Exciting SE11 Threewheeled Announcement

Well, I promised an exciting announcement, so please don't be too disappointed...

The threewheeled one will actually be moving to the SE11 area semi-permanently (we have to do a house move, which is actually just some logistics about hwo to move 4000 books), either on, or at some stage prior, to August 31st. This means that there will be no more unsatisfactory trips across London on fact finding missions, and hopefully, there will be a lot more photographs from the Kennington, Oval, Vauxhall triangle. I will be able to actually get out a little more on the bicycle and explore a few of the Vauxhall corners of SE11 that are not sufficiently known to me at present (the excitement mounts...)

So, erm, yay!

I'm still working at ways to improve SEO (search engine optimisation) in order to increase the traffic to this blog just to try and ensure some more readers (and hopefully comments). It would be great to hear if people wanted a review, photo or comment on any particular area. One of the issues with the blog is that it seems very old fashioned (in any corner of the web) to produce pages about a particular geographic location. If I was posting about George Bush, sex, porn, celebrities, breaking news or conservative vs. labour politics, I'd probably have a high readership. However, the internet (probably through sheer design) seems biased in favour of "interest" groups as opposed to geographic locations. I'm identified by a "blogspot.com" address as opposed to a "blog.southeast.london.uk" style address. That makes things a little more democratic; we don't judge what people say, based on their location... However, I want a blog that encourages people to look around them, and know their neighbours, and build communities, and stuff like that, so I really want to target readers in SE11, and it's proving difficult...

SW8 - Guildford Road death - furthur information

Furthur to the post made last night, it now appears that furthur information (from amongst other sources) ThisisLondon and Wimbledon Guardian has been released on the 18 year old male, stabbed in Guildford Street last night.

The man's name was Frederick Moody (and he was known as Freddy). He had studied for a short time at Kingston University, and was due to start work as an apprentice in the Construction Industry.

There are various "eye-witness" and "the neighbour said" results floating around the web, but I figure it will all be in the papers soon enough...

My prayers and thoughts are with the friends and family of Freddy, and with the friends and family of the 16 year old currently in custody. This sort of crime can only be described as scandalous in our society. It is a scandal that such a young life should be held in such low regard that it might be taken in this way. It is also a scandal that somebody did not become involved in the life of perpetrator(s) a little earlier in order to prevent them considering knives an option.

I want people to talk about the courage that young people require, not so much to kill, but to refuse to kill. It takes courage to live, to study, to get a job, especially in some areas of South London. It's a responsibility placed squarely on the shoulders of the entirety of London to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to grow in communities of virtue that promote the courage to protect, and not the courage to kill.

Edit: An online memorial site has been put up for tributes to Freddy Moody.

SW8 - Guildford Road stabbing

The BBC reported about an hour ago, and the Guardian a little bit later that a man (probably in late teens) was fatally stabbed in Guildford Road (SW8) at around 19:00 this evening. The reports say South West London, but most readers will be aware that that's only down the road in the area that falls between Vauxhall and Stockwell.

The Guardian report also notes that it will be the 21st teenage stabbing if the guy turns out to be under eighteen.

Another one. One too many. Somebody's somebody.

We can talk about knife crime as much as we like, but it doesn't seem to solve anything. Peace isn't easy to come by.

I have a friend who lives in Guildford Road. I hope she's ok.

SE11 to be green? SE11 to stay polluted?

Whilst we're still on the edge of our seats awaiting the results of the Cross River Tram review, Boris Johnson has been busy...

He has abolished the proposed congestion charge for large, gas guzzling four wheel drives, and decided to prevent small cars from being exempt from the charge. So that should keep the residents of Kensington and Chelsea happy... Phew. However, in order to still be seen as keen, green and good for the planet, he has proposed some more "low carbon zones". There appears to be rather little information around at the moment on their exact location, but "Elephant and Castle" has been suggested as a "low carbon" area over at the Building website.

We won't have any more details info. on the zones until September, but the question of interest is "what geographical location counts as Elephant and Castle?". If Elephant and Castle extends down Kennington Lane, Kennington Park Road, (or implausibly Kennington Road), then SE11 might be set to become a little quieter and greener too. If SE11 does not count as E&C, the question remains open; does it mean big heavy trucks won't bother passing through SE11 to reach the Elephant, or does it mean that they will all stop/park/remain in SE11 to avoid entering Elephant and Castle?

Watch this space.

Pigeons

Mr Onion Bag has a post (and some photos) relevant to this area about some cardboard pigeons, constructed under Vauxhall Bridge and speculation as to who put them there.

I passed under that bridge the other day and wonder the same thing, but I think that the cardboard pigeons look a little sinister. I wonder whether they actually work in deterring pigeons.

Does anybody else have any knowledge on who put them there?

Battersea Tube Home?

There's an article in today's Kennington news journal about the proposed tube extension to Battersea, which would apparently be paid for by some developers who want to put a vile building next to the lovely (but somewhat derelict) power station.

Here is a picture of the lovely Battersea power station, taken from Wikipedia:



Here is a picture of the vile building (with the power station to the right) that some people want to place in Battersea:



Now, as a self-confessed public transport geek, it would be grand to see a development of the Northern Line from Battersea to Kennington, but I want to raise a few issues that I think may be shared by other Londoners:

1. The wonderful development of a new tube station at Battersea, funded through private finance, is a waste of money when one considers that the tube could be extended much furthur than just one stop. Once one has begun digging underground, and arranged labour, material, machinery and civil engineers, one might as well go a lot furthur south. If TFL could get government money for tube expansion (or even tram lines), we wouldn't have to be so grateful to private finance for such suggestions as new bits of tube.

2. Extending the tube by one segment of line and one station just does not justify the monstrous building that has been suggested. I'm actually in favour of new housing/buildings in London, but I have one condition for all buildings. Buildings should not be considerably higher than those already surrounding them. SE11 has got off lightly because of the historic nature of its buildings, but poor Elephant and Castle is about to be dwarfed. So if you want the rocket monstrosity meant for Battersea, put it in Canary Wharf, not Battersea. I do not object to new housing, but I don't understand why new housing has to be very tall skyscrapers. Such skyscrapers are simply not designed to promote community or shared life, and I think that they're a really bad idea.

3. If the height of the building were not bad enough, there is the beautiful power station to consider. Would anybody really contemplate building the rocket next to Buckingham Palace, or Big Ben? No. Of course not. But because this is South London, and the area is in need of regeneration, it's considered that anything goes...

I really am in favour of the tube station at Battersea, (although I have no idea how long it might shut Kennington tube and/or the Northern line for) and in favour of regeneration (if it can be proven to benefit the disenfranchised of Battersa), but that building is too large a price to pay.

And finally... I discovered a really great little map, posted by somebody on the Urban75 forum, which shows all of the proposed transport links in London by 2016 if, by some miracle all of the funding were secured. The proposed Cross River Tram line is in a groovy purple colour.

Friends of Groups in Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall (includes SE1, SE11 and SW8)

If you ever visit one of the SE11 fetes, fairs, festivals, events in the park etc. there are always numerous tables, staffed by a number of determined looking people, who run "friends of..." groups in the area... If you've only just arrived, you could do worse than joining one of the groups. However, you should be cautious in your choice as if you're persuaded to join all of them, you could find yourself without any time whatsoever!

I've made a list of the current "Friends of" groups in SE11 (and a few on the borders in SE1 and SW8) that I currently know to exist, and a little about what they're currently doing. I don't quite know who is still operating and whether the "friends" are historical remnants or currently active. Please do leave a comment if I missed your group and want it added or have furthur current information:

Friends of Kennington Cross - (Website is a shell at prseent (Sept 2010). They're currently working on the ArtsLav project - reviving the disused lavatory on Kennington Cross).

Friends of Spring Gardens -   An old site from 2004 which was replaced in 2010 by the Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (the original name for Spring Gardens)

Friends of Lambeth Open Space (SE11) - The website/blog has not been updated since 2005. I don't know whether they are still active.

Friends of Durning Library (SE11) - The link is generic and takes you to a library website with contact details for all of the "friends of" library groups in Lambeth. I know that there are regular talks which are put on by the Friends of Durning Library, but there are currently no details online. If you're local, the best thing to do is check the library notice board.

Friends of Roots and Shoots (SE11) - A direct link to their website. Joining provides a newsletter, pre-arranged access to the garden etc. The website provides a calendar for up and coming events.

Friends of Kennington Park (SE11) - A very active group who support and look to improve Kennington Park.

Friends of Imperial War Museum (SE1) Lots of information on their website.

Friends of Archbishop's Park (SE1) - New(ish) website.  I updated this post in September 2010.

Friends of Vauxhall Park (SW8) - Website is back up again.

Friends of Lollard Street Adventure Playground (SE11) - (No web site as yet, but much of their activity is co-ordinated in conjunction with the Kennington Association

Friends of Lambeth High Street Recreation Ground (SE11) - Formed approx. March 2010,

United Friends of Oval (SW8) - This group appears no longer to be active (September 2010).  Website (July 2008) reports that they're actively attempting to resist the development of badly thought out plans for a hotel at The Oval, but would welcome better a thought-out hotel

Friends of Kennington Green - (Doesn't currently exist, but has been mooted according to Google, July 2008)

Iknit from Bonnington Square to Lower Marsh

Not SE11 related, but we wandered out to the wonderful haven of Bonnington Square, SW8, the other day, past where the Iknit knitting shop used to be. I'm not really into knitting, but the Iknit people are, and they've made knitting into something of a social activity again, so they deserve lots of points, because that can't be such an easy feat. And also, they're a local venture which, whilst based around business, appear to have a focus upon building the old fashioned community notion of "common good". Yay for them.

I always thought that the shop suited Bonnington Square (which is a beautiful tranquil jungle in Vauxhall), but they've been so successful in promoting their business that they've upped and moved to SE1. This is entirely forgivable because they've gone to the lovely Lower Marsh, one of /the/ best shopping streets in London, where you can do things like buy real books (Crockatt and Powell), healthy food (Coopers - if you go in early enough), coffee surrounded by Vespas (Scooterworks), vintage things (Radio Days - an utterly fabulous shop), real proper menswear (Trussons - and they're not rude about selling to women) and some outrageous outfits for visiting your granny (Honor). So Iknit are there now too, and the street gets huge marks for having relatively few chain stores. (Yes, I really think Lower Marsh, Waterloo is much cooler than Oxford Street, but being that the Three Wheeled One is the exemplification of anti-cool, that's not saying much).

Being an anti-essentials-consumer (where essentials for me are basically food, books and second hand clothes), I'm happy to report that all of those shops are shops where browsing is possible and one is not pestered! And for people that really like old fusty book shops, do check out "Second hand books" in 20 Lower Marsh, where they probably win my award for the friendliest welcome in London! (Ahem)

North Lambeth Parish fete - Lambeth Palace - photos

I do admit that I have added Lambeth Palace to the map, even though it's not strictly SE11. I'm not sure if I've ever commented that whoever drew the postcode boundaries drew them in such a way that SE11 was denied any views of the river! Consequently, there is a thin slice of SE1 that runs down the Albert Embankment to Vauxhall, and that slice includes Lambeth Palace. Also, another interesting fact is that Lambeth Parish doesn't sit in anybody's diocese, it's sort of its own realm. I wonder if they take in exiles... A pertinent question!

Anyhow, the palace does get a special mention on the map, and the incumbant of Lambeth Palace seems to allow (not sure if it was just this year, or whether it has been ongoing) the Parish of North Lambeth (an amagulmation of St Peter's (Vauxhall), St Anselm (Kennington Cross) and St Mary (Lambeth - Methodist/Anglican)) to hold its fete.

We went very briefly on Saturday, mostly because it was a bit of a rush to get from the fete to the London ordinations elsewhere in the afternoon! Here are a few snaps of the fete, and a couple of lovely ones of the garden in full bloom. Will try to make it back some other time to take more photos of the gardens, because they're lovely. The fete was well organised with South London Jazz orchestra, cake stalls, bric-a-brac, strawberries and cream, tombola, raffle etc. It was exactly what one would hope for in a traditional English (in the absolutely broadest sense possible, where English includes everybody who happens to live here) parish fete, the weather was glorious and it was wonderful that so many people stopped by.

NB - The usual qualification stands. I try to take non-generic pictures in "peopled" crowds. If you can see yourself and object to being photographed, please leave a comment and I will take the photo down.

Bouncy castle:




Generic fete:




South London Jazz band




Flowery walk:



Lavender-like flowers:




I'd like it if somebody could tell me what the lavender-like flowers are called... They're incredible.

Croydon Tram? Cross River Tram?

Some interesting news just in from The Mayor Watch blog on the fact that TFL are buying out Tramtrack Croydon. I wonder if this is potentially a piece of joined up strategising by the mayor. It would eventually fit well with my pipe dream of linking up Croydon with the Cross River Tram and giving south London an alternative transport infrastructure. All that is required is a "yes" to go ahead with (at least) the southern section of the Cross River Tram. On the other hand, it may be that the Croydon Tram buyout has nothing to do with an overall plan, and is just "one of those things".

Ed: Unfortunately, the comment left in the comments section by James appears to reflect that the purchase of the Croydon tram by TFL was one of the last moves of the mayoral regime of Ken Livingstone, and consequently does not imply anything about Boris' commitment to tram policy in South London. So, back to waiting for furthur news...

A secret pub - The Royal Oak - (the other one)

I have plenty of exciting updates from this weekend, including the North Lambeth Parish Fete (including a few photos). See, it is possible to attend a different SE11 fete or festival related event each week during the summer. What other postcode can boast such attractions? I'll try to post pictures when I return from work this evening.

This post, however, is on another matter. You should see from the top map that all of the pink markers represent pubs (or clubs) in SE11. There are still a few question marks where I actually need to check whether pubs still exist or their exact names. However, when I formed the map, I referred to Google, a couple of "pub" sites and my own knowledge. I suspected that there was a pub on Fitzalan Street because I was sure I'd walked past it, but I couldn't find anything on Google... Here's my guess as to why....

The Fitazalan Street pub (Kennington) is named "The Royal Oak", exactly the same as the Kennington Lane pub (Vauxhall), which is much better known. I have now added this pub to the top map, but there is surprisingly little information about it. An old blog post by somebody who visited at the end of 2007, last year. There's a mention on the (now apparently defunct) blog of Lambeth Walk Open Space (which the pub looks over), and what might be a number of very old descriptions. It looks like a very comfortable pub, full of locals from the surrounding estates, but I will try to pop in at some stage. Whenever I've walked past, there are always people happily drinking outside. Does anybody have any furthur information?

Vauxhall Park - wandering out of SE11

Last week, we went for a brief visit outside of SE11. We just about missed the Vauxhall Park fete - I had forgotten it was on, and we were looking for somewhere warm and sunny to go and relax. We were pondering the green space outside of the Vauxhall Tavern, but it was absolutely packed with sun worshippers already, so settled on Vauxhall Park. That's when I remembered the fete, but we arrived just as everybody was taking down the stalls. Still, there were quite a few people milling about, and we really really liked the green space. There was very little traffic noise from within the park, considering that we were parallel with the Nine Elms Intersection (in this respect, it seems better than Kennington Park)! I never realised that Vauxhall Park is so peaceful, nor so pretty. I haven't got any pictures of the main green space as it was cluttered with things and vehicles being removed. However, there's a big field of lavender that it's possible to relax in, and a well-grown pergola nearby which you can see below. Everybody was enjoying the sun... Excitingly, a new cafe is to open in Vauxhall Park. It hasn't been completely finished yet, but I imagine it should be complete within the next week or so. The picture I took doesn't really do it justice.


The pergola:




The field of lavender:



The new cafe:

Cross River Tram

We seem to have heard very little of the Cross River Tram since Ken Livingstone's departure. It has come up at several Mayoral question times with Boris, but he has been rather non-commital on the matter. London Connections blog appear to think that a decision will be due in July. I'm not sure where that information has come from. We've had consultations that have been going on for aaaages. Lots of talk about whether the depot might be in Peckham or the Old Kent Road. Endless route discussions about which roads should be taken in Kennington, Brixton, Peckham, Camberwell, Elephant, Waterloo etc. And yet, we've still no tram, no tram tracks, no happy people travelling around south London marvelling at the environmental goodness of no longer needing cars...

The tram isn't particularly set to benefit the SE11 area. It will run through Kennington if its built, but Kennington and Oval are already well connected by virtue of their tube stations, the walkable Vauxhall or E&C overground / tube stations, and lots of buses. What it would do in actuality, would be to open up South London. Everybody knows that regeneration is not possible without good transport infrastructure. In the meantime, regeneration has just come to mean making the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre derelict without giving its tenants any new options or building lots of buy-to-let properties (not always accessible for locals) in Peckham, on vague promises of a "yet to arrive tram" and then not delivering. (The cynic in me thinks that regeneration is just a glossy word for "removal of existing people who are not considered capable of generating capital and therefore are not assets"). But I do love South London, and I think everybody who lives south of the Thames should have the opportunities available to the rest of London. And those opportunities are made possible because it's possible for people to travel in and out of their London disticts. If Boris is serious about cutting knife crime, he'll back the tram and ensure that funding is forthcoming. If he is not serious about knife crime, he will just do a lot of fund-raising for local youth that will benefit this generation and he'll put lots of police people on the streets. And then the next incumbant mayor will arrive and decide to scrap those projects. At least if the tram is built, it would leave a very tangible legacy, accessible for all.

I have hopeful dreams that the already existing Croydon tram could be connected to the Brixton or Peckham branch of the Cross River Tram. But maybe it's because I'm a secret public transport geek. I like travelling on buses on the top deck in the window seat. And I like zooming along on the (only just affordable) tube to arrive somewhere different when emerging from underground. And I like the Thameslink line that will drop you from London to Brighton. And I also like cycling because it's free and good for you.

And anyway, how come they managed to get funding for the Cross Rail Project? It's not fair. *enters foot-stomping mode* You know, the Three Wheeled Pleb doesn't even care if the Cross River Tram doesn't cross the River. But please please, just get it built. Only, umm, preferably not in time for the Olympics :) :)

The Little Apple - Sunday lunches

Last summer, it became something of a tradition to go for Sunday lunch at the Little Apple, in Kennington at the Elephant and Castle end of Kennington Lane and on the eastern end of Chester Way (itself a lovely road). It has a wondeful beer garden/patio area and it's a great place to enjoy a pint or two in the sun. Last year, the chap cooking the meals and serving people was apparently standing in for somebody else. It is a bit of a shame he has gone.

For about £8.95, it's possible to get a starter, roast dinner and pudding (per person). The starters are still excellent. We ate prawn cocktail (in lovely 80s style glass) and vegetable samosas (fairly spicy) with sweet chilli dip and fresh salad. Yum. Would definitely recommend for starters alone! For the main course, we both opted for pork, and thus counted ourselves out of Yorkshire puddings. Pork was very tender, moist and highly appetising. Roast potatoes were well-roasted and a little over-salty, but not quite as crispy as the Dippy Egg Cafe. Vegetables were slightly over-cooked and a little unimaginative, with the usual peas/carrot combination and the addition of cabbage, but we'll forgive them that due to catering for such large numbers. I think that last year, we were given a much wider selection of veg. And finally, I requested a fruit salad for dessert, expecting the exquisite and freshly prepared fruit salad of last year, and instead got a plastic tub containing the contents of a tin.

No complaints about the service, which was excellent, and the price can't be beaten anywhere else, but please bring back the imaginative vegetables and the fresh fruit salad...

We're definitely returning - this is a firm Sunday favourite roasting spot, but did miss the little touches of last year.

Ghandi's Restaurant

The three-wheeled pleb was accompanied this week to Ghandi's Restaurant. After visiting a friend in Vauxhall, and being hungry after work, we did the unthinkable and ate out during the week...

We visited at about 10pm and were seated immediately. Service was fast, food did not take long to arrive, but when it did.... Mmmmm. I particularly liked the fact that they did not serve too much food; the portions were very well sized. We started by ordering Poppadoms, and received two of them (there were two of us) with some great sauces, especially a slightly sweet mint yoghurt sauce. I do wonder though, whether two male diners with large appetites might not have needed a little more. Nonethless, we managed not to ruin our appetites by stuffing ourselves with poppadoms, which is our usual bad habit when visiting Indian restaurants...

We followed the Poppadoms with Karahi Chicken, Chingri Jhol (a prawn dish), pilau rice and peshwari naan bread. The coffee was great, and I enjoyed a lassi. Both of the main dishes were very subtly flavoured. The chicken arrived still sizzling at the table. The prawn was a little hotter than expected, but again, stuffed with flavour.

The service was excellent. We did not feel neglected or swooped upon. Also, we didn't have to book, and walked in at 10pm to be seated immediately. We kept glancing around, looking for famous people, but concluded that we would probably not recognise famous people even had they been seated next to us (which, as far as we know, they might well have been). The only way we'd have known that they were famous would have been if we'd recognised a voice from Radio 4! And besides which, we're not shallow enough to be impressed by famous people... oh no. So, after the hot towel treatment, we paid the bill (very very reasonble) and vowed to visit again with some friends.

Top marks to Ghandi's Restaurant!