take and when you expect to return.

Consider investing in a mobile phone. There are various services available for light users. (see also Mobile Phone safety)

Try to avoid wearing headphones - your ability to hear traffic, strangers or potential trouble is severly restricted.

http://www.met.police.uk/teams/greenwich/abbeywood/

FireFighters - doing what they do best.

2010-02-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

FIREFIGHTERS tackled a blaze in a two-storey house on Jauary 26th 2010.

Four fire engines and around 20 firefighters from Plumstead and Erith stations attended the fire in Manton Road, Abbey Wood.

Part of the first floor and roof was damaged by the fire.

A man left the house before the crews arrived.

The brigade was called at 2.26pm and the fire was under control by 3.16pm. Four fire engines and around 20 firefighters from

Plumstead and Erith stations attended the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Working for Abbey Wood.

2010-02-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, where do I begin? Abbey Wood is a beautiful little hub full of smiling children who were keen to stop me in my tracks whilst I was delivering my literature. The playful voice of a young girl greeting me from her window reminded me why I chose to stand as a local Conservative Councillor for this ward.

Today has been very fulfilling. I have had the opportunity to converse with a number of residence living in both private and social housing who were more than happy to talk about their likes and dislikes of Abbey Wood. One point that resonated with me was their discomfort with anti social behavior. Some of the older residents felt particularly vulnerable going to the shops due due to the fact they where often surrounded by young men and women behaving erratically. I have always had a deep sense of respect and more recently sympathy for our older generation, because lets be honest the last 50 years has not been easy on them; from the WWII to the swinging sixties and now technology has took the world by storm. As a result I believe it's extremely important we treat the older generation with the utmost respect and dignity. During my campaign I have made this point very clear to Colin Bloom - MP candidate for Erith and Thamesmead -
Gosh I'm enjoying this, and I'm looking forward to hitting the streets again soon.

All the best
Petrina Sargent
Local Councillor Candidate for Abbey Wood