Monday 24 November 2014

Street Art, Bellenden Road, Peckham, South London

Walter Kershaw's interpretation of the seventeenth century painting, Landscape with Windmills near Haarlem, brightens up an end of terrace house on Choumert Road in Peckham's long-standing French quarter.

Anderson & Co cafe, Bellenden Road, Peckham, south London


A gourmet cafe on Peckham's prosperous Bellenden Road, Anderson & Co. offers an array of tempting cakes, pastries, sandwiches, quiches and breakfasts. Although the front area can be crowded on a weekday lunchtime, there is more seating at the back, overlooking the kitchen, plus a conservatory. Anderson & Co. produces delicious scrambled egg, nicely seasoned with olive oil, on sourdough toast.  If you are hungry, you can order it with four small chorizo sausages, for about £6.50.  The coffee is also decent. Although Anderson & Co. isn't cheap, the fine food, the stripped back white decor and the alluring ambience takes it a cut above the average cafe. 7/10

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Poppies, Tower of London, central London


Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation progressively filled the Tower of London's moat with 888,246 ceramic poppies. Each poppy represented a British military fatality during the war. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, the temporary installation attracted tens of thousands of visitors. In a ceremony every evening, the Last Post was played at sunset, followed by a reading of the names of some of the fatalities from the Commonwealth forces.

Friday 7 November 2014

The Breakfast Club, Battersea Rise, South London


At weekends, there are often queues outside the Battersea Rise branch of the Breakfast Club. On weekdays, you should be able to walk straight in, but there won't be many tables to choose from. The decor is a fashionable mix of battered furniture, lino flooring, old school signs, SMEG fridges and the like, in a mix of bold and pastel colours. Surprisingly, given the toppy prices, many of your fellow diners might be teenagers or young folk in their early twenties. The hip staff can be a little bit too attentive, but they don't hustle too hard. As you'd expect, the menu offers most of the breakfast permutations you could possibly want. If you aren't looking for a fry up, the porridge with mixed berries, toasted almonds and honey (£4.50), is hearty and fairly healthy. If you're hungry, the 'Full Monty' English breakfast (a tenner), featuring bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs, fried potatoes and more, looks pretty appealing and pretty filling.  The Breakfast Club also serves competent coffees, starting at £1.60 for an expresso up to £2.90 for a mocha. 7/10

The view from Peckham Library, south London

The view from the front: An autumnal sunset over Peckham's gritty High Street.