The reason I was in Deptford Market was because I’d come to make some recordings on Reginald Road where a council block of 16 maisonettes (2-30a Reginald Road) is currently under treat of demolition. It’s a rather lovely looking 1960s block on a pretty amazing road, with the market at one end and the beautiful Old Tidemill Garden at the other.
Deptford Market: I was last there on a brilliantly sunny Friday afternoon in February 2018, so the area was pretty buzzing. Here’s some of my thoughts about the market: The Salvation Army shop has some pretty good and reasonably priced stuff. I bought a pair of DUNN & Co trousers for £4; bargin! The staff were playing Congolese Soukous music videos - via youtube - while I was there, which is always a delight to hear. Also the second hand part of market seems to have loads a great stuff, I bought a pair of high quality leather gloves for a fiver. I got the impression I could have haggled and got them for a couple of quid, but they are such good quality I just paid up without question. Seems like a good mix of people in the area at the moment, I get the sense that ‘gentrification’ is well underway, however at this moment it still feeling like different demographics are comfortably coexisting.
Old Tidemill Garden: Described on its website as ‘a unique greenspace in the heart of Deptford’ and indeed it is. This beautiful and inspiring community garden as been identified for ‘redevelopment’ and is currently under treat of demolition. There is a campaign to save it. I got warmly welcomed with a ‘Hello!’ from a two young community gardeners when I enter the space. It feels like something very special has been built up and achieved here. The garden was first opened to the wider public in September 2012 and taking a walk around one gets a sense of how it has developed organically over the last five years. The slightly shambolic approach to landscaping, which I assume is intentional, is extremely charming.