St George’s was the garrison church for Woolwich Barracks. It was completed in 1863 and served as the garrison’s place of worship until it was hit by a V-1 flying bomb in 1944 and largely destroyed by fire.
After the ownership was transferred from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to the Heritage of London Trust Organisation in 2011, it underwent restoration work. This was part funded by the National Lottery Fund, and since 2016 the site has been run by the Woolwich Garrison Church Trust.
The Trust opens the site every Sunday and for special event. This weekend the church has been open from Thursday to Sunday and has hosted a number of Platinum Jubilee events. Sunday’s was for the family and members of the Princess of Wales Own Regiment - which is currently stationed in Woolwich - and the local Gurkha/Nepali community. (The Royal Borough of Greenwich is said to have the largest Gurkha/Nepali community within the UK.)
Sue and I decided that although the weather was overcast and there was a possibility of rain, we would go to the event … and mighty pleased we are that we did!
The local bus service took us to within a couple of hundred yards of the entrance to the church.
When we entered, there were already several people there, and preparations for the afternoon's entertainment were underway under than canopy end of the church.
Just inside the entrance, a local Nepali restaurant (the Panas Gurkha Restaurant) was giving out free food ...
The Panas Gurkha Restaurant stand. The owner (Mr Sujan Katuwal) is standing on the left, and his head chef is in the centre, behind the table.
... and Sue and I both sampled it.
We were not the only people who appreciated the food, and the queue of local Gurkhas/Nepalis waiting to eat it is testament to its quality.
The afternoon's entertainment included examples of Nepali dance given by a young girl ...
... and what I understand were a pair of sisters.
They were followed by a famous Nepali singer (whose name I did not quite catch!) ...
... who was so well received that one of the local Nepali community leaders joined her on stage and danced while she sang.
After a short break, the RAF Cadet Band arrived and entertained us with a selection of military and popular tunes.
By the time that the band had finished, it was almost 4.00pm, and Sue and returned home on the bus.
The Panas Gurkha Restaurant did sterling service during the pandemic and supplied over 100,000 hot meals (!) to the local community. Their contribution has been acknowledged widely in the the media and has even warranted visits by Dame Joanna Lumley, the well-known actress and supporter of the Gurkha community in the UK.
As to the quality and excellence of the food ... well, as a rule Sue will not eat spicy Asian food ... but on this occasion she ate a plateful of Gurkha food, and even asked for seconds of one dish! My favourite was the spicy minced venison, which I understand is not on the restaurant's usual menu, but which can (according to the head chef) be requested in advance.
The restaurants details are as follows:
Panas Gurkha Restaurant, 318 Lee High Road, Lewisham, SE13 5PJ
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BOB,
ReplyDeleteLovely story you have written of your special day out sharing the GURKHA Culture - just marvelous. Glad your able to get out and about Bob- good luck with your health this Summer. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteIt was my first proper venture out since my operation, and I am very glad that I went.
My father served alongside the Gurkhas in Burma in 1945 and I have a friend who was an officer of Gurkha Engineers. I have also taught Gurkha boys, and as a result, I knew a little about their culture, particularly their food. One of the best meals I have ever eaten was a Gurkha goat curry. Twenty plus years on, I still remember the taste!
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you and your wife were able to attend and had a nice time.
I just want to tell you that in Lone Warrior Issue #219 (Solo Wargaming Association magazine), your name was mentioned in the article "Stolen Goodies - Gleaning Campaign Ideas from Others". The author Martin Smith mentions that your Portable Wargame rules and One Hour Wargame rules were some of his favorite rules to resolve battles generated by wargame campaigns.
I think it's great that people are running wargame campaigns easily using a wide variety of aproaches.
Scott
Scott,
DeleteThanks very much for your kind comment.
I’m very pleased that Martin Smith has enjoyed using my rules so much that he has mentioned them in LONE WARRIOR. I really ought to subscribe … and this would be an ideal opportunity to rectify that!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
DeleteI think you would enjoy reading the Lone Warrior. It's very interesting to read about what wargamers are doing on their own: rulesets, campaigns, battles, etc.
Scott
Scott,
DeleteI’ve subscribed, but have yet to hear anything. I’ll give it a day or two before I chase them up.
All the best,
Bob
Sounds like a nice afternoon for you and Sue. I wish my wife and I could get out, she came down with COVID after a trip to Utah for a data science conference. She's been locked in our bedroom by herself for 9 days now! We'll be ready to get out of the house in the next couple days.
ReplyDeleteI wish there were more events like that here in Jersey City. We have a sizeable Indian population here. We invited our neighbors to celebrate Diwali in our back yard while they were having theirs redone. The kids had a great time with the fireworks, but no dancing.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteWe had a great time, and we hope to go to further events at the church. (They have films, plays, concerts, and much more scheduled to take place there over the next few months.)
I hope that your wife recovers from COVID-19 sometime soon. I’m triple jabbed, and when I caught COVID-19 it took me ten days before I was clear of the virus, and a fortnight to fully recover.
Indian celebrations can be very exciting and exuberant events, and even watching them can be tiring … and taking part can be exhausting.
All the best,
Bob