A quick reminder that this weekend is Brockley Open Studios. We've been twittering about it today and will do the same tomorrow.
This picture is reproduced courtesy of Gillian Golding, whose rabbit-gnawing-on-Parliament was one of our personal highlights today.
Transpontine brings us the news that the landlord of the White Hart Pub in New Cross is getting out of the strip club game after only a few months of crab-caked fun.
Market forces had the final word and it's now just a pub again.
The South London Press reports that Lewisham's Deputy Mayor and Brockley walkabouter, Heidi Alexander is to step down to contest the Lewisham East seat, which is an interesting career move, at this time:
Lewisham’s Labour councillor Heidi Alexander hopes to fight the Lewisham East seat in the next General Election when MP Bridget Prentice steps down.
The cabinet member for regeneration said: “Residents in Lewisham may not have seen the last of me – though I am sure it will be a hard selection process.
“I have learnt a huge amount in my time as councillor and feel very privileged to have represented the people of Deptford.
“I have got to know lots of great people – both within the party and beyond it – and hope that I have made a genuine difference to our local community.”
Thanks to Patrick for spotting it.Brockley's burgeoning creative industries cluster has recently been swelled by the arrival of Melancholy Star, a brand new independent animation & VFX studio.
The studio has recently appointed Kostas Koutsoliotas, whose latest work on Flynn Productions directorial duo Karni & Saul’s music video for Flogging Molly’s latest single ‘Float’ won them the award for best Music Video at the Annecy Festival 2009:
Melancholy Star is a Brockley-based studio and now boasts some of the hottest talent to emerge from Glasgow School of Art over the past 5 years. With the addition of Koutsoliotas to the already talented team, the company is equipped to handle almost any production scenario. The studio has a full book of work lined up and is looking to expand its portfolio of clients.
For more information, please visit the Melancholy Star website at www.melancholystar.com or contact Sam Brace (Producer) sam@melancholystar.com
Brockley Central is always happy to receive a guest column, even if they come from friends and family. This is from Nicola:
Are there any BC readers interested in joining a creative mums network?
I'm a TV producer and mother to 2 young children living in Brockley. After the birth of my daughter last year, I decided to give up my staff job at the BBC to go freelance, partly because I decided it would better suit family life. What I hadn't reckoned on was that, without anyone to bounce ideas off combined with the the fact that motherhood often left me feeling pretty detached from the outside world, I felt stripped of any creative urges I may have had previously.
Most creative industries strive on youth and enthusiasm and you're often left wondering where people go to once they reach 35. The truth is, it's hard to combine a creative career with motherhood; the hours can be long and the work can be physically and mentally demanding. It's easy to succumb to negative thoughts and give up and do something less challenging, without properly realising that we've still got a lot to offer, not to mention years of experience.
The idea for the network came about after discussing these points with friends in similar situations and realising that most of us had the same fears and anxieties. The support that can be gained from those who are in or have been in similar situations can be invaluable.
'Creative Mums' will offer support, advice, networking opportunities and hopefully inspiration to mothers working or involved in creative industries.I'm particularly interested in meeting with any interested local mums and this stage, while the network is beginning to take shape - if you're interested in getting involved please email me.
Alternatively, you could join my Facebook group or follow me on Twitter to keep abreast of the network as it develops.
Moe: Oh, boy! The deep fryer's here. I got it used from the navy. You can flash-fry a buffalo in forty seconds.
Homer: Forty seconds? But I want it now!
The Brockley Society invite you to join them for a BBQ in the Stone Circle tomorrow night.
The event is their way of thanking all the volunteers involved with making the Hilly Fields Summer Fayre happen, but everyone is welcome.
You'll need to take your own food and drink, but BrocSoc will be providing the biggest BBQ in south east London to cook on. And, of course, it will be an opportunity to find out more about their work and perhaps volunteer to help with next year's event. They write:
Big thanks to everyone who helped make the Hilly Fields Fayre on Saturday 20th June such a brilliant success and such a fantastic day for our community. The help and participation of so many, many people is what is responsible.
The large numbers of teenagers present made me proud that we were catering for everyone right across the board including toddlers, dog lovers, bargain hunters, discerning art lovers and even one or two grumpy old men and women.
To say thank you to all who helped with the Fayre: Brockley Barbecue this Friday 3 July, 7.30pm, Stone Circle on Hilly Fields.
Everyone else is also welcome - bring friends and family.
The Guardian is reporting that a £30 billion funding gap in Britain's transport budget could delay Crossrail:
A leaked industry memo seen by the Guardian warned of "looming spending cuts" on major transport projects after Department for Transport officials described the consequences of restoring order to public finances. There are now fears that major schemes could be delayed, reduced or scrapped in an expenditure freeze. They include the £16bn Crossrail scheme linking Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf and Essex, which could be delayed.
Although work has already begun on the project in locations including Canary Wharf and Tottenham Court Road, there have been fears for some time that the project's funding might still be reviewed; suspicions fuelled by articles such as this one by Simon Jenkins.
Crossrail will create a new interchange with the East London Line at Whitechapel, providing Brockley residents with a much faster route to west London and Heathrow than at present. More importantly, it's vital to the growth of Canary Wharf and other business districts in east London, currently constrained by the limits of the Jubilee Line. Crossrail will help to drag the centre of London's gravity eastwards and - in this respect - is important for the long-term prosperity of south east London (not to mention the fact that it will serve Woolwich and Abbey Wood).
Its delay, therefore, would constitute a serious setback for this part of the city.
[Brockley Nick here: While I hope I've done enough over the last 3 years of blogging about Brockley to demonstrate that my motives are pure and true, in the interests of transparency, I should note that the company I work for provides public relations support for a company with a commercial interest in Crossrail]
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