A quickie today – Laura asks:

“Can you recommend a local removal company?”

The Phantom replies:

My very first removal, many years ago, was conducted using a shopping trolley; there’s something to be said for being less materialistic. I promise I didn’t leave it in Shopping Cart Valhalla. I then moved to various car boots, then to a self-hire Luton, and have only ever used a proper ‘firm the once.

Because it was my first, I made the mistake of hiring ‘a major national firm’- who, on being told there was only one thing I cared about, a very delicate lamp – made a special wooden box for it,  dropped the box and were then very recalcitrant about getting my precious antique repaired. They were also very unexcited about taking care of much else…

So, maybe local is best. My being unable to recommend the ‘major national firm’ – suggestions please.

I’ve been chatting with Alan, (largely about tunnels and suchlike – for anyone new around here, Greenwich is a big old Swiss cheese, full of old tunnels, conduits, mines, secret passages etc. – check out the Underground Greenwich section in the Categories list on the sidebar) when the conversation turned to his job – he’s a handyman for Greenwich Council’s World Heritage Site Team “who basically paints anything that needs painting in and around the town centre and other odd jobs“.

He made an offer just too good to refuse – so I’m passing it on to you. “If there are any small issues around the town centre for example something you feel could use a coat of paint or tidying up please feel free to let me know.”

If you’ve got any suggestions for Alan, I will be happy to pass them on…

On a day when I sit writing this post in two dressing gowns, fingerless gloves, a blanket and hat (no, really…) my mind is drawn back to last night when I was in the West End and saw a shocking number of people sleeping rough in the snow. And in turn that me brought to a number of emails I’ve been getting about Greenwich Food Bank, since I first mentioned it a couple of months ago.

What happened? At what point did the concept of food banks, where ordinary, everyday folk become reliant on others’ charity just to be able to feed themselves properly, become ‘normal?’ And at what point did the situation in Greenwich become so bad that we need one ourselves? There are currently three distrubution centres in the borough – Thamesmead, Plumstead and Woolwich – but they’re planning five more, including, somewhat shockingly the ‘affluent’ areas of West Greenwich and Westcombe Park.

Don’t get me wrong – I am hugely impressed at the generosity and dedication of everyone involved – both volunteers and donors – but I find it very distressing that it’s needed, that so many people are slipping through the net, and that instead of hanging their heads in shame, central government seem to think its perfectly okay.

Local government, in cash-strapped times, at least appears to be doing what it can – Greenwich Council have provided somewhere to be the central warehouse. But ultimately it’s slipping back to Victorian times as far as I can see. Who knows – give it a few months and the New Heart of East Greenwich could  be hurriedly remodelled back to its 19th Century alias as the local Workhouse…

Soapbox aside, this is what we have, and it is a Good Thing, given that central government is not recognising the distress of so many. I applaud the efforts of the combined churches, I applaud the people who buy a few extra items each week to donate to the cause and I applaud the (so far) 60-70 volunteers who are working in the depots to process the items.

Carol’s been donating food to the bank for some time – she gives money to charities, but “somehow actually buying a few extra bits and pieces each week as I do the grocery shopping and taking them along to the Avery Hill Food Bank makes giving more ‘real’, i.e. making the effort to buy stuff, take it there when it’s open, walking past those people waiting to obtain food.”

I know what she means. I’m old enough to remember when the annual Blue Peter appeal involved collecting ‘stuff’ – milk bottle tops, plastic bottles, old woollies etc. which always felt much more hands-on and inspiring than just ‘send us your cash.’

The strange thing is that it’s not easy to find out online how to actually get involved in the project, which is a shame – individual churches seem to have their own systems, but if you’re just a bog-standard nice person who wants to join in, information’s thin on the ground – Capability Bowes had to email them to find out and he still didn’t get a straight answer.

But Mike’s filled me in.  People can take stuff to a collection point at the reception of St John’s Church, in Stratheden Road near Blackheath Standard, which is usually open from 9.30am to 4pm. Alternately anyone wishing to donate food can call 07771 830549 or email contact@greenwichfoodbank.co.uk.

There is also a collection point in Sainsburys Woolwich – hopefully this is something that other supermarkets will pick up on, like the little Cats Protection League box of Tins for Poor Cats in the Tellytubby Sainsburys on the Peninsula (I always pop a can or two in there – when I remember, blush…)

There is a ‘shopping list’ of suitable foodstuffs for the human version:

• Milk (UHT or powdered)
• Sugar (500g)
• Fruit Juice (carton)
• Soup
• Pasta Sauces
• Sponge Pudding (tinned)
• Tomatoes (tinned)
• Cereals
• Rice Pudding (tinned)
• Tea bags/Instant Coffee
• Instant Mashed Potato
• Rice/Pasta
• Tinned meat/fish
• Tinned Fruit
• Cooking Oil
• Jam
• Biscuits or Snack Bars
• Toiletries
• Baby Milk (powdered)
• Baby Food (tinned or bottled)

In a twenty-first century world that has come back down to cold charity it is up to us to fill a gap that should never have opened.

Capability Bowes is “desperately in need of someone to do a bathroom refurbishment after having been left entirely up the spout and down the drain by a firm of compete incompetents.”

I know that feeling only too well. The problem with the bathroom is that it’s not just a decorating job, but a plumbing and electrics issue too.

Any suggestions?

No – not that sort – though Flying Duck Ents. might be gone, they still exist online and rent their Creek Road shop out to others.

No – the sort I’m talking about are the ones that fly up the walls of post-ironic vintage-lovers like me and Capability Bowes, both of whom, I discover today, have the same issue. In fact I have a theory that everyone who owns a set of antique flying ducks has the same issue – neck-snap.

I’ve no idea how my middle duck’s neck broke, though in Mr Bowes’s case it’s rather clearer  - his granny literally didn’t give a flying duck where his granddad had been and threw one of hers at the poor old codger.

Both of us now have anything-but-rare brown-ring-necked ducks, where they’ve been badly repaired, and CB asks – does anyone know a local (or indeed otherwise) specialist china repair service? His may well be more of a restoration job than a repair – his birds (a set of five, mine’s only three) are also missing a wing or two – but hell – they belonged to his gran – and she was clearly one feisty lady…

Liz asks:

Any idea what happened to Greenwich Woodworks? I see the warehouse in Friendly Place is for sale and they’ve stopped trading but was wondering what the story was.

TGP replies:

Sadly high-end joinery company Greenwich Woodworks died at the beginning of the year. I don’t know the exact details, but I’m guessing it’s yet another victim of the current financial climate.

I confess I was quite surprised at their demise as I’d assumed the really established, top-level companies do seem to be weathering the storm slightly better than newer companies as the sort of customers they attract tend to be less affected – if you’ve got a job (or alternate income), no mortgage or an old tracker then things aren’t nearly as bad as if you’ve got no job and are renting or have a fixed mortgage, and Greenwich Woodworks came with such a very high reputation.

But that’s not to say that even wealthy people aren’t cutting a few corners and luxuries like new posh curtains, carpets – and kitchens – are being put on hold, or being created in other ways.

I know from at least two local carpenters I’ve spoken to that a regular wheeze for people who loved GW’s kitchens but couldn’t afford the hefty price tag was to go and view Greenwich Woodworks’ designs and styles at Friendly Place, then get a local joiner to quietly copy it or do something similar for a fraction of the cost. And if enough people do that, add them to the people who’ve decided to live with the kitchen they already have, the people who aren’t moving house just now and the folks that have just gone for one of the cheaper kitchen firms after all and that’s a lot of non-orders for Greenwich Woodworks.

I suspect that estate agents will still boast a Greenwich Woodworks kitchen in the ads for for some time – if you’ve got one, you’ve made an investment (and need to hope that it’s classic enough not to look like it was done before last Christmas in five years time – if, indeed, you care about such things, which I suspect most GW customers probably do…)

Although I’m not sure what happened to the owners of the company, I can tell you about a new one born from the ashes of Greenwich Woodworks. Two of the guys who worked for GW, joiner Salve D’Acunto and fitter/surveyor Tony DiStefano, finding themselves out of work, have  started SA Services, Carpentry and Joinery (no prizes for guessing the origin of the name…)

Their workshop is at 1 Dacre Place, Blackheath where, Tony tells me, “the high end quality still continues in any kind of carpentry and joinery – but cheaper“.

I’m not listing them in Trusted Tradesmen – yet – because I need to know what you lot think, so do let me know if you get them in to do a job and they’re fabulous, but given they worked for the kitchen company in the area, I suspect they’ll be joining the hallowed pages of TT soon.

07872624216

0208 301 2307

Akanksha asks:

We have a leak in our roof after heavy rain this morning and we guess it will only get worse. Could you help us find a reliable roofing expert please.

The Phantom replies:

Sorry to hear about that. Hope you’ve got plenty of buckets.

The last lot of roofers I used have sadly gone out of business, so I can’t actually help – but I bet someone here can.

Jim has a problem many of us face at one time or other – a small job around the house needing doing. Not big enough for it to be a major deal, but irritating and something that if it’s not seen to might turn into a bigger issue. He says

I need someone to re-establish a loose fence post in my back garden and would like to use someone local, but haven’t a clue who to ask.

There are, of course, many ‘no job too small’ handy men/women advertising in the local papers and newsletters and some of them are total gems but I know from bitter experience that firms that look promising in the small ads can’t all be trusted.

I’m not aware that there’s anyone in my Trusted Tradespeople section who does general small jobs, so I’m asking here – have you used anyone local who’s done a good job for you?

Guillaume asks:

I’m a manager of a luxary hairsalon in Mayfair. I try to open a small beautifull hair salon with a nice French touch and French beauty products from Provence. I have been trying to contact to Greenwich Hospital Estate but every time they tell me that they dont want more beauty or hairsalon in Greenwich. But I think the quality of hair salon here are not very impresive ( bad service, unfriendly staff ). Can you tell me if you know someone I can contact for try to pass these useless people from the Greenwich Hospital Estate. I saw that the Dirty Paws shop had been refurnished It will be a perfect tiny hair salon for me. If you can maybe tell me where to go or ask for try to rent this shop.

The Phantom replies:

I have never had more comments on any thread than that on hairdressers – it certainly seems that people have strong opinions – in both ways – about Greenwich salons. And yes, there are dozens of ‘em to choose from, especially in Trafalgar /Woolwich Road, though admittedly fewer in the actual town centre.

I agree it must be frustrating to see empty shops in the centre of town, but I can, for once, sort of see GHE’s point of view. If they’re trying to get people to visit the centre for casual shoppers, then filling it with services may have the effect of making it a destination only for people who are already booked, rather than the browsers that make the market vibrant. Every street needs variety – that’s why the Royal Hill Lovelies do so well – there’s something of everything which makes people want to go there.

Whatever you think of the quality of what is here already GHE will be taking businesses on numbers, not quality. I can’t see that anyone would be prepared to kick out an established business because someone else says they can do a better job and ‘changing use’ opens up a whole minefield of issues.

I don’t think you’re going to have much luck with the centre of town – GHE aren’t really ‘passable’ – as a bunch of us found out recently when we tried to stop them bulldozing that cute little florists in Durnford St for a trash compactor. The only body you could talk to is Greenwich Council and I know for a fact that they are not keen on monoculture in the town centre either – witness the recent closure of several cafes because there were already a bunch of eatieries there already (and believe me if you think the hairdressers aren’t much cop in the centre, don’t even think about trying some of the cafes. One or two are fantastic but a whole bunch are dire. Quality does not come into it at all…)

Of course not absolutely everything in the town centre belongs to Greenwich Hospital Estates. You might want to check out other places as they come available – some are controlled by other landlords, though you will probably have to conform with the council’s regulations on what can go where (if you were trying for a bookies you’d probably have better luck – I only found out the other day that they come under ‘financial services’ which is how they find it so easy to open up in old banks etc…)

You could cast your net a little further, of course. I can’t think of an empty shop in West Greenwich that would be suitable (don’t even think about that ‘spare’ one in the row at the foot of Royal Hill – there’s a reason why there’s no one in it…) but maybe someone else knows of one.  But every other shop in Trafalgar Road seems to be a hair salon, of varying salubriousness. No one seems to care what goes there. I keep meaning to take a headcount of them, just for my own personal interest. Perhaps you could hook up with the excellent little French deli, L’Artisan, near the Arches and start a Quartier Français…

Pat’s looking for a local sitar teacher. I’ve had a check on Trinity’s website and there doesn’t seem to be a list of members on the National Association of Music Educators website.

I’m stumped. Any ideas?