The Talbot - good things come to those who wait

James Heaton has written to us to deliver a fresh twist in the tale of The Talbot:

"Things are still going ahead albeit very slowly - the major problem we have is the funding that we require. At The Honor Oak we have had a downturn in sales over the last couple of months (unsure whether this was the bad weather or the dreaded words 'credit crunch') which has obviously affected our cash-flow.

"It was always our intention to get a small loan to part-finance the works however the banks are not that responsive to lending it to us at the moment, so we are currently looking into other finance options. Work was always planned to start on the 1st October but this looks unlikely now. We are still 100% committed to making The Talbot happen but we need to do it properly to make it work - no half efforts will be enough.

"Once funding is secured I will let you know!"

Having been given a sneak preview of the first floor dining room and its glorious, grimy detailing, we have several times allowed ourselves to entertain notions of Sunday dinner on wintry days, overlooking the snow-dusted trees of Brockley. As summer fades to autumn, James' news makes this an ever-more-unlikely prospect. But hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

Meanwhile, if you've been thinking about checking out the Honour Oak, now would seem a good time to do it.