Here’s one of those Greenwich oddities that gets my mouth watering. It was spotted by local author David Ramzan (it’s in his book ‘Royal Greenwich Through Time‘) but he knows nothing more about it and is wondering whether anyone here does.

It’s in the Thames Wall up by the power station and David says:

None of my friends or relations who know riverside Greenwich well, had any idea this inscription was on the riverside wall close to the old Power Station, and it would be interesting to find out if anyone knew any more about it. 

For example would this type of inscription have been commonly found along the riverside walls close to old historic landing places? Unfortunately like a lot of the historic Greenwich riverside architecture, these little curiosities are also gradually beginning to be lost to time. 

To me it looks like re-used stone, though from what and when it was built is a mystery. Perhaps it was built when the power station was built, between 1902 and 1910, but the stone could have come from anywhere.

It also looks as though they broke the stone – either in transport, during the build – or, how about this for a theory – actually at the stonemason’s yard, when the junior carver got a clip round the ear and a month’s wages docked for spelling ‘friends’ wrongly..? Perhaps the master mason decided to sell the stone off for scrap and it ended up here?

I wonder what the message was – all I can make out is

Neighbours and Freinds (sic) welcome ar (e?) XXXXwill strangers XXy XermiXX

Okay – let’s see who can fill in the gaps with the best phrase… (Scared of Chives, I still haven’t forgotten ‘…and gut your first octopus‘…)

In the meanwhile – does anyone know anything more about this – or, indeed, has anyone ever actually noticed this before? Do you know of any other places strange messages are carved into the river wall?

Okay. Hands up – who heard that bloomin’ siren again this morning? The one that sounds like a WWII air-raid claxon?

I did – and so did Dan. Thing is, Dan lives in POINT HILL – nowhere near Charlton or Woolwich, which is where most people hear it.

It was at exactly 7.00am. Anyone else hear it? Strange that after all these months, and all the theories, we still don’t know what it actually is.

Jane noticed this fine new sign on Creek Road Deptford. She says “do you think that Woolwich has our “west” signs… and if so can we have them back?”

What I think has happened is the council workers who were assigned to the task of erecting the sign are taking advantage of the new age discrimintation rules and are so elderly that they yearn for the good old days when Central Greenwich was called the Manor of East Greenwich, a few hundred years ago. In which case they would only be ever so slightly wrong instead of what I suspect is, well, completely wrong…

Okay – here’s a thing. Esther noted this odd looking pipe – and its friends – a couple of days ago while she was up the top of the park near the tennis courts and wondered what they’re for.

It’s clearly old, strong, and has been painted at least once. a jazzy turquoise colour. There’s no obvious coupling point for a hosepipe, and there are a whole load of them in a row:

If you want a bit of context, here’s the wide shot:

They all point in the same direction, and away from the path so my first thought, that they are guides for hosepipes or some kind of rope-thing for stretching lines across some kind of sports pitch, seems a bit redundant.

Perhaps they’re other kinds of guides for some odd sport? Or, and here’s a strange suggestion, maybe they’re miniature stink pipes or air vents for tunnels below? I don’t know of a tunnel that high up, but since I also don’t know of a modern map of the tunnels in Greenwich (park or otherwise) it’s possible I guess.

What do you think? Miniature earth-based submarines? Worm sculptures? Or the Secret Underground Headquarters of Doom for a local Evil Genius?

So – suggestions on a virtual postcard, please. Or in the comments above, of course….

The Phantom Bookie is his waving arms around in a scary fashion – it’s the Annual Greenwich Pantomime Horse Race again…

It all starts at 1.00pm.

Full Line up:

Horses:
Kings Arms
Lord Hood
Belushis
Pelton Arms
Olivers
Rose & Crown
Coach & Horses
Tolly
Morden Arms
Greenwich Union

Others:

Zebra
Hippo
Unicorn
Dolphin Man

The cast of Aladdin will rocking up before the race along with St Alfege’s Christmas Carol Singers – what’s not to like?

The Today Show’s racing tipster apparently lost anyone who followed him £60 this year, which just goes to show you can’t trust the BBC on form but a quiet word with the trainers reveals that the Hippo is odds-on favourite…

More info here and a groovy video that just refused to embed on the site here

Okay so I DEFINITELY heard that siren again this morning – so not a Sunday and not my imagination. 7.00am. Sounds Charltonish.

Still don’t know what it is, but if it’s supposed to be an effective warning one might think that it would be at its most helpful if someone knew what it was supposed to mean, when it was just being tested and when we ought to be afraid, very afraid…

Jacky asks:

Do you know which “Greenwich restaurant” is the HQ for this organisation? I’d hate to give them my custom by mistake!

In case you’re in the dark about the Obedient Wives Club, read this article on the BBC Website. It’s pretty radical stuff and, yes, Greenwich does have the dubious pleasure of housing the movement’s HQ. It’s called Nur Mohamed and it’s in the old Kerala Zone restaurant in Trafalgar Road. The cult’s raison d’etre is to convince Muslim women to act like high-class prostitutes so that their husbands won’t go to real ones. It’s also known as the Global Polygamy Club and I’ve been having quite a conversation with Sebastian, who’s actually been there, about it.

Seeing a new restaurant in East Greenwich, Sebastian and a few Malaysian pals went along to test it out – and let’s face it – wouldn’t any of us? I’d certainly been past it a few times and was most intrigued – especially when I went past in the mornings and the awning was pulled down over the window like a blind. I know that the old Kerala Zone used to have people sleeping in it – I went past one day when a particularly disgusting, multi-stained-with-heaven-knows-what secretions mattress was being removed from the kitchen (I don’t want to even think about who was sleeping on that – and in the kitchen – eeek!) Of course these owners are new – and I haven’t had the gall to lift the awning and take a peek myself (but oh, am I tempted…)

The first thing ‘a bit odd’ Sebastian noticed on entering was a large birthday cake. He was curious to know who the lucky recipient was and was told it was Global Ikhwan’s founder, of whom a large portrait can be seen on the wall. Nothing too strange about that – except that he died last year.

Sebastian says:

There was a plasma TV screening Muslim pop videos interspersed with interviews with Malaysian women followers talking how they’ve come to accept the polygamous marriages the cult’s committees arranged for them. An amusing diversion while waiting for your food…Except you might end up waiting for your food longer than you expect.

Granted I went with a group of 15 and we ordered a few dishes but my main failed to arrive despite my numerous reminders. I left 2 hours later without getting my food! (Maybe it was a ploy to get the wives in our group to see the joys of polygamy!)

Sebastian’s pals all being Malaysian, they were bound to have pretty high standards. He says it was ‘acceptable, given the price,’ but it sounds pretty iffy to me.

Our satay was undercooked (parts of it were red raw) though the peanut sauce was good. My curry puff was tasty. My friends who got the “paprik” rice/laksa dishes they ordered were not ecstatic but unoffended, though undercooked chicken appeared in some of their dishes.

Sebastian reckons that as long as you lower your expectations on the food front the visit could be quite entertaining, especially the dodgy videos. For my part, and admittedly I can’t speak from experience, I am less inclined to be so indulgent. The food may be just about acceptable, but I’m not sure I can say the same for the beliefs of the restaurant owners. There’s a point where lifestyle choice becomes coercion and I’d want to know that people, especially women, joined this cult from an absolutely personal decision.

So – what’s going on here then? A local good Samaritan? Lara snapped these splendid receptacles on the railings that separate Earlswood and Tuskar Street, but they’re springing up all around the area – she saw two more up by the railway bridge on Vanbrugh Hill. The Big Society is in action in East Greenwich at least…

Last week, on a rambling jolly, Our Dazza, Mr DotCoDotUK and Mr Full English Himself (I have this wonderful image in my head of the three of you together – I definitely want to know if you chaps ever start wearing blazers and boaters and decide to take Montmorency on a skiff down the Thames…) were intrigued by the little object above. No prizes for guessing what it is, of course, you can get ‘em from B&Q for a couple of quid – but  its location is slightly unexpected:

The Two Robs and a Dazza were highly curious as to what an ordinary domestic plug point was doing on a pillar of the wall along Park Vista. And I have to say that it does look splendidly incongruous.

Wearing my ‘tedious’ tricorn, I’m guessing that it’s just a little power-source for sundry hedge-trimming/leaf-blowing/litter-sucking equipment, and I’m willing to bet that 99% of the time it’s isolated.

But what if it wasn’t?

What would YOU plug in to this socket? (don’t go for cheap laughs, now…) I think I’d have to go for a very long string of fairy lights, that would encircle the park with twinkles on Bonfire Night, which, BTW, I am so excited about, delighted that Lewisham Council have decided to take a deep breath,  get some funding and go ahead, despite the recession and the curmudgeons on Greenwich Council, plugging the gap with bucket collections so everyone can still enjoy them for free. They can count on the Phantom tenner…

I’d love to see the park more involved with the fireworks. Oh, I know they can’t, if only because of the poor old deer, which much have terrible nightmares every November 5th, but it doesn’t stop me dreaming of a papier-mache ‘anarchist bomb’ (see yesterday’s post) stuffed with fireworks hoisted on top of the Observatory instead of the Time Ball for one night only to be exploded as the finale to the piece…

In the meanwhile I look forward to hearing more about Three Men and their jolly British adventures in Greenwich.

Remember this?

Back in 2009 we were enjoying the many pumps of the Old Royal Naval College that have survived time, tide and enemy action to live dotted aroun various courtyards, hiding in plain sight.

Here it is, in Queen Anne’s Court:

and in case you can’t quite place it, here it is in longshot:

Stephen is quite a fan and has been keeping an eye on them ever since, though for my money the very best bit about these pumps was the sign at the top of this post – a faded, painted note that says ‘Not to be taken away.’

Folks, I have some sad news for you. The sign whose only raison d’etre is to tell us not to take it away has been taken away:

I don’t know why it’s gone; I have written to the ORNC to see if I can find out. Nor do I know why the disappearance of something as tiny as this has saddened me quite so disproportionately this morning.  I hope it will be returned intact very soon.

Until then two small holes and a grey stain are all that remains of a delightful little piece of Greenwich whimsy.