Some new Brockley blogs

...well new to me anyway.

The Coterie of Zombies is 'about one man, his boyfriend, his best friends and a bunny in Brockley. It's about art, knitting and gay sex'. Zombiemaster Howard James Hardiman is currently working on a participatory art project in Brockley where he's asking people to put in pictures of the local area under monsters, giant ants, zombies and their ilk to be displayed during October at the Broca café. It's called Brockzilla and people have until the end of September to submit pictures.

London SE4 is Brockley's only Italian language blog in which Moya writes a 'Blog di arte, cultura e tutto quello che (mi) capita a Londra... '. My own knowledge of Italian doesn't run much further than 'autonomia operaia' and 'Bella Ciao' but good to see anyway.

Camberwell Eviction

Camberwell Squatted Centre was evicted unexpectedly this morning by a van load of High Court bailiffs and 2 vanloads of police, who climbed in to the building at 4.30am and surprised the occupants. We had some good and interesting times there over the past 6 months, with music, film, politics, chat and even a bit of dancing.

There's a meeting tomorrow, Friday 31st August at 8pm, to plan the next move. It takes place at 56a Info Shop, 56 Crampton St, London SE17.

Fabric of Society

Fabric of Society is a piece of participatory public artwork facilitated by Artmongers at Café Orange/Telegraph Hill Centre on Kitto Road, New Cross (next to Telegraph Hill Park). To celebrate ts completion there's a picnic on Saturday 8th September, 12 to 3pm.

The great sandal strike of 1977

With the craze for brightly coloured plastic shoes sweeping the country this summer, here's a lesson from history for any schools thinking of denying the right to wear crocs! The following report was published in the Mercury, 7th July 1977:

Schoolkids went on a sandal strike - and won. Pupils at Sedgehill School, Bellingham, were told the could not wear their colourful plastic sandals in school. But a group of them organised secret meetings to plan a strike. And when the break-time bell rang pupils claim 500 stayed in the playground. One of them Sharon Williams, 14, of Morley Road, Lewisham said: 'One of the teachers came out and threatened the boys with a beating and girls with suspension. Some went back and the rest stayed'.

Veron Smith, 15, of Erlanger Road, New Cross, said: 'We said "Give in and we'll go in and do our work" and they did. The next day they announced we could wear them'. A teacher, who asked for her name to be withheld, said: 'They were told they could not wear them because they were dangerous and bad for their feet'.

After the strike last week, which lasted 15 minutes, some of the leaders claim they were picked out for punishment by being sent home. One of those sent home, David Fisher, 15, of Southend Lane, Bellingham, said: 'The plastic sandals are just cooler in the summer. I don't know why they are supposed to be dangerous. It was the deputy head, not the headmaster who stopped us wearing them'.

Headmaster James Turner declined to comment. An ILEA spokesman said: 'It was just a handful of pupils at the end of break discussing these plastic sandals which a member of staff though were slippery. The headmaster examined the sandals and felt that though they were unsuitable, they could still be worn'.

East Dulwich UFO?

From South London Press (9 August 2007):

'Stunned star spotters were shocked to see mysterious lights flying above East Dulwich on Saturday, fuelling rumours of secret military experiments or visitors from the space in the area. Lawyer Richard Pringle, 33, of Peckham Rye, was walking home with his flatmate about 11.30pm when he spotted the UFOs rise above the Crystal Palace skyline.

He said: "We were both completely sober and we could see a row of four lights coming up over the hill and over Dulwich Village. If it was a plane you would have said it was at about 15,000 feet and you couldn't see any lights flashing or anything, you could just see a constant orange glow". Mr Pringle said the lights were followed by two more chains of four lights which moved as if propelled by an engine. He added: "There is no way you would have normal planes flying like that. People have said it's possibly planes from a military base nearby."'

Some discussion of this too over at the East Dulwich Forum, with suggestions including Chinese Wedding Lanterns, and account of the sighting (presumably from same person):

'Me and my flatmate (both rational professionals and sober at the time) were walking up peckham rye on the east side of the common at about 11 pm on saturday 4 august and saw 3 or so lines of quite small orange fiery lights, each line with about 4 lights in it, moving almost vertically up from the horizon near crystal palace masts, then, when they were fairly high in the sky, their trajectory flattened out sharply and they began to travel east over east dulwich and peckham rye. the speed and altitude were similar to that of a jet plane, but the flight path, formation, numbers and appearance were quite different. we watched for a few minutes. we left the road and went into our apartment building to get binoculars and look from our roof terrace; in the couple of minutes it took to get there, they had disappeared. did anybody else see this?'

The MOD wesbite records another sighting in East Dulwich on 19th January 2003 at 1 am, with a description of 'Lights, that were formed in a worm shape, wriggling around in the sky'.

Sterile Neighbourhoods Act

A couple of weeks ago, some people organised a community event called Hillaballoo in Telegraph Hill Park, New Cross. They were unlucky with the weather - it rained all day - but a steady stream of people came through and enjoyed the views from a camera obscura set up in the park. In time honoured local tradition, the event was publicised with flyers in the area put up on trees. One of the organisers has now been cautioned by Lewisham Council for putting up the posters, and told that any further occurrences could face a fine of £75 a poster. Apparently the new Cleaner Neighbourhoods Act forbids such things. Following the suspension of The Montague Arms' music licence for similar offences, it seems that the Council has launched some kind of zero tolerance campaign against posters.

The trees in the area are mostly hardy London planes and their bark is certainly robust enough to cope with staples and drawing pins, so I don't think there's a green argument here. For years they have functioned as a kind of community newspaper, carrying news of lost pets, meetings, car boot sales, gigs and other events in local schools, pubs and community centres. I have never seen this abused by people mass flyposting for commercial advertising, and if people do put up something out of character they just get pulled down - a kind of communal editing of the local street paper. It will be a real loss to the area if this is destroyed.

Lewisham has apparently proposed a community notice board as an alternative, but unless there are lots of them this will hardly suffice. The point about the trees is that they are located all over the place and seen by people as they walk around, unlike say a board in a park which only a minority will see. The point is also that there should be a public sphere in which people can communicate with each other without needing to fill in forms or otherwise seek the permission of the Council or other authorities.

This is not just a Lewisham issue - the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 gives powers to Councils to impose on the spot fines for flyposting, dogs, noise etc. Most of these things were already covered by previous legislation, so people could be prosecuted if the offence was serious. Now they don't need to go through the trouble of actually involving the courts where evidence can be challenged. Lewisham do however have discretion in how they implement the Act.

Everybody wants 'cleaner, greener, safer neighbourhoods' (to use the Government jargon) but do we really want sterile neighbourhoods where every social interaction is regulated by the local or national state and harmless community posters are banished? Please don't tell me this is making my neighbourhood safer - there were three burglaries in my road last week and my partner had her handbag snatched! One of the things that does make communities safer is a flourishing civil society where people meet each other, talk to each other and look out for each other. Precisely the kind of things that events like Hillaballo encourage. But if people can't promote them with posters, how are we even going to know they're happening?

Brockley Tea Factory

The conversion of the Tea Factory at Brockley Cross to loft flats is continuing, not sure yet whether there will be a bar/cafe on ground floor as suggested, but this was included in the planning permission for the site

The original building dates from the 1940s, and yes was used for storing and blending tea. Apparently the tea company had a previous building on the same site that was damaged during World War Two.

I can't pass on without mentioning the casual racism of the image of the development posted on the developers' website and displayed in giant version on the Endwell Road site itself. Yes everybody in this image of Future Brockley is remarkably light-skinned, especially compared to the actual people you are likely to encounter standing there now or in the shops round the corner. Is this the not so hidden subtext of all those articles in the Evening Standard and elsewhere about Brockley being 'up and coming'?

Ziggy: Made in South London

David Bowie's origins in the suburbs of South London have been well-documented, but until recently I hadn't appreciated the specific role of Beckenham as the incubator of his legendary Ziggy Stardust look/persona.

According to 'Moonage Daydream - The Life and Times of Ziggy Stardust', it was while living at Haddon Hall, a decaying gothic mansion at 42 Southend Road, Beckhenham, that Bowie and friends put the finishing touches to Ziggy.

Bowie had the ground floor of the now-demolished house from 1969 to 1973, painting the ceilings silver and holding parties in the garden. The Ziggy outfits were stitched together at Haddon Hall under the direction of clothes designer Freddie Burrett (known as Burretti), and the songs that became The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars were rehearsed in an impromptu studio created under the stairs, as well as at the Thomas a Becket pub in the Old Kent Road.

The haircut was done by Suzi Fussey, who worked opposite the Three Tuns in Beckenham in the Evelyn Paget (now Gigante) hair salon - although she apparently copied the design from a magazine. The famous red and black platform boots were made by Stan Miller of Greenaway and Sons in Penge.

More on the Beckenham connection here.

Talks

Connoisseurs of interesting talks about South London are spoilt for choice next Thursday 9th August.

At Camberwell Squatted Centre, South London Radical History Group present 'Underground Lambeth' covering secret bunkers, lost rivers, junk-filled basements... all the stuff hidden beneath the streets and houses. 8 pm start at 190 Warham Street (free).

Meanwhile at Review in Peckham, Chris Roberts (One Eye Grey) presents 'Disappearing dancers, Pagan Estate Agents, Angels and Faceless Nuns', a talk about these as well as other singular Peckham and London Folklore, Ghost stories and other ephemera. 7:30 pm at 131, Bellenden Rd, SE15 4QY, tel: 020 7639 7400.

DIY punk night

This week at Camberwell Squatted Centre (192 Warham Road), a night of free DIY punk featuring:

- Kleber Claux "anarcho casio pop and analogue synthesizer punk" live and direct from melbourne australia

- plus South London's own butchers boy (not the Scottish indie-poppers Butcher Boy).

8 pm start.

Lewisham '77

On 13 August 1977, the far-right National Front attempted to march from New Cross to Lewisham in South East London. Local people and anti-racists from all over London and beyond mobilised to oppose them, and the NF were humiliated as their march was disrupted and their banners seized. To mark the 30th anniversary of the 'Battle of Lewisham' a series of commemorations are planned in the area where it took place, including:

- a walk along the route of the march/counter-protest, including people involved at the time. This will start from Clifton Rise, New Cross at 3 pm on Saturday 15th September 2007.
- a half day event in New Cross on Saturday 27th October 2007 (2pm start - venue to be confirmed) with speakers, films and a social event in the evening.

More at http://lewisham77.blogspot.com/

The Tower

Finally got round to watching The Tower last night, BBC's documentary about life on the Pepys Estate in Deptford. The programme attempts to wrestle some human interest from the contrast between the Pepys Estate council tenants and the affluent residents of the Aragon Tower, the former council block sold off to developers Berkeley Homes and converted to 158 luxury flats (riverside views now being too good to waste on the poor, evidently). According to Planet Pepys things might not be quite as they appear - as with most 'reality shows' there is a suggestion of scenes being staged or even semi-scripted.

Still some truth still shines through. Last night's episode followed the wedding plans of couples on both sides of the social divide, with the universal theme of love and marriage on the one hand and on the other the different class experiences of havng to get into debt to buy a ring rather than having parents buying you a starter home overlooking the Thames.

See also Andrew; Ragged School; Kate

The Old Ones take East Dulwich

I was talking to a friend last night who had been doing some writing, in a HP Lovecraft style, about Cthulhu slumbering from its sleep in Camberwell. He had become rather disturbed the next day to find an image of Cthulhu appearing mysteriously on a sign at the end of his road.

It now seems that the vision he saw was actually work in progress by Dean Kenning for his exhibition 'The Dulwich Horror- H.P. Lovecraft and the Crisis in British Housing'

The window exhibition runs at Space Station 65 in Northcross Road, East Dulwich until September 2nd, with the launch this Friday 27th July, 6.30-8.30 2007 and a closing event with performances on Sept 2nd 2007 (all welcome to both events).

According to the blurb 'The outside walls of rented accommodation constitute a vast advertising billboard for Estate Agents. They appear without warning. ‘TO LET’, ‘LET BY’ - they never seem to come down. If you live in rented accommodation, your home has been branded: you are a temporary occupant subject to the authority of the property owner and his agent. For The Dulwich Horror ‘TO LET’ signs across London will form the canvas onto which Dean Kenning will paint images representing the supernatural and monstrous entities from H.P.Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Horrible alien beings such as Yog Sothoth, The Outer Ones, and Great Cthulhu himself are famously beyond description (the sight of such creatures would drive any human over the edge of insanity). Nevertheless, Kenning will have a go'.

Sounds great, but must admit my favourite remains the lego Cthulhu.

History from Below in Kennington Park

As part of Alt.Space Festival 2007 Tom Roberts and Anthony Iles will meet in Kennington Park this Saturday to give a short talk and distribute the pamphlet: ‘All Knees and Elbows of Susceptibility and Refusal’ a collection of extracts and commentaries on the making of ‘history from below’:

"The phrase ‘history from below’ is the product of a group of French historians known as the Annales school. It is their description of an approach to subjects and areas previously considered historically unimportant. In England this approach was taken up by a group of Marxist historians who developed a set of methodologies and a worldview at odds with existing Marxist and historiographical orthodoxies. In 1946 a group consisting of E.P. Thompson, Christopher Hill, Roger Hilton and Dona Torr among others formed the Communist Party Historians Group. Their aim was to draw out forms of agency that had been hidden by traditional approaches to history. Along with Raphael Samuel, CLR James and Peter Linebaugh we take this loose grouping as the starting point for the making and study of history as a contested field in which ‘the below’ plays an active role.

Kennington Park has been the scene of radical debate, publishing and political organisation (public speaking, meetings, protests) as well as the enactment of the powers of the State (hangings, enclosure, policing). The pamphlet looks at the methodologies of the historians from below as they worked to change their own contemporary system of knowledge production in relation to the self-produced, self-distributed knowledge of their subjects."

Date: 3PM, 21st July, 2007. Meet: Oval Fountain, Kennington Park opposite Oval Tube station

A PDF version of the pamphlet is available for download here; More info and resources: http://caughtlearning.org/all_knees_and_elbows/. More information on the history of Kennington Park can be found at Wikipedia and in Stefan Szczelkun’s Working Press pamphlet Birthplace of Peoples’ Democracy (RTF file).

Lewisham Bloggers Drink

I went out for a drink last Friday at the Honor Oak, the occasion being a meet up of Lewisham Bloggers. Present and correct were Bob from Brockley, Walking the Streets of Forest Hill, SE23 (Robert), Not Really a Diary (Max), Someday I will treat you good (Andrew), The Man from Catford (Henry), Forest Hill Society (Max), Fork Handles (Adrian), Wulf's Web Den, Green Ladywell (Sue) and Last Bus Home. Tempted as I am to theorise about the reconstitution of digital networks in the the flesh, lets just say a good time was had (we were last to be kicked out of the pub) and I felt terrible the next day. The heading of this post is Lewisham Bloggers Drink - the last word is a verb rather than a noun.

Updated 23 July 2007: Bob reminds me of something I forgot in my happy state - that on the way back several of us stopped outside 22a Stondon Park, where there is a plaque commemorating its former resident Jim Connell, writer of The Red Flag. And guess what song we decided to sing? Apologies to the current incumbents, but hey I guess that's part of living in a heritage site!

Montague Music Returns

According to Sump Puppy, The Montague Arms in New Cross is getting its music licence back on the 26th July. The venue apparently had its music licence temporarily suspended by Lewisham Council because music promoters using it had been flyposting in the area. This does seem bizarre, we are not talking about commercial operators plastering the area with huge posters - most of the posters for Montague events are photocopied A4 and their presence on the streets of New Cross is a welcome reminder that there is life here apart from traffic and Sainsburys.

Disappearing Deptford? (2): OneSE8

Following my recent post on the Distillery site in Deptford, Inspector Sands (who among other things runs the Charlton blog, All Quiet in the East Stand) commented that 'OneSE8 set the pace for this, I'm afraid - handy for the Canary Wharf so you can block out your neighbours'. So let's turn our attention to the OneSE8, St James Homes' new development alongside the railway line on the other side of the main road from Deptford Bridge station.

Once again there's a certain reticence in the official publicity about the location of this site. First of all the name is misleading - its actual postcode is SE13 not SE8. Presumably SE13 (Lewisham) has even less appeal than SE8 (Deptford). We'll let this pass, as it is clearly located in Deptford - or maybe not if the developers are to be believed. The home page of the official site doesn't mention the location, and the location page starts off as as follows: 'Commuting is a doddle. Greenwich is on your doorstep and just a stones throw from OneSE8, Deptford Bridge DLR provides a direct link to the Docklands, the City and the West End. Canary Wharf with its interchange to the Jubilee Line and rest of the tube network is just 12 minutes away'. So no mention of Deptford as such, other than the reference to Deptford Bridge station.

Elsewhere on the site Deptford does get a grudging look in... under the subheading 'Greenwich... in no time'. We are told that the site is 'Perfectly placed between Deptford, Greenwich and Blackheath' [not on the Deptford/Lewisham border].... Brimming with enthusiasm and bursting with potential, Deptford has a new lust for life – you can see it in the architecture, the gallery openings, new bars, restaurants and clubs'. Hmm, actually Deptford has always been lively and remains so in ways which prospective wealthy property investors might not find so amenable.

The most revealing insight into the thinking behind OneSE8 comes in the hilarious promotional video for 'The ultimate in urban chic lifestyle'. No Deptford reference here, instead the proximity to Canary Wharf is stressed and of course 'Greenwich is only a couple of minutes away'. Not that there's any need to go out all , with a gym, personal trainers, swimming pool and in-house bar and restaurant all on site, the latter able to 'deliver food and drink to your door' in case walking downstairs is too much.

Most bizarre is the cult-like conformity suggested: 'At one se8 it’s all about living life in a young and dynamic community' and true to form everybody in the video is white, affluent looking, skinny and aged 20-35. But wait, what's this - a black face? Funnily enough he is the concierge and he knows his place - ‘they’re there to make your life easier'. You couldn't make this up could you?

Disappearing Deptford? (1): The Distillery

Deptford is a prime target for property developers at the moment, with major building projects and other sites being snapped up. As a poorish run-down part of London, nobody could argue that people need better housing and facilities, but unfortunately most of the development doesn’t have local working class people in mind at all. On the contrary, the main emphasis is on luxury flats with their own private facilities – not only will the people living in them not need to have anything to do with the local area, they will apparently not even need to know that they live in Deptford at all!

Let's start with the Distillery, a 26 storey tower block being developed by Galliard Homes (artist's impression, left). Its location couldn’t be any more Deptford, situated next to Deptford Bridge on the site of the Old Seager Gin Distillery, more recently home to music rehearsal rooms, art spaces, a skateboard ramp and numerous other small projects.

The website for this coyly refers to ‘a high growth regeneration opportunity in SE8’ but declines to decode this (SE8=Deptford). In fact Deptford is nowhere named on the site, and anyone reading it might think it was somewhere else entirely. We are told that it is ‘Situated just 12 minutes from Canary Wharf, where employee numbers are set to rise from 78,000 up to 160,000 by 2012, these luxurious city styled apartments are a major new residential and investment opportunity’. There are two pictures of Canary Wharf, across the river, on the homepage, and several pictures of Greenwich on the site – none of Deptford.

Elsewhere on the site we are again told that ‘with prime access into the Capital’s major financial hub, it is destined to become the new benchmark for luxury living in South East London’. In other words what is being created is a dormitory for well-off City professionals (can we still call them yuppies? – I think we can) in denial of living in an area with some of the worst deprivation in London.

Magic and medicine in the Middle Ages

South East London Folklore Society presents this week:

Thursday 12th July: Catherine Rider - Magic and Medicine in the Middle Ages

"It happened once in Paris that a certain sorceress impeded a man who had left her so that he could not have intercourse with another woman whom he had married." Catherine discusses her research for her Katherine Briggs award winning book "Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages."

SELFS meet every second Thursday of the month at The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49, Borough High St, London, SE1 1NA.Nearest stations are London Bridge and Borough. It is just off Borough High Street.

Talks start at 8.00pm £2.50 / £1.50 concessions.

Tour de Deptford

Down to Deptford this morning to watch the Tour de France whizz by on Creek Road, lots of people lining the route and some getting into the swing of it with banners.









We had some biscuits from the small French market in Evelyn Street, and then wandered down the High Street where the Made in Deptford festival included stilt walkers, live music and a man drinking a pint of beer balanced on his head (through a bendy straw) while juggling knives. Popped into the Deptford Arms (great bit of street art on the side of it, shown below). At the Bear cafe they were giving away free tea, coffee and cake. They even put on sunshine.







All in all, I had a bit of a francophile weekend as by then I'd also watched two French films on DVD (Jules et Jim and Le Rayon Vert). Finished off with reading some Guy Debord, Situationist Theses on Traffic (1959), where he critiques the notion of urban architecture being based around the circulation of cars (though his prediction that we would be all be flying one person helicopters within 20 years was wide of the mark!). One of the nice side effects of the Tour coming through Deptford was that Church Street was more or less closed for traffic except for pedestrians and cyclists.

Windrush to Lewisham

I've been reading Windrush to Lewisham: Memoirs of 'Uncle George' by W.George Brown (London: Mango Publishing 1999), an interesting account of one of the earliest post-war migrants from Jamaica to South East London.

Brown came over on the famous SS Empire Windrush voyage in 1948, and like many other passengers initially lived in temporary accommodation in a deep shelter in Clapham. After several other temporary lodgings he bought a house in 1952 at 79 Lewisham Road and got involved in fighting racism in this part of the world.

As he describes it, ‘I discovered that there were a few pubs in South East London who deliberately refused to serve coloured people. Some were rudely abused by customers of these pubs… In some cases it was so bad that on many occasions the coloured man could only ask someone inside the pub to purchase drinks for him. That person would hand the drinks to him outside the door’. In 1953, Brown joined with others to set up the Anglo-Caribbean Association and Club to provide practical support and social activities for West Indians and their friends. He and colleagues went round to pubs operating a colour bar and demanded to be served, arguing their right to do so with landlords and threatening to publicly expose them in the press if they refused. A similar campaign was mounted in dance halls.

The Anglo-Caribbean Association held its first big meeting in 1954 at the Amersham Arms in New Cross, and held dances and social events at Laurie Grove Swimming Baths and Deptford Town Hall before it secured its own social club in 1959 at 113 Breakspears Road. The following year the club moved t0 229 Greenwich High Road, and later changed its name to the Commonwealth Association and Club. In its early days the Association faced organised racist opposition, its organisers received abusive phonecalls and notes, and in 1954 a sign with a fascist symbol was left outside the the Royal Albert in Blackheath Road where they were planning a meeting. It read 'Keep Briton White' (sic) - spelling was never the fascists' strong point. But thanks to the efforts of W.George Brown and others the overt colour bar was broken down in South East London.

The picture was taken in the Anglo-Caribbean club.

Cool Italian Films in Camberwell

Two interesting films by Elio Petri coming up at the Camberwell Squatted Centre this month.

On Wednesday 11th July, it's THE WORKING CLASS GOES TO HEAVEN.

The following week, 18th July, it's INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION, a 'disturbing portrait of police power as played out through twisted
eroticism and State repression'.

Both films start at 7:30 pm, free/donation.

Nights out in South London, 1927 and 1963

A couple of old flyers for nights out in South London (found at Southwark Local Studies Library). From 1927, an advert for The Mayoress's Ball at Newington Public Hall, Manor Place, SE17 (off the Walworth Road). The event was to raise funds to 'help poor Southwark mothers and babies' and featured 'dancing 7-12 midnight' a the 'Season's Gayest Carnival' with music from The Jazzarettes Dance Band and The Southwark Prize Dance Band.

The more recent flyer is for an event at the Rotherhithe Assembly Hall, Lower Road SE16 in October 1963: 'Monday is Disc-Dance Night... Dancing to top-twenty records and popular groups' with bands including The Aerials and The Wanderers. Both these nights out cost a mere 2 shillings (10p).

South London Walks

A couple of interesting walks coming up this week, focusing on spooky events and odd
folklore.

The London Bridge walk will feature the Queen Rat of Queenshythe, thousand year old ornate castration devices, pagan estate agents and the strange case of the mummified cat. Friday June 29, Walk from Riverside Books, Hays Galleria off Tooley Street. Starts 7.15.

The Waterloo walk will mention William Blake, Spring Heeled Jack, dead sailors, weird tombs, the woman who started the French revolution and some stuff about the real spooks at MI5 & MI6. Saturday June 30 walk from Crockett and Powell, Lower Marsh Street London SE1. 2pm.

Both walks are free of charge and will last about 90 minutes, finishing off in the pub. The tour guide will be Chris Roberts, editor of One Eye Grey and author of Cross River Traffic: a history of London's Bridges.

For more information about these events please e-mail penny@fandmpublications.co.uk

Amersham Arms Closed for Summer

The Amersham Arms in New Cross has been taken over by new owners Lock Taverns and will be closed for the summer for refurbishment. Lock Taverns have promised that the pub will continue to be a live music venue although 'It will be more along the trendy route'. Whether established nights at the Amersham like The Catapult Club and the experimental Gluerooms will continue remains to be seen.

Fighting Fascists in Deptford, 1933

Lewisham Anti-Racist Action Group is currently planning a festival in August to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the anti-National Front 'Battle of Lewisham' in 1977. We will be putting more up about this soon, but for now here's a short account of some earlier local fascist-bashing in the 1930s.

On Sunday October 8th 1933, there was what The Times called ‘A clash between Communists and Fascists in Deptford Broadway’. A fascist meeting was being held and a crowd gathered to oppose them. When the anti-fascists began singing The Red Flag, fighting broke out. Several people were bound over to keep the peace at Greenwich Police Court the following week. The fascist who was charged, Geoffrey Clark (aged 22), turned up in court in a black shirt and fascist badge. He was from Westminster, unlike the two anti-fascists charged who were both from Deptford. Sydney Hickman (aged 49) a labourer from Church Street, ‘was alleged to have been one of the principal hecklers, continually shouting “Take those dirty black shirts off”’. Arthur Wright (aged 30), another Deptford labourer from Berthon Street was said to have fought off a fascist assault with a leather belt.

Source: The Times, October 10 1933

Getting Even is a Full Time Job

This week in New Cross, Class Acts presents 9 to 5.

Featuring an excellent cast, this is Hollywood’s finest attempt at feminist comedy.

Jane Fonda is the new secretary in the office, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton are the veterans who teach her how to cope with and combat chauvinistic male oppression, incarnated by embezzling boss Coleman and all about class struggle. The three soon club together in a plot to exact their revenge. Written and directed by the late Colin Higgins.

And of course there's the soundtrack... in fact I danced to the title song at a wedding only last weekend. Altogether now: 'Nine to five they've got you where they want you, There's a better life and you think about it don't you? It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it. And you spend your life putting money in his pocket'.

Wednesday 20th June 2007 at 7.30 for food, 8.00pm for film. Only £4 including delicious veggie food at The Café Crema, 306 New Cross Rd SE14.

Peckham Pet-Tastic

Peckham Pet-Tastic is 'a fancy dress picnic for dogs, Saturday June 23rd, 2.00pm-5.00pm,Peckham Square, (outside Peckham Library) Peckham High Street SE15...

Once again, Rachael House invites you to make a costume, dress up your dog, and bring it along to Peckham Pet-Tastic 3, the canine art social event of the year. During 2006 Rachael House’s Peckham Pet-Tastic was enticed far away. In May, dogs dressed up and congregated at Hå gamle prestegard in Norway. In August, Bexhill Bow-Wow transformed the De La Warr Pavilion into a gaudy throbbing mass of dogs and humans. In 2007 we even went to neighbouring Lewisham. Now Peckham Pet-Tastic is back where we belong, in Peckham Square, our spiritual home. Bigger, bolder and even more extravagantly beautiful'.

A new high in canine fun, or a new degrading spectacle of animal exploitation - you decide. Still discussing this with our dog.

Eastern Flavaz Cafe

Eastern Flavaz Cafe

Friday 22nd June Camberwell Squat Centre

A feast of eastern music and food with live gypsy/balkan/klezmer/turkish music from matt and suzi shekoyokh

Middle eastern food from 8pm

Music and bar til 12pm

192 Warham St SE5 (off camberwell new road)

White Stripes in Brockley

The White Stripes played at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley last night, apparently a warm up gig for the 02 festival later in the week. Surely the most auspicious night there since S Club 7 made their video for Don't Stop Movin' at the Rivoli.

Actually, according to this article by Mel Wright it has also been used for videos and photo shoots by many others: 'In the 1980s, pop diva Tina Turner filmed the video for her hit Private Dancer at The Rivoli. The song was written by Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, from Deptford. Other pop luminaries of the time who filmed at The Rivoli include Elton John (They Call It The Blues) Tracey Ullman (Move Over Darling) and the Beautiful South (I Sail My Ship Alone). Paul McCartney also shot scenes from his film, Give My Regards To Broad Street, at the ballroom... Kevin Spacey shot parts of Beyond The Sea there and it was seen in the spy thriller Dark Horizons, starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Robert Lindsay's sleuth thriller TV serial Jerricho transformed The Rivoli into a Soho ballroom and bar. The list of guests includes S Club 7, Oasis, Charlotte Church, Kylie Minogue, Vinnie Jones, Westlife and model Rachel Hunter.

The Rivoli started out as as the Crofton Park Picture Palace in July 1913... It became a ballroom in 1957 and like many had its heyday in the 60s and 70s, when it featured performances by acts such as Acker Bilk and Pans People'.

I remember also seeing an Arcade Fire photoshoot in NME done there, and came across this video by 12 Stone Toddler. I have had some of my finest nights there too, at the great Night of a Thousand Stars/Club Montepulciano - but that's another post.

(follow links in this post for some great footage of SE London's finest dance spot)

Queen of the Witches

At South East London Folklore Society this week, John Callow (a historian of early modern magic and witchcraft), brings alive the tale of the infamous Isobel Gowdie 'Queen of the Witches', accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Scotland. Thursday, 14th June. Arrive 7.30pm for a 8pm start, at The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49, Borough High St, London, SE1 1NA.

Followed by: 12th July: Catherine Rider - Magic and Medicine in the Middle Ages: Catherine discusses her research for her Katherine Briggs award winning book "Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages."

In August, SELFS are organising a trop to the Margate Shell Grotto: 'Is it a subterranean Victorian folly or an pagan shrine? A hoax, a mis-understanding or England's most under-rated sacred site? How was it discovered? Who built it? It is haunted? Are there any more secrets there? Come and decide for yourself'. To reserve a place on the trip contact Scott on 0795 201 2487.

South East London Folklore Society is interested in "paganism, folklore, forteana, high-strangeness and the occult" and meet every second Thursday of the month at The Old King's Head.

Cycle Speedway New Cross, 1950s

Great bit of footage here from New Cross in the early 1950s of 'daredevil cockney kids' at an impromptu cycle speedway track. The location was a bombsite where the Wesleyan Methodist Church stood on the New Cross Road before it was destroyed in 1944.

Hillaballoo

Since I joined the ranks of dog walkers I have been spending a lot more time in the top bit of Telegraph Hill Park - for people who don't know this park in New Cross, it is split in two with dogs only allowed in the higher part next to Saint Catherine's Church. I've noticed that there are often people in there at sunset just admiring the view of the sun going down over London. The views definitely rival those from across the river on Primrose Hill.

So I was pleased to see that some people locally are planning an event to celebrate the view from here - Hillaballoo on 21 July. There will be a camera obscura, history talks and various other happenings, with an open invitation to contribute other ideas. See you there?

Brockley Max

Lots of events musical and otherwise next week in Brockley as part of Brockley Max. Check it out.

Free Improvisation in Deptford

Interesting (and free) event in Deptford next Monday:

"The Herb Garden presents a fiery quartet of edgy improvisation featuring

Tom Challenger - Tenor Saxophone
John Edwards - Double Bass
Nathaniel Facey - Alto saxophone
Charles Hayward - Drums

Spring Bank Holiday, Monday 28th May, 4pm to 6pm
The Herb Garden ~ MacMillan St ~ Deptford Green ~ SE8

The inimitable, critically acclaimed Charles Hayward is joined by the energetic Nathaniel Facey & Tom Challenger, with John Edwards - who has an increasing reputation for being a world-class bassist - all staged amongst the sculpture of resident artist, Mick Bonfield. Bring your own lemonade & join us under the kiwi vine for an evening with our finest local talent! Everyone is very welcome. Admission is FREE. Supported & managed by The Creekside Forum (Tel: 020 8692 5666)."

Do you remember the days of slavery?

A local initiative to mark the 200th anniversary of the Abolition Act of 1807:

"A unique event will take place outside Deptford Town Hall, New Cross Road on the morning of Monday 4th June 2007 at 10:30 am. A group of people wearing yokes and chains will stop outside the town hall and attempt to make reparation for the acts of the seamen carved in stone on the front of the building. The statues are of three figures with disreputable histories:

- Sir Francis Drake was a pioneer of the slave trade making at least three royally sponsored trips to West Africa to kidnap Africans and sell them into slavery.
- Robert Blake was Cromwell's chief admiral and fought the Dutch to secure the trade triangle between the Caribbean, West Africa and England.
- Lord Horatio Nelson was a fierce advocate for the trade. He wrote from the Victory on the eve of Trafalgar that as long as he would speak and fight he would resist "the damnable doctrines of Wilberforce and his hypocritical allies".

Following the ceremony, Goldsmiths is hosting a debate inside the town hall on the themes of reparation and apology, with a panel of speakers including:

David Potts – Expedition Lifeline
Dr Jean Besson – Anthropology Department, Goldsmiths
Toyin Agbetu – Ligali
Esther Stanford – Rendezvous for Victory
Dr William 'Lez' Henry – Sociology Department, Goldsmiths .

Prior to the event there will be a procession through Deptford and New Cross starting at 9:00 am from St Nicholas Church, Deptford.

Space is the Place

A chance to see the great Sun Ra film Space is the Place coming up on June 2nd at Camberwell Squatted Centre. There will also be a short Association of Autonomous Astronauts film, and space themed music, drinks and food (free/donation).

Acoustic Punk Night

Also at the Camberwell Squatted Centre next Tuesday 22nd May, an evening of acoustic punk folk action featuring 'imadethismistake' all the way from Pensacola, Florida, plus P J Shepherd and (ahem) a few songs from Transpontine Sound. Plus zine stall from Last Hours, cakes, tea, coffee. 8pm start, donation.

'Inglan Is A Bitch'

'Inglan Is A Bitch': Step Forward Youth Day of Film and Discussions - A tribute to John La Rose.

This Sunday 20th May from 2pm till late at Camberwell Squatted Centre, some great films (all for the cost of a donation):

SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG (1971 Dir. Melvin Van Peebles): A controversial and landmark classic of Black Cinema and independent film-making: a celebration of urban black power - the story of a black street hustler turned revolutionary who goes on the run after killing tworacist cops. A journey through the dark heart of 1970s urban America.

BURNING AN ILLUSION, (UK 1981 Dir Menelik Shabazz): A film about transformation and identity, much of it shot around theNotting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities; a love story tracing the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher's London. The first British film to give a central voice to a black woman, charting her journey to emotional maturity, emancipation and politicalawakening.

BABYLON, UK/Italy (1980 Dir Franco Rosso): Set mainly in South London, Babylon presents a portrait of the young black community in London different from the tabloid stereotype. These black people are not muggers, rapists or chronic thieves. They are ordinary young black guys at the sharp end of inner city survival with dreams and fears of ordinary young people in general, their lives are hemmed in by the predictability of poverty, disillusion and the randomness of violencethat can erupt at any time.

BLOOD AH GOH RUN, (Dir: Menelik Shabazz, 1982): Short 'newsfilm' looking back at the events of 1981, beginning with the killing of 13 young black people in New Cross, London. The film goes on to show the anger this aroused among black people, and their march in demonstration - `The Black People's Day of Action'. Also covers the Brixton riots.

THE DREAM TO CHANGE THE WORLD, (Dir: Horace Ové): Horace Ové's film about John La Rose, drawing on the visual archive of past events in the history of Trinidad's diaspora to tell the story of John La Rose's life. Having been involved in workers' rights movements in Trinidad in the 1940s and 1950s, La Rose settled in London and became anactive member of Britain's black community in the early 1960s, foundingNew Beacon Books and the Caribbean Artists' Movement.For the first time, La Rose discusses his life story, which is captured on film by the Trinidadian photographer and film-maker Horace Ové who made the 1968 classic film Baldwin's Nigger and the first black feature film Pressure (1974).

Munition Worker's Romance

Here's another South London song...

'She works at Woolwich Arsenal Now - a munition worker's romance' is a song from the First World War written and composed by Robert Donnelly.

It was published by the composer 'c/o Mr Tom Eno, 1a East Street, Walworth Road, London SE'.

No idea how the song goes or even what the lyrics are - anybody know anymore?

The McClintock Factor

Next week at the Elephant and Castle sees the first screening of a new film 'The McClintock Factor', presented by Films Noirs.

This political satire tells the story of Jeremy McClintock:, 'His tabloid newspaper ran prizes offering 20,000 straydogs, and today, with a controversial career as a roving reporter behind him, Jeremy McClintock is seizing the moment. His new political movement, theRight Path Party, is garnering record approval ratings, and now he hopes a documentary devoted to his life and work will up the ante. Can Jeremy break outof Sappington Bounce and succeed on the road toWestminster? Or will his murky past catch up with him?"

Thursday 17 May, Corsica Studios, Elephant & Castle, SE17. Film screening at 9 pm, approx. 45 minutes long. Bar and music ‘til 1am, free entry. More details at www.jeremymcclintock.com

Turnpike Trouble 1846

In the mid-19th century (1839-44) the Rebecca riots took place in Wales, famously featuring men disguised as women to take direct action against turnpikes because of the high tolls on using roads. In South London, their example seems to have been followed in this case from 1846 in what is now Great Dover Street off Borough High Street:

'On Thursday morning, and to some extent during the day, a good deal of excitement was caused in that portion of the Great Dover Road from St. George's Church in the Borough to the Turnpike near Main's floor-cloth manufactory, in consequence of the demolition of a temporary bar placed opposite the Swan Inn, by some of the "Rebecca" party in that neighbourhood.

Since Saturday last posts have been driven into the ground, and a bricklayer's pole attached to them, at the corners of all the streets along that distance, in order to exact a toll for vehicles passing through them to the Great Dover Road. The persons, however, who are placed there to exact the tolls, so far from using their "pole bars," which would not reach half way across the streets, as a means to refuse the passing of the vehicles, have had the ends iron-bound to the posts, so that they are like a fence by the side of the foot-way.

In the course of Wednesday night the "pole" near the Swan was broken down, and it would probably take a dozen such lengths to reach across the street. The inhabitants never remember a toll being demanded, nor were bars ever placed there, and they feel it a considerable hindrance to their business to be thus novelly and without any reason taxed. Men are placed there, who demand the toll sans gate, and some pay and some do not. Westminster Hall will probably be the place where the novel proceeding must at last be decided.

Source: Times 21st March 1846. There were also toll-gates at the Green Man (near where Tescos now stands on the Old Kent Road) and New Cross Gate. In fact the turnpike put the 'gate' in 'New Cross Gate'. It shifted position but ended up near the White Hart at junction of New Cross Road and Queens Road.

Dead Fairy in Borough High Street?

This week at South East London Folklore Society:

10th May: Dan Baines - Dead Fairy Found in Derbyshire!

Illusionist Dan Baines, of the Lebonan Circle, gives his account of how he fooled the world (well most of them) with his mummified fairy. From the conception of the idea through to the press reaction and public response Dan will give a full account of his miscievous antics. He promises to bring along one of the fairies he discovered in the Derbyshire barrow on Firestone Hill for all to see. Pagan Priests have warned that the remains need to returned as soon as possible so this may be your last chance to see them....

Future events:

14th June: John Callow - Isobel Gowdie, the Queen of the Witches. John Callow, historian of early modern magic and witchcraft, brings alive the tale of the infamous Isobel Gowdie, accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Scotland.

12th July: Catherine Rider - Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages

SELFS meet every second Thursday of the month at The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49, Borough High St, London, SE1 1NA. Nearest stations are London Bridge and Borough. It is just off Borough High Street , a map is here.

Talks start at 8.00pm. £2.50 / £1.50 concessions.

May 5th in New Cross

Bad news, this weekend's music festival across New X venues has had to be cancelled. Seems like some guy was taking the organisers for a ride falsely claiming to have booked bands. The full story is here, along with plans which are going ahead for a scaled down party at the New Cross Inn and elsewhere.

Workers of the World Relax

The May Day picnic in Kennington Park was fun yesterday, with about 50 people hanging out in the sunshine. The maypole, featuring an imitation surveillance camera on top, was taken in a procession from Camberwell Squat Centre with a banner reading 'Workers of the World Relax'. Another said 'Kennington Park - A common place for all', referring to the park's pre-enclosure history as a common, where the Chartists gathered in 1848. A leaflet given out stated 'Today the Park is still being enclosed, this time socially, as groups of people who use the place collectively to hang out and have fun - playing volleyball or football - are being forced out'.



Later down at Brockley Social Club, the Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir hosted an evening of songs including 'Bandeira Rossa' and 'Power in the Union'. I gave a short talk on the history of May Day in South London.


Judging by Baggage Reclaim's fine photos, the Jack in the Green procession from the Borough also went well yesterday.


Meanwhile next Monday at the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park there's a 'May Day Festival and Procession' featuring a mass procession around the Park, and ending with the ritual burning of a giant Jack in the Green sculpture. Worksops include Maypole and Morris dancing, better banner making with Richard DeDomenici, Speakers Corner and Apathy Workshop with Bob & Roberta Smith.

Kropotkin in Bromley

Following on from our recent discovery of 19th century French anarchist Louise Michel living in East Dulwich, we can now add that her friend and contemporary, Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) lived in exile in Bromley. There's even a plaque to mark this on the house at 6 Crescent Road, Bromley (known at the time as Viola Cottage).

Kropotkin moved to Bromley in 1894, and while he was living there developed his anarchist-communist perspective in his best known books: Fields, Factories, and Workshops, Mutual Aid, and Ethics. He was visted there in 1899 by Emma Goldman.

May Day 1924

Here's a May Day message from Bermondsey Labour Magazine in 1924, the likes of which we won't be hearing from Tony Blair or Gordon Brown next week:

"All over the world the organised Labour movement has set aside May 1st as a special holiday or festival. From pagan and mediaeval times the period of the year marked by the beginning of the month of May has been held as a time of rejoicing at the return of sunshine and warmth after the greyness and frost of winter. In the young tress the sap is rising. Flowers and buds and blossoms are lifting up their faces to the sun. Shall not humanity do likewise and rejoice with them? May Day for our ancestors, therefore, symbolised the Dawn of Hope - hope of harvest, hope of fruit, hope of plenty, hope of the glad time to come after the bleak discomfort of the past months.

For Labour and the toiling masses everywhere, May Day signifies the new hope of the better days that are to be. It proclaims the bursting of the fetters of convention; it delcares deliverance from the bondage of wage slavery; it tells of the times when the disinherited shall share in the beauty, the joy, the dignity of like. And, as the men of the past proclaimed their faith in the future by song and dance and merrymaking, by procession and pageant and revel, so the Labour and Socialist Movement over Europe demands that May 1st shall be a day of demonstration, of carnival, of freedom from work. The celebration of May Day is Labour's proclamation to the tyrants of Land and Capital that the mighty are to put down from their seats and that the people of low degree are at long last to enter into their inheritance... May Day is Labour's International Holy-day.

(The Meaning of May Day, Bermondsey Labour Magazine, May 1924. The Merrie England cover is from May 1928).

May Day 2007

Various May Day goings on in the South London area on Tuesday.

Fowlers Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green will be doing their traditional May Day procession, not in Deptford this year, but in the Borough (Southwark) then over London Bridge into the City. They will be starting out at 11:00 am from the Market Porter, Stoney Street (Borough Market).

The folk at Camberwell Squatted Centre are having a procession from the Centre to Kennington Park, where there will be a maypole and picnic. Meet 2pm at 192 Warham St, off Camberwell New Rd, Camberwell SE5. Picnic starts at 3pm .

In the evening Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir will be celebrating May Day at the Brockley Social Club on the corner of Foxberry Road and Brockley Road by the Esso petrol station. As well as songs and drink, there will be a short talk by me on the history of May Day in South London. 7:30 pm start, admission free.

(image: a London chimney sweeper, May Day 1813)

Venue Pre-history

The Venue in New Cross Road has a long history as a place of entertainment. It opened as the New Cross Super Kinema in 1925, with a cinema on the ground floor and the New Cross Palais de Danse above, as well as a cafe. The name was shortened to New Cross Kinema from 1927, the plain Kinema in 1948, and finally Gaumont in 1950. It closed in August 1960, and remained derelict for some time. Part of the building was demolised before the old dancehall became The Harp Club and then The Venue (the picture here is from the 1920s).

There is an account of going out dancing in the 1940s here:

'Our favourite little places for dancing was the New Cross Palais, it never had drinks licence or anything like that, and it's now The Venue painted black! At Laurie Grove Baths, they used to cover it over with a beautiful floor over the swimming pool, and there'd be a proper band. But New Cross Palais had the best band, because it was Art Tullock and his band and it was a beautiful dance floor. I can't remember how much it was, I think it was about two shillings. We used to go to Greenwich Town Hall, and dance to records, it was a shilling on a Tuesday, and walk home. Go on the tram because you didn't want to get your hair all messed up, and walk home. Two shillings at the Palais, and Sunday it used to be Club Day only, but we used to go up and stand outside, and some of the lads would come up, and they'd sign us in you see, so we used to get in that's what we used to do.

We didn't do a lot of drinking in those days, only if the young lads from our youth club used to go up there. Hardly any of them could dance, but they used to suggest the three of us might go up the Marquis, and we'd have a larger and lime, and then go back to the dance thing. There wasn't a lot of money around in those days".

Al Tallack and his Band were the resident musicians at New Cross Palais right through the war and up until about 1956 (Tallack was born in Woodpecker Road in New Cross).

Dizzee in Deptford

Dizzee Rascal is of course from East rather than South East London, but nice to read in this interview that his first encounter with Cage (his manager and producer) happened down our way:

"Aged 16, Dizzee came into the studio in Deptford where Cage was recording a vocal hook for the Roll Deep Crew. The track in question, 'Bounce', had been written by flaky E3 magus Wiley - who will crop up again in our story. 'I'd been bothering Wiley for ages, man,' Dizzee remembers. 'He just thought, "Ah - little kid in the area." He probably didn't take me serious, but you come to the point where you stop talking and just do.'

Cage finds the track on his computer, and Dizzee listens with his head in his hands. His voice sounds a little higher than the gruff, charismatic squawk of Maths & English - in fact, it's barely broken - but it's no less menacing. His naivety is only momentarily betrayed by an eager declaration of his willingness to play 'local raves and concert shows'."