Brockley Max 2014: Afternoon Tea at the Opera

Brockley Max 2014 - Opening Night Tonight

The Brockley Max Arts Festival returns tonight, with its traditional opening night party outside Brockley Station (east side). This year, the action then moves on to four different venues, including:

• Welcome Back Brockley Max - party on at The Ladywell Tavern 
• Little Nan’s Cocktail Cup - get squiffy at The Talbot 
• Exotic Belly Dancing - entrancing dancing in the Misty Moon Gallery 
• Felix Fables - British folk, blues and Americana at Hop Scotch Bar

There are then eight more days of eclectic programming, right across greater Brockley. For the full programme, click here.

Brockley Max would also like to thank this year's local business supporters, including Brockley's Rock, Bryan & Keegan, Gently Elephant and Jam Circus.

New Model Market

When finished, this will be the main Rotary Bar at #ModelMarket. pic.twitter.com/PfR3I97OWv
— Street Feast London (@StreetFeastLDN) May 29, 2014

Street Feast is updating followers about the work its doing to ready Lewisham's Model Market for their summer takeover.

Catford Bridge Tavern squatters evicted

Nearly a year after the Catford Bridge Tavern was bought by Camden Bars, police have finally evicted the squatters who'd made it their home and deprived Catford of a decent pub. Lewisham MPS says:

"Today at 07:30am after a possession order was obtained by the owners of the Copperfield PH, (Catford Bridge Tavern). Rushey Green SNT assisted with the eviction of twenty squatters from the pub."

Hopefully, this means another pub will be re-opened soon. The Honor Oak, which was also squatted, remains a sorry sight. With thanks to Chris for the heads-up.

Best Beloved

'My son, when you find a Hedgehog you must drop him into the water and then he will uncoil, and when you catch a Tortoise you must scoop him out of his shell with your paw.' And so that was all right, Best Beloved.
- Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling

Wellbeloved is a film by Stewart Morgan, celebrating the pies made by Deptford butcher Wellbeloved. He says:

"The reputation of the Steak Pie - that staple of traditional British cuisine - has become diminished. More glamorous dishes make the headlines; more photogenic recipes are illustrated on television and scores of inferior, industrial pies occupy the shelves of supermarkets throughout the land. It is time to look beyond these brightly lit aisles and discover the true ingredients of the perfect Steak Pie: Experience, Care and Dedication. It is time to go to Deptford."

Click here to watch Wellbeloved on the website Talking of food.

The Arthouse Cafe

Amanda from Lewisham Arthouse writes:

Our gallery becomes a space to relax and refresh for 6 weeks (6th June – 13th July)! Greenwich Kitchen will delight your taste buds with a fantastic array of fresh food and drinks, all ethically and sustainably sourced.

Pop in for a quick snack or stay for something more substantial. Thursday nights are Foodie Nights. Bring friends and family and sample internationally inspired cuisine. Guest chefs each week will concoct marvellous menus from hot Caribbean spice to vibrant zest of the Mediterranean.

Side orders are a special programme of events to wet and nourish your appetite including; families craft activities with Arthouse artists, live music from internationally renowned musician Charles Hayward & Friends to Dansette record players politically spun by Rachael House’s Feminist Disco.

Monday – Saturday 9am – 6pm
Late night Thursdays and Fridays till 9pm

Poverty rate falls in Inner London

More evidence of London's great inversion, this time courtesy of the LSE. Ruth Lupton of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion analysed census data from 2001 - 2011 and found that poverty rates in inner London fell substantially during this period, while outer boroughs experienced a significant increase in poverty rates.

London's poor are being pushed to the city's outskirts, while inner London boroughs like Lewisham have attracted people with higher incomes. But it's important to note that - so far - this trend has not resulted in greater geographical inequality - it has instead evened out the historic imbalances in poverty distribution. Lupton writes:

Mapping the proportion of households receiving Income Support and three other types of means-tested benefit shows that the greatest concentrations of poverty in 2001 were found in Inner East London. However, poverty rates, on this measure, fell considerably in the poorest inner-city neighbourhoods up to 2008, while increasing in less poor Outer London areas. This was mainly due to new house building and an influx of households that were less poor into Inner London, especially the Inner West.

With thanks to Monkeyboy.