Libraries gave us powe:. update

Libraries gave us power.
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

One of our Power stations has closed sadly
http://ht.ly/3YUos

Debtford update #345

I heard the news that Paddy Power is now worth more than the Irish banks just as I walked past this place. That one of the last two pubs on the high street is now a bookies isn’t news, most empty shopsround here seem to turn into bookies . It’s also barely worth remarking that bookmaker/stockbroker aren’t two sides of the same coin they just the same thing just one lot usually have smarter postcodes. I suppose my point such as it is that would be nice to stop turning the corner and finding the news looking me in the face.

Flushed with success: found another street card

2 clubs
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

yay it's just mad, I found another card in the streets yesterday!
living4pleasurealone.blogspot.com/2008/01/pavement-art-lo...

Spritual highs

Spritual high
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

2 sides to SE8 I love both equally.

Hurrah another Street Card!

Nine of spades
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Dodging the showers yesterday I spotted this in the gutter hurrah !
I do love them 34 to go! more here

Happy Mothering Sunday!!

Happy Mothering Sunday!!
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

As usual we turn to Greggs to find out how they are expressing important emotions/events in butter cream and sponge batter.

In their the shop the other day to get a loaf the cheery staff were discussing accidents. After a grusesome discussion of a friend's latest surgery the woman serving me chirps up

"well there's always some fing worse that can 'appen, I've never 'urt myself badly".
"what d'ya mean" he colleague loading the steak bakes chips in "you, fell through that plate glass window the other day!!"
Laughing my server replies "oh ya I woz forgettin' THAT! what am I like?...I only broke me glasses tho' and that gurls shoppin!'"

Anway love to ya muthas! today as always

Hummus the long way round via the river plate and the monochrome set

Winter Saturday before the Rugby SE8.

I went to get supplies and get some air, I would have gone and sat and read in the park but it’s being landscraped by the council. They promise it will be improved when they done but we’ll have to see how many sparrows there are left come spring.

Anyway options for au plein air literary pursuits stifled I decide to go for a longer walk. The skies was sharp blue with the low light glowing pale yellow in the misty corners of New Cross. A street drinker shouted something at me on the main road it sounded something “Ormanroyd” it was so odd I unusually stopped and made a face which I hoped meant come again, he repeated his bark “Ormanroyd” which still none the wiser I took to be “gotta fag” (a. no) “got any spare change” (a.no) failing to be able to help him further we parted. A few steps further I was almost forced onto a bus as I walked past a stop, as one pulled in and a surge of big black women with cases swept across the pavement taking me with them. They apologised as people generally do at London bus stops as in not at all. Getting this hummus was proving harder than it should.

Anyway thankfully my usual shop was a sanctuary of calm, so supplies bought I took the longer way home. Down between the battle of the river plate (Achilles and Exeter streets) and round the emptier park, past the last of football matches and the eternal battle between of a screaming toddler and tired mum.

The sun light was lovely now with our shadows stretching way across the grass, it was shame it was passing so quickly. A lap of the park and a wander round a few streets and then past the growling idling v8 of the scrap guy with old American cars, then through subway and into our estate. Which is where I found the “monochrome set “sitting on the curb just short of our block. There rapt in conversation was a 20 something guy and girl. They could have been Turkish or similar he with flat toppy black hair and stubble, black jeans and black check shirt, she a Warhol factory girl dark long hair, gloomy black jumper and black goggle shades. They we sat in an odd place in the street a sort of none space not on the corner or in front of a block not on a step or a wall, not even in the sun which was a few feet away, just an odd none place to sit. Presumably a smoke had turned into one “conversations” as they sat within a few inches of each other’s faces and were animatedly talking. They were maybe siblings or perhaps lovers; they had that sort of intermit intensity. But why there on the cold concrete slab their breath hanging in the cooling evening air .I had to walk past I tried not to pry (well anymore than I have) but didn’t hear what they saying and went inside with my food. When just now when I went back out briefly with some rubbish (yes I forgot the first time) they were still there the sun’s gone now but they talk on

Woman bathing with a red plastic spade in the golden light of the lagoon SE8 (after Rembrandt)

The other day it was Pissaro today Rembrant, I am only going walking in Old Master from now on.

 

Suggestions for other painting to walk in gratefully recieved anyone who says a Walter Sickert murder picture get a hard stare!

Shadows & Sunsets

Parklife :an ongoing series
(that builds into a handsome volume you’ll want to keep).

After a heavy downpour this morning the sky was the colour of Franny Lee’s home kit and the sun surprisingly warm just now. The rowans along with the other trees have now lost most of their leaves and even most of their berries have gone too.

 On the grass a Turkish family were playing a young girl (8?) and her older brother were kicking about a football. She was wearing a cycling helmet and inline skates (and dressed in the hues of bad pick ‘n’ mix: flump pink blending into fruit salad orange and then sourz apple green and back to pink). The girl’s skates were aiding her in the latest of clattering tackles, it was completely guileless and her brother (controversially in a Man U top and Arsenal tracky bottoms) was taking it in good heart, hopping around one-leggedly holding his bruised shin making mock howls and laughing his sister giggling away. When he had the ball, he could easily nutmeg or sell her a dummy but every so he would let her win the ball back. Eventually the ball spun my way and for a change I managed not to slice it into the hedge and it rolled back to them and they cheerily thanked me.

The sun was now barely over the top of the new flats and the kid’s mum rounded them up and they wandered off in the lengthening shadows. I hung around a little while longer before the heat of the weak sunlight on my face was defeated by the chill of the stone bench beneath me.

I’m fairly sure all the faff and expense of Christmas is worth it just to ensure the sun comes back every spring!!

Advent 6: The day Mary left Jesus on the bus....

Advent 6: The day Mary left Jesus on the bus....
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Gold , frankincense and Tat

Organised religion responsible for the original and best tat for 2009 years!

Have you got Marc mania?

Have you got Marc mania?
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I was slightly distractedly going through some crates of singles yesterday. They seemed to belong to the dullest former wedding dj going (loads of 80’s tat, bad disco). Anyway towards the back of one the boxes was a few inches of early 70’s stuff (most of which I’d already got) and then I saw a brown cardboard cover with magically Marc Bolan framed in middle behind the wrinkled cellophane.

Now I always like any record cover with personal adornments on them even just to read for a moments and put back in the crate. But slipping the disc out of the musty envelope it turned out to “solid gold easy action” b/w “born to boogie”* so how could I put it leave it there.

Getting home (20 whole p the poorer) I noticed the Bolan pictures had writing on the back. So carefully taking them off you can see that one was the “letters” page above probably from “Marc Magic Monthly” or similar.
And then strangely across the years some universal truths where born out**.
Anne from Birmingham is right everyone should have a Marc wig. Carol from Hull is right too. Marcia from London maybe made up but Ms Brand of Nottingham is of course more than right and Jane Dee final line is as ever very true “Marc you were wonderful”.

Oh and for those of you for whom these things matter. The run out groove messages are “Bobil’s last” “wobily nib” and “ray’s first”
*they packed the value into singles in the olden days.
**Even if they are made up by some hard pressed sub!

A Spooky kinda love.

Harry's Game

All sane people love Spooks it's mad ,barking and wonderfully filmed in my backyard; I've yet to see Ros getting a cheese and onion pasty in Percy Ingles but it must be only a matter of time.

Anyway tonight we had some running around in the estuary hurrah!A bomb with a big timer hurrah! the aforementioned Ross (the must uptight middleclass  English woman ever) casually walking into a east end squat. Of course she walked past the usual dancing ravers, scary black guys and people snogging (last time I went to a squat I had some under seasoned raw ratatouille drank sloe gin and played (and won) a game of Risk!)  Hurrah!

But best of all this brilliantly daft piece of dialogue that name checks the "Whitecube Gallery"what next

"Harry they've got a bomb it's in the Chelsea Art Club, it's strapped to Lucian Freud!"

I love the theme tune but come on fellas how about this on the Christmas special.

PS: This was going to be a quick mention of Trebor Double Agents sweets (the badge shown above) until I was just checking my memory and found this entire site devoted to the double flavoured treats I love the internet I really do.

Parklife episode 234!

Yesterday I sat out in the surprisingly warm wind in my back garden (or as the council insist on calling it the park) it was quite lovely. Across the fence from me a family were playing mostly happily. The mother was telling her partner/ brother/ son to pull his trousers up, the family’s caramel covered bull terrier complete with harness was happily pulling a toddler’s trike across the grass by the wheel (what is it with dogs and tyres?). All the while the toddler was happily chasing leaves and whacking the ground with a stick the way the children do.


In the hedge between us was to my mind one of the most elegant trees, a willowy (?) Rowan. Not the proudest specimen but elegant in a scrubby twisted way, it’s precise fractal canopy tricking your eyes as the tiny pinnate leaves make moiré patterns against the blue and cotton bud cloudy sky.

Even to my dodgy colour blind eyes the rowan leaves where fading through beautiful colours from dusty faded green to sour yellow at the tips. The trees branches are laden with clusters of berries, no longer the acid harsh almost fluorescent red of a few weeks ago but a hotch potch of dark reds, browns and mellow oranges; full of ripeness. The ripeness of the fruit attracting in the few minutes I was there several male & female black birds, great and blue tits, also a wren and Jay flew through too. The day must be lucky because even the pigeons are the sleek beautiful type with the glossy plumage of prized racing birds rather than the battered greasy KFC fed examples you often get in town.

It’s a cliché that local wildlife is as good as TV nature programmes but I’m not sure HD TV shots of hungry sharks mauling sea lions quite beat the rustling of the wind in hedge filled with so much colour and movement.

Across the grass a grey squirrel is hoping along , his (he just look a bit more butch ok) perfectly bushy tail doing that wonderful thing where one twitch sends a quiver of motion down its length as every hair reacts in perfect wave.

I know brer grey is much maligned but I doubt his cuter red cousin ever did that well in Deptford and it would hard heart in deed who could take against such poised creature. If only we could hang from our feet head down the trunk and effortlessly look around seemingly without effort or pop up in the grass head twitching like the much more cherished meerkats. This one just now was a beautiful russet browny red as if blushing from forcing out their more loved red story book cousins. And then to further endear itself it acts out more “Autumnwatch” fare by carefully bearing berries in the grass. Looking up as it digs in case anyone spots where here’s hiding his winter snacks.

I do like my garden.

McDonald's Happy Meal trumping madness

Dumb & Dumber #345

On the way out yesterday, the day got off to a good start when I found a playing card in the street (part of my ongoing madness) it’s the Top Trump pictured. At the risk of turning into Paul Dacre isn’t it a bit pathetically dumb that McDonalds have even dumbed down Top Trumps.

Compare it to the marvellous one below that I found a while a go! Now I know the McD’s card maybe aimed at young kids but the name of animal and the words “height”, “weight” wouldn’t be out of place.

I know from playing Top trumps with my nephews that they often in past have just said the “top one” instead of “intelligence” or whatever but well that’s not the point and it’s also more importantly not how we learn to read. Also them being part of a Pan-European promotion isn’t any excuse either.

Anyway being a spod here’s the real facts about our buffalo in case you want to alter your set!

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) local names Nyati, Mbogo
Intelligence /brain weight 500g ( a cow) humans 1500g *

Height: 1.7 metres high,
Body length: 3.4 metres long.
Average weight: 500-900 kg

*(this one was tricky to track down as measuring intelligence is tricky and most of the papers where behind academic pay walls everything else was from one page. Here’s a whole site about brains )

I'm an old bag....

I'm an old bag....
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

From Deptford.
Almost makes me warm to her. 999 club is a drop in centre for local people shame she couldn't visit yesterday!

Toda's street card!

Today's street card!
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Street Semiotics :Any day when you find a new street card is a red letter day, plus I got some job stuff done and some sorting out had a light lunch and now off to drink a beer that has been terrorising the red tops!
Result! Full pack so far here

It's Not Tuesday it's TUNES Day

Friday night is music night as we know

BBC 4 is showing this again








Yet to listen to it but this beauty has the best cover of the week.









There’s more cool sleeves O! Ohh! Tunes here.

As for newish music.
I saw Lisa Hannigan in a thunder storm at Latitude and she sounds just as sweet indoors at home (oh and one the train, bus...) tip top track “I don’t know”

How I stopped worrying and learned to love the YEAH, YEAH, YEAHS heard “Hysteric” off their new lp and was won over. Its sort of shoegazey in a good way, I didn’t like them before as the lead singer seemed like a nuisance and I heard the drummer interviewed and he was a bit of a kn*b.

Got the Je Suis Animal lp it’s proper indie sort of Stereolabby and double plus good.

Also really like High Down by Grass cut which is sort of weird and electronic.

Also Beth Jean Houghton especially the “Track Golden” she’s nufolky without sounding like an Orange phone advert.

Also was impressed and pleased that the Jonsi lp is as good as other Sigur Ros stuff .

Oh and there’s even a cabbage botherers rockstar cook book! With a top slightly 60’s "Good housekeeping" pictures. Bargain!

Oh and I’ve been revisiting Mazzy Star .

You can get most of the tracks either at I tunes or that there Amazon or buy the record cd doo-dah, I went to Rough Trade the other day, it's marvellous think I saw someone famous but not sure.

Beth Jean Houghton “ Golden”

Bleak Kanga and other treats

bleak kanga
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I may be getting too melancholy for my own good but I did enjoy wandering round a closed fair on Blackheath last week taking the odd snap. here's more of them.

The Treasure of the Ford Sierra

“Arrrgh me hearties tis said to lie just off New Cross”
A woman dressed as a pirate: skull bandana, black and white check shirt, knee length trousers and sandals walks out of her way to look at patch of newly disturbed earth in the communal gardens unimpressed she wanders off. The search for Captain Kidd’s lost treasure it seems continues.

Hell in a hand cart.
It might be because it’s the holiday season though not entirely but you do see an awful lot of people pulling around suitcases on wheels in London.
The addition of two tiny wheels has allowed cases to expand to massive sizes. This has ironically destroyed the convenience of wheels as everyone I pass pulling these little handcarts seems to be pained and struggling slowed down by the weight of just one more Primark* vest top or spare pair of trainers.

For instance outside just now a couple were stood 30 feet apart arguing, I think the basic thrust was why can’t he pull her cases as well as his that or “you said it was 5 minutes walk” all this is not helped by the woman’s case having a broken zip and is shedding clothes like the entrails of wounded nylon hippo**.

*Primark seems to be in my spell check how did that happen ?
** well a hippo who has recently feasted on cheap thongs in vivid neon colour ways that is.

Picture credit Neil Crosby check out his cool skul and cross bones rum!

Sunday Stuff:

Well yesterday was good, I did have to have a moment of clarity having been an arse and had to schlep back from town to pick up my Buzz tickets and running round on the tube etc in the heat it's a good job I wasn't in charge of anything important like the space programme!

Striding out to bat:

I was on the St Gile's Circus yesterday and was brought up short at the sight of a wild eyed long haired crazed looking bloke running the other way wielding a cricket bat. I was little perturbed thinking he was one that locales "imbibers" intent on carnage . He then thankfully dropped a Cricket ball and it turned out that in his ill matched "whites" he was off to play erm well cricket.

There goes the Neighbourhood:

Run for your lives the Guardian has found Deptford!! the only bit of note is the "Well connected" section I know what they are getting at but it's the note of suprise that grates particularly as most Guardianistas live in places like Stokey which hardly accessible at all. Last time's record 1hr.30 on the bus to get to the quiz!

Bursting with Pride:

The centre of town was filled with Pride yesterday which is nothing if not a good thing. If I hadn't been doing my bee in jar impression I could seen a bit more of waht was going on. Loving the sign in Trafalgar square that seemed to say "Bisexual Mayor of London" though.