Breakfast in Deptford -- noted for Christopher Marlowe's demise

Our Borough of Lewisham in Southeast London has been listed recently as the "least safe" community in the United Kingdom.  Gang violence and knifings raise the figures.  There's nothing new about this reputation for Southeast London.  

We dine this morning merely a stone's throw from the pub where Christopher Marlowe met his tragic end in Deptford, Lewisham.  (Truth be told, as the leafy trees attest, I'm late in posting this visit to Deptford!)

But first let us walk along the streets of Lewisham between here and there. Past the quaint worker's homes of old and the mansions of Wickham Road, divided into flats and bedsitters for the immigrants from the West Indies a half century ago, now being scooped up by young professionals starting families, happy for the new rail lines that link Southeast London to the City with an easy commute.  

Past Friendly Gardens and the Ravensbourne River which winds its way through Lewisham to finally feed into the Thames at Deptford, 

Today, as often, Mr. Heron perches on branches overhanging the quiet stream,urban sentinel.

Lush flower boxes fill empty sills and entryways.

Garden allotments flourish under the loving hand of those who still crave fresh vegetables on their urban dinner tables.

Dickensian chimney pots scallop the skyline. One might expect a chimney sweep to pop out any moment with a bright, "Chim chim cheree." 

The "least safe" community in the United Kingdom.  Ah, how relative statistics such as these are to us who grew up with guns on the streets of Chicago and Washington D.C., and then spent years under the cloak of the violence of apartheid in South Africa, and finally fled Zimbabwe because of the government-condoned "thugs" ravaging our community in Plumtree, street by street, house by house.  "Least safe" in a land where even police officers do not carry firearms, and where we do not expect our neighbours to have a gun in the house.  Where we walk the streets at night actually expecting to arrive home without incident.

Except living in rural Mfanefile, Zululand, South Africa in the 1980's, I have never felt so safe in my home community.  We're not naive, but "least safe" in the UK means something different than "least safe" in the USA or South Africa!

We slip into Bianca Cafe on Deptford High Street, quiet now in the early morning hours.  Good hot food -- nothing like chips and beans for breakfast in Happy Husband's opinion!  I stick to my 2x2.  

Waves of customers fill the 18 seats. This place sparkles!  The premises are seriously clean -- even the seam where the tile floor meets the tiled wall! Our only complaints: Table 5 rocks, and the teabags arrive in our mugs, 

When shops open, we explore. High Street becomes an open-air market with tables laden with fish, plastic ware and fresh fruit and vegetables from foreign lands.

An unexpected treasure trove are the charity shops full of Ghanaian finery and saris.  

As we walk toward the Thames, hidden galleries and street arttreasures abound.  We'd heard that Deptford is famous for its Arts, but this is our introduction. Street art abounds -- murals, sculpture!  Quirky, moving, historic, beautiful!

Last, but not least, we "discover" the Parish Church of St Paul, hidden behind Council apartment blocks (public housing), almost upon the river bank, surrounded by a rose garden -- an oasis in the "least safe" corner of the UK.

We continue to the banks of the Thames, Greenwich to the east, Canary Wharf to the north. New expensive apartment highrises line the river.  Ah, Southeast London, rich and poor, old and new, side by side.  A great place to call home for a while.

Another delightful Breakfast in Britain!

Piggy's ressurrected in Chatham

Looking back toward Rochester

Arriving early in Rochester, we decide to walk toward Chatham and Piggy's Cafe where we ate breakfast several years ago.

We curve around the boat harbour, pass a synagogue, and admire the surviving pre-war buildings along the high street.
We look back and see the spire of Rochester Cathedral and the keep of Rochester Castle behind us.

The Old Piggy's of Chatham

New Piggy's of Chatham Cafe

To our surprise we come upon Piggy's re-located in a smaller venue.  Ted, the proprietor, greets us merrily and takes our order.  Turns out that two years ago he was forced to move from the larger premises by the Town Council -- and what's frustrating to Ted is that the building still stands empty, along with other spaces along the row of store fronts where several businesses used to reside.

Pizzazz in the Old Piggy's

He tells the story that initially no compensation was offered, and then denied when requested.  Finally "after a fight," he received some compensation.  But the other closed businesses, those that did not query the eviction and did not seek compensation, received none.

Giant pig at previous venue

The previous Piggy's of Chatham Cafe displayed numerous ceramic pigs; now there is room for only a few.  A sad turn of events for Ted and Piggy's.

But gratefully he still flips tasty soft fried eggs, and brews a strong cup of English tea.

The Piggy's Cafe we remembered

An interesting Breakfast in Britain.

Rest-A-While in Strood, Kent

Headed for our favourite spot in Rochester, Kent, we decide to stop in Strood on this side of the River Medway.  “Rest-‘A’-While” Café stands on the V-corner where the two one-way streets that cut through the town centre reconnect. We almost miss the entrance -- Happy, now hungry, Husband happens to look up and see the sign 20 feet up the wall!  

We make our way past the dumpster and find ourselves in a warm and absolutely shining cafe. Turns out we entered by the back door.  The front tells a different story!

Almost everything about this café goes against our point system, as flexible as it is. The pictures are of food seem the variety that one would purchase from a DIY-Café-on-line-shop, the rigid table and chairs are attached and fastened tight to the floor and walls, a plastic DIY-café-on-line-shop menu sits on each table. 

  But the ultra-friendly staff make up for all that.  Ozzy, from Izmir, Turkey came to the UK 14 years ago.  He's chatty and insists on taking our picture, as we've asked to take his.

He keeps his café sparkling clean, serves very hot tea, provides newspapers, offers soft radio in the background, and has no noisy machines blasting on the scene.  There’s been an attempt to brighten things up with Christmas décor.  He talks of his homeland, Turkey, and we watch his eyes sparkle.  He recommends Nevsehir, Kapadokya for our next holiday, proudly describing fantastic scenery displayed on his phone screen.  The clientele, many workers donning reflective jackets, keep him hopping.

The food tastes great!  Typical cafe Full English Breakfast for Happy Husband and 2x2 for me -- an artsy touch with the bread arrangement -- a bit owlish!

 The sunlight fills the street while we eat.  We head out to enjoy the local art work -- sculpture of local shipbuilding.

 We head off across the bridge into Rochester for a visit to the Castle (an English Heritage site -- we do recommend membership) and all our favourite charity shops.

 Another delightful Breakfast in Britain.