Keep Trade Local

As the UK’s leading small business representative, the Federation of Small Businesses really knows what it’s talking about.

With big business and over-extended mortgagors enjoying multi-billion bailouts it remains puzzling to see some Camberwellers treating equitable infrastructural reform as a subsidy for small business, while attempting to position themselves as champions of local business in SE5.

@sg that’s brilliant, thank you so much

Top 5 things I like about Camberwell
– its promixity to most of central London, by road and buses

- its range of great pubs, including the Castle, Hermits and Sun and Doves

- the friendliness of its residents and shopkeepers

- Brunswick Park

- St Giles Surgery

Top 5 ways me and others could improve Camberwell

- support local businesses wherever we can

- have more community events in our parks

- recycle and freecycle, and don’t leave rubbish on the street

- help neighbours

- can’t think of anything else

Myatt’s Field has more planes than any other park in Camberwell. Me and the youngest Dagmar spent the whole day there. It was heaven. Then we came home.

Liliana, you are a secular angel. Until you know better, until you hear a voice a bit like Michael Jackson’s calling you to some better place, please stay with us in Camberwell.

The idea of this is not so much a campaign group but an umbrella group for all the little campaign groups that there are. Everyone has their own priorities– perfectly reasonably– but there must be some common ones that we all share.

The idea for this group is twofold:

Firstly, to get all these differing factions and interest groups together. Instead of trying to vie for the limited time and attention of officials for their own interests, why not find out if we have common goals and then shout louder together for the same thing, instead of being lots of small buzzings in someone’s ear.

Secondly, to get those who are not involved on the forum or this website, or have little or no idea that such organisations exist. For example younger people, immigrants and those with mental health issues.

These people may also be thinking that organisations like the Camberwell Society can do little for them. And on the face of it, I think they would be right. This is not to say that the society has not done some good work to try and preserve the architecture of Camberwell and improve the local environment but from the evidence of the magazine it hasn’t got that many people from the aforementioned groups…yet. As far as I am aware they are keen to do so and I believe that there is talk of helping in some way with the community garden that is being set up on the D’Enysford Estate behind Camberwell Church Street.

To this end, we would appreciate any help and comments you have on the idea of an umbrella group meeting. We have a few ideas already and I or Liliana will be posting something soon. In the meantime, what are the top 5 things you like about Camberwell (I know it’s already been done but a nice neat list would help) and what are the top 5 ways that both YOU and others could improve Camberwell? (Constructive criticism is better than just saying it’s rubbish, and that “someone” should do something about it).

urbane adj 1 with refined manners; suave; courteous. 2 sophisticated; civilized; elegant.

As it happens, the one member of the society I know is a retired professor of anthropology who did research in the countries now known as the Congo and Tanzania from the 1960s onwards. So she for one might well be up for some African cuisine.

Opposite, the boards are being taken down to reveal St George’s handsome development. Wednesday’s Evening Standard property section had a fine spread selling the benefits of Camberwell and environs, soon to be trained and tubed to the rest of London.

Jenny Eclair’s Warholian face has replaced the Camberwell Beauty as brand logo. Let’s hope she is remunerated for this constant usage.