The Theory of Everything, May 21st

The Hither Green Festival is currently under way and the organisers have invited BCers to join their evening screening of The Theory Of Everything on Thursday, May 21st.

The Hither Green Community Association (HGCA) is a proactive community resource for people who live and work in Hither Green and the surrounding area.

The association promotes local identity, communication, activity, responsibility, business and supports a small number of community projects.

The committee is made up of local volunteers and receives financial support from local residents, the local authority and a number of other charitable groups.

Tickets are being sold on wegottickets.com at £7 each.

Plan to turn Hither Green cinema into flats

Image courtesy of Google Street View

The passing of the Golden Age of Lewisham Cinema is something that many BCers mourn, so it is worth noting that a planning application has gone in to convert one of the borough's former picture palaces into flats.

What is now Carpet Corner at 232 Hither Green Lane was once the Park Cinema. Developers have applied for permission for: "The part demolition, alteration and extension of 232 Hither Green Lane, SE13 to provide a three storey building comprising a ground floor A1 food retail unit, the creation of six residential units on the 1st and 2nd floors."

Richard Gray of the Cinema Theatre Association explains:

The cinema opened on 22 December 1913 and was designed by Edward Albert Stone of local architects Norfolk and Prior (Stone went on to design some of the most ambitious cinemas in London, such as the Astoria, Finsbury Park, now a church, and its sister, the Astoria, Brixton, now the Academy music venue). 

The Park's auditorium was on two levels, stalls and balcony, and had an organ to accompany the silent pictures. It was modernised by Leslie Kemp in c.1931, 'streamlining' the façade of its Edwardian embellishments and presumably similar treatment happened internally. 

Always an 'independent' (rather than a 'circuit' house) it was an early closure on 14 December 1957, when it was converted to a boating store, while in recent years it has been in use as an indoor childrens' playground. 

It was sold in the Summer of 2008 and the Cinema Treasurers website says in 2011 a campaign was started to return the cinema to film use. We will object to Lewisham council as it obviously of some use to the community rather than just becoming flats.

Thanks to Joe from The Victorian Society for the information.

Late summer, outdoor cinema

Rooftop movies in Peckham, park screens in Hither Green

We're being flanked by late-summer outdoor screenings on our east and west sides.

The Rooftop Film Club is taking over the top floor of the Bussey Building for a season which includes The Big Lebowski, American Psycho and When Harry Met Sally. Tickets cost £13 and you'll have access to the new Bussey Rooftop Bar presented by Zubrowka.

Meanwhile, Pop Up Screens (who once came to Hilly Fields, before they realised its open nature left them vulnerable to free-riders) returns to Hither Green with screenings of Fight Club, Moulin Rouge and Top Gun at Manor House Gardens (5-7 September). Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.popupscreens.co.uk for £10.

New Cross and Hither Green - A foreign land for Farage

This weekend, Nigel Farage told his party conference in Torquay that parts of Britain have become "unrecognisable".

Curiously, he chose a train journey from Charing X to Kent to illustrate his point, claiming that he rode through London Bridge, New Cross and Hither Green to Grove Park before his nerves were calmed by the sound of English being spoken, saying:

"Do I think parts of Britain are a foreign land? I got the train the other night, it was rush hour, from Charing Cross. "It was a stopper going out and we stopped at London Bridge, New Cross, Hither Green, it was not til we got past Grove Park that I could hear English being audibly spoken in the carriage. "Does that make me feel slightly awkward? Yes it does. I wonder what is really going on. I am saying that and I am sure that is a view that will be reflected by three quarters of the population, perhaps even more."

The idea that London is a great black and brown "other" is a popular one with UKIPers (and much of the rest of the country) but his example is as incredible as David Cameron's 'black man in Plymouth' story, since any journey out in to the Kent countryside is dominated by white English people, who get on at Charing X and thus ought to have been a reassuring presence for him during his trip - they didn't all embark at Grove Park.

Tourists increasingly hang out at London Bridge and foreign students sometimes swamp New Cross, but Farage describes a train carriage we've never seen. As for Hither Green, it's a happy hunting ground for native-Londoners priced out of other parts of London.

There are disturbing scenes every Friday night at London Bridge, featuring people who speak in unknown tongues, but they're pissed-up Brits on their way home, after a night at the Barrowboy & Banker. Some great British traditions don't change.

Pop-Up Screens decamps to Hither Green

Jareth: Sarah, beware. I have been generous up 'til now. I can be cruel.
Sarah: Generous? What have you done that's generous?
Jareth: *Everything*! Everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for *you*! I am exhausted from living up to your expectations. Isn't that generous?
- Labyrinth

You people sicken us. A company sets up a pop-up cinema in Hilly Fields so that films and delicious popcorn can be enjoyed on your doorstep and you drive them away with your recklessness. Dave, from Pop-Up Screens writes:

Unfortunately we had to move from Hilly Fields this year as the number of non-paying viewers sitting outside our cordon multiplied over the course three nights from an amusing 4 on Friday, to an equally amusing 7 or 8 on Saturday and then to close to 100 on Sunday which was amazing. 

We didn’t so much mind the fact that they’re weren’t paying but they started to get naughty, interrupting the people that were paying. In the end it became a significant problem, so we're moving over to Manor House Gardens. 

Jaws, The Usual Suspects and Labyrinth will be the good people of Hither Green's reward (August 2-4). Details here.

Go Hither

Kate writes:

Come Hither is an all-day charity event of arts, crafts, theatre and music giving residents a taste of Brazil will take place at St Swithun’s Hall in Hither Green on Saturday, June 22.

Called ‘Come Hither’, the event consists of an art and crafts fair from 2pm until 6pm at the hall in St Swithun’s Road and includes a mask making workshop for children aged three years and over. Delicious cakes, refreshments and a special taste of Brazil will be available and entrance is free.

In the evening, from 8pm until 10.30pm, there will be special performances from Foreign Affairs Theatre Company and music by the Bob Constant and the Goodbye Horses and much more. Tickets are £5.

The event will raise money for the Charlotte Miller Art Project, a UK-based charity working with NGOs in Latin America to bring the arts to disadvantaged children and young people.

Organiser Sara Santos says: “In October, I will be travelling to Brazil as a volunteer arts educator to work with street children in Eldorado favela outside the city of Sao Paulo. I am raising money to fund my expenses for the six month placement.

“Come and enjoy a little taste of Brazil in the heart of Lewisham and help raise money for a fantastic cause!”
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/comehitherevent

Disco is LIFE!

Disco tribute night Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet returns tonight in Hither Green.

Founder Nikki, recently made a persuasive case on Radio 4 for the genre and the rejuvenating properties of disco dancing, so if you want some of what she's having, the details are available on the Hither Green forum.

Hither Green Christmas Ozfest

The great and powerful Max lets us know about this Hither Green Cinema event. Be warned, when you go to Hither Green, you're not in Brockley any more.

Hither Green Forum closes

The Hither Green Forum, a site which BC regularly plundered for local news, has been closed. The owner's message says: "After over 7 years running the forum I no longer enjoy the task... Many thanks to many of you for the contributions you made over the years. Goodbye."

Our South East Central forum had a section for Hither Green for a while, but we closed it due to the popularity of the dedicated site. If our Hither Green readers (we think we have some) want us to re-create the Hither Green section, please let us know.

Hither Green Disco

Organiser Nikki writes:

"Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet! returns for a fabulous night of 70’s and 80’s soul, funk and disco - for people who remember the tunes first time round and still want to party- with DJs Lord Ant and Da-Lynne & dance diva, Ali Golding."

But that is not all, oh no that is not all. She adds:

"Have you heard we in Hither Green have had yet another pub refurb (The Station Hotel - much needed!) and even a designer kids shop has opened the wrong side of the tracks. We are being Brockleyfied by the day!

With Jam and Bread, Lee

The Times today has a "how to" guide for budding cafe entrepreneurs, written by Jennie Milsom, the founder of With Jam and Bread, the Hither Green coffee shop (386 Lee High Road). Jennie writes:

I had been writing a book about London’s quirky coffee shops when I walked past the empty shop near my house that I’d been waiting for someone to turn into a café. A “To Let” sign had appeared in the window. The penny dropped: that someone was me... So started Project Café. 

OK, so I was more qualified than the average rookie. I’d worked in cafés and restaurant kitchens. And through writing the book, I’d researched the gamut of the capital’s coffee emporia — from The Deptford Project’s Off the Rails Café, a converted 1960s railway carriage on the south side of the city, to Look Mum No Hands!, a café-cum-bike workshop north of the river — while picking up key advice from London’s top café-owners. 

I’d spent months holed up writing the book at the communal table in Browns of Brockley, inhaling air as rich in coffee as the chatter around me. But, I soon discovered, there were many more lessons I needed to learn before I could launch With Jam and Bread, my own café in southeast London.

It's great to learn that the Brockley's invisible hand was once again at the centre of something good and it's more anecdotal evidence that good local businesses inspire more local entrepreneurs, creating a virtuous circle of South East London ambition.

Hither Green Week 2012

This month, the suburbanites of Hither Green are trying to capture a little of Brockley's metropolitan buzz by staging their own festival week. Full programme details here.

The opening night (Saturday 19th) features the funk, soul and disco stylings of 'Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet!' and the DJ posse are featured here with some of the Peel Cars that will be on display on Sunday 27th.

Peel are the world's smallest cars and the company that makes them is owned by Gary Hillman (pictured behind the wheel), a Hither Green-based builder who revived the company with some help from capital raised on Dragons' Den. This will be the first time that Peel Engineering opens to the public. To be fair to our dowdy cousins, that is very cool.

Tickets for Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet! cost £10 in advance ( £12 on the door) and are available from local outlets (including You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, 15, Staplehurst Road, SE13 5ND and Harlequin Fancy Dress, 254, Lee High Rd ) or by calling 0796 716 3247 or via www.haventstoppeddancingyet.co.uk (booking fee applies).

Is Hither Green more suburban than Brockley?

Hither Greenies have reacted with indignation on Twitter to the suggestion on last night's Location, Location, Location that their area is more suburban than Brockley.

We'd argue that it is - although whether that is a good or bad thing is a matter of opinion. Hither Green is further out, zone 3 rather than zone 2, without an ELL connection. Hither Green feels sleepier and cosier than Brockley, with fewer local venues, more houses and fewer flats. While we share Catford and Lewisham as neighbours, Hither Green is bounded by quiet Lee and genteel Blackheath, whereas we border New Cross and Deptford, which are neither quiet nor genteel. While Brockley has its fair share of young families, Hither Green seems to be exclusively populated by them.

Seems like an open and shut case to us, but if anyone wants to put an alternate view, let's hear it.

Location, Location, Location

Approximately a decade after its first visit, Location, Location, Location returned to Brockley last night, during an episode devoted to house hunting in South East London, which, as the presenters helpfully explained, is the area between the city and the Kent countryside.

It was interesting to compare and contrast the two shows.  Whereas the first visit portrayed Brockley as a sleepy, speakeasy bolthole that came as a complete surprise to the prospective buyer, last night's show featured a couple of "cool" and "stylish" designers living in Brockley whose list of criteria for their next purchase included remaining in the "Brockley area" loved the community and were freaked out by a house in relatively suburban Hither Green, which lacked the city-centre buzz they were used to.

Ultimately, they bought a large property in Camberwell, where they will try to recreate the Brockley magic, having been disappointed by a property in Crofton Park, but not before they were shown standing looking longingly through the window of an estate agent with El's Kitchen in the background several times. Farewell, Nadine and Toby, you have served Brockley admirably.

Silent Night at the Hither Green Cinema

Thanks to The Artist, the kids are all into silent movies these days, so it's the perfect time for this Hither Green Cinema Event. With thanks to Max.

South East Central - Hither Green forum

Whether because of literary festivals, cinema campaigns or night bus services, Hither Green's been throwing up more than its fair share of stories since we launched South East Central, so we've given it its very own home on the forum.

The Lewisham Literary Festival

Oh Icarus, fly not too near the sun, lest thy waxy wings should melt...

A Hither Green-based collective is organising the first Lewisham Literary Festival, September 9th - 16th. The team says:

We want to put on a Literary Festival that’s less ‘literary’ and more ‘festival’ – not serious-faced, chin-strokey readings, but something for people to enjoy.

Currently, the schedule of events is as sketchy as a Tom Clancy plot, but they'll be announcing more details about the programme in the coming weeks and they've just revealed that the launch event will be a book swap, organised by the team behind the popular Firestation Book Swaps in Windsor.

All proceeds from the Festival will go to the Hither Green Community Hall and Arts Society, who run cinema and arts events in the area and are campaigning for a new cinema for Lewisham.

Follow the team on Twitter here for more details.

South East Central Bites

Here's some of the stuff we unearthed on the forum recently:

• Goldsmiths theatre student Nikki is seeking four neighbours to take part in a performance in June.
• The Telegraph Hill Society will relaunch, following some soul searching about its role and future.
• There's a poetry event in the Cooper Locke Gallery, Hither Green, later this month.
• And have we found Lewisham's best Chinese restaurant?

Ladywell Cinema campaign

Although the aspiration to create a local cinema foundered when Hither Green Hall was bought by carpet-sellers, the Hither Green cineastes are back, with an even grander plan, to turn Ladywell leisure centre into a moviedrome.

After floating the idea on Southeastcentral, they write:

Hither Green Hall steering group are proposing a campaign to turn the Ladywell Leisure Centre site into a cinema complex once the old pool closes in two years time.

We have started an online petition. SIGN NOW

A detailed appraisal of the proposal is available on our website.

A consultation about Lewisham town centre developments including the old pool site is now being carried out by Lewisham Council.

Comments can be made directly to the following department with "Lewisham Town Centre Area Action Plan Consultation" in the subject line and state that you support a cinema at the Ladywell Leisure Centre site in the message.

planning@lewisham.gov.uk

The consultation regarding the town center development ends next week so comment now while you can.

The Council is considering turning that site into housing and that would be another missed opportunity for a central cinema complex.

This campaign will run for some time. For it to succeed we need to gather universal support so any help is gratefully appreciated. For now, please forward this to your contact list.

We admire any attempt to enrich Lewisham's cultural landscape, at this end of town, we don't feel particularly cinema-starved. The O2 and Surrey Quays cinemas are within pretty easy reach thanks to the East London Line, Greenwich Cinema is walkable and the Brockley Jack and Deptford Film Clubs do some great programming.

However, undoubtedly, if Lewisham Council wants to fulfill its ambitions to be the best place in London to live, then it needs to provide a greater range of local leisure options than it does at present.

Responding to the campaigners on the Southeastcentral forum, Cllr Mike Harris described it as "a really interesting concept" and has offered to investigate it with officers.

Rugs, rats!

Leonard Nimoy: A solar eclipse. The cosmic ballet goes on.
Man: Does anyone want to switch seats?

- The Simpsons, Marge vs The Monorail

BC regular Max reports on the outcome of the campaign to save Hither Green cinema from being turned in to flats. The build was bagged by carpeters and will be the new home for the displaced Ladywell carpet shop that is being turned in to... flats! He writes:

The owner of the Carpet Corner of Ladywell Road (opposite the Playtower) bought it as its new premises. His current site is about to be redeveloped into residential and so he needed a new one, and here it is. He bought it for £475k, which is a bargain.

BC's not sure we'd be so chipper about the outcome, which seems almost as far from the campaigners' original hopes as flats would have been, but if he's happy, we're happy.