Millwall Dressing Room

One of the hidden sites of SE London - the Millwall dressing room:

The showers

The baths

The visiting team's dressing room is directly opposite, and both are just by the tunnel. Coming out of their dressing room, visitors have this helpful message to help them find their way to the pitch:

When they come off the pitch the first thing they see is this reminder 'This is the Lions Den':

Music Monday: The Noisettes

The Noisettes released their third album, Contact, last month. The band's Dan Smith and Shingai Shoniwa met back in the 1990s at Brits School in Croydon. Although no longer living locally, the latter grew up in Brockley, as Laura Barton wrote in the Standard (10 August 2012):

'Now a resident of Chelsea, Shoniwa grew up on a council estate in Brockley, raised by her mother after the death of her father when she was just 11. From an early age she seems to have been instilled with a sense of performance: attending shows at The Africa Centre, jamming with her musician uncles, working as a burlesque dancer in Lost Vagueness and dreaming of becoming an actress or joining the circus... Smith, the son of a Trinidadian poet mother and Scottish painter father, hails from Croydon but now lives in Brighton'

An earlier interview has a bit more about here upbringing: 'Shingai was born in 1980 in Brockley, Southeast London, ‘deep in Del Boy country’. Her parents had both emigrated from Zimbabwe a few years previously; her father an academic and her mother from a family steeped in music. ‘All of my mum’s brothers were musicians. My mum used to put on concerts at a club called the Africa Centre in the 1990s. So the music was always there.’ Her father died when she was 11 and around that time she was sent to Malawi to live with her grandmother – the de facto village tailor – for two years. Back in London she went through several secondary schools, trying to find one that would let her study drama. ‘Acting was my first passion. I was doing amateur dramatics from when I was 11 to about 15. I joined a theatre company called Second Wave in Southeast London and got amazing acting training.’

Mat Fraser

One of the surprizes of the Paralympics closing ceremony tonight was seeing Mat Fraser drumming as a guest with Coldplay.

Mat, who was disabled as a result of thalidomide, has has quite a big stage, TV and film profile over the last few years. But we remember him as a stalwart of the 1990s South London squat party scene, including playing with the band The Grateful Dub at Cool Tan in Brixton and other places.

Another London

This week is the last chance to see 'Another London: International Photographers Capture City Life 1930-1980' at Tate Britain (it closes on 16 September). As other reviewers have noted,  I'm not sure that much of it really offers a view of  'another' city - if anything it suggests that great international photographers visiting London tended to reproduce a very familiar version of the city with guardsmen, buses, city gents in hats and cockney characters on market stalls. That was after all what the agencies and magazines they were working for expected to see - artfully executed tourist imagery. Of course there are still some great photographs which capture lost moments, like Edouard Boubat's picture of the 1950s working river by Tower Bridge, or Martine Franck's photo of a bored child in Greenwich at the time of the 1977 silver jubilee.

Another London gets better as you go around it though, and the last half of the exhibition lives up to its title with photographs documenting less commonly seen parts of London. I particularly liked Al Vandenberg's images of 1970s counter-cultural London and Neil Kenlock's pictures from the same period of Black Londoners. They may both have been migrants, from the US and Jamaica respectively, but both were settled in the city when they took their photos. Perhaps you really need to be embedded in a place for a while to step beyond the usual cliches. 

Neil Kinlock's photograph of the aftermath
 of a racist attack in Balham in 1972

One of Vandenberg's photos - featuring Lemmy (centre)

I also liked Leonard Freed's 1971 pictures of Hassidic Jews, though for a Londoner what is frustrating about these images and so many others in the exhibition is that they are simply labelled as London -whereas what you really want to know is whereabouts in London?

Are the contradictions of this exhibition simply about different perspectives of London, or are they representations of the real contradictions of London? In their essay accompanying the exhibition, Ben Gidley and Mike Gidley suggest the latter: 'London has always had an anachronistic relationship to England and Britain, and to Englishness and Britishness. In this representative photographic collection, we see images of pearly kings, milk bottles on the doorstep, guardsmen in bearskins, monarchist crowds and timber-lined pubs that point backwards to an imagined old England that tourists come here to see, while the modernity of its traffic and the relative exoticism of its hippies, Black Panthers and punks suggest a London jerked out of England by war and dislocating change' (in 'Another London: International Photographers Capture City Life 1930-1980', edited by Helen Delaney an Simon Baker, Tate, 2012)

Aquarius Music Festival

Last Saturday's Aquarius Festival was a revelation, partly because despite living nearby I had no idea that there was a golf club and course on the Honor Oak reservoir site in Marmora Road SE22.

But it was the quality of the music that made the event, with a stage outside...

Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker on the main stage, singing songs of their own
and others by Sandy Denny and June Tabor.

...and a crowded indoor space hosted by East Dulwich folk club The Goose is Out.

Multi-instrumentalist Robin Gillan performs The Bonnie Bunch of Roses, singing through his banjo for some added reverb!

Middle Class Sound System in the area

No Frills Band - sorry for poor photo - it was dark in there!

The Goose is Out have plenty more coming up, including their regular free singaround session tomorrow night (Sunday 9th) at The Mag, 211 Lordship Lane, SE22. Forthcoming gigs include The Askew Sisters on Friday 14 September and the legendary Dick Gaughan on Friday 28 September. Full details at their website.

Bosci returns at the Nunhead Open

Lots of interesting work this weekend in Nunhead Open 9, the Open Art Exhibition at The Old Community Centre, 56 Nunhead Lane, London SE15 3TU.

Among other things, the exhibition includes the return of Brian McKenzie's Animal Within, featuring the lifesize animal-man 'Bosci'. Earlier this year, Bosci briefly took up residence in the chapel in Nunhead Cemetery, but was removed after one day of its planned three month installation following a couple of complaints. Now he's back in a little dark room with his straw bed - come and view him by torchlight.

Nunhead Open is open from Midday to 5pm on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th of September 2012 (admission free)

Musical Youth at New Cross Inn

'Musical Youth' are playing at the New Cross Inn on Saturday 8th September, still musical if no longer particularly youthful. Back in the early 1980s they had a huge international hit with 'Pass the Dutchie', but made a couple of anthems with some other good tunes.

The band were originally from Birmingham, but Pass the Dutchie was actually produced/mixed in the Old Kent Road at The Workhouse studio (488 Old Kent Road) on the site of what is now the Asda supermarket.

Nunhead Experience

Enjoyed the Nunhead Experience festival on Sunday, part of  the Elephant and the Nun - a weekend of events in open spaces across Southwark. Some good music in the marquee with its cycle powered sound system. Here's Nunhead Folk Circle performing.

I also caught some music in Burgess Park and at the Aquarius Golf Club in Honor Oak - further report to follow on the latter.

Goldsmiths support for London Met students

Eyebrows were raised last month when Goldsmiths in New Cross advertised for the post of 'UK Borders Agency Compliance Officer'. The duties were set out as follows: 'you will be responsible for ensuring that Goldsmiths maintains its status as a Highly Trusted Sponsor under Tiers 2, 4 and 5 of the United Kingdom Border Agency's Points Based System. Key tasks will include advising academic, professional and administrative staff across the institution on Tier 2 and Tier 4 PBS sponsorship duties, reporting and auditing requirements, and working with senior managers to ensure that appropriate systems and processes are developed and that the day-to-day operational activities at Goldsmiths comply with all relevant aspects of UK Government legislation in relation to international student and staff recruitment'.

The existence of the post highlights the extent to which colleges (and indeed employers) are now expected to act as an arm of the Government's immigration authorities, carrying out checks on students and workers that were previously the responsibility of immigration officers. The consequences of being judged as not implementing policies properly have been spelt out at London Metropolitan University in the last week, with its 'Trusted Sponsor' status withdrawn, and thousands of international students there being told they can't complete courses.

Des Freedman of Goldsmiths lecturers' union UCU has criticised the action:

'The UK Border Agency’s decision to revoke the licence of London Metropolitan University to recruit and teach international students marks the latest stage of the government’s assault on higher education. Some 2,700 students from non-EEA countries now face deportation for the crime of having chosen to study at a popular and multicultural institution, widely respected for its widening participation profile. This applies both to those on their way to London to start their degrees as well as those in their final year of study, perhaps only a dissertation away from a degree.

The UKBA claims that it has identified ‘serious and systemic failings’ concerning the University’s monitoring of language qualifications, immigration status and attendance and that, despite several warnings, London Met has failed to deal adequately with the problems. Yet, from what we can gather, the numbers involved are tiny and involve only a very small minority of international students. If there are serious problems with checks, why should thousands of innocent students be penalised for the failure of the institution fully to carry out its responsibilities? (read full article here).

http://handsoffourclassmates.tumblr.com/

Goldsmiths UCU and National Union of Students have issued a joint statement: 'Goldsmiths Students Union and Goldsmiths UCU send their solidarity to all staff and students at London Metropolitan University affected by the UKBA’s recent decision to revoke the University’s licence to recruit and teach international students. This is not simply a question of systems and procedures but a political attack on the right of international students to study in the UK and is based on fundamentally discriminatory legislation which collectively treats students from outside the EEA as suspicious and ‘bogus’. The UKBA’s decision is completely disproportionate and will penalise thousands of students who entered the UK in good faith and with a genuine desire to study. We call on the Home Office to issue an immediate amnesty to existing students at London Metropolitan that will safeguard the futures of those promised an education in the UK. We further pledge our support to campaigns organised by students and staff at London Met to challenge the UKBA’s actions'.

You can sign the petition calling for an amnesty here:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/amnesty-for-international-students-at-london-metropolit.html

An 'Amnesty for London Met Students' protest has been called for this Wednesday, 1 pm at the Home Office, Marsham Street, SW1P

Deptford Art This Way

Corner of Resolution Way and Deptford High Street

Party gone out of bounds

A surreal sight in the window of Party One Stop (novelties/party supplies shop) at 374 Old Kent Road.

Max Bygraves (1922-2012)

Max Bygraves, who died this week, was one of the biggest stars of  British 'light entertainment' in the the post-World War Two period.

His roots were among the dockers of Rotherhithe, where he was born close to Surrey Docks in Swan Lane Buildings (council flats) in Rotherhithe Street in 1922. His father was a casual dockworker as well as a boxer who fought under the name Battling Tom Smith. They were a Roman Catholic family, presumably of Irish origin like many who worked on the docks, and Bygraves went to St Josephs School in Paradise Street. According to his autobiography (Max Bygraves in His Own Words, 1997), he sang in the school choir including at a concert in Westminster Cathedral.

After leaving school, he worked as a messenger and runner for an advertising company and then a carpenter before joining the RAF during the war. His impersonations of comedian Max Miller earned him the nickname 'Max' - his real name was Walter William Bygraves. Apparently Bygraves had seen Miller perform at the New Cross Empire.

Bygraves got married and had a child during the war, and the young family lived in rooms in Plumstead Common and Woolwich before Max became a star via a BBC ex-servicemen's show.

According to Cinema Treasures, Bygraves' 1956 film Charley Moon was filmed in the New Cross Empire with 'many scenes filmed in the auditorium, on-stage and brief exterior shots' (including presumably the 'If I had three wishes' scene, below):



(The Empire, which was in Deptford Broadway on the corner of Watsons Street, was closed in 1954 but was used a location for films before it was demolished in 1958. Cinema Treasures reports that as well as Charley Moon, it features as an opera in Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle's "King’s Rhapsody" and in the 1956 film "The Long Arm" starring Jack Hawkins, with 'brief exterior shots and a side alley, plus a scene in the auditorium').

Free jazz and a tree for Lol Coxhill

Nice event in the delightful oasis of the Herb Garden (McMillan Street SE8) last Monday. To commemorate the life of saxophonist Lol Coxhill (as discussed here before), there was a gathering with live free jazz and a tree planting.

The magnolia tree for Lol

David Aylward bangs the gong

There's some music at the Herb Garden this afternoon (Saturday 1st September) with Charles Hayward and others 'Blowin' for Lol' from 5 pm to 7 pm (see Deptford Misc for more details)

New Cross welcomes Cameroon Boxers

New Cross has still got that internationalist Olympics spirit, as reported in today's South London Press. According to tonight's Standard (sourcing their story from SLP without credit I assume)::

'Five boxers from Cameroon who went missing three weeks ago from the Olympic village have reappeared in a south London gym.The five fled amid suggestions — denied by the Cameroon authorities — that they had been threatened after losing their bouts. Another theory was that they planned to claim asylum when their visas expire in November.

This week they turned up to train at the Double Jab Boxing Club in New Cross and said they were living in Lewisham. Jim Addis, assistant coach at the club, said: “We understand they will be applying to stay in the UK.”'

Death of the Walpole?

Back in 2008 we reported here that a planning application had been submitted to demolish the Walpole Arms in New Cross Road and build a hotel to replace it. The application was subsequently approved in August 2009 by Lewisham Council but no more was heard of it, and I assumed that this plan had been abandoned (some even wondered whether it was a joke - the architects' names being KennedyTwaddle).

But, as Brockley Central reports, the pub is now closed and a press release from "leisure property" firm AG&G trumpets:

'New Cross takes its name from a coaching inn that once provided accommodation for weary travellers, so it’s entirely appropriate that the site of the Walpole pub in New Cross Road is now set to become a 60-bed hotel – the only one in the SE14 postcode. It was sold off a guide price of £2.25 million by AG&G’s Anthony Alder, to a Middle Eastern investment company.The pub is an attractive, flat-fronted Victorian building that comes with a beer garden, letting rooms and two neighbouring shops but it was sold with planning permission for a new hotel. “There’s such strong demand for large plots in central London and it’s close to the terminus of the East London line, near up-and-coming Stratford and with that precious permission, so the potential was clear,” says Anthony'.

Well they're right it  is an 'attractive, flat-fronted Victorian building' and also has some very nice original tiles inside. So it's very sad that it seems to be facing demolition. I've had some nice nights in there, but it's probably true to say that in recent years The Walpole has struggled to establish a clear niche among the New Cross pubs. But as I've argued here before what is lost when a pub closes is a social space which always has the potential to give rise to the interesting, the unexpected and the marvellous. Lots of pubs have ups and downs and then suddenly become the centre of social life for some scene or other. Not sure the same can be said for a hotel.

Of course if there was a sufficiently informed and motivated body of opinion it might still be possible to get the building listed by English Heritage, as the Ivy House was recently. After all it hasn't been demolished yet.

The planned development would also demolish two neighbouring shops, including Skin & Ink tattoo parlour.

photo by Ewan Munro at flickr

The pub was known as the South Eastern Distillery from 1895 to 1915, maybe later. Its current name was presumably derived from Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister, who presided over the 18th century South Sea Bubble financial crisis. In a roundabout way the current financial crisis could also be said to be dealing the pub its fatal blow. If the surplus capital flowing around the Middle East is being invested in speculative property deals in SE London it is because of the lack of opportunities to invest it productively in a world with stagnating growth. I wonder if they even have any intention of building a hotel - as the press release implies, it's the land with planning permission that they're after. The fact that planning  permission has been granted increases the value of land as it sets a precedent for permission to develop it, whether or not the original plan is followed through.

The end of the world as we know it

Coming up on Thursday, September 13, 2012 at South East London Folklore Society:

When Prophecy Fails... Again

'As December 21st 2012 approaches, alternative religions writer David V Barrett looks at prophecies of the end of the world – from Jesus’ expected return to the coming Maitreya to Nostradamus to flying saucers – and at how prophets cover their embarrassment when nothing happens... again'.

Meet in the upstairs room of the Old King's Head, King's Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High Street, London SE1 1NA for an 8pm start. £2.50/£1.50 concs

We could have been anything we wanted to be

Next Sunday September 2nd there's a free bike-powered outdoor screening of BUGSY MALONE on Nunhead Green. It starts at 8.30pm, and is part of the Nunhead Experience, with a  whole day of music, a local history walk and much more in Nunhead.

Lol Coxhill Tree Planting

Saxophonist Lol Coxhill (1932-2012) died last month, having lived a rich musical life that saw him play with everybody from Kevin Ayers to The Damned.In recent years he played regularly in summer gigs at the Herb Garden in Deptford, and he will be remembered there tomorrow (Monday 27 July) with music and the planting of a mulberry tree. David Aylward writes:

'Hi all, I'm sure most of you are aware of the sad death of Lol Coxhill on the 10th of July.  This Monday there will be a tree planted at the Herb Garden at McMillan Street, Deptford at 5PM in memory of him and the numerous fantastic gigs he gave there over the seasons, there will be music from Tom Scott, Nick DD, Adrian Northover, Simon Coxhill,  and an account of one of Lol's last gigs at the garden, all hosted by Joe Bazouki'.

Lol Coxhill (seated) playing in the Herb Garden in September 2007
with John Edwards on double bass and John's daughter dancing.

More details of Herb Garden happenings at Deptford Misc.

Circuses without Bread

This piece is on the Old Kent Road, across the road from the fire station (photo taken this morning)

Meze Mangal is better than the Ritz

Meze Mangal in Lewisham Way SE14 features in the Evening Standard tonight:

'A family-run Turkish diner in Lewisham has beaten some of London’s most expensive restaurants to be named one of the capital’s favourites - even coming ahead of the Ritz.  Meze Mangal has been one of London’s best-kept culinary secrets since opening 12 years ago but that may be about to change after it was ranked higher than the Piccadilly landmark The Ritz, Barrafina, Whits and Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley on website TripAdvisor.

Only six London restaurants rank higher than its 95 per cent approval rating - Gordon Ramsay’s flagship diners Petrus and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Brett Graham’s The Ledbury, Michael Roux’s La Gavroche, Da Palo’s in Charlotte Street and Mayfair’s Goodman steakhouse, which between them they hold a small galaxy of Michelin stars.

Sahin Gok, 43, and his brother Ahmet, 45, came to London in the 1980s from their native north Turkey, at first working in a Wimpy in Kingston-upon-Thames.They opened their own kebab takeaway in Ladywell in 1987, which expanded into a neighbouring cafe nine years later. They took on the premises in Lewisham Way, St John’s, in 2000, at first living in a flat above the shop...

TripAdvisor has been criticised for allowing unverified anonymous reviews - a point not lost on those who ranked below Meze Mangal the online ratings - but Sahin took issue with suggestions that the restaurant was inflating its rating by asking customers to post positive reviews.

He said: “If we’d asked them to put reviews up they wouldn’t do it - people never do something if you tell them to. I only found out that we were in the top 10 a couple of months ago when one of the customers told me.”

Headline is a slightly misleading 'Kebab shop in Lewisham beats The Ritz for customer satisfaction on TripAdvisor' (it's definitely a Turkish restaurant rather than just a kebab shop) but good to see this great place getting some recognition.

And don't forget Meze Mangal has its own song too!

Big Bat Map

The Bat Conservation Trust's Big Bat Map is just that - a place to log sightings of bats, or to go to if you want to find places where you might see them.

I've already added a Telegraph Hill top park sighting and I can see that David Larkin of Quaggy Waterways Action Group has added Broadway Field, Deptford as a hot spot for sightings ('Footbridge over concrete channel some 100 metres south of DLR station. Leads into recreation ground. Also look out for Common pipistrelles - can be detected and seen flying under bridge').

There must be lots more SE London sightings to report though, so get going.

John Lydon Window SE14

There's this house on Florence Road SE14, across the road from the Royal Albert, that has an interesting window. Sometimes if features barbie dolls, when I last passed it in July it had John Lydon.

Alice in her party dress

Coming up at the Hill Station SE14 next week:

ALICE by Jan Svankmajer

'You've seen the Tim Burton version and probably many others, but this is by far the best version of Alice in Wonderland ever filmed. Created by Czech animator Jan Svankmajer in 1988, this what he says about his beautifully animated film:

"While a fairy tale has got an educational aspect – it works with the moral of the lifted forefinger (good overcomes evil), dream, as an expression of our unconscious, uncompromisingly pursues the realisation of our most secret wishes without considering rational and moral inhibitions, because it is driven by the principle of pleasure. My Alice is a realised dream."

Proper hot dogs (veggie ones as well), popcorn and a bar. What more could you want. 8pm THURSDAY 23RD AUGUST Admission free. No children please.

AT THE HILL STATION . KITTO ROAD . LONDON . SE14 5TY Tel: 0207 635 2955'

Yoda for Peace

Spotted by the Ha'penny Hatch bridge at Deptford Creek - Yoda declares 'War is over, if you want it'. But shouldn't that be 'Over war is'?

Blackheath Morris in the Olympics Closing Ceremony

As mentioned here before, in their various incarnations Blackheath Morris Men - who practice sometimes in the Dog and Bell pub in Deptford - have played with all kinds of people over their 40 year history, including Hawkwind. Last night they appeared with Monty Python's Eric Idle in the Olympic closing ceremony.

Another SE London connection in the same scene: one of the angels was Sharmina Harrower, a 19-year-old model from Sydenham (seen kneeling in front row above, and left below).

Battle of Lewisham 1977

Today is the 35th anniversary of the 'Battle of Lewisham'. 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 banners seized. That means its also five years since we helped organise the Lewisham '77 commemoration events - a whole website grew out of that project, and from that here's a chronology of the key events and the immediate build up.

Lewisham town centre 13 August 1977: Riot shields are deployed for the first time in England 

The build up

May 30 1977: police stage dawn raids on 30 homes in New Cross and Lewisham and arrest 21 young black people accusing them of being involved in street robberies. (Times 31.5.77)

The Lewisham 21 Defence Committee is set up to support those arrested, as well as three others arrested in a subsequent scuffle with police. The police refer leaflets produced by the Committee to the Director of Public Prosecutions, accusing them of libel (KM 16.6.77).

15 June 1977: Prince Charles visits Pagnell Street Centre in New Cross ('The Moonshot'). The Defence Committee stages a demonstration outside with about 20 people and a banner saying 'Defend Lewisham 24. Who will the police mug next?' (KM 16.6.77)

Saturday 18 June 1977: fighting between National Front and Socialist Workers Party activists by the Clock Tower in Lewisham Town Centre, where both groups were selling papers. A socialist teacher from Deptford is knocked unconscious (KM 23.6.77).

Friday 24 June 1977: at a meeting of Lewisham Council for Community Relations, the police arrests of 21 youths are condemned by Sybil Phoenix (Pagnell Street Centre) and Alderman Russell Profitt, the latter describing the raids as 'scandalous and disgusting - a vicious attack on the black community' (KM 30.6.77).

Saturday 25 June 1977: 70 socialists and 50 National Front supporters turn out for rival paper sales in Lewisham town centre but are kept apart by the police. 17 members of the National Party (another far-right faction) stage a pro-police demonstration at Lewisham police station (KM 30.6.77).

Saturday 2 July 1977: Lewisham 21 Defence Committee demonstration in New Cross in support of local black youths arrested in police operation: '300 demonstrators marched through Lewisham and New Cross'; more than 100 National Front supporters turn out to attack it: 'Shoppers rushed for cover as racialists stormed down New Cross Road' (KM 7.7.77). NF throw bottles, 'rotten fruit and bags of caustic soda at marchers'(SLP 5.7.77). More than 60 people, fascists and anti-fascists, are arrested in clashes in New Cross Road and Clifton Rise.

Monday 4 July 1977: Lewisham National Front organiser Richard Edmunds complains about police arrests of NF supporters at the weekend and announces plans for a National Front demonstration in Deptford in August, promising its 'biggest-ever rally... Everybody will know that the Front is marching. Where we had a couple of hundred people in New Cross on Saturday, we will be talking of thousands for our march' (SLP 5.7.77). The march is billed as a demonstration against 'mugging'.

Monday 4 July and Tuesday 6 1977: 56 people appear at Camberwell Magistrates Court on charges relating to the clashes on the previous Saturday. 35 NF supporters and 17 anti-fascists are remanded on bail. A 29 year old mother of five from New Cross is given an absolute discharge after admitting 'threatening behaviour': she told the court 'I was called a nigger lover in front of my children which I objected to' (KM 7.7.77)

Week beginning 4 July 1977: All Lewisham Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (ALCARAF) call for peaceful demonstration on same day as NF march. ALCARAF and the neighbouring SCARF (Southwark Campaign Against Racism and Fascism) had been set up in the previous year in response to the rise of the far-right. Along with other London anti-fascist groups they were affiliated to the Anti-Racist Anti-Fascist Co-ordinating Committee

15 July 1977: fire at headquarters of West Indian League, 36 Nunhead Lane, SE15, an organisation providing advice and activities for black youth. Fire brigade suggests that the fire may have been started by a petrol bomb (SLP).

23 or 24 July (?) 1977 - 600 people attend a public meeting in Lewisham Concert Hall called by Lewisham 21 Defence Committee. The meeting passes a motion calling 'for a united mobilisation to stop the Nazis... We call for all black people, socialists, and trade unionists, to assemble at 1 pm on August 13 at Clifton Rise, New Cross, so that 'They shall not pass'' (KM 28.7.77).

Lewisham Council turns down NF request to use the Lewisham Concert Hall on August 13th. The Council's Amenities chair, Gareth Hughes, states: 'The NF is a racialist organisation, and the hall belongs to the community which is multi-racial' (KM 28.7.77).

Saturday 23 July 1977 - Lewisham 21 Defence Committee march from Lewisham railway station to Catford (SLP 29.7.77).

Friday 29 July: A deputation of eight local church leaders hand in a 1500 strong petition to Police Commissioner David McNee calling for the NF march to be banned. The leader of the deputation, Rev. Barry Naylor (St John's, Catford and also a leading member of ALCARAF) meets McNee who tells him there will be no ban (SLP 2.8.77).

Week beginning 1 August: members of the Lewisham 21 Defence Committee take over an empty shop in New Cross Road, to be used as a campaing headquarters in preparation for the anti-NF mobilisation (KM 4.8.77). The shop is at 318 New Cross Road (now the Alltoment), next to the New Cross House.

Monday 1 August: The August 13 Ad Hoc Organising Committee issues statement calling for a 'They Shall Not Pass' rally to assemble at Clifton Rise in New Cross at 12 on the day of the NF demonstration (the NF were planning to assemble at Clifton Rise at 2 pm). The statement also 'welcomed the decision of the ALCARAF to route their march to reach New Cross by 1 pm. We urge that full support be given to that march and call on everyone to stay on to occupy Clifton Rise to prevent the Nazis occupying there'. The Committee spokesperson is Ted Parker, South East London Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party (SLP 5.8.77).

Tuesday 2 August: Lewisham police chiefs meet with National Front organisers to discuss plans for march. Martin Webster, NF national organiser, tells press: 'The Reds have had it all their own way and the only way you can fight Communism is to confront it. We believe that the multi-racial society is wrong, is evil and we want to destroy it' (SLP 5.8.1977).

Tuesday 9 August: Lewisham Mayor, Councillor Roger Godsiff, and 3 other Labour councillors hand in resolution to Home Secretary calling for NF march to be banned. Metropolitan Police commissioner David McNee issues statement opposing ban, saying that it 'would not only defer to mob rule but encourage it' (SLP 12.8.77).

Wednesday 10 August: ALCARAF press conference announces policy that 'if the police cordon off the road from Algernon Road to Clifton Rise, then the marchers will disperse. But if there is no police opposition the march will continue to Clifton Rise' (SLP 12.8.77).

Thursday 11 August 1977: High Court Judge Slynn rejects a request by Lewisham Council to issue a 'writ of mandamus' compelling the Police Commissioner to ban all marches in the borough for three months. Lewisham are represented in court by John Mortimer QC. NF organiser Richard Edmunds tells the press that 'We are deliberately going into the black areas of Deptford because these are also the areas where we have a lot of support' (SLP 12.8.77).

Friday 12 August 1977: final plans for demonstration: 'At least 2000 police will be in the borough... and in reserve the police will have about 200 shields and helmets... Lewisham council has moved old and disabled people away from potential trouble spots, and public buildings, shops and public houses on the routes have been closed or boarded up' (Times, 13.8.77).

Saturday 13th August 1977

3 am - two bricks thrown through the bedroom window of Mike Power, Chief Steward for ALCARAF, at his home in Ardgowan Road, Hither Green. He said that 'It was quite clearly an attempt by the National Front to intimidate me' (KM 18.8.77).

11:00 am: 200 police arrive at Clifton Rise. First anti-fascists also start to gather there.

11:30 am - All Lewisham Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (ALCARAF) demonstration gathers in the rain in Ladywell Fields. 'Over 5000 people from more than 80 organisations congregate in Ladywell Fields to hear speeches by the Mayor of Lewisham, the Bishop of Southwark, the exiled Bishop of Namibia and others' (South London Press 16.8.1977).

11:55 am: ALCARAF march sets off down Ladywell Road and into Lewisham High Street, taking at least half an hour to leave the park. 'Those taking part in the ALCARAF march included members of the Young Liberals, Lewisham Councillors, Young Socialists, Communists and Young Communists, and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality' plus 'banners from GEC Elliot's factory, the Electrical Trades Union, Christian Aid, the Indian Workers Association and many more'. The march is led by a lorry 'with the Steel and Skin playing' (KM 16.8.77).

12:10: First clash between police and anti-fascists in New Cross: 'The SWP were occupying the derelict shop next to the New Cross House pub. Police broke down a door and evicted the squatters, arresting 7 and taking a quantity of propaganda and banners' (KM, 18.8.1977). 'The first clash came... when police ousted Socialist Workers Party members from the New Cross Road shop they were squatting in, overlooking Clifton Rise' (SLP 16.8.77).

12:45: A wall of police prevent ALCARAF march reaching New Cross. 'Police block the way to New Cross at the junction of Loampit Hill and Algernon Road. As the lorry leading the march turns in Algernon Road, march stewards try and stop it. Commander Randall shouts 'Keep that lorry on the move'' (SLP 16.8.1977). The police want marchers 'to go along Algernon Road back to Ladywell'. The Mayor of Lewisham, Councillor Roger Godsiff, formally appeals to police Commander Douglas Randall to 'allow the march to go on the original route that was agreed' (i.e. on to New Cross) - this is refused.

1:00: Mike Power of ALCARAF tells the crowd 'ALCARAF is not prepared to be directed away from Deptford' and appeals 'for the march to disband peacefully there and then' (KM 16.8.77). Although the march as such is halted, many of the demonstrators managed to get to New Cross via other routes. 'The order is given to disperse [the ALCARAF march]. The police allow hundreds of people to pass on to New Cross' (SLP 16.8.77).

1:30: National Front begin to assemble behind police lines in Achilles Street. New Cross Road is closed with thousands of anti-NF protestors in Clifton Rise and New Cross Road (KM 18.8.77). Estimates of anti-NF crowd vary from 2000 (KM) to up to 4000 (Times).

2:00 pm 'Police in two wedges - one from Clifton Rise the other from New Cross Road - moved into the crowd to eject them from Clifton Rise'. Two orange smoke bombs are thrown, and a tin of red paint. Clifton Rise and New Cross Road 'became a seething mass of demonstrators and police. Police helmets were knocked off as arrests were made' (KM 18.8.77).

2:00 pm: As fighting rages in New Cross, the Bishop of Southwark leads a church service against racism and for peace at St Stephens Church, Lewisham High Street. 200 people attend, with a banner outside with the words 'Justice, love and peace' (SLP 16.8.77)

Image by Paul Trevor

2:06 pm '10 mounted police moved into the crowd from New Cross Road to be greeted by a sustained bombardment of bottles, cans, and attacks with poles. The ferocity of the attack drove the horsemen back. Youths began to gather bricks from a builders yard in Laurie Grove and pelt police' (KM 18.8.77). 'Running battles broke out at the top of Clifton Rise and, after, a smoke bomb exploded, mounted police moved in to drive the crowd back into New Cross Road' (SLP 16.8.77). Two mounted police are dragged from their horses.

2:10 pm 'The police line on foot at Clifton Rise broke, but reformed. A youth attacked a policeman with a stick' (KM 18.8.77).

2:20 pm: 'Police drew truncheons and used them against the crowd. Most of Clifton Rise and New Cross Road was cleared of demonstrators. The battle for control of Clifton Rise was over. A man lay unmoving outside the New Cross Inn and was taken off in an ambulance. Another stretcher case lay in New Cross Road' (KM 18.8.77).

3:00 pm - Police escort National Front marchers out of Achilles Street, up Pagnell Street and into New Cross Road, behind a large 'Stop the Muggers' banner. Estimates of NF marchers range from 600 (SLP) to 1000 (KM). 'Suddenly the air was filled with orange smoke, and a hail of bricks, bottles and pieces of wood fell onto the Front from demonstrators and householders leaning out of their windows... At one point the Front marchers stopped. Half the marchers remained in Pagnell Street, afraid to walk into the hail of missiles' (KM 18.8.77).

Anti-fascists break through police lines and attack back of NF march, 'separating them from the main body' (SLP 16.8.77). There is hand to hand fighting in New Cross Road, and NF marchers are forced off the road onto the pavement.

'One young man, perhaps 16 years old, rushed into the Front ranks and grabbed a flagpole from one of them, broke it in half and held the pieces up while the crowd cheered. Others hurled dustbins and fence stakes into the Front column from close range' (KM 18.8.77). 'The protestors then burnt captured NF banners' (SLP 16.8.77).

Police separate NF and anti-fascists, and mounted police clear a path through crowd attempting to block progress of march towards Deptford Broadway. For part of the route the NF are forced off the road onto the pavement.

Police lead the march 'through deserted streets of Lewisham' with crowds held back by 'by road blocks over the whole area' (KM). Marchers are flanked by three deep police on either side, with 24 mounted police in front. The march route goes down Depford Broadway/Blackheath Road, Lewisham Road and Cressingham Road, where 'more missiles were hurled at the marchers' (SLP 16.8.77).

While small groups attack the march from side streets, large numbers of anti-fascists head East along Lewisham Way. They reach Lewisham Town Centre and block the High Street.

The NF approach the town centre. 'The fighting intensified as the Front members were escorted from Cressingham Road to their rally in Conington Road' (SLP 16.8.77).

Unable to meet in the town centre proper, the NF hold a short rally in a car park in Conington Road, addressed by NF Chairman John Tyndall, police usher NF 'through a tunnel in Granville Park and then into Lewisham station, where trains were waiting to take them away' (Times, 15.8.77).

Clashes continue between the police and crowd, the latter largely unaware that the NF have already left the area. Anti-fascists occupy the area by the Clock Tower. 'A road barrier was dragged across the High Street by demonstrators' (KM, 18.8.77).

Police bring out riot shields for the first time in England, and attempt to disperse crowd south down Lewisham High Street towards Catford. Bricks and bottles are thrown. 'On the corner of Molesworth Street, mounted police prepared to charge. Beside them were police on foot, truncheons drawn. Police came racing down the street. One officer shouted 'get out of the way' and as he ran a man was hit. The officer then apparently collided with an elderly woman. She went sprawling on the pavement' (KM, 18.8.77).

A police Special Patrol Group van is surrounded and its windows smashed, and part of the crowd attempts to surround Lewisham Police Station in Ladywell Road. A press photographer's BMW motorbike is set on fire near Ladywell Baths. Several shop windows are smashed in Lewisham High Street, including Currys (no.131), Kendall & Co. (no.256) and Caesars' fancy goods (no.230).

4:40 pm; 'the riot in Lewisham High Street had been quashed, but there were continuing outbreaks in side streets. It was not until after 5 pm that the fighting ceased and an uneasy calm settled over Lewisham' (SLP 16.8.77). 214 people have been arrested and at least 111 injured (Times, 15.8.77).

The aftermath

Monday 15th August: 14 people appear in Court in Greenwich and Camberwell on charges arising from Saturday's events, the first of 202 people charged. Three are remanded in custody accused of causing grievous bodily harm to policemen.

Sources: Kentish Mercury (KM), South London Press (SLP), Times.

Deptford X and other delights

I took in some of Deptford X contemporary art festival today, suggest you do too - tomorrow is the final day.

I liked Dzine's blingtastic bike at Bearspace.

There's various work in and around St Paul's Church, a magnificent space in its own right. Charlotte Squire's Pleonasmos made the most of it by reflecting its ceiling on mirrors placed on pews in the balcony.

Always plenty of other creativity out and about in Deptford, not confined to artists and self-proclaimed 'creatives' either (sorry, I hate that word - if some people are 'creatives' what does that make everybody else?). This jelly shoe mountain in the market was not part of Deptford X or its fringe - but it's a work of art isn't it? 

(thanks to Rose G-O for the photos)

Fred Aylward's Deptford X Art Quiz

Tomorrow night (Friday 10th August), 9 pm at the Dog and Bell, 116 Prince Street, Deptford SE8 3JD..

'A pub quiz consisting of 40 questions based on art, design and knowledge of the local area and history. £1-00 per person.Cash prizes for the 1st and 2nd winning teams and spot prizes.Good real ale,beer and lots of fun.Look forward to seeing you there best wishes Fred'.

Fred Aylward as Les in
Vic Reeves Big Night Out

Deptford Tales

From StoneCrabs Theatre Company:

'We have been working with local children to create an audio tour of Deptford including stories inspired by the area, written and recorded by the young people.Members of the public can pick up an mp3 and map from Deptford Lounge anytime between 11 am and 2 pmthis coming Saturday 11^th August, and  Saturday the 18^th for a completely FREE and unique experience of Deptford. Last week we had a trial run of the audio tours and had wonderful feedback.

“Breathtaking!”,  Olowale, aged 9.

“I have learnt so many new things about Deptford. I never knew why the anchor was there!”, Patience, who came with her children.

Anyone interested should head into Deptford Lounge where we will be giving out the tour packs, which are exchanged for a deposited item, to be returned at the end of the tour'. 

Brockley Grove Street Art

This mural is outside Crofton Park Baptist Church in Brockley Grove SE4. I am guessing that it was painted as part of the commemorations for the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act in 2007, as it is themed around slavery.

The mural was presumably commissioned by the Church, though it appears to criticise the hypocrisy of those Christians involved in the slave trade. The central figure says 'vote for Christian values' while behind his back a procession of slaves are led ashore from a ship (or is he supposed to be a William Wilberforce character urging the abolition of slavery in line with 'Christian values'?). The final panel says 'Slavery still exists in many forms', showing a child soldier, a prostitute, a sweatshop and a DVD seller.

Return of fftang! fftang!

Following a successful event in April, fftang! fftang! return to the Amersham Arms in New Cross on Saturday 11 August for a free 'rum-fuelled carnival jam of global beats and tropical bass for afro ravers, latin funksters and balkan b-boys with live percussion over the top'.
 

Deptford X 2012

I'm out of town for the first week of Deptford X, but suffice it to say that there's a lot to see and do at this year's contemporary art festival - full programme here.

Couple of events I am sad to be missing, but you don't have to:

Walking In The Footsteps Of Deptford’s Jack In The Green
Wednesday 1st Aug 11am - 4pm, starting out at Utrophia in Deptford High Street.

'David Aylward’s Rediscovered Urban Rituals, Ancient and Modern, Real and Imagined, Present this event. A talk, walk and the making of a collaborative improvised soundtrack to a experimental film that was produced to illustrate a mayday in Deptford 2006. No musical experience needed, although feel free to bring any small instruments. You may like to bring comfortable footwear'

Three-sided football tournament- Deptford Psychogeographical Association 
Saturday 4 August, 11 am in Fordham Park, New Cross

'Three-sided football (3SF) is a variation of football with three teams playing on a hexagonal pitch. It was devised by the Danish artist Asger Jorn to explain his notion of triolectics, a refinement of the Marxian concept of dialectics. Jorn wrote several essays during the late 1950s and early 1960s elucidating the concept but, as he admitted himself, struggled to define his concept using the written word. By providing the example of three-sided football, Jorn felt he was better able to give meaning to the flavour and texture of the triolectical method.

While it is not known whether Jorn ever participated in a real game of three-sided football, a number of games have been played and recorded by psychogeographical groups over the last twenty years. Some of the participants in these early experiments came together in 2011 to found a Deptford Three-Sided Football Club, and games have been held bi-monthly during 2012 to develop the tactics and strategies of the game.

The three-sided football tournament proposed by the club for Deptford X is intended to bring together creative protagonists from both the local area and across Europe who are interested in exploring the interaction between sport, art and non-linear game theory'.

There have been a number of three-sided games played recently in the local area, including in Deptford Park and on Goldsmiths green in March (the latter part of a project linking Millwall's community scheme with Goldsmiths MA in Art & Politics students). The games's situationist origins are interesting, but you don't have to worry about them, it is actually just fun to play a game where the winning team is the one that concedes the least goals (not the one that scores the most). More details at Deptford Three-Sided Football Club.