One Tree Hill

I have to own up and say that until I moved to the area, I did think that One Tree Hill was a spectacularly bad American drama series in the Dawson Creek vein.

Turns out it has a stupendous view of London. I've only been there in the winter, so not sure how much that you can see in the summer when the trees are in leaf. If you walk up from HOP train station, just follow the path past the church. When you get to the top there is a small clearing and a bench.

The story goes that on 1st May 1602, Elizabeth I had a picnic at the summit whilst on route from London to (somewhere further south..). Having hiked up there, I frankly very much doubt it. My guess is she walked round the side - if you were travelling past, I doubt you'd walk to the top - as it is a hike - but that is what gives you the view.

Books set in SE23

A friend sent me this link a while ago. The idea is that books set in an area get linked to it via a map - so you can put in your postcode and see if any books are set in your area. Clearly this is more fun if it is fiction.

For Se23, I found 'The Fowler Family Business' by Jonathan Meades. It is fun to read about an area that you know. For this read, a working knowledge of the Sydenham side of Forest Hill is useful!

Admittedly it isn't the best way to judge literature (as indeed illustrated by this example..) but good fun all the same.

Lottery Lounge

I have long held a dream of my very own, laid back, coffee shop/lounge, which mentally I refer to as the 'Lottery Lounge'. The idea really stems from some coffee shops that I used to frequent when I lived in New York. The favourite being a place called the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn, near my old apartment. Big comfy chairs and sofas, rugs on the floor, free wi-fi, books to read and funky art on the walls - the kind of thing that Central Perk in Friends was based on (though much nicer, artier and generally funkier).

The lottery bit comes from the fact that it would never make any money, so I'd need to fund it myself rather than have it as a business which was a going concern.

My dream is currently even more alive than usual as the perfect venue is for sale - the old fire station on Perry Vale. Recently unsold at auction, surely the council would sell it off cheap to me?!

I would, rather boringly, turn the upstairs into apartments - but decent, big roomed loft spaces rather than the usual Barrat boxes. And downstairs would be my lounge. But it wouldn't just be about me. You'd be very welcome.

I'd serve fabulous coffees, hot chocolate with marshmallows in it, open sandwiches and cupcakes to stave off hunger and beer & wine would be available. Opening hours would be early to very late. But very few people would know I was the owner, as the lottery money would pay the staff bill. I'd be the girl curled up on the Chesterfield in the corner with a book on my lap and the cat at my feet.

Recycle your Christmas Tree!

Thanks to Lewisham council for the picture above. Out of curiosity - how many people do you know who have such a vehicle?!

The council will kindly pick up Christmas trees and recycle from a number of parks on the borough. I'd love to know how you get them there. I created a blanket of green moving my tree from the living room to the front door. If you think it is going in my car, you are very much mistaken.

Explains why we found a dead Christmas tree abandoned behind the shed when we moved in in April.

Forest Hill Tavern

Having made a conscious decision to try somewhere different, today we went to the FHT for lunch. Being the East Dulwich side of Forest Hill, it is no surprise that it has acquired a three letter acronym moniker. My expectations were of a gastro pub full of 20 & 30 year olds, though having looked online, I think it does have a reputation as a spoirts pub.

My first surprise was the size of the place. It is much larger than I expected and has a decent sized and what looked like a nice garden (hardly the weather for it unless you are a smoker).

At 20 past 12, we thought we were the only people there. Us and one seasoned local who I assume had been there at door opening time. But sure enough, as with most places, it slowly filled up and was probably just under half full when we left. I quite liked this as it wasn't packed at this stage, so we got the sofa seats nor was it heaving with badly behaved children, which sadly almost every establishment round here seems to cater for (another post some time).

The menu at first I found very disappointing as it was limited and to my mind, I expected food from the freezer. The roast beef we both had however was absolutely excellent. A really decent amount of good meat with all the trimmings for 8.95. Exactly what the doctor ordered.

Happily full we wandered out, just as the football came on (loudly). My heart sank.

This place has some good things going for it, but in trying to be everything to everybody, it struggles to meet every ones tastes. Having said that, I'd quite happily return, but early on before the tv goes on and the kids arrive.

The world is your Oyster...

I drafted this post mid week and then it was a tirade at Boris for letting the side down and all going quiet on the Oyster front. But then low and behold, in Friday's Evening Standard, it turns out that we will be able to use Pay as You Go Oyster cards this year.

As Oyster cards were introduced in January 2004, it has taken quite some time for tfl to get the train companies to agree to use them in earnest. Although you can have your travelcard on Oyster, it is no use on PAYG. Currently I have a Zone 2&3 travelcard. I can get into town from work (Canary Wharf) using the tube and PAYG, but if I want to come home, it is the bus or queuing for a ticket at a station for the train.

To my mind, it is this - not being on the Oyster network, rather than not being on the tube network which holds back SE London. Sure, when I moved to London in the mid 90's I'd never have dreamt of living more than a 7 mins (not sure why 7) walk from the tube and I wouldn't have dreamt of living in one of the 'Outer Zones' which is what I thought of anything outside of Zone 2. But those days have gone. Young professionals live in Earlsfield and Tooting these days - the very thought of which would have made me faint in my 20s. And we should welcome them here also. But until PAYG comes in, I am struggling to get any of my older professional friends to even visit Forest Hill. Psychologically, having to get a train ticket at London Bridge is what you do when you go to the seaside, not pop over to a see a friend.