If you live in the area, you may know Greenland Dock. It’s a beautiful expanse of open water and one of the things I love most about the area. It’s also, potentially, under threat.

There’s a planning proposal to host 350 boats in the dock during the 2012 Olympics. Local residents are concerned that, if this goes ahead, it could be the precursor to a permanent development.

Personally, I think it would be a great loss if the dock was developed in this way. Walking by the dock and gazing out across the peaceful water in the evening is something I really enjoy and find surprisingly relaxing.

Concerned locals are urging anyone who enjoys the dock in its current form to write to the council’s planning department to voice your objections to the plans. They’ve set up a website where you can find out lots more about the proposal, the local concerns about it, and how to voice your objections. Visit it here.

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.

 If you’re interested in the Docklands area and its history, there’s a new blog that you might like to take a look at. Tony, the author of London’s Docklands Past and Present, promises to share historical material from his personal collection about Docklands.

He already has a fascinating aerial photo of the Russia Dock area, taken in 1983 when a huge area of it had been cleared for redevelopment.

Best of luck with the blog, Tony!

The price is right

A new barber shop has opened recently next to the Surrey Quays Overground station. Feeling a bit shaggy (and attracted by some keen pricing), I decided to try it out.

I was glad I did. The affable young owner of First Barber seems to know what he’s doing. The location’s handy and the service was excellent (me being the only customer at the time perhaps didn’t hurt). I was even offered a cup of tea at one point. I was very pleased with the finished cut and went on my way with that spring in your step that only comes from feeling duly smartened-up and ready for whatever exciting adventures are around the SE16 corner.

First Barber isn’t the first barber in Surrey Quays, but it’s certainly a good one to visit.

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.

Why did everyone in Rotherhithe decide they needed groceries at 10pm this evening? That’s something we may never know. What I can tell you is that the checkout queue at Tesco Surrey Quays was surprisingly huge! And I thought I’d be the only person stocking up on maple pecan plaits for tomorrow’s breakfast…

Fancy saving money on a trip to the cinema?

From 20th March to 31st March (excluding Friday and Saturday performances), Odeon are doing a special 40% off discount on tickets.

Get yours here.

If you want to see what’s showing, have a look at this list of the Surrey Quays Odeon film times.

photo credit: DebMomOf3

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

A relaxing weekend brunch and catch-up with a good friend: in my book, it doesn’t get much better than that. And Simplicity restaurant, near Rotherhithe tube station, is a perfect place for it.

I was there earlier today. It was just my second visit, but I think I’m going to be back more often as I’d forgotten just how good it is. (The photo here isn’t from the restaurant, unfortunately, but isn’t too far off what I had: a good, old-fashioned full English breakfast.)

How good was the food? Well, my breakfast platter included, amongst other things, a perfectly-cooked sausage, a nice, chunky half-tomato, and two thick slices of toast and marmalade. All very tasty! I was impressed, too, that, having asked not to have any black pudding, we were offered hash browns instead. That’s my kind of service.

All in all, I can highly recommend a weekend trip to Simplicity. I may even see you there!