Almost Christmas Concert this Friday

Yesterday I received the following email from St Paul's Sinfonia previewing this Friday's concert. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two concerts of the season I can confirm the standard is as high as ever:

"I am writing to invite you to the Sinfonia's last concert of 2009. Not strictly Christmassy, but festive and joyful nonetheless, the December concert is full of fun and high spirits entirely appropriate to the season. The programme is as follows:

Mozart - Symphony No. 31 'Paris'
Matt Rogers - exile
Bizet - Symphony in C

We present two brilliant symphonies, and in the middle, the first work by our Composer in Residence. exile is a concerto for French horn and orchestra, and we are thrilled to be able to welcome Timothy Jackson, co-principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra, to play the solo part with the Sinfonia's accompaniment. The work exploits the ritualistic history of the horn, and includes a virtuosic movement for the orchestral horns alone, 'shadowing' the soloist as he careers through the music.The concert starts, as usual, at 7.30 p.m., and tickets are available on the door any time from 7 p.m. We hope very much to see you there!"

Lassoing the Circle

Yesterday I happened to find myself on the "old" Circle Line for the last time. Travelling from Bayswater to Baker Street I found myself assisting various bemused tourists who (quite understandably) were trying to match the freshly applied maps and route diagrams with the old service, and failing. Maybe delaying application of the new maps until Saturday night would have been too difficult, but surely a note could have been added beside the "new" route section to give the start date?

Trying to describe the new shape of the Circle over the phone a few days ago, I suggested it looked rather like a lasso. It seems I am in good company according to the Evening Standard - really how could anyone suggest it resembles a tadpole?

Back blogging!

Wow, that was a long summer break! Must try harder in future - and if I find time to do some "catch up" posts about some of the places and things I've seen since August...

Deptford Misc

A quick mention of Bill Ellson's new Deptford Misc blog which has already featured posts on the Dog and Bell pub, Beau Geste author (and Deptfordian) PC Wren and the fate of the New Cross Building Society. Welcome Bill!

Tesco comes to Town

Walking past the new retail unit at the south east end of the High Street (where Learndirect used to be sited) this evening I did a double take at the various Tesco signs in the windows, and a planning application notice. Checking the Lewisham Planning site confirmed that a Tesco Express is on the way to Deptford High Street.

Whilst not a particular fan of Tesco - I find their customer service is the poorest of all the major supermarkets, rarely if ever getting Green Clubcard Points for bag reuse even when I point this out (rant over) - hopefully it will provide Iceland with a bit of competition in this area without affecting the welcome variety of smaller stores on our local High Street.

Shelter Signs: West End

As promised, more old Second World War shelter signs, this time from the West End. Although all of these are at eye level they are much harder to spot than their Deptford equivalents, being a fraction of the size and badly weathered. Fortunately I had the very informative book London's War by Sayre Van Young to help guide me. All of these signs point down to vaults and basements...

At 25 Longmoore Street Pimlico (stretching the definition of "West End" a bit):

And just down the way at 36 Longmoore Street:

To save straining your eyes, (I think) it reads "public shelters in vaults under pavements in this street".

Moving on to between 42 and 48 Brook Street, near Grosvenor Square:

And at 72 Brook Street:

And similarly at 43 Upper Brook Street:

St. Paul's Sinfonia on Tour

It's the final concert of the season for St. Paul's Sinfonia on Sunday, and the first away from Deptford - at the Broadway Theatre, Catford. Culminating in Beethoven's ninth symphony, it's an event no Lewisham based music lover should miss!