Bakerloo Line extension 'not a priority' for Boris' TfL

Michele Dix, Transport for London's managing director for planning, has confirmed that a Bakerloo Line extension south from Elephant & Castle is “not high up the priority list of TfL projects,” despite the scoping work which confirmed “there was a need” for the project, which TfL also regard as “sensible” and “worthy of further work.”

SE1 has the full story here.

The lack of appetite is due to the fact that there is no obvious source of funding at the moment. And it is clear that Mayor Johnson is not batting for South East London transport, as Dix said she was unaware of any conversation between the Mayor and Government about it, despite Boris’ positive noises about it last year.

The Bakerloo Line extension will happen eventually, but we’ll have to wait until Boris leaves office before it becomes a reality.

Thanks to Monkeyboy for the story.

Music of Brockley Origin

Peckham Space is hosting The South London Black Music Archive, an exhibition by artist Barby
Asante, which opens today and runs until March 24th.

The installation "aims to celebrate, preserve and investigate South Londoners’ personal relationships with moments in black music history," and they are asking Brockley Central readers to add their memories to the map so that they can build a comprehensive record of the key places in South London for black music.

As well as this, the exhibition is inviting readers to contribute their black music records, tapes, CDs and memorabilia to add to the archive and build a history. All items are returnable.

To take part, please text the memories or objects you'd like to contribute to 07908 965 553 or email info@peckhamspace.com

Barby Asante says:

“The influence of black music on the development on popular music is often overlooked. Black music has also played a significant role in the development of British culture from the 1950's and this is a great opportunity to provide a platform for people to consider the significance of this cultural activity on their lives.”

Haberdashers' present free school plans

Following the news that Haberdashers' Aske's is proposing to open a free primary school in the area, reader TH Nick has written this report from the public presentation (also posted on the New Cross forum), which they gave last night:

The plan is for the current Hatcham Temple Grove school (HTG) to move back to its original site for September 2013 (i.e. for start of the Free School).

The first Free School (FS) reception will then use the current (permanent) reception classrooms while new permanent blocks will be built in time for the class to move into.

People asked about amounts of free space: the current HTG pupils (and therefore the FS pupils when they move in) have the same amount of outside space now as they will have when they go back to old HTG site.
The current HTG site (and again, presumably the future FS site) apparently does not encroach on the main Haberdashers Askes part of the site, so there will not be an issue with crowding for secondary children.

Pupils will be taught in English and German using an "immersive method", as currently used in HTG. Example was that currently children have a morning doing numeracy etc in English, then will do the same topics in the afternoon but using German words. The theory being that learning the language should't be hard....

There were questions about what impact this might have on other local primaries/the status of Haberdasher Askes secondary as a local school. The stat quoted by someone in the audience was that last year there were 72 places allocated by distance at HA. Once the 60 FS pupils each year come trhough, this will drop to around 12.

HA suggested that the pupils at the FS will be local and would have been those who otherwise would have got in HA in secondary admission, therefore this wasn't really any issue. In 2020 (when the first reception class moves to secondary) they will look at this and there may be a need for more secondary places but they haven't/can't consider this now.

In my opinion (and I suspect that of the person in the audience who asked the question) this was a bit of a weak answer. It looks clear that if live close to HA but choose to send your children to Edmund Waller/John Stainer etc you will be unlikely to get a place at HA secondary. While HA will remain a "local school" as the pupils that have come through the FS will be local, it does feel like it will end up slightly sealed and seperate from the local area and other local schools.

Finally, I chatted to some other parents after. Broad view (and I'm sure there will be some that don't agree) was that while they might disagree with free schools on principle, they were impressed with the plans and would be willing to compromise those principles for their children. Of course that position might change if their children didn't get a place at the FS.

Not Brockley Central: Working Title

A quick plug for the new Edelman Corporate blog, which is currently populated with a grand total of one article. A quick article by us, with our familiar brand of combative optimism.

Telegraph Hill power cut [UPDATED]

For those of you in Telegraph Hill but not on Twitter (which is virtually everyone in TH, as far as we can tell), you might like to know that the power cut affecting some parts of the neighbourhood is due to a sub station problem, according to BC regular, Debra, who hopes it will be fixed shortly.

UPDATE: The power's back.

Hopscotch nights

Brockley Jon writes:

It's taken me a week to get round to writing about a night out I had in Hopscotch cafe last weekend. Coming back from town we thought we'd pop in for a quick drink, and intrigued by the band setting up, thought we'd stay to see what happened. This wasn't our first evening in Hopscotch, but it was the first time we'd been when they had live music on, so I was keen to see how it worked as a live venue.

Hopscotch has quietly built a decent reputation for itself in Honor Oak, firstly as a cafe, but also increasingly as a place to go for a drink in the evening, with live music every Saturday. Trying to be both daytime child-friendly cafe and an evening destination is tricky though, and decor-wise I think there is some room for improvement. It's still a bit too safe, and could take some styling queues from any Antic pub in the area. The flashing fairy lights in the window don't say grown-up to me, and my biggest grumble would be the TV screen (showing music TV) at the back, which is unnecessary and cheapens the look overall.

While it's far from a pub, they do have a bar, and they have draught lagers (Amstel & Budwar). If ales are your thing, then they have a way to go, as there's a fairly uninspiring selection available by the bottle (think Old Speckled Hen, Bishop's Finger) served at room temperature. They do have Guinness on tap if my memory serves me right.
In the evening the hot food option is soup or a burger. No shame in that - a burger can make a place if they're done well, and I'm please to report they were. I don't think people will be traipsing from far and wide in the same way they did at the MeatEasy, but it was homemade, tasted good and there were enough varieties to keep everyone happy (they also have a happy hour in the early evening when it's 2 for 1).

The band in question were The Hitmen. A group of local musicians, with a clear love of blues & soul and the added bonus of a proper brass section. They belted out hits ranging from Glen Campbell to Stevie Wonder via Bowie and The Stones, all with a twist. They may have been a cover band but it's a long time since I've heard guitar skills like that, with some proper rocking moments even with the fairly mature punters in Hopscotch! Speaking of which, it seemed like the band had brought a lot of their own crowd, which made for a great atmosphere, with the place full to bursting and virtually everyone on their feet by the end of the night. According to Felix from The Hitmen they have a Facebook page, but I'm damned if I can find it, so maybe he'll find this and tell us all where it is

I really hope Hopscotch are doing okay in the evenings, as they're a valuable addition to the small but perfectly formed Honor Oak high street, and the only option for live music in the area. With the empty Old Bank next door being a prime spot for a decent restaurant, Hopscotch could happily become the default after-dinner drinking spot, and could maybe carve a niche for itself in the same way Moonbow Jakes did, many moons ago (ha!) on Brockley Road. I wish them well, and will be back soon.

This review has also been posted to the Honor Oak forum.

Haute Tension at Brockley Station

Jake recorded this at Brockley Station, ratcheting up the tension in a scene reminiscent of the Untouchables or Sleepers, If this doesn't prompt the immediate prioritisation of step free access on the West Side, then nothing will.