Forest Hill Road (opinion on shop fronts and signs)

[Drxyster]

Could well be dbboy. Anyone remember the wool/haberdashers shop called "Heathers" near the Post Office, also J.J Charlesworth the shoe repairers near the FHT as was ? I always had my shoes mended there, a real craftsman, however one of the pair would be in the shop and he would usually find the other out the back. He also had glass shelves suspended on wires from the ceiling, with all manner of products on them, I particularly remember a stock of light bulbs on one of the shelves. Unwins was managed by Gerry and Toni (Antoinette) Lavelle,good friends of ours,they continued to work for Unwins and managed a shop in Hove, we are still in contact with them and are both now retired.

[MsDulwich]

Yes Drxyster I remember 'Heathers', full of haberdashery type things...buttons and ribbons...I bought a few yards of ribbon for my hair there as a youngster! :)

Drxyster Wrote:

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> Could well be dbboy. Anyone remember the

> wool/haberdashers shop called "Heathers" near the

> Post Office, also J.J Charlesworth the shoe

> repairers near the FHT as was ? I always had my

> shoes mended there, a real craftsman, however one

> of the pair would be in the shop and he would

> usually find the other out the back. He also had

> glass shelves suspended on wires from the ceiling,

> with all manner of products on them, I

> particularly remember a stock of light bulbs on

> one of the shelves. Unwins was managed by Gerry

> and Toni (Antoinette) Lavelle,good friends of

> ours,they continued to work for Unwins and managed

> a shop in Hove, we are still in contact with them

> and are both now retired.

[MsDulwich]

Anyone remember the small shop in between the 'Dolphin Fish Bar' and whats now the 'Excel Child Services'?....it was a small dark, unkempt shop...maybe sold sweets run by a middle aged man?

[Jah Lush]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> K & J Libretto and Daughters I believe. K is Kim,

> and J his son Jake.

>

> Kim is an excellent,'old school' butcher -

Yep! Another heads up for this lovely proper old school butcher. Been a regular customer for well over 20 years myself.

[dbboy]

I'd prefer to see what's in the window rather than relying on him bringing things from the back.

[Penguin68]

I'd prefer to see what's in the window rather than relying on him bringing things from the back.

Really? - pre-cut so that it dries out and blackens, in the sun/ light so that it oxydises more quickly (and so that dust etc. can get to it more readily)? Having to take 'what's there' rather than specifying the weight and cut (I buy shin/ leg of beef in the piece and cut it up for stews myself when I want to cook it). If you can be sure of the quality (you can with Kim) then 'bringing things out of the back' (actually, taking thing out of a temperature controlled cold store) is by far the best option. Kim hangs his own meat - and that is hanging on the bone and in the piece - keeping that in cold store and bringing it out only when needed is what makes his meat so good.

You do, of course, know what to ask for (or, as I have said, explain what you want to cook and leave it up to him to recommend the best cuts) - but that's how butchers used to work.

If you want pre-cut, shrink wrapped cuts of meat, then a supermarket, not a butchers, is what you need. One of the things that horrifies me about e.g. William Rose is the amount of cuts of meat which hang around all day in the shop, sweating away in the window. Good butchers will hang game up in windows, in fur or feather, but you don't often find them nowadays, as people get upset by seeing bunnies or birds so obviously 'animals'.

[DaveR]

To be fair to William Rose, they turn over a lot of meat in the course of a day, and you will regularly see them re-stocking the shop display. I've bought meast from WR, and Libretto, and the butchers near the library, and Sparkes, and IMHO they're all good, way better than any supermarket meat.

[lildeakin84]

'Kim the butcher'as the kids I nanny call him is a total local treasure. Knows his customers by name, totally knowledgeable treats everyone brilliantly and generally much nicer than William Rose is!

I love the fact the shop is quirky and eccentric! It's what makes it so special!

[jimbo1964]

The Rose is good. They do a nice pie and mash (Pie Minister pies). Apparently a good Sunday roast too although I've not tried that. I think it's a bit of an undiscovered gem. The current landlords seem really nice and putting a lot of effort in.

[Jeremy]

jimbo, I think the place has a bit of a funny vibe to it, but the pie and mash is decent.

[Laur]

I went past the chippy a few days ago and noticed that the 'Kebab' shop sign has disappeared...I wonder if it was the old shop sign that I mentioned below??.

Laur Wrote:

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> Anyone remember 'Jonathans' newsagents and the

> small sweet shop next door to them? If I recall

> correctly, many many years ago prior to it being a

> chippy it was a Kebab shop!

[Houseoflego]

I freeking love that Turkish shop. It never lets us down, it sells EVERYTHING.

Will give the Butchers a Butchers, ha! (sorry jokes by DJ Dad).

Also looking forward to a Kebab!

[jimbo1964]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> jimbo, I think the place has a bit of a funny vibe

> to it, but the pie and mash is decent.

I think it's fine. It could just do with a few more customers.

[photosolo]

is this the place?

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/enhanced-search/en-GB/Libretto%20and%20Daughter/%5E/Distance/0/%5E/%5E/1/1/10/True/51.45422/-0.06308535/3

[kiera]

Probably not, unless he sometimes switches from being a butcher's to becoming a hotel/guest house.

[dbboy]

Libretto not that good according to scores on the doors food hygiene ratings

http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk/business/k-libretto-and-daughters--363117.html

Penguin68 states "Libretto's has a score of 4 (the certificate, awarded very recently) is in his shop for anyone to see - he was not awarded the full 5 because he would not clear the shop of his pictures and curios (kept on shelving entirely separate from his preparation and serving areas)".

So am adding this to the post.

[East Dulwich Dweller]

MsDulwich Wrote:

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> Anyone remember the small shop in between the

> 'Dolphin Fish Bar' and whats now the 'Excel Child

> Services'?....it was a small dark, unkempt

> shop...maybe sold sweets run by a middle aged man?

Old sweet shop was called The Cabin. Must ask former hairdresser at Kevin and Anne's if she remembers it.

[Laur]

East Dulwich dweller - yes "The Cabin" rings a bell and how reassuring it is that someone (other than me)remembers it from all those years ago :)

[Drxyster]

The Cabin was a sort of "Coffee Bar" for mostly teenagers in the sixties I believe.

[SUMMERSMILE]

WOW and the bakery next to the pharmacy and the Turkish convenience store use to be a catering company store plus does anyone remember the wooden fruit and veg cabin that use to be in front of the launderette i think it burnt down....

[Penguin68]

Libretto not that good according to scores on the doors food hygiene ratings

[www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk]

This link is entirely wrong (the information in it). Libretto's has a score of 4 (the certificate, awarded very recently) is in his shop for anyone to see - he was not awarded the full 5 because he would not clear the shop of his pictures and curios (kept on shelving entirely separate from his preparation and serving areas).

Anyone who knows Kim knows how carefully he cleans his shop - every night after closing for about an hour and a deep clean weekly (takes about 4-5 hours) on Saturdays. He also is fully aware of food hygiene rules (e.g. about the separation of cooked and uncooked meats, fully cleaning slicing machines betwen cutting bacon and ham etc. etc.)

The incorrect information in the links leave me doubting the utility of other reports - (and the fact that it wrongly describes Kim's business hardly re-assures).

[baggie]

On a personal note the more people keep away from Kim's and head to William Rose, the more brilliant meat for me. Kim is a legend. Local food hero.

[Penguin68]

Kim would probably second that - he appears entirely comfortable with the customers he has, and doesn't seek more. When he is publicly praised (e.g. in interviews with local celebrities) he gets quite annoyed. I admire his work-life balance ethos.

[monica]

Iv lived in Woodvale for 2 years, and I love the forest hill rd area of shops, especially the turkish supermarket, which is open all hours. Librettos are great, I dont mind the erratic hours, the sausages are amazing, and the chutneys delicious.

And I think we are very lucky to have the lovely cemetery, feel very blessed with where I live.

[Penguin68]

I dont mind the erratic hours

I think the hours are less erratic than limited - although his month-long summer holiday is quite an extendable feast.