New developments: Theatro...Greenwich or Deptford?

Following on from previous posts, Another Tescos and Deptford or Greenwich (see sidebar right)...Guru Red commented on the new Theatro development and the video produced to sell the properties...so I thought I'd post it up for all to see. To quote Guru Red "Keep watching and you'll see some amazing interpretations of the surrounding area....!"

Estate Security Safety Issues

At the February TRA meeting, a Browne House resident reported she had been mugged earlier in the month. Cllr Padmore was present and promised to investigate what measures might be taken to limit the possibility of it happening again.

He has since reported back and I paraphrase here a letter he received from Director of Housing Denise Hadfield:

• the Anti-Social Behaviour Team are liaising with police. If the perpetrators are identified as tenants "appropriate enforcement action will be taken"
• Wardens and Safer Neighbourhood Team have been alerted and are increasing their patrols
• an audit of estate safety has been requested from the Lewisham Crime Reduction Partnership
• Greenscene (Glendales to you and me) have pruned all the bushes (where muggers hide)

In addition an evening walkabout has now been confirmed for 25 March, 6.30pm at Cremer/Castell entrance, for LH reps to review "lighting and the CCTV on the estate". To include a Safer Neighbourhood Team officer, Cllr Padmore, and TRA Rep (and any of us who can be there?)

There is presently no CCTV on the estate. There perhaps needs to be something covering the Ha'Penny Hatch area. Creekside itself is not very well lit. Residents have opposed CCTV in the past, and it is likely there are not the resources anyway to maintain it.

Please leave your comments if you have any. Do you feel unsafe on the estate? Have you seen a warden recently?

noisy neighbours part 1

I know this issue crops up a lot so I thought it might be of interest to people to hear about my problem. For the past couple of months the kids upstairs and their constant running about have been unbelievably noisy. And when I say running about I don't mean the pitter patter of toddlers I mean colossal crashes and bangs as the kids throw themselves around, jump off furniture and occassionally bang objects on the ground for no apparent reason. It starts about 7 in the morning and carries on until they go to school, and then it starts again about 4 when they get home continuing until at least 9 or 10pm sometimes later. Weekends and school holidays it tends to go on most of the day. Its so loud that my flatmate has moved out unable to cope with it any longer. I try and stay out as long as possible only returning home after 11 when I can be sure they're in bed. I've spoke to the mum at least 3 times about it and although she appears relatively apologetic and understanding nothing changes and the noise carries on as before. By the way, in case anyone thinks I'm exagerrating this I've lived here 4 years and never once complained to anyone despite over the years enduring loud parties, babies crying at 3am and noisy building work. These things I can accept as a part of living in a communal building and they've never bothered me but the current din is like nothing I've ever experienced before. According to the council website there are 2 options in dealing with noisy neighbours; one is to speak to the environmental health department who will take the case on and try to deal with it for you. They don't however deal with 'domestic noise' such as mine as its not covered under the 1990 Environmental Health Act which is annoying because what they're doing is much louder and more frequent than some of the other stuff covered in the act such as washing machines rumbling or loud music playing. The second option is to contact the anti social behaviour team at the nearest housing office which is what I did although their powers seem somewhat limited in dealing with this. What they did offer was to send a letter to the perpetrator and then if nothing changes we both have to attend a meeting where a 'mediator' from lewisham homes will presumably attempt to broker a deal between us. I spoke to them on Wednesday and was told by the woman on the phone, (who, it has to be said was very helpful), that said letter would arrive upstairs by Friday and then we'd take it from there so I wait with bated breath. And potentially life threatening high blood pressure...

Irish Traffic Lights

Belated Happy St Patrick's Day...
Ex-Crossfields resident Annie posted this on Facebook yesterday...



Video by Tom Singleton

Charlie Gillett

It is an uncanny and sad co-incidence that the day after posting about Dire Straits on Crossfields, we hear about the death of Charlie Gillett, the 68 year old radio DJ known as the "champion of world music and author of a major history in rock'n'roll".

I was recalling the time when a band I was in played Gillett's New Bands Night at the 101 Club in Clapham sometime in 1980, but it took an ex-Crossfields resident, who I bumped into in the High Street today, to remind me that Dire Straits perhaps would not have achieved such enormous success without Mr Gillett. Simon pointed me to the Guardian obituary by Richard Williams: "The best-known story, however, concerns a recently formed south London group who approached Charlie with their demo tape one day in 1976. He liked what he heard, and chose one of the songs, Sultans of Swing, to play on Honky Tonk that Sunday. By the time the tune had finished, his little studio had taken calls from half the A&R men in London. Dire Straits were on their way to global success, and they never forgot their debt to his willingness to trust his instincts."

Gillett discovering Dire Straits in 1976 is being echoed across the media as they copy and paste from each other. However according to 'The Official Mark Knopfler News Site' the tapes were not even recorded until 27 July 1977. This site also says the band were called Dire Straits when they did the Crossfields gig on Farrer House lawn.

Both Bo and a Crossfields resident who worked at the Albany Empire at the time can confirm this all happened in 1977...perhaps someone should tell Mr Williams.