Deptford May Day Festival and Jack in the Green 2026

Deptford is bringing in the May this year with Full Bloom, a weekend music and beer festival: 'Led by Villages Brewery and a network of local venues, Deptford in Full Bloom brings together live music, folk sessions, DJs, zine fairs, art exhibitions, and pop-ups across the neighbourhood. Expect everything from open mic nights and jazz sessions to street celebrations and the iconic May Day parade. You can see the full programme here. 

The main event as usual will be the Fowlers Troop Deptford Jack in the Green festival, a revival of a 19th century tradition that has itself been going since 1984. On May Day the procession will begin and end at the Dog and Bell, making its way through the day between various local pubs (route below).

The 19th century Jack in the Green procession was very much associated with chimney sweeps in particular, with May Day known as 'the sweeps' holiday'. As an 1862 court case from Woolwich shows, it wasn't always a respectable affair. In this instance, participants in the local Jack in the Green were accused of fighting and smashing up the Wellesley Arms pub after being refused beer (the now demolished pub stood in Hillreach SE18)

Kentish Independent, 3 May 1862

I have previously written a history of May Day in South London, you can buy a copy of the pamphlet  from Past Tense (please don't order from Amazon, I don't use that account and am locked out of it!). You can also read it at archive.org

See previous posts on May Day in South London

Goldsmiths occupation against new round of cuts

 Students at Goldsmiths University of London have occupied the college library in New Cross in protest against another round of cuts threatening the jobs of hundreds of staff (academic and professional services) and leaving the future of some courses in doubt.

As the occupiers have noted, 'Goldsmiths is a microcosm of the decimation of Higher Education, the arts and our collective society'. The funding crisis is only part of it - it feels that there is an attempt to fundamentally change the nature of the institution and shift it from being a place of critical thinking and experimentation. 

Follows freegoldsmiths for updates. There is a rally on Wednesday at noon

See also - a chronology of Goldsmiths occupations (updated)

"New Cross Hell on Earth"

Ludicrous rant going round on line from a far right wannabe influencer who apparently commutes by train into New Cross from Kent and then gets the bus somewhere. I'm not going to name her as these shameless grifters rely on publicity, but here's a flavour:

 'you have never known hell on earth until you have stepped foot into a gloriously disgusting place called New Cross, It is filth... it is horrific...  It's as though the people are from another planet'. What can she mean? A look at her X timeline show that his self-styled 'Activist. Patriot. Parent' is obsessed with Muslims, Migrant Hotels and brown people standing in elections.

Of course, according to her, 'our capital is being destroyed' - perhaps stay away then.

The Pogues on HMS Belfast, 1985

In 1985, the Pogues launched their great second album 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash' with a party on HMS Belfast, the retired Royal Navy ship permanently moored between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. All of this was in keeping with the nautical theme for the album, the sleeve of which features  Theodore Géricault's painting 'The Raft of the Medusa' (1819), with the band's heads superimposed on some of its characters.

According to accordionist James Fearnley:

'On the 30th July, the piratical theme reached its apotheosis with the launch party for the record. It took place on HMS Belfast - an early venue for Spandau Ballet. We donned our Nelson-era costumes, invited the press and a slew of friends, acquaintances and others, played a short set on the upper deck under a marquee, and then got drunk. At some point in the evening, a journalist fell into the Thames from a landing stage' ('Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues').

Record Mirror (10 August 1985) reported that over '2000 bottles of beer and untold amounts of wine and rum' were consumed.

The band performed in vintage martime uniforms, as can be seen in these photos from the night (top one by Andrew Catlin, not sure who took picture of bassist Cait O'Riordan_

See previously:

- Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode on HMS Belfast

- The Pogues play Skehans, 2025

New Cross and Deptford Free Film Festival 2026

 The 2026 New Cross and Deptford Free Film Festival  starts on 24 April and promises '21 events across ten days, with venues ranging from pubs to parks and from boxing gyms to churches'. 

Some interesting movies and venues, including 'When we were Kings' at Double Jab Boxing Club in Fordham Park and David Byrne's 'True Stories' at Piehouse Coop.

Sticky Fingers Publishing Fair in New Cross, April 2026

Coming up at Goldsmiths in New Cross next week (April 11th), the Sticky Fingers Publishing Fair

'Join us for a fair celebrating feminist, queer, disabled-led and local interdisciplinary publishing, returning for its third year. Featuring 56a Infoshop, The 50-ft Press, The Alternative School of Economics, BitterSweet Review, Burley Fisher Community Press, CAMP!, Ⓐ DUDLEY Ⓔ, Em—Dash, F.A.T. Studio, Freedom Press, Inclusions0000 (by Oisín harmful), Intellitrash, Leomi Sadler/Famicon Express/Pre-Debut, Montez Press, The Mosaic Rooms Bookshop, PageMasters, The People's Letters Bookshop, Physical Interface, Shy Radicals Distro, Slow + Dirty x House of Annetta, Strike Design Studio, TACO!, tallfingerpress & TISSUE, plus 50 titles on our communal table'.

Venue is the old St James church building at top of St James SE14.

Update after the event:

A few photos to give a flavour of what was there...