Listen to a Londoner. This is a weekly post where people who live (or have lived for a while) in London answer a few questions about the Big Smoke. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new victims volunteers….

Koushik Ghosh, 30
(Bonus answers from Koushik who sped past the 10 questions like Lucy a few weeks ago!) 

Koushik spends his days cutting people up working as a surgeon in Chelsea. By night he likes nothing more than playing chess, pool and occasionally listening to loud funky music whilst driving his car around West London.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
KG: Pretty much all 30 years of my life. I was born in Edgware General Hospital and brought up in North London. 

LLO: Where is your family from originally?
KG: My parents are originally from Kolkata, in West Bengal, India

LLO: Best thing about London?
KG: I think its probably the vibrancy and diversity of cultures, though the number of things to see and do are almost endless. Clubs, bars, galleries, museums, wonderful parks – from the young and eclectic to the cultured and sophisticated – there’s something for everyone.

LLO: North, south, east or west?
KG: Being someone who has lived in pretty much all parts of London, I can say there’s pros and cons for most areas. I grew up in North London and a lot of my friends live in and around various parts of it so that always has good memories for me. The last few years I have lived in South London and found it to be lovely in terms of parks and people, but it has slightly worse travel links. East London is certainly diverse and vibrant with some nice restaurants if you look in the right places, though it tends to be a little rougher than other parts. Though, to me London is like a mosaic – you won’t live in a bad patch without being a stones throw from a good patch.

LLO: Best restaurant?
KG: Ooo thats a tough one. I’d have to go for Buen Ayre in Bethnal Green or Tayabs in Whitechapel.

LLO: Best place to escape the city?
KG: Wonder out into the suburbs of North West London and beyond. Perhaps venture to Elstree in Hertfordshire and pick strawberries. Or get lost with the wild deer in Richmond Park and then take a rowing boat down the Thames in the summer.

LLO: 2012 Olympics – stay or go?
KG: Definitely stay – if just to say you were there. I think it’s going to transform the face of East London; the vibe will be amazing.

LLO: Best place to catch a gig?
KG: The Bull and Gate Pub, Kentish Town

LLO: Best local band?
KG: They started playing acid jazz in Ealing venues back in the early Nineties – Jamiroquai

LLO: Favourite book, song or film about London?
KG: It’s an old film from the Nineties called Martha Meet Frank, Daniel and Lawrence. I watched it with some friends from school and it made you feel quite excited about the city we lived in.

LLO: Favourite market?
KG: I really like Greenwich Market – so bustling and not a sprawling mess full of tourists like a lot of the other markets in London. There’s more of a feeling of authenticity to it.

LLO: Most influential Londoner?
KG: Joe Strummer of the Clash

LLO: Best London magazine, newspaper or website?
KG: I have always been a fan of The Metro – it summarizes important and entertaining news stories in bite-size, attractive chunks and is free and readily available.

LLO: First place to take a visitor?
KG: Ronnie Scotts Jazz club, Soho.

LLO: Boris is…
KG:…A hero for saving that lady being beaten up by those chavettes. Also a bumbling buffoon – but in the most entertaining way possible.

LLO: What would you change about the city if you had the power to do so?
KG: Introduce mobile phone reception on the underground and make it run 24 hours.

Thanks Koushik!

I was going to try to sit on the fence on this, but I really can’t. How can anyone explain Nick Raynsford’s baffling interview with greenwich.co.uk where he continues to push the case for unpopular plans to redevelop Greenwich Market – even though the Greenwich Council, led by his own colleagues in the Labour party, threw it out in the summer? It’s baffling, and full credit to Adam Bienkov for putting the questions to him.

It’s jaw-dropping stuff – unlike other contentious issues in SE10, opposition to the market proposals, which included building a 100+ bed hotel on the site, was pretty much unanimous. When Labour and Conservative councillors, usually eyeing each other up suspiciously, unite to condemn the plans, there’s a heavy hint there that hardly anybody wants this to happen.

But this isn’t good enough for Nick Raynsford – who appeared in publicity promoting the scheme.

“I think the Hospital have got good grounds for an appeal.

“In that situation when a scheme has been strongly supported by the officers and it is rejected by the politicians then very often inspectors tend to agree with the professionals and grant the appeal.

“I think this thing will be built. I have no doubt.”

In other words, Nick Raynsford doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t even care what his fellow Labour members think. It’s bizarre. I hate to think what the Christmas card lists must be like in Labour circles right now. Wouldn’t the dignified response be to accept defeat and respect the views of your constituents?

It’s easy to see sometimes that politicians get out of touch – if nobody draws your attention to a problem, it’s easy to think everything’s okay. But this is beyond that. Raynsford’s got one of Labour’s safer seats (especially with boundary changes that remove sometimes-Tory Kidbrooke and insert always-Labour Plumstead), so maybe he’s banking this won’t come back to haunt him. But maybe this will. And what the hell is an MP doing campaigning for a development like this anyway? It leaves me scratching my head.

One line in the interview was a bit odd, when he condemned Andrew Gilligan’s reporting for the Evening Standard on the issue. Steady yourselves here, but I’m going to defend Mr Gilligan here:

The article he wrote for the Evening Standard showed an illustration of Turnpin Lane, and the argument was, this is all going to get knocked down. Nonsense. The only thing that was going to be knocked down were those steel girders that hold up the roof at the moment which actually protrude into Turnpin Lane and make it a less easy area to negotiate. And the only change would have been rather more elegant supports holding the roof up. And that to my mind is not the product of somebody who has looked at it seriously.

Except… above is a photo of Turnpin Lane, taken this afternoon. Those steel girders form the boundary of the Coach & Horses’ beer garden. So the “protroding into Turnpin Lane” argument is cobblers, because, for half of it, the beer garden does that anyway. And fixing the rest so they don’t get in the way would surely not justify demolition of great chunks of the market.

But whether Nick Raynsford is right or wrong is not the point here. An elected MP should not be trying to force through a development which very few people want to see. Greenwich has already been scarred by enough insensitive development, and the unique character of Greenwich town centre has been diluted over the years, with many independent traders feeling forced out. It’s incredible to see an MP backing developers against the wishes of the local people. It’ll be interesting to see what the response is on election day.

Yesterday’s traffic chaos was quite frankly a nightmare, but it was the conduct of the ruling Labour group that really shows up their petulance.

It has been well documented that Greenwich’s Labour group do not want to work with the Mayor of London. They have been questioned at full council meetings as to why they will not attend policing meetings, and have criticised the Mayor for the fare increases – despite never mentioning anything whilst Ken Livingstone continually increased the fares during his two terms.

So, to yesterday. The traffic was chaotic, of that there is no doubt. But on Greenwich’s taxpayer-funded council website, in addition to the warnings about the closure was a political message criticising the Mayor over the lack of River Crossing. Plus, on BBC London’s evening news Cllr Brookes used the platform to continue the criticism. In the interview he made the bizarre statement the Mayor only needed “to spend a few pounds” to build the Thames Gateway bridge.

Cllr Brookes needs a reality check. For a start it will cost slightly more than “a few pounds”, considerably more. Then there is who would bear the cost of that. Londoners are already seeing higher council tax bills for the Olympics, so adding another levy to our bills would not go down well. Especially as we find the strains on our personal budgets even more thanks to the government’s incompetence at running this economy through this recession. So just like their national leaders they think that we should just throw hundreds of millions of pounds at project, without caring about where the money will come from, or how it will be paid for later.

Besides, even if Boris Johnson had sanctioned the building of the bridge on his very first day in office, a Thames Gateway bridge would not have been completed in time to prevent yesterday’s chaos. So was there any criticism aimed at his predecessor for sitting on the plans for so long, of course not.

The Greenwich Labour party have set out their stall that they have no intention of working with the Mayor of London, and that can only be to the detriment of Greenwich. They are acting like a child that didn’t get their way, after losing the London elections.

I had a rude awakening recently.

In an attempt to do some research for a book idea I had, my good friend in Indiana suggested a collection of shorts by Agatha Christie that I’ve never heard of. In retrospect, I should’ve gone online to buy it, but I wanted to re-live my teen years when I used to go to B. Dalton as soon as I got a little money in my pocket and run the aisles like a lunatic.

I found my book within the first five minutes of entry, so I decided to wander around with the hopes I could be tempted to buy another. Peeking around corners and looking at overhead signs I stumbled upon the “African American Literature” section of the store. I was a bit confused at first…I could see Toni Morrison’s Beloved but the books surrounding it had such titles as More Drama in the Church and Nasty by the noted author Dr. XyZ (I’m not making that name up, that was the pseudonym the book was published under). My eyes darted up and down and I couldn’t easily spot a James Baldwin or a Richard Wright…hell, I couldn’t even see a Malcolm X anywhere. Just endless titles with covers of black women posed with attitude in skimpy attire or black men tatted up looking thuggish, strategically placed next to Beloved and I became incensed.

Let me just say that when I visited this bookstore months prior, this kind of literature had its own section titled “Urban Literature” and I didn’t have a problem with that. It is what it is, ya know? But to dwarf such books by Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes with titles like T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E.? (which, a fellow alumna recently pointed out to me, came from rapper Tupac Shakur; an acronym for “The Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everyone“) Oh no…I can’t hang with that. Yes, sounds like my problem is with the bookstore, but it goes much deeper than that.

I’m about to get borderline offensive regarding this “urban literature” so hold on to your hat.

There are many who rally against this kind of literature, yet there are some that find value in it and mention such pioneer authors like Chester Himes of the “Gravedigger Jones” series who wrote and sold shorts about life on the streets from his jail cell. It has been argued that society needs a clear picture of the other side of the fence, the rotten side that’s filled with the have-nots and these types of books fit the bill. Let me ask you a question: is it a secret that ghettos are filled with Black people ho’in’, and sellin’, sniffin’ and riffin’ (to quote my man Chuch D. from Public Enemy)? I believe rap music has come through in informing the public on that issue ad nauseum. What exactly are these books revealing that people don’t already know? Why are black women in bootie-huggin’ dresses posed seductively on the cover? Will readers get some special insight on how to flip a gram into a kilo? Sorry, The Biography Channel has a series called “American Gangster” and if I want to find out how to run a drug empire, I’ll watch that show.

People, these titles aren’t published as non-fiction. They’re published as f-i-c-t-i-o-n. And what is fiction? Fiction is a huge lie masquerading as a truth. I teach my students in my fiction writing class to tell a lie and tell it good, to convince their readers that the story could and may happen by strategically using truthful elements to entertain and yes, fool the reader into thinking the characters, the setting, the situation…all of it exists. I tell my students that if the setting is in New York and they’ve never been there, they better do their research because if a native New Yorker picks up their story and you’ve missed the boat on certain details, the reader will soon lose interest…in a sense you will lose the reader’s TRUST. The reader is trusting you, the author, to know what the hell you’re writing about. Food for thought: are these actual tales from the ‘hood or is it someone who really does some damn good research with a vivid imagination? With an author by the name of Dr. XyZ, what do you think? For all you know, these books could be written by some white chick living in an expensive brownstone in Brooklyn Heights who couldn’t get a book deal any other way and is going undercover in the ‘hood for material and grammatically-correct Ebonics. (I warned you I was going to get borderline offensive, didn’t I?)

Here’s the kicker. Who are these writers writing for? What audience are they aiming at? Do you think Mr. Happy Madison (I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan) of Greenwich, CT and Park Avenue South is sending his assistant down to the local bookstore to get the latest from Sapphire? He might now, since the novel Push was turned into “Precious,” the hottest film of the season, but do you think he even knew who Sapphire was before then? Go to the bookstore, look at the covers. You seriously think Mr. Madison would buy it? I think not! These books are geared to the minority using the same themes that have been explored since the beginning of post-modernism but using hip language and sexy book covers. There are great contemporary authors like Z. Z. Packer and Zadie Smith, darlings of the literary world, whose writings don’t have a prerequisite that you must be a saddity, bougie black folk to enjoy a story.

The publishing industry needs to raise the bar on quality. We as disenfranchised citizens of this country need to raise our reading standards. I’m not saying all black people are reading these books but there wouldn’t be a market for them unless the demand was there, a demand the publishing industry has seized upon to make buckets of money. Do we really want to give publishers that much power?

Smoke magazine founder Matt Haynes on the imminent demise of Borders and Books Etc:

Smoke wouldn’t exist today if Malcolm Hopkins, who was in charge of periodicals at Borders’ Oxford Street store when we began, hadn’t thought the magazine – and dozens like it – worth supporting. Whenever a new issue came out, we’d take him 350 copies on the 159 bus, and he’d position them subversively among the Grazias and Worlds of Dogs. But, when we breezed in with issue #10, we found no Hopkins, just a surly goth skulking in Esoterica. “He’s gone,” she said. “Gone?” we said. “Why?” “Dunno. Probably didn’t like the uniform.” Half of issue #10 came back as returns. Or the covers did.

Borders wasn’t perfect – in fact, some of its US former parent firm’s employment practices were downright evil. But, without any tradition of independent non-second hand book retailing in this part of south-east London (the nearest independent that I know of is Sydenham’s Kirkdale Bookshop), it’s been the chains or nothing.

So Books Etc in Canary Wharf snagged me very early on, when the Wharf’s shopping centre was a ghost town at weekends, by giving me their poster for the film version of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting for nothing when I asked if they had any for sale. So I stuck with them.

And while Books Etc and Borders were stocking small-scale magazines like Smoke, giving them a leg up and valuable shelf-space. I personally discovered that Waterstones couldn’t care less when I strolled into their Trafalgar Square branch one evening and asked if they stocked it. “We don’t sell magazines,” murmured a surly bloke behind the counter, oblivious to the pile of Time Outs under his nose. I gave Waterstones a swerve for years after, and still try to avoid it.

But the writing was on the wall when Waterstones took over the two Canary Wharf branches of Books Etc a year or so ago, not so long after it’d taken over Ottakar’s in Greenwich, meaning I’ve no choice in local bookshops any more. The closure of the flagship Oxford Street Borders this summer indicated that the game was up. At least a resurgent Foyles is keeping some kind of quirky bookselling going in London. Despite the sins of its US parent, Borders was one American import to London that actually will be missed.

I went to Brockley at the weekend to sample something pretty rare… the opening of a new pub. Well, it wasn’t really new – The Talbot, just off where Lewisham Way meets Loampit Vale, was left crumbling and derelict before new owners stepped in, did it up, and flung open the doors on Friday night so the discerning drinkers of SE4 and around could see their new local for themselves. They’ve done a lovely job of revamping somewhere that looked just a few months ago to be a dead cert for the wreckers’ ball. I popped along to say hello to Brockley Central’s Nick, but the place was so jam-packed I couldn’t spy him at all – presumably he was being mobbed by grateful BC readers. So I took in the atmosphere and the slight whiff of fresh paint, downed my Heineken, and decided it was a sign to return home, and attempt the Talbot another day.

Half-an-hour later I was back in Greenwich, back in my own local, where a mate’s band was playing. All was good in the world. Strolling back later, I saw scaffolding up outside one of the area’s oldest pubs. The Old Friends was never a favourite of most people – grim inside, and its later owners had a charmless slogan chalked into a blackboard outside for one St George’s Day: “ENGLAND – LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT.” Next to it was some more information – “WE SELL FOSTERS.” Few people mourned when it closed a couple of years back. Squatted for a few weeks a year ago, it’s been dark ever since.

Now, though, according to the signs on the boards, the demolition gangs are in. Whatever’s happening to it is a mystery – there’s no record of an application to do anything with the site on Greenwich Council’s planning database, apart from the erection of a new sign in 2000. But while the old pub was a blot on the landscape, it’d be a tragedy if it came down with nobody having the chance to start afresh, to allow the pub to be reborn in the same way that Brockley’s Talbot has been.

Of course, it may all be in vain – it’s not a promising location, especially with nothing happening at the former hospital site opposite, and it’s a tiny site. But it’s a shame to see another bit of Greenwich’s heritage destroyed, with east Greenwich alone having lost the Lord Napier (noodle bar), The Victoria and The British Sailor (both flattened and redeveloped) in the past decade or so. Times change, of course – cheap supermarket booze, increased taxation, the smoking ban, and the astonishingly incompetent greed of the pub industry have combined to turn the pub trade into survival of the fittest.

But it’d be wonderful to see someone – anyone – open a new pub in Greenwich. Especially in the centre. It’s always been a strange place to go drinking – Greenwich town centre has been bereft of decent boozers for many years now, with many locals objecting to the domination of the area by the Inc Group, which owns four out of the five bars in the market block, one being the former Cricketers, a much-loved traditional pub turned into an unsuccessful gay venue, then a suburban bar, then, most surreally, into the “Tiki Lounge” before becoming, sadly, empty. Instead, Greenwich’s best-loved pubs lie either side of the park, with the Royal Hill trio of the Greenwich Union, the Richard I and the Prince Albert on one side; and the Plume of Feathers, Hardys Freehouse and Star & Garter on the other, the latter two being nowhere near as fearsome as they may look from the outside.

Indeed, from the real ales in the Ashburnham Arms to the bands at the Pelton Arms, the real innovation’s taking place far from Greenwich town centre, whose pubs desperately need a bit of character. The best of an odd bunch is probably the Gypsy Moth, but it’s so over-decorated inside it’s fallen foul of that typical south-east London syndrome of trying too hard. (I should make an exception for the Lord Hood, 200 yards up Creek Road, a locals’ haven which proves what can be done with a bit of love. And jazz nights, which aren’t my bag, but bring in the punters.)

On the whole, though, if you’re looking for decent drinks, maybe some decent food, and somewhere quiet to chat… you’re best off heading east or west of the town centre. I’d love for someone to come in and restore the Cricketers to its former glory, put some warmth into the King’s Arms, or a bit of life into the Spanish Galleon Tavern. It gives me a reason to keep on buying Euromillions tickets, at least. It’d be a sure-fire winner for anyone with some money to invest. But will they ever get the chance? Greenwich town centre needs a new, vibrant, independent pub… but with all but one of its pubs part of chains it’s hard to see anyone getting a chance soon.

Am I being harsh on Greenwich town centre’s pubs? Should I give them a second look? Or does it really need something new? I’d love to know what you think. (Partly because I’ve been moaning about Greenwich’s pubs for as long as I’ve been legally able to drink…)

A final trio of shots starting with the Royal Park in autumn sunshine

The Royal Observatory

And the Greenwich Meridian Line

Writing on the Thames, London (2008)

Last year, I was lucky enough to take advantage of an opportunity to see London. It was magical!

We toured the city’s cathedrals, museums, historical sites and neighborhoods. We saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the jewels at the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and Churchill’s Bunker. We heard Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto at St. Martin in the Fields and cruised up the Thames River to Greenwich (as in Greenwich Mean Time). We ate scones with clotted cream (sounds gross, but it is divine), Yorkshire pudding, and authentic English fish and chips at a pub. We also toured Oxford University and Warwick Castle. There are walking tours in many cities and we were fortunate to get on a Walking Tour of Charles Dickens’ London.

This trip was better than transporting myself into a storybook or back in time. It brought literature and history to life.

Get out from behind your computer, always have an updated passport, pack a camera, and keep a journal of your adventure.

© Sheri Jordan and Aunt Sheri Says, 2009-2010.

Previous reader’s of my blog will be well aware of my frustration at the alarming inconsistencies in our current calendar and how obviously flawed it is. I have on a number of occasions approached Greenwich with my model for a new calendar and time system and have always been met with rejection. Even if the rest of the world have yet to embrace my model however, I have now for a number of Humonths been living my life accordingly, although this has resulted in my lecture timetable being somewhat erratic – and the tardiness of my students quite unacceptable when I am there in the lecture theatre prompt at 3.17am and no one else is to begin their day.

What I would put forward here is an idea of the radical thinking I am proposing, with the hope that my faithful readership might at least start to follow. As it is some of you then may be surprised to learn that I have long stopped recognising Tuesday as an offical ’day’. The rational is straight forward enough, not least the preposterous idea that there should be an odd number of days in the week. In this respect Tuesday is obviously the most flawed day – and thus the most obvious to eliminate altogether.

I am often told that people don’t like Mondays. Well a week has to start somewhere so my feeling is just deal with it. At the same time a week should have a middle and Wednesday serves that purpose at best quite adequately (although I have always felt Sunday would do a better job). Thursdays are close enough to the weekend for you to start dismissing the week as over, and I regularly skip the Institute altogether on a Friday as my head is already in it’s ’weekend’ space by Thursday night and is of no use to anyone.

So as you can see, Tuesday just sits there, a little bit at the beginning of the week, and a little bit in the middle, prolonging the working week, when we’d all be happier that much closer to the weekend (starting on Thursday night). It is with this rational that I stopped  recognising Tuesday’s some time back – but which  now of course means my head starts to turn towards the weekend at a much earlier point – around Wednesday at 1738, and I switch off for the weekend. Which does bring to mind why I am here telling you this during the middle of my four-day weekend. I’m off to the local swimming baths, they turn the wave machines on in half an hour….

Using Lightroom 3 beta’s duotone facility

• November 27th (6 pm), Ridgefield Town Hall on Main Street
• November 29th (4:30-6 pm), Grove Street Plaza at 14 Grove Street in Darien, 203-655-3600
• December 2nd (6:45-7:40), Norwalk City Hall, Click here for program
• December 2nd (4:30 – 5:30 pm), Stew Leonard’s in Danbury (99 Federal Road)
• December 4th (5:30-6:00 pm), Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk (100 Westport Ave)
• December 4th (6:15 pm), Fairfield Town Hall Green
• December 4th (4:30 pm), Trumbull Town Hall Green after Trumbull HS Concert Choir performance at the Trumbull Public Library
• December 5th (5 – 7 pm), Bridgeport’s McLevy Green on 999 Broad Street, 203-576-7201, www.infobridgeport.com
• December 6th (4:30 pm), Landmark Square in Stamford, 203-348-5285, www.stamford-downtown.com
• December 8th (3:45 – 4:30 pm), Greenwich Town Hall
• December 9th (3:20 – 4:40 pm), Redding Town Green, 203-938-2551, parking along one side of Rte 107, extending to RES, Town Office parking lots, Christ Church parking lot, schedule of events

Other holiday events can be found at www.visitconnecticut.com.

Happy Holidays!

It would be safe to say that South East London is not famed for an array of great restaurants.  There are, however, a handful of places which have acquired a reputation for being actually quite good.

Among them is the Spread Eagle in Greenwich.   Since its refurb a couple of years ago it has lost a little of the beautiful, creaky, old world charm and cosiness.  The food is still French and delicious.   It is perfect for Sunday lunches with the grandparents.  Indeed, we’ve been with Jack and various relatives at regular intervals since he was just a few months old.

To their credit, the staff have always been nothing less than welcoming, friendly and accommodating.  The well-placed tables mean that there is plenty of space for a buggy by the table if your baby isn’t ready for a high chair.

The first couple of times Jack helpfully took a nap while we ate.  The third time, he was on solids and good form.   I suspect that the food might be a bit rich for a toddler, even one on adult food, but it’s worth a try.

The toilets are a touch cramped and not particularly great for baby changing, so be prepared with a decent changing mat.   The relaxed atmosphere does go a long way to make up for this shortcoming though.  If you’re a South East Londoner, a decent restaurant – especially one which is good with babies and toddlers – is a jewel to be treasured.

Rating:

Stylishness: 2.5/5

Friendliness: 4/5

Feeding Facilities: 3/5

Changing Facilities: 1/5

Food: 3/5

Overall rating: 15.5/25   ££

Much is made of how football clubs should be role models, and take an active part in helping in their the community. Until a few years ago Charlton Athletic were nothing short of the champions of Premier League clubs, nationally reverred for their community work.

Despite two relegations, Charlton are still just as involved in their local community, if not more so.

Please watch this video, as it  showcases the Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s “Charlton Upbeats” community action programme. The Trust is seeking votes for the “Kickstart for Life Project” funded by The Peoples Millions programme to provide activities for children and young people with Downs syndrome.

Voting takes place on the 26th November on the ITV London Tonight programme. Click HERE for details.

An astonishing view

Crema tenisului mondial masculin a descins in Londra, cu ocazia barclays ATP World Masters Tour. Primii opt in ierarhie, duelandu-se in grupe parca importate din competitii sportive pe echipe, si cu un britanic printre ei. Andy Murray, un fiu al Scotiei.

Tabelul competitiei masculine domina curtea interioara de la Wimbledon, intre Central Court si Court 1.

Care a si dat la o parte cortina turneului, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, dupa ce demarase cu un 5-0 in 22 minute, in fata argentinianului Del Potro, locul 5 mondial. Un insular in varsta de 22 ani, dispunand de un sud-american de 20, nu intr-o reeditare a razboiului Malvinelor…

Ce-i interesant despre aceste zile de tenis la cel mai inalt nivel tine insa si de localizarea evenimentului. Nu la All England Lawn&Tennis Club, sediu situat in sud-vestul Londrei, in inverzitul si traditionalul Wimbledon, ci la O2 Arena, acea labartata cupola cu tepi din ecranizarea cu James Bond, campata aidoma unui cort extraterestru, undeva pe malul sudic al fluviului, in tuguiul peninsulei Greenwich.

Ce aduce nou aceasta repozitionare a tenisului, de pe iarba Wimbledonului in sala complexului cu nume de furnizor de servicii de telefonie mobila? Beneficii atat pentru spectatori, cat si pentru jucatori.

Pentru jucatori!? Cum asa? Ei bine, e o lege nescrisa partizanatul in favoarea simpatiilor gazdelor de la Wimbledon de a oferi Central Court si in general terenurile principale celor mai bine clasati dintre britanici. Avantajul de a juca pe iarba proprie. Asta pe cand alde Dinara Safina, la vremea verii numarul unu mondial intre femei, era azvarlita pe terenurile periferice ale complexului de inalta tinuta. Un Murray probabil nici nu mai stie prea bine cum arata alte terenuri decat cel Central.

In O2 in schimb, fiecare tenisman isi asteapta randul si democratia e impartita si pentru purcei, si pentru catei. Pe acelasi teren de sub o cupola atat de mult blamata, atat de nefunctionala in opinia multora, la ora cumpenei dintre milenii, cand, intr-adevar, megainvestitia parea a fi devenit un “elefant alb”, un proiect muribund din fasa, miliarde aruncate pe malul Tamisei.  

Iata insa ca i s-a gasit utilitatea, fiind de fapt multifunctional. De la concerte de muzica, incluzand cel al Madonnei, pana la recentele Campionate Mondiale de gimnastica, iar acum, o noutate, tenisul.

Madonna, "aterizata din spatiu", intr-o coreografie scenica de exceptie, in timpul concertului din vara in O2 Arena

E bine si pentru spectatori. Putini muritori de rand isi permiteau luxul de a prinde un bilet la Wimbledon, ale carui destule meciuri se derulau si cu suficiente locuri lasate libere, pentru ca angajatii sau simpatiile ori prietenii angajatilor ori simpatiilor diverselor companii ce-si asigurasera pe cai comercial-corporatiste locurile lor in jurul dreptunghiurilor verzi nu catadicsisera finalmente sa onoreze cu prezenta.

In plus, Wimbledon e cochet, capsuni cu frisca si sampanie, bonomie de moda veche, dar nu intr-atat de extins. E oarecum exclusivist. O2 in schimb e pentru norod, mai mare, cu 17.500 locuri, si extrem de putine dintre acestea de un alt rang. Uniformitate si incluziune prin diversitate. Si un baietel dintr-o familie nevoiasa, de pe-acolo, din estul Londrei, dar de pe malul nordic, atat de “mai altfel” decat inverzitul Greenwich, poate prinde cu taticul sau un loc, inspirandu-se din arta cu racheta a urmasului lui Henman si intrebandu-si parintele cand incepe si el orele in preajma fileului.

Indirect, un imbold pentru regenerarea tenisului la nivelul juvenil si in general al maselor, in Regatul Unit. Atat de zgarcit in oferta de campioni pe scena mondiala. Atat de optimist acum, cand intre aspirantii la glorie suprema se regaseste si un britanic, fie el scotian si nu englez.

Acest turneu la O2 e in pas cu tendintele evidente ale globalizarii, tenis pentru mai multi, o nivelare prin devalorizare, sapand incet la temelia unui emblematic Wimbledon, atat de inradacinat in malul de care incet-incet ne indepartam.

Iar in crema jocului se va remarca Roger, ce ne zambeste cu crema pe fata si Gillette la purtator, nu ca Napoleon, cu o mana folosind racheta de tenis si cu cealalta ingrijindu-se de aspectul sau facial, aparandu-si concomitent amicul din reclama TV cu cei trei muschetari, Thierry cel cu mana pe lama de ras dar si pe minge.

Vom afla curand cine va triumfa, cine va lua potul, acolo unde recent si Marian Dragulescu sfida legea acceleratiei gravitationale si dadea Romaniei si mai mult aur. Unii aduc aur, cu sudoare si repetitie, altii iau aerul romanilor intr-o tara cu munti ca ai nostri care aur poarta. Iar noi?

Cladirea terenului principal de la Wimbledon, Centre Court, vazuta dinspre poarta 5. Wimbledon inseamna traditie, istoria jocului dar si emfaza. Nu e multora accesibil... De aceea Murray se poate astepta in O2 sa fie incurajat de un spectru mai larg de suporteri

Woke up fairly groggy from the night before and turned on the Weather Channel. I suppose I should have rolled out from under the covers and walked across the dreary, mostly yellow decorated room (the walls, carpet, furnishings all had various forms of that color – as do just about all La Quintas) lifted the window and looked outside, which revealed a cheery scene – it was so grey as to be almost dark and pouring rain.

The temperatures in the Dakotas were in the low 30’s and there was snow forecasted off and on for most of the week. I’ve ridden through plenty of weather but October snow in the Dakotas THEN having to ride across Wyoming, Colorado and Utah was an absolute deal breaker. So I looked at the radar and decided to head south and do my best to stay where the temps were in the 70’s and 80’s. It’s great having enough time to simply abandon your trip plans and re-route to other interesting locations and places. You have to be a bit of a free thinker to just point the bike in another direction and just go. Most people spend considerable time thinking about the route prior to leaving and to scrap it entirely can be very difficult.

This would be another day of slab. Running from the cold and the rain. You will notice that on the days were the weather was nasty or the trip mostly involved interstate there few pictures. Why record the pain of riding in the rain for 10 hours and the interstate in the mid-west all looks the same.

Somewhere in Kansas

More of the same but the weather is starting to improve. I love being able to look at the weather radar on my IPhone and plot routes that will take me out of the bad weather!

Somewhere in northeast Kansas I got on a Kansas Turnpike. Yes, I know that in a tip report you are supposed to post detailed route maps, Google Earth sat pictures, topo maps, and coordinates. You will have to forgive me as at this point I had only broadly figured out where I wanted to go. So detailed routes were not important to me. It was on this part of my trip I learned two interesting things. The first is to observe the nature of where you are. Kansas – Ok, what they have lots of in Kansas – WIDE OPEN SPACES. What else? Well not too many gas stations in the more rural parts. So when I got on this turnpike and banged the Futura into 6^th gear the low fuel warning light came on. Crap! That sucks. I stabbed a finger at the Garmin and told it to find me a gas station. 35 miles….. What’s the range of this thing when the light comes on? About that, maybe, I’m not sure. Options? Turning around? No, it’s a similar distance…. Crap. Well in for a penny. There was NOTHING on this stretch of highway. Absolutely nothing but farmland. I made it to the fist exit about 20 miles up the road. Nice smiling older woman in the toll booth. “Where is the closest gas mam?” About 15 miles down the road she replied. “Anything closer? I’m in a bad way with fuel” Nope she replied. So now I’m rolling down a road in the middle of nowhere IN the middle of nowhere. No idea where I stand with fuel but worried. Doing 55 now and coasting down hills. Heck I say to myself I’ll just ask at a farm house if I run out. Of course that assumes that there are farmhouses with people in them. There is absolutely no one around, no cars, no cows, nothing. Down a long straight the bike coughs and dies. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! Well I’ll figure this out and put down the kickstand and climb off. I take off my gloves and helmet and look around – silence and nothing. I walk around the front of the bike and crouch down to think looking at the front wheel. I’ve been off the bike in total for less than 2 minutes when over the hill come two Harley riders. Now this is the second thing I learned today. Although Harley guys usually won’t wave back at non Harley riders they absolutely WILL stop for another biker in distress. I’ve seen this now enough to be certain about it. So they pull up and I sheepishly tell them I ran out of gas. “Hop on” says one. So less than 4 minutes after running out of gas I’m on the back of a Harley headed towards a gas station! Talk about being grateful! Man!

It’s hard to hang on to the back of the bike as there is no back rest and I feel that any moment I might slide off, Then again I feel a bit weird about hanging on to someone I don’t know and most of all I’m worried about people seeing two six foot guys in black leather holding on to each other…. I’d rather fall off. Anyway, we get to the gas station where they have an unusually large supply of red plastic gas cans. So I buy one and fill it with gas and we toss it into the Harley’s saddle bag and head back to my bike. We chat a bit about riding and I tell him a good friend was raised in Lawrence, Kansas. This elicits a response as apparently he is from a rival town whose football teams face each other and he makes a few good natured insults about the smell in Lawrence, and why the football teams suck, etc.

We get back to my bike and I fill up and the bike immediately starts. One guy has a new Zumo and we compare it to my Nuvi. Almost identical displays and menus except of course, for the Zumo being waterproof. I cannot thank these guys enough for saving me and convince them to keep the gascan – as one says it might come in handy at some point and it fits perfectly in his saddle bag. I fire up the bike and head for the gas station vowing to go out of the way to help any other biker I see to return the favor – and many weeks later I will.

As you can see from the picture I finally rode out of the bad weather and it was actually starting to turn nice. I make it into Witchita early evening and try to find an affordable place to stay for the night. For whatever reason I decided to spend a bit more and hit a Courtyard Marriott. Fantastic room with a gigantic big screen HD TV, great view and bed. This is the only place I stayed during the entire trip that had “a free hot breakfast” that was actually worth a crap. Waiters and fresh juice and a breakfast buffett that was actually filled with food I wanted to eat. Packed up the bike and bid goodbye to Wichita.

Next – Wichita, Kansas to Amarillo, Texas

Severndroog Castle on Shooters Hill, is a Grade 2 listed building presently on English Heritage’s “Buildings at Risk“ register.

The castle, which has been left to decay for years, is a 60-foot high triangular brick-built tower designed by architect Richard Jupp. The eighteenth-century tower was built by a heartbroken widow in a clearing, high on Shooters Hill, in an ancient bluebell wood.

However, the Severndroog Castle Building Preservation Trust (SCBPT), formed in 2003 to save the Castle from being sold off to private developers, is in desperate need of money to preserve the castle, and hopefully restore it to its former glory.

To achieve this goal the trust have begun a fundraising initiative to encourage supporters to “sponsor a brick”. You can be part of history by sponsoring a brick for Severndroog for just £5.

By investing in this heritage, you will be contributing to the history and preservation of this unique building.

You can sponsor a brick by clicking HERE.

At last, after an extremely busying week I’m back, and events in Shooters Hill have taken a very interesting turn.

It’s been a well known fact that that the local Labour party here in Greenwich have been going through their selection of candidates for next May’s local elections. Also, as usual, their have been a few “rumours” as to movements. I had resisted on blogging about the rumours, mainly because I couldn’t confirm any of them. But now that Andrew Gilligan posted about the selections on his blog (click HERE), it’s clear for all to see that Labour seem to be worried.

The biggest of the movers is that of Chris Roberts the council leader himself. Mr Roberts is on the move from his ward, Peninsula, where he has the lowest personal polling of ANY councillor! His next location is to a safer seat in Glyndon ward.

But, it’s the selection in Shooters Hill that obviously interests me the most. Of the three sitting Labour councillors, it appears the names on the ballot paper for my ward will be very different, so I will go through them individually. The first is councillor John Kelly, who I am led to believe is standing down in May from the council altogether.

Then there is Cllr Denise Hyland. Cllr Hyland was made a cabinet member a little while ago, and it seems that she has ambitions to stay in that role, as she applied to move to the much safer ward on Abbey Wood. As a resident of her current ward it looks on the face of it that she thinks more of here council career, than the views of the residents that first elected her. Her move has also meant the sitting councillor, Cllr Sekhon, who was awarded an OBE for her services to public life has been eased out.

That leaves the antipodean explorer Cllr Thorpe, who we all remember disappeared for a year down under.

So in Shooters Hill we find that we have a Councillor that doesn’t want to stand here anymore to protect her council career, and another who didn’t want to serve the residents of this ward for a quarter of his elected term.

Is nice to know that Labour care so much about the residents of my ward!

Greenwich’s one and only superslow high intensity 30-minute personal strength training gym has relocated to 521 East Putnam Ave. Greenwich, CT 06830.

Our new phone number is 203-340-2489.

We now have a shower and a playroom for kids/toddlers. Whether your kids want to watch TV, read one of our many books or play in our sanitized playroom, you can have the added comfort of knowing that they’re safe while you train. As always, we still offer poland spring water (bring your own bottles please) and purell dispensers inside and outside of the gym.

Amazing photos of “The Blackheath Cavern” on the Subterranean Greenwich and Kent blog. Also known as Jack Cade’s Cavern, these are photos that I haven’t seen before! Well worth a look. Imagine the parties down there.

So, Its been two months since I started at Greenwich University studying for a Computing with Games Development degree.

I have a background in developing complex systems through my work with Grouptree where I was a C# Engineer for a year and before that, a ASP.net programmer for RedAnt Design. I was quite excited to learn we would be studying Java Programming for the first year as I’ve never done anything with Java and it’s a very well known language.

I did however not expect University level programming to consist of “Hello World” Application for a week and then after 2 months begin working on basic class concepts.

I am aware that this is the first year and I should have expected it to be basic, however, you wouldn’t walk into a Biology degree with no prior knowledge of Biology would you?

This just bugs me and the boredom associated with sitting in lectures day after day listening to the dumbed down examples. Just a note, this is not a dig at the lecturers or staff at Greenwich University, they really do know what they are doing. I’m just angry that people with prior experiance have to jump through hoops and hope they learn something new whilst trying to keep your sanity.

Anyway, enough with the ranting, I’m going to be using my copious spare time and dedicating it to developing the software i’ve been dying to write for a year now. I’ll keep you all posted.