» Erith Museum: It's gone. The old Erith Library finally closed down two weeks ago - by complete coincidence on the same day that I posted about its doomed museum. Thanks to Roger for spotting Bexley council's news release. Erith residents will instead be getting a shiny new library (in a block of flats nearer to the town centre) which opens at the end of the week. It'll have wi-fi access, a dedicated area for teenagers, a Council contact point... and of course some books. But the old museum (and its devoted band of volunteers) won't be following. A few Erith-related exhibits will be rehoused in a few display cases, which is something, but the majority of the collection is going into storage. The council promise that a new home will be found, but there's no indication as yet of when and where. They also promise that the future of the Grade II listed Carnegie library "will continue to be considered as part of the wider regeneration of the Erith Western Gateway". That sounds like "flats" to me. But we'll see.
» Only in London: How interesting to see that Visit London amended their Only in London webpage yesterday from "the top 100" to just a "list of 100" (see my update at the bottom of the post below). Coincidence I'm sure. I'm now sorely tempted to test out their list this weekend by picking a random number from 1 to 100, then attempting to visit the "Only in London" attraction suggested. But I'm not convinced that 1, 2, 5, 9, 16, 27, 39, 43, 47, 49, 50, 55, 56, 72, 88, 92 or 99 are possible at short notice. And I live in fear of picking 82. » 5pm update: The Guardian has now responded to the "Only in London" list. How very kind of them to ask me to contribute.
» Newsagent: Last month my place of work relocated, which meant bidding farewell to my favourite central London newsagent. Would I find another suitably friendly retail outlet to sell me my weekly Time Out and Radio Times hot off the press, or would I have to commute home on Tuesdays with nothing to read but a wafer-lite freesheet? Turns out I needn't have worried. New location, new newsagent. The minute she called me "sweetheart" after I paid her with the exact money, I knew I'd found my perfect replacement. She's an independent woman selling newsprint from a big cabin in the street. She engages in brief but cheery conversation about the world, the weather and what the previous customer said to her. And she gives me all the Evening Standard freebies for free without expecting me to buy the Evening Standard in return. Worth every penny, I think.
» Photographs: I can tempt 20% of you to click through and look at a photo of geese in Brixton, but I can't tempt even 5% of you to look any of my photos of Winchester. It's noticeable, and perhaps not unexpected, that the minute I exit the Greater London boundary your photographic interest plummets. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying.
