West Norwood news, chitter chatter and gossip

[editor]

I can recommend this place!

Pintadera Café & Deli – our favourite cafe in West Norwood

 

[ringo]

Eastern Cuisine on Gipsy Hill current favourite for curry. New May Flower (which is in West Dulwich I think) is pretty reliable for Chinese.

We used Eastern Cuisine on Friday. Mostly good but my fish curry came in a bland grey sauce that could well have been wallpaper paste. I've got some leftover but I'm going to fish the fish out of it (eh?) and find something else to have with rice and dal.

 

[discobastard]

Tomorrow's Feast lineup...

 

[T & P]

Tomorrow's Feast lineup...

View attachment 145796

Cheers. Is this a ‘standard’ monthly-sized event, o a special event?

 

[discobastard]

Cheers. Is this a ‘standard’ monthly-sized event, o a special event?

This is pretty standard, first Sunday of every month (though there is a break Jan-March). Anybody is welcome to get involved, it's all completely volunteer run.

Looks like this will be the last sunny Feast this year! I'll be working with the bands on St Luke's steps - so come and say hi if you're around. I'll be at the sound desk, probably in orange hi-vis

 

[discobastard]

Some news re West Norwood High St that may please/enrage residents. I'm told by a fairly reliable source that 400 Rabbits (pizza and craft beer bods from Crystal Palace) have taken on the old Kahvah premises.

Four Hundred Rabbits

They had tried to move into WN back in early 2017 but it fell through.

No news re opening dates but I'm quite pleased as their pizzas are great. And believe they do a pizza and beer for a tenner on Tuesdays

 

[clandestino]

In sadder news, Cul De Sac, the charming little cafe by the Post Office, has closed. There's posters in the window for somewhere new - some guys were in there doing it up the other day. I didn't manage to see what's going there, but it looked a bit more like Otter Trading or somewhere like that.

 

[colacubes]

In sadder news, Cul De Sac, the charming little cafe by the Post Office, has closed. There's posters in the window for somewhere new - some guys were in there doing it up the other day. I didn't manage to see what's going there, but it looked a bit more like Otter Trading or somewhere like that.

Yeah shame I saw the sign yesterday and it was being advertised as a bar/cafe due to open end of September.

 

[gaijingirl]

Yeah shame I saw the sign yesterday and it was being advertised as a bar/cafe due to open end of September.

I think it's this lot:

Sweet Carolina Kitchen & Bar comes to West Norwood

 

[colacubes]

I think it's this lot:

Sweet Carolina Kitchen & Bar comes to West Norwood

Yep that’s it. I couldn’t remember the name

 

[clandestino]

I think it's this lot:

Sweet Carolina Kitchen & Bar comes to West Norwood

Fair enough. Good luck to them!

 

[Maharani]

Anyone know what’s coming next to the independent pharmacy on the high street. There’s a licencing ap on the front so no doubt a food/drinks joint.

 

[colacubes]

Anyone know what’s coming next to the independent pharmacy on the high street. There’s a licencing ap on the front so no doubt a food/drinks joint.

KFC.

 

[clandestino]

Anyone know what’s coming next to the independent pharmacy on the high street. There’s a licencing ap on the front so no doubt a food/drinks joint.

The application is in the name of SBR South Limited. No idea who they are and can't find much online.

 

[clandestino]

But, yes, KFC according to this:

KFC wins back West Norwood

 

[clandestino]

Library and cinema opens 9th November apparently!

 

[discobastard]

Library and cinema opens 9th November apparently!

New Lambeth Picturehouse will not pay London Living Wage

Not the headline I would have led with but important nonetheless.

 

[alcopop]

New Lambeth Picturehouse will not pay London Living Wage

Not the headline I would have led with but important nonetheless.

21p less than London living wage then

 

[editor]

21p less than London living wage then

You realise that the Living Wage is the absolute minimum it's calculated that people can live off? And the whole point is that Lambeth are bigging themselves as supporters of the Living Wage but then hand over millions to a profit-scooping multi-national who won't pay the Living Wage?

 

[discobastard]

You realise that the Living Wage is the absolute minimum it's calculated that people can live off? And the whole point is that Lambeth are bigging themselves as supporters of the Living Wage but then hand over millions to a profit-scooping multi-national who won't pay the Living Wage?

I'm not going to get into an argument about this, and I'm not saying I don't support the Living Wage. But it's fair to add the benefits which many other businesses locally won't pay. The membership bonus isn't made clear but this is a really decent package. If people take advantage of some of the benefits here (like food and free coffee and nighttime allowance etc) then they can be effectively paid more than the London Living Wage. That isn't me saying that it's OK - you might not want free unlimited cinema tickets and you might not eat popcorn or drink coffee or soft drinks, but this is a pretty decent benefits package.

*Membership bonus adding between 10 and 25p to each hour worked (excludes Ritzy) [No idea why Ritzy isn't included but we're not talking about the Ritzy here]
*Paid breaks. So staff working an 8 hour shift, are paid for 8 hours but only work 7.5
*Membership to The Forum - an official, recognised staff union with bargaining rights
*Statutory paternity, pension, sick and holiday pay
*Unlimited Cineworld and Picturehouse Cinema tickets (subject to availability)
*Two tickets per week for guests
*Free eye tests (for those using screens)
*Cycle to work scheme
*Free popcorn, soft drinks and hot drinks
*30% off all food and beverages
*Late night working allowance

Lambeth Council's apparent double standards is another matter. I don't know enough about that so i won't comment. But West Norwood now at least has a library, and a community room, none of which we have had for a very long time. Oh, and a cinema.

I'm adding this to the thread merely for context, not in support of Cineworld.

 

[discobastard]

You realise that the Living Wage is the absolute minimum it's calculated that people can live off? And the whole point is that Lambeth are bigging themselves as supporters of the Living Wage but then hand over millions to a profit-scooping multi-national who won't pay the Living Wage?

If the Living Wage was the absolute minimum that people can live off then we wouldn't have any businesses in West Norwood, because workers couldn't support themselves

Picturehouse is one of the better paying businesses round here. And yes, that is a bad thing.

 

[editor]

If the Living Wage was the absolute minimum that people can live off then we wouldn't have any businesses in West Norwood, because workers couldn't support themselves.

You haven't thought this through. A lot of workers on low wages will be on benefits, so we're all effectively propping up shitty businesses who won't pay their staff enough to live off, and we're all lining the bosses' overstuffed pockets.

Research published last week by Citizens UK found that companies in the UK are paying their workers so little that the taxpayer has to top up wages to the tune of £11bn a year. The four big supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons) alone are costing just under £1bn a year in tax credits and extra benefits payments.

This is a direct transfer from the rest of society to some of the largest businesses in the country. To put the figure in perspective, the total cost of benefit fraud last year was just £1bn. Corporate scrounging costs 11 times that.

Worse, this is a direct subsidy for poverty pay. If supermarkets and other low-paying employers know they can secure work even at derisory wages, since pay will be topped up by the state, they have no incentive to offer higher wages.

None of this makes sense. We are all, in effect, paying a huge sum of money so that we can continue to underpay the 22% of workers who are earning below the Living Wage – the level at which it is possible to live without government subsidies. The only possible beneficiaries are business owners.

Taxpayers spend £11bn to top up low wages paid by UK companies

 

[discobastard]

You haven't thought this through. A lot of workers on low wages will be on benefits, so we're all effectively propping up shitty businesses who won't pay their staff enough to live off, and we're all lining the bosses' overstuffed pockets.



Taxpayers spend £11bn to top up low wages paid by UK companies

Yes, fair enough. That’s largely aimed at a lot of the big businesses. And I’d add that the vast majority of businesses in the uk are very small ones and a lot of them are really struggling.

 

[editor]

Yes, fair enough. That’s largely aimed at a lot of the big businesses. And I’d add that the vast majority of businesses in the uk are very small ones and a lot of them are really struggling.

Yes, but Picturehouse/Cineworld are a fucking huge, multi-national company, raking in multi-million profits so they should be leading the way - especially since they're being part financed by the council.

 

[ringo]

I have discovered that Slurp on Streatham High Road does deliveries through the Just Eat app. Great Chinese, Thai and even the Japanese tastes great. Recommended.
Menu - Slurp Restaurant

 

[ringo]

I thought the prawns were a starter but came in a huge tub with chicken, veg and rice.
The chicken teriyaki bento was great

 

[colacubes]

Funnily enough I got a delivery from there last weekend. The Yaki Soba was so enormous it did me for lunch the following day as well

 

[ringo]

Funnily enough I got a delivery from there last weekend. The Yaki Soba was so enormous it did me for lunch the following day as well

I had two dinners and another snack out of that. Two little pots of soup too

 

[gaijingirl]

We get loads of Slurp deliveries (well not loads - but if we get a delivery it's often Slurp). Even the kids love it.

 

[Mattym]

I like its cassette library

Bollox- I was going to add that as a joke, 6 years later.