She Makes War at the Amersham Arms

Wednesday 14th Aug @ Amersham Arms £4 on the door.
Event details here.
Tickets available from WeGotTickets.com

Tom writes:

Bright Lights is back for August, its gonna be a good'un with some seriously talented artists. First up, She Makes War.

SMW is the DIY solo project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and digital polymath Laura Kidd, whose second album “Little Battles” was released in April 2012.

With support from...

Shama Rahman Band, Worry Dolls, Joe Innes and the Cavalcade and Steve Walker.

Will Brockley's buses cope with passenger growth?

The London Assembly is asking Brockley Central readers to complete this survey. They explain:

Nearly 6.5 million passengers in London travel by bus each day on 700 different routes. Will London buses be able to cope with the additional demand triggered by the capital’s rapidly rising population? As London grows by the equivalent of two full buses each day, will failure to expand the capital’s bus network mean passengers face overcrowded and unreliable services?

The London Assembly launched an in-depth investigation – reaching out to policy makers, transport experts and millions of London bus passengers – to examine whether the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) can meet current and future demand for buses without damaging its reputation.

The London Assembly also wants to hear from passengers about how they feel about their local services. They are being are asked to fill in a short survey that will feed into the investigation.

Chair of the Transport Committee, Valerie Shawcross AM, said:

“As half of all bus journeys made in the UK each day are taken in London, it is vital we see our bus network grow from strength to strength rather than suffer damage due to neglecting the changing needs of the capital.  The growth in passengers shown over the last decade shows no signs of diminishing. TfL’s business plan does not provide for expansion of the bus network, and unless plans are secured to deal with extra passengers, London buses run the risk of entering a period of decline.

“We intend to gather the views of passengers across London for our investigation to help Assembly form strong recommendations to avoid a decline in standards across the bus network. Otherwise London’s growing reputation as a model city for buses could be under threat.”

One night in Calabria in Brockley

Andy from pop-up dining company The Black Cat Bistro writes:

I'm pleased and in no small way relieved to say that our first pop-up night in Brockley was a great success and we've enjoyed some really lovely feedback. So we're doing another.

On Friday 23rd August we are hosting 'one night in Calabria'. We'll be cooking up four courses of Neapolitan classics in Hilly Fields including homemade pasta, regional antipasti, seafood, and a good bit of chilli spice. The emphasis will again be on fish and veggie based dishes with a full menu available from next week. Reservations are being taken now and tickets will be available from the cafe from next week.

For more info and booking please text me on 07804702221 or email me via mobileandystewart@gmail.com

The Ladywell Tavern (and maybe Jam Circus) will be back

Kate from The South London Press has managed to get a quote from Enterprise Inns, the owners of the Ladywell Tavern, confirming that the pub (which closed last weekend) will reopen. She writes:

A spokeswoman for Enterprise Inns said the company had received no interest from Tesco, adding: “The publican of the Ladywell Tavern has only ceased trading temporarily; minor works are being carried out on site and our aim is for the pub to resume trading as soon as possible.”

There's more evidence that the local drinking scene doesn't face The World's End, the departing team at The Catford Bridge Tavern have been talking a good game on Twitter, saying that their next move will be to reopen Crofton Park's Jam Circus.

The lampenproletariat

New lamp (left), for old 

Lamposts across the area are being ripped up and replaced with new ones as part of a 25-year PFI scheme developed by Lewisham and Croydon Councils. For the most part, the lamps, while not revolutionary, represent an improvement over their predecessors.

What do you think?

Recommended thread

We're regularly asked on Twitter to recommend some tradesperson or another, so a quick reminder that the Recommended Tradespeople thread is where to look. There are hundreds of suggestions by BC readers (who have far more exacting standards than we do), which you can read in chronological order and search for your preferred terms.

A namecheck on the thread does not imply an endorsement from Brockley Central, although having said that, we recently used the thread to find RH Services, who cleared our garden brilliantly, going beyond the call of duty. So the system works...

Click here to read and recommend.

Coulgate Street textiles recycling


Coulgate Street now has a textiles recycling bank, ideal for clothes in reasonably good condition, but also suitable for stuff that would otherwise go in the bin. On Twitter, EnviroLewisham confirms that this is a trial location and they are open to other suggestions, so post below if you have a better idea.