In our area there has been a very steep rise in burglaries targeting houses divided into flats with shared lobbies. The thieves target doors where the residents are not using the 5 lever dead lock commonly called a chub lock. Once in, they set about the interior doors, out of sight of the street.

31
MAY
2013

by our own correspondent

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SNIPPETS OF NEWS FOR JUNE  

This is my take on things happening in the area in June 

Jam Circus – My monthly contact with the owners Antic has sadly not produced any different news, just say it will happen but no timescale attached.

Malaysian Deli – building up trade nicely. Will do fresh fruit & vegetable juices when it warms up! Also when the Summer arrives will introduce wraps.

Arlo and Moe – the next date for their popular supper nights is Wednesday 12 June. Menu yet to be decided.

The White Room- Lots of sewing workshops running in June. Highlights are the start of the “Boned Bodice” sessions run by the fantastic Sarah Mercer on Sunday 16 June. Also design/print a personalised tie for Fathers day, for 7 year olds upwards, on Saturday 15 June . Other  new ideas starting like Hat club, dressmaking and teenage fashion club. Check out the website for further details.

Pat- a-Cakes - Stacie hosted a great “women in business” networking event last week and the next one is planned for 27 June. Starting on Mon 3 June there is a baby, pre-walkers, music session happening from 11-12am run by Laura from TippeeToes.  This is to be a weekly event. The cafe is also introducing a book group where anyone is welcome, first meeting Thurs 20 June from 10-11.

Mr Lawrence Wine Bar – will be having a stall, selling fine wines and beers, at the Forest Hill food fair (station carpark) on Sunday 2 June from 11 to 3pm.

Bryan & Keegan – Their great introductory sole agency and management fee offers are still continuing. Go in and check them out.

Emporia – Lots of lovely gifts and cards. Garden furniture now in – some lovely “retro” garden chairs.

Babur Restaurant – Summer, exotic cocktails now being served. The Wednesday wine night special is being expanded so that any bottle on the list is now £17.25.

Nandi Nandi – to celebrate Father’s day on Sunday 16 June there will be special cupcakes to buy in the week beginning 10 June. Also foil balloons can be personalised with a special message.

Ackroyd Centre – on Saturday 8 June the centre is hosting a special fundraising event. An evening of great food and entertainment -a 3 course Persian inspired meal, with a documentary film first. Priced £20 per head

Hopscotch café bar - they have launched a new evening pizza menu (handmade 12”flatbread pizzas), together with the burgers, and have re-introduced happy hour from Weds to Sat 5.30 to 7.30pm. Check out their lovely back courtyard garden.

Brockley Jack Theatre- June is a busy month with 3 major plays being performed. First is Mandrake, a comedy set in the Italian renaissance, on until Saturday 15 June. Then for 5 nights only, from 18 to 22 June, don’t miss Shakespeare’s “Twelve Night” , set in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic. Finally an old favourite, “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde is on at the end of the month.

Tapatisserie – new Summer tapas on the menu. Takeaway delivery offer on 6/10 tapas if ordered via Hungry House. Also good deal before 6.30pm, if order any bread tapa with certain drinks, only £5.

Hills & Parkes – the delicatessen is hosting a 3 course Supper, by guest chef Heather Jordan on Thursday 13 June 7-10pm.

Patchwork Present – awaiting a launch date but would love any creative people in the area to get in touch/pop into their premises on Harefield Rd and see if can help out!

The Orchard – the next First Friday night will be on 7 June where they will be serving drinks and cocktails until 2am, with a DJ playing relaxed tunes.

Magi Gifts – Currently have a great selection of gifts, with lots for men and so a good place for a Father’s day present.

Birds of Paradise – celebrating their first birthday on Saturday 1 June, this Caribbean restaurant is having a great value buffet with a complimentary slice of cake for everyone on the day. From 3-8 June there will also be 10% off your bill for eating in or take-away.

Brockley Brewing Company – selling their beer at the Hillyfields Summer Fayre so go and try a pint or two! Also planning to sell direct to the public very soon.

Hilly Fields Midsummer Fayre – often the highlight event of the Summer. This year it is on Saturday 22 June from 12 to 5pm. Stall applications being accepted up until 7 June.

Edible High Road – brilliant event in the area with lots of businesses participating. In the CroftonPark ward Le Querce, Nandi Nandi, Lilypads, Neroli, Jumping Bean, Barbaros and Hills & Parkes all have lovely fruit trees outside the shops which certainly brighten up the street.

Chelsea Fringe Gardening Event –this is a fun gardening evening with talk, video and accompanied by musical comedy opener/closure. It is being held upstairs at the Hob on Thursday 6 June at 7.30pm and is free!

Catford Broadway market – an ever expanding market  is now in Catford on the first Sunday of the month and so the next one is Sunday 2 June 12-4pm. Linked to this they are having their 2nd pop up supper evening on Thursday 20 June with food provided by South African chef Denver Bennett. Details to be announced.

Sydenham Arts Festival – an amazing line up of events planned, starting on 29 June and culminating on the 14 July. One of the highlights is the renowned performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Check out their website for all details and to book tickets.

Crofton Park Local Assembly – the next meeting will be on Wednesday 12 June at Beecroft school from 7-9pm. Great opportunity to find out what is happening in the Crofton Park ward.

Crofton Park Carnival and St. Saviours/scouts annual fete – this is happening on Sunday 30 June from 11.30 to 3.30pm with lots of fun activities for adults and children. Tea Dance for Little People will be providing entertainment with stalls, food and live music/performances,

Street Parties- over 20 roads in Lewisham are holding street parties on Sunday 2 June as part of the Big Lunch initiative. Mine included! Great way to get to know your neighbours. Think about organising one for next year – see my blog (#13) for advice and tips.

Well I’m exhausted looking at the above list of things happening in June. It just proves again what an exciting area we live in. I have not listed the full details regarding addresses, timings, costings etc but most of the businesses/events have their own website for you to google and find out more information. I am trying to create links (hyperlinks!) to the websites/details within the blog but you must bear with me as, because I’m not the most computer literate person, these things take time!

 

ENJOY OUR WONDERFUL COMMUNITY. Let's hope June is sunnier and warmer! 

Bye for now.

Jane x

Please follow me on twitter;

Follow @JaneCanDoSE4

18
APR
2013

by our own correspondent

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BROCKLEY ROAD – SOUTH END

This blog covers the parade running from the corner of Adelaide Ave (just bought back memories of the fantastic Homeview video shop!) to the junction with Wickham Road, on the main Brockley Road.

The first shop I visited was Starbucks Upholstery. I had never entered the shop before but have always admired the chairs/chez longues they have displayed in the window with often stunning material. Steve was very welcoming and is part of the family business that has been on the parade since 1979. They specialise in furniture restoration and re-upholstery and will restore your antique back to its former glory. They have also diversified into supplying and fitting plantation shutters in the last 8 years. Steve reports good business and they have established a reputation within the interior design industry, along with local customers.

Next door is the popular café Brockley Mess. This opened 4 years ago after the closure of Moonbow Jakes. It is the owners, Ray and Mel’s second venture, along with Royal Teas in Greenwich. It has quickly gained in popularity and is renowned for its lovely fresh food, all made on the premises. I have had many lunches at the Mess and often choose the soup which is always very tasty and uses imaginative flavours.  The weekends are the busiest and their brunches are very popular. The back half of the café is a gallery space and new art is displayed every 4-6 weeks. They have a licence and intend to open in the evenings this year  which will be very exciting for the area particularly in the absence of Jam Circus.

A couple of doors down is Top Chef which is a very busy café  on the parade and is often referred to in the “Brockley Central” forum. As Ugur, the owner for the past 12 years quotes “they cater for muddy boots to high heels.”  They are open at 6.30am and so the early trade is mainly builders getting breakfast before work but later customers include the Prendergast sixth formers, families etc. It is certainly great value for money and our bacon and sausage sarnies went down a treat.

Brockley’s Rock is one of the newest businesses to open on the parade and will have been there 2 years in July. It is a very stylish fish and chip shop and cooks many different variety of fish to order including Whitebait, Mackerel, Calamari, Seabass and Salmon. For the past six weeks they have introduced “gluten free” Tuesdays which is proving very popular. There are many tables at the back to eat in and you can bring your own booze. Kyri , the owner, is very pleased with how the business is developing and says the Easter week was their  busiest week to date.  Reliable, friendly  staff along with excellent food is proving to be the right ingredients for success.

Further along, at number 309 is the renowned Turners Stores. The brothers Amir and Abid have been running the shop for 40 years and describe it themselves as “Aladdins cave without the lamp” It has established itself as the place to go for anything in the hardware, electrical, DIY, gardening and bakeware department and people come from miles around.  I don’t think I have come away from the shop without finding what I went in for.  However  their  trade has been adversely affected by the shop next door selling very similar stock and say many customers are confused. People must keep shopping at Turners to ensure its survival!

Sids the Plumbers has also got an amazing reputation both in the immediate area and across South London for heating and plumbing supplies. It has the iconic bath over the shop doorway which now features a Sid James sticker though the name of the shop originates from a British Gas privatisation advert  in the 1980s featuring Sid! It opened the showroom, formally Midlands Bank, on the opposite corner eight years ago. They are open 7 days a week, with a half day on a Sunday. The owner Paul is a plumber himself and most of the very knowledgeable staff have been there many years and pride themselves on problem solving, excellent service and after sales care.

The owner Suda opened Just Thai Thai in 2005 but is currently  looking to rename it. I hadn’t been inside for a good few years and was very pleasantly surprised with the interior and space. Indeed she is looking to hire out the space for functions and has recently had a few very successful parties in the restaurant. They have a late licence on a Friday and Saturday and anyone can pop in just for a drink. There is a very extensive Thai menu and a lot of their custom is with takeaway orders and they  offer a local delivery service.

Birds of Paradise is the last business I visited for this blog and is on the other side of Brockley Road, on the small parade leading to the Esso garage. Lovely friendly couple Sabrina and Henson opened this in May last year and have gradually been building up trade and have got some very loyal customers. They are open every day, except Sundays, from 12 til 10pm and do not yet have a licence so you can bring your own booze.  It offers fresh Carribean food and the fish is cooked to order. The menu looks very interesting and together with the very competitive prices and excellent reviews on various forums I vow to take my family there very soon!

What struck me about visiting this stretch of Brockley Road is the variety of shops and cafes and also that there was not one empty shop unit. Everyone was very friendly and offering a unique experience and so I hope that the area only continues to thrive.

EAT, DRINK AND SHOP LOCAL.

Bye for now

Jane x

Please follow me on twitter;

Follow @JaneCanDoSE4

14
MAY
2013

by Cllr Pauline Morrison

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Councillor’s diary for Crofton Park.Com

I was very pleased to be elected as your Ward Councillor for Crofton Park Ward in 2010 because this is where I started my life in London, running the General Napier Public House in Bovill Road.

Unfortunately, one of the first challenges I faced was the proposal to close Crofton Park Library as part of a proposed major cuts package. I led a campaign which collected 4,400 signatures in Crofton Park, marched to the Town Hall to protest (with a broken leg) and then had the fortune to meet Darren Taylor a social entrepreneur who eventually took over the responsibility of running three out of five libraries up for closure. After a year these libraries are still open and being run by a library manager and volunteers.

I have volunteered in the library twice a week and run a free employability service there. The library has also developed a computer recycling service and sells reconditioned computers and second hand books to raise funds to maintain the library. We have continued to maintain links with local schools, and host activities for babies and toddlers.

A café is due to open over the next few weeks which received some funding from the Crofton Park Ward Assembly. It will become a Café Academy, training people to become baristas – professional coffee makers/servers employed across top brand coffee houses.

I am now organising a daytime scrabble club in the Library which has created some interest and players turn up on a Tuesday and/or Thursday, from 12noon onwards, to try to improve their skills. Feel free to pop in for a game!

The Ward Assembly is also working with the Library to develop a community garden alongside the station platform in Marnock Road. This is currently a notorious fly tipping area and the subject of a lot of complaints from local residents and commuters. We are setting up gardening group and working with Southeastern Trains to establish an enjoyable improvement alongside Marnock Road.

The library is becoming a real community hub.

Two other major issues that I have dealt with have been the planning applications for the new Sainsbury’s local at Honor Oak Park and the proposed Tesco’s opposite the Brockley Jack. I chaired the public meetings on these two proposals – unfortunately for the local shopkeepers, Sainsbury’s was approved. Tesco’s has twice been refused but we are left with an ugly pink hoarding in the heart of Crofton Park.

I have developed a close relationship with local communities through various organisations:
• I Chair the Library Management Board
• I am a Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ackroyd Community Association
• I am on the Elderly Persons Support Project’s steering Group
• I am a Governor of Prendergast Ladywell Fields College

As Chair of Crofton Park Ward Assembly, I have a real role to play in meeting the Ward Assembly priorities. These are:
• Streetscape (litter, dog fouling, fly tipping, street furniture)
• Roads and pavement maintenance
• Traffic and parking issues
• Youth provision
• Community cohesion

Ward Surgery details:

The 2nd Saturday of every month, 12noon – 1pm at Try Tapas, Honor Oak Park SE23 1DZ

The 3rd Saturday of every month, 10am – 11am, Crofton Park Library, Brockley Road SE4 2AG

Please note: There will be no surgeries in August or on Bank Holidays.

Your Councillors can also be contacted by telephone or by email:

Cllr Jackie Addison, tel. 020 8690 3149
cllr_jackie.addison@lewisham.gov.uk

Cllr Pauline Morrison, tel. 020 8244 5315
cllr_pauline.morrison@lewisham.gov.uk

Councillors’ Web Page: http://www.croftonparklabour.org.uk

Cllr Pauline Morrison
Crofton Park Ward Councillor