Chaplin-themed sociable cycle ride Sat Nov 23rd starts 10am

[Sally Eva]

Everyone has heard of Charlie Chaplin but not so many know that he was born on the Walworth Road and spent a childhood in poverty in Lambeth and Southwark. His mother was incarcerated in the Bedlam mental hospital (now the Imperial War Museum) and his father died of drink, aged 37.

The ride starts in Peckham Square (SE15 5JR) and finishes in the same place at 12 noon. It's an easy-paced, flat ride, free and open to everyone. Peckham Rye is the nearest station but unhappily it doesn't have a lift, having lots of stairs instead. There's a cycle map from East Dulwich Station to Peckham Square here: https://cycle.travel/map/journey/132834 and a map of the whole route here: https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2508868517

Chaplin's childhood was fraught with poverty and hardship, making his eventual trajectory "the most dramatic of all the rags to riches stories ever told" according to his biographer David Robinson. Chaplin's childhood was spent with his mother and brother Sydney in the London district of Kennington; His mother had no income, other than occasional nursing and dressmaking, and his father provided no financial support. Chaplin was sent to Lambeth Workhouse when he was seven years old. The council housed him at the Central London District School for paupers, which Chaplin remembered as "a forlorn existence". There's a lot more information attached

These rides are organised by Bruce Lynn and friends on behalf of Southwark Cyclists. Our website is here: [southwarkcyclists.org.uk]. We are part of the London Cycling Campaign and their website is here: [lcc.org.uk]. You can contact us on [email protected]; tweet us @southwarkcycle or text Bruce on 07729 279 945. Like everything we do, these Saturday morning rides are free and open to all.