Deptford delicatessen

Just a few days ago I was bemoaning the loss of Deptford Properly (again!). Today I am delighted to be able to report on the opening of a new business in the same location.

I have occasionally harped on about the woeful inadequacy of Deptford High Street shops when it comes to cheese, ham and wine. We may have fresh fish and exotic vegetables galore, and the quirky groceries of Housewives Cash & Carry continue to delight, but when it comes to Mediterranean foods, it is a veritable desert!

But not any more! Ladies & gents, please join me in welcoming the Deptford Deli!



One of my readers alerted me to the presence of the deli, which apparently opened last weekend. I was quite surprised about it, having been down to Wellbeloved's butchers the very same day and not having noticed it. (They are going to have to ramp up the marketing a bit if they are going to get the passing trade!)

So I made a special trip yesterday to check it out - and I was not disappointed! As well as a cafe area where you can sit and drink coffee and eat delicious-looking cakes and muffins, there is a well-stocked fridge and shelves selling a much wider variety of food than you could imagine would fit into a shop of that size.



As well as various cold meats and salami, and a range of cheeses, the fridge also contains bowls of tasty-looking dips etc sold by weight (humous, vegan pesto and so on).

On the shelves, as well as fresh bread, are jars of Deptford Creek Honey, jams and chutneys, mincemeat (and vegetarian suet if you want to make your own), fresh bread, Nairns oatcakes and other biscuits, Rocks organic cordials, olive oils, vinegars, coffees and teas, and even boxes of clementines and tomatoes stacked up on the floor. This is only a tiny fraction of what they are selling; I urge you to go down there and check it out. There is a friendly welcome by the owners, who also run Feast Your Eyes at the Laban Centre.



The quality of the goods they are selling is of course reflected in the price, but I found it reasonable compared with the places I usually go for this kind of food - the Cheeseboard on Royal Hill and the Italian deli stall in Greenwich market, for example - and without the time and effort needed to get there.

Finally, to make my delight complete - I understand that they are intending to get a licence to sell alcohol, so good wine on the doorstep might be coming soon!

***Updated 13/1/09
I sampled the food at the weekend and am delighted to report that it lives up to all expectations. The blackboard menu suggests that it changes regularly; I had the pork and chorizo stew which was served with rice and salad, and was excellent value at just £6 for a large dish. The menu included soup, a smoked fish platter, and a vegetarian option, among others, and they also offer sandwiches made from deli-counter ingredients, and cakes of course. The coffee is also excellent quality, and very good value at £1.40 for a small cappucino.

Wavelengths customer forum

Just a reminder about the customer forum at Wavelengths leisure centre tomorrow evening, Thursday 11 Dec.

The manager, Clare Motton, will be available to answer questions and take your comments about the pool, gym, classes etc etc.

She will be available from 6pm onwards, however if, like me, you cannot get there until 7 or later you will probably miss her, unless the turnout is more than the half dozen who came to the last forum. She is more than happy to take feedback and answer queries by telephone, which I found out today.

As well as raising the issue of opening hours (which I fear is not going to change any time soon), I suggested that the weekly timetable for the fitness pool should be put on display. At the moment the timetable, which shows the availability of lanes throughout the day, is kept behind the reception desk. She took on board the fact that it would be more useful if it was visible, so that swimmers would have more information to help them plan their visit (recently I found myself sharing the pool with a local swimming club who had booked half of it for a three-hour block in the middle of Sunday). Of course it would be even more useful if this information was on the website so we could find out without having to go to the pool, but it's a start.

Finally I mentioned the showers, which have been cold on recent visits. Apparently someone was there (again) today, trying to fix them; like the opening hours it seems this could be a bigger problem than was originally envisaged.

Deptford photography archive

A very pleasing synergy occurred today, when I found out about Jane Laine's project to create a digital archive of photographs of the Deptford area. She wants to collect photographs of Deptford, the people who live and have lived here, their homes and their lives. Jane had a stall at the Deptford Project christmas market to promote her project and to ask people to dig out their photos and bring them along to a collection day at the Albany in January.

If you want to participate, come along to the Albany Theatre on 21 or 23 January, from 10 till 6, and bring your photos!

Jane was keen to point out that this is not just a case of wanting to collect faded, sepia photos from the distant past; she is also keen to archive the here and now. The area is changing so much that it is also important to record Deptford as it is today. To prove this point, I offer a very recent photograph of something which is now, sadly, history.



Jane's plans link seamlessly with the collection of photographs I was sent by Steve Golton after my post about the Royal Albert pub (formerly the Paradise Bar and before that, the Royal Albert!). Steve told me that he had a collection of photos from the 80s of a band called Rubber Johnny that used to play regularly at the venue.


(Photo courtesy of Steve Golton)

Steve has scanned the pictures and uploaded them here - he is also on a quest to get in touch with any of the former band members. You can contact him via Flickr, or leave a comment for him here!

Dog & Bell/Camra pickle festival

(The Dame's homemade mincemeat - best eaten hot in pies)

As if Deptford needed more excitement this weekend, it's the world-renowned Dog & Bell/SE London Camra pickle festival on Saturday!

For those pickle festival virgins, let me explain. Assorted hopefuls bring home-made bread, pickles, chutneys and preserves to the Dog & Bell on Prince St, and several large slabs of cheese are provided.

Everyone present then samples the aforementioned goodies, and votes on their favourites. There are also categories for arts and crafts, the entries for which are not eaten, just scored by people in the pub.

Winners are announced, certificates are distributed, and more beer is drunk.

Everyone goes home, replete!

If you've never visited the D&B, it's a great excuse to try out their wonderful selection of ales while snacking on some fabulous pickles and breads. But get there early, otherwise it is standing room only.

Submit your entries between 7.15pm and 8pm; judging starts at 8.30.

Deptford Christmas 6&7 December 2008

Next weekend is the first Deptford Christmas event, organised and partially hosted by the Deptford Project.

A yurt at the Deptford Project will be the venue for Snow Stories performances morning and afternoon on both days, and there will be a Christmas market in Giffin Square and at the DP throughout the weekend.

'Home-made fairground games and clowing around' will be taking place from midday onwards Saturday and Sunday and if you want to get your own home-made Christmas decorations on show, bring them along to the Deptford Project where they will be hung up on their festive wall.

Arts and crafts for kids are promised from 11am on Saturday in Giffin Square, and at 4pm the grand switch-on of the lights on the Christmas tree will take place, with Snow White as the guest of honour.

It seems there will be festive music from carol singers and a band over the weekend, not to mention Santa in a grotto at the Deptford Project. More info here.

Don't forget it's Cockpit Arts open studios the same weekend - another great reason to pop along to Deptford for a visit!

Once you are tired of shopping, how about some art?

Bearspace is showing Raising Ground while APT Gallery has a show by Emyr Williams.

Vote for Deptford Park!

Deptford Park is one of 47 across London that have been shortlisted by the Greater London Authority for the chance to win a bit of extra cash.

It's one of the two in Lewisham that have been shortlisted, but it needs your vote if it's going to win! Only ten of the shortlisted parks will win funding, so it's up to us to make our voices heard!

I reported earlier this year about the masterplan that has been drawn up for the park. Funding was secured for the first phases, but additional money could pay for

* a new pergola and shelter;
* new seating;
* improvements to the play area including natural play features;
* colourful 'picture meadow';
* fruit trees;
* community food growing plots.

Investment funding of up to £400,000 each is on offer.

Londoners can vote to choose which parks get the £400,000 simply by logging on to www.london.gov.uk/parksvote, by text message or by postal vote. Voting closes on Friday 30 January 2009.

The Dame says go along and vote, and good luck to Lewisham Council for this initiative.

Just don't try and sneak anything into my leasehold bill for it afterwards!

Lewisham Homes "resident-led" programme of works

I suspect that some of the regular readers of this blog might be leaseholders or tenants of Lewisham Homes, the arm's length management organisation that took over ownership of some of Lewisham Council's housing stock a couple of years ago.

This is particularly relevant to Deptford, since the vast majority of its council housing - the Pepys and Evelyn estates which stretch west from the High Street towards the river, and the Crossfields estate on the east, among others, are all now owned and run by Lewisham Homes. And the Dame's limited experience, so far, had suggested that it was an improvement on the service offered when the council was in charge.

Those readers who are Lewisham Homes residents may well be aware of its ongoing 'resident-led' programme or works. Essentially, we were told earlier this year, we were being given £500,000 to spend on improvements to our estates, and residents were going to decide how it should be spent.

Individuals, residents associations and local groups were invited to put forward their proposals for improvements, and bid for a slice of the pie. At the end of the summer, the winning schemes were announced - and the funding was split between the north and the south of the borough. Residents were even involved in the judging panel which decided where the money should be spent.

Two projects won funding on Evelyn estate, the Dame's demesne. A community garden (nice idea!) and a dog run (unnecessary - we already have one and it has become a grubby, misused strip of mud). Letters were sent out asking for feedback from residents - did we think the projects were a good idea or not?

But one MAJOR piece of information that has been left out of all correspondence and publicity so far is the fact that leaseholders will have to pay towards these works! Only a thorough read of the article on the next to the last page of the recent Homes magazine revealed the true state of play.



Believe me, this has NOT been communicated to leaseholders. They believe, as they have been led to, that this money is 'free of charge' from Lewisham Homes. They are NOT expecting to see it in their maintenance bill next year, or the year after for that matter. And quite frankly, in the case of a dog run, why should they?

According to our leasehold agreement, we must pay for the upkeep and repair of the building in which we live (fair enough, even if sometimes the charges NO WAY represent value for money, but that's for another day), and we must also pay for the MAINTENANCE of the estate on which we live. I understand that to mean cutting the grass, picking the litter, mending broken fences etc. Not building a community garden or a dog run.

Aside from anything else, to offer money for improvements and then ask leaseholders to pay towards it is a very divisive policy: tenants who want to see improvements will be pushing the schemes while leaseholders will be resisting them or resenting them. Not the best way to create and strengthen communities.

Despite being an out-and-out cynic, I suspect the failure to communicate this information properly is the result of a cock-up rather than a conspiracy. But it is shockingly lax of our freeholders to let this slip through - especially since they have scored very low on services to leaseholders in the past. It does suggest that they are not getting any better.

A campaign is being launched by leaseholders against this inappropriate levy; for more information contact me at the email address shown in the left hand column.

Deptford Station redevelopment - is the beginning in sight?

The saga of the proposed redevelopment of Deptford Station has been grinding on for several years now, but the latest planning permission application is due to come before Lewisham's planning committee this Thursday.

This application covers the demolition of the existing station building and the construction of a new one, incorporating the top part of the listed carriage ramp, as well as the refurbishment of the platforms and canopies. Instead of entering the station from the high street, the intention is that passengers will enter the new building at the junction of the carriage ramp and the train line (the carriage ramp in question was built to enable horse-drawn carriages to access the platform level of the station, and is the only one remaining out of three that were built in London. It can be seen from the west end of the London-bound platform or through the security gates to the left of the station building at ground level).

Originally the station redevelopment was tied in with the proposed construction of a new 8-storey building next to the carriage ramp, by developer Cathedral Group, and (from what I understand from the documents) the last time an application was submitted, in 2005, the planning committee recommended that permission be granted subject to the two being formally linked. In effect, the council wanted to ensure that the station redevelopment and the refurbishment of the remainder of the carriage ramp and the station yard would happen at the same time. But it seems Cathedral Group wasn't having any of it, and as the document coyly puts it, this agreement 'was not entered into'.

As we know, Cathedral Group is (was?) intending to launch an arts and crafts market in the station yard, but this has yet to materialise. As for the Octavia Street development (intended to create live/work units which will make use of the arches under the carriage ramp and create a new public plaza) a separate planning application may be forthcoming next year.

Overall I think it would be a good thing to have a new residential building next to the carriage ramp although I am slightly perturbed by the proposed height of it, which does not scale well with any of the surrounding buildings. It would have been good to have both projects progressing at the same time, but I feel it is more important to try and get the station redevelopment going if the apartments are going to lag behind, which seems even more inevitable in the current economic climate.

The station badly needs improvement; it is grotty and unattractive, difficult to access even for those of us with full mobility (ever been late for your train?!) and as well as being depressing for users, it gives a very poor impression of Deptford to anyone passing through. No wonder only 175 people on average use it in the peak period of 8am to 9am - one of the facts in the application documents - although going on the usual state of trains at this time, I would suggest that this is pretty much capacity or perhaps above!

**Incidentally, plans for the redevelopment of the area around Giffin Street are also going to be considered at the same meeting. Of which more later.

Cockpit Arts - pre-christmas open studios

Cockpit Arts will be having an open studios weekend on 5-7 December at the site in Creekside; you might also want to make a trip up to Holborn to see some of the other designer-makers in action at the other site on 28-30 November. Hot drinks and snacks supplied as usual by East Dulwich Deli (which to me always seems a bit mad since surely we have plenty of good caterers in Deptford and Greenwich?)

It's £3 admission at Deptford, or £5 for a ticket for both sites.

A great place to go if you are looking for a really special christmas present.

Feast your eyes: Laban cafe

A cold but sunny midweek lunchtime offered the perfect excuse to stroll over to the Laban Centre and have lunch at 'Feast your eyes', the cafe in the front of the building.

Apart from the banner on the front gate of the building, this cafe is not really very well advertised, and even when you get to the front door of the Laban Centre, you could be forgiven for thinking the cafe is just for students and staff of the centre. But if you persevere past the security desk and halfway down the corridor on the right, you find the door into the light and airy space with huge glass walls that forms the cafe seating area.

The menu is fairly similar to that in the Albany Cafe (so much so that I wonder if they are run by the same company) - in that there is always a soup of the day, a range of sandwiches, and a choice of two or three mains, at least one of them veggie, and a range of salads that also change daily.

Yesterday's soup, for example, was Spanish lentil, and the choice of mains was pasta with mushrooms, lemon and caper chicken, or three-bean enchillada, which was my choice. It was a huge wrap containing a tomato sauce with chick peas, kidney beans and rice (and presumably some other bean but it didn't stay on the plate long enough for me to find out) and smothered with a delicious cheesy sauce. It came with mixed leaves in a very tasty lemon and mustard dressing and cost just under a fiver (there are discounts for staff and students).

They also have a great range of drinks, including various organic juices (I had pear) and because they are served by the glass rather than in individual bottles, they are very reasonably priced. I haven't tried the cakes or biscuits, but they look quite tasty if you have room, and of course there are hot drinks, including a wide range of different types of tea.

I particularly like the fact that they do their best to discourage waste, charging for disposable cups or takeaway boxes (which makes me wonder - do students bring their own thermos cups or plastic boxes?! I can't imagine it happening somehow..!)

It's not usually a problem finding a seat in the large, airy room which has plenty of stylish white chairs and tables where you can sit and look through the glass cladding to the Quaggy, or to the landscaped grounds outside. It's a well-used facility, you will usually be sharing with groups of dance students or staff from the centre, and it gives the place a very pleasant buzz. My one slight criticism would be that whoever chose the chairs was thinking about them very much as a style statement, not in terms of practicality - they have those 'bucket' type seats, which means they cannot be pushed under the table out of the way when they are not being used, and you are limited as to how close you can sit to your food. This can be an important consideration if you are as clumsy as me!

The other thing that's slightly irksome is the fact that it's not totally clear which of the staff do what, and the cashier often ends up adding salad to plates, or fetching drinks for people. This isn't great if you are waiting to pay and your hot food is going cold.

All in all, though, worth walking a little bit further for (and hey, it's a nice walk anyway!). The food is excellent and the dining experience much more pleasant than the gloominess of the Albany's main room, or the back of the Bear Cafe.