Charlton Sinkhole

Charlton Sinkhole

by | Jul 23, 2024 | Community, Street Food, Travel, Uncategorized

 

 Charlton Sinkhole

A small sinkhole suddenly appeared at the junction of Delafield Road and Swallowfield Road in Charlton. You can just about with difficulty turn the corner if you have a small car but you can forget it if you have aA lorry or van.

To make things worse, there are no warning signs at the entry to either of these roads to say the road is blocked at the junction.

Some bollards are laid down by the side of the sink hole which I presume is for the equipment to be used to repair the hole and allow some traffic flow along Delafield Road..

As I said with a struggle you can get around the corner in a small car from a certain direction but surely with a sinkhole the hole could open up even further if the area around the hole is disturbed such as driving around the edge of the hole.

Greenwich is no stranger to sinkhole and in the past it has taken months to fix them.

Last year in Dunvegan Road, Eltham a sinkhole the size of a car appeared.

In 2016 a large hole appeared outside  Benefice of Charlton St Thomas’ Church, in Charlton which swallowed a parked people carrier.

In December last year a burst water mains in St Marys Street in Woolwich caused a sinkhole seven meters deep and resulted in the evacuation of a number of properties  nearby.

Who could forget the big one on Blackheath Hill that appeared in April 2002 and took 8 months to repair.

It looks like this latest small sinkhole has been caught in time and is being sorted out alright, but I would still criticise the road management layout.

At the end of my working day, I walked past the hole. The hole has been filled in but there is a square patch with no top surface of tar mac covering it. Hopefully this will be rectified tomorrow. Personally, I am impressed with the speed in which the council is rectifying this small sink hole problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Old Gun Pit closure.

The Old Gun Pit closure.

by | Jun 23, 2024 | Community, Pub, Uncategorized

 

 

The Bull Tavern closed to a large new housing development coming soon.

The Old Gun Pit closed by enforcement officers or bailiffs on 20th June 2024.

The Old Gun Pit closure.

Earlier this year they closed the Equitable pub in General Gordon Place, Woolwich due to financial difficulties caused by the Covid pandemic, then we lost the Bull Tavern in Vincent Road, Woolwich and not to  mention the Queens arms in Burrage Road, and now we have lost the Old Gun Pit.

The Bull Tavern I believe was closed due to a planned new housing development next to the new Woolwich leisure centre that is being built at the moment.

The closure of the Old Gun Pit was a bit of a surprise not only to its customers and patrons, but it would seem also to some of its staff.

When checking on its Facebook page just four days ago it was advertising for customers to come and watch all the Euro matches at the pub, and the very next day it is announcing its closure.

There is a notice of repossession from an enforcement company acting on behalf of the landlords stuck to the pub door. So, it looks like they were not paying the rent to the landlords, so the bailiffs have come a knocking. If they were fighting a repossession for some other reason, then the management must have realised this would have happened at some time, so it couldn’t have been such a surprise after all.

They advertised themselves as the oldest Irish pub in South East London.

I never got around to reviewing this  place and now I never will.  To be honest it was not one of these places that I would have frequented myself, its clientele always looked a bit rough and ready, and the pub looked like the type of place a fight could break out at any moment, but looking at the reviews I could have been wrong about the place.  The locals seem to love it and at the end of the day it was the type of pub that relied on its locals rather than footfall or tourist clientele. It is Woolwich after all not touristy Greenwich.

Woolwich is losing too many pubs lately. I hope the landlords will lease the Old Gun Pit site out as a pub again soon to new management or a brewery chain.

We are still waiting for an update about the Volunteer pub in Powis Street that is supposed to open some time in 2024, but the managers or owners have still not given an opening date.

 

Urban Village Fete 2024

Urban Village Fete 2024

by | Jun 15, 2024 | Community, Street Food, Uncategorized

 

 Urban Village Fete 2024

I had missed the last couple of these fetes, so I did not know what to expect. I thought it would be a small affair on the green. How wrong I was.

The whole thing was five to six times bigger than what I was expecting and covered almost the whole of the Peninsular Central Park.  From small craft merchants and clothes shops to numerous and various, food stalls and workshops of many variations.

There were several bars including two old Red Rover double-decker buses converted into mobile pubs.

For entertainment, there were at least three DJ systems including a big one at the end of the green with a number of DJs, including Jamz Supernova, Millie McKee and Gilles Peterson, with two big display screens to add to the ambience and atmosphere.

There were two smaller sound systems at the other end of the Park that were more family orientated playing music from the 70s, 80s and 90s and some of the music was quite cheesy but fun. The mums, dad’s and kids loved it.

Apart from inclusive talks ranging from “sustainable fashion” the “future of Britain” and “work-life balance there were also various workshops to try your hand at learning and creativity.

Food was provided by numerous stalls selling cuisines for every taste and genre from around the world. Unfortunately, like most of the bars the length of the queues put me off so I didn’t get to try any of them. I only managed to get a couple of beers from a craft beer stall, selling craft lager and cold German beer. If I had waited in the queue for the London red bus bars it would have taken me about 15 to 20 minutes to get served.

The place was very packed, but you could still find somewhere along the grass area in which to set up a mat somewhere for friends and family.

For the kids there was a kids Olympics considering of a ‘tug of war’, a ‘fluffy toy pineapple’ throwing competition amongst many others. They also had a kids circus for the kids to take part in various child safe circus activities.

Another thing that impressed me was the toilet facilities which although crowded was useable and fast. They had forgone the usual easy route of rows and rows of disgusting Port-a-loos and gone for clean mobile toilet trailers with sinks and air dryers. A major plus point in my books.

This is very much an event that I Will be including in next year’s calendar. And to top it all, it was all free.

If you didn’t fancy waiting in line for food and drink almost next door you had the Greenwich Peninsula and the O2, both of which are jam-packed with bars, pubs and restaurants.

 

Another lost brewery.

Another lost brewery.

by | Apr 11, 2024 | Community

Brew by Numbers

With the looming demise of the Meantime brewery from the borough of Greenwich it is regret that we have also lost another brewery from the borough and that is the Brew By Numbers brewery, which last December reported that they were leaving their riverside taproom and brewery at Morden Wharf.

Having moved production and its taproom from the Bermondsey Beer Mile at Enid Street in May 2023 to Morden Wharf, it closed the Bermondsey taproom but kept the brewing production and taproom the Greenwich taproom at Morden Wharf last December and now all production this year will be going up North.


I used to love the beer festivals at the Morden Wharf site as it was the nearest yearly festival to me. Every weekend the taproom would be buzzing with people enjoying their beers and a pizza.


The Brew By Numbers which was originally based in Bermondsey and was founded by David Seymour and Tom Hutchings in 2011, and the Brewery became a mainstay component of the Bermondsey Beer Mile.


Having been sold to a private equity company the, Breal Group last summer production has been moved to the Black Sheep brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire. The Black sheep is another brewery that the Breal Group bought in May 2023.


Like the Meantime brewery, beers will still be produced under their brand name but will now have no connection to whatsoever to its London origins.
Having worked for a few companies that were bought out by private equity companies, I can state that it is never in the interest of the workers that make up the company.


First they strip the company down to the bare minimum, starting with the staff then the equipment then the premises. Text book action that has happened to Meantime, Brick and Brew by Numbers.

All that is left is a recipe and a brand name that is as valuable as the original company, that has now disappeared.
I suppose if the company is going under it’s always best to sell up, rather than go bankrupt and have a massive debt hanging over your head for years to come.


The craft beer and real ale brewing businesses were experiencing a boom time just a few years ago but what with the state of the economy and the cost of living crisis, many brewers are struggling and many are going under.
Another factor is as a result of the boom times we now have an over saturated craft beer market, and a shrinking customer base that is not drinking as much due to multiple increases in the prices.
The Brew By Numbers said they were hit hard by increased material costs following on from the pandemic.


Another brewery, the Brick Brewery which was founded in Peckham by Ian and Sally Stewart in 2013, also went into administration at the same time that the Brew By Numbers brewery went into administration and both breweries were saved by being bought up by the Breal Group, and production will also go to Masham, North Yorkshire.


While trying to find out more about the Breal group you will find it very hard. They have a website but it tells you absolutely nothing interesting or useful about the company, like what other companies it controls. Very cagey if you ask me.

Mural Wars

Mural Wars

by | Apr 7, 2024 | Business, Community, Uncategorized

Mural Wars

It has been going on for several weeks now, and it isn’t ending any time soon. The great Chip shop mural battle between an award-winning chip shop owner and the Ashburnham Triangle Conservation association, who enforce code of practice and legislation of the conservation area known as the Ashburnham Triangle. 

The owner of the Golden Chippy, in Greenwich High Road, Mr Chris Kanizi, has commissioned a painted mural advertising his business on the side of his property, and it would appear that a few people in the area have taken umbrage with his mural, and have reported him to the council. Any changes including painting murals on any property within the Ashburnham Triangle conservation area, must have pre-approved planning permission from Greenwich council. 

He should have known this as he previously put up an adverting hoarding against his shop a number of years ago, and was ordered to remove it by the council for the very same reason, 

Because the mural features a fish holding a Union Jack flag next to a bag of chips, with the words ‘A Great British Meal’ it has caused unnecessary racist anger, and stupid reactions from people who love to go through the internet looking for racist clickbait in order to find something to be angry about. 

As soon as a mural with the British flag was ordered to be removed by the council after it had been reported by someone, then the witch hunt for the woke lefty antagonists was on. 

Chris Kanizi the Cypriot owner of the Golden Chippy has vowed to oppose the council order to remove if and he has backing and support from many of his neighbours. 

One or two said it was a tacky eyesore, but most supported him. 

When you consider that while this mural battle was going on in Greenwich another artist who describes himself as a political street graffiti artist going by the name of Banksy, throws green paint over the side of a council owned building, Christie Court in Finsbury Park without the residents of the building knowing about it, and what happens? 

The council there cover the side of the building with plastic sheeting and cover the grass area beneath it with hoardings to protect it. 

What would happen if Banksy defaced the side of a building within the Ashburnham Triangle area. 

Come on Banksy give it a go and let’s see what happens.  

UPDATE: As an update regarding this mural, in late September 2024 the owner of the fish shop, Mr Kanizi applied for planning permission belatedly for the mural, but permission from the council was denied. It looks like the latest mutual will have to come down after all.

Dangerous Dogs.

Dangerous Dogs.

by | Oct 19, 2023 | Community

Greenwich Dangerous Dog Incident. 

On 3rd October at about 10 am, in Catherine Grove, Greenwich just outside the Hilton Hotel, a 20-month-old toddler had just left the hotel with his mother when out of nowhere an XL bully came running up to the toddler and attacked him without provocation.

The toddler’s leg was mauled and he will probably be scarred for life if it wasn’t for brave members of the public and his mother coming to his aid the child could have been killed.

The parents an Indian couple from the Netherlands over here on business thought their child would lose his leg but luckily after a two-day stay in hospital, the child is going to be OK.

The XL bully’s owner was with the dog at the time of the attack, a 29 year-old man who like just about every other dangerous dog owner who sees their dog attack someone, he did the usual thing he pulled his dog off, picked up his shopping and nonchalantly walked off as if nothing had happened, leaving the poor child bleeding and helpless in the road.

My blood boils with anger against this heartless and uncaring piece of worthless shit. Unfortunately, it’s a scenario that is played out frequently all over the country.  In their mind, their obviously dangerous dog is more important than anyone else’s life. Anyone who can just walk off and leave a child bleeding and injured in the street when they are directly and personally responsible, I can only describe as a human turd.

Thanks to members of the public who followed the man and called the police he was arrested a few streets away and now hopefully he will get what he deserves, and the dog will be destroyed.

The Pitbull and XL bully breed have generations of inbreeding to make them deliberately aggressive and confrontational and they were bred exclusively for one purpose to fight and kill.

It only takes one irrelevant and elusive reason to trigger a Pitbull or XL bully into a wild rage and when that happens you, yourself or any of your family do not want to be anywhere near it.

There’s a certain type of person who thinks owning a pit bull or XL bully will enhance his or her status in society. ‘I need a macho dog because I am macho’. In reality, people will view you as arrogant and uneducated which is more likely the truth.

The Internet channel JOE which mainly deals with political issues interviewed XL bully owners who were protesting against Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks announcement that he intends to ban the breed after numerous attacks and deaths caused by this type of breed.

If those protesting thought, they were going to persuade the public to make them come around to their point of view they must have been delusional.

Some were in complete denial that any XL bully had attacked anyone and there was no evidence to prove any claim, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

One muscle-bound uneducated moron who struggled to complete a whole sentence without sounding like an uneducated chav showed off his dog’s collar and chain, and both were studded with big spikes. It was like looking at the complete stereotypical cliché of Mr macho and his macho dog scenario.

The XL bully and the Pitbull seem to go hand in hand with the anti-social and criminal community who use it to intimidate members of the public.

Look at your local drug dealer and by his side you will more likely find a Pitbull or XL bully dog, not a poodle or a chihuahua.

 

Look at the XL bully or Pitbull owner and you notice that when their dog fouls the pavement or grass, they never pick up their dog’s mess like responsible dog owners.

Any parent who brings any dangerous breed into the home thinking it will make a wonderful family pet for their young children needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask themselves “Am I a good responsible parent or is the safety of my child a risk I am willing to take in order to make a statement about myself to other people” because you will be judged by others over your choice of a dog in a family setting.

Here are the initial reports from the Daily Mail.  Many other media outlets reported the incident, but few showed or named the owner who was charged.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12597005/american-xl-bully-attack-toddler-dog-owner-charged.html