A little nudge, as if we need a good reason for shopping in the wonderful local shops of East Dulwich, Peckham and Dulwich.
Showing posts with label East Dulwich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Dulwich. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Friday, 20 December 2013
Christmas is coming. Goose Green is getting fat.
Are you one of those people who leaves Christmas shopping to the last minute? Well, no need to make the journey to hell that is Oxford Street the weekend before Christmas. Here are five top tips for great gifts to be found right here in lovely East Dulwich:
1. Get in their good books
No one has too many books. Well actually maybe we do and Mrs Eastofdulwich has been on at me again to get rid of some so that there's actually somewhere to put the new ones I keep bringing home. But all the same, as Marx* said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” At the small but beautiful Rye Books on Upland Road, Alistair will ably suggest the ideal present for parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles. And he makes a mean latte too.
Rye Books: 45 Upland Road, London SE22 9EF Tel: 020 3581 1850.
www.ryebooks.co.uk
2. All I want for Christmas is uke
Everyone should learn to play a musical instrument and few come easier than the ukulele. And children can easily get there little hands around these bite-sized marvels. What's more unlike recorders, they won't wake you up at 6am with a shrill ear-shattering squeal. And they're not just for kids, either. Ukuleles have been clinically proven to reduce stress, lift depression and cause giggling. As a good friend once told me, you can't see a grown man with a ukulele without smiling. You can find a superb selection of ukes at South London Music – starting at a mere £20 – with lovely and helpful staff to assist your choice.
South London Music: 29 Grove Vale, London SE22 8EQ Tel: 020 8693 9879.
http://www.slmusic.co.uk/
3. I'm only here for the beer
Why not give the man or woman in your life a case of their favourite tipple, or a selection to savour? The last couple of years have seen an explosion of craft beers, and I've not seen a better bitter selection – not to mention India pale ales, lagers and stouts – than at Boss Man Wines on Lordship Lane. I would particularly recommend the Forty-niner from Ringwood Brewery but you can find beers from as far afield as Iceland and New Zealand.
Boss Man Wines: 79 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8EP Tel: 020 8693 6623.
4. Say Cheese
Why have nightmares thinking what to buy when you can give your loved ones weird dreams instead? Mootown sell delectable artisanal cheeses, mainly from England and Wales, including a Stilton to die for. They can knock you up a gift box too, I believe. You can find their stall on North Cross road on Saturdays, Herne Hill Farmers Market on Sundays.
www.mootown.co.uk
5. And finally...
If you've got a present for everyone you know, why not buy something for someone you don't? Pick up a few extra items when you go shopping and take them down to the Southwark Foodbank run by the charity Pecan. Then somebody who is struggling gets food for them and their family, to tide them over a crisis. There's a shopping list of the kinds of food they need on their website.
Pecan: 121a Peckham High Street, SE15 5SE Tel: 020 7732 0007.
www.pecan.org.uk/our-projects/foodbank
And finally, sit back, relax and have yourself a merry, little Christmas.
*Groucho, rather than Karl.
1. Get in their good books
No one has too many books. Well actually maybe we do and Mrs Eastofdulwich has been on at me again to get rid of some so that there's actually somewhere to put the new ones I keep bringing home. But all the same, as Marx* said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” At the small but beautiful Rye Books on Upland Road, Alistair will ably suggest the ideal present for parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles. And he makes a mean latte too.
Rye Books: 45 Upland Road, London SE22 9EF Tel: 020 3581 1850.
www.ryebooks.co.uk
2. All I want for Christmas is uke
Everyone should learn to play a musical instrument and few come easier than the ukulele. And children can easily get there little hands around these bite-sized marvels. What's more unlike recorders, they won't wake you up at 6am with a shrill ear-shattering squeal. And they're not just for kids, either. Ukuleles have been clinically proven to reduce stress, lift depression and cause giggling. As a good friend once told me, you can't see a grown man with a ukulele without smiling. You can find a superb selection of ukes at South London Music – starting at a mere £20 – with lovely and helpful staff to assist your choice.
South London Music: 29 Grove Vale, London SE22 8EQ Tel: 020 8693 9879.
http://www.slmusic.co.uk/
3. I'm only here for the beer
Why not give the man or woman in your life a case of their favourite tipple, or a selection to savour? The last couple of years have seen an explosion of craft beers, and I've not seen a better bitter selection – not to mention India pale ales, lagers and stouts – than at Boss Man Wines on Lordship Lane. I would particularly recommend the Forty-niner from Ringwood Brewery but you can find beers from as far afield as Iceland and New Zealand.
Boss Man Wines: 79 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8EP Tel: 020 8693 6623.
4. Say Cheese
Why have nightmares thinking what to buy when you can give your loved ones weird dreams instead? Mootown sell delectable artisanal cheeses, mainly from England and Wales, including a Stilton to die for. They can knock you up a gift box too, I believe. You can find their stall on North Cross road on Saturdays, Herne Hill Farmers Market on Sundays.
www.mootown.co.uk
5. And finally...
If you've got a present for everyone you know, why not buy something for someone you don't? Pick up a few extra items when you go shopping and take them down to the Southwark Foodbank run by the charity Pecan. Then somebody who is struggling gets food for them and their family, to tide them over a crisis. There's a shopping list of the kinds of food they need on their website.
Pecan: 121a Peckham High Street, SE15 5SE Tel: 020 7732 0007.
www.pecan.org.uk/our-projects/foodbank
And finally, sit back, relax and have yourself a merry, little Christmas.
*Groucho, rather than Karl.
Sunday, 23 December 2012
A Merry Christmas to All Our Readers
With thanks to the very excellent Dulwich Ukulele Club who will be playing Chrismas Eve at the at The Great Exhibtion on Crystal Palace Road, East Dulwich - "with massive kazoo a long too, carols and what have you."
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Saturday fun up Peckham way
An announcement of a local community festival, the Warwick Wingding, reaches the East of Dulwich offices via rather unusual means -- being shouted at as I cycled through Warkwick Gardens in Peckham on Sunday morning.
At first I thought I was about to be reprimanded for being on a bike in a public park but no, it was merely a "friend of the park" publicising this undoubtedly worthy event. We are told that Chas (or was it Dave?) from "Chas and Dave" (or was it "Dave and Chas"?) will be in attendance and I see that there will be a wealth of local talent inlcuding Alero, Peaches Cadogan, Beaty Heart and Lime Headed Dog.
I may have inadvertently given away the surprise guest! So forget I said anything about any member of a Spurs-supporting, comedy act duo. You didn't hear it here first.
Still waiting for my invitation to the "aftershow party extravaganza" though which will held at the famous and salubriuos Ivy House in Nunhead.
Warwick Wingding Music and Arts Festival is on Saturday 25th September 2010 from noon to 7:30pm at Warkwick Gardens, Lyndhurst Way, SE15. And it's absolutely free.
More details on something called "Faces Book"
Friday, 7 May 2010
The Nation has Mumbled
I'm kind of reminded of what happens when a stewards enquiry is called after a horse-race. The bookies tell all the expectant punters to go for a walk while The stewards decide the outcome behind closed doors. Difference is that this time we already know the outcome (give or take three seats).
And here it is: roughly one in three people who voted wanted (or said they wanted) the Tories. The other 64 per cent said they wanted some other party. Given that hundreds of people in Lewisham, Hackney, Sheffield and elsewhere were told that they couldn't vote at all, I'm not sure if its even worth talking about democratic outcomes in this country. But it is worth mentioning that it takes 284,566 votes (and some chance confluence of minds in Brighton) to get one green MP.
Anyway, while you're waiting for the final result, enjoy this rather nice film from the Guardian about three of the candidates for Camberwell & Peckham who won't be representing us this time round.
And here it is: roughly one in three people who voted wanted (or said they wanted) the Tories. The other 64 per cent said they wanted some other party. Given that hundreds of people in Lewisham, Hackney, Sheffield and elsewhere were told that they couldn't vote at all, I'm not sure if its even worth talking about democratic outcomes in this country. But it is worth mentioning that it takes 284,566 votes (and some chance confluence of minds in Brighton) to get one green MP.
Anyway, while you're waiting for the final result, enjoy this rather nice film from the Guardian about three of the candidates for Camberwell & Peckham who won't be representing us this time round.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
The Greens show their colours!
In response to my questions about libraries, local shops and cycling and walking Labour Tom Chance from Southwark Green Party writes:
Here are our candidates' answers:
Libraries - yes, we would fight to protect libraries from public spending cuts. Whichever of the three grey parties form the next Government, all three are committed to large cuts in public spending and locally the axe often falls first on services like libraries. Whilst access to the internet is increasingly used as an excuse for neglected or shrinking library services, the reasons you cite in addition to the relatively low level of internet access in Peckham Rye make them all the more important.
Shops - the Green Party has long campaigned to protect local independent shops. We have published an action plan for Peckham town centre (http://southwark.greenparty.org.uk/peckham) and would apply the same principles to Lordship Lane, Forest Hill Road and other smaller arcades with handfuls of shops throughout Southwark.
Walking and cycling - we would press for three simple measures: first, actually implement the council's dormant policy of providing cycle lanes and infrastructure whenever road works are carried out, extending this to also include the widening of pavements for pedestrians where there is road space; second, prioritise roads on cycle routes such as LCN 22 and 25 when filling potholes and other road maintenance; third, more consistently implement a 20mph zone across the entire borough on all residential roads and ensure the police are taking road safety more seriously.
Here are our candidates' answers:
Libraries - yes, we would fight to protect libraries from public spending cuts. Whichever of the three grey parties form the next Government, all three are committed to large cuts in public spending and locally the axe often falls first on services like libraries. Whilst access to the internet is increasingly used as an excuse for neglected or shrinking library services, the reasons you cite in addition to the relatively low level of internet access in Peckham Rye make them all the more important.
Shops - the Green Party has long campaigned to protect local independent shops. We have published an action plan for Peckham town centre (http://southwark.greenparty.org.uk/peckham) and would apply the same principles to Lordship Lane, Forest Hill Road and other smaller arcades with handfuls of shops throughout Southwark.
Walking and cycling - we would press for three simple measures: first, actually implement the council's dormant policy of providing cycle lanes and infrastructure whenever road works are carried out, extending this to also include the widening of pavements for pedestrians where there is road space; second, prioritise roads on cycle routes such as LCN 22 and 25 when filling potholes and other road maintenance; third, more consistently implement a 20mph zone across the entire borough on all residential roads and ensure the police are taking road safety more seriously.
A Labour candidate answers
This is the reply I received to my questions about libraries, local shops and cycling and walking from Gavin Edwards, Labour Candidate for Peckham Rye:
1. On Libraries, All three of us recognise the importance of Libraries in our local community. I am a regular user of Peckham Library myself. We will all fight to defend funding for local libraries.
2. I agree entirely with the sentiment expressed in your question and this is precisely the approach that we would like to see taken in regard to both rents and the application of planning rules.
3. Yes. We think the cycle network in Southwark should be expanded. The more people we can encourage to cycle in our borough the better. If we were elected as councillors for Peckham Rye, this would be a policy that we would campaign for in the town hall. On a connected but slightly different issue, we have got involved in the local green chain walk. See here for more details: http://peckhamryelabour.blogspot.com/2010/01/peckham-rye-joins-green-chain-walk-try.html
1. On Libraries, All three of us recognise the importance of Libraries in our local community. I am a regular user of Peckham Library myself. We will all fight to defend funding for local libraries.
2. I agree entirely with the sentiment expressed in your question and this is precisely the approach that we would like to see taken in regard to both rents and the application of planning rules.
3. Yes. We think the cycle network in Southwark should be expanded. The more people we can encourage to cycle in our borough the better. If we were elected as councillors for Peckham Rye, this would be a policy that we would campaign for in the town hall. On a connected but slightly different issue, we have got involved in the local green chain walk. See here for more details: http://peckhamryelabour.blogspot.com/2010/01/peckham-rye-joins-green-chain-walk-try.html
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Local Election Special
Well, I thought I'd come out of retirement to show my disgust at the total lack of attention being paid to the local elections here in London. OK, I know there aren't any exciting televised debates with audience participation and red buttons to press. Local politics often seems dull and all about such mundane subjects as refuse collection, recycling, planning control, parking, maintaining the roads and fixing broken paving slabs. (oh and education, social services, housing...)
But what councils do matters. It matters to the people who have the chance to choose who run them (but rarely use it) and it matters to the children who don't get to vote but do have to go to schools, some of which are actually still run by elected local authorities.
But following the themes of this blog and its forerunners, I decided to write to the local candidates for the parties standing in my ward (Peckham Rye) focusing on libraries, local shops, and cycling and walking:
Libraries: Public libraries provide not just a free leisure service but a vital lifeline to those who need internet access to apply for jobs and purchase goods, support for lifelong learning and a place to study. Children especially gain enormously from being able to choose and read the books they like, giving them the opportunity to acquire the reading habit early on. In times of recession, this service becomes even more important to help people retrain and get back into employment. If elected, will you fight to defend our local libraries (Dulwich and Nunhead) from budget cuts and neglect?
Shops: Lordship Lane is a shining example of the success of small shops providing a unique and characterful centre for the community. If elected will you ensure that independent shops are not driven out by high rents and prevent large chains from running rough-shod over planning rules?
Walking and Cycling: The cycling facilities in Southwark are reasonable but there's huge room for improvement. Will you ensure that the cycle network is expanded and existing routes improved. Will you ensure that all road schemes prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over through traffic?
So far the only party to reply is the Liberal Democrats. I'd like to hear what the others have to say.
Monday, 8 March 2010
Did you miss me?
It's a long, long time since I've posted anything here and I was amazed to take a look and see how many people have stopped by. Not bad for an effectively dead blog. Makes me feel like I should post something new -- at least once in a while. It might be a good place to get off my chest various gripes I have about what's going wrong in the area East of Dulwich.
Apologies for the fact that a change in service provider saw the demise of the original and best East of Dulwich bl@g, lovingly created on an ever-increasing MS Word file, uploaded using My Computer on Windows 97... and a pig to manage. Maybe if enough of the original readers post a comment here, I'll find a way of uploading the file to some on-line repository but perhaps this is a case where we should let sleeping dogs lie.
For the time being at least, East of Dulwich is now migrating to Blogger.
Apologies for the fact that a change in service provider saw the demise of the original and best East of Dulwich bl@g, lovingly created on an ever-increasing MS Word file, uploaded using My Computer on Windows 97... and a pig to manage. Maybe if enough of the original readers post a comment here, I'll find a way of uploading the file to some on-line repository but perhaps this is a case where we should let sleeping dogs lie.
For the time being at least, East of Dulwich is now migrating to Blogger.
Saturday, 5 May 2007
The Truth about East of East of Dulwich
I wanted to come clean about a certain Brad Eastman, a web designer and erstwhile blogger, purporting to live in The Gardens, East Dulwich, London SE22.
Some time last year, when I was at work in a library, a young man, a kind of Brad Pitt look-alike, came in desperately looking for a book about Spinoza, the great enlightenment philosopher. I tried to help him but sometimes you can tell from the start when a customer is not really interested and is simply wasting your time and theirs.
But "Brad" as I shall always think of him inspired me to create a character, a kind of modern-day, urban version of Hesse's Siddhartha. I thought he would start off happily enjoying a hedonistic life but some traumatic experience would send him off on a search for truth and meaning.
So I have to apologize to anyone who has been taken in by this ruse. Should you wish to discuss and explore the issues raised in east of east of dulwich, or for that matter East of Dulwich, please feel free to comment after the normal fashion.
Some time last year, when I was at work in a library, a young man, a kind of Brad Pitt look-alike, came in desperately looking for a book about Spinoza, the great enlightenment philosopher. I tried to help him but sometimes you can tell from the start when a customer is not really interested and is simply wasting your time and theirs.
But "Brad" as I shall always think of him inspired me to create a character, a kind of modern-day, urban version of Hesse's Siddhartha. I thought he would start off happily enjoying a hedonistic life but some traumatic experience would send him off on a search for truth and meaning.
So I have to apologize to anyone who has been taken in by this ruse. Should you wish to discuss and explore the issues raised in east of east of dulwich, or for that matter East of Dulwich, please feel free to comment after the normal fashion.
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