• Post Office closures
  Brockley Central note our Mayor’s disapproval
• Presentation on the Pools from the General Meeting
  The Forest Hill Society blog has what council officers presented
• Ladywell Village Action Group springs in to action
  Another local blog to follow, although I think they’ve changed their name
• Ladywell Village Improvement Group: AGM and Blog
  Sue celebrates civic action

• According to an article in Buildi
  Andrew M thinks Boris chose the wrong Milton
• Volunteers wanted
  must be available on Thursday morning
• Lewisham Market
  Brockley Nick is full of praise
• A history lesson for Jon Cruddas
  Luke provides the details of Herbert Morrison’s political achievements in London, including representing Lewisham East

As I was slightly early home this evening my eldest son and I dropped in to the Arthouse on Lewisham Way to take a look at an exhibition by Thion, a local artist.

The paintings were all accompanied by a Haiku which I thought added to the experience.

In the toilet
men are pissing
I discretely glance

If this sounds like your thing you’ve got until the 10th May to make your way there.

Richard is somehow finding time to play tag, and with this one I’m glad to play along:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

That’s the sort of challenge I like. So here are my seven:

1. Qidrechinna (I Am Destined to Love) by Abdel Gadir Salim (listen here). I’ve not ever been big on “world music” but this song is just fantastic.
2. More Love by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (listen here). The spring and summer should be filled with songs like this.
3. Thief by Can (listen here). Like Richard I’ve a bit of a Can habit and have been happily doing the ironing to this song over recent days.
4. Bottle Rocket by The Go! Team (listen here). The sound of outside.
5. What She Said by The Cynics (listen here). Garage rock, properly loud and brilliant.
6. Bridget Bardot by Creature (listen here). Canadians having fun and if they can so can we.
7. Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield (listen here). Horns and bongos, what more could you want from a spring song.

As always there were at least another 7 songs that have made the list, only to be discarded as the mood changed, and no doubt there’ll be another 7 that I’ll wish I’d picked as soon as I press publish. But these ones are as good a place to start as anywhere.

Throwing on to Bob, Max, Reidski, Oink, Peter, Wulf, and Transpontine.

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve have a blog which can only be a good thing:

In 1998, a new group of local residents and naturalists formed the Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, to develop and manage Devonshire Road.

Devonshire Road is open on the last Sunday of every month, from 2pm to 5pm (or dusk in winter). There is also an active group of volunteers who help out on most Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The three or four times I’ve been to the reserve I’ve been amazed at the fact it’s in Lewisham at all, somehow it doesn’t feel like it when you’re in there far away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

With thanks to Michael for bringing the blog to my attention.

• The Brockley Assembly: a new voice for local people?
  Brockley Kate gives the dates.
• UnLoved Lewisham?
  Brockley Nick asks whether the council delivery is as good as it should be.
• Deptford Properly
  Transpontine says “something for your mind, your body and your soul.”
• Ernest Dowson
  The campaign to name a street after Ernest Dowson, ‘decadent poet’ and resident of Brockley cemetery, starts here.
• The votes are in
  TMFC (Henry) runs his eye over the numbers.

At the risk of annoying those that think this blog is way too frivolous and partisan already, I found some of these “facts” quite funny.

It’s good to know that in the 4 days that we’ve known Boris had won someone has spent time, energy and presumably just a little money getting this together.

The BBC had this back in April, which I’ve only picked up on today:

In total, 386,374 people died of pneumonia during the eight years
examined, but there were significant regional variations. Lewisham in
London had the highest number of deaths per head, Berwick-on-Tweed the
least.

The researchers think the problems are caused by exhaust fumes, although lung specialists urge some caution in making a direct link.

• The elected few
  Max thinks that James getting elected is good
• Boris
  Gets invited to the Ladywell Fields Fun day by Andrew M