Fishmonger News

Or maybe it's Olds for some of you but it's certainly news for me. For months people have been finding some very erratic opening hours at the Trafalgar Road branch, including me and today, after making a special walk to get some fish (working on the "it's Friday morning - if a fish shop is going to be open any time it will be then" approach) and finding the shutters down again, I emailed the Fishmonger team to find out once and for all what's happening.

Emma replies:

"Unfortunately, we have had to close the Trafalgar Road shop. All of our business is now out of the Circus Street/Royal Hill branch. We are in the process of updating the web site with the new information and that should be working within a week or so. We are open in Circus Street from Tuesday to Friday 8.00 till 5.00 and on Saturday from 7.30 until 4.30. We are closed the day after a bank holiday as the inshore fishermen do not go to sea on a public holiday."

So - I've gone from being a grumpy Phantom to a sad Phantom. I guess it's good that we've at least got a fishmonger in Greenwich - but once again yet another good quality shop is over in the west, leaving the east with another closed storefront...

New Food Market

Greenwich Market, Wednesdays to Sundays.

Several of us have been keeping an eye on proceedings at Greenwich Market's new foodie section (or the expansion of the old section) - and yesterday was the first day.

I confess I hadn't been that excited about it - the one that operates on the usual busy market weekends perhaps wisely concentrates on tourists - so the food tends towards the scoff-it-on-the-spot variety - interesting enough, but not the kind of ingredients you can get somewhere like Blackheath Farmers Market. I had assumed an expansion of the same.

Still - I had to go and have a look. Obviously.

It's clearly early days - there can't have been more than half a dozen stalls, spaced out in the market - very open and airy, but slightly empty-looking. And some of them were the usual suspects - as I say, nice enough, but not somewhere I'd go for my groceries. But I was very pleased to see at least two 'proper' fruit and veg stalls - one selling Kentish farm goods - from free range eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers to first-of-the-season strawberries, the other the Greenwich Community fruit and veg stall - extremely good value.

There were sundry bigwigs wandering around while I was there (that's how I could tell it was the first day - nothing if not observant, me...) and photographers, presumably for the local papers, but my own pics turned out utterly rubbish. Just imagine a fairly empty Greenwich Market Hall with a few very nice-looking stalls (the fairy cakes stall is scrummy - and no, I refuse to call them 'cupcakes...') and you'll have it.

The service on all the stalls was welcoming and friendly - if a little slow, as the stallholders chatted with everyone - a throwback to ye olden days when shopping was a social experience.

As I say, it's early days. There aren't that many stalls. But it's definitely worth a look - patronise it now and there will be more...

Halcyon Books

1, Greenwich South St, SE10

You know, sometimes a place is so obvious to write about that in my increasingly muddled mind, I think I've already done it. I could have sworn I covered Halcyon Books bloomin' months ago but since I can't find it anywhere, presumably I didn't...

A dying breed, secondhand book shops in Greenwich. We seem to be losing them all, one by one (most recently Marcet Books in the little passageway between Nelson Rd and the market) but one that is clinging on - and still seemingly doing pretty well, is Halcyon in that little row of stores in Greenwich South St that includes Stitches & Daughters (or whatever it turns out to be next) and the Junk Shop.

Handily, whilst googling Halcyon for the exact address, I found a fun competition from abebooks where the prize was visiting 10 booksellers around the world, including Halcyon - my kind of competition. Shame it's finished...

Apparently the owner, Matthew Hubbard, started the business as a stall in the market in 1988, moving to an actual shop in 1995. So it's 20 years old this year. Nice one. Congratulations, Matthew.

I'm always rather suspicious of neat second-hand book shops, but that's not something you can level at Halcyon. While the shelves themselves are pretty well-ordered, there seem to be veritable landslides of volumes at the foot of each section, more than ever just now, waiting, tantalisingly, for space on the racks themselves.

It's bigger than it looks from the outside, going right back into the recesses of the shop, but I'm yet to see a good secondhand bookstore that had enough room for all its stock (at one I know on the south coast you literally climb up piles of books to get to the shelves) and Halcyon, happily, is no exception, bulging at every seam. There's a small local section, a lot of geographical stuff and an enormous amount of military books - hardly surprising, given the history of the area. The classics shelves probably have a little more room now after my own last visit where I cleared them of Trollope. Sorry chaps - but I guess you probably have more. I still need The Warden, btw...

Much of the bog-standard stuff is 'priced to sell,' but very little costs huge amounts (well, not that I've seen.) Staff are friendly and helpful - on my last request they double-checked and then cross-referenced my query. No luck - but that's not the point. They made the effort and believe me, I ask obscure...

From a vibrant selection of secondhand bookshops in Greenwich we have gone to a paltry couple plus a remainder shop and a mega-chain. I did wonder whether Halcyon keep afloat by selling on the internet, but although the domain name is taken, I can't find any website, save a rather obscure bit on abebooks. So for now it's still a proper, hands-on vistors' bookshop. We need to keep visiting to keep it that way...

Blackheath Batteries

Westcombe Hill, SE3

I didn't really need to buy a new car battery. In fact, strike the "really" bit of that last sentence. I didn't need one at all. But I did want to poke around the mews behind the shops at the top of Westcombe Hill. I just can't resist entrances to other worlds, however workaday they might appear.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that a friend was having problems with his battery so I marched through the entrance, past the dog-eared sandwich board, cobbles beneath my feet, into the little back yard that must have once sounded to clip-clop rather than vroom-vroom.

To be honest, it's difficult to really get much of an idea of how this little brick-built jumble must have looked when it was workshops and stables, there are so many parked cars and white vans squeezed in there. Problem is, it tends to get locked up at any time when they're not parked in there, totally hidden by thick rusty gates. But it's neat, freshly-painted and remarkably quiet for somewhere that must have all kinds of interesting small businesses tucked away in there, quietly beavering away at whatever they do.

I walked into Blackheath Batteries, my usual carapace of nochalence, reserved specially for dealing with teeth-sucking mechanics, buttoned firmly down. Several gents of almost sterotypcial car-parts-dealer appearance were standing around in anoraks, drinking orange tea and 'having a laugh.' Gulp.

I asked my question, quite proud that I actually remembered the make and model of my pal's car - not a given in the Phantom universe. And then was stunned. They listened to me. No, they didn't have the battery I was after - it was an unusual one that needs to be sourced from the manufacturer - but they weren't going to let me go that easily. How old was it? ("errrr....") How many miles had it done? ("umm....") How often was it started in this month? That month? Maybe my mate should try this. Or that. Don't do that because it doesn't work, whatever the AA man tells you. Get a new battery only as a last resort after you've tried all that because that sort are really expensive...

These guys knew they weren't going to make a sale out of me. They'd already told me they didn't stock the item I was after. But they still wanted to help. They spent time thinking about and discussing the problem, giving me advice (some of which I might even remember) and not sucking through their teeth once.

I am impressed by this old-school, friendly local business. Forget Kwik-Fit and all those other chains. Visit guys who know what they're talking about and actually give a damn.

Flying Duck Flying South for the Summer...

...well, forever, actually.

Folks, it's a lovely sunny Saturday. Wrap up and visit James and Carolyn at Flying Duck while you can. To my great misery they're getting out of Greenwich while they can, and another bit of Greenwich character is leaving us.

I adored Flying Duck; and it's weird to think it soon won't be with us, but I can see what's making them go. That effing-awful Wetherspoons, that tedious, menacing, chain-filled alleyway leading to what has to be one of London's scruffiest DLR stations - and the attendant morons who think it's ok to walk around Flying Duck scoffing chips with sauce and vinegar, fingering vintage merchandise with greasy paws and swearing loudly, which is what I encountered last time I was in there. They got chucked out, and I'm not surprised.

"That's why we're going," sighed the assistant, who got an earful of choice language as she asked them to leave - a brave move in my humble...

Everything in stock is going down in price on a daily basis. Go get yourself a memento of this fab store and wish them luck with their enterprises down in Brighton.

They're going online, too, but I can't see that it will be the same. What I loved about FDE was being able to wander round, looking at piles of stuff and finding something you didn't even know existed, let alone that you needed it.

Apparently they own the place and will rent it out only to another independent. Let's hope they find someone special.

They will be sorely missed.

http://www.flying-duck.com/HTMLs/shop/shoppage.html

Wooden Furniture Shops

Natasha asks:

I wonder if you can help? About 3 years ago I bought some furniture from a great little shop on the Trafalgar Road, just round the corner from Greenwich Auction Rooms. I'm sure it was called No Ikea originally but the owner was telling me he had to change the name, for fear of being sued by Ikea and he then called it No Idea. It was a small shop with another unit round the corner which sold lots of wooden furniture, very similar to Next but half the price. I'm sure when I drove past the other day it had gone. Would you know?

The Phantom replies:

Always had a big cuddly old dog outside? I think you must mean Yew Wood Knot Believe It! which used to be where the Polish Deli is now (I have vague recollections of No Idea too...) I always thought they missed another appalling tree-pun (Yew Wood Knot Be-leaf It would have done the trick.) I don't know where they've gone to, if at all, but if it's mirrors you're after, try the mirror shop on Woolwich Road just the Charlton side of the flyover. For wooden furniture. Hmm - cheap stuff, I'd say the auction itself. Stewart John Antiques do repros at more expensive rates. Or how about the furniture shop on the side of Stockwell St market? A bit more ethnic-y but certainly worth a poke around.

If you're after office-type furniture do give Greenworks a go - it's all second-hand, recovered from office-moves and redecorations and some of it's a bit scruffy, but a lot of it's hardly or sometimes never been used - they have over-orders, one-year old stuff and sometimes things like a job lot of chairs that were not quite the right shade for the interior designer's whim, so they've come, still wrapped in their original plastic, to Greenworks instead of landfill, which is where, amazingly, they used to end up.

Any of you folk got any local suggestions for alternatives to wooden IKEA stuff? BTW has anyone else noticed that IKEA has really gone downhill recently - the prices are the same but everything is just that little bit thinner/wobblier/crappier. Local alternatives are always welcome...

Maze Hill Pottery

The Old Ticket Office, Woodlands Park Road, SE10

Once upon a time there was a little railway station. It was a fine railway station, with wide sidings and a dear little ticket office who was his best friend. But one day a wicked old wizard came along and cast an evil spell, his greedy eye on the little station's land. The little station fought and fought but the wicked old wizard's magic was too strong.

The brave little station survived but at what cost? He had lost his lovely sidings and the wizard forced him to live with an ugly hovel instead of his beloved ticket office. Only the wave of a fairy godmother's magic wand and could save the little station's friend...

Maze Hill Pottery is a wonderful example of the kind of thing we can't afford to lose in Greenwich - a sweet little Victorian building turned into something that isn't an estate agent's office or a KFC rip-off. It's run by Lisa Hammond, an internationally-acclaimed artist whose stuff is not just beautiful, it's useful too. Each item is unique and although she does do some interesting 'art' pieces, most of her stuff is actually useable. Bowls and pots, cafetieres and casseroles, each is subtley different and has a practical purpose, rather than just an ornamental dust-trap function...

As I was walking past one day in December, I saw a postcard advertising an open studio day - just the sort of thing I can't resist. Even better, it was going to coincide with a rare kiln-opening. Apparently the thing takes several nail-biting days to cool properly - if she opens the door too quickly, the contents crack. She doesn't actually know how her latest pots will turn out for some time after she's fired it all up. And since she only fires up about once a month, a bad batch can represent a real problem.

What seemed like the entire population of Greenwich turned up for the opening - let's face it, it's not the sort of thing we often get to see round here - and the tiny studio was utterly packed. As the rack was slowly winched out, the tension on Lisa Hammond's face was obvious, turning to relief as she realised that it was, after all, a good batch. Pots and plates, vases and jars, all jumbled up next to each other, filling the kiln to the last inch.

What I found delightful was the surprise Lisa Hammond still has every time she opens a kiln. She can't be sure exactly how anything will look - I didn't realise just how inexact a science slips and glazes are. And that's what makes ceramics so exciting. As she examined each piece, it was clear that even things from the same batch will be different - so every item is unique. A good thing in this age of mass-production.

Lisa Hammond exhibits all over the world, and her wares can be purchased from exclusive stores in Tokyo (though of course you could just nip into the workshop if she's in there.) It's a terrific place to get presents (it solved the problem of what to get for the Phantom-Webmaster-who-has-everything) but they don't have to be just pottery. Lisa Hammond finds time to run classes and workshops too which would also make a good 'virtual' gift. I've never been to a class, but I'm tempted. They look great fun. There's loads about them and all manner of other interesting things about the place itself on the excellent website. I won't reinvent the (potter's) wheel here by repeating what can be found at http://www.greenwichgateway.com/mazehill/index.htm

Valerie Dressmaker

The Village, Charlton, SE7

A tiny, hidden gem today, nestled in the shadow of Charlton House. I don't get to go east instead of south or north as much as I would like but I noticed this curious little store during a night-time visit to The Big House and have taken this long to get back during daylight hours to check it out when the shutters are up.

It's a quaint, old-fashioned wool and haberdashery shop - Andrekabu - sit up straight at the back there - which sells all manner of fabric-y frippery, knitting nonsense and novelty notions that are nigh-on impossible to find in this neck of the woods.

There's a lot of wool. The whole of one wall is covered in shelves full of different types of knitting yarn, patterns pinned and pegged around the edges, jostling with printed tapestry kits. Actually, there isn't a spare spot of wall left, after all the drawers of buttons, boxes of trimmings, trays of greetings cards, wheels of glass-headed pins, racks of ribbon and spools of thread. Tiny tubes of ribbon rosebuds, minute buttons for dollies' clothes, cards of elastic and piles of Vilene. Not much of any one particular thing, but a wide range of types of thing. And following the long tradition of these shops stocking wedding and party paraphernalia, nestled among the reels of cotton and lengths of lace, lie satin gloves and diamante tiaras. By the door, in between the knitting patterns for bootees and lengths of bobble-trimming for 1970s lampshades hang several garish feather boas.

Do you know that bit in Alice Through The Looking Glass where she visits the sheep's shop? she can see through her peripheral vision that the shop is choc-a-bloc, but when she tries to focus on any one shelf it seems to be empty. I sort of get that feeling in this place. As I write this, in my mind's eye, it is jammed with glass cabinets full of fake flower corsages, bargain bins full of remnants and shelves-to-the-ceiling full of intriguing-looking brown cardboard boxes with ageing tissue paper-wappings peeking out from their lids, but when I try to think of any one specific place, the vision becomes hazy.

What isn't hazy is the middle-aged lady in a nylon housecoat sitting at an ancient sewing machine at the back. This, I presume, is the titular Valerie, and although she will stop her sewing to help you, she doesn't immediately do so - you are left to browse, something I appreciate. She tells me that she does alterations and makes clothes to order - a handy little thing to remember, though she is adamant she is a dressmaker, rather than a tailor.

I was surprised to find this little place - somewhere well worth remembering when you need those funny little things that nowhere else will sell. More like something out of Wallace & Gromit than a London suburb, its just the kind of store that needs to be cherished. It's right in the middle of Charlton Village, which means a bus ride if you don't drive, but worth it just for the novelty value - and a chat with Valerie...

Christmas Trees

Christmas Tree at the Painted Hall

Gethyn asks:

It's my first Christmas in Greenwich! Can anyone tell me where I should buy a real Christmas tree from? Ideally I'd like tree from a sustainable source, a good selection to choose from and a festive experience. Quite a lot to ask I know! Does a place exist nearby?

The Phantom replies:

Congratulations on your first festive season in Greenwich, Gethyn. I confess I'm a bit rubbish over Christmas trees - I keep saying " No - it's too early" - until it's too bloomin' late.

The first question to ask is "Do you have access to a car?" If so, I suggest you take a trip to Ruxley Manor Garden Centre which should tick all three boxes for you. They do lots of festive events which are, frankly, rather kiddie-oriented - but hey - there's something almost sweet about over-excited kiddies at this time of year. It's a huge centre, has a large selection and the trees are from sustainable sources (though they are brought in from Ireland so the Christmas Tree Miles are a bit higher than some.) The only fault I can think of is that it ain't cheap. But - they are doing a special deal at the moment where if you bring this voucher they give you another, money-off voucher to spend in the new year.

There are several garden centres just outside the area in Kent - on my entry about it, people have listed their suggestions, (Phoebe's is another popular one - and closer) but Ruxley Manor is my favourite for all-round experience.

If you don't drive, your choices are more limited. I have bought a nice tree from Sainsbury's in the past, struggling it home with a friend, one at each end, and, believe it or not, having a pretty festive time of it (it helped that we had mince pies and mulled wine waiting for us at the end of it.) The choice is good, but I don't know about their sustainablility policy or where they're brought in from. Ditto B&Q - though it's that much further up the road to lug it.

I can't help feeling we should be supporting local shops though and I've seen several with the odd tree outside. What you lose in choice you make up for in convenience and smugness.

Last year, I ended up buying mine from my favourite DIY shop at the Blackheath Standard - Standard DIY is a fantastic traditional hardware store - which sells all sorts of unlikely things and often stocks oddities that the big DIY barns don't bother with. The guy is extremely friendly and helpful and last year he even delivered mine, the last one in the shop, (yes - I'd left it really late) for nothing. I don't know if he's doing the same thing this year but it's worth an ask.

I've just received the email from Blackheath Farmers Market saying there will be a stall selling home-grown Christmas trees. That sounds utterly lovely - and very festive.

One other thought - you might want to give Woodlands Farm Trust a call - they might have brought some in to make a spot of cash for the project... http://www.thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org/contactus.htm

Any other ideas, guys?

La Fleur

Royal Hill, SE10

I have often walked down this street before

But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before...

What a delight. I have been meaning to try La Fleur properly for ages - it just looked so lovely from the outside. But I always seemed to have just had a cup of tea (funny that - must be the proxmity of Royal Teas and Buenos Aires) and the most I have got around to was buying plants.

Walking past a few days ago, though, I just couldn't resist the Christmas display (all white branches and clear sparkles against the pale sagey-green of the paintwork, with wonderful winter flowers - cyclamen, narcissus, holly and ivy) and just had to go in. I'm sure there are more tables and chairs in there since the last time I was there - I could have sworn there were only a couple of tables before. There are now at least four - though of course the tiny space itself hasn't increased, and the jungle of ferns, palms and even a baby olive tree, its grey-silver leaves looking fabulous against the tasteful cream walls. Also looking great are the 'gardening tools' and coloured wellies hung as decoration in the few gaps left by the greenery.

The tables are suitably rustic - French style, which considering the French voices at the till while I was there (aha - those Holmesian deduction skills again) is hardly surprising. The service is incredibly friendly. I was hardly ordering a feast - a coffee and a tea - but the attention to detail to getting my order exactly to my taste was impressive. It's amazing how much difference really good service makes - I just knew I was going to enjoy it when it arrived.

They do simple snacks too, and I fancied a cake, even though I knew I shouldn't have one. My willpower is low at the best of times but even I was able to resist that day. Why? Because I can't resist cakes if I see them, but I can resist description. They didn't have sweeties on display so I had to ask about them. By the time they'd told me what cakes they had, I had regrouped and was able to say "no thank you I don't really feel like it." Almost convincingly. A bunch of antique glass cake stands on the dresser filled with exquisite dainties and covered with cloches would have made a sale out of me without a sweat.

But hey. I love this place and the experience, just with the beverages, was great.

I wanted to test the loos (as I always do) and was directed into the most beautiful, minute, private back yard imaginable. In it were a few more tables, nestling among yet more fernery - utterly delightful (though far too cold and wet at the moment, natch...) The loo (once I found it amongst all that greenery) was splendid - clean and bright.

They're doing some rather charming Christmas decorations at the moment, which glitter and glimmer darkly in the shop, sparklies mixing with berries - very tasteful. And as for that dresser - there may not be any cakes on glass stands but they do have boxes of posh chocolates in holly-print boxes - very pretty.

The Phantom says check it out - possibly my fave place for afternoon tea - so far. I t could even become a Phantom favourite Haunt...

The Phantom's Greenwich Christmas Gift Guide

Good Lord. I just looked at the diary. There are less than five weeks to go before The Big Day and apart from booking panto tickets I've done nothing at all about it. Of course that's not unusual - but I really want to avoid the stress that goes with Christmas Eve shoppery this year.

Despite the lights not being on yet at Greenwich Market (a good thing, natch - you'll just have to wait until next Friday for that...) everything's gone Christmas Mad. And as for the chain stores - you can't go anywhere without acquiring one of those glossy gift supplements from stores with more money than originality, advertising the same old perfumes and tacky office toys.


But I'm now feeling left out. I too want to jump on the bandwagon and produce something bored people can flick through then immediately chuck away. So, in the absence of Old Phantom's Greenwich Almanack, which, naturally, would have been the season's best seller had I actually got around to producing it (like so many things on this site I haven't actually done yet, blush) here's my Greenwich gift guide.


I've tried to keep it as gifts with a local theme rather than just things you can buy here - for that I recommend just visiting Greenwich town centre (take some Prosac first, though, eh, if you're going at a weekend...)


I haven't included anything Greenwich-related for children as in my experience they don't care about themes or provenance for gifts - quantity will always prevail (though if you're really stuck, the puppet stall on Greenwich Market does delightful fingerbob sets of famous fairy tales including a particularly gruesome one of The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. For older kids, I recommend, from Compendia's current stock, Ticket To Ride (a great family game,) Labyrinth (the boardgame, not the puzzle,) Pueto Rico (for older, more mature kids) and as a stocking filler, Guillotine.) But onto the Greenwich Gifts...


1) Cutty Sark cuff links. In black and white, based on her own photos of the rigging. The same artist, Alison Wiffen, also does Observatory versions and a necklace based on a picture of the Cutty Sark's prow. Red Door Gallery, Turnpin Lane. Check out Alison's full range here


2) A limited edition Greenwich print from Greenwich Printmakers in the Market. The local ones tend to be grouped together near the desk.There are some great ones of Lovells Wharf just now - good for people who are just buying in the new developments.

3) Membership of Greenwich Picturehouse. A fab thing where it's virtually impossible to lose money, but you still feel like you 'belong...' With your membership you get a number of 'free' tickets, plus invites to free screenings and the odd event.

4) Theatre of Wine own brand wine. They've been promising this for ages - if they still aren't doing it yet, pester. In the absence of that, get some Flute Enchantee to drown your disappointment.

5) Blackheath and Environs, Neil Rhind. Available again after a hiatus of some years, this is one of those books that all local historians need. Highly scholarly, it's not an 'easy read' as such - but very satisfying. I got my copy from Sisters and Daughters, Blackheath

6) Warren King's superb Greenwich Calendar, in CD case form. Remember those pics of Squeeze I posted recently? They were by Warren King, who has created his own fabulous calendar. He told me he's launching a website, but I can't find it just now. However, I've seen these really rather splendid calendars in various places, including Red Door Gallery and even, believe it or not, Greenwich Post Office.

7) A Greenwich Clockmakers Clock - old fashioned style - some nicer than others. Personally I think they could have slightly higher production values, but they're still very nice pieces and would make good, topical presents. Greenwich Market.

8) A Season Ticket for Greenwich Theatre. If last season was anything to go by, a bit of a curate's egg of a gift - some shows were so great I wanted to go again instantly, others were really rather duff (I left one in the interval, another I would have left if it had had an interval - but that sort of doesn't matter if you're overall paying so little for a ticket (works out just over a tenner per show, if memory serves.) With its slightly chequered history, it's important to support the theatre, even if not everything is to one's personal taste. But as value for money goes, it's great, and your recipient will have loads of nights out for a comparatively small outlay on your part...

9) An antique map from Warwick Leadlay Gallery. The real thing if you're ultra-generous, a good quality print if you're a little more strapped for cash. Several available from knowledgeable and helpful staff.

10) Greenwich Meantime Beer. Buy it from various outlets including The Cheeseboard. The alternative is a festive keg of whatever's on 'special' from Zero Degrees in Montpelier Row, Blackheath.

11) A Fishmonger Ltd Apron - With a cool design by Paul McPherson in funky colours. From our very own local Fishmonger, of course...

12 A good book. If your recipient likes classics, try The Secret Agent. If they're into more modern stuff, I enjoyed both Birdman and The Dead of Summer. Reviews of all of these can be found in the Books section.

13 A charitable donation. You could do a lot worse than helping out The Cutty Sark after her annus horribilis. Buy a nice Cutty Sark card from the shop and tell your nearest and dearest that they have adopted a plank. Metaphorically speaking, of course. And don't forget to visit Jerry Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean photo exhibition at the Cutty Sark this week. To make a donation visit www.cuttysark.org.uk

14 Classic Paper Calendar with photographs by Fergus Noone. Traditional calendar with beautiful B&W photos in F.N's inimitable style. Fergus Noone Gallery

15 Rosa Christopher Marlowe, David Austin roses. The gardener's choice. A rose named for our local Elizabethan-playwright-who-died-in-suspicious-circumstances.

16 Membership of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society If you're going to belong to any astronomy society anywhere, then surely Greenwich has to be the place. This active scientific society meets regularly at The Greenwich Observatory, has observation nights and talks by eminent astronomers. If you're thinking of joining the friends of the NMM - remember that by joining the Flamsteed Astronomical Society you automatically become a friend of the Nmm. www.flamsteed.info

17 DLR line Mug, "Cutty Sark for the Royal Observatory" from the new-look London Transport Museum. In turquoise, it's part of a selection of mugs from famous parts of the LT network. View it herebut use buying one as an excuse for visiting the splendid new museum.

18 Prime Meridian T Shirt, If you can't make it into Covent Garden, huff and puff your way up Observatory Hill to the Observatory shop for this most apt of Greenwich gifts instead. Or buy it online and save yourself the effort.

19 A Greenwich Fan, designed by Peter Kent. The Fan Museum shop has two different Greenwich designs on their website, but it's such a terrible (very pretty, but terrible) page that I can't work out whether they're for general sale or not. They say they can do mail order - and then don't actually tell you what they sell. But hey. Why not visit this jewel of a museum and check out their latest exhibition Winds of Change, or, after Dec 2, Celebrations and visit their delightful little shop at the same time. What they lack in web-savvy they more than make up for in charm...

20 Finally. My personal favourite - but you'll have to get in there quick - A Private Christmas Cruise on a Greenwich Yacht. This is part of the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce's Blind Auction. Basically the treasurer of the FoEGP just happens to have a 26' yacht and will skipper a group for a private trip up the Thames for the highest bidder. The auction will be officially held at the FoEGP Christmas Carol meet next Sunday Dec 2, but if you want to bid before that, email the friends(annoyingly I can't find any details online...) pleasauncefriends@hotmail.co.uk

One last thing. Christmas cards. Good quality charity ones from St Alfeges Church, nice local versions from Warwick Leadlay, The Cutty Sark and Westcombe and Blackheath Societies.

BTW just out of interest, has anyone acquired any of those "mince pound" things yet? Apparently for every pound you spend in various places in Greenwich town centre you get a mince pound which can be exchanged for a pound off various entertainments in Greenwich. None of the places I've spent over ten quid at so far seemed to do them though.

Greenwich Book Time

Greenwich Church St, SE10

The book of my enemy has been remaindered

And I am pleased.

There used to be several of these remainder books shops around Greenwich, all selling pretty much the same thing, thus prompting me, with Sherlock Holmesian powers of deduction, to assume they were run by the same people. I guess I'm not quite as gutted about the loss of these as I am about the gradual death of Greenwich's legion of quirky second-hand bookshops (I'm still mourning the recent demise of Marcet Books) but even so, the fact that I don't believe any of these has been replaced by anything at all -not even a Greenwich Inc cafe, makes me sad, and I am pleased that at least one is still with us.

Remainder books rock. I know that it is the ultimate misery for an author, but for me it is an adventure playground of discovery.

The Edsels of the world of moveable type,

The bummers that no amount of hype could shift,

The unbudgeable turkeys.

Much of it boggles the mind as to how on earth it ever got commissioned in the first place - take A History of Men and Snakes, The Head-Collector's Bible and Knitting With Your Pet's Fur - three of my own personal favourites.

His unmistakably individual new voice
Shares the same scrapyard with a forlorn skyscraper
Of The Kung-Fu Cookbook

No - what I love are the hidden gems that didn't work at the time - perhaps a lack of publicity, a bad title, a release-date shared with the latest Harry Potter, an author not quite famous enough - or merely written before their time. They rub shoulders with dodgy celebrity autobiographies, obscure Australian-measures cookbooks and comedy stocking fillers that missed the mark.

His renowned abhorrence of all posturing and pretense,

Is there with Pertwee's Promenades and Pierrots--One Hundred Years of Seaside Entertainment

A few years ago they were everywhere, these shops, now I know only of half a dozen in London and most of them have a porn emporium in the basement. As a penniless student, I often found myself in one or other of them - you could fill a carrier bag with reading material for a few coins (well, ok - pound-coins...) And some of them were not only really good, they have become old and trusted friends of mine. Especially the ones that were just a bit too scholarly to be blockbuster material - usually written by some unknown professor without that popular touch that sells multiple copies. They're sometimes rather hard work but they do occasionally repay the effort, even if, like that free history channel on TV, many of them seem to be based on military tactics of WWII.

His delicate, quivering sensibility is now as one

With Barbara Windsor's Book of Boobs

In fact there is even one book that I bought as a remainder in the 1990s that I loved so much that I had to cover it in sticky-backed plastic to keep it together (yes I am a Blue Peter child) and its influence continues today - there is a new book out by Greenwich author that I can't quite bring myself to read yet because it covers the same ground as my fave and I have fears that I will be horribly prejudiced when I come to review it here...

But back to Greenwich Book Time. It's not all remainder-fare - some are cheap imprints, overstocks and bulk-buys. There are gems to be discovered in here, if you can make the effort and time to delve past the dross. And the perfect time with this particular store is just before going to the movies, while you're waiting for your mate (who's always late - yeah - the same one as yesterday...)

They open conveniently late and are directly opposite the Picturehouse (BTW can someone tell me why this shop's official address seems to be in Greenwich Church St but the Picturehouse - opposite - is in Greenwich High Road?)

Greenwich Book Time is not the ultimate in quality - and it doesn't pretend to be. But it's a good place, out of the rain, to meet people - and you can, just occasionally, find a book that will become a personal favourite.

Chill the champagne and polish the crystal goblets!

The book of my enemy has been remaindered

And I am glad.

Clive James

Shop for Sale...

Anyone who reads this on a regular basis will know that I never stop banging on about the dead and dying shops on Trafalgar Road, but this one truly saddens me.

We've all known for sometime that the owner/proprietor of La Salumeria was retiring, but until now I hadn't been overly bothered as I had (stupidly, it would seem now) believed the rumours that it would stay a delicatessen, with merely the addition of a cafe at the rear. But looking at the Property Section of the News Shopper this week I noticed that the entire property - shop, flat and freehold is up for sale - so that clearly can't be the case any more.

There are so few true old-fashioned delis around anymore - crammed from ceiling to floor with curious (mainly Italian) jars, tins and boxes, festooned with Pannetone boxes hanging from the ceiling at Christmas, gaily coloured foil-wrapped eggs at Easter and sausages the rest of the time. I know we are getting a new one (at Stockwell Street, up the posh end) but I can't imagine that it will be as stuffed to the gills with goodies - a place to truly browse - as La Salumeria, however yummy it might be.

The asking price is £550,000 - far too much for most would-be deli-founders. This will almost certainly be bought by a developer, the flat spruced-up and sold off and the shop itself closed. My one hope springs from the contents - also for sale so someone might see this as an opportunity.

I am a heavy-hearted Phantom this morning.

http://www2.vebra.com/jamesjohnston/blackheath/COMM/DETAILS/184%20Trafalgar%20Road.pdf

Hide All

Greenwich Market, SE10

A classic "Gift Shop," Hide All sells (as one might expect from the pun)leather goods. It's one of those places I visit when I'm beginning to despair whilst trying to find a present for a difficult relative, and perhaps the fact that I have never found the solution to this periodic misery in this shop has made me a little jaded to its (many) charms.

It's not that it doesn't try - and try hard. It has some lovely things, mainly of the accessory variety. Gloves, handbags, keyrings, purses - that sort of thing. They're good quality, and come in nice colours - pastels as well as strong classics; browns, blacks and reds. There are some very sophisticated lilac gloves. But (and this is obviously just me because the place has been going for years and clearly must be popular) nothing really jumps out at me, either as a must-have for the difficult-relative-du-jour or for me to put on my own wish list.

If I'm honest, I suspect I'm not the target audience. These are simple, high-quality items for the discerning woman(mainly); the sort of things that become much-loved treasures, not for the likes of a scruffy old phantom who starts out with good intentions but ends up with carrier bags and woolly mittens after the lovely leather tote bursts and one of the lilac gloves gets left on the 177...

Hide All doesn't just carry leather goods, though. It has a small section of very nice toiletries - L'Occitane, Burts Bees etc - which makes it smell very lush indeed. But again it's a no for me, present-wise. Personal prejudice makes me never buy smellies for someone, however difficult they might be to buy for and however lovely the smelly item, because I had it ingrained into me at an early age that buying toiletries looked like I hadn't tried hard enough to think of something individual for someone - the "easy" option, if you like.

On the other hand, Hide All does have a nice (small) selection of tasteful greetings cards, so my trip wasn't completely wasted this time. But a gift? The Phantom's still trudging the streets...

Bizili

Unit 7, Greenwich Market

Out a-haunting yesterday, I found myself in Greenwich Market, passed what, I believe, used to be Pink Lizard and found myself thinking of AndreKabu.

Why? Because although AK's dream of a lovely stationery shop in Greenwich may not be fully (or even, frankly, partially) realised, Bizili is at least making an effort - and is literally starting with a blank canvas.

It's an extremely odd Chinese art materials multinational that has set up shop in one of the market place units. It's only been open two weeks and the stock looks a bit bare so far but they assured me that they're expanding. One look at the website (well, two looks, actually - the site's in Chinese - you have to find the English page) will tell you how many thousands of dollars-worth of oil paints they have sold in Denmark, which has convinced them that Britain is ready for the wax-crayon invasion....

I'm guessing that what we actually have in Greenwich Market is a franchise rather than a branch, which will explain the small amount of stock so far, but I'm curious.

Pencils, pens, brushes, acrylics, oils, fabric paints - that kind of thing. There are also pre-stretched canvases at alarmingly cheap prices - the largest was just £ 6.50 (I remember the blue fug that surrounded me trying to stretch my own canvases many moons ago) and easels. Funky gift sets, school supplies and little wooden artists' mannequins - they're all here already. In some kind of strange non sequitur, there was a cheap child's guitar on show too.

The prices are low - due, presumably, to the Chinese provenance. The colours are bright and the packaging engaging. The one thing I can't vouch for is any kind of quality, though presumably they've had to pass at least health & safety rules and your toddler won't die if she sucks a Nature Colored Pencil...

With Andrekabu's dream in mind I asked about paper - the one thing that they seemed not to stock at all. The very sweet Chinese staff assured me that a lovely variety of paper will be arriving soon.

The company's slogan is No Best, but even better (sic.) We'll see. The Phantom is watching. In the meanwhile, if anyone actually buys anything (the tightfisted Phantom has enough art materials to last until the next millennium) do let me know what the quality's like.

www.volitation.co.uk

Johnny Rocket

10, College Approach, SE10

I have a friend who, after many years of happy marriage (or we thought so anyway) suddenly announced it was all a sham, split up with her husband and got divorced in record time. She went underground for a (very) few months so when we finally got together I thought I was going to spend a lot of time dispensing very gooey cake.

Instead she seemed quite chipper. She'd been dating, she told me. Great, I said. Anyone interesting? Well, there was one, she supposed. She didn't seem particularly bothered.

We had a nice cup of tea and cake (well - I wasn't going to give up the cake opportunity, was I?) and I suggested we meet the next week. She apologised. She couldn't make next week as she was getting married.

To the guy she'd only just met? Was she sure? Did she love him? Well, he was the best of the bunch and she didn't want to waste any more time...

She told me she needed a ring, and pronto. By Sunday, in fact. But she didn't want any old plain gold band - she'd already done that. She wanted something wild, to celebrate the New Her.

Frankly, there was only one place that sprang to my mind for such an item. A woman with newly-found gay abandon, lots of cash and an impending marriage?

Johnny Rocket is a jeweller and retailer. From what I can tell, they do their own range of interesting pieces, and they sell the work of up, coming and arrived contemporary designers, some of whom I've actually even heard of.

In a selfish kind of way I was grateful to my friend as up until that point I had only ever pressed my insubstantial phantasmagorical nose against the glass of the little boutique in College Approach. This gave me an excuse to have a nose around at first hand, while my friend bought herself the ultimate funky love token.

It's a tiny little jewel of a place itself. Classic glass cabinets in dark wood, filled to the gills with twinkly things - both individual sparky one-offs and items from designers' core ranges. A blood-red velvet sofa sits below an ornate rococo-style mirror and the almost obligatory chandelier, and a little staircase leads, presumably, to Mr Johnny Rocket (John Pearce, I believe, who works with his mate Niall Paisley) and his magic workshop. Was it from down those steps that he created Jamiroquai's headdress and half of Kylie's jewel box? Probably not as he's only been here since 2005, but it's good to dream.

You have to press a buzzer to get in, so browsing is strictly controlled - individual service is the name of the game. That's perfectly understandable given the value of the goods on display, of course. Goods that range from a single, understated, elegant statement to the show-stopping kind of geejaws that need the sort of occasion I don't get to go to very often to set them off.

It harks back to the days of proper service. Someone actually takes the time to find out about your occasion and help you find something special for it - though of course not everyone has to wait for an occasion - while we were in there someone came in for a fitting for some individually-created piece who had a cosy familiarity with the staff (and Mr R. himself) others reserve for the greengrocer or the baker. It's now of course, an ambition to add Johnny Rocket to my weekly shopping list...

My only possible complaint is, perhaps his own success. While we were in there, it filled up with gossipy regulars, whose chatter, toddlers and sheer presence somewhat put me off my stroke. Suddenly I felt ever so-slightly abandoned, though that may well have had something to do with the fact that I was only there as "supportive friend" anyway.

Will my pal's new marriage last? Who can tell? But that ring. That ring is here to stay...

www.johnnyrocketltd.co.uk

Prime Time Video

Blackheath

I made a huge faux pas the other day. Admittedly it was a Sunday morning and I'm never at my perkiest then, but this was stupidity of monumental proportions.

I went into the video shop opposite the station and was bowled over. My feet stepped onto sumptuous dark red carpet, my eyes feasted on a simple but elegant store layout and lit up at the sight of interesting stock (though it seemed a little emptier than it could be - not sure what that was about - unless they'd had a busy Saturday night.)

It was like walking into an old cinema - clearly the desired effect. Splendid fake friezes in deco style of cinematic tableaux, curved stairways leading to different areas of the shop, fab subtle lighting - even with dark red ropes on brass stands dividing areas - it was just really beautifully laid out and I was excited. A closer look at the DVDs on offer (I didn't have time to check out the videos - which appeared to be being sold off) revealed a good selection of oldies and arthouse as well as the usual blockbusters, rom-coms and action movies.

And here comes the stupidity. I suggested to the guy at the desk they open a store in Greenwich. Of course he told me they'd just shut a shop in Greenwich. DUH...

One look at the name of the shop and it all came flooding back - as did a rather fetching tomato colour to my face. Prime Time Video. Of course. I even wrote about it. I just hadn't connected this sophisticated, beautiful place to wander round and enjoy for its own sake with the scruffy old video shop that just closed in what has to be Greenwich's worst shopping centre (next door to that dodgy old Somerfields and sundry other dead shops.)

What on earth made them open up there? Why did Blackheath get the luxury treatment and Greenwich the bargain basement? Maybe it's one of those classic Greenwich/Blackheath fundamentals that seems to apply to all wine bars/restaurants and shops (with one or two fabulously inspiring exceptions - places that keep my optimism for our wonderful, exciting town.) Whatever it is, it's depressing as hell.

Greenwich deserves a video store as classy as Prime Time Video in Blackheath - somewhere the evening's entertainment begins before the film starts - and I know just the guy to do it. Here's my fantasy. An independent video store that is as fabulous to look at as Prime Vids in Blackheath in what was going to be the lapdancing club at the Plaza run by the big guy from Blockbuster who seems to know everything thre is to know about film. Now there's a place I'd visit more than it was healthy. Actually, while we're about it, how about a small screening room in there too, with selections and introductions by The Big Man Himself (must find out his name...)

Ho hum. Back to reality and what has to be the grimmest day of the year - in effing AUGUST...

Ruxley Manor Garden Centre

I have been looking for a fabulous garden centre for some time now. Given the price of land around Greenwich it's hardly surprising that there isn't much more than the piss-poor garden section of B&Q (Homebase is slightly better) but if you go out just a few miles there are quite a lot of them, some more impressive than others. There is one near the M25 which will remain nameless which didn't seem to have a plant in it that wasn't diseased when I visited, but others are at least clean and have a reasonable selection.

But I wasn't prepared for the sheer size of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre. Lovely Anita from House of Beauty told me about it and I thought I'd give it a try. The website looks nice enough but can't show just how big this place is. As you go in, you pass what turns out to be the overflow car park (the 'proper' one is next to the entrance.) What I like is that they have made an effort everywhere. Most garden centres have plenty of plants and then might do one or two displays, the rest being -well - a bit scruffy, really. This place, from the moment you go in. has well-cared for beds and smart displays. Presumably you pay for it in the prices, but I didn't notice many stupidly expensive items (and you know what a skinflint I am...)

If it goes outdoors, Ruxley will have it. There are huge sections of different kinds of plants - palms and ferns, fruit bushes, architectural talking points, perennials, annuals - you name it, they've got it. There are all manner of hard landscape-y things, outbuildings, summer houses, interesting ideas for back gardens from Japanese minimalism to country cottage charm. I particularly liked the dancing teddy bear topiary.

Indoors, every garden tool, accessory and frivolity jostles outdoor wear, conservatory furniture, kitchen stuff and dining clutter. There's a big aquatic and pets department I didn't go into - not my kind of thing, but I'm sure it's the same quality as the rest.

Plenty of loos, a cafe (Anita recommends the panini) and an intriguing-looking Italian Restaurant, which is open not just for lunch but evening too, implying that it's a proper restaurant - we'll see - it's now on my long and growing list of eateries for review.

The old manor itself (more like a lovely farmhouse than a traditional 'manor') isn't open to the public, but is a pretty place, and its attendant chapel, now totally dead, its windows covered in chicken wire to prevent bird damage, is also worth a look - it has a curious ruined tower next door.

I reckon this place is well worth a visit (if you're into gardens of course - if you're not, I'd give it a wide berth...) It's about 20 minutes from Greenwich by car, but much better than the same old, same old (and the horrid queues) at B&Q...

www.ruxley-manor.co.uk

So Organic

Turnpin Lane, SE10

I was rather sad to see the art gallery on Turnpin Lane close a couple of months ago, and with the unsettled nature of the market just now I had assumed it would be just another empty shell for the next few years.

So I was delighted to hear from Stuart that the dead shop's boots had been filled already by a local internet company branching out into the real world. So Organic has been featuring in the women's glossies for sometime, supplying mail-order health, beauty and household goods and with a fairly big internet presense but it didn't have a shop where you could actually go in and see the stuff for yourself before buying.

It's all very light and airy (not always an easy task in the gloom of Turnpin Lane) and modern-feeling. When I first heard about it I was worried that it might compete with the fabulous Greenlands Health Foods but actually I think that although there is some crossover, they generally compliment each other well. Greenlands focuses on what you put inside your body, So Organic's shop seems to be more interested in what you put on your body.

The main shop sells cosmetics - all organic, cruelty-free and brands I didn't really know. Friendly, enthusiastic staff take you through the different lines with an almost exhausting exhilaration, but it is quite infectious and although I needed a nice cup of (herbal) tea and a sit down afterwards, they did succeed in making a considerable sale out of me.

The back room has the slightly less glamorous but equally interesting household-y-toiletry side of the business. Simple white shelving sells everything from recycled stationery - rulers made out of plastic cups and notebooks recreated out of juice cartons - to smelly gifts for teenage girls. There's a tiny men's section, a somewhat larger baby collection and some organic bedlinen which was not open to feel but is possibly something they should consider since it looked lovely and unbleached but a bit - well - scratchy.

At the back of the shop, huge vats of various Ecover products lie in wait to refill old containers - something to be applauded indeed.

The massively friendly staff were at pains to point out that there were MANY more items on the website; that there just wasn't enough room in the shop to display everything (and one glimpse at the site will confirm that) but for me, the shop still felt a bit empty. I'm not suggesting they fill it to the gills, but there was definitely a spot more room (in my book) for lovely displays to keep me in there. It didn't take long to see what they had, buy some of it and leave. I know it's a small shop and they presumably don't want to encourage too much extended browsing, but I do like shelves with stuff on. Never call me a minimalist. Give me an Aladdin's Cave any day.

www.soorganic.com

Hortus

Blackheath Village, SE3

This is the kind of yummy, rather posh gardening shop that it's unlikely we'll see in Greenwich just at the moment, the nearest equivalent being the lovely florist in Royal Hill, though it's not quite the same. It is extremely tasteful in every respect ( a tad too tasteful, possibly?) and I wander around it like a little girl in Claire's Accessories, dazzled by all the finery but wondering whether my pocket money will actually stretch to anything at all.

To be honest that's not a very good analogy at all. Claire's Accessories sells cheap tat and even the poorest little ballerina can normally afford something. But cheap - in any sense of the word - is not what Hortus is about. Quality is the name of the game here, and though you'll pay for it, there is no doubt that whatever you pick up here will last longer than one party for under-10s. (That's enough dodgy analogies - Ed.)

OK, back to the gardening. Outside Hortus sits a selection of beautiful, fashionable plants, ranging from the simple to the exotic, and another selection of lovely, lovely pots to put them in. I am always particularly taken with the blue-and-white ceramic pots that come pre-weathered. I WILL buy one of those at some point.

Inside, there are lots of gardening accessories that I would say are intended more as presents - either for friends or as a personal treat - than as basics. Gorgeous gloves, pastel tools, curious ornaments and objets d'art. Not sure about the terracotta 'slug catcher' (because if it works, at some point it needs to be emptied - yeuch) but all the unusual gadgets and pretty versions of old Victorian curios are perfect for a gardening friend.

If you're not into gardens but you like being IN gardens, there is loads of 'outdoor living' stuff - barbecues, picnic gear and dozens and dozens of candles and candle holders. Once again, this is no bargain basement, but it's all LOVELY and lovely has to be paid for.

Out back there's a tiny gravel area with all the architectural plants, fibreclay and cast iron planters in traditional and contemporary designs and curious ornaments. I particularly like the potting bench (obviously not for sale) which really feels like it gets used.

Back inside again, they have a little selection of cheese and wine accessories - like labels for cellars, decanters and cheese knives. There's a small selection of books and other gifty-type things - everything beautifully and tastefully displayed. It's somewhere to visit for birthday presents. And one day I will actually buy something for me...

Apparently they also do floristry, landscaping and garden maintenance, though the website is a bit minimal on detail...

www.hortus-blackheath.co.uk

Highland Store

Greenwich covered Market SE10

Has the march of the chains begun? I can't actually tell with this one. The shop that has taken over from the old Tartan Cupboard in the market has a vigorous and very professional website, but it's not Edinburgh Woollen Mill, thank God. The only other branches appear to be in Great Russell St and Portobello Road, so I think we're safe enough for now.

It looks bright enough - white-painted 'driftwood' walls and simple shelves, displaying everything from tartan blankets to baby shoes, bagpipers' hats to books on whisky. I was particularly taken with one of those classic black beret-hats with the red & white check band and the jaunty pom-pom, though I'd probably feel a bit daft wearing it around town. There are lots of the usual jumpers and scarves, some of which are in very sweet pastel shades, and the place does manage to avoid the usual Celtic kitsch that seems to creep into any shop selling Scottish goods south of the border, but I suspect that it's still largely aimed at those tourists that won't make it north of the river, let alone Britain.

I like the scarves that button down them so that you can wear them like a waistcoat for £ 24.99 and I may well be back for a woolly when the weather turns chillier (maybe galoshes would be more suitable at the moment.) And let's face it, it is good to see a new shop (even a miniature chain) in the centre of Greenwich, where the number of dead shops with those 'tasteful' plastic blinds with pictures of the Observatory on is beginning to depress me. But until the sword of Damocles lifts from the future of the market, my guess is that we'll be seeing more closures than openings in Greenwich.

http://www.highlandstore.com/

Marcet Books

Sad news, Folks.

Martin Kemp at the delightful Marcet Books has finally decided he's had enough. His health has been not so good recently and what with the well-documented rent rises in the covered market, he's decided to give up and retire.

He's currently selling all his stock at half price - good news in the short-term, very bad news in the long term. For such a minute bookstore there are vast amounts of fascinating volumes and he reckons he has plenty more downstairs.

It will take a couple of weeks for him to go (I assumed months when he told me, but no - he's expecting to go within weeks.) I can't imagine that little alley off Turnpin Lane without it. Add that to the demise of Essential Music, and the fact that Greenwich Inc now control three of the four corners of the place, and there is not much to be cheerful about in Greenwich Market just now.

Stockwell Street Market

Stockwell St SE10



Since we were talking about the Stockwell St development plans on the King William's Passage post the other day, I thought that I'd take a closer peek at the market itself today.

Everyone has their favourite corner of this tatty, scruffy, funky delightful place which is larger than it at first looks (why else do you think the developers have thier beady eyes on it?) and which encompases warehouses, tatty old workshops and even an ex-petrol station filled to the brim with the kind of joyous nonsense that brings locals, tourists and Londoners from other areas to Greenwich as opposed to anywhere else. It's mainly junk and antiques, with a lot of clothes, but there are other stalls too.

If you go in the entrance nearest the railway line there is a second-hand record and CD stall, neatly lined up with those little cardboard dividers that denotes a true enthusiast. Opposite it a stall groaning with rocks and gemstones jostles for attention with jewellery stands and clothes stalls. Some are new and not terribly exciting, some are customised pieces - I understand there are a few people there who sell out of Cockpit Arts and with Goldsmiths only up the road it's to be expected that there will be custom-clothes here. My particular favourite is HFH Designs, which I have written about elsewhere - a pair of truly delightful nutty people who make intriguing jewellery and talk about it so enthusiastically that you feel part of the creation process.

If you're after an ex-military greatcoat, a velvet jacket, a morning suit or a tailcoat, there are plenty of stalls which will sell you one. There are shops for the girls too - ballgowns and teadresses, minidresses and promfrocks, though the quality isn't always as good as elsewhere in Greenwich. I'll spend more time on a couple of the best places another day as they warrant entries on their own.

Nearer the back, the junk stalls reign supreme. Again quality and price vary enormously - but it's well-displayed - just enough piles of stuff to warrant a rummage, just enough order to prevent weariness. Some of them are just stalls, others work out of the back of old warehouses.

Moving on round past what will be a familiar sight for anyone who remembers me from Livejournal days...

...there's an indoor bit and other shops, some of which are up steps outside or backstairs inside.

Once again I'm not going to talk today about the excellent vintage clothing shops here - but I just love to point out the care and attention that goes into display.


Right round the front there's often a fruit and veg stall and the odd other foodie bit,though the main food stalls are the other side of the railway line (another day...)

One thing though - I have a challenge for you. Can anyone find anything for sale in Greenwich that is creepier than this?