Thanks to Alex Brooks for this one…

Thanks to vbloke for this one…

And finally, thanks to Lara Ruffle who gave the snow the thumbs up.

Despite the long-predicted snow coming down last night, Greenwich still managed to put on a party to celebrate the borough’s new royal status.

There was a lantern parade through the Old Royal Naval College and then some fantastic fireworks from a barge in the Thames.

Thanks to Greenwich Council for issuing this final picture. The man behind the lens was Peter Hayward.

A large crowd gathered in General Gordon Square, Woolwich, this evening to enjoy music and fireworks to mark the borough’s new royal status.

There was also a short speech from the Leader of the Council, Chris Roberts, who earlier in the day collected the Royal Charter from Westminster.

Henry VIII, usually found at Hampton Court Palace, also turned up to say a few words and there were other performers in character entertaining the crowd and posing for photos.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson told Greenwich.co.uk:

“Greenwich is a London borough of global significance; the home of time, a Unesco World Heritage Site, not to mention its close links to the Royal Family since the Middle Ages. This royal honour is surely the icing on the cake of a fantastic year for Greenwich as it prepares for a role at the heart of the London Games.”

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, said:

“I am delighted to send my congratulations to Greenwich on becoming a Royal Borough in this, Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee year. The Borough is rightly proud of its Royal connections, which go back over many centuries and continue to this day.

I am sure that the new status will strengthen the feeling of civic pride which is so important in binding people together, and will give a focus around which you can all unite in celebration during this eventful year. When the eyes of the world are on London for the Olympics, I am sure the new Royal Borough of Greenwich will do a great job in showing off the best that Britain has to offer.”

The Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government, Hilary Benn MP, said:

“Many congratulations to the Royal Borough of Greenwich on your new and richly-deserved status. I wish you all the best for the future.”

Seb Coe, Chair of the London Olympic Organising Committee (LOCOG) said:

“Congratulations to Greenwich on receiving its new royal status. This is well deserved given the borough’s unique history. Receiving this status in the Olympic year is very exciting and fitting. The borough has three fantastic Games venues in the borough – Greenwich Park, the Royal Artillery Barracks, and the North Greenwich Arena. The Olympic Torch will also pass through the borough as well as lots of other events taking place. The London Organising Committee is working very hard to deliver spectacular events which everyone in the borough can enjoy in the summer.”

Greenwich and Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford told Greenwich.co.uk:

“I am delighted that Her Majesty the Queen has bestowed on Greenwich the honour of being designated a Royal Borough. This is a recognition of the close links which have existed between the Monarch and our Borough over many centuries. The designation could not come at a better time as we are preparing to welcome visitors from all over the world to celebrate the 2012 Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee”.

Former London Mayor and Labour’s mayoral candidate, Ken Livingstone, said:

“Congratulations to Greenwich on receiving this new royal status. Recognition of Greenwich, an iconic and world famous corner of our capital is richly deserved.”

London Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said:

“Today is a great day for Greenwich, and I hope residents across the Borough enjoy the celebrations and festivities.

“It marks the beginning of an exciting year for Greenwich with the Olympics this summer, and I look forward to visiting the Royal Borough during the Mayoral campaign.”

Neighbouring boroughs were keen to add their messages of support, too. The Mayor of the London Borough of Bexley, Cllr Ray Sams, said he was honoured to pass on congratulations to the new Royal Borough. He commented:

“On behalf of the residents and businesses of the London Borough of Bexley, may I pass our best wishes and warmest congratulations to the new Royal Borough of Greenwich.

“Quite literally, the place where our time begins, your proud history and heritage has been at the centre of London’s life for hundreds of years. Our kings and queens have lived there, our navy was created and sailed from there and UNESCO considers you worthy of the title of ‘World Heritage Site’. May you enjoy the most wonderful Diamond Jubilee Year as the Royal Borough of Greenwich.”

Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, said:

“Congratulations to Greenwich on its new status. This is a fitting tribute to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee that gives due recognition to Greenwich’s historical royal links. Receiving the new status this Olympic year must make it even more special”.

Royal Greenwich joins an exclusive group of three other boroughs with royal status: Royal Borough of Kingston, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Royal Borough of Windsor. The Mayor of Kingston upon Thames, Councillor Patrick Codd said:

“I am delighted that the Queen has honoured the borough of Greenwich by bestowing it with royal status.

In recognition of this very special honour, the three other Royal Boroughs are delighted to be hosting a special celebration for the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in March.”

Updated

Greenwich and Lewisham London Assembly Member, and former leader of Greenwich Council, Len Duvall said:

“The rare honour of being bestowed ‘Royal’ status to mark the Jubilee is yet another milestone in the rich and varied history and heritage of our Borough. 2012 is a very important year for Greenwich and I, for one, am extremely excited about what this means for us all.”

The new royal status, first announced two years ago, will be attained when Leader of the Council, Chris Roberts, and the Mayor of Greenwich, Jim Gillman, travel to Westminster to collect the Royal Charter.

The councillors – expected to attend in morning dress – will receive the Letters Patent in a ceremony with the Head of the Crown Office in the Queen’s Robing Room in the Palace of Westminster.

The council leader, who said this was “undoubtedly” the proudest moment of his career to date, will return to the borough with the charter where it will go on display in Woolwich, Eltham and Greenwich town centres alongside a packed schedule of celebratory events this weekend.

In readiness for the new status, the council has started to replace street signs and has put up banners in Greenwich, Woolwich and Eltham town centres.

“In the course of the last week to ten days, I don’t think we’ve seen anything quite it like in terms of the way in which the public have been embracing what is about to happen. It will be one of the most historic days in our history,” said Chris Roberts at a press conference yesterday.

“The meaning is what you choose to make of it: there’s a tremendous sense of civic pride, ” he added. “Never did I think that a council-arranged procession through Greenwich would have to be capped in terms of numbers by the police because so many people want to engage and join with it.”

He also claimed there would be an economic uplift from the honour, citing as an example the demand that “Royal Greenwich” would create at the soon-to-be built Enderby Wharf cruise terminal. That will be “major driver” in generating knock-on employment and tourism benefits, he said.

The cost of the status

When asked, the council were not able to provide a cost for the adoption of new branding but Chief Executive, Mary Ney, said they would changing over on a “replacement basis”:

“We’re not going out and changing all the street signs and uniforms. We’re doing it on a replacement basis, so as things need to be replaced we will do it with the royal signage. We have done some new signage around the town centres and around the tourism areas as that seemed important. We have allowed the entrance signs into the borough to go into dereliction – they were damaged and old and referred to the Millennium year – and so we are refreshing all of those with the crest.”

Chris Roberts told this website that there won’t be sponsorship of the borough entrance signs, as now can be found on many of Bexley’s signs, but he signalled he wouldn’t rule out such a move in the future.

There’s no timescale for when the whole of the borough can expect new signs and no plans available for what will happen to old signs that are being taken down.

Icing on the cake

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, told Greenwich.co.uk: “Greenwich is a London borough of global significance; the home of time, a Unesco World Heritage Site, not to mention its close links to the Royal Family since the Middle Ages. This royal honour is surely the icing on the cake of a fantastic year for Greenwich as it prepares for a role at the heart of the London Games.”

Weekend of events

Celebrations to mark the event, including music and fireworks, will be taking place later today in Woolwich, tomorrow in Eltham and finally in Greenwich town centre on Sunday.

The celebrations also coincide with the arrival of the King’s Troop in Woolwich on Friday night. The newly-arrived troop will be performing a procession through Woolwich on Tuesday morning.

Thanks to local estate agents Conran Estates for sharing this photo showing the brand new street sign for Greenwich High Road withthe new coat of arms on it. The council has started putting new signs out around the borough as it readies itself for Royal borough status on Friday.

Here’s another one, thanks to Alex Brooks:

Don’t forget there will be activities in Woolwich on Friday, in Eltham on Saturday and in Greenwich on Sunday to mark the occasion.

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

An evening of screaming frustration for Charlton was relentlessly heading for a demoralising conclusion when, with three of five added minutes already played, a skidding rebound from visiting goalkeeper Cameron Belford’s parry of Michael Morrison’s close range effort reached midfielder Dale Stephens some 30 yards from Bury’s goal.

Making his first start following a three-month injury absence, Stephens could have been excused for chipping the ball back into a heavily congested penalty area in search of an equally desperate colleague. Instead an all-or-nothing first time blockbuster ripped past Belford on its way into the top right corner and pandemonium gripped an almost disbelieving Valley. This was one of those instances when a draw felt as psychologically satisfying as a victory. And the irony of the last-gasp equaliser won’t be lost on Belford, whose blatant time-wasting, as much as his inspired goalkeeping, had seemed certain to rob the Addicks of their unbeaten home record.

For Stephens, the moment was especially sweet. His return as a late substitute during last Saturday’s narrow win over Exeter had brought with it the added class which this hard-grafting side had lacked in his absence. His ability to dictate the flow of movement and pace helps the side change defence into attack more fluently, a virtue clarified by his brief cameo at St. James Park.

Against determined Bury, whose irritating gamesmanship was balanced by spells of impressive football, Stephens started well as the fulcrum of a team showing slight signs of understandable staleness. The barnstorming momentum which carried all before it during the early season blitz on League One has stuttered since the New Year and spirit alone has sustained the promotion charge. On the playmaker’s slim shoulders will be carried the responsibility of restoring flair to the industry. His recovery from injury seems particularly well timed.

Thrashed 3-0 by Rochdale, next Saturday’s visitors to The Valley, in their last game, the Shakers clearly had no intention of providing cannon fodder for the runaway league leaders. Well organised and spirited, they gave as good as they got and, in Belford, had a last line of defence in defiant mood.

The chunky keeper cheerfully swapped insults with the North Stand, stood his ground and was well on his way to the last laugh until Stephens spectacularly intervened. His good work began with a smart save from Morrison and continued with a quite brilliant block of Leon Clarke’s angled drive, after Johnnie Jackson capped a great run with a perfect pass. He was at it again to turn a downward header from Yann Kermorgant past his right post, again following Jackson’s bright approach play.

Growing worryingly disjointed and laborious, Charlton’s mission prior to the break became clearly to stay in the game and reach the interval unscathed. They had lived dangerously as early as the 3rd minute when Giles Coke cleverly chest chest trapped a cross before half-volleying wide but were comfortable, if uninspired, before falling behind shortly before a welcome break. A clever flick from wide man Ryan Doble provided lone wolf striker Lenell John-Lewis with the half-yard he needed to swivel sharply and beat Ben Hamer from 15 yards. An already discouraging task promptly doubled its degree of difficulty.

Struggling they might have been but there’s no doubting the Addicks’ fighting spirit. An otherwise disappointing Danny Green began the second period by bruising Belford’s hands with a venomous drive, then the winger’s inswinging corner was headed back from the far post by Morrison for Matt Taylor to nod a reasonable chance over the bar. The visitors weren’t exactly hanging on but were grateful that a fierce shot from the irresistible Rhoys Wiggins deflected safely off Peter Sweeney and even more thankful that Wiggins’ full back partner Chris Solly clipped the outside of the woodwork with an effort, which might (or might not) have flicked off a defensive hand.

Hope was making room for despair as the minutes ebbed away. But you don’t count out Chris Powell’s battlers until it’s officially over. They kept battering at Bury’s resistance and Stephens found his range with two well struck, though narrowly wide, snapshots. It looked all up when Jackson drove over the bar but Stephens had one last shot in his locker. And as it bulleted beyond the heroic Belford, the sheer joy of the uber-late goal carried all before it. It wears off, of course, but the euphoria makes the world a briefly better place. If society could tap into it, we’d really be on to something. Speaking personally, I’ll spend much of Wednesday patting kids on the head and helping old ladies over busy roads with their shopping. It’s the least I can do. And I always do the least I can do.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Morrison, Taylor, Wiggins, Green, Hollands (Pritchard 84), Stephens, Jackson, Kermorgant, Clarke (Haynes 73). Not used: Sullivan, Hayes, Cort. Booked: Green.

Bury: Belford, Picken, Hughes, Sodje, Skarz, Amoo, Sweeney, Schumacher, Coke (Carrington 86), Doble (Worrall 85), John-Lewis. Not used: Williams, Bishop, Eastham.

Referee: Andy D’Urso. Attendance: 13,264.

With all of the excellent bakeries in Greenwich, you’d think getting a brownie would be easy. Not so, surprisingly. You can’t move for cupcakes these days but I found just three indy bakeries selling squidgy brownies on Sunday.

For me a brownie needs to be dense and a little gooey in the middle. It needs to be heavier than a chocolate sponge. I’m a brownie purist so I don’t want bells and whistles in my brownies (for goodness sake, stop putting Oreos in them), just chocolate will suit me fine.

So which one was best?

Black Vanilla, College Approach

Oh, I truly wanted this one to be a winner. I’ve been excited about visiting Black Vanilla, which just opened last week in College Approach, but I knew when I was buying it that it wasn’t going to take the top spot. It looked dry and it was. It tasted of cocoa rather than chocolate and was actually pretty small – it was too thin to get a decent squidge. And the most expensive at £2.50.

But, to get to the cake counter you have to walk past the ice cream, and that looks phenomenal. I’m not discounting Black Vanilla altogether, I think they’re a fabulous addition to Greenwich and were very friendly when I popped in.

Rhodes, College Approach

They call their brownie the ‘best in the world’ and while the hyperbole irritates me, it was pretty good. It looked amazing. Thick, stodgy, unhealthy. Still soft in the middle despite being flaky on the top. Yep, this is one mighty fine brownie. Surprisingly not bitter despite it being so dark. It was the cheapest as well – just £1.80. Getting anything tasty under two quid is a bit of a challenge.

The downside? Not once have I seen the staff smile in Rhodes. I come here for the cake and I take it away rather than staying. A bit of a chat and a smile wouldn’t go amiss.

The Real Baking Company, Greenwich Market

A firm favourite in Greenwich Market, they were getting reading to close up when I visited. Still, I was greeted with a smile and a bit of a chat (they must have been FREEZING after standing outside all day).

The brownie was £2.40 so certainly not cheap, but worth the money. There was an unusual aftertaste to this one. Cherries, or some sort of sweet fruit. It’s certainly no bad thing. The addition of chocolate chips was welcome, too. You could eat one of these in one go, and be very happy that you did.

Verdict

It’s absolutely a tie between The Real Baking Company and Rhodes. If the staff in Rhodes could crack a smile, they’d just edge it for me. Which means obviously you should try both and make up your own mind.

Who do you think does the best chocolate brownie in Greenwich?

Speaking at last week’s full council meeting, Cllr Brooks said the application, which cost over £5,000 to develop, was “worth every penny”.

Holding his iPhone in his hand, the councillor said he had downloaded the app a day earlier and that it was a “very good app”.

It was revealed in a written answer to Councillor Alex Wilson that the application was downloaded 185 times between 20 August 2010 and 18 November 2010. Since then, the developer has not been able to supply further information, the answer states, but downloads have been estimated at 15 per week.

However, in a previous answer given in response to a Freedom of Information request from 853′s Darryl Chamberlain in December 2010, it was stated that the app had been downloaded 563 times.

Destination Greenwich has been promoted in the council’s Greenwich Time newspaper, which is delivered to every home in the borough.

The application contains a countdown to the London 2012 Olympics and a list of “treasures” in the borough.

£2,550 of the development cost was spent on the script, studio time and narration of the application’s list of local treasures. The application contains 35 minutes of narration.

Destination Greenwich’s list of Greenwich Treasures

• The O2
• Royal Observatory
• Greenwich Park
• Old Royal Naval College
• Queen’s House
• National Maritime Museum
• St Alfege Church
• Greenwich Market
• Discover Greenwich Visitor Centre
• Cutty Sark
• Royal Artillery Barracks

Which “treasures” do you think the council should add to its list?