east dulwich - what's it like now?

[helen]

;-) here goes new member!!

What is East Dulwich Like?? Many years ago i lived there and went To Grove Vale school,where the toilets were out side!!!

The "Cinema " was next door, is that still there?? Helen

[Guest]

Cinema was pulled down about five years ago and replaced by flats, the grove vale school is still around though! Bit up market round these parts now!

[helen]

What about the houses across the road from the school are they still there?? helen

[helen]

Morning,

1; What is goose green like these days??

2; Do they still have the Swimming baths in ED??

3; What is Grove Vale Like??

4; Is Grove Vale Posh ??

Many thanks Helen

[Mark]

Hi Helen

Goose Green is pretty similar I guess to how it used to be although it now has a short green fence dividing it along the diagional path to section off a dog free area in the lower half. And there's about a thousand dog bins along that path. The council are considering what to do with it at the moment, here's a link to this forum's discussion on it. It's still a nice place and has a few little festivals on it in the summer.

Swimming Baths are still there although they probably haven't been renovated since you were last there. Some people round here are a bit annoyed with these facilities at the moment because the council have let them lapse but they look like they were good in their heyday.

Grove Vale. Posh. Don't go in the same sentance I'm afraid, there's this article from the Times who describe coming out of East Dulwich train station (onto Grove Vale) "you are in southeast London proper ? grey, grotty and peppered with graffiti". It's not as bad as that at all but it isn't posh, that's still Dulwich Village although the article does say that "Pockets of gentrification do, however, exist." And yes, the houses opposite the School are still there, I presume that's where you lived. Which road? Can you shed any light on the old East Dulwich for us? How do you remember Goose Green?

thanks

Mark

[helen]

Mark

I lived across the road from Grove vale school, it was a Optican shop with a big house.

Do you know what it is today ? I could watch the people going into the Cinema from that house.

My gran and i would go to the pictures and sit at the front, { nearly breaking our necks }there she would do her knitting eating a piece of cheese!!

Goose green< seem to remember a huge tank?? with green water insided!!my brother and i played in there for hours!!

what else do i remember? Fish and chip shop at the bottom of Dog kennel hill, that was a friday night treat.

A joke shop in grove vale?? Where the woman selling, looked like the things she was selling!!!!!!!!helen

[Guest]

I don't know about you Mark, but don't you think this Times article is a little unfair?

I mean, Lucy Alexander walks out of ED Station, which admittedly is not the nicest station (are any nice really?) around, then strolls onto Dog Kennel Hill, takes one look at the surroundings, then gets shown a new block of flats 100m away, next to the Sainsbury's.

Based on that information, she declares East Dulwich to be a typically grey and grotty area of South London, although she acknowledges that some gentrification does exist.

I wonder if she took the trouble to walk 300m downhill and around the roundabout into Lordship Lane and visit some of the shops and restaurants there? Did she bother to visit North Cross Road on a Saturday? Did she see Goose Green, or Peckham Rye Park? I wonder if she walked along some of the streets off LL, and noticed the improvements made to many of the houses?

I wonder if she saw the multitude of yummy mummys and city professional-types sauntering along to the Sea Cow, or to Black Cherry Bar, Bishop etc?

No, instead she probably saw one area of about 200 square yards, and based on that experience, summed up East Dulwich in one sentence, with some snide comparisons to the "Village".

[Guest]

Helen

The opticians is now a mens clothes shop, selling shirts and ties.

Very funny picture you paint of your gran knitting at the cinema. Its a shame it gone now as it would have been an asset. Sadly they put up some very uninspring accomodation for key workers. Dont have a problem with the usage just it is a more practical than aesthetic design.

Dont know where the tank is you refer to but the chippy is still there.

There is no joke shop now and have only been in ED for 5 years so dont know what it turned into.

ED is a great place to live. I wouldnt live anywhere else.

Steve

[helen]

Steve,

Thank - you, been trying for years to find out what the opticians was like now. I thought the big house may have become

flats?? Is the "Plough" still there? [it was a pub] Helen

[Mark]

Michael

My initial reaction to the article was "how dare she say that" but it's her opinion and having gone past the station a few times since reading it, yes I can imagine that to a Hampstead resident, it's typically South East London. There's the building works hoardings that have been there for ages, litter strewn around, massive advertising hoardings, cars parked where ever they want because no-one's going to tell them off, the weather's overcast and no Hamptons estate agents to greet you. We know it's not bad at all, we enjoy living here, we enjoy the good bits and do our bit about the bad bits (although I still haven't heard from the council and am eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Goose Green Consultation which seems to be running late).

Anyway, Helen, the Plough is still there, I believe it's name changed for a while although the buses have always said "the Plough" on them which was confusing. I'll try and get some photos of Grove Vale on here over the weekend for you.

Mark

[helen]

Morning Mark

Lovely idea about the photos, thank you:) Helen

[Guest]

Yes, I see what you mean. I agree that this is not the nicest pocket of East Dulwich.

I suppose I just get a bit irritated when people make assumptions about areas, without seemingly making much effort to find out more about them.

Then again, I suppose we all are guilty of doing this from time to time. eg, until I moved to SE London, I just assumed Peckham was a no-go ghetto, whereas most of it is quite OK, but the press kept on reporting all the negative things about it.

[Guest]

I totally agree Michael. I read the article and thought it was an extremely lazy and prejudiced bit of journalism. By the same logic why not write a review of Notting Hill by describing the outside of Westbourne Park tube station, which is desolate, shabby and revolting?

I fail to see what's so bad about South London. As if all of North London is like Hampstead! (Tell that to a resident of Tottenham, Harlesden or Clapton). Incidentally, I much prefer East Dulwich to Dulwich Village, which is stuffy and dull in comparison.

[Mark]

Just to back up your last point James, there is a blog called Dulwich Mum "who religiously, every month, since the age of sixteen, has had a facial" who has just bought another house in the village and I quote "I wept with joy ? as you do in the current market ? just to find a house in the catchment for the Dulwich Village Infants School ... I simply must have original sash windows"

I prefer East Dulwich too, Dulwich Village is nice to visit but I don't really want neigbours who spend all their income on "private education, Baby Boden, Baby Bells and the au pairs gym membership".

[helen]

Mark

I must be getting old!!! " Dulwich Mum " is that a real site ???

What a lot of rubbish!!! Do those people do a days work?? Helen

[Guest]

OMG Mark just had a look at that site and I'm speechless. I sincerely hope it is a joke! Surely these people don't really exist? Is she Sasha Baron Cohen's latest creation or something? I don't understand this media tirade against chavs when surely bourgeois idiots like these are way more odious.

[Polly D]

Surely 'Dulwich Mum' is a p**s take. Just had a read, it's you isn't it Mark ... ?!

[Mark]

I promise it's not me, but it's great isn't it! I can't wait to find out if Max (5) and Freya (3 and a half) love the new house as much as mummy does, even though it has hand rails in the toilet. My favourite quote on the site so far: "I believe the Swedes don't get married or even shave their arm pits! Not very Dulwich." Brilliant!

[Mark]

Hi Helen

Please find below some photos of the Grove Vale area taken this morning on the way to work, I hope they bring back good memories for you:

Goose Green

Goose Green

Lordship Lane Roundabout

regards

Mark

[cooperflykiller]

East Dulwich is simply brilliant; one of the nicest bits of London IMHO! The swimming baths are not too bad actually - the facade of the building is still lovely and it has a fab swishy gym. The Times article was a bit silly, but the area around East Dulwich train station is undeniably grim. I have watched that block of flats go up and I think they have wasted an opportunity to raise the ambience of that rather grungy commercial strip of road. But Lordship Lane has gentrified at the rate of knots, yet kept some local shops and it is a great place to shop (just come from there meself actually!)

As for DulwichMum, after a read-thru I cant tell if it is ironic, (although I suspect it is, as there have been so many posts over one month).

I do hope he/she isn't copying my own piss-take ( PoshMum ) which you are all welcome to mock/critique/laugh at. But just remember - these women are out there, cutting you up in their silver Volvo XC90's!!!!!

[helen]

Mark.

Many Thanks for doing that for an old lady!!:) {it was a lovely thing to do, thank you }

But after all these years things are not, what i remembered {does that make sense??}

Things seem smaller,that main road looks small/narrow to what i can remember when i was a child?

All those traffic lights, when i was at that school it was just one lolly pop lady!!!!!!

those trees are new,that school was built to last.

That house i used to live in is it still a house or flats???

But from your pictures ED still looks very clean, it was when i lived there, and still a good place to live!

Many thanks for doing those pictures. Helen.

The trees in the school grounds are new,that school was built to last??

The house where i used to live,the front bit does not look very big,is it still a house or flats??

[helen]

Mark.

sorry not sure what happened there??????helen

[shambles]

unbelievable! just read dulwich mum blog and it made me squirm with embarrasment. i would like to think that its a joke but i fear it may be for real! not too hard to picture unfortunately!

[Keef]

That's the scary thing, if it is a joke, it's so well observed it's scary!

I know someone a bit like that (not as bad), and have had to really bite my tongue on more than one occasion when they've been congratulating themselves on paying so little to their Polish hired help. Sickening!

[Mark]

Helen, there's some pictures on this thread of the old cinema I thought you might be interested in