Deptford Vinyl: New Record Shop in Tanners Hill

Excellent... Vinyl,  a new record shop in Deptford, kicking off with some events this weekend:

'Moving south from Soho and Camden, Record Shops Ambient Soho and Dragon Discs touch down in a new retail spot after spending 12 years in festival world with the addition of a coffee bar and gallery. Jenny and Ron bring you a new space to to invade, with Jerome Hill in the record shop

VINYL...Gallery, Record Shop and Coffee Bar is Deptford's latest micro venue serving coffee smoothies cakes and paninis with a licensed bar.

Friday 27th September: Vinyl Gallery premier exhibition Transformation. 6.30 - 9.00 pm Part of Deptford X

Artists: Jenny Brown, Annie Chapman, Chris F Clark, Punkvert, David Vallade, Sam Mattacott.

Saturday 28th September: DJs from 2.00 - 9.00 pm Record Shop Disco

Sun 29th September 2.00 - 7.00m Chill House Downbeat

4 Tanners Hill, Deptford, SE8 4PJ (07930421113)'

I used to frequent Ambient Soho in Berwick Street during the 1990s techno golden age, so will definitely be checking this out.

Back to the Broca (and remembering The Brockley Bean)

The Broca by Brockley station was opened six years ago by Erin and Rob 'inspired by the coffee shops in Western Canada and Berlin' and 'using found objects, second quality equipment, and ethical products'.  At one time I used to be in there several times a week, but changes in work/school/ukulele patterns put an end to that. I was glad to pop in there last week though for the first time since some changes were made earlier in the year. It still has that non-corporate, bohemian feel, the biggest change is that the kitchen/counter area has been moved in to the area that was previously an extension, creating more space for preparing food and drink.

The space hangs together better, in the past it felt a bit like a tiny cafe with a big room stuck on the side. Of course the coffee is still very good, and as I had just run 5k round Hilly Fields I also allowed myself my traditional banana and almond muffin.

The book exchange has returned to just a few shelves, with the tide of old books no longer threatening to overwhelm the space. I love second hand books and picked up some really interesting reads at Broca over the years, as well as adding some into the mix. But one thing I have noticed in watching a few of these take a book/leave a book schemes is that there seems to be an iron law for the quality to diminish over time, so that you end up with a lot of books that nobody wants.

Next step for Broca is a planned alcohol license so that they can open as more of a bar in the evening.

The Broca is at 4 Coulgate Street SE4.

The Brockley Bean

In the 1980s/early 1990s there was a wholefoods co-op at 2 Coulgate Street called The Brockley Bean. I came across a 1993 article from The Independent which describes it as the base for the South East London Permaculture Community, then planning to grow food at Brickhurst Farm, near Pembury in Kent

'Since qualifying as a permaculture designer two and a half years ago, Steve Reaad has been spreading the word around his base in Brockley, south-east London. The local food supply system was set up 18 months ago after eight locals attended an introductory course on permaculture.


Based at the Brockley Bean, a pretty, cottage-like house with balloons painted along the facade and runner beans growing up the walls in summer, the South-East London Permaculture Community provides a monthly supply of wholefood - soya milk, organic flour, rice, cornflakes, muesli, bread, cheese and the like - to its 50 members. It also provides organic fruit and veg from Spitalfields Market. 'The mark-up is only 5 per cent and you're doing your body a favour. It's not so much a business as a proper community,' says Leslie Wills, a member who makes a living recycling clothes into an extraordinary range of patchwork coats and skirts. They plan to grow all the green goods for the community at Brickhurst Farm as well as providing free-range eggs, honey and organic wine from the nearby vineyard' (12 November 1993).   Anyone remember the Brockley Bean or related projects (I think there was also a cycle repair project)?

Farewell St David Coffee House... for now

Decided to treat ourselves to an early morning coffee today at one of my favourite places, St David Coffee House in Forest Hill. Sadly when we got there we found that it had closed at the weekend, with this poster in the window:

It seems that Dan and Lisa, who have been running at, are moving away. It will though be reopening under new management - though I imagine that Dan is taking his Belle and Sebastian vinyl collection with him.

Anyway we went on to Blue Mountain in Sydenham where Christmas in on the menu with homemade mince pies. Apparently their branch in Northcross Road, East Dulwich, is re-opening tomorrow after refurbishment.

Cools Cats: New Cafe in Camberwell

Cool Cats' Cafe, a new cafe in North Camberwell, opened yesterday at 149 Southampton Way SE5 on the corner of Bonsor Street -a site that had been derelict for years.

After a quick visit, I can report that the coffee is very good.

The cafe features an exhibition of local photographs by Rod Doyle.

The Dish and The Spoon - new Nunhead cafe

I had my first coffee last weekend at The Dish and The Spoon, and very nice it was too.

The new cafe is at 61 Cheltenham Road SE15, which I guess you could call south Nunhead (up towards Peckham  Rye on the 343 and 484 bus route).

The Dish and The Spoon opens from 7:30 am in the week, and 8 am at weekends, so perfect for that coffee and pastry hit on the way into work.

I like the decoration, with the wooden cut out images of foxes, deer and owls.

More information on facebook, where they say: 'The Dish & the Spoon is a Cafe/Deli in Nunhead, South East London. Serving highly regarded, Dark Fluid Coffee, roasted a few miles away in Grove Park. Tregothnan Tea, grown in Cornwall, in the UK's only tea plantation & the high quality Jaz and Juls Hot Chocolate. We serve a range of deli goods including British Territorial Cheeses, Ham & Charcuterie from Moons Green Farm in Kent, made in the style of continental charcuterie such as Saucisson & Chorizo. Daily bread is from Paul Rhodes of Greenwich. We are also very family friendly with room for childrens play, baby change, booster seats, high chairs & steps for small people in our bathroom. Friendly, well behaved dogs also welcome inside'.

Moonbow Blockbuster in Catford

Once upon a time in Brockley my two favourite places, within a couple of doors of each other, were Moonbow Jakes cafe and the Homeview video shop. The cafe closed down at the beginning of 2009, later to be replaced by Brockley Mess. The video shop went the way of all video in 2007, to be replaced by the bookies (photo below is from Summer 2008)

So what could be more appropriate than that the latest project of Moonbow John McKiernan's Platform-7 is 'Tapescape: The Catford Intervention. The now empty Blockbuster Video Store in Catford, South East London will become home to a host of artists and performers exploring the politics around the video cassette and recorder. The event includes installations, spoken word, discussions, talks, screenings and maybe some politics...'. The event will run from 10th to 22nd April.

Platform 7 promo from Kai Clear on Vimeo.

Music Monday: Ceri James

Ceri James and his guitar have been a feature of the New Cross music scene for some time. His third solo album, The Lost Souls Parade, is out now and includes the song The Real Coffee Shop - not only a catchy upbeat number, but also a nice slice of cultural history celebrating an actual cafe in early noughties New Cross Road (think it was open for around 18 months from around 2000 to 2002, coinciding with the last days of the Goldsmiths Tavern in its wild south east phase). 


The Real Coffee Shop

Do you remember the coffee shop?
Well I admit that I almost forgot
And It was run by Robbie who was loved by Melanie
And it was open whenever you wanted to throw a party

I once saw the crackheads who were smoking in the alley
Beneath the posters of the latest rally
Did you get involved?

At the Coffee Shop A
 place that starbucks couldn’t stop
Somewhere South of The Thames
It was a real Coffee Shop

The building was in desperate need of some renovation
But inside you could always find a decent conversation
It opened just before the internet super highway and you could read a book there by Chomsky or Hemingway

Let’s say the toilet wasn’t always a pretty site
But you could smoke in the lounge all through the night or pass your spliffs if you liked
And it happened a lot

At the coffee shop
Somewhere in New Cross
They had things Costa didn’t stock
It was a real coffee shop

Student philosophers, artists, punks and hippies
All showed up to satisfy their curiosity
Side by side but never in complete harmony
But they tolerated each others company

Outside in the garden there were art installations
But the Police talked about the legal complications
There were undercover cops
At the coffee shop

Where we used to dance alot
It was South of the Thames
A place that Costa couldn’t stop

It attracted outsiders, travellers and renegades
And all kinds of music was DJ’d
Marathon guitar jams with mandolins and banjos
And someone playing on the out of tune piano

Live performers and other festivities
But I don’t remember ever buying a cup of coffee
It wasn’t necessary
When you went

To the coffee shop
Where we used to drink a lot
It was Somewhere in New Cross
They had things Starbucks couldn’t stock

Yes I remember the coffee shop
But the shenanigans had to stop
It all seemed to disappear somewhere into the ether
And the class A’s didn’t help much either

When Robbie needed to move away
The businessman next door opened a new cafe
And it was the end of the cabaret
At the coffee shop

A store that high streets haven’t got
Where we smoke a lot
Somewhere South of The Thames

The real Coffee shop
The real coffee shop

The video was shot in New Cross Road and includes some old footage from the Coffee Shop itself, which I believe was located at 310 New Cross Road. In fact the video was directed by Robert O'Meara, who was involved in running the Coffee Shop - apparently he is the Robbie mentioned in the song, and Melanie is the Mel who still runs Prangsta. Robert recalls: 'The Coffee Shop was a squat which turned a run down empty space into a vibrant hub and resource for the community'.

The Coffee Shop

The shop today - next door but one to Cafe Crema

Deptford Broadway

Back in 2004, Ceri's former band Zen put out another South London song: Deptford Broadway.

The Waiting Room

Following Deptford Dame's recommendation I checked out The Waiting Room, the new coffee place at 142 Deptford High Street. It's near the train station, in the row that includes Kids Love Ink and the retro clothes shop.

It's a small place and I guess will function mainly as a refuelling stop for people grabbing a coffee as they head to the market or to catch a train - it is opening pretty much 7am to 7 pm, so will definitely meet the need for that early morning hit.

There is a sofa and some bar stools so you can sit in (I did), though I think you could only fit six or seven people in there so don't turn up with a huge group thinking you are all going to sit round a table - it's not that kind of place. What it does do is serve very good coffee and a range of home made cakes - I had the lemon polenta which was just the right moist place on the dry to sticky continuum.

It also has a book swap shelf which currently has some very interesting titles - quite a few Philip K Dick and surrealist books. If you are going to avail yourself of these, make sure you take something decent down to replace them with - I don't want it all to be Jeffrey Archer books next time I go in!

Anyway good luck to them, good to see something socially useful opening up rather than yet another betting shop.




(yes I know, not a very good photo but have you tried taking pictures of shop fronts on the High Street on market days?)

Frog in the Snow

Yesterday's shopping trip was abandoned in the face of a fierce blizzard sweeping across Peckham Rye, redecorating Anthony Gormley's bollards in the process (on the corner of Fenwick Road, SE15).

The weary pilgrims knew that a terrible bad mood would descend if a coffee couldn't be had quickly. And lo they did remember that in Consort Road, Peckham, there stood a certain house known as the Frog on the Green.

And they did go unto that place and had a very good cup of coffee. Good food too - well it a deli as well as a cafe. Only a couple of tables inside, more outside but not many people sitting outside funnily enough.

They also have a little book swap shelf - if you get down there quick you might pick up a copy of Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers which I left there.

South East London Coffee, 1914-1950

Previously on Transpontine, we looked at the state of play for coffee provision in New Cross, Deptford and Brockley from 1888 to 1900. Moving on to the turn of the First World War, the Post Office London Directory 1914 shows that three 'coffee rooms' had survived from 1900, but all with different proprietors: Albert Barnes was now running 2 Coulgate Street near Brockley station (site of a coffee shop since at least 1888); Jn. Coudray was listed as being responsible for 111 Tanners Hill in Deptford (possibly Jean - Coudray is a French name); and Albert Smith was at 1 Lewisham High Road (now Lewisham Way) in New Cross. In addition two new coffee rooms had opened in Brockley/Crofton Park: Mrs A. Merry at 354 Brockley Road and William Biggs at 74 Brockley Rise.

The First World War seems to have done for the Brockley coffee boom, with no survivors by 1919. Mrs E. Coudray (perhaps the widow of John?) was now running 111 Tanners Hill with Mrs Ellen Louisa Leaver at 1 Lewisham High Road. A new cofffee room had been opened by George R. Gatland at 67 Pomeroy Street.

Five years later, in 1924, Mrs Coudray was still going strong at at 111 Tanners Hill and Alfred Leaver was now at 1 Lewisham Road. 67 Pomeroy Street was still open, now run by George Pingram, with new local competition just down the road at no. 49 (Thomas Bradley and Mrs Elizabeth Maud).

By 1933, 49 Pomeroy Street had closed, with Pingram still running the coffee room at 67 Pomeroy Street. Florrie Taylor was at 111 Tanners Hill, but other than that there was nothing doing on the local coffee front. I guess coffee might have been available in some other local premises though - the directory now said under 'Coffee Rooms', 'See also Dining Rooms'. 310 Brockley Road - home of the Coffee Palace in 1900 - was now a Dining Room run by Frank Relf. But I am not going to be distracted now into the wider history of cafes and restaurants.

In the middle of the Second World War, 1942 seems to have seen the beginnings of a coffee revival, but at none of the pre-war venues. In New Cross there were coffee rooms at 142 New Cross Road (Mrs Ada Padley) and 29 Clifton Rise (Thomas Yarnton); in Deptford at 10 Childers Street (Reginald Chutter) and 427 Evelyn Street (Louise Gasper). Brockley was crawling back into the coffee world with a coffee room in Mantle Road run by Samuel Clarkon (no number given).

As stated in the previous post, there was a London coffee boom in the 1940s and 50s as new espresso machines were introduced. This pattern seems to have been repeated locally. In New Cross, 142 New Cross Road was still going (now run by Thomas Ball), as was 29 Clifton Rise (still run by Thomas Yarnton). There was also a new coffee room at 253a New Cross Road run by Angelo Borg (Borg is a common Maltese surname). In Deptford there were now coffee rooms in Deptford Market (Mrs M Batholomew); at 41 Deptford Church Street (Mrs Ivy Mitchell) and 192 Deptford Church Street (Charles Frederick Axford); 421 Evelyn Street (Louise Gasper - seemingly moved a few doors down since 1942, unless there was a typographical error); and 19 New King Street (Samuel Judson). Brockley was still a bit subdued on the coffee front, with still only the Mantle Road coffee room (now run by Joseph Stephen Hill).

So here's the survey summarised:

Coffee Rooms in Brockley, Deptford and New Cross, 1888-1950

This tells us a few things - 1950 was the peak year for coffee in this period; 111 Tanners Hill was the longest established coffee premises (1900-1933, perhaps longer); and Brockley declined as a place for coffee after the First World War, maybe taking nearly a hundred years to recover!

London Particular

Finally made it down to The London Particular, the newish cafe at 399 New Cross Road (it's in the same block as the Walpole, across the road from the Amersham Arms). Great coffee and I also had a bowl of soba noodles, freshly cooked from scratch with aubergine, courgettes etc. Will definitely be going back.

Brockley Coffee 1888

Well I mentioned that I was going to write something about the history of coffee in South London, but you can read a really good overview of the wider London picture over at the excellent Classic Cafes - short synopsis:

First London coffee shop was opened in 1652 by a Greek man named Pasqua Rosee in St Michael's Alley, Cornhill in the City of London; hundreds of coffee shops sprung up in the remainder of the century, but in the 18th century coffee fell from favour, partly as a result of the East India Company (who started out from Deptford) pushing tea; in the 1880s there was a boom in coffee houses and taverns, partly prompted by the Temperance movement who wanted to offer an alternative to alcohol and partly by Arab, Turkish, Greek and Sicilian migrants running places. After World War II, Italian-run coffee houses proliferated in Soho and elsewhere, revolutionised by the arrival of the modern espresso machine - cappuccino was invented in 1946, and the first modern espresso bar in London - The Moka - opened at 29 Frith St, Soho in 1953. Coffee houses were the focus of the London beatnik and folk scenes but fell from favour and had largely died in the 1970s. Then came the 1990s coffee boom, which hasn't faded yet...

Would like to be able to trace local connections to these various waves - where was the first South London coffee house? Where were the 1950s/60s espresso bars?

As a starting point for the late Victorian coffee boom I had a look in the local historian's friend, Kelly's Directory (available in local history archives in Southwark and I believe Lewisham). In 1888, the London Suburban directory lists over 300 coffee rooms and coffee taverns in the Southern Suburbs, covering areas including Camberwell, Peckham, Greenwich, Dulwich and Croydon. However, New Cross and Deptford seemed to have been a coffee desert with none listed. Not for the last time in history, coffee lovers had to travel to Brockley where they could take their choice between Samuel Syme's Coffee Tavern at 310 Brockley Road or Henry Lanbery's coffee room at 2 Coulgate Street. The latter is of course in the same row where coffee can nowadays be had from Broca (no.4) and Browns (no.5) - so clearly the habit of grabbing a coffee before getting the train from Brockley Station on the opposite side of the road was already established at this point.

By 1900, Deptford had caught up with coffee rooms run by William Gearing at 44 Deptford Bridge and Arthur Charles Wilkins at 111 Tanners Hill. In New Cross, Bartholomew Gwaspari was running a coffee room at 1 Lewisham High Road (now Lewisham Way). I wonder where the name Gwaspari comes from? Anyway back in Brockley no.2 Coulgate Street was still going, but now run by the wonderfully named Mrs Sophia Bellchambers, while at 310 Brockley Road Edward F Lepers was now the proprietor of the Coffee Palace, no less. They had been joined at 2 Crofton Terrace by Alfred Deveraux's coffee tavern.

Coffee rooms and cafes have always been places to socialise rather than just to consume caffeine, sometimes labelled, as Classic Cafes states, as "penny universities" because of their role as forums for discussion. In Deptford for instance, the local branch of the Social Democratic Federation - the largest socialist organisation of the time held meetings in 1889 at Hadleys Coffee Shop, Deptford Bridge, as well at 20 Frobisher Street, Greenwich (source: Mary Mills,The Gasworkers of South London, South London Record No.3, 1988).

Will report back on future researches, if you want to join in you could help by trawling through some of the old trade directories available online at the invaluable Historical Directories.

See next installment, SE London coffee, 1914-1950.

St David Coffee House

I had an exceptionally good coffee last week at the new St David Coffee House in Forest Hill (across the road from the train station). The cafe has a slightly retro feel in terms of the decor - there's an eight track cartridge player (not sure if it works) and strategically placed iconic vinyl (e.g. Morrissey and Stone Roses). Reading matter includes a book swap scheme, a couple of daily papers and a stack of vintage Vogues.

At some point I am going to write about the history of coffee houses in SE London, but for now check out this love letter to coffee by Carolyn (all way from Detroit to Nunhead) at her I Am Not A Reliable Narrator blog:

'I remember, Coffee, how I used to struggle through a mug of you when we first became acquainted, back in 1993. I was young, my palate untested. I added creamer after creamer to you in order to hide your flavour. But, Coffee, I learned and I grew and now I understand. And I know I stopped drinking you for a few sad years in the early Oughts when my stomach was giving me troubles, but that wasn’t about you Coffee, it was never your fault, it was all me and my traitorous digestive system'.

The Sweep-Preacher of South London

William Carter was a nineteenth century sweep who gave up his job to become a full time preacher. According to the Christian Spectator in 1867, he was 'called the "sweep-preacher" by the roughs of Lambeth' and dedicated to 'pleading the cause of the destitute, the helpless, and the fallen on South London, with its half million of inhabitants nearly all belonging to the poorer classes'. Indeed his aim was to 'perservere in this line of things until I shall have preached Jesus to all the subdivisions of the working-classes in the south of London'.

Carter organised large scale free teas in Deptford and elsewhere:

'Mr. Carter mentioned that he had given five thousand free teas to companies of thieves, prostitutes, and drunkards, who had been thus drawn within the sound of the gospel, and many of them permanently converted. They had given proofs of this by maintaining honest and virtuous behaviour in spite of severe temptations to the contrary. He had engaged for sabbath services, chiefly for these classes, the Victoria Theatre, the Deptford Dancing Rooms, and a hall at Kennington' (Thomas Shillitoe, the Quaker Missionary and Temperance Pioneer, 1867)

In 1864, he opened the South London Refuge as night shelter for 250 homeless people on Southwark Bridge Road, where in addition to a bed for the night, people were given 'half a pound of bread and a pint of coffee' (Christian Spectator).

Thieves, prostitutes and drunkards in Deptford. Who knew?! I wonder where the Deptford Dancing Rooms were, I've never heard of them before.

Nothing is Forever

A couple more weeks left to see Nothing is Forever, the first exhibition in the newly expanded South London Gallery (65 Peckham Road, SE5). The exhibition includes works which have been made directly on the walls, and which will be painted over at the end of the show and thus embedded in the fabric of the building. Mark Titchner's 'Another world is possible' (above) is in the main gallery.

Ernset Caramelle has decorated the walls above the new cafe space (below) - where incidentally I had an excellent coffee.

Sam Dargan has drawn a cartoon 'Brief and Idealistic Account of the Paris Commune of 1871' on a bathroom wall. Nice to think that the spirit of Louise Michel will be secreted in that room for years to come - in exile she lived for a while in East Dulwich.

The exhibition closes on September 19th (not 5th September as I erroneously stated in an earlier version of this post)

New Mural at the Broca

New mural at the Broca coffee shop next to Brockley station. It has a bit of a Mexican day of the dead feel, doesn't it?

A coffee in Broca

This is a sight I have seen many times, P. making a coffee in Broca (by Brockley station for all you out of towners). Nice film by former Broca coffee man Lawrence Martin:

One Regular Cappuccino and a Blueberry Muffin Please from Lawrence Martin on Vimeo.

Brockley Mess

Some kind of aliens/snow people/monsters have taken over the garden at Brockley Mess for the festive period. Well, whatever they are it's the cutest Christmas installation spotted so far this year.

Inside there's an exhibition of paintings by Brixton-based artist Martin Grover. There's a picture of Brockwell Park ponds, but I was particularly taken by the large scale paintings of 7" singles.

What lifts them above straightforward reproductions of record sleeves off the production line is that they are actually paintings of specific individual objects with their own histories. So one record has the handwritten name of the girl it used to belong to on the label, while this copy of Thin Lizzy's Whisky in the Jar has a stamp from the record shop on the sleeve: 'Whymants Records, 1050 London Road, Thornton Heath'.

Oh and the coffee and cake was very nice too!

Tasty! talk at Deptford Deli

Announcing the second in TASTY! Diners Club talks - Bread Hacking, Social Baking:

'Is there anything better than waking up to fresh bread baked by yourself? What about fresh bread baked by yourself using local leaven / yeasts? Share Guilherme Zühlke O'Connor’s thoughts and techniques on bread making, hacking culture and the love of creating, sharing and adapting. Hear how to make bread, share your recipes (and, or your code) and learn more about hacking as an activist model. Hacking for hackers and non hackers alike beyond the realm of computer programming. Geeks and Non Geeks more than welcome!

TASTY! talks aims to bring people together to share coffee, cakes, ideas and knowledge. The talks will bring in speakers concerned with issues of Art, Sustainability and Technology. Future talks include Urban Bee-keeping and Greening the Internet.If you have a talk you would like to propose or have any questions please contact Anita - info@asuarts.com.

Where: Deptford Deli, 4 Tanners Hill Deptford SE8.When: Thursday 15th October 2009. 7pm. £1.50 gets you a tea or coffee, a cake and the talk.Capacity is limited so get there early

A Saturday in Deptford

I was sitting in the sun outside the Deptford Deli on Saturday when I came across the article in the Guardian about Deptford and its creative juices. I certainly soaked up enough of them at the weekend, starting with picking up a few books on the market followed by a gorgeous mixed meze for brunch at the Deli - the food there is excellent.

Next it was on to Laban for the end of year children's show. On account of the heat I had to have an iced coffee in the cafe there first, also run by Feast Your Eyes (who run the Deli) - not quite such a selection of food, but hey nobody ever got rich selling food to skinny dancers.

In the show there was some good dancing of course, but to be honest it's just a pleasure to sit in the Laban theatre listening to good music on their awesome sound system. The soundtrack to the performance included Squarepusher, Transglobal Underground, Nitin Sawney and The Prodigy - oh and a completely different tip The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams.

Then we went to the Deptford Arms for a bit to take in some of the Deptford Independence Festival, featuring music all day and most of the night at the Arms, as well as at the Birds Nest and the Albany. Highlight for me was Anthony.Love, a singer songwriter accompanying himself on a semi-acoustic bass. He did a good cover version of Bloc Party's Flux as well as some of his own songs (mural below is in the garden at Deptford Arms - same artist who did the recent Brockley station mural, I believe).

Finished up in the Duke, labanistas pub of choice, recently refurbished by the people behind The Dartmouth Arms in Forest Hill and the The Dolphin in Sydenham. It feels like it's about twice the size as when I last went there a few years ago, nice and airy with very comfy sofas. All in all a good day out in SE8.