Saturday, October 11, 2008

Hairy Monkeees

I am very pleased to see some new businesses taking root in our lovely Blackheath Standard. For all you hairy monkeys (and I do include myself in that group - although I'm more of a squirrel - ahem) there is now some serious choice when it comes to de-fuzzing those tanned and bronzed limbs. I was commenting to a friend about a new place that has opened called "Standard Barbers" now the name really is deceptive and from the outside you would be right in assuming it is a Barbers or hairdressers... but if you venture inside there are some little rooms assigned for the sole purpose of waxing and threading. They offer the usual waxing options, and they do a nifty bit of threading too.

What I like are the prices - which I think very reasonable. Sadly they have no website so I have scanned in a copy of the price list at the end of the blog.

I thought it would be a good idea to compare the prices so I have a link to the BBrown website, this is the tanning salon near M&S, which also offers waxing and threading. What I will mention is that the prices on the website are nothing like the prices I was told when I visited in person - so I would call and check before making any appointments.

Just to be fair I have also included one other place in the village which also has a huge selection of beauty treatments, Good Looks are just a short walk from the station.

Of course if you commute via Greenwich then you may prefer the Greenwich Clipper which also have a comprehensive list of treatments, I couldn't find a website for them so I've scanned in a price lis, see below.

As a quick comparison I've just compared the Brazilian so you can get an idea:
* Standard Barbers £14.00
* B Brown (website price) £ 16.00
* Greenwich Clipper from £15.75
* Good Looks £19.00

Standard Barbers Price List


Greenwich Clipper Price list

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Greenwich and the Olympics

As promised I have put together some links and information to the current discussions going on about the London Olympic 2012, and what that means for Greenwich Park which is currently planned to host the equestrian events.

My initial reaction when I read the first snippets of information was outrage - how DARE they close the park, destroy the trees and probably make lots of squirrels homeless in the process. But on closer inspection it's not really that straight forward, well to start with the level of information available is miserable. Well let me re-phrase - the level of "official" information is miserable. There are alot of articles speculating on the level of disruption and on what they may do - but as yet nothing from the illustrious London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

That in itself is a worry... again my first thought was "Oh well it's not so bad because they are only at the planning stage, and as yet nothing is agreed" but then it got me thinking would they do anything without our say so? Would they? Well, Yes I think they would - they have already - we were definitely not consulted in the decision to use the park in the first place. I am almost certain that there are still many people who are unaware. So I started googling to see what there was out there about some of the other olympic areas in London, how well informed were the local residents there? Who are this LOCOG? What is the Olympics all about anyway.

And I have reached a number of conclusions:
1. Their primary objective is to host the games and anything else is secondary or of no relevance... that is to say on the day the Games start everything had better be just perfect, it had better be the best Party the world has seen because no excuse is going to work if it goes t*ts up... You won't be hearing any one up in front of Lord Coe saying... "Sorry sir but we didn't think we should spend that extra million on stables because of the residents... sir" No that ain't gonna happen.
2. Who is responsible after the Games? Well surprisingly LOCOG's responsibilities end as soon as the Games do... so do you really think they are going to be bothered about what happens after? I don't think so.
3. There are already plenty of articles and information available online that demonstrate their intention to bulldoze over any consultations. One on the Guardian.
4. From the reports I have read so far, it would seem that most Olympics never make money, local business suffers, and the residents of the area either leave or lock themselves away for the whole thing!
5. There is no doubt that it won't only be Greenwich Park involved, I'm sure there are plans to use Blackheath as well.

However, for those of us that would like to hope that the above is not the case - we can see what they have to say Sunday 5th October 2008 at a consultation, in Greenwich - as posted by the Greenwich Phantom

If you want to read some more, here are links to some interesting documents on the Olympics and London:
Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Progress report June 2008
Impact of the Games on Host Cities
BEF Greenwich Park Guide to Equestrian Event
Interview with the course designer Sue Benson
Olympic Games Impact Study - Final Report - by PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Estimating the Economic Impact of the Sydney Olympic Games
Report by London Civic Forum, An Olympic Legacy for London
A Lasting Legacy for London? Assessing the legacy of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games May 2007, London Assembly
Regeneration Games Olympic Legacy People, Place, Enterprise University of Greenwich 9 May 2008

More links to info I have found:
Friends of Greenwich
Inside the Games
Debate in Parliament
Article in The Times
Official Page on London 2012
Press Release from LOCOG
FAQ by the British Equestrian Federation
Games Monitor - Bebunking Olympic Myths
BBC Article
Horse and Hound News
An article about Sydney Olympics, considered one of the more successful which is only now starting to reap benefits
Some unflattering information about the 2010 Winter Games
ARTICLE Green Games or Empty Promises? Environmental Issues and Sydney 2000
Olympics destroyed my home - Time Out article