DAVID MILIBAND MP visited Thomas Tallis School, Kidbrooke, this morning to officially open its new buildings.

The secondary school has undergone a complete rebuild using money from the Building Schools for the Future programme which was set up by the last government.

Mr Miliband, who was Schools Minister when the scheme was initiated, arrived at Kidbrooke railway station and walked to the school where he enjoyed a tour of the new state-of-the-art facilities.

The former Foreign Secretary gave a short speech to guests during the opening ceremony, where there were brilliant musical performances by pupils Matilda Morris, Jess Ludlam and Jazz Rodrigues, and a thought provoking piece by year-10 student Nadeem Islam.

Listen to David Miliband’s speech

New recording studio in Thomas Tallis School.

But with some capital expenditure projects delivered under PFI agreements attracting criticism because of expensive contracts – one school that had to pay over £300 for a plug socket has been repeatedly highlighted in the press – is Mr Miliband still convinced the PFI deals represent value for money for taxpayers?

“Every project whether it’s conventionally funded or PFI funded needs to be done in an efficient way, and you can see here what happens when you spend money well so there’s no excuse for wasting it.”

Additional funding from the council has paid for a dedicated dojo, an artistic gymnastics gymnasium and a sports hall with space for six badminton courts. Council leader, Chris Roberts, said Thomas Tallis School had “grasped the opportunity” and it had been “transformed”. He added:

“It’s a fantastic place for people to come and learn. All of the [BSF] projects in Greenwich had particular challenges. This one had challenges around flood defence because it’s close to the Quaggy but you can see the product of everybody’s efforts and, backed by excellent teaching, we hope it will become a beacon of education for the future.”

Photographs from this morning’s opening

Main Entrance

New drama studio

There has been some raised eyebrows on Twitter about the toilets that are still not operational in Cutty Sark Gardens, weeks after the Queen officially declared the newly-redesigned Gardens open.

Luckily one local councillor has got to the bottom of it and tweeted today that they should be working by Friday.

The figures show that Labour’s candidate, who was London’s mayor between 2000 and 2008, got a 42.93% and 43.32% share of the vote in SE10′s Peninsula and Greenwich West wards respectively.

But while his support was static in Peninsula, his support was down by 3.5% in Greenwich West compared to four years ago. Boris Johnson, who won the mayoral contest on May 3rd, saw his share of the vote rise by almost 4% in Greenwich West.

The high profile cable car under construction in North Greenwich didn’t do much to boost the Conservative candidate’s fortunes – Johnson’s support rose by only half a percent in the Peninsula ward.

Lib Dem Brian Paddick, who came to Greenwich town centre during the campaign, saw his first preference support reduced by more than a half in both Peninsula and Greenwich West. The Green Party candidate saw their support rise by about 3 percentage points in both wards giving them third place in the overall share of the vote.

Peninsula – First Preference Votes
Ken Livingstone 42.93% (+0.03%)
Boris Johnson 35.46% (+0.48%)
Brian Paddick 5.44% (-6.18%)
Jenny Jones 7.38% (+2.47) *compared with Sian Berry, Green Party candidate in 2008

Greenwich West – First Preference Votes
Ken Livingstone 43.32% (-3.5%)
Boris Johnson 35.84% (+3.85%)
Brian Paddick 4.94% (-6.47%)
Jenny Jones 7.91% (+2.94) *compared with Sian Berry, Green Party candidate in 2008

**not including postal vostes

For information on the results for other candidates, visit London Elects.

Photograph of HMS Ocean taken at the weekend as the sun set.

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the staging of the Olympic games in London, a series of events have been designed to bring the community together.

The first event of the East Greenwich Community Festivals events is a Jubilee Picnic in East Greenwich Pleasaunce on June 2nd. Then a special welcome is being organised for the Olympic Torch Relay as it travels down Woolwich Road on Saturday July 21st.

The main event comes in August when there will be a two-day 1948 fete in the pleasaunce where there will be music, food and drink, baking competitions, the dog show and lots more.

To help bring it all together, the organisers are looking for performers, craftmakers, cooks and artists as well as businesses who might want to hire a stall or make a donation.

To get involved, you can sign up here or get more information from Pistachios in East Greenwich Pleasaunce or the Greenwich Communication Centre on Trafalgar Road.

Unfortunately there hasn’t been much sunshine since HMS Ocean arrived, so in the absence of any good weather and with the help of Photoshop, I borrowed a blue sky from another photo to imagine what HMS Ocean the Cutty Sark may look like in the summer.

Now Byron have finally opened in Greenwich, a search for the best burger in town was on the cards (tough gig, I know). Luckily, bars and restaurants in Greenwich offer a tasty burger indeed. Here are three of the top restaurants and a little look at how their cheeseburgers compare.

Byron

I’ve been not all that patiently waiting for them to open and I’m thrilled they have. My burger (pictured below) was very slightly overdone, as was the service – so keen were they to impress at their soft launch, they told my dining companion the dessert options while I was still eating my burger. The loitering got a little much after a while, but I’m hoping it’s just soft launch teething problems.

I do love their burgers. And I love the American cheese option. You can eat well for a little over a tenner and don’t even get me started on those courgette fries. They’re sprinkled with breadcrumbs and magic.

The Guildford Arms

This was actually my first trip to the Guildford Arms and it’s a cute, quiet place, tucked away in Guildford Grove. The hefty burger was made from chuck beef and very delicately flavoured with worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and shallots

The burger itself was impressively sized for less than ten quid but came in a homemade bun that was a bit small for my liking.

I’m also never going to be convinced that tarragon mayo works with beef. Excellent pickle action, though – I’m all about slices, not wedges. But the fish and chips my companion had? That looked divine and was giving me serious pangs of lunch envy. Some of the best batter action this side of the river. I’ll go back for lunch (it’s £12 for two courses and £14 for three – just try and stop me), but the burger might not be my first choice.

The Old Brewery

Oh yes. This was a tasty, tasty burger. Probably my favourite, actually. It was pricy – £10.75 and an extra £1 for cheese. And erm… an extra quid for pulled pork as well. I couldn’t resist. I had to. The burger is a little soggy and difficult to eat, but I don’t care because it was perfectly cooked to medium and tasted fantastic.

Alas, there’s no photograph because they took ‘romantic’ lights to a whole new level. We basically ate in the dark. Still, that’s not going to stop me from coming back for a burger. I’ll just pop in during the day so I can actually see.

And the rest? Greenwich Union’s is tasty but very pricy once you factor in that they ask an extra £2.50 for cheddar (seriously GU dudes, that’s not cool). Rivington’s is always a fine option – the burger is tasty but it’s their chips and that smoky ketchup that will keep a smile on your face but they’ve got so much choice on the menu you’re likely to pick something else (probably roast potato based).

As for GBK… well they’re not entirely terrible are they? But with so many decent options locally, I can’t help think they’re punching above their weight a little now.

The verdict? If you fancy a pint with your burger, go to the Old Brewery. If you have kids or like milkshakes head to Byron. Lunchtime? Go to the Guildford Arms for their lunchtime menu.

What do you think? What’s the best burger you’ve had in Greenwich?

Photo of the Cutty Sark and a busy foreshore on Bank Holiday Monday.

It is Duvall’s fourth term representing the area on the London Assembly, making him the only person to hold the post since the London Assembly was created in 2000.

The former leader of Greenwich Council saw his share of the vote surge to 49.61%, from 39.21% in 2008.

Support for the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Green Party was down on four years ago, although the Greens did pass the Lib Dems to take third place.

London Elects will soon release a breakdown of how individual wards voted in last Thursday’s elections, which also saw Boris Johnson returned as mayor of London for another four years.

The Navy’s biggest vessel welcomed visitors on board today to take a look around.

By the time the Open Day got under way at ten o’clock, a queue along the river front already stretched nearly as far as the Trafalgar Tavern.

Visitors boarded City Cruises’s Princess Rose at Greenwich Pier and were taken across to board HMS Ocean.

Many thanks for the chance to look around and thanks to the crew for being happy to explain their work.

See full set of photos