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
Finsbury Park to St Pancras via East Croydon and Purley?Photo courtesy of the 1London BlogThameslink train services providing direct services between Great Northern stations and Gatwick Airport via Finsbury Park are due to start in May, but as of 26th February a "preview" service has been running..
The service is very limited - three trains a day in each direction on Mondays to Fridays only, all between the morning and evening peaks. They run between Peterborough in the north and Brighton.......
Starting on Friday 23rd February the Night Overground service from New Cross Gate to Dalston Junction will be extended to Canonbury and Highbury & Islington. At Highbury passengers can catch a Night Tube on the Victoria Line and change at Finsbury Park onto the Piccadilly Line. To reach Palmers Green is then just a matter of taking the N29 from Wood Green - they run every 7-8 minutes and the journey time in the early hours is very short.
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Starting on 20 May there will be an increase in the offpeak frequency of trains serving Palmers Green on Mondays to Saturdays. In response to enquiries from Dave Cockle of the Enfield Transport Users Group, Govia Thameslink Railway have confirmed that the offpeak frequency on the Hertford Loop will be increased from three to four trains an hour except on Sundays, when it will remain at two trains an hour.
We do not yet know how late into the evenings this increased frequency will apply and what.......
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have launched the third and final phase of their consultations over new timetables to be introduced in May 2018. The latest proposals will come as a disappointment for passengers using Palmers Green and other stations on the Hertford Loop, as the planned increase from two to four trains an hour on Sundays is no longer being offered. The online survey form mainly asks questions that are of little relevance to people using trains for weekend leisure purposes........
Following a recent Supreme Court ruling on the wheelchair priority space on buses, Transport for London have released a new guide for drivers and will be hosting several Accessibility Bus Driver Forums, to which users of wheelchairs or mobility scooters are invited. The event on 14th December will be held at Palmers Green Bus Garage (off Green Lanes, just north of the North Circular Road).
A recently published article by "Bus Driver U" describes what the author sees as serious safety failings in the way that bus services are regulated by TfL and run by bus operators. The article includes a link to another describing a campaign for safer bus operations in London launched by an American businessman who was the victim of near-fatal collision on Oxford Street.
The anonymous driver's article - Bus Driver Fatigue—A TfL-Contracted Killer on London’s Roads? - is.......
Passengers using Great Northern and other rail services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway are being consulted about draft timetables due to come into effect from May 2018. The deadline for response is 27 July.
No way out. The newly installed gate at Palmers Green station is a serious impediment to anyone with a heavy load or who has difficulty climbing stairs
On the Sunday before last I arrived at Palmers Green station after a couple of weeks away. I had with me a very heavy suitcase, but was easily able to pull it up the three small steps between Platform 2 and the car park and then wheel it home. If I had returned one day later, I would have been in trouble, because the gate to the car.......
The consumer group Which? has released its 2017 customer satisfaction survey results for rail companies and Thameslink/Great Northern are almost bottom with some absolutely dire scores. The numbers in the table below are star ratings (maximum 5 stars).
Leisure
Commuter
Punctuality
2
2
Reliability
2
2
Seat availability
3
2
Standing space
3
2
Frequency
3
1
Carriages
2
1
Toilets
2
2
Value for money
2
2
Customer score.......
Because of delays caused by the Cycle Enfield road works along the A105, the 329 bus is currently not running south of Wood Green station. This will allow frequencies to be retained between Palmers Green and Enfield. According to the TfL website, the route curtailment runs from 5th January to 30th March.
Southbound buses are terminating very close to the usual stop outside Wood Green station. However, buses towards Palmers Green on the 329 are not serving the northbound Wood.......
"It stands to reason that trains are large and heavy, whilst leaves are small and light, so leaves can’t stop a train."
"It stands to reason that trains have solid metal wheels, so trains can’t get ‘flat tyres.’"
Well, you might think so, but you'd be wrong (though since tube train wheels don't actually have tyres, you'd be strictly speaking right about the second point).
For a highly detailed discussion of the problems afflicting the Piccadilly Line.......
The current phase of the public consultation about Govia's proposals for changes to rail timetables from 2018 finishes at 5pm on Thursday 8th December.
Under the proposals, offpeak services between Palmers Green and Moorgate will be doubled. However, at some other stations along the line the increase will be smaller and offpeak frequencies may even be reduced.
The proposed Monday to Saturday offpeak services would be six trains an hour, made up of:
Two trains an hour from Stevenage.......