Month: July 2007

Crime & property — our favourite obsessions

My wife was in the shop on Azenby Road yesterday when an armed youth robbed it at gunpoint. She walked out slowly and fled quickly, so is luckily unharmed other than being nervous. I must say she was remarkably reserved about it; I guess this comes from growing up in Sao Paulo. What’s made her more nervous is that our neighbours upstairs were burgled on Friday; being close to two crimes happening in a short period makes it seem like it’s becoming more dangerous.

On a light aside, I don’t think the guy who robbed it was a genius; that shop has almost nothing in stock, and can’t make much money selling cans of Tennants and newspapers.

I see work has begun on the Mary Datchelor School development; the big machines are in and the demolition process is under way. I wonder what impact this is going to have on the overall development of the area.

The squat centre on Warham Street have released their schedule of forthcoming events, including language and IT lessons, films and dancing, and what sounds like an interesting talk on subterranean Lambeth. If any of that appeals, get there soon; they could be evicted at any moment.

Fallout Boy — Take Two

Something like summer is here, and I’m writing this post for the second time. Annoying.

Let’s start with the news that our infamy grows ever stronger, with the report that we are a leading supplier of victims of the disgusting and barbaric practice of female genital mutilation. Of all the abuses carried out in the name of religion, this must be the most revolting; it makes me seethe that parents can make drastic decisions about their child’s health based on their own superstitions.

On to lighter subjects: there’s activity at the former Zara’s Kitchen (and, briefly, British Raj). At the moment the old signage which I remember from years ago is exposed, and I keep meaning to take a picture for the archives but always end up forgetting my camera or forgetting to take the picture. With the new building in Zara’s (I’m going to guess it’ll be a new food outlet; I could look it up, but where’s the fun in that?) and the promised Italian Cafe further down Camberwell Church Street, not to mention the opening of Angels & Gypsies in 2011, it looks like we’re about to get a few more culinary options.

Is there a nuclear bunker beneath Camberwell? I meant to mention this before, but it slipped my mind. I might start carrying a notebook. There’s a patch of land at the corner of Peckham Rd and Vestry Rd which has never been built on, and recently there’s been a placard up for a project called Words are not Enough, which says there’ll be a peace garden put there, and mentions the cold war nuclear bunker. I’ve got no reason to disbelieve them (except for their being artists, who are notorious liars), but the only mention I can find of this bunker is in connection with this project.

If there is a bunker, let’s open it up and go inside for 20 years, then come out to see what the place is like; I bet it’ll be exactly the same.

Church Street Hotel and Waterloo

My wife’s cousin and her friend have paid us a surprise visit, arriving from Portugal on Saturday morning. This, unfortunately, coincided with an overnight stay from my Mum, who was in town to watch a Rod Stewart concert. Our flat isn’t quite big enough to comfortably accommodate four extra people, so we arranged for cousin and friend to stay at the Church Street Hotel.

I was quite looking forward to seeing it inside, so we arranged to meet them in their room before going out for a drink afterwards. I have to say, it’s very impressive inside. Painted throughout in strong Mediterranean blues and reds, the Spanish theme is continued with lots of religious iconography. There are candles and icons and similar decorative touches throughout the hotel.

Their twin room was small but very pretty; they were enchanted by the complimentary chocolates and hot sauce (caution: we ate some last night and it’s extremely hot) and soaps, shower gels, etc. The bathroom was shared but so nicely decorated that they took a series of photos of it. Cousin and friend said it was the best hotel they’d stayed in on their two-week trip around Europe.

It wasn’t cheap — £89.99 for a twin room with shared bathroom — but they loved the decor, the ambience, and the breakfast and services, and declared themselves more than satisified with the whole experience. I have to admit, I fancy a stay there myself now. Can’t wait for the bar and restaurant to open.

We went for a drink at the Dark Horse, which was reasonably busy. I had Addlestone’s while we persuaded our guests to try different beers. We wanted to eat some bar food while we drank, but the kitchen had closed while we vacillated so we had to make do with some wasabi peanuts and a charcuterie (which in my day used to be called a cold meat platter).

The wife and guests then went for a drink in The Castle while I went to Waterloo to meet my mum from the train; we waited an hour and 20 minutes for a taxi while making polite small talk with some drunken Finnish businessmen.