New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival 2018

Woo!

Very excited that one of my favourite local events is nearly here - the annual New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival.

Totally free, all run and organised by volunteers, and in some great venues across Deptford & New Cross - a fabulous example of our vibrant, enthusiastic, imaginative and fun SE community spirit.

Once again this year there will be a whole host of different films in venues ranging from the traditional to downright wacky, encouraging people to visit new parts of the borough and seek out the green spaces, churches and bars they aren't familiar with, in the pursuit of free entertainment.

Launch night kicks off at the Brick Brewery in Blackhorse Road with a showing of Get Out - Jordan Peele’s chilling satire on liberal racism in America. The bar will be open and food will be on sale, with a DJ and party after the film.

The full programme has 33 film events at 23 different venues - from documentaries about the housing crisis to Hollywood classics to a swashbuckling film of maritime adventure with a historical link to Deptford's royal dockyard. 

Watch in comfort at the Brookmill pub; put your energy into pedalling at the bike-powered park showings or watch a film somewhere you don't normally get to visit, such as Sanford Housing Coop or the Stephen Lawrence Centre.

Something local: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/lewisham-at-home/

http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/the-battle-of-lewisham-we-are-the-lambeth-boys/

Something funny: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/in-bruges/

Something topical: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/election/

Something thought-provoking: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/dispossession-the-great-social-housing-swindle/

Something challenging: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/the-work/

Something corny: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/nacho-libre-bike-powered-screening-with-electric-pedals/

Something for the kids: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/sing-outdoor-bike-powered-with-electric-pedals/

http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/paddington-2-2/

Something maritime: http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/the-lenox-project-presents-admiral-command-conquer/

http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/event/pirates-of-the-caribbean-the-curse-of-the-black-pearl/

On Facebook and on the web - and usually printed programmes to pick up a week or two before the festival from local libraries and cafes.

http://www.freefilmfestivals.org/filmfestival/new-cross-deptford/

New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival

One of my favourite annual local events starts this Friday when the New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival kicks off at the White Hart in New Cross.

I love the fact that you can see a shedload of films for free; they include old classics and firm favourites; and you can watch them indoor or outdoor, powered by cycles, at unusual venues ranging from bars to churches, cafes, schools and shops, as well as at the oldest, purpose-built housing coop in the UK, 

Hell you can even watch them in our own local cinema!

The programme includes a couple of intriguing director Q&As including one presented by the 'Remakesploitation film club' which is a showing of the documentary Remake Remix Rip-Off which 'tells the bizarre history of Turkish remakes of Hollywood films such as The Exorcist, ET, Rambo, Superman, and Star Trek.' Director Cem Kaya will be coming over from Berlin especially for this event and he will introduce the film and hold a Q&A afterwards.

The documentary 'Sewol' tells the story of the Korean ferry that sank in 2014 killing 304 people, most of them schoolchildren. It is still not known why the ferry sank and why no coordinated rescue attempt was mounted. As the relatives of the victims fight for a thorough and independent investigation, they come against an uncaring government and hostile news media. This documentary film tells the story of the Sewol families: their grief, and their efforts to bring improvements in a nation whose democracy is faltering under a corrupt presidency. There will be a Q&A with director Ok-Hee Jeong afterwards.

For something a bit more lighthearted you could try the singalong Sister Act 2 at Little Nan's, or The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert which is being shown at the Brookmill pub and is followed by a disco, what else?

If your bike needs fixing, take it along to Folkestone Gardens on Friday 28th April from 6pm onwards where Lewisham Cyclists will be holding a 'Dr Bike' drop in repair session before the bike-powered showing of Breaking Away starts at 8pm.

It's not all film screenings - on Saturday 29th there's an 'iphonography masterclass' for young people and launch of the 'My Lewisham' challenge at Somerville adventure playground. The masterclass is a ticketed event (although tickets are still free) so booking is essential.

All films are free, it's first come first served, and the festival is run entirely by volunteers - so please give them your whole-hearted support!

Deptford Cinema needs your help

The community-run Deptford Cinema (Lewisham borough's only cinema and one run entirely by volunteers) is petitioning Lewisham Council to reconsider its demand that full business rates should be paid on the property in Deptford Broadway.

The petition sets out a long and pretty woeful tale of confusion, misinformation and downright obstruction by the council's business rates department.

The cinema is incorporated as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, yet the council is applying standard business rates bill to it.

The petition explains:
Over the last 6-9 months, we have been in constant communication with Lewisham Council to alleviate this problem via the proper channels of relief, whether it be small business relief or hardship relief, both of which we believe to apply to us. Lewisham Council disagrees. Lewisham Council advised us to become a charity to automatically get the 80% rates relief applicable to charities. 

This wasn't immediately undertaken due to various factors, such as the ongoing relief applications, third-party advice that CIC was the correct form for the organisation and support from Steve Bullock, the Mayor of Lewisham, whom, over this period, has twice stepped in to support the cinema - by putting a 6 month hold on Deptford Cinema's rates status. 

When all our relief applications had failed, with no solid explanation why, and apparently, with no appeal process available, converting to a charity became our only option, one that would reduce future rates by 80% but would not solve the unfair and unpayable historical bill. 

Then we received a letter, the best letter we could hope for, from the Business Rates Manager at Lewisham Council. If we converted to a charity, the council would retroactively apply the statutory 80% charity relief to our existing account. 

With volunteers now spending their time working towards the organisation becoming a charity; Lewisham Council then told us over the phone that the letter was a mistake and they would not be honouring this promise. 

Back to square one... But worse: the Council wants Deptford Cinema to pay the outstanding business rates (£5,400) over three months and the rates for 2016/2017 in one payment (£6,897). Both of which will bankrupt and destroy a community asset.

Three volunteers therefore arranged a meeting with the head of business rates of Lewisham Council. We took our extensive business plan, showing the continued growth and sustainability of a young local project which is still not finished, and two proposals for payment: 

• In light of the letter promising 80% relief, would it be possible to have 50% relief? It will still stifle the growth of the project, but it could be manageable...
• ..if not, instead of a reduction and instead of three instalments, could we extend over a longer period such as 32 months. 

First, just so you know, there weren't enough seats at the meeting, so one of our volunteers, a 61 year-old retiree had to kneel for the duration of the meeting with the council, with no offer to fetch him a chair from elsewhere. Second, no interest was taken in the materials we'd brought to the meeting and both of our suggested proposals were rejected. Third, that letter I mentioned with the promise of 80% relief, the council tried to keep hold of it at the meeting. 

At no point have we tried to avoid paying our rates. Instead, we've tried to work with the Council to solve the problem and ask them to recognise Deptford Cinema for what it is, a charity in all but legal status. We are now faced with a deadline for payment, after which the Council will send round the bailiffs and destroy a project run by the community in Lewisham, for the community in Lewisham. 

It's a pretty embarrassing story for the council and it sounds as if launching a petition is the last thing that Deptford Cinema wants to do, but the council has left them stuck between a rock and a hard place. So much for supporting creativity and the arts in Deptford.

https://www.change.org/p/lewisham-council-make-lewisham-council-honour-their-promises-and-stop-them-from-destroying-deptford-cinema

Deptford X 2015

Deptford X is one of my favourite times of the year in Deptford and as always, there's a packed programme of shows, events and open studios to get round in the week-long festival.

It kicks off on Friday from Deptford X's new home in Brookmill Road - an art gallery that was proposed as part of the Seager Distillery redevelopment and originally located in the lower floors of what's now Stay City. Under pressure from the developers, who claimed they had a four-star hotel operator lined up to occupy this building, the council allowed them to relocate the art gallery to Brookmill Road.

The gallery fronts onto Brookmill Road (while Deptford Broadway gets the blanked-out windows of Stay City apartments). Notwithstanding this, it's fantastic to see Deptford X getting a permanent home at last - they also have artist studios available for a very reasonable rent, although I understand they are mostly without natural light, so will only appeal to some.

Deptford X
Lead artist is Janette Parris, whose animation about Deptford will be showing throughout the festival at the Deptford Lounge. Her illustrations are colourful and quirky, I even recognise some of my favourite vendors on them. Her work will also be in a group show she has curated at the Deptford X gallery.

If you like your art in less conventional spaces, why not check out Uncle Ned's Beds at 147 Lewisham Way on Friday evening where Bernadette Russell's Bed will be taking place?

Bed explores magic, dreams, the power of suggestion, and the wonder of stories. It’s revisiting that childhood bedtime story experience as an adult, and it’s about what happens when we’re asleep in these times, when more and more of us have difficulty sleeping. 

Bed includes a 16th century spell and sweets made by a witch. What happens: in exchange for one story, you will be asked to sign a contract to provide Bernadette with the first dream you remember after this encounter. Your dream will provide inspiration for the next story, to be read to someone else, at some point in the future. After having listened to the story, you will be given instructions, which you may or may not choose to carry out, the contents of which are aimed at influencing your dreams. 

Bed takes about half an hour, for participants, it's free and non-ticketed - you just turn up and take a raffle ticket. They are also helpfully providing tea and cakes in exchange for a small donation to Macmillan.

One of my favourite Deptford X artists from last year, and winner of the 2014 fringe award - Luis Ignacio Rodriguez, who performed as a dancing builder on top of the Bird's Nest pub - is back again, on the main programme this year. 

This year Luis  is promising 'a series of daily LuisTV broadcasts, in, on, and for Deptford, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, live on Periscope (viewable on various platforms), and displayed on a screen at Deptford Lounge throughout the festival. It will be recorded from various points in Deptford, from a market stall to a neighbour’s balcony, from the station to a takeaway shop, from some hidden corner to the LuisTV phone boxes. 

Look out for the standalone cardboard cutouts for the daily schedule. Programmes will vary in format and content, but, whenever possible, the public will be able to take part in them. Audiences can expect different programmes featuring exhibition reviews, interviews, puppet characters, art reading, walks, Deptford stories and more.'

You can see the broadcasts at the Deptford Lounge, or from the comfort of your own home on this channel https://vimeo.com/luistv4dx

Fringe

As well as the main programme, there's an extensive range of stuff going on in the fringe programme, so don't forget to check it out - in venues conventional and unexpected - right across Deptford and surrounds.

Join Sean Roy Parker in the Old Tidemill wildlife garden to contribute your own 'exhibits' as part of the trading post; there's Deptford Delft at Deli X - reflecting Deptford's past history of shipbuilding and commenting on its future of potential gentrification; or check out The One:One Collective's interrogation of Deptford housing in Giffin Square. 

Open studios

The studios around Deptford that are part of the regular Deptford X trail are this year joined by the Propellor Foundry on Childers St - Acme Studios has been there for 25 years but seems to have recently been rebranded. 

I'm looking forward to getting a look inside - the huge windows of the building and the tantalising glimpses of artists at work have always made me curious about these studios, so it will be good to get a look inside.

They have open studios on 3 and 4 October from 12-6, publicised thus: 

"The event will both include features such as a ‘Historic View’ comprising a video and graphic story of the Propeller Foundry building and its industrial heritage and a ‘Family Trail’ for the younger family visitors. We will be holding a silent auction of artists' postcards over the weekend; artworks will be available to be viewed online from 26th September. We will also be opening the ‘Foundry Gallery’ which will exhibit selected works. Refreshments will be available, including hand-crafted pastries and a range of freshly ground coffee."

Events

If you are able to get there in time after a day at the office, you might want to join the architectural tour of Deptford being led by Burwell Deakins Architects on 1 October at 6pm.

"Although often overshadowed by the grandeur of Wren’s neighbouring Greenwich, Deptford itself is not lacking in architectural significance. Buildings designed by a Stirling Prize winner, RIBA Gold Medalist, international starchitects and some of the UK’s best emerging talent can be found within this rapidly changing Thames-side community. Join Deptford-based award-winning architect Nicholas Burwell and architectural historian and local resident Tom Ravenscroft for a walking tour of Deptford, where we will explore the historical highlights, modern masterpieces and hidden contemporary gems of this lively neighbourhood."

Or maybe you want to create your own guide persona and film your personal guide to Deptford? A project created by artist Jack Brown working with students from Tidemill Academy aims to do just that - and members of the public can join in either at the workshop on 1 October at the Albany, or simply by creating their own film and uploading it to You Tube, labelling it 'deptfordxtourguide'. 

And of course there's the regular South London Art Map tour taking place this Friday if you want a guided tour and an expert's view on the festival - tickets can be booked online.

Full programme available here http://www.deptfordx.org/programmes

Brockley Max festival 2015

Just a reminder that Brockley Max kicks off today in Deptford borders* - it's a nine-day community arts festival celebrating local talent, and it takes place in lots of different venues across Brockley, Ladywell, Crofton Park and Honor Oak.

Brockley Max is a non-profit festival that everyone can attend and be part of, starting today and running to Saturday 6 June.

Opening night kicks off at 3.30pm next to Brockley station and features the Hummy Mummies Choir, Creekside, festival favourites The Hit Men and Dr Joe Joe, Max Pope, Whisper Anthem and headline act, reggae star Ras Keith and The Borderline Band.



The opening night stage is on the corner of Foxberry Road and Coulgate Street on the approach to Brockley station. You’ll be able to buy food and drink from local cafes and bars and one of this year’s sponsors, Wetherspoons, has come up with a special festival menu that you can buy from The Brockley Barge.

There are also free workshops at the Brockley Rise Centre and art exhibitions at the Lewisham Arthouse, Beecroft Garden Primary School and Crofton Park Community Library.

Saturday 6 June is the Art In The Park family day, based in Hilly Fields; from midday until 6pm the area close to the Hilly Fields stone circle is given over to children’s creative workshops and a live stage with dance and musical performances as well as a craft market, food stalls and a bar.

For more information check out the website or download the free programme here.

*That's what they'll be calling Brockley before too long, mark my words.. 

New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival

After a week away from the 'hood I was thrown into a panic this afternoon thinking that I'd missed the start of the awesome New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival. Hell, I even started making plans to catch up with a couple of films later today and tomorrow.

So I was relieved to discover that I'd only got my dates wrong and the festival doesn't actually start for another five days - kicking off on Friday 24th April with a showing of Saturday Night Fever and a 70's disco at Number 3 Creekside. 

If you haven't got your (free) tickets for the Friday night launch, I'm afraid it's now sold out. But as usual, there are plenty of other great films to choose from at a wide range of venues throughout Deptford and New Cross over the ten-day festival.

Whether you want to sing along to blockbuster Frozen, watch a youthful Gary Kemp in a tank top riding a bike around the Deptford streets, or discuss inequality and corruption with film makers at New Cross Learning, there is something in the programme for you.

As we've come to expect from what's one of my favourite annual events, the range of venues is impressive too - alongside 'standard' cinema venues such as the Deptford Lounge and our own newly-created independent Deptford Cinema, there's the opportunity to watch bike-powered films in Fordham Park and Telegraph Hill, squeeze into the tiny Vinyl record shop in Tanner's Hill, get someone else to cook you dinner while you watch films in Deli X, or see cooperative living first-hand at the inspirational Sanford Housing Co-op, where the programme focuses on films offering alternatives to 'generic capitalism'.

Not-for-profit project The Field in New Cross and St James Hatcham Church are two of the more unusual venues for this year's festival but if you are fond of a bit of wordplay you might prefer to see Paddington, which is showing at the Bear (aka Shaftesbury Christian Centre)....

Some events do require you to book tickets online, but for most you can just show up. And best of all, don't forget it's all FREE!

Smashfest UK kicks off in Deptford

The Albany, the Deptford Lounge and the Stephen Lawrence Centre are venues for a whole host of events for young people taking place during the half term break. Zombies and asteroids feature heavily in the story, which creates a narrative around all the different events.

These events, which start this Saturday, are part of Smashfest UK, a brand new science and arts festival for young people, which is being piloted in Deptford from 14 - 22 February.

The press release says: 'Part sci­fi, part horror and part post-apocalyptic-nightmare, the festival is themed around a gripping story in which an asteroid is on a collision course with Planet Earth and a zombie invasion ensues.

You can follow the story online here. Join in by sending us your own Asteroid Survival Kit list, or sending photos with the #smashfestuk hashtag to @SMASHfestUK on Twitter or Instagram.

Real life visitors will have the chance to plan for Armageddon, whether it’s preparing to go underground at our Survival Supermarket Sweep, singing for your lives at Armageddon Open Mic, simply enjoying your last night on Earth with the End of the World Cabaret, creating a #FRIDGIE for our time capsule; The Peoples’ Ark or taking a trip to the Intergalactic Travel Bureau.'

The Intergalactic Travel Bureau

For details of all these events, and lots more, click here.

SmashfestUK is the first event of its kind, intended to widen participation and build diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths by engaging young people and hard to reach audiences. It is the creation of science TV production company The Refinery, and is partnered by the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, the Wellcome Trust, Middlesex University, and the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Deptford Fun Palaces

Next weekend (4 and 5 October) there's lots of free, family-friendly stuff going on in Deptford as the Albany and other community spaces create their own 'fun palaces'. 

It's all part of Fun Palaces 2014, a nationwide celebration of arts, culture and sciences which has been created to mark the 100th birthday of Joan Littlewood. Fun Palaces 2014 brings to life the vision she and Cedric Price created for spaces linking arts and sciences, entertainment and education. 

Across two days, a consortium of creative and cultural organisations in Deptford will host an array of free spectacles and activities, alongside the weekend’s central event Source (Sunday 5 October, 3pm), which brings to life an underground world of six forgotten rivers of London.


Created by two of the UK’s leading creative event companies Cirque Bijou and Nutkhut, Source is performed outdoors by circus, dance, theatre and cabaret artists and depicts historic moments connecting Victorian London to pioneering philanthropists, social reformers, artists, inventors and engineers.

The event ends in a 'bring-what-you-can' party in the Albany's main theatre. For more information see listings below or visit the website.

Make Believe Arts Giant Science Playground 
Deptford Lounge
Saturday 4 October, 12-4pm
Make Believe Arts is inviting children/families to create bunting and other crafty delights in preparation for the Giant Science Playground.

Sunday 5 October, 11am-4pm 
The whole family is invited to help solve a mystery of GIGANTIC propositions. Deptford was once the land of giants and the Ministry of Mysteries has unearthed some interesting findings, and the they need your help to work out how a giant from the past got sick!

Teatro Vivo Grimms’ Collecting Agency
Woodpecker Community Centre
Sunday 5 October, 11.45am 
Collecting stories is a family business for the Grimms, handed down through the generations - ever since their great great great great grandfathers, those famous brothers, heard the one about Hansel and Gretel. This year Grimms’ Collecting Agency will be popping up across London. On a mission to assess the state of the nation, the Grimms will be collecting stories. Your stories... Meet the Grimms and share your tales; who knows what you might inspire... Grimms’ Collecting Agency is a performance piece that will interact with a large audience, provide some one to one experiences and offer a performance of a brand new story each time it pops up!

Hunt & Darton Food Fight, 
Albany Garden
Sunday 5 October, 1pm 
Treated as seriously and adjudicated with the same respect as an Olympic sport the makers of Hunt & Darton Cafe bring you Hunt & Darton Food Fight.
Get ready to roll up your sleeves for some brutally brilliant food warfare. After a series of warm up workshops offering activity vital in your preparation to become a food fighter you will be ready to enter the arena. Take note of the rules and rigorous marking system, as there are unexpected ways to win. Perhaps you will be crowned ultimate champion, or be disqualified because your focus face was insincere, maybe you’ll secure additional points with legwork that deemed as beautifully absurd’, or maybe one of the meringues you threw caused the biggest and most spectacular splat. The rules are set, the pitch is painted and the food is prepared – Fight!

Dean Blunkell; Fibonacci Divine Principle
Goldsmiths 
Sunday 5 October, 12.15pm & 13.15pm 
The performance starts with performers appearing and encouraging the audience to view the architecture, apprentices begin to place models of baroque style buildings while other performers mark out on the floor Fibonacci plans gradually a model cityscape is created under the direction of the architect. At the end the ensemble all dance the Fibonacci, created especially for the performance.

Khiyo; Raga to Reggae
Market Square
Sunday 5 October, Midday & 1pm 
Khiyo is a London band that gives Bengali heritage music a modern, fresh sound. Its radical interpretations draw from rock, folk, and Indian and Western classical music. Khiyo is gaining a reputation as a formidable world music band, performing at the Purcell Room for the Southbank Centre’s 2013 Alchemy Festival.

Stefano Di Renzo; Hold On
Giffin Square
Sunday 5 October, 1.30pm 
Hold on is a circus theatre show using slack rope as the base of the theatrical language, exploring the relationship between a man and the system that governs his life.

Source
Cirque Bijou and Nutkhut 
Market Square
Sunday 5 October, 3pm
When London’s sewers and underground system were first created, six tunnellers were sent underground in a secret mission to find and save the sources of London’s rivers before they became buried forever. Now, 158 years later, during building works for London’s new super-sewer, these curious long-forgotten tunnellers emerge, travelling with their giant mobile water-spurting laboratory in a burst of song, dance and acrobatic displays. Cirque Bijou and Nutkhut invite the people of Deptford to join them as they seek the Source, in a mobile, free, outdoor show for all the family. 

Deptford Community Party
The Albany
Sunday 5 October, from 4pm 
A Bring-What-You-Can Party for all the community with live music and performance

Deptford X: what is the value of art?

Our regular annual festival of contemporary art kicks off this Friday with a launch event at Faircharm and rounds off with a 'march for art' on 5 October, followed by Fred's traditional Art Quiz at the Dog & Bell.

In between there will be comics, a musical, film installation, music mash-up, book launch, dinner, workshops and a human chain. And maybe even some more traditional art too.

The theme of the festival, which this year is curated by artist Bob & Roberta Smith, is 'what is the value of art?' Bob & Roberta Smith will be working on a new painting and encouraging people to contribute to a collective response to this theme.

On the main programme I'm particularly looking forward to the film installation by Komori & Seo - not specifically because I am familiar with their work and feel an affinity for it, but because it will be in the crypt of St Paul's Church and you don't often get to go down there, especially if you are a confirmed heathen like myself.

Of course in days past it used to be the venue for parties hosted by the famous Father Diamond - such as the one featured in this film about Deptford (I've been looking for an excuse to post that for months). Ironically the comments in the film about St Paul's Church seeming to be aloof from the community could apply today. The frequently-locked gates might reduce litter and petty vandalism in the church grounds but do little to convey any welcoming message to the community.

But I digress.

Deptford X has a very healthy programme of fringe events, which I often find more fun and stimulating than the main events. I'm particularly intrigued by the idea of the Dancing Builder (live feed here), so much so that I may have to make a special trip on the DLR to see him; anything with the word 'fanny' in it immediately attracts the attention of my juvenile nature, and considering this particular fanny will be in the Job Centre, it's even more attractive; while we're on the subject, I've already done the screw jokes, but there's always room to slip another one in, so let's not ignore Johnny's DIY; and just to demonstrate that I'm not just about smut, I am looking forward to seeing Mandy Williams' photographs of Kentish riverbed despoilation, which will be on show in the Creekside centre and appeal to my love of urban landscapes, warts and all.

There's a myriad of stuff on offer, as well as all the open studios and South London Art Map late Friday opening on the first day, so you're bound to come across something going on even if you don't mean to. You can't ignore it, and to be honest, you'd be foolish to miss it!

Deptford X
http://www.deptfordx.org/programmes

Printed programmes will be distributed around Deptford on Thursday or Friday, and available in PDF format here

Deptford Cinema projector appeal and debut screening

I wrote briefly about the plans for a new community cinema a few weeks ago and since then the group has been busy with all kinds of things, most notably launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a digital projector.

As the website explains:
Deptford Cinema is a new, not-for-profit, volunteer-run cinema focusing on art film and experimental film. The cinema is opening in autumn 2014 and will be the Borough of Lewisham’s only cinema. We will be providing a 50-seat cinema space, a cafe/lounge area, and studio and darkroom facilities for film processing and workshops. Films will be shown with a digital projector as well as on 16mm and 8mm film reels. Our upcoming programme of content is directed towards supporting the local community and providing opportunities for experience and education in experimental film and art. We are currently hard at work building on-site and preparing everything for the opening of the Cinema.

The group wants to raise £6,000 to buy a projector for the cinema, which is based on Deptford Broadway right opposite the site of the former Odeon. So far they have managed to raise more than half of what they need, but there's still a way to go.

As with all Kickstarter campaigns, any money pledged by backers is only paid if the full amount is reached, and there's a range of rewards on offer including free tickets, tote bags, a book about the cinema or a year's membership. The Kickstarter page is here.


The first events in the new cinema space kick off at the end of this week with a 'debut DIY screening' on Friday 5th September at 7pm. This will be 'a lively evening of 16mm films and video works celebrating local film artists and community projects from near and far'.

On Monday 8th September they will be hosting a pub film quiz at the Amersham Arms. Quiz starts at 8pm, £2 entry per person.

And if you want to get involved, pop along to one of the public meetings that are held every Sunday at 4pm at the cinema.

Happiness needed

No, not a cry for help - or not in the emotional sense at least. And certainly not what you think if you read that headline with the emphasis in the wrong place *blush*.

This particular request for assistance comes from the people behind a new show which will be performed at the Albany on 11-13 September.

But the show cannot go on without memories of happiness in Deptford. Here's what the Albany website says...

Bring the Happy is an ongoing project about happiness, an attempt to map moments and memories of happiness in Deptford and across the country. 

A first kiss, a lost love, a longed for baby, childhood heroes, a proposal, a dance, a chance encounter – where did it happen and how happy did it make you feel on a scale from 1 to 10? 

For three weeks, Invisible Flock will occupy Deptford Lounge and transform it into a giant 3D map of the local area. You are invited to explore the map, discover what makes others happy and where, and in turn, submit your own happy moment or memory to add to the ever-growing database of the country’s happiness. 

At the end of three weeks the memories collected will be taken and transformed into Bring the Happy, a music and theatre performance at the Albany, that attempts an extravagant portrait of happiness, as the 1000s of memories collected are retold in all of their beautiful, sometimes tragic and sometimes ridiculous glory. 

In collaboration with Hope & Social the live performance promises to be an interactive, intimate and highly moving evening where we ask you to join us in celebrating the happiness of Deptford and the UK. 

For more information, please visit www.bringthehappy.co.uk or www.invisibleflock.com. 


Mapping hours: 19 August to 5 September
Tuesday: 11am - 5pm
Wednesday: 2pm - 8pm
Thursday: 11am - 5pm
Friday: 11am - 4pm, and 7pm - 9pm
Saturday: 11am - 4pm

Recent happenings in and around Deptford

This blog has been shockingly neglected the last few months with my paid work taking up the vast majority of my spare time. Apologies to those of you who have missed getting your fix of cynical sarcasm - I've been keeping up on Twitter but hope to get the blog back to a respectable level of regularity in the coming months.

Of course things move on in Deptford even when bloggers are otherwise engaged, but happily we have a good complement of local voices to cover a lot of the events so I don't feel too bad, you are in capable hands with Crosswhatfields, Brockley Central and the Greenwich Phantom. Even 853 strays down to Deptford from Charlton occasionally, most recently to wade into the Job Centre row.

There's a whole host of upcoming events, new initiatives and places to review that have sprung up since I last did any serious blogging, so I have a lot of catching up to do. There's also a good few stories bubbling under that I hope to do some digging into, and of course you'll no doubt get a dose of my ramblings on new public realm in and around Deptford.

In the meantime, here's some upcoming events, new initiatives and recent stories that have popped up in the last month or so. I apologise in advance for the surfeit of exclamation marks, I was a little overcome by emotion and excitement at my first blog post for weeks.

Deptford Community Garden (aka Deptford Open Garden) on Crossfields St/Coffey St has just been launched, only to find Thames Water are due to start digging trenches around them. In a strange quirk of serendipity the garden group seem to have found a helpful and flexible attitude in their dealings with Thames Water that was sadly lacking from the council contacts supposedly there to facilitate the project.

New Deptford Cinema project! How exciting - plans to start an independent cinema in a disused shop on Deptford Broadway, right opposite the site where the Odeon was originally located! Sadly I missed the first meeting due to total ignorance - I never walk past the shop and I wasn't aware of the meeting, so I'll just have to rely on someone putting something in the comments to tell me how it went! (go on, you know you want to!)

A big row! About a pub name! Move along now, nothing to see here. I'll be reviewing our new hostelry in due course - both the arrival of the pub and my review are long overdue.

Plans for a user group for Brookmill Park, reported on Brockley Central. One of my favourite little Deptford secrets, love to look out for the kingfishers and herons as I ride through this little green strip of parkland. Meet at the park-keeper's shed on Wed 27th August, 6pm, if you are interested. More details on the BC post.

Free entry to the Fan Museum on 2 August! I've been told this is a fantastic museum by everyone I know who's been, shamefully I haven't made it yet but I certainly intend to. The community open day offers free admission for all Royal Greenwich and Lewisham borough residents, bring ID such as driving licence, utility bill etc. There are curator-led mini tours throughout the day, fan-making demonstrations, kids activity trails and refreshments in the Orangery.

4-17th August 2014: Seventh Greenwich Annuale at Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, SE10 8RS
Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat, Sun 1pm-5pm
Photographic exhibition by the Greenwich Satellite Group of London Independent Photography.

There are also special events - on 7 Aug at 7pm an exhibition critique by Elisabeth Blanchet and Mandy Williams, and on 14th August they have a Pecha Kucha (a series of presentations of 20 slides, 20 seconds each) from 7pm onwards.

New Cross Learning celebrates winning a two-year lease from the council! New Cross Learning is celebrating with our charity Bold Vision after winning a two-year lease from Lewisham Council, starting Thursday 17  July. It has been nearly three years since a group of volunteers backed by local charity Bold Vision took over the running of the former New Cross Library, and turned it into New Cross Learning which has a full Lewisham Library service with 5,000 books, and offers community internet access  - and much more besides. Read more on the link above...

And finally, for now, the thorny issue of river crossings. TfL wants to hear your views about options for river crossings in East London. You can take part in the survey via this link until 12 September.

The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on the other hand, is being shamelessly partisan in coming out with its own design for a new highway bridge for us lot downriver. A rather fugly one if I might be so bold - the influence of the architects on this design is undeniably apparent. The impacts the LCCI quotes make no mention of pollution - you might want to remind yourself of the current situation on our roads by visiting No to Silvertown Tunnel website.

Incidentally I see from the LCCI's facebook page of the launch, our own deputy mayor Alan Smith was present at the launch, where he asked a question. I wonder if it was about pollution - can anyone enlighten me?

That's it for now folks. Having discharged my duty to the community in listing a good proportion of the stuff that's been sent to me, along with stuff I've lifted from other bloggers, I look forward to spending my next lunch hour casting a caustic eye over our latest local public realm etc.

21 years of urban change in Deptford - free workshop and seminar

Twenty-one years on from the publication of Jess Steele's seminal book Turning the tide: the history of everyday Deptford, Goldsmiths University Centre for Urban and Community Research is hosting a special event to investigate recent regeneration and its impact on Deptford.

The event takes place in the former Deptford Town Hall council chamber (a reason in itself for attending if you have never been inside!) on Friday April 25th

Programme: 
3.30 – 5.30 Seminar: The changing face of “regeneration” in London 
Short initial interventions by: Alison Rooke, Michael Keith, Heidi Seetzen, Rob Imrie, Luna Glucksberg 

5.30 – 6.00 Screenings and sound intervention: Creative Responses to Urban Change in Deptford (food and drinks provided) 

6.00 – 8.00 Workshop: 21 Years of Urban Regeneration in Deptford 
Short provocations by: Ben Gidley, Jess Steele, Jessica Leech, Neil Transpontine, and Joe Montgomery 

Followed by roundtable discussions: 

• Creative Deptford: arts, culture and regeneration 
• Housing and neighbourhood 
• DIY Deptford: regeneration from below? 
• Convoys Wharf: regeneration or land grab? 
• The changing face of Deptford: migration, identity, diversity and generation

It's free to attend but registration is required - see the website for more information.

For anyone interested in the history of Deptford, Turning the tide is a must-read - the text is dense and at first glance can seem impenetrable, but the book is thoroughly-researched and packed with fascinating facts about the area. The enduringly melancholic photo of the clock tower from the dockyard's Tudor storehouse being sailed away to Thamesmead in the epilogue reminds the reader that this heist by Greenwich Council, within whose boundaries the dockyard was at the time, happened only eight years before Jess Steele's book came out.  

The ghosts of the deep ford

Deptford old and new, and its historic figures, are the stars of this short film by Willi Richards which was made in 2005 and has at last been made available online. Ferranti's power station, Evelyn's gardens, the McMillan sisters and their nursery, Christopher Marlowe and of course Peter the Great all recount stories of their time in Deptford, while walking its 21st century streets in Vadum Profundum (Deep Ford).



Even since it was made there have been significant changes - I shudder when I remember the old exit from the train station, even if it was much quicker to use! The grounds of the Master Shipwrights House look terribly bare in their pre-landscaped state, although over the wall in Convoys Wharf nothing has changed as yet.

Deptford decades

I was sent a link to this lovely film by Katharine, who writes:

Last year I ran an HLF project 'Deptford Decades' with older people from the older community in Deptford, Tidemill Academy and Deptford Green School with the Bear church. The kids from both schools interviewed the older people, who came from DAGE and Cinnamon court in Edward street, about their memories of Deptford and SE London in the 1940s and 1950s. From these memories, the kids choreographed dances which were performed at a tea-dance in Deptford Lounge. As part of the project we made a film, recording the older people telling their stories.


Residents of Deptford tell their stories from Deptford Decades on Vimeo.


It's only had a few plays so far, but I think it deserves many more, it's a lovely little bit of social history that even features a neighbour of mine.

London Analogue Festival launches in Deptford

The first London Analogue festival is being held in Deptford and New Cross this weekend - it's a two-day festival celebrating analogue photography, film and sound art

The press release says: "In an era when digital technologies are ubiquitous, the first London Analogue Festival will celebrate the beauty, power, and aesthetics that come from analogue technologies. On Saturday the 7th and Sunday 9th of September 2013, the festival will draw together international artists for a weekend of live performances, talks, and exhibitions in South East London.

A diverse range of analogue moving images, photography and sound art will be showcased. Encouraging participation, the LAF will offer workshops, discussions, and networking opportunities. These and door prizes will be offered in collaboration with festival partners, including Lomography, Silverprint, The Impossible Project, Moo Cards, and Room 66."

The festival has a Facebook page from which I lifted this photo of them setting up the venue in Deptford Town Hall - worth a visit if you can make it down there Saturday or Sunday.

There's a full programme on the website with some interesting-looking events in the former town hall, the Amersham Arms and the Old Police Station.

Best of all - it's totally free of charge!

My Deptford

The focus on Deptford in the South Bank's Festival of Neighbourhood prompted some strange emotions. It may only be '8 minutes from here' (actually 11 mins according to official timetables and that's not including the walk to Waterloo East but I'll let that one go, it's a great name) but it was very odd seeing local artists, issues and initiatives on what is essentially a national, perhaps even international, stage.

Spoken word performances in the Clore Ballroom last night took place in front of a projection of the His n Hers mural, giving the impression that the performers were right back home in Giffin Square.

The big cardboard anchor which was commissioned by the South Bank specially for the festival by Laura X Carle was somewhat bare at the start of the day, but by the end of it was covered in Post-it notes, many of them demanding the return of the anchor to Deptford High Street.

More than 40 works by Deptford artists are displayed in the '8 minutes from here' show, with some familiar scenes bringing Johnny's DIY shop and the river view from Deptford to Greenwich (complete with aircraft carrier) right into the heart of the Festival Hall. 

Several panels of security fencing provide a fitting canvas to display photographs of Deptford - test yourself on how many places and people you can recognise - and visitors are invited to add cards with their impressions and experiences of Deptford.

The Deptford Market of Ideas has stalls promoting a number of local organisations, including galleries and charities, and an impressive display by the Build the Lenox campaign manned by its director, bewigged boat builder Julian Kingston.

Artist Hollie Paxton has made some beautiful little tins decorated with photographs of Deptford High Street shops - open the lids and you can hear soundtracks recorded inside those shops. Her metal brooches replicate hand-written signs from the high street, and she has also made an oversize knuckle-duster ring with Deptford written on it (as seen being modelled by local star Molly on the home page of her website).

There's still time to catch the Deptford show - from 10am today (Sunday) pop along and add your thoughts about the anchor or Deptford, meet Bernadette Russell (of 366 Days of Kindness fame) and see Ben Parry and Jacques Chauchat's sonic junk street machine.

Films, art and music (and a bit of food) in and around SE8

There's a whole host of cultural stuff kicking off in the next few weeks around Deptford - here's just a taster of what's on offer:

New Cross & Deptford free film festival
26 April - 5 May

There's an excellent line-up of free film showings in Deptford and New Cross venues ranging from an openair screening of Skyfall in Fordham Park to The House on Telegraph Hill which is very appropriately being shown at the Hill Station in Telegraph Hill.

The most unusual part of the festival looks like being the 'Light houses' which will be on show in the windows of certain houses in the roads around Telegraph Hill. A great excuse to peer into people's front rooms. Do take the map though, if you don't want to get into trouble with the neighbourhood watch.

There will be a rare screening of cult US underground 60s film,  Brand X  at Goldsmiths College Cinema on Monday 29 April, 7:30 pm (doors 7pm).  This film has been unavailable to the general public for over 40 years and isn’t currently available for general viewing.

Conceived and born between 1968 and early 1970, Brand X (Dir Wynn Chamberlain) uses simplistic television programming of that era as a frame to expose and ridicule the politics and taboos of the day.  Brand X is subversive in that it undermines and deconstructs broadcast TV so that your belief in its rationality is seriously challenged.

The film will be introduced by the director’s son, Sam Chamberlain, who will also be available to answer questions after the screening.

As well as showing some great films, the festival offers a fantastic excuse to get into some of the borough's more unusual venues, such as the former Deptford Town Hall, the King of Hearts Tattoo Parlour and the Sanford Housing Coop.

Most venues have limited capacity so tickets are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sound Tracks Festival
11 May

This music festival is based around the East London Line and features bands playing at venues near stops on the route, as well as acoustic performances on ELL trains from noon till 8pm.
Not strictly speaking free of charge - you need a wristband to access the venues and naturally you will have to pay for your ELL ticket to see the travelling bands.

Disappointingly the organisers seem to have focussed on the hip venues in Dalston, Hoxton and Peckham for the most part, with nothing around New Cross, although there are some acoustic bands performing at the wonderful Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, and you can experience an 'audio-visual sensation inspired by the northern lights' at Canada Water Library.

Uzbekistan: cultural insights photography exhibition at the Stephen Lawrence Centre.
22 April - 19 June

An exhibition of pictures by amateur photographer Kurshid Raupov offers a view of Uzbekistan's rich heritage through the lives of ordinary people.
Unfortunately the exhibition is only open during weekday office hours.

Goldsmiths & Lewisham: shared histories
24 April - 3 May

The intertwined histories of Goldsmiths, University of London and its local community in Lewisham are to be explored in a special exhibition of works of art and historical artefacts across four sites in New Cross and Deptford.

The collaborative exhibition, organised by the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, in partnership with the Goldsmiths Art Collections and the Lewisham Local History Society, offers an insight into the area as a centre of creative work over the past century.

According to organiser Dr Jenny Doussan, Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths: "Such histories, produced by virtue of inhabiting the same space, are often forgotten, yet their presence remains in the sometimes invisible accumulation of objects that comprise our environs.

"The Shared Histories exhibition restores visibility to a few such histories, bringing the past into the present and connecting dislocated spaces."

Each of the four sites - Goldsmiths' New Academic Building and 310 New Cross Road, New Cross Learning, and The Albany in Deptford - will be linked by interactive technology 'We Curate' that allows collective browsing of objects across all four installations.
More information in the press release here.

Deptford Community Cookbook - live demonstrations on Saturdays

There will be live cooking demos of recipes from the Deptford Community Cookbook every Saturday on the market next to the Codfather fish shop from about 11am onwards. And live cooking demos means...free samples!

Twitter account @deptfordmarket has more information (or alternatively follow @deptforddame for all your Deptford gossip and news!).

and finally (as they say)... classical music in a pub stylee

The Night Shift: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Amersham Arms
23 April

If you like classical music but hate the stuffy atmosphere of concert halls, this could well be for you. As the marketing blurb explains (in a somewhat flowery rhetoric): "The Night Shift returns to crush the rules of classical music like the fragile hearts of weeping Beliebers, for a night where audiences can drink, chat and clap when they want.

"With a programme also featuring classical A-Listers Handel and Purcell, it’s a rare opportunity to hear some of the world’s greatest composers played by top performers, in a relaxed pub atmosphere. Presented by James Redwood, the OAE players will also be improvising a new piece inspired by the music of the evening. There’ll even be a few drinking songs to finish the night off."

Black history month - local events

There's plenty going on in and around Deptford over the next few weeks for Black History Month - tomorrow's event at the Deptford Lounge caught my eye in particular. Deptford's maritime history is very much in focus at the moment, what with plans to build over the remains of our royal dockyard at Convoys Wharf, and the threat that the anchor on the high street will be sent back to Chatham, eliminating the last visual reminder of Deptford's considerable boat-building heritage.

Tomorrow night historian and novelist S I Martin will be talking about Deptford's black maritime history, and he will be accompanied by singer and spoken word performer El Crisis. It promises to be a fascinating evening.

I saw El Crisis performing this song at the Deptford Lounge some time ago - I think it was at the opening or some time around then - and it brought tears to my eyes.



Deptford Lounge 

18 October 7-8.30pm
Deptford’s black maritime history: S.I. Martin and El Crisis
Deptford’s black maritime history explored by S.I. Martin.

19 October 4-5pm
Bessie Coleman: story and paper plane mobile craft
Chatterbooks special for ages 8-11.

20 October 2-3pm
African Batik craft
Come and make your own African inspired pattern.

27 October 2-3pm
African landscape craft
Come and make an African landscape scene.

29 October 2-3pm and 3.30-4.30pm
Half Term Tour - Stories from Many Nations
Alison Blunt, internationally acclaimed musician and storyteller, presents stories and songs from many nations.

3 November 2-4pm
Black History Month Sing Out!
You can be part of a barnstorming sing-out performance at Deptford Lounge.

8 November 7-8.30pm Chibundo Onuzo and Noo Saro-Wiwa: Author event
Chibundo Onuzo and Noo Saro-Wiwa share the platform at Deptford Lounge to discuss their new books.


Moonshot Centre (Fordham Park)

27 October 12noon–9pm Moonshot family fun day
IRIE! Dance Theatre invite you to step back in time to the Moonshot Centre in the 70s and 80s.


New Cross Community Library 

30 October 3.45-4.30pm Half Term Tour - Stories from Many Nations
Alison Blunt, internationally acclaimed musician and storyteller, presents stories and songs from many nations.

Full listings and more details about all these events can be found on the council's website.

Upcoming events in Deptford

Apologies for absence over the last few weeks - sometimes real life just gets in the way and it's necessary to take a step back and let the blog drift for a while. With holidays coming up next week I'll be doing the same for another week or so, but don't worry I'll be back mid September, refreshed and ready to launch back into it.

In the meantime there's plenty going on in Deptford and surrounds, as well as London itself, to keep you busy over the next few weekends.

Albany Outdoors

This weekend (8-9 September) the Albany invites you to help celebrate its 30th birthday at its FREE outdoor weekend, with theatre, live music and family fun taking place in the squares and streets between the Albany and Deptford Lounge.

These include:


The Albany Bandstand Marathon
Red Herring's That's The Way To Do It!
Fanshen's Green and Pleasant Land
C-12 Dance Theatre's The Van Man
Uncover and Emergency Exit Arts' Tag It
MADCAP's Urban Village Fete

Find out more in the online brochure.


London Open House weekend

22-23 September
The annual favourite weekend of architecture and design buffs, budding historians, and nosy sods like me; find out what goes on behind the normally-closed doors of your home city.

Alongside plenty of exciting, grand buildings that will be open to the public in town, Deptford is pretty well represented. You can go up the Seager Distillery tower (the views from the top may be the only thing that commends it!), have a tour of Tidemill School and the Deptford Lounge, or pay a visit to the SE London Combined Heat & Power facility on Landmann Way off Surrey Canal Road. There's plenty more going on so take a look at the online listings to plan your day.

The Vanishing Point

On Saturday 15 September, the Vanishing Point presents an immersive screening of Silent Running using the rooftop and gallery spaces of Utrophia gallery (120 Deptford High Street, London, SE8 4NS) at 7.30pm.

The organisers say: "Silent Running is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull (noted for his stunning visual effects work on Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey) and is described by critic Mark Kermode as “One of my all time favourite movies and one of the greatest sci-fi films ever”. The event will feature interaction with crew members from The Valley Forge, garden areas, secret special musical guests, a blast off bar, food stalls and immersive installations inspired by the film. 

"Come along dressed in tie-dye or robot inspired costumes and get in at a reduced rate of £10 on the door! Advance tickets are available now through our website- www.thevanishingpoint.org.uk. Guests will be sitting on a rooftop during the screening and are invited to bring blankets and cushions for additional comfort."


Octopump 2 Festival at the Royal Albert

21-23 September
Something for the grown-ups with the second 'Octopump' festival taking place at one of my favourite local pubs. Already the list of beers on offer is making my mouth water, with Darkstar, Redemption, Vale, Thornbridge and Harviestoun all mentioned, as well as Kent, London Fields and By the Horns. Having spent most of a recent festival weekend supping Vale Pale Ale, I would be dead chuffed if I was able to get a pint or two in my local!

Rob from the Royal Albert says: "As last year the focus will be on the quality and selection of beer and cider as well as the following:

-Live music
-BBQ
-DJs
-Yard of ale shenanigans
-Drinks offers (buy seven pints get the eighth free!) (not all in one night I hope! - ed)
-Camra discounts
-Take away beer cartons
-The return of Holly the Hoptapus!

Also this year we will have an even bigger selection of beers and ciders as we will not only have our eight pumps (which seem a little old hat now) but we are clearing out space next door to rack ales and have a cider stall. There may even be a gazebo and a deck chair or two out front if you’re lucky."

The Great Greenwich Treasure Hunt

Finally, a little further afield - on Sunday 16th September Greenwich Oxfam Fundraising Group in conjunction with Visit Greenwich invites you to join The Great Greenwich Treasure Hunt.

The event is being sponsored by a number of local businesses with Goddard's Pies as the main sponsor; some 150 participants are expected to take part and the intention is to raise £1300 for Oxfam.

The treasure hunt will consist of a number of questions which teams must answer in the required time by visiting sites and businesses around Greenwich town centre. There will be some great prizes which have been donated by local businesses. These include a two course lunch with drinks for six at Goddard's restaurant and six tickets for any show at Greenwich Theatre. The recommended team size is four to six people and the event is suitable for all ages.

Tickets are on sale now at www.wegottickets.com/greenwichtreasurehunt and also in person from both the Greenwich Tourist Information Centre on the Old Royal Naval College site and the Greenwich Oxfam bookshop. They are priced at £8, £6 for students and £5 for under 16s. There are also family tickets available for £20 for up two adults and two under 16s. The organisers recommend you get your tickets in advance as the event is likely to sell out.

To get updates on the event 'like' the Facebook page www.facebook.com/GreatGreenwichTreasureHunt or email info.oxfamgreenwich@gmail.com to be added to the event mailing list.