East Dulwich Icons

[Huguenot]

What are the symbols for East Dulwich, and what's the focal point? I can't think of any. There's no statue, no bandstand, no monolithic building... what could you put on the masthead for this forum that would be an instant identifier for the village?

My vote is for installing a classic, timeless bit of sculpture on the goose green roundabout. None of that socialist claptrap with stainless steel representations of the dancing proletariat of course.... and no big plastic cats.

[Mark]

How about a huge bronze statue of James Nesbitt astride a rearing up horse on the Goose Green roundabout?

Or more radically a signpost that tells people which way is which. And, get this, it could say Denmark Hill & Central London, Peckham & East and Forest Hill & South. Perhaps in a tasteful Victorian style? Maybe even saying welcome to East Dulwich (not Camberwell as previously signposted by the council).

Good question Huguenot.

[Guest]

Great idea - i drive past it everyday and think the roundabout looks very sad with its broken old lampost..

see link below to see how it did look. Quite handsome.

http://www.lordshiplane.co.uk/info/info6.asp

The james nesbit idea is pants, but am totally with you on the sign post thing in mock vic stylee..

[Huguenot]

How about Timothy Spall squabbling with a rearing Gloucestershire Old Spot? He's a local boy and I'm sure Peckham Rye was one massive pig farm?

Perhaps there are other more erudite local historical figures we could have earnestly reading books on a concrete pedestal with the ED name?

Failing that, if we go more mainstream I like the big vic signpost, but I reckon we need something that says 'you are here, and here is somewhere special' as well as guiding visitors elsewhere...

This bloke on a bicycle's quite cool can't we pretend Elgar came from ED and nick this?

[Polly D]

What about a giant 'gourmet' burger?

[Ant]

Or a revolving statue of a three-wheel buggy with organic veg stowed underneath the seat?

[Keef]

Overpriced cocktail???

[Guest]

I'm with Ant. Genius

[shambles]

did you know that Boris Karloff was born in ED? yup..there's a blue plaque outside his house on forest hill road next to the co-op. ok may just be ever so slightly on the border for ED - but I think we could claim him!! we could have a statue accentuating his prominent eyebrows!!

[Guest]

On that thread, what about a giant statue of Noddy and Big Ears to reflect that Enid Blyton lived in ED?

[Huguenot]

How about William 'Bonkers' Blake. We could celebrate the now sadly discontinued tradition of 9 year old boys taking heroin on Peckham Rye with a swerving bronze opium poppy. Our lives are less colourful as a result. Bring back the Angels.

Or indeed William Joyce used to stamp his ground at ED before being hanged for the niggling oik that he was. We could commemorate his fleeting career as Lord Haw Haw with a substantial bakelite radio. This would no doubt send a riotously independent signal to the rest of the nation.

On the subject of quislings, independence and exile, Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, notorious peacemonger and frenchie-lover was sometime owner and resident of Friern Manor. It is on these hallowed lands that the majority of ED is built. As with Blake, he also took his turn cavorting naked on the park. As with Joyce he sowed some of his diseased garlick-munching discord from comfort overseas.

We could and should celebrate his republicanism and influence on both the American revolution and US constitution with an internally lit fibre-glass Dubya sporting hooped shirt, baguette & onions shouldering a US flag and waving a pilgrim's hat. Yes, turn in your graves you yankee monkees, without ED you would be nothing.

In fact I propose the creation of the Bolingbroke Blake Society as a vehicle for ED dissidence, heavy drinking and a focus for the establishment of the Republic of East Dulwich. We could embark on a series of goodwill capers designed to demonstrate the smiling face of the people's nation.

It could, of course, exist independently of the National Monument at Goose Green Roundabout

[CrystalClear]

Could we rename our new republic? Something like The Peoples Independent State of Peckahm (West)?

Would help house prices!

[Huguenot]

Seconded anyone? Not up for consideration is the People's Independent Secular State of Peckham's Outer Territories

[shambles]

but if we did go for that one we could have a large bronze urinal on the roundabout....a symbol of community spirit!

[Michael Palaeologus]

Charlie Chaplin lived in most parts of south London. We could always have a little tramp on the roundabout. It would blend in nicely.

[Guest]

A giant digital display showing the average price of a two-bed flat, updated by the minute.

[Guest]

Mikewbate Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Charlie Chaplin lived in most parts of south

> London. We could always have a little tramp on the

> roundabout. It would blend in nicely.

He also escaped as soon as he could

[Guest]

Erm, I'm not sure this is the right time/place to suggest it, but how about losing the roundabout entirely?

Anything you put on the roundabout will be "Look (through traffic), don't touch". If that chunk of public land that is now the roundabout were moved to make the surrounding pavements much wider, you could have a touchable statue, or a water feature you could dangle your hand in, or a damn great new "Iconic" entrance to Goose Green itself, right on the corner, or whatever.

A modern traffic light-controlled junction - i.e. no guardrail, no staggered 'sheep pen' crossings - coupled with a traffic light-controlled junction at the East Dulwich Grove junction with Lordship Lane, would be much safer for pedestrians. Just try crossing the roundabout by Grove Vale, and then imagine being a schoolkid from Goose Green School trying to cross there safely. And Transport for London would jump at the chance to pay for it, as they could then get buses through the junctions much quicker. They might agree to pay for lots of other street improvements at the same time - they've done just this elsewhere in London.

Look at the thread "Better Walking conditions on Lordship Lane" if you're interested in discussing this and other pro-walking ideas in more detail.

Paul Holdsworth

Living Streets

[ivemet-jimmy]

How about we put a mini Gym. After a pint or five and a kebeb, you can head down there to work off the pounds you put on earlier that night. And it would solve the problem of having to open another Gym on Lordship lane! Also it would piss off Fusion!!

[Joe likes dinner]

or how about an iron guantanamo style detention cage filled with the signs and slogans of the many inorganic chain establishments who would by no means be welcomed on the lane, with a flashing sign reading ''all chains end hear - you have been warned''

we could dress up a few tramps as FBI snipers and have them patrol the roundabout, just to jazz things up a bit!

[ivemet-jimmy]

And we can have them shoot Claphamites!! B)

[batdog]

Hi All people of East Dulwich,

Why don't we cut off Tony Blair Head then embalm it and stick it on a pole on the round about... so everyone can spit at it when passing by...?>:D<

[batdog]

Shambles,

Boris Karloff house is "fully" within the SE22 code and in ED..

[Ko]

Hi Paul

If losing the roundabout means more money to spend on improvements I'm all for it! I'm not sure how much money Southwark council wants to spend, so if you can also get money from TfL then go for it unless anyone really wants to keep the roundabout.

I'm all for participating in things like like, but unfortunately my past experiences involving anything to do with Southwark Council or any public bodies in Southwark has shown how utterly useless they all are and how politics are more important than what the people want. This may be a cynical view but dealing with eg the planning dept, the Southwark PCT, local councillors etc have been (with a few rare exceptions) a complete waste of time. I'm surprised the council is doing this, given that they can't even keep our streets clean (you have to go through your local councillor to get him to contact the relevant people with a bit of authority at the council - just to make sure your street gets cleaned more frequently than very couple of months!!) I'm just saying this in case you wonder why some people may be a little cynical and why some people may not even bother to put forward their ideas - which is a shame given you've taken the time to find this forum and put a posting on. Keep up the postings and I'll definitely keep on reading them and replying when you ask for ideas! Its obviously a good indicator that the council have engaged your organisation and hopefully something good will come out of it - so far you have shown a lot more willingness to obtain people's ideas than I have ever seen from the council!

[Guest]

Thanks for the kind words, Ko.

Southwark council have very little money to spend on this project - their budget would pay for a single new crossing on Lordship Lane and not much more. TfL have much deeper pockets, and if locals and Southwark Council are up for it, then attracting funding for Lordship Lane from TfL is probably the best way forward.

I'm not at all surprised by the cynicism you and others on this site express - I get this sort of reaction in most places! In fact, I spent two days walking up and down Lordship Lane talking to retailers, and was impressed by how POSITIVE they were about the council. (The things they mentioned were the new street trees, which "shows the Council cares", and efforts to increase personal safety on the street, with schemes to reduce shoplifting and a stronger presence of Community Wardens and PCSOs. The retailers were, like you, unhappy about streetcleaning, though.)

I can't promise this project will generate any change. Most of my reports, at best, influence thinking among key decisionmakers, and do little more. But sometimes they do help to create real change. The nearest example to East Dulwich (at least until Sydenham gets transformed - if it happens) is in Balham. There, a Living Streets Community Street Audit helped start a process that resulted in a superb new double-diagonal crossing in the town centre (with no guardrails!), along with beautiful new footways, smart new seats and other street furniture, level stepless crossings on side roads, and much more. And it was mainly funded by TfL.

As someone who was born in SE London, who lived in Forest Hill and shopped on Lordship Lane for over ten years, I'd dearly love to be a small part of a really big improvement to a local shopping street that absolutely deserves some tender loving care.