White Stag back in Catford

The 'Lewisham Natureman' white stag has been spotted again. Neil D., who took this photo, noticed this one last week on Adenmore Road, the 'Ravensbourne culvert approaching Catford Bridge Station - looking down as the river runs under the road'.

Previous sightings

Peckham Black Womens Group 1985

From Bishopsgate Institute on facebook, a 1985 flyer for a Peckham Black Womens Group 'Black Womens Open Day' at the St Giles Centre in Benhill Road, Camberwell. Line up included 'Asian Women's Dance plus dub poetry and song by Lioness Chant'.

Peckham Black Women's Group later opened Peckham Black Women's Centre at 69 Bellenden Road, SE15. It closed in around 1990 following funding cuts.

Telephone Box Library

It's taken me a while to get round to posting these photos of the telephone box library on Loampit Hill SE13 (near to the junction with Tyrwhitt Road). Essentially it's a book swap - people are invited to come along and choose a book and leave one behind.

There's some lovely remarks in the comments book. I agree that as someone says, libraries are the 'the heart of civilisation'. In fact why do we stop at just having libraries for books  - why not have libraries for all those other things (most things) that we only use once or twice and don't really need to all have as own separate possessions? Tool libraries, maybe even clothes libraries...

All in all a good idea, though my experience of other book swap schemes is that there is a built in entropic tendency for quality to decline over time unless somebody is actively weeding out the books that nobody really wants. What tends to happen is that people take the interesting books and leave behind less interesting ones - eventually Jeffrey Archer and '50 Shades of Grey' take over as surely as bindweed on a neglected allotment. So please help out by taking down some good books and maybe taking out your share of the rubbish.

Flixation in Forest Hill

Coming up at the Hob in Forest Hill next Friday, the return of Flixation, a night of short films and movies.

Flixation has its roots in the 1990s/noughties DIY underground film scene in London. It was formed in in December 2006 by Caroline Kennedy (former Exploding Cinema), Clive Shaw (former MyEyesMyEyes) and Duncan Reekie (former Werewolf). There's a great archive of old Flixation and Exploding Cinema flyers on facebook. Here's a few of them:

Exploding Cinema at the Albany, Deptford, November 2006

Exploding Cinema at Hatcham Social Club, New Cross, December 2005

Exploding Cinema, Climate for Change, Union St, SE1, November 2007
(benefit for Mindsweeper boat on Deptford Creek)

2006 event in Peckham Car Park

Exploding Cinema at now demolished Area 10, Peckham, 2008

Long Blondes in New Cross 2004

Is it really ten years since the Angular New Cross summer of 2004? Well, yes obviously, but it doesn't seem that long ago that the music press was full of tales of the 'New Cross Scene' (like this one from the NME in May 2004), and then locally-based label Angular Recording Corporation was getting some of the best new bands of the period to play early gigs at the Paradise Bar in New Cross (now the Royal Albert) - Art Brut, Bloc Party, The Violets, The Swear, Vichy Government... good times.

Angular was was founded by two ex-Goldsmiths students - Joe Margetts (who I recall used to work at Toads Mouth Too in Brockley, now the Gantry) and Joe Daniel (who played with The Violets, as well as with the Klaxons for a while). As described at 'As you are', 'Their first release was ‘The New Cross’ compilation album, featuring the first recorded appearances from future stars Bloc Party and the Rough Trade re-released Art Brut track ‘Formed A Band’. This album of local talent went on to win ‘Compilation of the Year 2004’ in NME, and spawn the media hyped ‘New Cross Scene’.. th e label continued to grow, releasing debut singles and EPs by The Long Blondes, Klaxons, The Violets, The Lodger, and These New Puritans. Joe D also found time to coin the joke genre ‘New Rave’ while in Deptford library with Klaxons songwriter Jamie Reynolds'. And of course there was the trig point on Hilly Fields that they christened ARC001.

The Long Blondes hailed from Sheffield,  with their first London gig  being an Angular night at the Windmill in Brixton on 4 June 2004 (supporting The Rakes and The Boyfriends) and their second at the Paradise Bar on Saturday June 12, where Angular were launching their second compilation, 'Rip off your labels'. A quick search of my hard drive, and here's an actual archive email:

From: "angularrecords"  Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 5:07 PM

Subject: [Angular Mailing List] Thanks !

Thanks to all of you who came to 'London Triangulation : An Angular Festival' last week. It was much fun, and a great success... The Angular Fun does not end there. It is the launch party for the next Angular compilation on this Saturday at the Paradise bar in New Cross. Four bands will be playing your your delight: luxembourg, The Long Blondes, The Fucks, and Mark Sampson, and there is a strong possibility of an angular cake and party bags being given away! 

So yes, I was there, and it was good. And the other night I stumbled across footage from that very night on youtube. Here they are playing an early, fairly shambolic version of what was to be their first, great single - Giddy Stratospheres.

The band split up in 2008, with one of their last gigs back in New Cross a the Amersham Arms (Darryl 853 was there)

The Long Blondes at the Paradise Bar in June 2004
-the stage backed on to what is now the front wall of the Royal Albert

Kidbrooke Stag

Yet another sighting of the famous 'Lewisham Natureman' white stag - spotted off Kidbrooke Park Road near Old Post Office lane (thanks to Peter for sending photo)

(see previous posts on the stag)

The World Cup in South London

As the World Cup comes to an end, here's some pictures from around South London over the last month.

The Artmongers mural on Deptford High Street redecorated in Argentinian and German colours for today's final,
by artist Patricio Forrester, who is Argentinian 

Watching the world cup at Tomi's restaurant in Deptford High Street, on night Nigeria played Iran
(photo posted by DJ Tim Westwood on Instagram)

Brazilian and Colombian flags at Restaurante Santafereno in Brixton

Brazil fans at the Coronet at Elephant and Castle
(photo by James Doleman on twitter)

Colombian fans celebrate at the Elephant and Castle after their team beat Uruguay
(photo by Instailka)

England flag at 2 Sisters Tandoori in Nunhead

French flag in Kitto Road SE14

German flag on New Cross Road

England and Italian flags in Brockley Grove

Ghana fans at the Castle Tavern in Woolwich
(see 853's report on this)

Festive SE London this Weekend

Lots going on this weekend, here's a few things people have asked us to mention.

Blythe Hill Fields Festival, Saturday 5th July 2014 - free event with music, stalls etc. in this Lewisham park gem.

Nunhead Beats the Bounds, also on Saturday 5th July, a procession around the boundaries of the Nunhead area, starting 2 pm at Nunhead Green and 'Ending at 4pm back on Nunhead Green with music, refreshments and a free glass of Nunhead Whacker, an ale specifically brewed for this event'.

Sydenham Arts Festival - two weeks of events kicking off on 5th July with the 'street celebration' launch event, featuring music, stalls, dance and performance.