More Deptford X

The Cost of Living at Deptford's new Arch Gallery. Great to have a new exhibition space; this show didn't really do it for me, although I enjoyed the surreal bone cutlery.


Deptford Marbles; Artmongers do the final touches to their mural, while Laban students provide the entertainment. There was also some symbolic planting and watering of flowers below the mural. Nice to see something happening in a rather unloved and underused part of Deptford.


Yinka Shonibare's White Flag at Half Mast (which as you can see, it was not - at half mast, that is - although the original on the South Bank was. I think this mast was a little too short.) I wondered what the flag was about, there being no interpretation, and I came to the conclusion that the idea was to mark the death of surrender or peace. Or perhaps that the white indicated purity. But according to something on the BBC Radio 4 website that I just read, it is all about rejecting the nationalistic connotations of flags, by proposing a white flag representing no particular country or boundaries. Why at half mast? I'm not sure.

Like the others who have blogged about this work, I felt that the significance of the art was overpowered by glorious views. Not only do you get a totally different view of Deptford from the top of the very narrow and steep stairs of the belltower, you also get a view into town that's as stunning as the one from Point Hill, coupled with a similarly breath-taking vision eastwards, extending down to the apartment blocks of Woolwich and the wind turbine at Dagenham.

A far more impressive and moving work was Matt Stokes' Cipher, and although I don't believe it was made specifically with the location in mind, it was given a powerful intensity from the fact that the film was shown in a narrow brick arch crypt below the church. The film - of organists playing what I'll loosely describe as damn spooky music in what was a rather spookily-lit church complete with silent, staring cherubs - would have been interesting to watch elsewhere, but would not have had me looking over my shoulder and feeling shivers down my spine as the vibrations of the music played out behind me. The space was so narrow and gloomy it had the air of some kind of air-raid shelter; the dark music added to this feeling, giving me the impression that the apocalypse was surely bearing down on the world as I sat there alone.

Another great film was Sarah Baker's Studs, which is showing at the Bearspace Gallery until next Saturday 25 October. It's a tribute to the Jackie Collins novel and with its split-screen format, glitz and cheesy interiors, is strongly reminiscent of shows like Dallas or Dynasty. Impossible not to be wooed by the Stud!



This lovely ceiling is part of the show by Joanna Sands at the Optician Gallery, which is also worth a look for its quirky wooden floor and views of St Pauls church.

Old shelter

One of the interesting things I learned from Ben Cummins' Pavement Sonnets (so far) was that this sign used to show the distance to the nearest air raid shelter. It's on the side of the Barclays Bank.

Considering the amount of bombing Deptford sustained in World War II, it was presumably very well-used.

The Hoy

Another day, another new venue to try!

The Dame stepped in for breakfast this sunny morning, on the way to Greenwich. Even at about 10am there were several people already enjoying the sunny and pleasant ambience, lounging on the big leather sofas or reading the paper at one of the tables.

The welcome was friendly and attentive, and as I waited to be served, I marvelled at how the woman behind the counter managed to be extremely patient and polite with a customer who was doing his best to patronise her. Yes, she explained, that WAS an Americano, it's just that the hot water came out with the coffee from the machine, it wasn't added later. Yes, that WAS cold milk she was using (and she brought it over to show him so that he could say exactly how much he wanted). You could tell he didn't think she knew what she was doing, and as I stood there wanting to say something sarcastic to him, I was reminded that that's why she works in a customer-facing environment and I don't! She even resisted the temptation to roll her eyes as he left the shop!

I was in the mood for a fried egg sandwich or something equally breakfasty, and although they couldn't offer me my fry-up choice (apparently bacon sandwiches are coming next week), between them the two members of staff gave me a few options until I settled on a panini with mozzarella, ham and pesto, and an Americano to drink, at the extremely reasonable price of £3 in total (coffees are around £1.60). The Americano was excellent and the panini, while made in a softer bread than is usually used, was tasty and fresh.

I sat in the window and watched the traffic go by; it was lovely and sunny and although I couldn't linger, it provided a pleasant stopover for a break. A nice one to return to, although unfortunately it won't be often until/unless they extend their opening hours to weekends or evenings.

The Duke - drinks review

The Duke on Creek Road is now open for business, and so a couple of nights ago the Geezer and I dropped in on our way back from an evening out in Greenwich to sample the ambience and have a beer.

If you remember the previous incarnation of the Duke, you will know that it had a rather small, unfriendly bar at the front, albeit with plenty of light from the large windows. I'm not sure if there were any rooms at the back - I was never tempted to explore - but the new Duke's interior bears no resemblance to it former state, it could be a different place altogether. (In fact the website has some interesting before and after photos as well as lots of pictures of the building work).

It is now owned by the same company that owns The Dartmouth Arms in Forest Hill and the Dolphin in Sydenham, neither of which I am familiar with.

The route to the front door leads through a fenced outdoor area, overlooking the road and the oversize dancers that are currently adorning the hoardings of the Creekside-Village-to-be.

Inside, the first thing you notice is the cavernous size of the bar - the back area has been opened up into a huge dining room, providing plenty of space for enjoying the gastro aspect of the pub. The bar has been lengthened and moved by 90 degrees so that it is against the partition wall, and the stairwell has been left drifting in the middle of the room, with access upstairs to the toilets.

The decor ticks all the gastropub boxes; the slightly shabby and unmatched chairs and dining tables; the black, white and green colour scheme; the cast iron columns; the feature wall with quirky print wallpaper; not to mention the sofas in the corner (not enough comfy chairs in my opinion, a few more would be good).

We got a friendly welcome, and I was offered a menu to look at when I asked if they were serving food yet, even though I said I wasn't going to be eating tonight. As well as a variety of lagers, they were serving three real ales; I tried the London Pride, which was as good as it should be. I can't remember what the others were, but they were fairly standard offerings.

The place was fairly busy - the clientele mostly students plus a rather lairy group at the bar whom I suspect were regulars of the old Duke. As we sat and enjoyed our drinks, the lights were dimmed and the usual tea-lights brought round for the tables. It made for a rather pleasant ambience.

Although we didn't eat, we did browse the menu in preparation for a proper return visit. One thing I should point out is that the Duke might be on Deptford's side of the Creek, but it is very much respecting its location in Greenwich borough, particularly in terms of prices! Main courses ranged from about £9 up to £14 or so - an acceptable amount to pay if the food lives up to it. One of my main complaints about the pubs in Greenwich, particularly the Greenwich Inc brand, is that the quality of food rarely matches the expectation generated by its price-tag! As well as lunch and dinner offerings, the Duke is also planning a £10.95 Sunday lunch special.

I'll be back with a food review after the Geezer's payday; he has promised to treat me!

All change on Creek Road

After a tip-off by a commenter on the Greenwich Phantom's post about the Deptford Project, I popped down Creek Road on my bike this evening to check out the new incarnation of The Hoy.

What was once a modest and rather shabby little pub is due to reopen tomorrow as a cafe serving sandwiches, panini and pies, proper coffee and from the looks of the stand inside the door, LOADS of crisps! The interior is unrecognisable apart from the cast iron columns - all the walls painted white to make it light and airy, there is a counter and fridges in the front and tables in the back, and even the entrance has been moved to the corner to provide more room for outdoor seating area customers, albeit with a view of the traffic. The Dame will report back with a review in due course.

My one visit to the Hoy when it was a pub was fairly unremarkable; the main reason it didn't get a second visit was the lack of real ale on offer. It was friendly enough despite its shabby appearance, and even the customers who weren't particularly friendly erred more on the side of 'I'm resigned to my fate' rather than 'I've got a load of pent-up aggression that I'm desperate to vent on someone'.

Which segues nicely into the other formerly-shabby hostelry of Creek Road. Likewise the Duke merited only one visit from myself and the Geezer in its former incarnation. It too had no real ale on offer, but it was the pub's rather edgy atmosphere and unwelcoming interior that put us off returning.

Now I give you; The Duke - pub AND DINING ROOM!



Its interior has been extensively remodelled, and although the place is not open yet, it looks like it won't be long before we can sample its wares. Repainted in a black and white palette with fancy wallpaper inside, the reborn Duke has the appearance of your average wannabe gastro-pub. It also has a fenced-off outdoor seating area for the smokers, and a fancy new pub sign.

Well, plenty of new places to try out, all in the name of research, natch. It's a tough job, etc etc

*Still on the subject of Creek Road, by the way, Cycles UK is intending to open a shop in the new building between the Duke and the Hoy, although for several weeks now it has just been a banner over an empty shop. One Greenwich Cyclists member described Cycles UK as 'the Harrods of cycle shops'. I hope that doesn't mean that it sells vulgar tat at hugely inflated prices - or that it has a shrine to Diana & Dodi in one corner....

The Bear Cafe

You may remember that the Bear Cafe on Deptford High Street was closed over the summer, although initial rumours that it was gone for ever proved unfounded, and the Dame was informed by new manager Dale that it would reopen in September with some 'new, tasty delights' as well as the old favourites.

Well it has been back on the scene for a month now, but today was the first day I had chance to check it out for my lunch.

For those of you who loved the old Bear Cafe, there is excellent news; the only noticeable difference at the front is that there are new folks serving behind the counter. But if, like me, you are going in search of the new tasty delights, I'm not entirely sure you will find anything to satisfy you.

A full review will be forthcoming in due course - today I just couldn't whip up any enthusiasm for beetroot and feta salad so I went to the Deptford Project instead for my salad box. Their salads are still fairly run of the mill but they don't have loads of cheese in, and the dressings seem lighter. More importantly they seem to have resolved some of the issues with staffing which kept me away in the past when I was on my lunch break. They have more staff and they are working much more efficiently. No-one on a 1-hour lunchbreak wants to spend a quarter of that valuable time watching the amount of faffing that I have seen there in the past.

First report

The start of Ben Cummins' fabulous audio tour Pavement Sonnets. I'm halfway through it, saving the rest for another day. And the golden ball hidden in the shrubbery on the left is one of many dotted around Deptford as part of the work by Fran Cottell.


Creekside Centre's open day today; one of the occasional days when the Thames Barrier is closed all day means the Creek has been at 'low tide' all day. If you missed the open day, you might be interested in getting involved with the Creek clean-up day which is happening next Sunday (details on the website).




Deptford X retrospective, and open studios, at the APT gallery.


Following the Pavement Sonnets: a couple more golden balls.


Katie Gilman's 10,597 in the middle of the roundabout outside the Bird's Nest pub.


Can you spot the balls on these (above and below)? You might need to click the pictures to make them bigger.




Memorial to the unknown shopper, by Patrick Semple. In one of the arches of the carriage ramp behind the Deptford Project.



Part of the exhibition 'Gaffs' which is also on show in the space behind the Deptford Project.


Don't forget that most of the shows and events continue for several weeks, so plenty of time to get down to the High Street and check them out!

Deptford X

A quick reminder that Deptford X is now on, running for several weeks and including a huge programme of installations, events and shows all around the area.

The website has got loads of information on it about what is going on, there is a really excellent programme of stuff, and I hope to bring you pictures, news and reports from it over the next few weeks.

I'm delighted that it's running over a longer period and am looking forward to enjoying the buzz it creates.

Badger

The very talented Howard Hardiman - sometime knitter, local garden-sharer and Brockley blogger - has published his first book!

Badger has been present on Howard's blog for some time, shuffling around in his rather melancholic way, but now he's made it into print, with the publication of this book. It's the story of a lonely badger living in a flat in South London - apparently inspired by Howard's former residence. I am happy to report that he (Howard that is) now lives in a much nicer-looking abode, with a soon-to-be-well-kept garden. I'm not sure about Badger. His demeanour reminds me of the old man I used to see in the building across the road from my old flat. He was in a pokey little kitchen below ground, and it had a strip of window at pavement level. Sometimes when it was hot, he would do his cooking in the nude. It was a weird, puzzling and rather sad sight and I used to worry he might splash himself with hot oil.

But I digress.

As befits the occasion, Howard will be having an official launch of Badger on 30 September upstairs at the Retro Bar, which is just off the Strand. He'll be there from 6pm onwards with books for sale, signed by the author if so desired.

Even if you can't make it, do browse Howard's new site at Cutebutsad where you can see more examples of his sad little creatures.

Ten years of Deptford X/Cockpit Arts open days

A date for the diary: Deptford X will run from 26 September to 19 October, and the local arts event will celebrate its 10th birthday this year!

The launch party will take place at the APT Gallery on Creekside, on Thursday 25 Sept from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This includes the opening of the Deptford X retrospective exhibition and the presentation of the MacDonald Egan award. Apparently an audio walk and map will be available from the website, I suggest checking back nearer the time. There is a good line-up including artists such as Yinka Shonibare, whose work I am looking forward to seeing.

During the event, the Bearspace Gallery will be showing a video installation 'Studs' by Sarah Baker, inspired by the Jackie Collins novel of the same name. At the Bearspace website you can even read Sarah's blog about the process of making the film.

Naturally Cockpit Arts is joining in the fun, with open days on 20 and 21 September from 11 till 6 (this is actually intended to celebrate London Fashion Week, London Design Festival and Open House week) - see the huge range of fabulous designer/makers at work in their studios, all for free! They are having another open weekend at the beginning of December, so if you can't go in September, there's still time to buy christmas presents later in the year!