Monday, March 27, 2023

Heather's - vegetarian delights in turn of century Deptford

Heather's was a legendary Deptford vegetarian (and indeed mostly vegan) restaurant in the 1990s/early noughties. This was a period in which options were often limited for those who didn't eat meat. There were some vegetarian places to eat (see previous post here), but there was often a kind of standard wholefood fare which lacked variety. Heather's was exceptional and memories of its food still make my taste buds fizz.

It started out as Heathers Cafe at 190 Trundleys Road SE8, a small place that soon drew attention. Food was served as 'an eat as much as you like buffet', indeed according to this 1996 advert 'the best vegetarian buffet in town' in Time Out's estimation.

Advert from Arkangel animal liberation magazine, No. 16 (1996)

A review in the book 'Veggie London' by Craig John Wilson (1997) highlights its Cuban fruit curry and spicy chick peas as well as its broadly leftist culture, organising 'themed evenings as fundraisers for various causes', women only nights and a free cold drink for people arriving by bike. The people who ran it were very involved with supporting the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

 Heather's then moved to 74 McMillan Street in Deptford, a bigger space that had once been the the United Friends pub. I remember some happy Sundays there eating to my heart's content and listening to jazz. I found the menu below tucked inside an old 1999 diary, once again featuring a Time Out endorsement ('the most radical and happening of all London's vegetarian restaurants'), and with food including a spicy Ethiopian stew,  mushroom and chestnut strew and a range of salads and dips. Mick Foster and Dominic Ashworth were advertised as playing 'free live jazz'.


Even the food critic Jay Rayner - in those days notoriously indifferent to vegetarian food - was persuaded to visit and gave it a mostly good review, describing it 'a light and airy room of white walls, stripped floorboards and subtle lighting with carefully spaced tables so that you feel neither hemmed in nor on the verge of agoraphobia. In the middle sits the buffet which, at a very reasonable £14 a head, covers all the stations of the cross from soup to pudding'. He couldn't resist a dig at Deptford though 'as the kind of place one might go to dump a dead body. It has that ragged, urban wind swept aspect to it that lends itself to the concealment of crimes' (Observer, 21 January 2001)

Heather's was still going strong when it closed not too long after, I believe that the couple that ran it wanted to move out of London. A bar replaced it for a while - McMillans then Farragos, but it was then converted to housing..

[update to post: on twitter Jay Rayner confirms that 'It was great. Had the weirdest dreams after eating there... put it down to an exuberant amount of nutmeg']


See previously:


Monday, March 20, 2023

Opposing the Iraq War in South London

The Iraq War started on 20 March 2003 with a massive American-led 'shock and awe' bombing campaign, followed by a land invasion of US, British and other troops. Over the next eight years more than 100,000 civilians were killed.

Early protests

There was a long build up to the war, with sanctions against Iraq dating back to the previous Iraq war in 1990/91 causing long term hardship to people living there. As a new war became increasingly likely, protests began to start. On December 14 2002 for instance, Lewisham and Greenwich CND and Lewisham Stop the War Coalition held a march and candlelit vigil in the centre of Lewisham, with about 100 people braving the cold wet weather.

The February 15th 'Don't Attack Iraq' demonstration

As the start of the war became imminent there was massive opposition across the world including the largest ever demonstration in London when on Saturday 15 February 2003 more than a million people took to the streets in a march from Embankment to  Hyde Park. I was there... who wasn't?





My son's 'peace not war' placard adorns a statue in Traflagar Square. At his school - Edmund Waller Primary School - a group of around 20 older pupils staged an anti-war demonstration in the playground on 22 January 2003.

School students walk out

Between that day and the war actually starting there were many other protests, some of the most inspiring being led by students walking out of schools. I believe the first big schools walk out was on March 5th. The South London Press (7/3/2003) reported 'Pupils Walk Out Against War:  Hundreds of passionate anti-war teenagers abandoned their school books and disobeyed teachers to march through Sydenham on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses reported seeing about 250 girls from Sydenham School snake through the streets to Forest Hill Boys School in protest against war in Iraq. The gates there were locked but it seems some boys managed to escape to join the protest. Marchers then moved on to Sedgehill School where the gates were again locked but students apparently joined in with chanting from inside'.

Two weeks later on 19th March with war looming there was another schools strike with marchers converging on Whitehall to stage a demonstration. Some of them were interviewed in The Times (20 March 2003):

'A clutch of 14-year-old girls from Haberdashers’ Aske’s in New Cross, South London, said that teachers had refused to let them stage a protest outside the school, even though they had parental permission. “They threatened us with suspensions and detentions. Someone set off a fire alarm and the fire brigade arrived. We distracted the teachers, legged it and got the train here,” Naomi Benjamin said. “It’s important that we show Tony Blair we are against war. Our opinion matters as much as anyone’s... Sam Kinloch, 14, was one of of about 70 pupils who ran out of lessons at Langley Park School for Boys in Bromley, South London, and caught the train into town. He said: “It’s my first time on a protest, but I’ll be back when war is declared. It’s a brilliant atmosphere and there’s so many people from school here so we shouldn’t get into trouble.”'

A few of the Haberdashers students from the tie have shared memories of this with me. Alex, then aged 16, recalled: 'I remember we flyered the school to get people to walk out. I don't think people needed much encouragement. The head of sixth form implored us  to stop the younger kids from leaving, we refused and a bunch of them walked out too. It seemed like hundreds went down to catch the train at New Cross Gate into town. I think there were two walk outs around the time and on one of them we blocked the road outside parliament for a bit before being dragged off'. According to Fran and Debbie, who were in the Sixth Form:  'I remember wearing our old uniform, even though we were in sixth form, to stress the point we were students… and because of the uniforms (and being in the paper) then getting dragged into Dr Sidwell’s office' (head of school).

Haberdashers students pictured in The Times

I remember that on that night before the war started there was a protest on the (now gone) traffic island in New Cross Road by the White Hart. Between 50 and 100 of us gathered there with placards and candles.

The 185 Bus incident

The next day when the war started school students were again in the front line of the protests. But some didn't make it as far as central London as they were stopped by police in Catford.  The South London Press (21/3/2003) reported:

'Just hours after the first bombs landed on Baghdad, there was chaos across south London as protesters took to the streets. Thousands of young people walked out from schools and protesters gathered across the area to send an anti-war message to the government. 

Yesterday morning Lewisham police stopped a bus in Catford and arrested and handcuffed six kids who had walked out of school to protest outside Parliament. One 14-year-old girl from Sydenham Girls School spoke to the South London Press from the bus which reportedly had 50 kids on it. She said 'the police took all our names and will not let us off. People are getting claustrophobic'. A police spokeswoman said 'police attended a demo outside Catford Town Hall where about one hundred people, mainly children aged 15 to 16 were demonstrating. After the demonstration many of them attempted to join a bus headed for central London. As they did so they caused a disturbance. Six children were arrested for public order offences and taken into custody"

One of those arrested was charged with assaulting a police officer, though he was acquitted at trial eight months later. He recalled:  'We boarded the 185 bus but before the driver could set off the police had ordered him to wait. They proceeded to take the names and telephone numbers of all school students present. When I questioned them about it they insisted on taking my name and asked me how they where supposed to know if I wasn’t a convicted criminal or paedophile...  All around students were arguing the case against the war, while the police kept accusing them of skiving off school and being truants... the order came to physically remove them. In the course of this the police used force against myself and others and arrested us... The Magistrate dismissed the case because he was not satisfied with the police evidence. The prosecution had failed to produce any proof, apart from the statements of the police themselves, that I had kicked PC Ashdown in the "groin area". No independent witnesses, no statement from the bus drivers, no records from the hospital. The police testimony was grossly overstated and in some cases entirely made up'. 

Day X

Elsewhere on that day, the South London Press (21/3/2003) reported 'Anti-war protests spread across south London yesterday including demonstrations in Peckham and Brixton... Shoppers and students joined a group of anti-war protesters outside Peckham library. Protesters from Unison handed out leaflets to passers-by and made rallying speeches in the street. Joining the walk out were staff in the library and council offices around the borough. One library worker who did not wish to be named said "as far as I'm concerned this war is just about oil. I accept Saddam Hussein is an evil dictator but I don't think this is the answer". He said most of the library staff felt the same. Southwark Unison branch secretary John Mulrenan said protesters would gather at Camberwell Green and Elephant and Castle later in the day before marching to Parliament. And outside the town hall in Brixton peace campaigners held a rally against the war.' A multifaith service for peace was held at South London Liberal Synagogue in Streatham with Jewish, Christian and Muslim representatives.

People had been planning in advance to take action on 'Day X' - whenever the war started. Like many others I headed up to Whitehall, where it was pretty chaotic, people pulling crowd control barriers across the street etc. The Guardian (21/3/2003) reported:

'Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters filled streets and squares, blocked roads, walked out of school and universities and temporarily stopped work yesterday. Trade unionists, students, hospital staff, civil servants and students joined hundreds of noisy, spontaneous demonstrations across the country.

More than 5000 gathered in Parliament Square London festooning statues with posters and stringing up a 'stop the war' banner in Whitehall. Police cordoned off the area immediately in front of Westminster but demonstrators blocked streets around Parliament. Whistles, drums, megaphones and chants penetrated the soundproofing of MPs offices. Police drew their batons to turn back a crowd of demonstrators who tried to force their way into Whitehall. Officers were pelted with bottles and sticks from banners. 20 people arrested for public order offences'.

The following Saturday there was another big demonstration in central London, with up to 500,000 marching to Hyde Park again (along with millions protesting across the world). I remember I bribed my young daughter to come with me by taking her to Hamleys toy shop on the way. 

On Saturday 29 March 2003 there were more local protests. Around 300 people marched from Lewisham shopping centre to Greenwich, and around 700 on various local feeder marchers met up for a rally in Brixton, including a contingent of Graveney School students who marched there from Clapham South (hundreds of pupils had protested at that Tooting school when the war started). After the Brixton rally some set off to try and protest at Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's house (ironically near the Imperial War Museum).

A large part of the population took part in those protests, including a lot of children who grew up through 20 years of more or less permanent war involving British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the peace movement failed to stop the wars, the wars certainly failed to bring peace.

Any memories of these events? Please leave a comment.


Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Communist Doner and Grill, New Cross Road

'The Communist' doner grill and takeaway is coming soon at 492 New Cross Road promising that the first 1000 portions of food will be delivered free of charge'. The site has been a kebab shop in various guises before, including 'London Kebab', and a place of eating and drinking sociality for a lot longer - the 1891 Post Office Directory lists it as Edward Ratcliffe coffee rooms.


 

Thursday, March 09, 2023

Gellatly Road 1990s Traffic Campaign: a Geography Lesson

A perennial campaign in the SE14/SE4 area has been in relation to traffic in Gellatly Road/Drakefell Road, part of a busy B road linking  the Old Kent Road (via Pomeroy Street) with Brockley and beyond. 
,
 In the early 1990s a campaign by local residents to slow and reduce the traffic included blocking the road by continually crossing back and forth during the rush hour and placing skips on both sides of the road so that vehicles had to slow down. The campaign did have some success, resulting in speed humps and 'pinch point' barriers to prevent large vehicles using the road. While still busy today, it is no longer routinely used by lorries and coaches as a short cut from one part of the A2 to another.

Remarkably this local campaign was featured in a 1990s Geography school textbook as an example of how 'ordinary people can also bring about change in their neighbourhoods. The people of Gellalty Road, in south London, were so fed up about the amount of traffic using their road as a shortcut, they decided to do something about it'. The following section comes from 'Geography in Action' editeed by Andy Owen (Heinemann, 1995):








More recently the Drakefell Road Action Group and others have been continuing this campaign. Good luck to them, though I sometimes think that unless traffic levels overall can be reduced the only fair way of managing traffic is to randomly close roads for a period of time so that every street takes its turn with being busy or quiet. At the moment Thames Water seems to be implementing this policy by digging up roads across South London, and I was very happy when my very busy road was closed over Christmas because it had a big hole in the middle of it. 

Friday, March 03, 2023

Kitto Road Folk


At the Hill Station Cafe on Kitto Road SE14 Hannah Elizabeth Young and George McNaughton Ellis are hosting a monthly 'Folk Sessions on the Hill'. Next one is on Sunday 19th March 2023 from 6 pm onwards. First time I went along a few months ago it was quite quiet, but it has quickly grown into a very popular night. The February event was packed, with lots of great performers - format is basically an open mic with a wide range of acoustic song styles.

 They are also taking part in the free folk festival that is happening on the afternoon of March 25th as part of the Telegraph Hill Festival, in the churchyard of St Catherine's next door to the Hill Station.

Down the road at Skehans there's lots of live music too including Irish sessions, a songwriters circle and live folk music on Sunday nights. Last weekend (Saturday 25th Feb) there was a different flavour with 
Dacre Morris and Greenwich Morris Men starting their tour of local pubs at Skehans, with dancing on the pavement outside - before heading off to do similar at the Golden Anchor, the Pyrotechnists Arms and the Old Nun's Head.






 

Monday, February 27, 2023

'You and Me' - South London ITV Drama

'You and Me', first broadcast on ITV in February 2023, is a romantic drama series shot pretty much entirely in South London. It opens with a shot of Telegraph Hill Park, a location that features in many key scenes (top and bottom parts of park), then the set up scene is in Deptford High Street at a bus stop that isn't really there.  There are scenes inside and outside Skehans pub and the Hill Station Cafe, Kitto Road SE14, on the rainbow bridge in Avignon Road SE4, not to mention Peckham Levels, The Trafalgar pub in Greenwich, Brockwell Park Lido and the Bridge Theatre by Tower Bridge. 

The series starts Harry Lawtey, Jessica Barden, Sophia Brown and Julie Hesmondhalgh.




I actually saw them filming some of this back in June 2022, bit disappointed not to feature in the scene where he jumps in cab outside Skehans as it drove past me! 

Film crew opposite Skehans, June 2022

Ben and Emma discover that they live in Telegraph Hill:

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Fascists seen off at Honor Oak pub

A large crowd gathered outside the Honor Oak pub in Brockley Rise yesterday to defend it from far right threats against a drag queen storytelling session.  An impressive community turn out of more than 500 people occupied the street in front of the pub and the handful of far right goons who turned up never got anywhere near it.

The protest was called by Turning Point UK (nothing to do with the long established drug charity who must be seething) who are trying to wage a US-inspired right wing culture war focusing on universities. Their attempt to mount a street mobilisation failed, but it did show how different strands of  the far right come together - Turning Point occupy the extreme right of Conservative politics and they were joined yesterday by GB News presenter Calvin Robinson who is linked to reactionary 'traditionalist' Christian circles. He didn't like people chanting 'you're not a real vicar'. Also present were some familiar fascist faces, included former members of violent neo-nazi group Combat 18. A couple of people gave fascist salutes.

Brockley Rise occupied by anti-fascist crowd


The far right contingent barely made double figures


'Be fabulous not a fascist!'

'Fascists out of Lewisham' - a poster

Earlier in the week the pub issued a statement correcting some of the lies being spread about it:

'Everyone here at The Honor Oak is proud to serve the wonderful community of Forest Hill. We are here to make sure your local pub is a safe, warm and a fun place for everyone to enjoy. Next Saturday morning we will be hosting our Magical Storytelling session, hosted by That Girl.
 
It has come to our attention that there may be some misunderstanding about the event, so we wanted to reassure you all that our popular Magical Storytelling event will be age appropriate and it isn’t anything different to what families will see and experience together in a theatre. This event is an opportunity for families and friends to come together and listen to a reading of a storybook and have fun.
The most important thing for us is that everyone is safe and happy when they are here'.

Wait til the fascists hear what goes on in Pantomime...


Wednesday, February 15, 2023

The Goose is Out and other South London Folk

I went along to the Goose is Out Singaround last Sunday at the Ivy House in Nunhead and sang a couple of songs. The format is very egalitarian, you put your name down on the door and everyone gets to sing one song each in turn, then a second song in the same order. There was a lovely mix of old and new songs, and styles of singing. There's no stage - most people just stand up at the table where they've been sitting - and no amplification. Most sing unaccompanied though it's OK to bring along an acoustic instrument and a couple of people did. Brendan Behan's centenary was marked with a singing of the Auld Triangle, other songs included Sweet Thames Flow Softly, Arthur MacBride and Fleetwood Mac's Songbird.


The Goose is Out has established itself as one of the top clubs on the London folk circuit. I went to some great nights of theirs at the Ivy House last year including Eliza Carthy and Fay Hield, and they have some amazing performers lined up this year including Martin Carthy, Stick in the Wheel and Andy Irvine. All of these will no doubt sell out fast so get your tickets early.

People are always talking about folk revivals even if it's never gone away. There are still veterans of the 1950s/60s scene out and about in clubs today - and a new oral history project 'Sweet Thames' has been capturing people's experience of the London folk scene from the 1950s onwards. But there is undeniably some new energy about with younger musicians bringing a new take on traditional material. We've mentioned Broadside Hacks here before, who have done sessions at Skehans SE14 as well as making a video at the Rivoli. Shovel Dance Collective are celebrating the launch of their new album 'The Water is the Shovel of the Shore' this Saturday at the Ivy House. Its already sold out so will miss this, but I saw their banjo player Jacken Elswyth do a great set at The Goose is Out last year. The nine piece band take an experimental approach to the 'queer histories, proto-feminist narratives and the voices of working people' to be found in the folk archive.

There's just so much going on in terms of  folk sessions and clubs in South London (and beyond of course).  As well as the Goose is Out in Nunhead there's Dulwich Folk at the Castle SE22, a Scottish session at The Clock House SE22, the Thursday night Irish session at Blythe Hill Tavern and a newish monthly folk session at the Hill Station SE14. Check out Folk London to try and keep up!






Monday, February 13, 2023

LGBTQ+ South London History and Now

Coming up for LGBTQ History Month...

LGBTQ+ London:  Discover London's LGBTQ+ History (with a little Deptford and New Cross history thrown in)

'To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, Lewisham Heritage (formerly the Lewisham Local History Archive) are highlighting LGBTQ+ lives from times past with borough historian Sheldon K. Goodman, who will be joined by Queer historian Sacha Coward. From Molly Houses as part of London's 17th century queer subculture to protests on Fleet Street, Christopher Marlowe and ingenious quick thinking of cruising culture in the 1930s, this talk will give you an oversight of LGBTQ+ life and experience from the Roman times to the present day.

This is also a great opportunity to explore and support CORNER, a new queer venue and local business in New Cross run by Mark and Tarek

FREE: Tuesday 21st Feb 2023 @ 6:30pm, to be held at CORNER, 117 New Cross Road (tickets from eventbrite)'



The same venue is launching  a monthly queer coffee morning on Thursday 16th Feb, 9 am to 1:30pm, a free 'Low key queer social with warm drinks and lovely chats'. After that is scheduled for every 3rd Thursday of every month. 

A Whole Orange queer matchmaking service who are are helping organise the coffee morning are also involved with promoting 'Fruity Singles Mix: a night of live music and slow speed dating for queer babes looking for connection' at the Ivy House, Stuart Road SE15 on Friday 17th February.  Live sounds on the night from Buggs, Zha and Kitty Fitz.


See previously at Transpontine:

Corner New Cross

Police raid Forest Hill gay club (1987)

Sharley McLean: from refugee nurse at Lewisham Hospital to LGBT activist

Gay New Cross 2011

Deptford Gay Disco 1976

A SE London Transgender Marriage 1954





Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Lewisham Teachers Strike Rally

On a day which saw the largest number of workers strike on one day for many years, hundreds of striking teachers and their supporters held a rally in Lewisham before heading into central London to join a demonstration there.

Speakers at the rally next to the Glassmill leisure centre included teachers as well as a Royal Mail worker also involved in this season of strikes. There was lots of community support with seemingly every passing lorry and bus tooting their approval.




Chelwood Nursery School banner

If you can read this thank a teacher

Kids from Edmund Waller Primary School

Lewisham Trades Council banner





'I'd rather be teaching' (at Addey & Stanhope school, New Cross Road)

Members of the UCU were also on strike at Goldsmiths today. The common thread with all these strikes is that people have had enough of their real wages going down as prices rise. While the Government complains about disruption to the public, we have to ask who exactly is the public if not teachers, train drivers, nurses, ambulance workers, posties and all the rest?

Goldsmiths strike

Sunday, January 29, 2023

NHS Physios on Strike: 'F**ck praise, we need a raise'

Physiotherapists are the latest group of NHS workers taking strike action in the cost of living crisis. Their strike on 26 January 2023 was well supported at South London Hospitals. I visited the picket line at Guys Hospital:



'if you're happy to exploit NHS workers and you know it clap your hands'

 'F**ck praise, we need a raise'

Pickets were also out at St Thomas' and Lewisham Hospital


St Thomas' Hospital - photo by @EmilyAHickson on twitter
 

Lewisham picket (photo from @aminamangera1 on twitter)