The Transmitter Issue 13

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ISSUE 13 AUG 2010

A SOUTH EAST LONDON MAGAZINE

The 40's Look Beauty and styling tips

Dear Lido!

Architecture

40's Bathing Beauties & Busby Berkeley!

We take a deco at local deco

Margaret Lockwood

Screen Siren from Sydenham

DON't MENTION

THE WAR! AUSTERITY BITES...THE 1940s ARE BACK Plus

FOOD

FASHION

MUSIC

BOOKS

GARDENING

NEPALESE & INDIAN CUISINE

The Yak and Yeti offers diners in south London the opportunity to taste and enjoy authentic Nepalese, Indian and Tibetan cooking, any night of the week in our wonderful restaurant, through our takeaway service and also by our door-to-door delivery service. We are also open for lunch dining on Fridays and Saturdays.

OUR CULINARY FEATURES: • Freshly cooked using raw ingredients of the highest quality.

• Our dishes are low-fat, prepared with no artificial colourings or preservatives.

• Our Executive Chef, Ram Sapkota has honed and combined the talents of many specialist chefs in his team to give a unique combination of ‘real’ Nepalese and Indian food.

We also offer outside catering for up to 800 people Please contact the Manager for more information.

FUNCTION ROOM HOLDS UP TO 40 PEOPLE We also have a (bookable) secluded venue downstairs for special occasions, exibitions and business functions.

Contact us to by telephone or email to find out more.

Yak & Yeti Restaurant 107 Church Road Crystal Palace. SE19 2PR

t: 020 8771 6898 / 5522 e: info@yakyeti.co.uk

www.yakyeti.co.uk

Diary of Events Summer time is our busiest time – please plan your treatments in

AUGUST Thursday 5 August – ST. Tropez Event from 12pm to 4.30pm.

Amazing offers with Pimms and refreshments available on the day.

Product of the Month When planning a Pedicure you will receive a complimentary application of our NEW ST. Tropez Everyday Perfect Legs for gorgeous tanned legs.

Holiday Prep: ST. Tropez Spray Tan Mini Pedicure Mini Manicure Eyelash tint Worth £109.00 NOW £69.00

Travel Care for your Body: Your three favourite Vital feeling products in perfect travel sizes (30ml each) for your holiday, Body Lotion, Exfoliating Body Gel and Refreshing Leg Gel. The Clinic will be closed from Tuesday 24 August and re open Tuesday 31 August, please plan your appointments in advance for the appointment of your choice. Here’s wishing you a lovely sunny holiday!

Gift Vouchers are Available for all treatments.

JH Skincare Clinic 137 Kirkdale, Sydenham, London SE26 4QJ 020 8699 1998 info@jhskincareclinic.co.uk

Indoor & Outdoor Training Book a FREE 30 minute Personal Training trial today Or call us to find out about: • Personal Training

• Pre/Post Natal Fitness

• Group Training

• Pilates

• Thai-Boxing

• Massage

Call us on 07986 764 553 Training Points studio 85 Church Road Crystal Palace, SE19 2TA transmitter_july2010.indd 1

• Yoga 20% of easternf facia massagl e

www.trainingpoints.co.uk 10/7/10 18:30:36

WELCOME Editor

Andy Pontin

Editorial Team Jonathan Main Hannah McEwen Annette Prosser

Regular Contributors Justine Crow Michael Eyre Howard Male Sue Williams

Guest Contributors Janette Scott Olivia Nairn

Production Assistant Sophie Pattison

Printing

The Marstan Press Ltd

Contact

editor@thetransmitter.co.uk 020 8771 5543

The Transmitter is published by

Transmission Publications Ltd Registered in England 6594132 PO Box 53556, London SE19 2TL

S

o why are we going back to the 40's? Well, it's exactly 70 years since the Battle of Britain was waged over the skies of the English Channel and the general zeitgeist (sorry, but there is no English equivalent) has gone a bit 40's. And it's not just us bods here at The Transmitter going all Mr Mainwaring on you, the fashion pages of the big bucks magazines are brim full of 'flying jackets', 40's-style dresses and all kinds of other retro stuff harking back to wartime Britain. And since we are right in the middle of one of London's hottest vintage shopping spots, we are exceedingly well placed to indulge in the 40's show!

W

e are also celebrating architecture this issue and although none of the buildings that we visited were actually built in the 40's (not much was!), many of them would have been brand spanking new and heavily used during that period and so they have a fair whiff of wartime South London.

Enjoy the issue!

OBSERVING

by economycustard.co.uk

Cover Dancers at Tooting Bec Lido

Photography Andy Pontin

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to the 40's issue

Š simon sharville 2010

CONTENTS 16

30

ARCHITECTURE

12

TWO TOWERS

16

A LEAFY RETREAT

26

DECO RATED

34

LIVESEY'S LEGACY

38

Justine takes a look at the other transmitters Hannah McEwen and the self-builders of Honor Oak We visited Beckenham Odeon to see the deco bits that are left Janette Scott visits the Livesey Memorial Hall

SIX PILLARS

Jonathan Main on a local architectural masterpiece

THE FORTIES

38

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HISTORY: LOCAL LEGEND

20

STYLE: WISH ME LUCK!

30

FASHION: DEAR LIDO

44

GARDENING: PALACE PATCH

Georgina Conway on the 40's screen siren from Sydenham We scour the shops & boutiques of Crystal Palace for that 40's look Get those 40's bathing cossies out Sue Williams digs for victory!

REGULARS

50 47 52 55

FOOD:VEGGIES BEWARE!

Justine goes for a steak at The Mansion

WINE: RISE OF THE RIESLING

Michael Eyre mentions the unmentionable

BOOKS:THE BOOKSELLER

Jonathan Main with a clutch of the latest fine reads

MUSIC:THERE'S A WORLD OUT THERE

Howard Male on the legacy of a rock critic legend

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NEWS AND EVENTS Local news, events or stories? Email community@thetransmitter.Co.Uk

Swimming champions A team of Junior School boys from Dulwich College were absolutely over the moon to become national champions at the annual Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) swimming competition. The event, which was held in Crawley, included team and individual events. The boys faced a very tough competition, but, after giving it all they could, were delighted when their combined scores came out the highest - gaining them the title. Well done boys!

First tango in Palace Living Water Satisfies on Westow Street will be hosting Argentine Tango classes suitable for beginners on Wednesdays at 7.30pm. The event is organised by Argentine guitarist and singer Oscar Acebras and his wife Julia. If you have ever enviously watched Strictly Come Dancing and wondered if that smooth mover could be you, this could be your chance to dust off those dancin' shoes.

Friends of Westow Park Join the Friends of Westow Park from 12noon to 3pm on Wednesday 25 August for a children's play day. There will be arts and crafts, face painting, races and making natural sculptures for the wildlife area. Bring your own picnic. And if you fancy a spot of gardening you can join in on the last Sunday of every month for planting, pruning, weeding, general maintenance, tea drinking and biscuit eating. The action gets going at 11am in the Wildlife area by the Bedwardine Road entrance. All ages and abilities welcome.

For more information visit www. friendsofwestowpark.com

Friends of Westow Park at July's Big Lunch Event

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Open House London Readers with a healthy dose of curiosity (or some may say nosiness) will be pleased to hear that a host of places across the capital will once more be flinging open their doors to the public for Open House London on 18 and 19 September. As we went to press, full details were not yet available on the website. But visit nearer the time, select an area you are interested in and go explore. For more information visit www.londonopenhouse.org

Library Escape The Wild West came to Crystal Palace when the Upper Norwood Joint Library celebrated its 110th birthday on American Independence Day. On 4 July the library opened on a Sunday for the very first time in its history and visitors enjoyed lassoing workshops, Western-style magic, Can Can dancers, free hot dogs, a ‘quick-draw’ challenge and walkabout cowboy characters.

The library’s Victorian origins had been brought back to life on the previous day, with Victorian Punch and Judy, Professor Jephcott’s Flea Circus, and the ‘Mad Hatter’ Tea Leaf Reader. World-famous escapologist Roslyn Walker performed a special escape to mark the anniversary.

Secured with regulation police handcuffs, leg irons and chains, then placed inside an airtight body bag and shut in the library’s private advice room, Roslyn made a triumphant escape before entering the correct combination into the safe to find his cheque. We think this may be a slightly extreme way to get out of paying your library fines.

If you need some help in keeping your little ones entertained over the summer months, the library has a programme of summer activities for children aged between 5 and 12 years. The programme includes storytelling, crafts and drama, and takes place from Thursday 29 July until Thursday 2 September. All sessions cost £1 per child to be booked and paid in advance. Space is limited, so early booking is advisable.

On Saturday 21 August the library will be holding an Usborne book sale from 11am to 4.30pm. The more books you buy, the more free books the library gets.

Visit www.uppernorwoodlibrary.org for for a full list of events.

Africa Live!

NEW BIKE SHOP

Sydenham Arts Festival

Pop along to the Horniman Gardens to celebrate Africa with live music, stalls and food and drink on Sunday 8 August from 1-5pm; Horniman Gardens, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ; www.horniman.ac.uk

Photography Workshops Embrace Woodland are running nature photography courses for beginners on Saturday 21 August and Saturday 18 September. The courses will take place in Ruskin Park, Lambeth, from 10.30am to 4.30pm, and will be run by a professional photographer. The cost is £45 for one day or £80 for two bookings, and the money raised will go towards future charitable projects being run by Embrace Woodlands. Spaces are limited, so booking is essential.You will need your own digital camera. For more details visit embraceworkshops. http://embraceworkshops.wordpress. com/, or contact John Cannell at john.c@myembrace.org.

Crikey, I am sure that there were some who mourned the passing of Pillow Talk, that purveyor of nylon lace and the nurse’s uniform. Come on, own up. No? Good, because taking its place on Westow Street is the very classy Popiel Cycles. Owned by Wojciech Popiel this is a bike shop with a difference, featuring the Dutch Gazelle brand of classic town cycles.

And if you think selling Dutch bikes at the top of one of the steepest hills in London might possibly be a bit mad, be reassured that all of the models come with plenty of gears.Trust us, you will need them. Add to that some splendid accessories and a soon-to-be-opened first floor specialising in custom built road bikes and all we can say is – way to go.

The Sydenham Arts Festival continues through August and September with some exciting events. On Saturday 7 August Kirkdale Bookshop will be transformed into a tropical beach, complete with palm trees and sand.

On Thursday 12 August, Home Park will host a family fun day, followed by a free film screening in the evening.

A cast of locally-based professional actors will be performing The Three Musketeers on selected days between the 18 August and 3 September at The Dolphin pub for those of you who fancy a swashbuckling classic. And to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Blitz, Alexandra Carter hosts a Blitz evening that includes songs from the era, readings from local contributors and film extracts from the Imperial War Museum archives on 7 and 11 September. Turn to page 18 for more details.

This is just a taster of the treats on offer in Sydenham during the festival.

For a full brochure, ticket, venue information and online booking, go to www.sydenhamartsfestival.co.uk or visit Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale, London, SE26 4RS.

Posh Bikes!

At last we can break out la Poshometer again.

Photograph by Paul Has

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EAT (CAKE) FOR VICTORY!

W

e all love a cake stall, so the Picture Palace Campaign were thrilled when The Transmitter suggested the deliciously brilliant idea of a cupcake-fuelled event inviting local bakers to sell their goodies and boost the campaign’s coffers at the same time. So, on 10 July, the hottest day of the year so far, we all ambled ever-so slowly along to excellent hosts – and creators of classy cinema-themed cocktails especially for the occasion – The Grape & Grain to fill our boots.

really DID sell like hot cakes). If you want to pick one up to continue your support of this fantastic cause, pop into Bookseller Crow or Smash Bang Wallop to choose which of the three designs you like best. Apparently some extra special customers have even bought one of each – sweet!

Not wanting to miss out on a slice of this particular action, local traders Angel Cakes, C is for Cake and Gobble Gobble provided a mouthwatering mix, including an exciting beetroot and chocolate delight from twins Jess and Laura, and tempting brownies from C is for Cake filmically labelled As Good As It Gets (and, according to one young brownie expert, yes they were). The icing on the cake was a cool (well, not as sweaty as we were) Nadia Sawalha signing copies of her new cookbook Stuffed Vine Leaves Saved My Life, and additional frosting was supplied by The Peryls who complemented the afternoon charmingly with a live set from under the parasols.

(Clockwise from top right) The Peryls perform for the cinema campaign outside The Grape & Grain; members of the campaign committee; local celebrity Nadia Sawalha signs copies of her new cookbook; Gobble Gobble twins on their cake stall.

Hot out of the oven were also the new Campaign canvas bags (and yes, they

Picture Palace Campaign Update For those readers eagerly awaiting news on the Crystal Palace Picture Campaign, then let us not keep you waiting any longer. The Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) who bought the site last year have decided not to appeal against the planning decision that prevented them changing the building's classification from leisure use to a place of worship. Instead, they are reported to be ‘considering a variety of building use options that will most benefit the whole

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community.’ Now, for those supporters of a cinema, we can hear your cries of ‘hurrah’ from here. Indeed it is good news for campaign organisers, as they will now not have to fight an appeal. But hold your horses just a bit - the future of the site remains uncertain until KICC make their plans for the building clear.

The Campaign is still urging KICC to contact City Screens in order to allow a cinema to re-open at the site. The building is looking desperately sad all

the time it is empty and neglected, and it would be wonderful if the 7,000 people who signed the petition for a cinema could see their wishes for the local community become a reality. In the meantime the Campaign will continue, and they want your thoughts, ideas and support (and perhaps even a little bit of your money occasionally - in return for cakes, t-shirts, canvas bags and lovely things like that).Visit www.campaign. picture-palace.org for all the latest news.

NEWS AND EVENTS PARK LIFE THE BIG DANCE

On Sunday 11 July we were invited to join a journey through Crystal Palace Park as part of the Dancing Landscapes event. The spectacle was part of a number of Big Dance activities taking place across the capital. This celebration of dance and dancing included a breathtaking Bollywood performance

by Angel Dancers on the terrace steps, a demonstration of Tai Chi by the Taoist Arts Organisation and a piece of contemporary dance with audience participation, choreographed by Carlos Cortes (pictured right).The day culminated in a session of taster workshops on the 'rusty' concert platform open for anyone to try out a new dance style, (featuring ballroom, Argentinean tango, lindy hop, salsa, street and line dancing to name but a few), and share their newly acquired skills in front of an audience.

He does whatever a spider can.

Peter Parkour takes a leap.

Crystal Palace Park Focus

THE BIG SANDPIT

Twenty to two. The new 'human clock' in the Italian Terraces

The new (temporary) dinosaur in the park is a load of rubbish

Somewhat neglected in recent years by many parents with young children in favour of the 'A' grade delights of Dulwich Park, Crystal Palace Park has not quite been the hub of diversion for families in the community that such an expanse of green space potentially offers.

However with its newest arrival - a dinosaur-themed sandpit - this urban oasis has begun to be restored to its former family-friendly glory. On a hot summer’s day, it is hard to imagine a better place to bring boisterous boys and gaggles of girls. Children can find diversion in the simple sandpit, the buried skeleton of a dinosaur, a hatching dinosaur egg or the modern style of seesaw. With this latest addition, the park appears set to bolster this old-fashioned pastime and may serve to offer a local slice of child-friendly education.

Which came first, the dino or the egg?

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art news

DID YOU KNOW?

The London Calling album cover

Local Crystal Palace artist and stone carver Marcia Bennett Male was thrilled recently to be asked to contribute a piece to the Ray Lowry: London Calling exhibition at the Ideas Gallery in Shoreditch. Lowry worked for Punch, Oz, NME and Private Eye, and gained a cult following for his illustrations, cartoons, and the iconic London Calling cover (the album is, believe it or not, 30 years old this year.) The idea of this show was that all the invited artists – who include Tracey Emin, Penny Smith (who took the cover shot), Harry Hill (yes, that Harry Hill), Billy Childish, and ex-Clash members Paul Simonon and Mick Jones, were all given the brief to create a 12” by 12” response to the London Calling album.

Marcia spent over a week producing a meticulous carved stone disc entitled Track 10 (Guns of Brixton if you didn’t know) on which there were three perfectly rendered bullets, with just enough of the Brixton postcode visible for the astute viewer to realise what the number and letters are. But having finished the piece, Marcia – in the true spirit of punk – smashed the sculpture into pieces with a single sledgehammer blow.The finished object includes only three of the five fragments

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that she ended up with, because Marcia felt that it worked better aesthetically that way.

After a world tour all of the thirty works on show will be auctioned, with proceeds going to the Ray Lowry Foundation which supports further education for underprivileged kids. Obviously the Tracey Emin piece will fetch a tidy sum, but Clash fanatics will be a lot more interested in Paul Simonon’s painting. It’s far from being a masterpiece but it does include a small collage element of almost sacred significance: a tiny fragment of the actual bass guitar he can be seen ramming into the stage on the iconic outof-focus cover shot.

Track 10 (photo Nick Hider)

The Clash's London Calling album, recorded in 1979 is now over 30 years old. The inspiration for that cover was the iconic cover for Elvis Presley's eponymous first studio album, recorded in 1956, only 23 years before the Clash album...by which time it was considered (by punks) to be ancient history...

Marcia Bennett Male (photo Grace Bennett)

LETTERS

We want your letters! Please send them to editor@thetransmitter.co.uk or to The Editor, The Transmitter, PO Box 53556, London SE19 2TL.

Dear Editor, Howard Male is surely inviting readers of The Transmitter to protest when he writes that, ‘Crystal Palace isn’t exactly festooned with blue plaques.’ Unable to resist this lure, I protest! Has he failed to notice Pissarro’s eminent companions Emile Zola, French novelist (The Queens Hotel), Annie Besant, social reformer (Colby Road) and Ira Aldridge, Shakespearean actor (Hamlet Road)? These are the few I’ve bumped into without even trying. Can we have a Transmitter walking tour please?

Jessica Wenban-Smith, SE19 That is a superb idea, Jessica.We are quite sure that if we cast our net slightly wider than SE19, there may be even more plaques in the local environs, especially around Dulwich. Surely lots of rich and famous have sprung from the village? The blue plaque theme could make a great article, and we think Howard should write it to make up for his rather hasty judgement.

Howard, lace-up those walking boots – Ed.

Dear Editor, I picked up a copy of The Transmitter [issue 11] at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and have to say that I'm impressed. It is interesting, informative, well-written and keeps people in the area up to date with what's happening locally.I have to qualify my enthusiasm, however, because the first sentence of 'Nearest & Dearest' sticks out like a sore thumb. ‘South London gives good grand park, no doubt about it’ – does such a sentence have any place in a magazine written for people in South London? I'm not entirely sure what it means: if it means ‘there are lots of good grand parks in South London’, why not say it like that, rather than use a sub-literate Americanism which I am sure will puzzle many of the readers.

Justine Crow is an excellent writer, as this article and her short story illustrate.

She is not writing for an audience in Brooklyn, so please persuade her to stick to the English language!

Gordon Morse

Thank you for your words of encouragement, Gordon. Regarding the editorial style – now we don't want to give the impression that we have a slapdash attitude to editorial matters here at The Transmitter, but sometimes we do like to be a bit free and easy with our language.

It can be fun, and to be perfectly honest, when you're not getting paid, having a bit of fun with words is a rare pleasure.

However, we have no desire to confuse.Your comments are appreciated, and we'll try to be better in future, innit. – Ed. Have you got something to say?

Write to:The Editor,The Transmitter, PO Box 53556, London SE19 2TL or, if you are under 65, email: editor@thetransmitter.co.uk

STREETWISE ST AUBYN’S ROAD Residents of St Aubyn’s Road (connecting Westow Hill with Church Road) may already know that their street was not actually named after a saint, but the mere mortal Mr Aubyn (or Aubin), who ran a school for poor boys on the site in the 19th century. In 1857 an Episcopalian Chapel was built, which, having been bought by the London Congregational Church in 1864, became known as St Aubyn’s Congregational Church. During his short sejour at the Queens Hotel, French writer Emile

Zola chose the church as subject of one of the many photographs he took of his beloved South London hideaway, from which we see a large church with traditional and beautiful stained glass window and plentiful foliage climbing the walls. It stood until 1980, when, apparently after much deliberation, the church was finally demolished, to be replaced with Church Housing Association flats homing older and single people in need at a cost of nearly half a million pounds.

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TWO TOWERS JUSTINE crow talks to some qualified anoraks Photos BY ConniE MAY 12

O

n an errand near the manmade wonder that is the Excalibur estate, Catford, I got lost amidst its glorious (for me at any rate, as I don’t have to live in them) customised prefabs.

A tiny bit too far East for comfort, I was guided home by the transmitter.

A perfect signpost, no other landmark in London matches it for navigation - a stab of pride accompanies the relief of orientation when its spike is sighted soaring out of the cushion of treetops or sentinel in the far, far distance at night-time.

One could argue that the Crystal Palace tower and its sibling on the top of Norwood Hill, the Croydon tower, like two tentpoles holding up the ridge of Upper Norwood, are as important to our local landscape as the palace itself, the ghost of which resides within the structures as well as in the ruins. The Scottish genius Logie Baird saw to that when he moved his groundbreaking broadcast innovations to Sydenham and rented a total of 60,000 square feet of space for his studios and laboratories under the South transept of Paxton’s creation in the 1930s. That’s a heck of a lot of walking for the inventor of the couch potato. Incredibly, the public had little idea what was going on beneath the acres of glass and steel where nearly four hundred people, pioneers of the broadcast industry, toiled.

a pleasingly picturesque hierarchy, fat at the bottom, pointy at the top – are mainly ex-BBC, all thoroughly trained to within an inch of their lives after several years of ‘thrashing’. He said, ‘If you failed your tests, you could re-sit. But if you failed your re-sit, you’d be sacked. It focussed the mind. We were very well behaved students!’

‘There’s a joke in the business that goes, what is an antenna engineer? A bad rigger who can type..’ O’Gorman started his career ‘on the BBC shortwave stations’ but he didn’t get much of a kick out of streams of meaningless European babble. Instead, working on the Crystal Palace station was much more engaging: ‘When you are responsible for actually producing a picture, it is really satisfying.’

And people respond really personally to the fixture; O’Gorman tells me that many years ago, the lights on the structure were swapped from red to white - then quite a few years later they were temporarily changed to red again.

When the main socket was switched on to return the stark white lighting, a local lady phoned up and begged that they be made red again as she had enjoyed the childhood memories the temporary system had triggered. The answer she got from the BBC was allegedly as cold as the white lights that remained (though, they are red once more).

I want to know what the view is like from the top but the question is too damn obvious. Instead, I ask how it feels to go up. He replies that it used to be extremely claustrophobic. ‘You couldn’t be long-sighted and work in there’ as it was like working inside a ‘vertical Toblerone’. Now of course, our dear friend health-and-safety has intervened to make it more comfortable. ‘In the old days we used to ride two in the lift and two on top.’

‘So what is that box on a string?’ I ask, my grasp of antennae engineering jargon burgeoning as I refer to the magnificent swooping tardis I watch avidly from the traffic jam below.

O’Gorman is too kind to show disdain; burnished and rangy like a mature, post-beanstalk Jack, quite grounded for somebody who goes up so high for a living. ‘That’s the ‘man riding rig’. It goes

Yes, that is a bloke up there in that little basket on that thin wire...

Well, he isn't going to walk up the stairs is he?

Attracted by the potential of the water towers for his antennae, Baird’s incredible local operation perished with the fire in 1936 but twenty years later, nicknamed London’s answer to the Eiffel tower (viewed from the top deck of the 363 before alighting for the charms of the triangle, it's a wonder Paris bothers at all) 720 feet of metal went up to continue what Baird began, succeeding our much mourned palace’s Northern rival Alexandra to relay BBC television on VHF. Then the Croydon structure, a stripling at 499 feet, was completed in 1962 to transmit ITV. Aren’t the parallels fascinating! Brings out the anorak in me.

Ronan O’Gorman is a senior antenna engineer. In other words, a very qualified anorak. He told me that he and his fellow engineers, technicians and riggers – yes, in my mind’s eye, there’s

Nutters only need apply...

Replacing a broken bit...

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One for you, and one for you.... up very fast, reaching the top in about two minutes. The old lift would take at least ten minutes and only goes two thirds of the way.’ It used to be a busier place, with chefs and secretaries as well as aerial staff. These days it is quieter, though recently there has been a veritable flurry as work gets under way with new antennae being installed in preparation for the digital switchover.

The two towers were rivals but when UHF broadcasting started, Crystal Palace carried ITV as well as BBC, with Channel 4 added later. As well as hosting local FM transmissions, it became a DAB transmitter in 1995 and began broadcasting the first terrestrial HDTV signals in 2006. The Croydon station relays Five in analogue but has reserve transmitters for BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in the event of a fault or maintenance, as well as VHF/FM analogue radio such as Heart, though we mustn’t hold Jamie Theakston against it (second thoughts, any volunteers? Right against that sharp bit).

fascinated by the characters in the tower than the secrets they possess, but I accept it only took a little spark to sabotage Logie Baird.

We are so very fond of our twin landmarks but imagine the uproar if either was to be newly erected today.

Likewise, envisage the protestation should the transmitter be demolished.

It would be as if they crushed the Tour d’Eiffel itself. Finally I ask Ronan about the view. He says if there was one photograph he wished he’d taken, it was the time that he was up really high when cloud-cover obliterated the boroughs below and London beyond, and the only thing visible above the precipitation was the mirror spire of the Croydon station jutting through. And the long shadow of the Crystal Palace tower upon which he stood lay across the cloud, pointing towards it. A wondrous sight, the like of which us mere groundlings will never have the pleasure. Lucky man.

Justine Crow

I mention I hope to speak to someone from the Croydon tower for balance and he says that now both structures are owned by the same company, Arqiva, it is a lot like finally getting to look round the inside of a neighbour’s house.

In the event, I don’t get a nose at next door’s carpets because the company decides I am not proper media.

They’d be right. Though as someone whose credentials are untroubled by any technical knowledge whatsoever, posing about as great a risk to security as a handful of dud beans, I am more

Flying the Flag...

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15

A leafy retreat Hannah McEwen meets the self-builders of Honor Oak

T

urning off Honor Oak Park onto Walters Way, I can’t help but be struck by the different feel of the place.

Only a few steps away from a busy road, this green and leafy secluded corner of South London feels distinctly calm.

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Walters Way takes its name from Walter Segal, the architect who devised an ingenious and simple method that ordinary people could follow to build their own house. People with absolutely no building experience or skills. People just like me. Although seeing the houses from the outside for the first time, the idea seems impossible.

Walters Way originally housed two grand Victorian residences, which were razed to the ground during a Second World War bombing raid. The resulting waste land, owned by Lewisham Council, was not suitable for conventional housing due to the sloping nature of the site. It wasn’t until the 1980s that permission was granted to thirteen

households to build their own homes using the Segal method, and this unique development came to life.

The simple post and beam construction, held together with metal bolts, doesn’t need normal foundations, so can be built on a slope. The homes can also be sited much closer to trees than conventional

housing. Sitting inside, it almost feels like being in a tree house. Between the posts and beams, come the slot-in panels.You simply make the house as many panels wide as you wish.

I am welcomed to the home of Ian White, a Walters Way resident of 14 years, and an enthusiastic supporter of the Segal method, ‘you only have to think about the simplicity of getting the materials and bolting them together to understand how easy it is.’ Although not one of the original self-builders, Ian has made changes and built an extension to his home since becoming the owner, ‘the flexibility of these buildings is really amazing. I relocated my front door and took down an internal wall with the help of a friend, and the whole job only took a couple of hours. I couldn’t believe how easy it was.’

Ian introduces me to Dave Dayes, also a resident and one of the original selfbuilders. Dave built his home while living on an estate in Deptford and working full-time. Fitting in the build during his spare time (occasionally camping on site when the weather was nice), it took him two-and-a-half years. Since then he has made many changes, ‘the houses are adaptable, they change as your needs change,’ he explains. And the result of his work is amazing - the living space is open plan with a spacious and light glass extension in which he now runs yoga classes with his wife.

Talking to Dave and Ian, I start to believe that building your own home might be possible, ‘Walter Segal said that as long as you can cut a straight line with a saw and drill a straight hole, you can build a house. It really is an empowering thing - once you’ve built your own house there is nothing you can’t do,’ Dave says encouragingly. Although Walter Segal died in 1985, two years before the Walters Way development was completed, I am sure that he would be happy to know that his method is still valued by the people who live in these unique homes.

Before leaving, Ian gives me a copy of an 85-page journal telling me everything I need to know to build a Segal house from start to finish. It has lots of photos and simple illustrations. It isn’t particularly scary, and suddenly this selfbuilding lark seems a bit more achievable.

Now where can I find some land?

Some of the houses on Walters Way will be open for visitors during the London Open House weekend; Sunday 19 September, 12 noon to 5pm.Visit www. openhouselondon.org.uk for more details.

Although the Segal houses were designed for ordinary people in the 20th century, Ian explains that the technique has history, ‘Tudor buildings were made with wooden beams and pegs. A Tudor builder could visit us and would understand exactly how these how houses are put together.’ And I don’t quite know why, but I find that quite a reassuring thought.

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Back To The 40'S!

A WHOLE SECTION OF 40'S INSPIRED FEATURES STARTS RIGHT HERE!

A Blitz of Music

Blitz Facts South London was heavily bombarded by V1 and V2 rockets during 1944. In one of the worst local incidents, 14 people were killed on 10 July1944 when, at 17:57, a V1 rocket fell on Palace Square SE19 (between Crystal Palace Station and Belvedere Road).

8 houses were demolished in the Square, and 2 in Belvedere Road.The area of damage in Belvedere Road can still be seen where the line of Victorian housing is interrupted by a recreation ground, with only part of the victorian square remaining. A few days later, two V1 rockets fell on the same day in Penge High Street causing devastation, the damage area now re-developed as the Blenheim Shopping centre. There were hundreds more such incidents during that phase of WW2.

More info: at www.flyingbombsandrockets.com

Olivia Nairn reports on a local event featuring words and music aims to recreate a bitter-sweet era

S

eptember 2010 marks the 70th anniversary of the Blitz attack on London, and this important event will not go unnoticed in South London.

As part of the Sydenham Arts Festival, two Blitz-themed evenings invite you to take a step back to a lost war era, with music, eyewitness accounts, and film.

‘The event is a retrospective tribute to the stoicism and courage of the people who got London through the Blitz from 1940-41’, says singer and the driving force behind the evenings, Alexandra Carter. Inspired by ‘a diet of retro music’ and stories of Blitz survivors, Carter has worked to bring a number of elements together to ensure the community spirit that formed during the war is recreated for the events. ‘It’s a luxury to be able to put so much context into a particular group of songs’ reveals Carter, ‘the most exciting part of this project is that it draws on the stories from my neighbours and locals, the people I meet everyday’. She appreciates however that

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it is a difficult period to ‘celebrate’ as such, and rather hopes to render the audience thoughtful and appreciative of the brave way that Londoners coped and lived through the Blitz.

‘Blitz’ will screen film extracts provided by the Imperial War Museum, and will also feature readings of eyewitness accounts of the bombings, in and among the medley of commemorative music. ‘The songs gain their depth and resonance from their incredible and awful backdrop’, Carter believes, and certainly this is shaping up to be a show for the young and old alike, and all those curious to experience a taste of what London life was like seventy years ago.

Catch ‘Blitz’ on Tuesday 7 September, 7.30pm at Livesey Memorial Hall, Sydenham, Perry Hill, SE6 4HD or Saturday 11 September, 8pm at St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Penge SE20 7EQ.

Tickets £8/£5 concs - available online from www.Sydenhamarts.co.uk or from Kirkdale Bookshop, Sydenham, Tel 020 8778 4701 Bar available at both venues - Sponsored by spitfire ale and the local businesses Website and more details: www.alexandracarter.com Facebook: Blitz project Twitter: AlexCarter001

Alexandra Carter.

LOCAL LEGEND

SE19 WAS ONCE HOME TO FUTURE 40's FILM STAR MARGARET LOCKWOOD GEORGINA CONWAY DISCOVERS and that this film was rather risqué for its time. Indeed, the film caused much consternation among the censors of the day over the amount of cleavage protruding over Lockwood’s corset.

I

’ve always had an obsession with all things femme fatale. It’s something to do with the mind-boggling combination of untameable beauty with irredeemably evil character: one doesn’t know whether to worship or cower. So I was thoroughly excited to discover that the original wicked lady, Margaret Lockwood, used to live on our doorstep. Well not literally mine (I live in Forest Hill actually), but in Upper Norwood, variously at 2 Lunham Road, 18a and 30 Highland Road, to be precise. Lockwood, one of Britain’s best loved actresses of her era, was a resident of Gipsy Hill from 1919 for many years and an ex-pupil of Sydenham High School. Of course she is most commonly known for her title role as the murderous highwaywoman-cumhomewrecker in The Wicked Lady.

Watching an old trailer for the film on YouTube, I’m listening to the dramatic voice-over bellowing theatrically: ‘Romance fraught with danger’, ‘Adventure filled with passion’, ‘Tender moments tensed with heartbreak’ as they stretch out across the screen in front of me. I can’t help feeling a sense of excitement

The villainess persona that Lockwood is most widely known for was introduced in one of 1943’s most successful films The Man in Grey. The key aesthetic components were there: porcelain skin (check); jet black hair (check); vampish red lips (check). The finishing touch of the trademark beauty spot on her left cheek was added only later, for her role in The Wicked Lady. Her on-screen predilection for murder trickled into other films that followed such as Bedelia (1946), but a distinctly less wicked flavour followed with films such a Jassy (1947), The White Unicorn (1947) and Pygmalion (1948).

Lockwood was born somewhere rather more exotic than South London, in Karachi, British India (now Pakistan), to an English administrator of the railway and his Scottish wife. Settling in Gipsy Hill when she was three, Margaret later

Margaret Lockwood lived at 2 Lunham Road, SE19.

attended Sydenham High School, then a ladies’ college in Kensington. She went on to be a dance pupil at Italia Conti and then to RADA where she was spotted and signed by leading London agent of the time Herbert de Leon. As the saying goes, the rest is history …

As a brief synopsis of her career, all that sounds like pretty smooth sailing, but Lockwood’s personal life was a little more turbulent. Margaret had an unhappy childhood at the hands of a domineering mother, causing her to immerse herself in the escapism of theatre. At 21, already a star in her own right, Margaret even kept her marriage to Rupert Leon a secret from her mother (who disapproved of him), continuing to live at home for the first six months of their marriage.

Unbelievably, when the marriage ended in divorce in 1950, Lockwood’s mother decided to side with her son-in-law, alleging that Margaret was an ‘unfit mother’. The two women never met again.

Margaret vowed she would never again marry stating ‘I’ll never stick my head in that noose again’. She spent 17 years in unwedded bliss with fellow actor John Stone (who she starred with in the 70’s television series Justice) until he left her to marry a theatre wardrobe mistress. This, coupled with the sudden death of her trusted agent Herbert de Leon, led Margaret to turn her back on stardom. She received a CBE in 1981, later becoming a recluse at her home in Kingston upon Thames where she died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1990, aged 73.

A sad end to a successful career, but our very own South London siren will forever be remembered, by me and many others, for being one of the most glorious and fabulous femmes fatales in the history of film.

GEORGINA CONWAY

STYLIST’S TIP:

The composition of this picture centres around a beautiful

Art Deco sideboard which has inlaid patterns and secret

compartments. Original Art Deco furniture fetches a pretty

penny these days, but there

are still bargains to be had.

Look out for walnut panelling and soft rounded seashell

shapes and edges (the ‘Cloud’ design). On our trip around the Crystal Palace vintage

shops we found large, heavy

armchairs in colourful fabrics, delicate nests of side tables and stunning walnut display cabinets, as well as many

smaller items you see in the picture.

To bring a touch of Art Deco to your home, have a hunt

around the Triangle, on Ebay

and at car boot sales for cut glass items such as sherry

glasses - these make lovely,

inexpensive tea light holders on warm summer evenings in

the garden or for a romantic meal. Brighten up an empty

wall space, like a hallway, by hanging different mirrors of interesting Art Deco shapes.

A selection of cheap and easyto-come-by glass decanters will make an eye catching shelf display which hints

back to that 1940’s living

room centrepiece - the drinks

cabinet. To soften the look you can fill them with wild flowers to give a lovely vintage,

eclectic feel to your room.

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Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye

Styling by Angie Adams Photography by Andy Pontin Hair by Heather at Fortyseven Make-up by Lucy Young Models Angela & Imogen

Sideboard, mirror and vintage luggage from Belle Coco, clock and glassware from Bambino, both Church Road SE19.

Vintage clothes from Vintagehart Church Road SE19 and Smash Bang Wallop Westow Street SE19

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GET THAT 40's LOOK • • •

•

•

•

A smooth base of foundation and a translucent powder has been applied to create an even skin tone with a matte effect.

The focus of this look is on the upper part of the eyelids. I have applied neutral coloured eye shadows, bisque and beige, to the upper eyelids.

Eyeliner is applied to the top of the eyelid, slightly extended out past the eye in a small flick.To create a dramatic effect and really open up the eyes, fake eyelashes have been applied.

The eyebrows and lips are probably the most important parts to this look. Using a good eyebrow brush and dark shadow, the front part of the eyebrow is strong and the point of the eyebrow is as far forward as possible.

The 40’s lipstick colour is a bit deeper than a pillar box red – a crimson red is ideal. First I applied concealer to the lips to stop any colour leaking into the creases of the lips, and used a lip liner around the edge of the lips before applying the lipstick colour.

I applied a small amount of blusher on to the apples of the cheeks. When creating a 1940’s look you should match the colour of the cheeks to the lipstick.

Make-up tips from Lucy Young (lucyyoungmakeup@yahoo.co.uk)

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fortyseven Heather Morris

Open Thursday-Sunday 12-6pm (Fridays 12-8pm) The White Hart, 96 Church Road, Crystal Palace, SE19 2EZ Annette 07949 552926 | Dawn 07982 184657

Satchel

by Cambridge Satchel Company,

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by Jo Edwards,

Kids hat

London-south fortyseven 47a Westow Street Crystal Palace SE19 3RW 020 8771 7170 www.fortysevenhair.co.uk

by Flap Happy,

Hand-knitted Teddy

All this and

more

Dog

London-Central Heather Morris @ The Hair Clinic John Bell & Croydon 50-54 Wigmore Street, W1 020 7935 9200 www.the-hair-clinic.co.uk

by SKK Lighting,

by Pebble Fairtrade,

available at

Watch

Cufflinks

by Allison

by Simon Carter.

4o Westow Street SEI9 3AH O2O 877I 55I7 www.smashbangwallop.co.uk

Make DO And MEnd Katie LEE BEMOANS THE LACK OF A DEDICATED HABERDASHERY STORE

I

f the Crystal Palace Triangle had to pick a motto, it should probably be Make Do and Mend. And yet, for all its junk shops and antiques dealers, boutiques selling upcycled trinkets and secondhand clothes stores, Crystal Palace is surprisingly lacking in haberdashery.

probably wasn't the best time to start opening tea-shop-cum-craft-bazaars just because I happened to want to visit.

Well, I say that, but of course, when you're lucky enough to live in a place that houses the Haynes Lane Market, you're never truly without anything. A couple of stalls in the market will sell you yarns, fabrics and retro patterns, and last time I went there looking for a couple of buttons, I returned home with great fistfuls of the things from nearly every stallholder on the ground floor.

That is, until I discovered the yarn store that had been hiding in plain sight just down the road in Herne Hill. Sharp Works, run by Susan Sharp, has been in Herne Hill for three years, selling high quality yarns (Rowan, Debbie Bliss and the usual suspects) and offering locals the chance to pop in for knitting lessons or a helping hand with a tricky pattern.

The absence of a bona fide craft shop, though, seems like an accidental oversight by the thrift-loving shopkeepers of Church Road. So much so, that I had big plans to open one of my own at the start of last year, before recalling that being pregnant and in the midst of launching a new business

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Without ever wishing to compare us unfavourably with North London (may I die a thousand deaths), finding wool in the sunny southern side of the city hasn't always been as easy as one might like.

If you've always fancied being a bit more make-do-and-mendy, Susan will teach you both knitting and crochet from around ÂŁ15 a course. When I popped in to say hello, Susan was sitting in one of the shop's reclaimed cinema seats working through a troublesome pattern with a regular. With floor-toceiling natural fibre yarns, it's a great environment to knit in - though there

was nothing thrifty about the spending spree I indulged in once inside.You can find out more on their website www. sharpworks.co.uk.

Alternatively, you could always join in with one of the many Stitch’n Bitch sessions round the pubs of South London. The White Hart plays host to the local Crystal Palace knitting circle.

You can look on their website to find out when the next event will be held.

Lauren O'Farrell, founder of Stitch London holds a weekly knitting night in a variety of locations and is always welcoming to new knitters keen to learn the craft. She's also leader of the guerrilla knitting brigade, leaving knitting-wrapped phone boxes, bridge railings and tube signs in her wake.

Check out the Stitch London website for details of how to join in the fun www.stitchldn.com.

Katie Lee is the publisher of www.dorkadore.com - the brilliant new website for everything geeky for girls.

SOURCING YOUR ANTIQUES STYLIST’S TIP:

Crystal Palace Triangle is a fantastic place to source items for your back-to-the1940s look. As well as Belle Coco and Bambino in Church Road, it is always hugely enjoyable to spend some time looking around the mighty edifice that is Crystal Palace Antiques on Jasper Road. You will find four floors of goodies stocked to the gunnels by a 'collective' of traders that operate from the premises. They have lots of deco pieces as well as two floors of classic items from the 1960s and 70s.

Crystal Palace Antiques (Basement)

Crystal Palace Antiques (First Floor)

Ground Floor 'The Office'

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DECO RATED JUSTINE CROW In the cheap seats at beckenham

A

ndy, Jonathan and Justine went on a Transmitter works outing to the cinema. But the lights were left on at the Odeon Beckenham so that we could get a look at the extraordinary Art Deco features that remain in this remarkable architectural relic. In the main saloon, vast relief cut-outs of flowers like giant garden fences rise to the ceiling, with classic deco door wave patterns over exits and an orchestra pit like a cruise ship balcony. Elsewhere, hidden in the shadows on landings and on banisters, we found sunbursts and exotic succulent shapes, stained glass and defunct signs.The obliging staff patiently tolerated our gasps of delight as they showed us round the old ticket office, now storeroom, and standing on the staircase gazing up at a once glamorous Tiffany-style light fitting, we got a glimpse of what it was like to queue in the 1930s. Once upon a time going to the pictures wasn’t just about sitting in the dark in a pricey premier seat having spent a fortune in the foyer on fast food, it was more about an entire aesthetic experience. If you go and find the atmosphere there unusually less than icy, it is because (thankfully) the building is listed and therefore has no air-conditioning - the ambience being purely down to the movies and the people that watch them. And the Odeon has survived a fair few of those.

Justine Crow

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Dear LIDO! 30

T

his issue's shoot at Tooting Bec Lido was a serendipitous opportunity to collaborate with four dancers who were taking part in Dear Lido, a 40sinspired homage to Lidos, swimming and Busby Berkeley!

Dear Lido was a collaborative performance by choreographer Rosie Whitney-Fish and multi media artist Tim Head.The piece was commissioned

by Wandsworth Arts Team to celebrate Big Dance and featured as part of the Furzedown Festival.

Both artists worked with young people from Burntwood School to create dance and film for two weeks as well as with the professional dancers who took part in our shoot.

The piece was inspired by the lido's exciting heritage and iconic design with the movement also inspired by Busby Berkeley films.

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The dancers performed during normal opening hours on a hot summer evening, cleverly using all of the spaces of the lido, dancing out of the cabins through members of the swimsuited public and into the cafe! The artists also used the old entrance to the lido to project film.

The refreshing and witty scenarios presented to the audience were well received and the whole piece had an air of magic, as if the audience were caught up in some kind of surreal, 40s-inspired midsummer night's dream.

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Livesey's Legacy Janette Scott VISITS THE LIVESEY MEMORIAL HALL

P

artly obscured by large ranks of foliage, the Art Nouveau-inspired Livesey Memorial Hall stands on Perry Hill, Lower Sydenham in the shadow of two huge bright

blue gas holders, the last visible evidence that it was built for the employees of the South Suburban Gas Company, one of the country's largest gas works. It opened in 1911, named in honour of

Sir George Livesey, a former chairman of the Company who was knighted for his pioneering contributions to the gas industry. He was also highly regarded for his 'whole-hearted devotion to everything

relating to the welfare of employees', according to an industry journal. Livesey Memorial Hall provided gas workers with breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as an Amateur Sports Guild and social events.

I

arrive at Livesey on a burning hot day. Inside the cool cavernous interior, all was quiet except for the distant gentle clack of snooker being played in the Games Room.

On the wall, George Livesey's dour, white bearded portrait gazes down into what would have been his employees dining room, now Livesey's dramatic function space, resplendent with five chandeliers, swathes of gold fabric and red carpet.

36

T

urning the pages of Livesey's one hundredyear-old record book reveals that there was once the South Suburban Orchestra and the (now very politically incorrect) South Suburban Minstrels.

Regular cabaret featured the likes of ‘Sid Herbert, humorist, entertainer.

Original comedy songs, stories, clerical studies, rag time and mimicry’ and ‘Lance Corporeal Fred Wildon – Humorist (The Popular Entertainer and Phonofiddle Oddity)’. Other entries offer a fascinating peep into the Hall's past; a Horticultural Vegetable and Rabbit Show had 330 vegetable entries and 51 for rabbits; in 1916 a garden

George Livesey's dour, white bearded portrait gazes down

Although social clubs can seem unfashionable today, Livesey has successfully adapted itself to modern tastes. The classical function space is used for church services, funerals, weddings, birthday parties, concerts, wrestling, salsa and line dancing, and the sports and social bar has darts, snooker, pool, bridge and boxing and soon hopefully, tug-of war. Manager Kevin Harris sums it up: ‘We're not a pub but we're trying to do the things that a community pub should be doing. The future's more for the members and to get it back as a proper sports and social club. It would be nice to see more families back doing things as families.

It's a good place to be.’

Janette Scott

party for wounded soldiers and their nurses included a Soldiers' Hat Trimming Competition, a Nurses' Tie Tying Competition and a Needle Threading Race; and in 1936 after some debate, the tenancy agreement for the building stated that the ‘lessors have the full right to graze sheep at any time…'. Livesey also had its own bowling team with matches held almost weekly on a green famed across the South East. Social activities were curtailed for six years from 1940 until 1945 when the Hall was occupied by the Home Guard and in 1969 the termination of gas production in Lower Sydenham was the first in a wave of changes that ended an era for Livesey.

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JONATHAN MAIN ON a grade II listEd modern gem

Photographed by Andy Pontin

D

ating from 1935, some say it is the most important example of modernist architecture in South London. Certainly it is one of the most beguiling. Discreet and industrial from the street, the Le Corbusier-inspired home discovers its playfulness as one moves through the house with its spiral staircase, original light fittings and recessed fireplaces, to the garden side where the double-level mullioned windows open the interior up to light and an incredible sense of space. It nearly didn’t make it past the drawing board when initial plans were given cursory dismissal but eventually approval was granted for this iconic edifice.

Built on the upper edge of the Dulwich Estate beside the woods, and born out of Berthold Lubetkin’s influential Tecton practice – the penguin enclosure at London Zoo being his world-famous legacy – the house was actually designed by Valentine Harding for the Rev J H Leakey, headmaster of Dulwich College Prep School.

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The incorporation of brick into Six Pillars' final design resulted in an unusual floorplan with two separate bedroom suites which apparently suited Leakey’s marital arrangement - he and his wife effectively had two flats upstairs with a common entertaining area. Meanwhile, although there are six pillars on the exterior there is actually a seventh inside, possibly a humorous reference to the great work by T E Lawrence.

Harding died young in France during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940, but the Grade II listed house located beside the Dulwich Woodhouse pub continues to surprise the passing caravan site tourist with its fresh rebellion, and reassure the neighbourhood with its cool artistry.

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Dulwich Open Day 2010 Trans_Layout 1 02/07/2010 13:02 Page 1

Open Morning at Dulwich College

DULWICH COLLEGE

Saturday 9th October 2010

Independent Day and Boarding School for Boys Aged 7-18

9.30 am – 12 noon Dulwich College welcomes parents and boys considering entry into Year 3 (Junior School) and Year 7 (Lower School) to our Open Morning.

No appointment is necessary. Limited places are also available in Years 4-6.

Conducted tours of the College are offered with opportunities to meet pupils and staff. The Master of the College will speak at regular intervals in the Great Hall.

Many other opportunities are available to see the Junior School and Lower School in action during Open Afternoons and midweek tours.

Please telephone to make an appointment.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND MEANS-TESTED BURSARIES AVAILABLE For further information, please contact:

The Registrar Dulwich College, Dulwich Common, London SE21 7LD Tel: 020 8299 9263 E-mail: the.registrar@dulwich.org.uk www.dulwich.org.uk Charity No. 312755

OPEN DAY Saturday 25th September 2010 10am – 1pm

There will also be opportunities throughout the autumn term to visit during the school week. Please visit our website for more information or call the Admissions team on

✆ 020 8557 7000

to reserve a place on one of these tours: 12th October 13th October 15th October 4th November 5th November www.sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net Email: info@syd.gdst.net

15 Westwood Hill, Sydenham, London SE26 6BL

SYDENHAM HIGH JUNIOR SCHOOL Independent education for girls aged 4 -11

Open Day 2010 (Junior and Senior) Saturday 25 September

9.30am – 1pm

Head’s talks at 10am and 12 noon For more information and other Open Day dates please see our website at www.schs.gdst.net or contact us at: Junior Department (3 -11) Wavertree Road London SW2 3SR 020 8674 6912 enquiry@shj.gdst.net

Senior Department (11-18) 42 Abbotswood Road London SW16 1AW 020 8677 8400 enquiry@shc.gdst.net

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THE PALACE P DIGS FOR VIC A

re we there again?

Back to the 1940s and a new age of austerity? We’ve been told things are going to get tough. Cutbacks, slashbacks, slingbacks – they’re all coming in and we each must play our part in saving for the future. The garden is no exception. If you no longer want to pay a king’s

ransom for organic vegetables flown in from Kenya or tasteless red apples from the US of A, let’s start growing our own. Out must go the fancy herbaceous border with specially selected grasses, and in must come veg, fruit and maybe even marigolds – yes! MARIGOLDS (a marvellous repellent for any number of garden pests from thrips to

tomato hornworms). Outside the back door lies a self-subsistence paradise.

Well! Something along those lines. There are very few things in life more satisfying than growing your own fruit and veg – although maybe the editor can think of others – inducing in devotees the same single-minded passion as golf. Once tried never given up. Space is no real barrier to growing your own. Tomatoes and potatoes can successfully be grown in buckets outside the back door, and lettuce and rocket look great in terracotta pots.

Beans trained up a wigwam of canes take up very little room and last summer I grew some beetroot in an old butler sink.

Growing up in Lincolnshire vegetables were still set out in a World War II style – regimented lines of cabbage, cauliflowers and carrots marching down the garden. These days fruit and veg are often incorporated into the garden in a much more inclusive way: rhubarb in among the acanthus bed, or cabbages dotted among the summer perennials – it all gives a very House and Garden feel.

Where space is an issue fruit trees can be bought in espalier form and planted against a wall or trained between posts to create a stylish boundary for a

PATCH CTORY

by Sue Williams

Dig! Dig! Dig! And your muscles will grow big Keep on pushing up the spade Don’t mind the worms Just ignore their squirms And when your back aches with glee And keep on digging Till we give our foes a wiggin!

Dig! Dig! Dig! to victory.

(Government Anthem 1943) bed. Different varieties of fruit are grafted on to a main upright stem in parallel branches. These need to be regularly pruned to retain their shape but look wonderful from the first spring blossom to the heady fruits of autumn. Espaliering works particularly well with apples – Lord Lambourne, Egremont Russet, Laxton’s Fortune and Greensleeves to name but a few of the indigenous varieties available in this form.

Soft fruits – cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines – work better when fan trained and grown against a south facing wall.

Here the branches are trained at 45 degree angles to the main stem and create a marvellous boundary to the garden.

Cane fruits such as blackberries, raspberries and tayberries are usually trained between posts but can be grown up obelisks and similar garden ephemera.

Bush fruit – blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries, red and white currants – are all easy to grow but like to be planted in the ground as they have long roots and enjoy a free run.

Strawberries I would definitely recommend planting in pots as they are invasive and will take

over a flowerbed within a couple of years.

It’s not quite 1940’s wartime, but here at home we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic and growing your own goes a long way in tackling the very modern concerns of how to increase exercise and eat more healthily. And it keeps the spending down.

Happy Gardening

SINGING CLASSES In Crystal Palace

Singing For Beginners A friendly group class for anyone wishing to improve their voice.

Numbers are limited so booking is essential.

Wednesdays 8:15pm to 9:15pm Salvation Army Hall Westow Street Upper Norwood

Private Singing Lessons

One-to-one lessons available in Upper Norwood on a regular or casual basis.

To find out more or to book a place visit www.kateproudlove.co.uk email kate@kateproudlove.co.uk or telephone 07931 543650

KATE PROUDLOVE SOPRANO

46

VOCAL & PIANO TUTOR

the rise of the rIESLING

I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it.

There has, over the years, been a substantial amount of bad press about the Riesling grape.

The reasons for this are too many and varied for me to go into here.

Nonetheless, I thought I would have stab at redressing the balance, just a tad, for I think it is time.

I have four fine examples of the aforementioned grape variety, hailing from hither and thither, and it would do us all good to be part of this great new emergence. Let's rewrite the books!

Starting with a classic from Germermany (@ dead men don’t wear plaid).

Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling 2008 7.5% vol. (£9.95) Here we have a completely quaffable little number. I would have this down as a breakfast wine. With a colour of lemony straw and a nose packed with tons of summery fruit, the residual sugar of this particular piece of work, combining with a palate of beautifully balanced acidity and citric fruits, lifts you right out of any slumbering thoughts you might have had

and the day can now begin.

Highly recommended.

Food? Whatever takes your fancy at that time of day.

Next, to the Antipodes.

onto the palate in a luscious and effusive torrent of concentrated stoned fruits with a finish that would outdo the sunset at Wolf Creek.

Foodstuffs? Why not throw a prawn or two on the barbie?

In no particular order we shall go with: Neudorf Riesling Brightwater 2008 12.5% vol. (£12.95) The Kiwis have had a fair few things weighed off in the recent past. I’d go with some of their Pinots Noirs without too much persuasion and their treatment of the Riesling grape is no exception.

Here we are faced with a rather lovely pale hue of dream, wafting into some delightful zesty citric aromas folding onto a palate of tangerines and passion fruit undercut by a thin white rope of minerality.

To me, very doable at any time.

I would guess, brunch with chums. Light anything.

Hengst Riesling Grand Cru 2004 Alsace 12% vol. (£17.95) OK. I thought I’d save this one till last.

This has got the lot. The beautiful deep colour, the totally fabulous aromas, the long, long lasting finish with everything you could ever wish for in a devastating wine of such class and distinction. If I die and am sent off in a boat this will be the lake upon which I will, hopefully, be floating.

Food? Why bother.

Petaluma Riesling Clare Valley 2008 12.5% vol. (£12.95) Loadsa sun. Much bigger, brasher (in a Riesling way) and a lot more upfront.

Deeper yellow in hue and a fatter look all round.

The nose takes it, with a sizeable glammit of acacia, pear and white flowers. Rolling

I found this little lot in a rather nice independent wine shop in Whitstable, of all places, called Magma wines.

Subsequently, prices may vary.

All of these wines can be found in various good food/wine stores. Waitrose, Oddbins etc.

Till then, in a floating way.

Michael

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FILM NEWS FILM Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery Gallery Road, Dulwich SE21 7AD

Monday 30 August GalleryFilm: Hairspray

6.30pm gates open, 7.30pm learn Hairspray dances, 8pm film starts, Cert PG/ 112 minutes Directed by Adam Shankman, starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah It’s 1962 and Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and big dreams has only one passion in life – to dance on ‘The Corny Collins Show’. When her chance arrives she grooves away into instant stardom and into the eyes of teen dream Link Larken. But with the forces of conservatism conspiring against her in the form of the TV show’s stage manager, (Pfeiffer) Tracy needs all the help she can get from her mother (Travolta) and Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) to show Baltimore that all it takes to make a dream come true is a toe-tapping beat and a little hairspray.

Put on your hairspray, dancing shoes and bobby socks and spend the night rocking and rolling to the rhythms of 1962.

• • • • •

Free gifts Prizes for best 60s hair style & best costume Food stalls (Romeo Jones), bar, ice cream van (Panino D’Oro), stalls and more Learn Hairspray dances with Kevin and Push Studios 6.30-8pm Free 10 min hair styling with Lawler Steel Salon

S P O N TA N E O U S P R O D U C T I O N S P R E S E N T

Three

The

Musketeers Film makER Needs HELP Crystal Palace film maker Rob Hurtt is currently in preproduction on his next project-short film 'I Remember April' which will star Paul Barber ( 'The Full Monty', 'Only Fools And Horses'). This is Hurtt's follow up to 'Mr and Mrs Love' ('Intriguing and Atmospheric'-Michael Palin') and is in the style of a 'Pinteresque Play For Today'.

The Ubik Kollective Films production team are on the lookout for a Location Sound Recordist for the fim which will probably be shot over a few days in September in the Crystal Palace area. Also, the team is looking for a Production Designer and First Assistant Director - anyone interested in helping out on the production side please email Rob at rob_hurtt@hotmail.com.

by Alexandre Dumas

Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 18th Aug – 3rd Sept 2010, 8pm The Dolphin 121 Sydenham Rd Se26 5hB t:020 8778 8101 Box office Kirkdale Bookshop 272 Kirkdale Se26 4RS t:020 8778 4701 safonline@hotmail.co.uk

£10/£8 concessions

www.spontaneousproductions.co.uk www.sydenhamartsfestival.com

part of the Sydenham Arts festival 2010 Summer Season

festival photograph by Ann pownall www.annpownall.com Design by primitive.uk.com

festival

48

LS_Dec Bennett Welch 2.qxp

recommends

26/11/2008

14:08

Page 1

If your job is threatened…

Where do The Transmitter editorial team spend their hard-earned?

This is where we (rather recklessly!) turn a blind eye to questions about which local businesses advertise with us and just let you know the places where we are happy to dip into our own pockets.

BLACKBIRD BAKERY (71 Westow Street SE19) Lots of you reading this will know that for the workers on the Triangle, there’s no shortage of tasty treats to tempt us when lunchtime comes around. When we’ve been too disorganised (or just too lazy) to whip up even a ham sarnie before we leave home, the Blackbird Bakery is often where we end up, as their sandwiches are not only freshly-made and full of healthy goodness, they’re also darn tasty too (the sort of combinations we fantasise about making for ourselves if we weren’t so … well, disorganised and lazy).

It’s been more than three years since the Blackbird Bakery brought a smile to the faces of the many fresh bread-loving inhabitants of SE19, and they add a real sense of the ‘village’ to the Triangle with their no-nonsense approach to good quality everyday staples.

Their chocolate brownies are heavenly – though our waistlines would suggest too big – and it’s a joy to have somewhere local to buy a last-minute whole glorious cake for when unexpected guests announce their imminent arrival (though we’d never, ever, EVER, suggest that you pass off one of their delicious puddings as your own … tut tut).

The Transmitter are particularly partial to their Seville Orange Marmalade: again, it’s the marmalade you’d like to make yourself if you weren’t so busy putting together a stylish community magazine on a shoestring or trying to market your shop to the affluent new East London crowd (ok, so maybe we’re just in disorganised and lazy territory again).

What we seem to be saying here is that Blackbird Bakery is full of the kind of homemade goodies we’d all like to say were handcrafted in our very own kitchens – and guess what, that fantasy larder is right here on our doorstep.

…don’t compromise on legal advice When your employer is ending your employment, you need specialist advice to protect your rights and maximise your entitlements.

At Bennett Welch Solicitors we have extensive experience of advising on the termination of employment, including redundancy, and on Compromise Agreements, whether simple or complex.

We provide a fast and efficient service and can normally see you within 24 hours of receiving your call.

If you cannot attend our offices, we can advise by telephone and email.

Your employer normally contributes towards your legal costs so you may not have to pay any costs at all.

We act for and advise employees and employers on all aspects of the employment relationship, including: - Dismissals - Discrimination - Contracts - Maternity & Paternity - Equal Pay Call Daniel Muckle on 020 8670 6141 if you think we can help you.

PALACE BARBER SHOP (62 Westow Hill SE19) Having popped in for a post-world-cup-get-that-silly-beard-off now-England-have-lost wet towel shave, I was really impressed by the friendly and relaxed, yet efficient atmosphere. Having overcome the inital nervousness at the sight of someone wielding a cut-throat razor inches from my neck, I sat back and totally relaxed. This is definitely the place for a MAN's haircut!

Bank Chambers, Westow Hill, Upper Norwood, London, SE19 1TY

www.bennettwelch.com

A rare treat JUSTINE CROW AT THE Mansion House

I

could happily survive on vegetables; as a child, when teased by a corpulent family friend at his panelled Surrey barn who feigned that there was ‘only cabbage’ for dinner, I baffled him by rubbing my tummy eagerly. Indeed, I have not one but two seriously vegetarian offspring, such is the emphasis on chlorophyll in our house.

However, something strange happens when you waft a bit of meat at me.

My mum always said I had blood like chip shop vinegar but nothing cheers me like the promise of steak, and when I got back from a particularly tough day and the bookseller suggested a tender bite, I was mentally bringing down a gazelle before he’d even started the car.

The Mansion looms like a Gothic dolls house at the foot of Gipsy Hill, ideal for fair-weather vampires like me. We had come to their fabled Great British steak night – see website for details on their varied gastro events and menus – and decided to eschew the well appointed garden (call me picky but since the indoor smoking ban, haven’t pub outsides become nearly as unpleasant as

50

their insides used to be? Suddenly all the fresh air fiends are sitting indoors..) for the opulent interior. On a sultry evening, the calm grandeur of gilt mirrors and chandeliers was such a relief that I would have laid my cheek on the cool, spacious table top and slept had there not been some serious topping up of the haemoglobin to be done.

The menu tonight was snorting in anticipation. While ample provision for the pescetarian was on offer, with a little light rabbit food for the odd grazing herbivore that wandered in lost – I challenge nine-tenths of Europe to be so very obliging – this wasn’t for the faint-hearted.

Indeed, we both started with fish to ready ourselves. The bookseller had a shiny catch of deep-fried whitebait like a gold crown rescued from the depths, that came served with that king of all condiments, homemade mayonnaise (you can embalm me in that, darling) and I went for the trio of hot smoked, cebiche and beetroot cured trout with horseradish and watercress that was remarkably imaginative for a local battlecruiser.

Now, I’m a modern girl with an underwired outlook and felt strongly that despite the recommended reds, I didn’t need to conform and that white wine is a perfectly acceptable quaff to go with the cooked cattle if chosen well, but the bookseller is a bit of a traditionalist and dug in his hooves. How about, I ventured giddily, to dampen the dust, some rose?

Crikey, the last time we’d been so bold was on a campsite in St Tropez where everyone drank the pink stuff instead of water, even brushing their teeth in it. It came out of the vineyard right next to the caravans. The compromise worked.

The Pinot complemented our starters and didn’t get trampled by our mains.

Ah. The mains. The bookseller had gone quiet. Would the breezy girl serving us notice that we were missing a knife and fork? She did. He took a breath. She had already racked up the anticipation when asking how I wanted my sirloin. I said, very, very rare. To which she enquired, ‘bleu?’ I nearly fell off my throne (you think I’m joking). This is a rare thing. The last time I asked for my steak cooked ‘bleu’ in South London, a delegation was sent out to the kitchen to ask the

chef whether this was allowed. I was, therefore, thrilled at the offer. And it showed she knew her onions, as it were.

The bookseller required his to be medium, á point, as you’d say if you could ever afford the prices on the Riviera.

And that is exactly how his Aberdeen Angus came, the beast dozing gently on a trencher of bread, accompanied by sweet bone-marrow and a bucket of chips. The tin bucket is a recent ubiquity in pub fare. How long before meals come with a mini pitchfork and scythe, served on a recently scrubbed down bed of cobbles with hay on the side?

There was a tiny mix up on the timing during which the bucket was returned.

But it came back hot and replenished and his meat was buttery and lightfooted.

Mine was not blue, I’m afraid to say. It wasn’t even very, very. But it was rare.

And it did taste absolutely delicious, the fit Poll Red served on mushrooms like upturned wedding hats with rich and filling pomme gratin. William Rose, the eminent butcher who has recently transformed the complexion of both front and back end of East Dulwich, supplied the meat on the menu. We

could also have chosen Cote de boeuf entre deux, or a rump, or a simple burger – more cooked flesh than the nudist beach opposite the caravans.

And we did have vegetables, including my favourite fine green beans. Why is it I can’t buy these sexy dark skinny legumes here and have to get a ferry to France, where I can get them by the massive spidery handful in any market or Carrefour? I don’t want fat tasteless beans all the way from Kenya. I even

went to Borough market and came back disappointed. Can we have a real greengrocers on the Triangle? S’il vous plait? There are plenty of empty shops and I am fed up to the back proverbials of not being able to buy seasonal staples plus basics like red cabbage, or celeriac or radicchio. And while I’m on my knees, please open a counter in Crystal Palace too, Mister Rose.

Yes, I know there used to be such shops in Upper Norwood. In those days, food in pubs was diabolical too. Times have changed. Now, after an excellent steak, you get exquisite gooseberry fool off a specials board shared with two long spoons while some sparklingly posh village ladies come bustling in past the elegant flowers, their yellow Selfridges bags hooked over their slender arms, their expensive nashers primed for the full safari. The herd didn’t stand a chance that evening.

Justine Crow The Mansion 255 Gipsy Road London SE27 9QY www.themansiondulwich.co.uk 020 8761 9016

51

The Bookseller

Jonathan main WITH HIS A ROUND-UP OF WHATS HOT OFF THE PRESS

F

ifteen, or so, years ago when I ran a bookshop in Clapham and she was still in junior school, I used to sell children’s books and poetry to Laura Dockrill. A graduate of the Brit School of Performing Arts and Technology just down the hill in South Norwood, she is now regarded as one of the most exciting literary performers in the country, playing everywhere from Glastonbury to the London Word Festival. If you haven’t already seen it, there is a film on the front page of our website of her performing Roald Dahl’s poem The Pig.Yesterday I received an advance copy of her new book, her third in three years. Echoes (Harper Collins £8.99) is an illustrated collection of 21st-century tales complete with a contemporary Princess and the Pea and a modern Hansel and Gretel, which fans of Tim Burton or Neil Gaiman

52

should love. Look out, too, for Laura performing alongside a host of authors and illustrators at the second Crystal Palace Children’s Book Festival on 23 October. More details to follow.

Catherine O’Flynn’s What was Lost (Tindal Street Press £8.99) was a great success a couple of years ago. I was one of the first people to write about it (on the shop blog), saying that it deserved to win prizes. It went on to win the Costa First Novel Award, Catherine won the Galaxy British Book Newcomer Award and the book was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, as well as being longlisted for both the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize...this of course, was all down to me. Like her first book, The News Where You Are (Penguin £12.99) is resolutely set in Birmingham and deals, as does the first, with regionalism, the past and renewal.

Fittingly for this issue of The Transmitter much of it concerns the work of a late 1960’s architect and town planner, which

I know makes it sounds like a barrel of laughs, but trust me, it is and it deserves to win prizes. There I’ve said it again.

Speaking of blogs and blogging, one of the stars of British blogosphere (dread word), the fantastically funny jonnyB, whose Private Secret Diary has been a must read for the last five years, is finally published in book form as Sex and Bowls and Rock and Roll (The Friday Project £8.99) – and under his real name, Alex Marsh, too. If you’ve never read it, I recommend that you start now, particularly if you are sitting at home harbouring a dream of moving to the countryside – think a grown-up Adrian Mole but from Essex, who goes to live in a Norfolk village. Or a sort of James Herriot without the vets or any hands going up cows’ bottoms. But with lots of bowls.

Indeed as a long-time fan the Bookseller Crow is proud to announce an exclusive offer of signed photographs of Jonny’s chickens with every copy sold. Signed by JonnyB, and not the chicken, obviously, that would just be silly.

Julian Hanshaw won the Cape/ Observer/Comica Graphic Short Story prize in 2008 and now he publishes The Art of Pho (Jonathan Cape £14.99). Part travelogue, part dream, part cookbook, the book tells the story of Little Blue who mysteriously finds himself in Ho Chi Minh City and rescues himself with his own mobile Pho (Vietnamese noodle) stand. It is a beautifully drawn and constructed book and Julian has individually inscribed each of our copies with a unique message from the Bookseller Crow. Buy two, read one and set the other down for posterity.

never had one built – and his marriage to a sculptor that goes awry, is so involving and densely textured that it is genuinely moving, quite a feat for a comic book.

Another graphic novel, Asterios Polyp,

by David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon 16.99) was recommended to me at different times by a couple of customers and you don’t have to read very far into the book to realise why they were both so enthusiastic about it. The story of a lecturer and ‘paper architect’ – one known for his buildings, but who has

Anyway, while we are still here and I’m still selling poetry to children, perhaps I can interest you in some Moomins? Fans will be glad to hear that we are awash with them. The fifth and final collection of comic strips has now arrived (Drawn and Quarterly £12.99) and a hard winter has come early in Moomin Valley. Plans are made

Another graphic novel, Wilson by Daniel Clowes, tells the perversely charming story of a bewildered sociopath unable to figure out life. It was all I could do not to shut my eyes when on page 69, after a stint in prison he discovers that all the bookstores in his neighbourhood have closed down.

‘How could this happen in my lifetime?’ he asks. Hmmm.

for hibernation, but then Miss Fluffins comes to call, the Gromf arrives to stay and the postman delivers a nibbling.

Uh-oh.

Also hot of the press is The Moomin Cookbook (Self Made Hero £12.99).

They are a bugger to catch, but I’m told that they taste a bit like chicken.

Just kidding. Subtitled An Introduction to Finnish Cuisine, here you will find Snork Maiden’s Berry Soup, Grandpa Grumble’s Raisin Ice Cream, Snufkin’s Favourite Lentil Soup and many more.

Not to be outdone in the hunt for the Moomin shilling, Puffin have also recently published a series of books for younger children based on the Moomin characters. Luckily they have done a good job. There are two board books, a sticker book, colouring book and a couple of younger story books too.

Catch ’em young I say, like the Jesuits.

(Continued over)

53

WHY NOT

SUBSCRIBE! to The Transmitter? email us

subscriptions@thetransmitter.co.uk or

suscribe by credit/debit card online at www.thetransmitter.co.uk

STOP PRESS Crystal Palace is now aTransitionTown!

Speaking of which, I read maybe one science fiction novel a year, so it needs to be a good one. The Holy Machine

by Chris Beckett is very good.

George lives in the city-state of Illyria, an island of reason in a world that has been taken over by a wave of religious fundamentalism. He falls in love with Lucy, a robot built for sex. They escape to the religious outlands where Lucy must pass as human or be burnt at the stake...I think you get the picture.

54

And finally, we mentioned Await Your Reply (Ballantine £9.99) by Dan Chaon previously when it came out in hardback, when it was easily our favourite novel of the year. Still without a UK publisher, it is now out in paperback and it’s still our favourite novel of the year. Take it to the beach.

Keep up to speed with all things Crow at www.booksellercrow.co.uk

Jonathan Main

See Facebook or Twitter for further info: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group. php?gid=118354028197684 http://twitter.com/CrystalPalaceTT Green drinks will take place every 2nd Wednesday of the month at the White Hart and we will have a film screening in September. To find out more about what "Transition Town" means, see: www.transitionnetwork.org or buy the book from Bookseller Crow!

THERE’S A WORLD OUT THERE!

Howard Male pays tribute to the late, great South Londonbased DJ and writer, Charlie Gillett (1942 – 2010)

T

his month sees the release of the final compilation of world music from perhaps the UK’s greatest supporter of the genre, Charlie Gillett, who sadly died in March. But as a minor consolation to the hundreds of thousands of people who used to tune into his BBC London show, his Radio 3 show, and his weekly half-hour broadcast on the world service, he did manage to do his annual job (since the turn of the millennium) of cherrypicking a faultless bunch of tunes from the countless albums that dropped through the letterbox of his Clapham home, and sequencing them on to two jam-packed CDs. Anywhere On This Road (WCJ Records) takes its title from a haunting song by the Canadian singer Lhasa, also tragically lost this year (in January at the age of only 37). But before this column ends up becoming too maudlin, let me point out that although Charlie’s tastes were extraordinarily diverse – moving from traditional roots-orientated world music through hip-hop, reggae, electronica and jazz – what unites all of the 34 songs here are strong melodies, complex but danceable rhythms, and a spirit of optimism. There’s K’naan’s (now of Waving Flag fame) moving childhood sweetheart song, Fatima, Malian desert rockers Tinariwen with the spiky, rolling Tenhert, and the breezy Brazilian Ceu gives us her deconstructed bossa nova track, Comadi – to name but a few.

But world music wasn’t the only string to Charlie’s bow. In the 1970s he presented a show called Honky Tonk for Radio London on which he played old favourite R&B tracks fondly remembered from his youth, and new up-and-coming acts such as Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, and Dire Straits. In fact the playing of a Dire Straits demo directly resulted in the flurry of interest from A&R men that got them signed and on their way to global domination. Many of Charlie’s favourites from this era, including the sublime Morning Glory by Mac Gayden and the thrillingly raw Back to Schooldays by Graham Parker can be found on the recent compilation Honky Tonk (Ace Records) of which there is also a volume 2 due later this year.

But what would have been the great broadcaster’s favourite track of all time?

Well, obviously like most of us music lovers, Charlie would have no doubt said that this was an impossible question to answer. But I feel fairly sure that he wouldn’t have minded me picking – for argument’s and this column’s sake – Congolese diva Mbilia Bel’s Eswi Yo Wapi, a euphoric guitar-driven dance number that can be found on the double CD Bel Canto (Sterns Records). He first heard it on John Peel’s show and amusingly recalled that he had to sit in his car outside his house, because he couldn’t bear the idea of missing a second of this nine-minute epic (despite usually being very much a three-minute

pop song kind of guy). The only problem was that he was dying for a wee: clearly a case of the agony and the ecstasy. Peel then generously bought him a copy, and it became a regularly played favourite.

Finally I’d like to conclude this tribute with a personal comment.You wouldn’t be reading these words now if it hadn’t been for Charlie Gillett. His words of encouragement gave me the necessary confidence to think I could do this job professionally. And this was a confidence that was non-existent until I got an email from him one day in response to a report I’d sent him of a gig he hadn’t been able to attend. His reply simply read ‘This is fantastic! It really should be in print somewhere.’ Should it? I thought, both thrilled and dismayed. And those words became my confidenceinstilling mantra when sending off pieces to various publications. But it was clear from all the anecdotes and tributes that poured into the man’s website on the day of his death, that I was just one of hundreds of musicians and writers over the decades who benefited from this modest, self-effacing man’s generosity of spirit and unquenchable enthusiasm for anyone he felt deserved recognition. Gillett, like Peel, was a oneoff independent spirit, the like of which the music business is unlikely ever to see again.

Howard Male

55

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SOUTH NORWOOD WOMEN’S COUNSELLING PRACTICE

Join our network!

Localskillswap helps you find people in your area so you can swap skills • • • • • • • •

Register at www.localskillswap.com Add your skills to your profile – choose from over 900 skills Select your proficiency e.g., hobby gardener, trained chef Browse other members and see what they have to offer Ask and answer local knowledge questions Post requests for skills on the home page Swap skills with other local members to get things done for nothing Dozens of skills on offer from dog walking to design, life coaching to letter writing

Our Crystal Palace & Dulwich group covers East Dulwich, Penge, Anerley & Sydenham There are also 5 other South London groups Get your skills listed and join forces with other local members at www.localskillswap.com

Counselling service for women Free Initial Session Sliding scale fees 020 8768 1366 – 07903 598324 London SE25 6PB www.womencounsellingpractice. counselling.co.uk mayanayake1@talktalk.net

Need someone to look after your cat?

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To place your advert email sales@thetransmitter.co.uk or call: 020 8771 5543

Directoire... www.laurencechandler.co.uk Local Professional Business Accountants and Tax Advisors

Accountants Tax & Business Advisors Based in Crystal Palace Free Initial Consultation Laurence Chandler Associates

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Every Tuesday 8-10pm The Fitness Factory HSBC Sports and Social Club Lennard Road Beckenham BR3 1QW www.emmadance.co.uk

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0771 943 2025 virginia@osteopathcrystalpalace.co.uk www.osteopathcrystalpalace.co.uk

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Are you looking for a satisfying, rewarding career or a life working outdoors?

We are Greater London’s only specialist college for landbased studies. Full and part-time courses in Animal Care, Environmental Conservation and Horticulture including Apprenticeships, take place at our centre in Crystal Palace Park for those looking to train for a career in the green industries.

ENROL NOW for courses starting in September!

Contact us today for a prospectus and an application form on 08456 122122 or email enquiries@capel.ac.uk

Enrolment starts at Crystal Palace Park Wednesday 15 September!

Crystal Palace Park, Ledrington Road SE19 2BS www.capel.ac.uk

Tel 020 8778 5572

GURKHA COTTAGE

Our aim is to bring the taste of Nepal to the community in Crystal Palace.

All dishes are freshly prepared using special ingredients and our chefs are always ready to serve to your needs, just the way you like it.

The décor is modern, peaceful, clean and spacious. We warmly welcome you to our restaurant to explore our cuisine, in the hope you return to relive the Nepalese experience again and again.

“A truly memorable experience.”

• Monthly special dishes offering the best of Nepalese & Indian cuisine • Seasonal offers & events • Home delivery available

17 WESTOW STREET CRYSTAL PALACE, SE19

020 8771 7372 / 1503 www.gurkhacottage.com

LAKEVIEW

A Sleek 2 bedroom apartment forming part of a stunning architecturally designed building.

With engineered wood floors, intelligent wiring, granite work surfaces, balcony, parking and state of the art under floor heating the high specification is obvious for all to see.

Offering awesome views across Norwood boating Lake this stunning SE19 location is complemented with both Crystal Palace & Norwood Junction rail service into London Bridge & London Victoria & New East London line tube extension all being within a short distance.

Other fabulous amenities include the short distance to the famous Crystal Palace triangle with its incredible panoramic views across the capital and its array of restaurants, bars & boutiques.

PRICES ON APPLICATION