The beginning

Hello people,

Have you ever been out with friends having a meal or a drink when out of nowhere the conversation turns to the subject of figs? Your friends, who, to your surprise, all know that there was a fig factory in Rotherhithe in the early 60’s, make witty banter and tell their amusing fig antidotes while you fall silent and try to sink into the background hoping to conceal your fig ignorance.

Have you ever been at an office party talking to your boss struggling for conversation? You ask him if he likes football, he shrugs and says, ‘Not really.’ You ask him about his holidays, he says, ‘I doubt I’ll have time for one this year.’ You say, ‘Any pets?’ He says, ‘All dead.’ Then Sam, who started at the company 5 years after you did, walks over and says, ‘Did you know the famous architect John Sloan had a house in Bexley?’ and your boss replies ‘I wrote my dissertation on John Sloan’s influence on modern furniture making. Have a cigar Sam, it’s Cuban.’

Or have ever had your heart broken by a woman you were madly in love with? It’s your 3^rd date, you’re walking along the South Bank hand in hand when she says, ‘What’s your take on the treatment of the women who worked as prostitutes around Borough Market in the 1800’s?’ Caught off guard you admit that you had never really thought about it and she says, ‘God, I can’t imagine growing old with you anymore, it’s over.’

Have you ever wondered why it’s never you that gets the girl? Or the promotion? Or has any good stories about figs? Well let me tell you that the answer isn’t anything to do with how rich you are, or how funny you are, or how interesting your job is. No, the key to going from Billy No Mates to Trevor Popular is quite simply down to having a sound understanding of the history of your local area.

There is nothing in this world more impressive then the moments when you’re walking down the road with a friend, or travelling on the bus with a lover and they casually point at a Nando’s restaurant and say, ‘See that building? They used to blow glass in there.’

But how does someone acquire all this local knowledge? Where do you begin? Well don’t despair, because  I used to be just like you (well actually I guess I still am) but not for long, because I ‘m on a mission to learn all about my local area. I pledge to find out something interesting about all the different districts of South East London from SE1 to SE28. I do all this not only because it will make me a more interesting, more attractive, and more successful man, but also because it will give me a chance to share some of the gems of South East London, the place I love, with you good people.

But I’ve babbled on long enough, it’s the 26^th of August 2014 (week 1). Let’s begin…