Seen In Greenwich

I have a confession to make – I’m no longer Greenwich Girl.

I haven’t actually been Greenwich Girl since last August in fact, but, as with everything that’s a little bit painful to say, I’ve been struggling to find the words to tell you.

Since 2012, this little corner of London has been my corner, and I’m truly sad that’s no longer the case.

When I first moved to the capital, I decided that the fast-paced metropolis we call London had no community. In Islington in 2008 I didn’t know my neighbours, I didn’t have a local, and I wouldn’t recognize anyone on the street. Bermondsey in 2010 was the same. Of course I had school friends, university friends and colleagues spread all over the city, but not so much as an acquaintance within half a mile of my flat.  

I decided “community” had been destroyed by transient city lifestyles. Or that the interminable morass of strangers we wade through on our way from work meant we “kept ourselves to ourselves” when we reached home, in order to preserve a modicum of sanity…

Thankfully I was wrong.

London has many, many local communities, but I think the way they form, interact, and grow has changed. Once upon a time, when you moved in somewhere the neighbours would pop by with milk or sugar and say hello. Nowadays in London - where shops never really close, and we don’t make eye contact on public transport - those interactions are a bit more rare.

In some parts of London, however, there is a local online community that operates in a neighbourly way. Greenwich has an incredible group of people who are extremely passionate about their local area, supportive of local businesses, respectful of local history, and, ultimately, determined to ensure that Greenwich thrives for decades to come. Greenwich has a living, breathing, singing, shouting, buzzing local community, which I never would have discovered if it wasn’t for Twitter.

I can walk along Greenwich High Street and bump into people I know. I can count local restauranteurs, photographers, bakers, artists, actors, footballers and DJs among my friends and acquaintances. I’ve been to charity events, festivals, a drag queen race, a gardening course, walks, talks and lectures and even joined a community choir. All these real life events were tweeted about and shared online by local people.

The more Greenwich and Twitter has given me, the more I’ve wanted to give back and tell others. So I share, RT, promote and champion Greenwich events whenever I can. I did wonder if I had taken things a little far one Monday, when my boss asked me what on earth was all the spam I was posting on Twitter at the weekend…but if I didn’t live tweet the stunning cup final between Greenwich Mariners F.C and Welling Utd. then who would?! (We won, by the way).

Sadly all good things must come to an end, so in August having outgrown our little flat, my husband and I left the Royal Borough and headed for Hampshire in search of more space.

We still work in London and have many ties to Greenwich, but moving has left me with the conundrum of my Twitter account, and how not to disappoint local followers. As you may have noticed I’ve not been able to resist RTing Greenwich news even though I’m no longer a resident, so I’ve decided that will continue.

I’ll also tweet the usual mix of tech news, photography, art and London life. And I’ll be tweeting about my new area as well, because I now know that by spreading the word about events, causes and local businesses, and contributing to a local online community, we’re having a positive effect in the ‘real world’ too.

So I guess there’s not much left to say except thank you for listening, and thank you #Greenwich. Don’t be a stranger.

Exploing Deptford Creek with the Creekside Trust is undoubtably one of the best things I have done in London.

I imagine it would be enjoyable as a tourist, but as a local I took immense pleasure from seeing the area from a differet angle and witnessing the surprising array of wildlife that makes its home in our midst.

Our knowledgeable and entertaining guide led us around the creek in an exploration which took just over two hours. We walked at low tide and were encouraged to pick up any "swag" we found (ours included two number plates, a PJ Harvey CD, a digital watch and a dog's skull!) and bring it back to the centre.

You really would be surprised what's in the Creek! But rather than 'cleaning it up' conservationists now recommend its left as it is, because nature has adapted to use the debris for its own purposes.

When shopping trolleys were removed as part of a cleanup project some years ago for example, they found that the fish numbers halved. It's thought they'd been using them like makeshift reedbeds, which were destroyed when the river sides were built up.

And if anyone still has any reservations, perhaps due to the unavoidably wet nature of the walk, they provide you with thingh high waders and a waterproof jacket, so there's no reason not to get stuck in!

Quite a while back, I blogged about the great news that ‘Borgo’, a deli style Italian cafe, was setting up in the commercial units below the Greenwich Creekside development.

Anyone who regularly passes along Creek Road to Deptford will know that this hasn’t taken shape. Before Christmas Borgo tweeted that opening was delayed until Easter because of issues around extraction regulations for pizza ovens, and now it seems they have given up entirely.

Instead, the unit has been a hive of activity (so much so that some local residents have had to ask builders not to start so early!). The sign on the window points to SES electrical services, but the workmen say this is just the company fitting out the offices and rumour has it that an architecture firm is moving in.

So it’s not great news (I would have preferred a cafe, or other small community centred business) but it does prove that businesses view the units as commercially viable.

With the plethora of planning applications to convert these units to low-spec residential units despite their planning designation being for ‘cultural use’, it’s good news the architects are moving in, to show we shouldn’t give the space up to flats just yet.

Meridian fitness in a neighbouring unit has thrived, and the large glass windows facing on to the street are ideal for showcasing products or services to passing motorists and pedestrians. A spa would complement the gym, or a bar to add to the great night life currently catered for by The Duke.

As Deptford gets ever more popular and Greenwich West expands, this space in-between would surely be a good investment.

Today's big fixture was not, as some would have you believe, Liverpool vs. Chelsea.

A far more important game in my eyes, was the massive local cup final - Greenwich Mariners v. Advent Royals at Welling Utd!

Not a regular football go-er (ok, I've not actually been to a game of football since school) I literally fell at the first hurdle (turnstiles are tricky!) but, persevering, we found our way to the stands.

It was great to see the support that had turned out and the atmosphere was tense as the big match began. The mariners secured an early lead, then a fantastic strike lead to another goal. All looked rosy until the first goal came from Advent Royal, directly from a corner. No time to rest on our laurels here, and the managers knew it, offering constant advice (and occaisional admonishment) from the sideline.

I was impressed by the standard of play as it seemed both sides were technically pretty skilled. Only the occaisional judgement error or poor execution belied the fact they weren't in a much higher league.

Other incidents included a couple of injuries (but thankfully nothing serious) and a girl in the crowd getting hit in the face by the ball - a cautionary tale for all those texting or tweeting, myself included!

By half time it was 3-1 to the Mariners, so there was a brief break to relax and grab a hot dog and a cuppa before the second half. Don't try the hot chocolate at Welling Utd. though, I'm reliably informed hot water would taste better!

The second half began, and more of the same ensued for Greenwich Mariners - a steady succession of goals, and the final whistle blew at 6-1.

Photo courtesy of ashburnhamtriangle.com

Plumtree cafe has been tempting me for a long time now, but for some reason I haven't been in. But, stuck for a spot of lunch on Saturday, with a hungry man at home I decided to see what they had to offer in terms of take away.

First impressions were that it was very pleasant, and teeming with toddlers! I'm genuinely glad that spaces like this exist for mums with young children, but with the Saturday morning headache of the currently childless I was glad that I didn't need to try and get a table.

Service was not the fastest but they were heaving and it was delivered with a smile, so I didn't really mind. It was also a little pricey (I thought) for what could easily turn out to be average fare, or small portions. Thankfully I was wrong on both those counts.

It was when I got home that I discovered the real reason that Plumtree Cafe was so busy. My goodness their food was good. Having worked in central London for about 6 years now, I've had many, many, chicken mozarella and pesto paninnis for lunch...but this was by far the best.

Fresh pesto, chicken that tasted as if it had been pinched from a roast your grandmother cooked, and remarkably flavoursome (not rubbery) mozzarella.

I got a salmon sandwich for the other half, foolishly thinking that this would be a delicate finger sandwich style affair, thus I could appear extravagant yet also watch his waistline...but oh how wrong I was. This was a doorstop of mammoth proportions! Yet the bread was still light and fluffy and the salmon and cream cheese generous.

I first came across Little Nan’s Bar on Twitter, and from their tweets I must admit I was a little confused by their offering…were they a bar, a cake club, an arts and crafts centre, a tea room? We visited last night and I think Little Nan’s is all of these and more!

After a brilliant meal at The Big Red, we were on the market for a few more drinks and I decided to finally try out Little Nan’s. Just down the road on Deptford Broadway we didn’t have far to go, but this underground/prohibition style watering hole is so well disguised we only found it from the crowd of smokers outside.

My other half was a little apprehensive as we walked past the bouncer and proceeded down a damp passageway, but all was well with the world when we entered the warmth and fuzz that would easily pass as your (slightly alcoholic) nan’s living room.

The decor could be described as a type of “old world front-room chic”, with lampshades and flock wallpaper ceiling tiles. The music came from an iPod with good speakers and the booze was served in champagne flutes and teapots. We didn’t have time to try the whole cocktail menu, but it was an impressive selection with endearing local names (The Lady of Deptford Bridge is a personal fave) and cocktails as cheap as £4.

I’m told this was the limited menu and an even bigger variety is available when their cocktail mixer is back! Traditional beer is available, but even my other half felt that would be a waste so we both opted for cocktails. He had the Lady Bet Lynch, which was a delicious blend of elderflower, lime and err lots of spirits and I had the Princess Fiona - a mixture of amaretto, prosecco and cranberry. Both absolutely luscious.

The only disappointment was that, for a prohibition style boozer, the staff seemed a little over-enthusiatic about closing. When they called last orders we went to order a final cocktail and were told they weren’t serving them any more, but we were welcome to beer and shots.

I’ll forgive them this time, as their cocktail expert was away so it was taking them a while to make them. Besides, it just means we’ll have to go in earlier next time ;)

Some good news for the Greenwich Creekside area today. Those that know the development will know that with the exception of Meridian Fitness and Lollitots nursery, the commercial space under Greenwich Creekside has been empty for a while. There was recently an attempt by a rather dubious development company to convert the space into yet more flats, but the the council rejected the change of use proposals. This week there have been rumours that an alcohol licence has been applied for by one of the units, and company have been in touch to explain a little more… "We are a family-run business (local to Greenwich) planning to set up a deli selling fresh juices, coffee, breads, ham, cheese, pastries, salads and the like to eat in or take away for those evenings where you can't face the kitchen!



As locals to the area we have watched the rise in residential developments and people moving to the South-East and feel this has not been met by commercial developments offering people a place to socialise. We also feel that food chains and impersonal service is fast losing appeal and want to offer people a place where they are made to feel special. We want to create a relaxed environment where people can hang-out and enjoy fresh, local produce. We have a license to sell alcohol, so we are currently sourcing some great wines and craft beers, to serve alongside delicious sharing plates, such as charcuterie boards and a selection of antipasti.


We think our business will really support locals in providing a great social space and a place to eat and drink. We like to think of at as restaurant meets home kitchen...a place to indulge in affordable, simple food/drink whilst situated in a relaxed and friendly environment. We want to keep the menu small and flexible to offer customers the best seasonal foods and to minimise "Restaurant-style" fuss of huge menus and wasted food.



Please let people know that we are opening in order to make living in Greenwich and in particular Creekside better! We want to provide people with a great social space, affordable & delicious food and drink, friendly customer service adapting to local desires and to give confidence to more businesses so that we can help regenerate the area and make it a vibrant and awesome place!!"

As a favourite of monarchs over the years, Royal Greenwich has seen it’s fair share of Queens. But two annual events bring together Queens of a less Royal (though no less regal) nature. I am of course talking about the Greenwich Drag Queen race!

I went to the race organised by the Prince of Greenwich pub for he first time this year, and am delighted to say it was a fantastic afternoon out! I say ‘afternoon’ but the festivities started at 5pm, the race itself kicked off at 6.30 and we were drinking well into the evening. Competitors outdid themselves in their finery and some were pretty talented at sprinting in heels.

There was cabaret entertainment provided afterwards, and the street was transformed into a delightful outdoor venue, with singing, dancing and a really jovial atmosphere. The race also has a serious side, fundraising to supporting the great work done by the Greenwich Metro Centre - a sexual health and advice centre for the LGBT community in Greenwich.

The commercial space was designed to enhance the immediate vicinity and create community amenities below the dense housing. So far there is only a gym and a nursery occupying any of the Creekside units, and yet all the housing has sold.

Understandably the developer is keen to offload the units and the ones under one block have been purchased by Criterion Capital. Criterion initially wanted to build a hotel on the site, however now they intend to make use of recent legislation (Class J for you planning geeks ;) ) to bypass a full planning application and convert them from office space to residential.

The current residents are concerned for a number of reasons, the main ones being the loss of potential amenities for Creekside and Creek road, and also the bad track record of Criterion Capital.

The application and plans are here. Comments and objections can be emailed to [email protected] quoting reference 13/1832/PN.

Finding myself with a rare free Saturday, I was delighted that Meantime Brewery were hosting a beer festival and promptly snapped up some tickets.

They were £12 which covered 6 tasters (1/3 pint) a branded beer glass, and some food. Not bad value at all!

We arrived at 4.30 but at that point the crowds were heaving (and had been there since 12 no doubt) so we took a little stroll and came back at about 6. The queues were much smaller then, although sadly some of the beers had run out. Tickets were also being sold on the door and they may not have realised how popular it was going to be!

There was still a really wide selection of craft beers, and I’ve listed 4 of my more interesting choices below. The descriptions are from the handy booklet and my slightly less educated (and ever more inebriated) thoughts are in italics afterwards.

  Shortlist Fool's Gold

A crisp refreshing summer beer that elegantly balances a gentle toasty malt character with the distinct aromatic fruit chracter of Citra hops.

A really distinctive smell. Very citruss-ey and refreshing - the tango of the ale world. 7.5/10

  Fuller's Black Cab Stout

Brewed with a combination of five different malts Black Cab Stout is 4.2% ABV and features luxurious red berry notes, toasty aromas on the nose and culminates in a dry, bitter finish.

Full and creamy like a good coffee, just with more alchohol. 6/10

  London Fields Ruby Ale

Ruby red in colour with toffee and plum on the nose. A rich best bitter with a slight herby edge and fantastically bitter-sweet.

Smells of cheese. 4.5/10

  London Fields Unfiltered Lager

A wonderful honey-coloured unfiltered lager, bready, filling & chewy yetsumptuosly moreish.

It was a year ago yesterday that I started ths blog, and I wanted to post something upbeat, I realy did. But yesterday was weird a day of immense pride in my country (Wimbledon!) and also great disappointment in my city. I'd come back from Canada on a two week visit to Banff, Alberta.

Banff is a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nestled in the Rockies. Of course, Greenwich also has this accolade, but the contrast between them yesterday was pretty ugly. Banff was really clean. The parks were spotless. I saw a sum total of two pieces of litter in my time there.

On return to London I got a dirty train flanked by concrete banks of grafitti to a urine-soaked Croyden, where I was told there was no service to New Cross. So far, a pretty dismal impression of my home city. Greenwich would be better, I thought.

New Cross was smattered with Sunflower plants, as part of a project by Goldsmiths University - finally a glimpse of what makes me proud to be a Londoner.

But, that afternoon, annoyed with myself for taking a "nap" and waking five hours later (damn jetlag) I went on a run, up the hill to Blackheath and back down via Greenwich Park.

I have NEVER seen Blackheath so dirty. Every five steps there was a beer can, or water bottle, or tissue, culminating in the grass closest to the Princess of Wales pub strewn with sun-worshippers floating on a sea of rubbish. Some geniuses had even parked their cars on the heath and were picnicking around them.

Greenwich park was a similar story. More littler than I've ever seen in the place. Those who had bothered to take their leftovers to the bins may have done so in vain - I watched a bin lorry come and leave with a minimal load from the actual bin, ignoring the piles of detritus spilling out alongside. By the time I saw a squirell with a chocolate wrapper in its mouth I'd had enough, and trudged dejectedly home.

I know it was sunny, I know Greenwich is a high-footfall tourist trap, I know the Parks authority and the council are doing their best, but seriously, this is dismal. I love Greenwich. And Blackheath. But yesterday, having seen them both in stark comparison to areas of natural beauty and national pride abroad, they were left severely wanting.

I'm not dure what the solution is - yesterday it seemed like too mammoth a task to be taken on by individual volunteers or well wishers. But if we each pick something up when we see it, or politely point out when someone has dropped something, we may make a dent in the problem.

In case you missed it (and if you live in Greenwich I’m not sure how you could!) here’s a clip of the helicopter landing on HMS illustrious during the festivities for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic festivities.

Not normally a great fan of the One Show, but it was amazing to get home and switch on the telly to see a live broadcast from just down the road. I beat a hasty turnaround and rushed straight out again to watch the festivities unfold on HMS Illustrious from just across the water at Millennium Quay.

We couldn’t hear the band from that distance, but it was great to see the assorted Naval personnel assembled in their uniforms and I still held out hope of catching a glimpse of Eddie Izzard, who the One Show had hauled in for some unknown reason!

Watching a replay later, the tv crew were as surprised as we were when a helicopter buzzed into view and it became apparent it wanted to land. It swooped down and hovered frighteningly close to the large military formation, band and tv paraphernalia and I later learned this was to check that the area was free of debris prior to landing. We didn’t see the landing as our angle wasn’t quite right but it was completely thrilling nonetheless, perhaps even more so as once the helicopter went out of sight we weren’t quite sure what had happened to it.