Comedy on the Common

I've had a leaflet and email regarding the next comedy session so it looks as if they are doing their marketing for it. I've been to the last couple of Christmas ones. Usually the bar stays open late and they have some festive tunes and it turns into a bit of a disco which is very amusing. It is usually the busiest one as well - so get there early to bag your seats and take advantage of the cheap rugby club drinks prices! I hope they continue to do one a quarter and keep this event going. It's so nice to have something so local.

The Titanic

exhibition is now open at the O2. I really want to go to this and have a good look around. I seem to have missed most of the recent events here (probably because it is such a pain to get to) but I am determined to go and see this. It's on for a few months so I'm sure I will make it!

Ambala

I see that a number of new shops/takeaways have been found to be sub standard. I am amazed by the amount of shop keepers and restaurant owners who just seem so blase about this. How hard is it to clean up. Anyway Ambala which is a sweet shop on Plumstead High Street had mice droppings in their sweets - so I'd give it a miss if I was you.

a bit of history

I have just recently discovered the website http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/ which has a wealth of information about SE London. In particular it has some really detailed pages about Plumstead which are fascinating....have a look people.

Sky lift / Cable car

Another crazy idea. A lovely gimmick and probably a good tourist attraction but really f all use to those of us living in the South East who have to cross the river with our cars....No doubt any new plans for a river crossing will be shelved now that this seems to have got the green light.
Does anyone who works for Transport for London or the Government ever visit this area and see how congested the blackwall tunnel and the Dartford crossing are? It's chaos.
Not to mention that the traffic for the Woolwich ferry is always backed up to the roundabout causing traffic issues.
These problems aren't even when there has been an accident, they are usually every morning. Anyone I know who lives outside of London always says "oohh I hear about the traffic at the blackwall tunnel on the radio" when i mention I live here..pitying.
I might get some planks of wood out and build my own bloody bridge at this rate.

Tesco & Costa

have both now opened in Welling. They both looked pretty busy too from what I could see driving past. Morrisons didnt seem to be missing out too much...
So Costa is now in Welling and Woolwich, wonder if we will ever see one in Plumstead?!! I bet Abbey Wood get one in the new Crossrail station. Poor lonely Plumstead being left out in the cold.
Still at least the big golden M is up and soon to be opened.
I can't help thinking that if Pizza Express can survive in the street it is in in Bexleyheath then at least Plumstead should be able to sustain something. I'ts getting too cold to hop on the bus to Greenwich, I really could do with something closer!

Christmas Lights..

I see the Christmas lights are due to be switched on in Eltham in just over a week's time - November 18th. Madness!! How early is that. I'm all for Christmas but surely the whole month of December is enough time to enjoy it. I'm only just over Halloween and Bonfire night.
Still I did see a house decorated for Christmas on Saturday night, and yes I'm pretty sure it wasn't for diwali - not unless they thought they would save the hassle of doing it all again, it was definitely festive....

Plumstead Manor

So the demolition seems to have finally started and the old Prince Albert pub has now gone along with what was rather a large house. I do hope they are going to build a car park which will hopefully stop the atrocious parking that takes place around that area of the Common. I often see cars half jutting out into the road because they can't see behind a van parked on the corner..The school also seems to have a lot of teachers and staff, more I am sure than any school I ever went to! Will be interested to see how the building works come along though. I like the fact that some of the facilities will be available to the public, such as the sports hall and also a community room that will be available to members of the public during the day - hopefully there will be some Mother and baby groups that take advantage of this or yoga/pilates etc.

Fireworks 2

How stupid do you have to be to set fireworks off in the daytime? What's the point? OK so you might be unemployed and bored, have you not tried watching Flog It?
I assume you have spent the best part of this weeks benefits on buying the damn things, so at least wait until it's dark and you can see them.

Bonfire Night....

Now seems to be called Fireworks night. As a child I always remember it being Bonfire night - bonfire toffee etc..I have been looking at the various fireworks taking place around the SE to decide where to go with the family this weekend and I think we will probably head to Blackheath (although given the funding cuts there will probably only be one whizz bang). But why is it so hard to find a bonfire - I think the nearest is in Crystal Palace.
I assume it is due to health and safety, woe betide I guess anyone who wants to burn a guy fawkes....

More food (not that I am obsessed)

I see that Strada in Blackheath is closing for a refit, from I think 8-17 November. Hopefully they are refitting their staff as well. Not really had great experiences when I have been in to it (in fact Blackheath as a whole as much as I love it does suffer from a lack of customer service in nearly all of it's establishments - Cafe Rouge garden is never open, Cave Austin's chef seems to go home when he likes and woe betide you if you want a cocktail in there, the Tapas place staff look eternally bored, Locale staff can't add up -  but I digress.
Also I see that a Wagamama's is due to open at the O2 - well at the bottom of Ravensbourne College - which will be a welcome addition. If only there was better transport links to the dome as parking is atrocious there.

Pumpkins

Well the pumpkins were carved and a steady stream of trick or treaters trickled by. Not actually sure any of them said Trick or Treat. Mainly they were quite dinky and just held out little orange pumpkin buckets (am guessing one of the supermarkets must have had a job lot)! They were quite polite too as well, (except for one family who looked like those people you see on the tube with their half drugged babies in their arms harrassing passengers for change in a manky looking old coffee cup). We un-halloweened the house later on as we thought that the teenagers would be around at that point. Not sure I want to be opening my door to a bunch of sugar rushed teens in scream masks. Pretty quiet really and more civilised than the previous area of London we lived in which was more upmarket but they used to go around egging cars on Halloween so you can't always judge by postcode!