England vs Camberwell

A flying update, to let people know that the next meeting of the SE5Forum will take place at the Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, tomorrow (21st) evening at 8pm. Two things to note from that:

  1. Institute of Psychiatry? You don’t have to be mad to live here, etc.
  2. Tomorrow evening is also England’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia, so *puts sexist hat on* expect the evening to be dominated by the fairer sex.

As this was rather sprung upon us I won’t be able to attend, unfortunately, as I already have plans in Central London (which mean I miss the football too). However, if you have time spare and would like to get involved in helping the area, rather than talking about helping the area, it behoves you to attend. Did I use ‘behoves’ correctly?

Fun in the power cut around Peckham yesterday. In my area of East Camberwell we lost power for 5 minutes at around 8pm, and 20 minutes at around 11pm. I understand from friends and comments here that other areas were affected worse. The scariest part of the experience for me was seeing how light it was outside, even in a black-out; the light pollution really is stronger than I’d imagined.

No time for more today; do please attend the SE5Forum meeting if you can, even if only to be a spectator.

Update: A quick plea for help. I realise we are living in a disposable age and this probably makes me a bit of a caveman, but does anybody know a good place to get mobile phones repaired? I tried the place next to the Green, but they don’t do full repairs. I bought a phone second hand and it has a small problem which I think could be easily fixed, so I don’t want to buy a brand new one. Can anyone recommend a repairman?

Booze and the working class

Southwark Lambeth council are considering introducing a ‘saturation zone’ to Clapham, to limit the number of new bars or clubs — and a similar scheme could be imposed on Camberwell. I would suggest that Camberwell’s problems lie not with the number of bars and clubs, but the number of off-licences, and would welcome a scheme to regulate them. I would also welcome a scheme to stop off-sales outside licensing hours. I would also welcome a scheme to give me millions of pounds.

I’ve changed my route to work now, and cycle past Evelina Mansions on New Church Road. I was always intrigued by the plaque about the “Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company Ltd”, and did a quick search to look up their origins; turns out the company is still in existence, now known as IDS Ltd. They manage over 1,300 properties across London, and were:

established as the Four Per Cent Dwellings Company in 1885 by a group of Jewish philanthropists who hoped to relieve the overcrowding in homes in the East End of London.

No doubt they were originally for workers in the factories along the canal, but now they are pretty exclusive homes, from what I can see.

Finally, I’ve decided I want to join the library in Camberwell again, but I remembered that I didn’t return a book I borrowed 10 years or so ago. Do you think they have a record of that? And how much is 10 years of late fees?

Caravaggio & The Hermit’s

Saturday afternoon the wife & I — at a loose end, hungry, and emboldened by the positive comments already posted here — decided to check out the latest addition to the burgeoning gastronomic scene in Camberwell, the Italian restaurant Caravaggio, on Camberwell Church Street.

If I eavesdropped correctly, it’s been opened by a former employee(?) of Mozarella & Pomodoro (and is seemingly in competition, therefore). It’s decorated in a much more modern, gastropub‑y way than its sensei, in warm tones of brown and cream, with lots of wallpaper and classic artworks throughout. In front are smaller cafe tables, while the large room at the rear has bigger tables for dining.

Food is basically panini and pasta; the wife had sausage in a tomato sauce, I went for mushroom ravioli. Both were good; not excellent, but good. Hers was a little spicy for her taste, mine a little small for mine. But for approximately a fiver each, we were pretty satisfied. I then had a nice custard tart for dessert, while she ate a delicious home-made tiramisu. Plus a juice each, coffee and hot chocolate, the whole thing came to about £18.

We were pretty impressed by the experience, so on the whole it’s a welcome addition to the area. Whether our limited market can support two Italian restaurants is a different matter.

Took a quick walk through Butterfly Walk afterwards, and saw that another two shops have closed/are closing. That leaves about five empty units in there, which is a scandalous situation for what should be the prime shopping area. Something is not right there.

Then into the Hermit’s for a pint of Westons and a read of the paper in front of the roaring-effect fire. I like the Hermit’s scruffy charm, although I rarely go there because it’s marginally out of easy walking distance. With all the bars and gastros around, it’s nice to have a no-frills boozer as an option.

But did I really see a statuette of an old lady holding what seems to be, from a distance, a large — *ahem* — penis? Can any regulars confirm that, or was it just a product of my over-active imagination?

Finally, the Camberwell Grove railway bridge gets its own comment piece in The Guardian today.

The Montpelier of England

The Grove, which is one of the principal ornaments of the neighbourhood, is a delightfully embowered walk, nearly half a mile in length, having a gradual ascent from Peckham Road. The view from the summit is extensive, rural and picturesque… The air around here is genial and invigorating: Dr Lettsom, the celebrated physician and botanist, used to designate this place and its immediate neighbourhood as the Montpelier of England.

Pigot’s New Commercial Directory for 1823–1824

I found this description of Camberwell Grove in Gillian Tindall’s The House by the Thames, which is a fascinating history of Bankside and Southwark. I thought it rather timely with the recent kerfuffle about the opening of the railway bridge.

The celebrated physician and botanist’s name lives on in the area in the gated gardens and a housing estate.

The book goes on to say:

By the later part of the nineteenth century the whole district was built up, an embodiment of the phrase ‘urban sprawl’, becoming more crowded and insalubrious as rows of smaller houses were squeezed in between the existing streets.

So it’s not just post-war planning which has done for the area.

I went to the Museum of London at the weekend, and they have a pretty extensive array of local history books. Only one on Southwark, however, and that one featured no mention of Camberwell. Since Wordsworth shut down, where are we to find books on local history?