While we admire and support the Christmas campaigns that we see pop up in December, we also know that help is urgently needed all year round, each and every year. As some people pack away after the festive break, we are still here.
Our support is not limited to a food package, but it leaps beyond - we form connections, we listen and respond to everyone who steps through our doors. We open up a warm, safe, environment which aims to feel like a home away from home.
For us to continue to thrive and grow, and keep supporting as many people as possible, we are asking you to become a Friend of Cooking Champions. Even a donation of just £5-10 per month can make a HUGE impact on the lives of those who come through our doors.
Pop to our People's Fundraising page to donate, and we promise to keep you updated with how your support is making a difference. Thank you, we appreciate you! Team Cooking Champions
News, comment and features
Articles are shown in publication date order - most recent first.
A ban on spitting in the street throughout the London Borough of Enfield came into effect this week, following more than two years of campaigning, a petition and a public consultation exercise. The by-law was approved by central government earlier this year and came into effect on Sunday. Offenders can be fined up to £500.
Until 1990 spitting in the street was an offence throughout the UK, punishable by a fine a £5 - a figure which these days appears ridiculously low, but as late as the 1960s.......
A ceramics class at the Millfields Arts Centre, designed for people with varying levels of experience in working with clay, will run from 6th January to 31st March (no class on 17th February). The class is taught by Deborah Broomfield, who can be contacted at .
Fees of £120 are payable in advance in two instalments or can be paid each week at £11. Fees include clay, firing and glazes........
Palmers Green's own community cinema, Talkies, is now in its second year. The enterprising venture was launched by David Williamson in October 2012 with a screening of A Man of No Ambition, a film about notable Palmers Green resident Ralph Hutchings. Fourteen months and 21 events later, Talkies will end its 2013 season with a Palmers Green double bill at the Fox on 11th December.
The evening begins with an introduction to Palmers Green Tales, a new website which is about to be launched by Jenny.......
In August we carried a report about a meeting between local groups and the Council aimed at clarifying issues regarding the future of Palmers Green Triangle. At the meeting assurances were given about consultation prior to any changes. However, in late October, and without the promised consultation, the Council carried out works on the Triangle, covering over the underground toilets and removing the railings around them, and replacing concrete planters with hanging baskets.
Last week a.......
Ashmole Academy in Southgate is considering opening a two-form entry primary school, which it hopes would open in 2015. Pupils from the primary school would have priority for admission to the secondary school.
Whether or not the scheme goes ahead will depend on the school's obtain the money required to build it and there being sufficient interest from local parents.
Ashmole's proposal would help ease the shortage of primary school places in parts of Palmers Green and Southgate, which has.......
Enfield’s Health and Wellbeing Board is holding two special events to gauge public opinion on the Enfield Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2014-2019.
The consultation is open until the 22nd December 2013, and the Board want to know what you think about the community’s health and wellbeing needs and where you think they should be focusing their attention in the years ahead. The responses received will help to inform the priorities in the strategy to ensure we continue to improve the.......
Two months ago campaigners against the North London Waste Authority's plans for a very long term and extremely expensive procurement contract for waste processing services were celebrating the cancellation of the procurement (see this earlier report). Although the Authority has denied it, it is almost certain that this major volte face was in large part due to the effectiveness of the campaign run by the Pinkham Way Alliance.
However, the Alliance is not resting on its laurels. It has now.......
The sale of the former Southgate Town Hall is proceeding. Contracts have now been exchanged for the transfer of the building in Green Lanes, Palmers Green, to the property developer Hollybrook Homes.
Hollybrook are planning to build between 30 and 40 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats within the shell of the Town Hall and in a new-build block to the rear. At least some of the flats will be "affordable".
The exterior of the building will not be altered, but the interior will be completely.......
Enfield Council has this week issued a document in which it expresses a concern that poor property and tenancy management by private landlords is a factor behind the increasing frequency of anti-social behaviour. It sees the problem as being so serious that "if the Council does not take decisive action, the indications are that the situation will continue to get worse, with parts of the Borough deteriorating in a negative spiral of poorer conditions - both for private tenants and their.......
The Alexandra Palace and Park Charitable Trust (APPCT) is looking for volunteers to carry out unpaid research in support of a lottery funded project to tell the story of the part played by the "Ally Pally" in the First World War, when it was used as a camp housing refugees and enemy internees.
The role of the three volunteers would be to research and record information about items stored in archives at the Imperial War Museum, British Library, Bruce Castle and other depositories. A minimum.......
has begun to try to secure the future of the 800-year-old Minchenden Oak, which forms the centrepiece of the Minchenden Oak Garden in Waterfall Road, Southgate.
The Minchenden Oak dates from the time of the ancient Forest of Middlesex and is one of the oldest in Greater London. In the 19th Century it was reported to be the largest oak in the UK. However, it has begun to subside recently and because of its size and proximity to homes, Enfield Council commissioned independent tree experts to.......
TV cameras were in Broomfield Park this week filming the ruins of Broomfield House and interviewing Councillor Del Goddard about the prospects for its future. The footage is intended for a programme which is expected to be shown on BBC next month. The following report is by Colin Younger of the Broomfield House Working Party.
Filming for the BBC-commissioned programme as a follow-up to the 2003 series “Restoration” series took place in Broomfield Park on 11th November. The two presenters,.......