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Celebrate World Book Night at Kirkdale Books on Saturday

On Saturday 5 March 7pm-9.30pm, why not celebrate World Book Night with the Kirkdale Bookshop? The bookshop is asking all its customers to bring along a favourite book that they’d like to give away (preferably wrapped for added surpise value!) and exchange it for another. 

In addition, 22 of the bookshop customers have been selected to give away 48 copies of a title that they love. These have been chosen from a carefully selected shortlist of 25 titles including Life of Pi, Fingersmith, Toast, Cloud Atlas, Northern Lights and The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night Time. So who knows what book you’ll go home with!

World Book Night is a nationwide celebration of reading. On Saturday March 5 up to one million people will receive a gift of a book from one of the 20,000 people who have successfully applied to give away 48 copies of a favourite book.

So come along on Saturday and celebrate the book – wine and nibbles will be provided (bring a bottle if you can!)

How am I going to give away all these books!

ELL passenger numbers to quadruple in four years

The opening of the extension to the East London Line from Dalston Junction to Highbury & Islington on Monday 28 February heralds another step in passenger numbers using the line. 

Transport for London chart of passenger numbers is as follows:

  • During the first full month of operation: 40,000 passengers used the line daily
  • By September 2010: 70,000 passengers used the line daily
  • In March 2011: 100, 0o0 passengers will use the line daily
  • By the endof 2015: 120,000 passengers will use the line daily

These are figures for the existing East London Line and do not include estimates for the spur to Clapham Junction due to open at the end of 2012. At its peak, the old East London (which headed north from NX Gate) carried 30,000 passengers daily .

Transport for London estimate that the number of passengers using the line in its first full mo

  

Join the new Greyhound’s enewsletter group

The new Greyhound is all set to be opened in October under the ownership of the Antic Group. A competition is currently being run for a design to decorate the rear exterior wall of the pub. When the pub is opened the tiles which once graced the side entrance to the pub willl be incorporated into the interior of the pub itself and the two greyhounds which once stood on either side of the entrance to the pub will be reinstated.

If you want to join the  enewsletter mailing list for the Antic group, send an email to  fi@antic-ltd.com    A contact button will shortly appear on the Antic website for further information. www.antic-ltd.com

Whew that’s a relief! Kirkdale shop changes its name

Sydenham wags have been stunned by a local store’s sudden change of name. The brilliantly titled Sydenham Convenience in Kirkdale (whose name attracted a number of ribald comments from locals) has recently changed to The Best One store. So if you want to spend a penny in Kirkdale, you now know where to go!

Don’t panic! The Greyhound isn’t going to be renamed the Ravensbourne Arms

According to an article in this week’s South London Press, the Greyhound at Cobb’s Corner is going to renamed the Ravnsbourne Arms. Quoting the new owner Max Alderman, the newspaper says ” We will rename this one the Ravensbourne Arms, with it being so near to the river of that name.”

As the above quote suggests, the SLP has got this wrong. The Coach and Horses in Lewisham (run by the same owner) is going to be renamed as the Ravensbourne Arms. The Greyhound will remain as the Greyhound when it reopens later this year.

The SLP is normally an accurate guide to local affairs. A case of  understaffing and the pressures of running a local paper is surely to blame here!

New cinema to open at Crystal Palace

Future Projections has been successful in its planning application to Bromley Council to turn the Grape and Grain pub, 2 Anerley Hill SE19 and the Bigger Picture Gallery (formerly a car showroom) into a two screen cinema. The main cinema would seat 203 people; the smaller cinema would have 51 seats.

The developer of the site, Peter Hall of Future Projections has said that he wants the new cinema to be a mix of the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill and the Everyman at Hampstead.

The publican of the Grape & Grain pub has a lease on the premises which expires in July. 

News of a cinema opening is great news for locals, byt the news of the successful application leaves potential developers of two other cinemas at Crystal palace in a quandry . See http://www.sydenhamsociety.com/2010/11/want-a-new-cinema-in-the-area-crystal-palace-has-plans-for-three-of-them/

ANTIC group acquires Greyhound. Refurbished pub may reopen in October

The highly-regarded ANTIC group, who run around 20 pubs, mostly in south London, has acquired the Greyhound pub currently being refurbished at Cobb’s Corner. The group currently owns local pubs such as the East Dulwich Tavern in Lordship Lave, Westow House in Crystal Palace and Jam Circus in Brockley Road. It is hoped that the revamped Greyhound will  reopen in October 2011 and the remainder of the development (housing and retail) in early 2012.

For full details of the ANTIC group visit http://www.antic-ltd.com/

Westow House

 

East Dulwich Tavern
Jam Circus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/collections/72157615377659266/

Jim Dowd MP welcomes proposed Palace FC move to the park

Local MP Jim Dowd has welcomed the bid by Crystal Palace FC to build a £40m new home on the existing athletics stadium site in Crystal Palace Park.

Palace’s plans are for a 25,000-seat stadium, which could be expanded to a capacity of 40,000, and includes provision for an indoor aquatics and sports complex as well as a community sports facility on the present Crystal Palace National Sports Centre site. Palace boss steve Parish said “I don’t see how you could ever want a slightly revamped Crystal Palace [a reference to Tottenham FC’s plans for CP] over a new, purpose-built stadium,” said Parish, who would look to raise the money for the stadium by selling Selhurst Park,  their current home. “We believe this is a plan that would suit everyone. I have never understood why Crystal Palace wasn’t based in Crystal Palace. There is a sense of logic to this scheme that would build a better future for our club and the local area.”

Local MP Jim Dowd gave a conditional thumbs-up for the plan and said: “Crystal Palace FC is a vital part of the community here in our corner of South East London just asprofessional football clubs are throughout the country. The possibility to return to their original “home” and thus achieve long term security together with providing a sustainable future for the Stadium site is an opportunity thatis unlikely ever to occur again and thus it must be given every chance to succeed. Although there are many legitimate questions to be raised and answered before any progress can be made I am grateful for the openness the Club have shown and for the opportunity I have had to meet with them to discuss the proposal. I hope very much that it is possible to achieve a solution which will benefit the whole area.”

Chief Executive of Bromley welcomes Tottenham plan to revamp Crystal Palace stadium. Is this bad news for Crystal Palace FC bid to move to park?

Doug Patterson, the chief executive of the London Borough of Bromley has welcomed Tottenham FC’s plan to revamp the Crystal Palace athletics stadium after the 2012 Games. Spurs would like to demolish the Olympic Stadium and rebuilt it as a football-only home for the club. To provide an athletics legacy – one of the promises made to the by the London 2012 organising committee – Spurs have promised to revamp the south London athletics stadium at Crystal Palace Park.

 West Ham FC are also interested in moving into the Olympic Stadium – and would retain its use as an occasional venue for athletics – but the club would have to borrow much of the money. 

Alerted by Tottenham’s plan to revamp Crystal Palace stadium, Crystal Palace FC have also expressed an interest in moving from Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace park.

 However, Doug Pattterson’s intervention would seem to be a tbumbs-down for CPFC and a warm welcome for Tottenham’s plans.

 “The Spurs plans would be positive for the area because I am not sure what else would happen. There are not any other significant plans. Nobody has got the money to spruce up Crystal Palace,” Patterson told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “South Londoners would benefit with the Spurs plans. They would not have any direct benefit from the West Ham plans.”

 Crystal Palace FC tried to move into the  athletics stadium about ten years ago but opposition from local councils and local residents scuppered the plan.

 Photo courtesy   http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/271726811/sizes/z/in/photostream/

http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/