Doing the Windsor walk. Oi!

Alan Dale’s fixation on interest in property prices has led to a rather welcome discovery: the fine terrace of houses along Windsor Walk is up for sale. They’re too good to be standing empty and, along with the approved plans for the old Mary Datchelor school, form part of a little property revolution in that area of South Camberwell (or North East Dulwich, as the well-heeled new residents could be wont to call it).

The new inhabitants of Windsor Walk will hopefully still have the train line to London Bridge, as the online petition closes in on 1,000 signatories. The public consultation closes in a few days, so if you haven’t signed it (and you agree with its premise) please go ahead and do so. I’m not sure who set the petition up, but I hope they remember to send it to Network Rail. I emailed the lovely Ms Harman about the topic, but have received no reply.

The BBC were in town at the weekend, with their RaW roadshow; there are some photographs available here. It looks like it’s an attempt to improve child literacy, which is an estimable aim. I’m not a child and I’m already literate, so I didn’t go.

And Channel 4 were around recently also, filming Dispatches: Immigrants: The Inconvenient Truth, which purported to be a fair study of the economic impact of immigration. There were interviews with some of the area’s Somali community (at least I assume so; there were some establishing shots of Walworth Road), and also focused on Nigerian staff at King’s. It was pretty interesting, although focussing purely on the economic impact doesn’t tell the whole story.

Onto a more pressing matter: food. The wife & I went out for dinner on Friday, to the Dark Horse. It was pretty good; not as good as we’ve had there before, but certainly not bad. I can’t escape the feeling that it’s a quid or two overpriced, however. Anyway, it was very busy, as was The Grove — which is something I’ve never seen before.

Rumour has it that Angels & Gypsies will open this month. Can it really be true?

Stop us becoming a backwater

Network Rail want to reduce the number of services from Denmark Hill — again. This time, however, they’re looking to cut the direct service to London Bridge. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how this will affect an already poorly-served area.

More details on the proposals at the blog of Councillor Fiona Colley, and news of a petition on the site of Councillor Peter John. Send your views to southlondon.​rus@​networkrail.​co.​uk by October 26th.

Update: You can sign an online petition in support of this campaign. Further methods of action in the comments.

A tale of two Cubes

The former Cube club/bar, sporadically open on the corner of Camberwell Grove and Church Street, has reopened as the grandly named Club Couture. I never went to Cube, although I went there on occasion many years ago when it was the anonymous club beneath the Greek restaurant, and the only place open after 11pm. I can only remember that it was small, and I was drunk.

Further down the road, the hairdresser, Cube (no relation) is to stay open and expand. The owner had planned to sell after 13 years in the area, but the deal fell through so he’s decided to open a tanning/massage/health area in the basement. I’ve been getting my hair cut at Cube (and its previous incarnation, Kut Klose) more or less since it opened (with a few years gap when I moved away), so I’m happy it’s staying.

In non-Cube non-news, still no word on what’s happening at Redstar, no signs of movement at Angels & Gypsies, and I’m still waiting for someone to provide a review of the toilet on the Green.