New Indian Restaurant

by | Jan 10, 2025 | Business, Community, Eating Out, Restaurant

New Indian Restaurant.

Whilst once again sitting in the River Ale House, in Woolwich  Road I noticed that just across the road as new restaurant and bar had been opened.

It is an Indian restaurant and going from reviews dates it has been opened for a few month now.

The name Jatt and Juliet seems to be named after a successful Bollywood film franchise  that at the moment is up to Jatt and Juliet 3.

The ratings are all 5 stars from 57 reviews.  This I find suspicious especially  when a lot of the reviews  are from people with the surnames of Singh, Kaur and Grewal.

I will have to reserve  judgement  until I do a review of this place.

This place used to be a Turkish restaurant  called ‘The Charcoal Meze House’ that also got a constant 5 star rating and I was also suspicious about those ratings too, until I actually went there with the wife and found it to be truly deserving of its constant  5 star rating. The food was excellent  and The detail to service  from the owners was second to none.

Unfortunately like a lot of businesses the Covid pandemic happened and the business could not survive the lockdowns and other forced business  constraints put on them at the time, the restaurant  closed and later became a pizzeria restaurant called Amore and Sapore, which also only lasted a few years.

Lets hope this place is a success and lasts longer. 

 

 

More Pub Closures

by | Jan 7, 2025 | Business, Community, Pub

More Greenwich Pub Closures.

Well, here we go again, as soon as you think there is going to be a revival or restoration of pubs in the London borough of Greenwich, expectations come crumbling down, recently we have lost the 300 Bar in Creek Road, and the Star of Greenwich in  Greenwich Park Street.

The Star of Greenwich was one pub that I wanted to succeed in as it was a Community pub run by the community for the community but it was unable to get a deal for £50K in rent arrears by their landlords, Greenwich Hospital,  which operates independently but is overseen by the Ministry of Defence. I hope this pub can come back in some form that is similar to the Star of Greenwich community mindset.

We also have two pubs planned to open this year but after Antic Pubs again got into financial difficulties, they will not see the light of day. They were the planned Volunteer in Powis Street and the Plumble on Plumstead High Street. Unfortunately, after Antic was saved from administration they had to sell off 10 pubs to the ‘Urban Pubs and Bars group’ the two long-awaited new pubs were quietly side-lined and forgotten about. I don’t know if Antic or Urban Pubs and Bars own the lease to these two properties now.

The good news is that according to the Murky Depths website, there are signs that the Gun Pit in Woolwich may have been resurrected and may in future be opening again, as a hotel rather than another hostel.

Another bit of bad news is the forced closure of the Plum Tree Beer Shop on Plumstead Common Road, which although they class themselves as a beer shop is a micropub by any other definition. Unfortunately, they have had to close due to outstanding issues with their landlord. They say they will give everyone an update next week. Let’s hope this is just a temporary closure and they will be back in business soon.

 

 

 

LTN Chaos

by | Dec 7, 2024 | Community, Greenwich Park, Travel

Greenwich Low Traffic Network Chaos.

As I left to walk to Charlton train station this morning (Monday 2nd December) I could not understand why Victoria Way and Charlton Church Lane were a mess of heaving traffic and the roads between were busy with traffic that are normally very quiet.

At first, I thought the traffic was caused by the Blackwall tunnel being closed for some reason,  but that was not the case.

I later learned that this was all caused by the new traffic Lower Traffic Network (LTN) project between  Westcombe Park, Vanbrugh Park and East of Greenwich Park. Well, thank you Greenwich Council you’ve made our lives a living hell at the expense of a quiet life for the affluent middle-class areas around Westcombe Park, Vanbrugh Hill,  Maze Hill and Greenwich Park East.

Greenwich Council said before this project was implemented that they suspected there would be more traffic flowing through Charlton and they said they were going to monitor the situation. Well, Greenwich  Council it is like every weekday is now like the closing time of a Charlton football match day. All you have done is move the problem onto the Charlton residents.

The single-car wide bridge near the bottom of Victoria Way was especially mad, with frustrated drivers driving up the hill being blocked by inconsiderate drivers coming down the hill and not giving Way as they were supposed to.

On the third day, I looked down the hill to see hardly any cars, and I thought that perhaps I had got it all wrong. That was until I looked up the hill to see the number 380 bus blocking the whole road as it struggled to turn right from Eastcombe Avenue into Victoria Way. With the extra traffic, the 380 bus service has struggled in Eastcombe Avenue and Charlton  Church Lane where traffic flow is often reduced down to a single-width road.

What does amaze me though is that when I return from work in the evening, all the traffic that you would expect to be there as it is in the morning rush hour is non-existent.

Where is all the returning rush hour going? and why can’t they use that route in the morning?

 

 

Sparkle 2024

Sparkle 2024

by | Dec 5, 2024 | Community

 

Sparkle in the Park 2024

Well, the annual Greenwich event of Sparkle in the Park has come and gone.  Starting on Friday 29th November and ending on Sunday 1st December 2024.
It is an annual free public light show that used to take place in Maryon Park, but the venue was moved this year to CharltonHousee.
The show is sponsored by the Greenwich Heritage  Foundation and the Greenwich  Council.
Surrealism was the theme of the day, so there were works of art with charity themes, giant semi-transparent balls that changed colour that you could walk through, a giant synchronised light show on the grass, and various decorative light statues of animals all around the place.
There was a tea room and a pop-up Tavern for the adults, as well as other bars and food stalls and art and craft stalls encircling a field at the end of the path of the light show.
Even brighter and flashier than the light show was the fun fair next to the light show,  which I can safely say was what most of the kids wanted to head towards.
Here is a short film I took while visiting Sparkle in the Park 2024 at Charlton House.
Another light show that I drove through but did not even realise it was in Eltham.
I wondered why there was such a large crowd standing outside the Long Pond pub on Westmount Road in Eltham on the evening of Thursday 28th November.
I later found out from another Eltham-based blogger that it was a turning-on ceremony of the Christmas lights along Westmount Road, turned on by the Comedienne,  writer and actress Helen Lederer.
I think I can safely say that the Regent Street or Oxford  Street Christmas lights have nothing to worry about in regards to being outshone by the Westmount Street lights, but it does brighten up the road at night.

 

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

by | Sep 14, 2024 | Community, Travel

 

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN’s)

During the Covid chaos Greenwich council introduced LNT’s into the equation to control traffic for some unknown reason. This I cannot fathom out as when we were all in lockdown it was noted how the air quality improved dramatically as no one was driving. So why did we need low traffic neighbourhoods or LTN’s for short.

Greenwich seem to have jumped on the bandwagon that other London boroughs were partaking in.

You may be shouting at the screen right now shouting “you anti-social right wing petrol head” but you could not be more wrong. I am all for well thought out reasonable LTN’s but Greenwich council plans to cut off traffic flowing from the top of Greenwich Park along the A2, down to Trafalgar Road and the centre of Greenwich, during rush hour  will have to travel as far as the  of Greenwich South Street or Greenwich High Road and come back on yourself.

Anyone wanting to get to anywhere within the forbidden zone during peak rush hour will have to be registered with the council as a resident within the LTN.

Forget your early morning or evening delivery for your online shopping site if you live in the LTN. You will have to wait. They want to deliver to you but can’t do it within your rules.

I’m sure most of the people living within the LTN’s are all for it, If I lived in one so would I, but it does have a downside to other people and I’m not just talking about the local commuters who may have no choice but to take their vehicles with them. Not everyone can just hop on to public transport.

The other people that I am talking about are the people that live to the west of the A102 otherwise known as the Blackwall tunnel approach. The traffic that would have probably have gone by Coombes Hill, Royal Hill, Westcombe Hill, Vanbrugh Hill, or Maze Hill will have to find new rat runs originating in or around Charlton.

Unfortunately, I am one of the people affected by the Charlton rat runs and at the moment the traffic that uses Victoria Way is manageable and not too bad, unless it is a Charlton Athletic match day, then it becomes hell.

Even when there is no match on, during the rush hour it can get busy and one of the things that make it a nightmare to drive down is the weak railway bridge that was made into a single lane road between the barriers.

The rules of the road dictate that cars driving up a hill will always have priority of vehicles coming down the hill, and this is how the signage on the road is set out. This rule is also regularly ignored by arrogant drivers who either do not know this or are of the opinion that the rules only apply to other people and not them.

With regular frequency you will get road rage and a belligerent arsehole who will drive down ignoring the signs and when his path is blocked by the vehicle in the right will shout obscenities and threaten the other driver and occasionally it gets physical.

This will only get worst when all this diverted traffic is pushed down roads like Victoria Way or Charlton Church Lane, which are roads that cannot cope with mass two-way traffic.

The council know this will happen as they have stated that they will be monitoring the situation. This is council speak for, they know what will happen but are not going to do anything and cannot be bothered.

Tunnel Woes

Tunnel Woes

by | Sep 12, 2024 | Community, Travel

 

 Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel Woes

Coming next year most Greenwich  motorist will be hit with the realisation that getting from the South to East London and visa versa is going to get expensive, especially  if you commute via the Blackwall tunnel.

Peak hours weekdays northbound 6am – 10am it will cost £4

Peak hours weekdays southbound 4pm – 7pm it will cost £4

There will be an off-peak rate of £1.50 at all other times between 6am and 10pm, including at weekends, but only if you register with Autopay. If you don’t register with Autopay you will be charged £4, the same as peak weekday times.

There will be no charge between 10pm and 6am on any day of the week.

If you ride a motorbike, moped or motor tricycle the charge will be £1.50 for off peak and £2.50 for peak hour rates.

For large vans the charge will be £2.50 off peak and £6.50 for peak hours.

HGV will be charged £5 off peak and £10 peak hours.

These prices are for each time you pass through the tunnels so a typical car commuter driving to work will have to fork out £8 each day, a van driver will have to fork out £13 each day and the HGV driver will have to pay £20 each day.

This is just for the tunnels, if you work in the centre of London you will have to also pay the £15 congestion charge and maybe the ULEZ charge if you drive a diesel or non-compliant vehicle and don’t even get me started on the extortionate London parking charges.

I believe that on the first few days of the Tunnel charges coming into effect thousands of drivers will try and take the Rotherhithe tunnel or Tower Bridge route but they will give up after they realise the whole area  will be grid locked.

Another thing that I suspect will happen is that a small minority may try and get around the number plate recognition  system by attaching false number plates to their vehicles in order to divert the payments to some poor innocent victim who will have to pick up the tab.

The act of cloning went up by 80% after the introduction of the ULEZ expansion, so this is just another incentive for the low life to pass the cost to some other motorist.

If you fail to pay on time due to not registering, or you are some poor bugger who has had their number plate cloned the you will have to pay up a whopping £180 , reduced to £90 if you cough up within two weeks of getting the charge.