The Old Milk Float

In the third in our unplanned series of articles about the eccentric machines parked on our pavements, we can now reveal the purpose of the milk float that has been exciting BC readers on Upper Brockley Road. And before anyone pipes up to suggest that this is some sort of device for delivering milk to people's homes, it isn't. That would be too easy.

John Burtt explains:

I'm an events organiser, who's hoping to return milk floats to the streets of London via a series of events and festivals. So far, my company The Old Milk Float has put on a Diamond Heist (www.theartfulbadger.com) in Islington, created a food fight in an art gallery, and last week we threw a 'kid's rave' in Ruskin Park for 'Trees For Cities'.

This year, the float will be at everything from Lovebox to the Olympics, so keep an eye out for the float on your travels around the area.

From the Toads Mouth

After we reported the plans to reopen the Toads Mouth as something new there were plenty of questions raised by readers, which new owner Ali kindly agreed to answer. Here's what she told us:

What balance will you be striking between being a restaurant, a bar and a café? 

We are primarily going to be a restaurant. But we’re lucky that the area upstairs naturally lends itself to a different kind of atmosphere, so it will primarily be a bar. And during the day we will be serving breakfast and lunch, café-style.

What sort of restaurant are you planning? 

It will be a neighbourhood restaurant – simple and delicious rather than over-ambitious. It will have a strong French influence but we will be serving a range of cuisines, including British. Our influences are mainly French restaurants, but an example of the kind of atmosphere we’re hoping to create would be Pizza East in Shoreditch. The décor will combine Victorian features with natural wood.

What will your opening hours be like? 

We’ll be open every day except Monday. The bar will be open until 11.30pm and the restaurant until 11pm on Friday and Saturday. We’ll be open for breakfast at the weekends and brunch during the week.

Toads Mouth’s garden was its best feature, in our view, and a bit of a rarity for the area. What are you planning for it? 

The garden is really important for our plans. We love it too. There will be outside dining, although we have to prove ourselves to our neighbours and the Council, so evening opening hours will be limited – 6pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9pm on other days. That does restrict what we’re able to do, so we hope to show that we are responsible owners, in order to persuade people to let us open a little later, eventually. 

How child-friendly do you plan to be? 

The space is divided in to lots of small rooms and we plan to take advantage of the flexibility this offers by creating some areas which are better suited to kids and some areas which are better suited to people who want somewhere a little quieter and more relaxing. I know that the balance can be tricky to get right. It’s always been a tricky site for buggies, due to the narrow stairs, and we haven’t been able to change that. We plan to be friendly to all our customers!

Have you decided on a name yet? 

We’re down to a shortlist of five. I think we already know our favourite, but I will be able to tell you what we finally choose shortly.

Do you live in Brockley? 

My husband and I live in Woolwich but my brother lives in Brockley, so we know the area really well and understand what the Toads Mouth meant to Brockley.

Will you be using many local suppliers? 

We have a list of South East London companies that we’re hoping to work with, including La Bonne Bakery in Sydenham and the Mean Time brewery in Greenwich.

When do you hope to be ready? 

We’re aiming for mid-May, at the moment.

New Cross musical comebacks

Tonight, the SE Collective are back with the Dagda Quartet, who join them as part of their Album Launch Tour 2012. Dagda are Billy Adamson (gtr) /Tom Harrison (sax) /Tom West (bass) /Mike Clowes (drums). This gig also features Joe Wright (tnr sax).

www.dagdaquartet.co.uk

Mothers' Ruin returns, this time it's at the Telegraph, in the upstairs room on April 14th. Free entry.

http://hdmothersruin.wordpress.com/

Pat-a-cakes coffee mornings

BCer Pratish excitedly confirms that Pat-a-cakes is taking on the morning commuter market, now offering coffee from 7.30am. With another coffee shop planned for Crofton Park, it could soon match Coulgate Street for caffeine fixes.

Pub Spy at the Brockley Barge

The News Shopper's Pub Spy has paid a visit to The Brockley Barge. He had his mind blown at Jam Circus,  fell in love with the barmaids at the Wickham and found the Jack 'exquisitely welcoming'. Here, he spends his time reviewing the Barge's customer base, many of whom are too young and cheap for his liking. Despite these horrors, he manages to award the Barge itself decent scores and concludes:

The good news is this ‘Spoons is spacious enough to distance yourself from customers you’d rather not look at and it gets great light – plus the food’s not bad either.

Click here for the full review. Thanks to MB for the spot on the Brockley forum.

The mystery machine

“We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams.”
- HG Wells

BCer Emiline is perplexed:

This device has been tickling our imagination. What is it? Why is it there? And how long has it been there? Is it a tarmac laying device used by a local resident of Braxfield Road who since has retired? Is it the purchase of a man in mid-life crisis whose wife can't stand his compulsive eBay clicking, therefore moving the device to Braxfield Road in the middle of the night? Please, Brockley Central, tell us the truth, the whole truth behind this strange device.

If it's your machine or you know its story, please help her.

The Shutes shoot Brockley

Brockley through a car window, courtesy of this new video by The Shutes: