New Cross in Time Out

If you haven't picked up this week's Time Out London, look out for its 'Great bits of London' feature on New Cross with its strapline of 'creativity, cheap thrills and chicken shops in the south-east student belt'. Written by Goldsmiths student Andy Hill it accurately characterises local pubs/bars New Cross House, New Cross Inn, Hobgoblin, LP Bar and Amersham Arms. Foodwise Cummin Up, London Particular and Chinwag get a mention, with a recommendation too of a walk to the top of Telegraph Hill to look over London. Other readers recommend Smokey Jerky, No 178, Little Nan's, Birdie Num Num's, the Royal Albert and the Venue - 'you're not a south-easterner if you haven't had the Big V experience'. 

New Year in New Cross

Plenty to do in New Cross on New Year's Eve. The New Cross House and Amersham Arms are both having parties with late opening and free admission, the latter with Simon Obee of New Cross Bags fame DJing and promising - or threatening according to your taste - lots of Fleetwood Mac (oops they got the date wrong in flyer!). There's also a Deadly Rhythm party in the back room, but that's already sold out.

The New Cross Inn has lots of bands playing including  Soul Delirious, Valve Control, The Hotelles, Giant Burger, Omar, Pusca and The Only Sun 8:00pm to 8:30pm. £6 in advance, £8 on door with concessions for regulars. Further details here.

The Royal Albert is charging £5 in.

At the Bunker Club (46 Deptford Broadway), Breton and Deptford Army are putting on a party, £5 before midnight, £7 after, open until 4 am (facebook details here).

Of course there's a New Year's Eve party at the Venue in New Cross Road, with the spirit of Michael Jackson appearing - £15 in advance, £20 on door, cheap drinks and guaranteed hangover.

Or for a free all ages event you could just walk up to the top of Telegraph Hill where hundreds of people will gather as usual in the top park (Kitto Road SE14) to count in the New Year and watch the fireworks go off across London. Weather forecast is for rain earlier in the day, but dry by midnight - although no doubt muddy in the park.

(Brockley Central has a few other ideas from further afield)

Come to South East London...

Lovely new video from Goldsmiths promoting the joys of South East London life - Deptford market, Greenwich Park, Telegraph Hill Park, the New Cross House, Royal Albert, London Particular, Cafe Crema, Utrophia, Panda Panda, Birds Nest, Blossoming Together cafe etc all feature.

I like the fact that it doesn't try and put too much of a 'wow it's such a creative arty area' gloss on it, rather it shows that what people appreciate is living somewhere with its own identity and community.

Folkus and Drum Garden

Some amazing free music in New Cross and Deptford this weekend, featuring internationally-known artists.

Folkus

Firstly tomorrow there's Folkus, the annual street party at Sanford Housing Cooperative (Sanford Walk, SE14). Actually although it starts on Saturday around noon it will be continuing all night until Sunday morning.

In the afternoon there will be the FOLKUS PICNIC with talks, and stalls about 'Empowering Sustainable Communities Through Grassroots Organizations'.

Then on the TREE OF LIFE stage from 7 pm - 4 am there will be live music including Spektrum and Viv Albertine (once of The Slits), plus DJs. More details on facebook.

Drum Garden

On Sunday September 4th from 5 pm to 7 pm there's 'Drum Garden' in The Herb Garden, MacMillan Street, SE8: 'a specially constructed performance by 10 or 11 drummers from the south east London underground, a highly motivated and vibrant scene with wildly individual players. We will be playing throughout the garden so that the sound moves across and through the space. Strategies have been devised to keep the playing fresh'. Percussionists include Charles Hayward (ex-This Heat, Camberwell Now) and David Aylward (Brain of Morbius, Blurt).

At around the same time on Sunday (5 pm - 7:30 pm), 'post-folk' outfit Manglenote will be playing at the Royal Albert, New Cross Road, as part of their Octo-pump beer and cider festival.

Residency at the Royal Albert

The Royal Albert is a fine pub, even if for some of us it's hard not to recall some great music nights in that place when it was the Paradise Bar. You know you go in there and there's some terrible football on the screen and you stare in to your pint and wistfully mumble about the night you saw The Long Blondes or Art Brut or even spent a whole evening at a Belle & Sebastian fan convention.

But hey it's not as if they don't have any music there now, and among other things there is a montly DJ residency by er... 'Residency' (Alex Cordiner and Richard Goff) playing house, electro, disco, indie, pop and whatever else takes their fancy. It's not so much a club, more just a night in the pub with some decent music, though you're welcome to try out a few moves. Their next session is next Friday the 14th January.

Alex Cordiner produces music under the name Lusty Zanzibar - among other things he has been working with the great singer Billy Ray Martin on The Crackdown Project - this is a cover of the Cabaret Voltaire track Crackdown:

Royal Albert - for the Deptford appasionati

The Royal Albert in New Cross Road is one of a number of pubs featured in an overview of London pubs at the website of Italian magazine L'Espresso. 'London pub, un mondo da scoprire' ('a world to discover') also features the Effra in Brixton, the Hartley in Tower Bridge Road, the Garrison in Bermondsey Street and Bread & Roses in Clapham, as well as some from the other side of the river.

The Royal Albert is described as 'Gastro Pub ideale per il Sunday Lunch. Eventi: ambiente rilassato e giovane nel cuore di Deptford. Per gli appasionati di calcio è l'ideale per seguire le partite di campionato' (something like 'Gastro Pub ideal for Sunday Lunch. Events: relaxed and young atmosphere in the heart of Deptford. For soccer fans it is ideal for following the championship games'.