Need an excuse to go to the cinema?  You can currently get 40% off at the Odeon Surrey Quays cinema. The offer runs until 13th October 2011 and you can see details here.

This Saturday, the London Mural Preservation Society will be leading a walking tour of murals in Surrey Quays, Deptford and New Cross.

The free walk begins at Canada Water station (Jubilee and London Overground) – at the top of the escalators – at 1pm on Saturday 6th August, finishing at around 4pm in Deptford (ending with the obligatory visit to the pub).

More details here.

Enjoying the return of the summer!

What a scorcher! The sun was out in a big way today and I couldn’t resist going out with my camera to capture a bit of it.

Sun-soaked Greenland Dock was busy with joggers and fisherman competing in a local competition.

This afternoon I finally (after 3 years living in the area) made it along to Rotherhithe’s wonderful Brunel Museum. Time Out were advertising some special tours of the old entrance shaft to the Thames Tunnel, and that was the extra impetus I needed to visit.

The museum is basically all about the Thames Tunnel (that’s the one you go through if you take the London Overground line between Rotherhithe and Wapping). It explains how and why the tunnel was built and presents a fascinating story of what was, at the time, an incredible feat of engineering. I really enjoyed browsing the various exhibits showing how the tunnel was constructed and reading about treacherous conditions faced by the men who worked on it.

Having looked around the museum, we were then invited to descend into what used to be the entrance shaft to the tunnel, which was also where the tunnelling began. You may have seen the large round structure next to the museum – that’s where we went. It was quite fun to crawl through a short passageway into the cylindrical chamber. We then clambered down a scaffolded staircase to the concrete floor built a year or two ago that now separates the entrance shaft from the London Overground track 36 feet below.

Initially, I was a little disappointed. There’s not a great deal to see inside the entrance shaft. It is a large, fairly featureless cylindrical room, and pretty much empty. Fortunately, though, the highlight of our visit was about to come – what proved to be a very entertaining and informative talk about the history of the tunnel.

As our guide got into his stride, what we’d read about in the museum earlier really began to come alive. He transported us back to the Victorian years when the tunnel was being built and then opened to the public. We could imagine the tunnelers working away in the damp gloom and then how the tunnel must have looked when, at various times, it was home to an underground banquet, souvenir shops, and a funfair.

I don’t know if we were just lucky today, or whether a visit to the museum always includes such a wonderful talk, but either way, the Brunel Museum is a magical little place and the Thames Tunnel is fascinating to learn about. If you’ve been thinking about going, do make the trip. It’s worth it.

photo credit: Donna_Rutherford

If you’re into a bit of cinema, Odeon are running a great offer over the next six weeks.

From 3rd September to 14th October 2010 inclusive they’re offering 40% off (valid any day, any time). As far as I can see, it’s perfectly valid at the Surrey Quays Odeon cinema, so make the most of it!

In case you miss out on this one, Odeon do also take part in Orange Wednesdays, so if you have an Orange phone you can get 2 tickets for the price of 1. (And if you don’t have an Orange phone, you might still be able to take advantage of it with this tip.)

photo credit: spikesadventure

It’s the 5th of November, and that means one important thing — fireworks in Southwark Park!

The event starts at 6pm with fireworks from 7pm.

Find out more here.

photo credit: wiifm69

It was beautiful weather in Surrey Quays this weekend. Here’s a quick snap I stopped to take by Greenland Dock.

Long may the sunshine continue!

Here’s a great idea for any families in Surrey Quays over the 2008 Christmas holidays: Hollywood Bowl is offering bowling for just 1p!

The catch is that it’s for bookings between 9am and 9.30am only. But if you’re going to be in Surrey Quays over Christmas and fancy a morning bowling game, why not go for it?

The offer is running from 20th December to 4th January, only when you book online for up to 12 people, with a maximum of 2 adults. It excludes bank holidays.
photo credit: robertgaal

The local parks are looking fantastic in all their Autumn glory. Here’s how Deptford Park was looking a few days ago.

If you haven’t been to a park lately, plan a trip some time. You’ll be glad you did.