Recent Restaurant Reviews.

Check out the latest restaurant reviews for Zaibatsu and the recently opened Ship pub restaurant in the restaurant review section.

The Last Drop Inn

It looks like Eltham will be getting another micropub soon, after a licence was granted for a pub to be called ‘The Last Drop Inn’ to be created in a closed-down care and disability shop at 279 Eltham High Street, at the corner with Elderslie Road.

The Last Drop Inn will be just half a mile from another micropub, the Long Pond in Westmount Road.

There is no indication whether the establishment will specialise in real ale like the nearby Long Pond or Rusty Bucket, or stick to mainly branded beers like the ‘Good Choice up the road at Avery Hill. I do hope they are a real ale pub.

They have a licence to sell beer from 11 am to 11 pm, but probably won’t open these hours to accommodate staff and customer preferences.

I just hope they do not have ridiculously short opening hours like the Long Pond, the Green Goddess, or the now-closed Duke of Greenwich. I’m sure the unbelievably strange opening hours of the Duke of Greenwich contributed in some part to its demise.

Southeast Sessions.

This was the second month in a row that I have attended the Southeast Sessions at St Richard’s Church, and I will probably be going to quite a few in the future. The Southeast Sessions are acoustic sessions featuring amateur, up-and-coming, and established professional songwriting artists, showcasing and demoing their talent and original songs.

The quality varies, but it’s apparent that they all have talent.

Last month, the Artists were Brooke Law, Lawrence O, Maria Mihalik and Owen Morgan.

Brooke Law’s talent is outstanding, and she already has several albums and awards to her name.

October’s lineup: Owen Morgan, Brooke Law, Laurence O and Maria Mihalik.

This month, November, we had the talents of Florence Sommerville, Ben Lawrence, Luke Catley and Owen Morgan.

Florence Sommerville

Ben Lawrence

Luke Catley

Owen Morgan

Once again, it was the girl who was the brightest talent with awards to her name in the country music scene.  Both Florence and Ben have recorded singles to their names.

Luke is usually the sound technician at these sessions, but this month he was on stage.  He is currently studying a university course in songwriting as a mature student.

The Sessions are set up and organised by local Charlton man Owen Morgan, who hosts most of the shows.

The first time my wife and I attended one of these sessions, we were sitting there waiting for the show to start when we caught sight, out of the corner of our eye, a gentleman heading towards us wearing a very large crucifix.

My very first thought was Oh no, we are about to be accosted by the vicar who will harass us with God squad speak.

I, being a devout atheist, dreaded these conversations. Still, I needn’t have worried, as it turned out he was Owen Morgan, the organiser, who had just noticed a few new faces and wanted to introduce himself and welcome the new session viewers. It turns out, he’s a very nice bloke.

They have a very rudimentary bar, which is essentially just a hatch into the kitchen, serving a small selection of bottled beers, wines, and soft drinks.  The drinks are not cheap, but then again, the church is always looking for ways to generate a charitable profit.

I would highly recommend these sessions if you’re interested in encouraging new songwriting talent or simply looking for something to do midweek.

The ticketing for this event is somewhat unusual.  They have a ‘pay what you think the show is worth’ policy, with a recommended price of about £13. I personally think £13 is more than reasonable. However, how can you possibly judge if an event is worth the ticket value until you see the actual act? I personally think it is worth the recommended ticket price.

Zaibatsu Update: Grand reopening.

The 2025 reopening of Zaibatsu has been scheduled for October 30th at 6 pm. I suspect the place has already been fully booked out. I have already said that I will let them settle in before booking a date and getting an updated review of the place. I don’t think we will be disappointed if past experiences of the old Zaibatsu are anything to go by.

Charlton Horn Fair 2025.

The Charlton Horn Fair took place last Sunday, 19^th October. This annual event at Charlton House sparked my curiosity about the origin of the Horn Fair, and as I delved into the past, the story became increasingly fascinating.

The origins of the fair have differing stories, but the main story goes that King John (1166 – 1216) Cuckolded a Miller by seducing his wife while on a hunting trip. The miller came home and caught the king and his wife and attempted to kill the king. King John managed to save his own life by convincing the miller of his true identity. As penance for the wrong that he had done to the miller, he decreed that the miller be given a lordship and all the land between Charlton and the bend in the River Thames at Rotherhithe, which ironically later became known as cuckold point or cuckold haven.

No one knows when the fair first started, but it was initially held at the place later known as Cuckold Point. If the story has some merit to it, then the Horn Fair would be at least 810 years old. However, other historical records place the starting date in the 1500s.

The Horn Fair was initially scheduled for October 18, which is Saint Luke’s Day. Saint Luke had an association with cattle and oxen, hence the name Horn Fair. Patrons of the fair would often display horns on their heads.

The Horn Fair went on for hundreds of years and became a place associated with drunkenness, raucous, violent behaviour, and debauchery. Eventually, all this debauchery and chaos was too much for the Victorians’ pious sensibilities, and so in 1872, the Horn Fair was closed and banned for good.

In 1973, the Fair was resurrected as a much tamer, family-oriented fair, set on the Sunday nearest to October 18th, within the grounds of Charlton House.

This year marked my first visit to the Horn Fair, despite having lived in the area for 30 years. If this was the standard of the event every year, then I had not missed much.

The main reason the event was a washout was the rain. When I arrived, a local dance troop of about 10 young girls aged about 11 to 13 years old was trying to perform on a patch of green that had turned to mud due to the rain, leaving the kids’ clothing rather muddy by the end of their show.  Waiting at the front of Charlton  House was a troop of Morris dancers waiting for their turn to entertain the small crowd.

There was a small number of stalls selling craft stuff, coffee and food,  but once again they had very few customers, and they all looked miserable as if they were thinking ‘ what am I doing here, I could be down the pub’.

That could be the magic ingredient that was missing at this event: alcohol, or at least one beer stall. The only refreshments on offer were tea and coffee in the tea room or on the stalls.

I know they don’t want a return to the bad old days of the 19^th century,  but I think just a bit of debauchery and wilder entertainment and commercialism wouldn’t go amiss in the 21^st century.

I’m not knocking the Horn Fair entirely, but with more entertainment, a decent bar or stalls selling some alcohol, and even a wider variety of food on offer, it would be a lot better. The weather can’t be controlled, so I will not criticise the event organisers for that.

I will go again next year, and hopefully, the event, which only lasts 5 hours from 11 am to 4 pm, will be a bit more lively.

Bouldr Bar Update.

Last Saturday, I stopped by the Bouldr Bar, the taproom for Rock Leopard Brewery, to see how things were progressing.  Due to the blustery, windy, and winter weather, the tables and benches have now been moved inside.

The place is still a work in progress, but Stacey Ayeh said that it should be fully operational as a pub by the end of November or definitely before Christmas.  You can’t rush these things.  It’s taken him three years of hard graft and fighting red tape and bureaucracy to get this far.

In the afternoon and evening, from about 3 pm onwards, they are now serving food in the form of pizzas or Jollof rice. On their Instagram page, they are asking what should be next on the menu,  so the food at the pub is also a work in progress.

I chose to sample one of their new beers called “ Don’t delete the kisses”, a hazy New England IPA, which I liked very much.

I was looking forward to trying another new beer of theirs, called “Tough Questions,” which is an APA (American Pale Ale), a collaboration with Burning Sky, an artisanal brewery. However, they did not have any on tap that particular day.

I hope to stop by again sometime in November and get another update before the grand opening.