The post that almost wasn’t

I went to see the dentist today (Camberwell Dental Care, 6 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8QU). As I sat in the waiting room a rat-faced youth dressed head to toe in denim stuck his head around the door and had a quick look around, then left. Two minutes later there was a commotion; the guy had walked into a surgery and stolen a patient’s mobile while he was having work done. He escaped across Camberwell Green.

By the way, if you need a dentist I can recommend this one. Pros: the doctors (at least, my doctor) are very calm and put you at ease; it’s NHS, so you won’t pay through the nose. Cons: It’s a little shabby in some rooms (although not half as shabby as my previous dentist in Camberwell); it’s NHS, so your appointment can be delayed for around half an hour or so. Still, NHS dentists are hard to come by, and it does emergencies.

Walking back home gave me an opportunity to have a nose around the shops; the former 4 Sure We’re D Best African Restaurant building is being completely refitted; early stages, but could be promising for a new bar/cafe/restaurant. Also, the former Bee’s Auto Parts is definitely being refitted too; more likely to be shop premises, this one. I have a sinking feeling it will be another off-licence.

Seems like there’s a lot of development going on around the Warner Road area; the bus garage is expanding (perhaps why the petrol station closed?) at one end, while there are 20 new flats planned on the site of the (former) Rose & Thistle at the other. Anyone with any planning knowledge heard anything about this?

This post almost never got published; my laptop bluescreened twice while I was writing it. Thank god I saved after the first time.

Terror comes to Camberwell (sort of)

I’ve no doubt that anyone reading this hasn’t heard, but Oval station was involved in yesterday’s new terror attacks, and a man was shot dead by police at Stockwell station today. Not directly Camberwell related, although parts of Camberwell New Road were closed so I can just about stretch it.

In other news, Mark McGowan’s The Running Tap has made it to the pages of the Malaysia Star, who call it “a purely sinful act”.

Question: Who does the best delivery pizza in the SE5 region?

What’s Been Going On

Sorry for the long delay between posts, but I’ve been (mostly) outside enjoying the sunshine and trying not to sit in front of a PC for too long.

News? Not a lot. I missed the Rise festival at the weekend (wasn’t it renamed London United?) as I went to a barbecue, so no report on that. Sorry.

I’ve seen some movement in the old Bee’s Auto Bits shop; there were a couple of guys cleaning it out last week, and someone was scraping the lettering off the sign on Sunday. I’d love to think that someone was going to open a decent delicatessen in there, but I get the feeling it’s going to be another off-licence. Please god, let it be something different.

The owner of Imperial Gardens is requesting £9 million compensation from Southwark Council. The Council, in turn, have offered £1,000. I sense we haven’t heard the end of this story.

Oh, and while we’ve had good weather I’ve been walking home from Vauxhall every evening along the longest Georgian road in the country. With the sun on your neck and a can of cider in your hand, I highly recommend it.

Finally: I forgot to celebrate my first anniversary last Wednesday.