New Chandos

The Chandos, the journeyman pub on 56 Brockley Rise, has been given an impressive makeover, which extends to a handsome new pub garden. It got some minor remedial work last year but this is on a far more ambitious scale. The photo is from a set on SE23life. Click here for the works.

New and revamped pubs and bars are opening at the rate of one a week at the moment.

Number 41, Brockley Rise

Very smart looking new place under construction by Dalmain School @BrockleyCentral pic.twitter.com/wqBmUVRq6J

— Molewife (@Molewife) June 10, 2016

No 41 opened at the weekend and the owners say:

Please come along and try our Monmouth roasted coffee and our Tea-pigs tea, you will not be disappointed. If you are hungry why not grab a bite to eat? Everything is made freshly on a daily basis in our kitchen, especially our scrumptious Mediterranean breakfast.

Pasha's Ice Cream, Brockley Rise

A new ice cream parlour, Pasha's, has just opened on Brockley Rise. Please post your reviews here. Thanks to @theonlywayisSE6.

Honor Oak Wellness Rooms Open Day

Ginny writes:

I'm the Practice Manager here at the Honor Oak Wellness Rooms. We are planning an open day on the 12th September, which is going to be a lovely (free) day of:15-minute massages, taster classes (yoga, Pilates, meditation), chiropractic consultations and talks, plus lots of food and drink.

Our timetable and booking info is available via our website.

Lewisham's digital photo archive

Joe sent us this link to Lewisham Council's photographic archive, which has more than 2,000 historic shots, covering every part of the borough. These images were taken from a collection of more than 50 Brockley photographs.

What were they thinking? The 1968 demolition of Brockley Congregational Church on Lewisham Way, to make way for Rokeby House office block.

The Greater Brockley Express: The Forest Hill tram service opened in 1908. Here it is, running along Brockley Rise.

Out of time: Tressillian Road houses with tilt-shift photography and The Shard in the background.

The Road Worrier

Matthew writes:

The large convenience store off Brockley Rise in-between Chandos and Le Querce seems to have been halved from two units into one, with some work going on in the other unit. Does anyone have any idea what it’s destined to be? The shop owners don’t seem to have any idea, only that the landlord is changing it.

Babur Gourmandized

Food muralist crew Gourmandizing have transformed this wall next to Babur on Brockley Rise as a belated addition to the Brockley Street Art Festival. The work celebrates the award-winning restaurant's 30th anniversary.

The Chandos redux

Sean says this ain't your daddy's Chandos. He writes:

There is a new team at The Chandos (56 Brockley Rise) and it's no longer that pub you don't want to go in. 

Since taking over ten weeks ago Peter and Anna have turned it into a friendly, welcoming boozer with live music every Saturday. Karaoke and Djs on Fridays. 

There's loads of TVs to watch all the different sports a pool table a great selection of beers and real ales. They even have a wine list now!

Last weekend they raised £1600 for charity a total is expected by the end of this week of £2500. Who would have thought it?

Muck N Brass, 72 Brockley Rise

Muck N Brass is an upcycler that trades on Etsy and specialises in turning vintage furniture into vivid graphic creations like these. This week, they've opened their first shop at 72 Brockley Rise (formerly the rarely-open bric-a-brac shop Caledonia).

Following the arrival of Wandsworth Sash Windows in Crofton Park and a pop-up furniture showroom on Lewisham Way, it looks as though interiors may be the new coffee in terms of the new businesses attracted to the area.

Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10am - 6pm, Saturday & Sunday 11am -5pm. Follow Muck N Brass on Twitter here.

The Honor Oak Wellness Rooms

Vivien writes:

The Honor Oak Wellness Rooms is a newly opened health and wellness space at 82 Brockley Rise [formerly Tai Wu Chinese restaurant] that specialises in chiropractic care to help manage pain and improve health.

We also offer yoga to improve fitness and well-being, with other therapies coming soon to the clinic. Our aim is to help our community live a pain free and healthy life. The types of conditions we treat include back and neck pain, lower back pain, shoulder and arm pain, sports injuries, migraines and headaches, trapped nerves and many more painful conditions.

As born and bred locals ourselves, we are really excited to finally share our wellness agenda with the local community (after a year in the build). We will be offering more therapies such as massage therapy, sports therapy and exciting workshops/ free health talks in the upcoming months.

As an introductory offer, we are offering a free consultation and treatment for new patients with our chiropractor until the end of March (worth £60). Check us out at www.honoroakwellnessrooms.com

New Lewisham, New You!

Lewisham Council writes:

This month sees the launch of a new range of courses at Community Education Lewisham. Printmaking, Painting, Fashion, Food, Languages and much more - for adults 19+ and Family Learning Short Courses.

Whether you are looking to return to education, want a change in career or would like to learn a new hobby and make friends, our Adult Education Courses are the ideal choice for you. Family Learning gives family members (children, parents, carers and grandparents) a chance to learn something together in a fun and supportive atmosphere.

We have three main centres in Lewisham: Brockley Rise, Granville Park and Grove Park. Click here to see the full listings.

Council plans improvements to 'Brockley Corridor'

Lewisham Council has launched a consultation about their plans to improve the "Brockley Corridor" - a long stretch of road from Brockley Cross to Stansted Road in Honor Oak. They say:

We have secured funding from Transport for London through the Local Improvement Plan to develop proposals for improving the public realm along various sections of the ‘Brockley Corridor’ - the main north-south route between the South Circular and Brockley Cross. We are now consulting with local stakeholders in order to gain a better understanding of issues within the Corridor and potential for improvements, in order to inform more detailed designs.

Putting aside the fact that the Council shares our vision of a Greater Brockley, in which all points in the borough are defined in terms of their relationship to Brockley, this is a welcome plan, which will give greater priority to cyclists and pedestrians, narrowing the road and calming traffic as it travels through high street areas.

The proposed changes include improvements at key locations along the route, to make junctions easier to navigate and the high streets more attractive, with wider pavements, more trees and fewer barriers. Particularly good is the plan to remodel the "St Andrew's Parade" junction (where Wickham Road meets Brockley Road), which is horrible to cross and the only people who want to stop and linger are motorists, who have a tendency to park their cars up on the middle of the pavement. As the Council put it, this is currently a "cluttered highway and an unpleasant public realm."

The scheme also proposes to create a "sense of arrival" as you exit Crofton Park Station towards the Rivoli (just getting to Crofton Park Station after a snaky journey from Blackfriars creates the sense of occasion they may be looking to achieve) and to create a public space outside the Chandos.

The plans could be accused of being too modest in their ambition, but we'd rather the Council do a few things really well - with high quality materials, attention to detail and close supervision of the contractors - than bite off more than they can chew and do it all in a half-arsed fashion. It's notable that none of the 'Exemplar Schemes' listed in the document is from Lewisham - please let this be a turning point for Lewisham road improvements and an exemplar for all future schemes.

With thanks to Monkeyboy.

Coming soon: Restored N Adored

New shop opening on Brockley rise where old 'Caledonia' shop was. Look forward to checking out! pic.twitter.com/PMT0ircVhx
— Honor Oak Park (@honoroakpark) August 6, 2014

Le Querce - top secret foodie haunt

Le Querce - the local restaurant that's so understated, it's practically a speakeasy - has been listed in The Times today as one of the top 20 secret foodie restaurants. They say:

Some of the finest Italian food in the UK is to be found in a slightly outwardly shabby high-street restaurant on Brockley Rise in southeast London. The view of the MOT centre opposite might not be the best but the atmosphere is buzzy, warm and friendly. The pasta is home-made by the chef and owner, Antonello Serra, who has cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Sardinia and Bayswater in West London. 

The menu is divided in the traditional Italian way — antipasti, pasta, primi, secondi, dessert. The pizzas are thin, crispy and with basic toppings — “speck and rocket”, blue cheese or simply salami; the secondi courses are similarly simple — lamb cutlets on a vegetable bed, for example, or the pasta: Bufala ricotta ravioli with butter and sage. The pudding is home-made ice cream in exciting flavours — chilli chocolate, or banana with cardamom and ginger. This place really is a diamond in the rough.

With thanks to Nuno.

Babur wins another curry gong

We're very late with this news, partly because we've been busy, but partly because Babur winning a "best Indian restaurant" award is becoming routine. This time, it's won top honours in the Curry Capital of Britain Award 2013.

The News Shopper has the story on the Brockley Rise restaurant's triumph.

Tea at the Opera, St Saviour's Church

Open Mic Night, August 17th

John writes:

This night will raise money for a charity called International Service who run a wide range of projects all over the world. From this September I will be working on one of their projects in Burkina Fas and I have been asked to raise £800 for the charity.

The night itself should be some good lighthearted fun and it's all for a good cause. The more creative people we get down there, the better the night will be and the more money we'll raise for the charity basically. Facebook page here.

Love Songs to the Planet, July 20th

Brockley Rise Adult Education

The Brockley Rise Adult Education Centre opens for enrolment on Saturday, 6 July, between 9am–2pm for courses starting from September 2013.

 The centre offers a wide range of courses (BC can recommend the pottery course) and you can view the full list here.

Brockley Rise built on ancient Indian burial ground

For those who missed the excitement on Twitter earlier, a large hole opened up in the road in Brockley Rise this afternoon. Police are looking into it (with thanks to Dave "Mike" Lowry for the joke, as well as the picture).