Star of Greenwich Summer Update
Firstly a huge thank you to everyone that has made the Star possible. From the wonderful people of East Greenwich that have donated to our regulars to the amazing Annie, Maria, Douglas, Paul S, Viki, Dave, Jay and Sandra that have got everything up and running. We would be nowhere without you.
Our primary objective as a community owned pub, is to create opportunities for people to meet people that they wouldn’t have done otherwise. We believe that diverse friendships help our community become closer, more resilient and a nicer place to live.
To make that happen we’ve tried to create a pub that is welcoming to a wide range of different people. We are also creating a sustainable business that can create a better neighbourhood for all.
None of this would have happened without the support of our community. Firstly through the crowdfunder and since then the ongoing support of people coming through our doors. Thank you to everyone and we can’t wait to see you for a drink, board game or kids play session soon!
James, Kirsty & Lisa
PS — we’d love to hear what you think about this update and the Star. Please drop us an email with your thoughts — starofgreenwich@gmail.com or say hello across our Instagram, Twitter or Facebook pages
Our community projects
Working with different community groups is a core part of what we’re about at the Star. A few examples from the last few months include:
English for Action conversation classes
EFA London provide accessible, participatory, and empowering English language classes for migrants in London. They campaign on issues affecting migrants. They support their students to speak up on issues that impact them and they train other ESOL teachers in their powerful approach.
Lucie and the EFA team have been using the Star every Friday to run conversation classes that have supported dozens of people learning English — including a number of Ukrainian refugees. Because of the family friendly set up of the Community room, they are able to include young parents in a safe environment — something that is usually very tricky.
The group convene over cups of tea and coffee, exploring diverse methods of learning English, both at college and through community classes.
They also devote time to discuss the Speaking & Listening exams and strategizing their preparation approach. Subjects include immigration statuses and social media and the potentially hazardous aspects of online communication — such as hoaxes, fake profiles, scams, and enticing offers that seem too good to be true.
Drawing from a Ukrainian saying, ‘Free cheese can only be found in a mousetrap,’ they often conclude the session by delving into proverbs and idioms across English and other languages.
Lewisham BeWell Hub
On Tuesday 16th May Greenwich Wellbeing Action Team met with people from Lewisham Be Well Hubs in The Star.
Be Well Hubs are safe spaces for local people to turn to when they feel their mental health is low or simply to feel more connected with their local community. The idea is that nobody should be more than 10 minutes away from being connected to someone who can help them.
We had volunteers from Creating Ground, LRMN women’s group, Live Well Greenwich, parents from Lucas Vale Primary School, Lewisham Islamic Centre, EFA London, The Living Centre and other small charities and enthusiastic individuals all organised by Citizens UK.
In this meeting the group wanted to learn more about each other’s work, the challenges we are facing when supporting people who are struggling with ill mental health and most importantly, how the group could work together.
“Mental health is like an umbrella. It is connected to a lot of different problems, from housing struggles to difficulties that stem from the UK hostile environment.”
The group engaged in discussions about isolation and the significance of reaching out to individuals and communities that are frequently marginalised. They deliberated over the possible strategies to overcome such hurdles, underscoring the power of unity, relationship-building, and mutual support. They also shared about the initiatives undertaken in their hubs — from the organisation of regular coffee mornings for parents at a primary school, to hosting art, dance, and English classes, and taking collective action. A participant from the Lewisham Islamic Centre insightfully noted, ‘Even small actions can bring about significant change; we are often stronger than we give ourselves credit for.’
AvoCuddle
Sandra and the team at AvoCuddle have started to use the Star’s Community Room to offer affordable childcare classes and events. These include daily play sessions that give parents the chance to relax for a moment, whilst their kids get to play with a whole new set of educational and fun toys.
Sandra also includes a range of different classes & promotions including:
- Messy Sensory Play
- MusiCuddle Singalong
- Storytime
- Pottery
- Italian
- Twin discounts
- Fiver Fridays
The team have also been hosting birthday parties for all ages
Email AvoCuddlePlayroom@gmail.com to find out more or visit them on instagram https://www.instagram.com/avocuddleplayroom/
Blackheath Folk Club
Over the summer we’ve been delighted to welcome the Blackheath Folk Club every other Sunday. They’ve been bringing their incredibly talented musicians and singers to play a wide range of traditional songs.
Every time they come the pub has an incredible atmosphere — do come along and join in when you can!
Our London Marathon & Coronation Parties
The pub opened on the London Marathon weekend — with the route running right past the end of the road. We had kids toys, games, a cake shop, Grind coffees and more whilst everyone watched the amazing runners come past.
It was an amazing way to christen the new pub and meet loads of people from across the community. Soon after we got to do it all again for our Coronation party.
John’s West’s wake
Early on in May we were sad and proud to host John West’s wake at the pub. A lifelong regular of the Star, John was a local legend and an avid historian. He also supported the new Star since the very beginning of the project and we were so sad that he couldn’t be around to see his local open up again.
Before we opened, he found a load of amazing local historic photos — which we now proudly display in the pub on a wall dedicated to John.
Halstow parents social
A contingent of Halstow Primary School parents made it down to the Star for their first social of the year. It’s great to see parents of the local schools using the space and we hope to do more with Meridian, Halstow and other parent groups soon.
Book clubs
Since openings we’ve hosted a number of book clubs. These include the Charity Book Club — a collection of people that work in the charity sector and discuss books with topics that impact the whole of society.
Seren Park Residents Association Summer party
The annual Seren Park Residents Party took place in the Star at the start of the summer and it was an amazing turnout. Dozens of people came down to see their new local and enjoyed getting to know one another.
Axa Charity Day
In June, we hosted an amazing team from Axa who decorated the whole of the Community Room for us. They kindly donated their time and picked up the bill for all of the materials, tools and paint we needed. Thanks to them we’ve been able to use the room for even more events and community work.
What people are saying about us
Our favourite things to read are the amazing reviews that people have left us on Google since we’ve opened. A few of them include:
“Local pub reopened again and it’s a great comeback. Guinness cheap and lovely! Traditional boozer. If you miss sitting with a bottle of orange and a packet of crisps while your grandad plays darts and let you loose then this is the pub, Smells like growing up in south east London and I’m here for it”\
“Friendly local pub. Not crowded on a Saturday night. A welcoming crowd.”
“Lovely, proper pub reasonably priced compared to others in the area bar staff good craic and kid friendliness”
“Recently re opened, fantastic staff, great atmosphere!”
“Brilliant local pub, great music and great people”
“Lovely community pub in the heart of Greenwich ❤️”
We’ve also made it into a few press titles since opening — including TimeOut, NewsShopper and MyLondon
Drinks sold
We want to offer a wide selection of drinks to suit everyone’s tastes. We’re also committed to keeping the prices as low as possible to make sure that they remain accessible to all. We’re totally open to suggestions so if there’s something you’d like us to stock then let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
Since opening, our most popular drinks include:
Finances
The pub industry continues to face challenge after challenge. With rising alcohol duties, increasing utility costs and continued supply chain disruption, there are hundreds of historic venues being forced to close across the country. Thanks to the generosity of the community, we are sure that the Star can buck this trend and be here for years to come.
Our modelling shows that we need to generate around £3,000 / week to be sustainable. We are averaging about £2,150 currently — in a traditionally quiet period for the pub. We hope that as winter comes and the festive period starts we will be able to generate enough revenue to ensure stability.
(Enormous thanks to Dan Sherfield for his help on all our financial modelling)
A top line of our finances (from unaudited, estimated accounts) for April — July are:
Crowdfunder: £11k
Income: £38k
Costs: £36k
What’s next
Community Ownership Fund Bid
We’re currently working up a bid for the Government’s Community Ownership Fund. This would be a significant grant that should allow us to purchase the lease of the building that is currently owned by Greenwich Hospital Charity. It’s a monster application process, so we’re getting some support through the Plunkett Foundation to help us write it all. Keep an eye out for lots of surveys and questions coming your way to help with the bid.
Community Share Offering
In combination with the Community Ownership Fund, we will also be running a community share offer shortly. This will allow people to invest in the Star and have a say in the way it is run and the direction of its future. It’s important we get this right as it’s a big financial undertaking, so we’re spending lots of time working with people such as Lewisham’s Sister Midnight, to understand what they’ve learned through their community share offering.
Plateful Cafe
We are still hoping to get food served in the pub through a partnership with Plateful Cafe. It is taking a while as they have taken over another site which is going really well. But stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated as we know more.
Pub events
We’re going to be running more events at the Star to get everyone coming together. Quiz Nights, Acoustic Music and Bingo Competitions are just the first and there’ll definitely be more. Let us know any suggestions.
