Weekend Festival Highlights
Written by Melanie | Filed under Art, Events, Guest Author
Greetings once again dear readers. I bring you information about what’s hot and happening in the Camberwell Arts Festival this weekend.
On Friday you’ll be spoilt for choice. Local artist Steven Appleby will be offering an insight into the extraordinary world of one of the country’s leading cartoonists. Stephen is a regular contributor to The Guardian, and has published books such as ‘Steven Appleby’s Normal Life’ & ‘The Secret Thoughts of Cats’. You can catch him at the Library at 7pm. Meanwhile, at 8pm on the Green, the Scratch Choir of random passing souls will perform the songs they’ve been practising over the course of the week. The songs all have a connection to Camberwell in one way or another, apparently. And for the keen photographers out there — we know who you are — your challenge is to ‘Shoot Your Own Damn Festival’ — the results can be displayed at the Arts Bar.
Saturday and Sunday bring the famous Open Studios — all the artists who are squirreled away in Camberwell’s nooks and crannies all year round, throw open their doors and invite you in to take a peek at their work. They might even offer you a glass of wine and a canape. Hell, they might even sell you some of their work. There are studios all over Camberwell, in collective buildings like Vanguard Court, or in the artists’ own homes. Check out the names and addresses on the Camberwell Arts website (http://www.camberwellarts.org.uk/). And if you’re a little shy and prefer to travel in a pack, a tour of some of the open studios will be meeting at Vanguard Court at 3pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile on the Green on Saturday will be Camberwell’s first Arts and Crafts Market. Organised by Camberwell Community Council this could become a regular event if well supported. Whilst you’re there it’s the last chance to enjoy the Camberwell Piano — there’ll be an All-Comers concert at 12noon, and then a stripping down of the thing to find new ways to play it at 2pm. At the same time, in Butterfly Walk, deaf performance artist Aaron Williamson will be busking, but with a twist — he’ll give money to anyone who stops and listens (only 5p mind)! Saturday night brings Wet Sounds at the Swimming Pool — an evening of underwater entertainment which invites you to float or dive through water to hear a collection of especially made sound art.
Come Sunday it’s wind-down time, and there’ll be an artist’s encampment on Camberwell Green. More than 40 artists will be coming and going, creating art works, giving performances and leading interactive activities. In the tradition of the historic Camberwell fair, the event will end with a puppet fight — Puppet Wars. And then we can all go home.
More details and information about times and locations can be found at http://www.camberwellarts.org.uk/.
I was a little late in publishing this; my apologies.
Off-topic (but then, isn’t almost everything?): Getting reports that The Castle is boarded up. Anyone heard about this?
Someone had panelled in the windows with some kind of airborne missiles (bottles?) in the wee hours. My housemate said the the police were milling around this morning.
TBH, is was probably one or more of their morlock–like Saturday night clientelle, post ejection.
It may have been he last throw of Arts Week. They say round here that you can’t throw a bottle out of a pub without hitting an artist. Well, maybe some artist threw some bottles at a pub as an intervention or some such — maybe their practice is a serial, crosstransferational creative use of spatial and aerial sensational paramental ludic trajectorial smithereen-based glassware project.
There’s a great picture of the Camberwell Beauty on the cover of the latest issue of Smoke magazine, http://home2.btconnect.com/smoke/index.htm
Where is this mosaic?
According to ED Forum The Silver Buckle has shut down.
Please tell me this is a joke..
Am looking to rent a car for a week. Alamo and Hertz near Oval seem the closest options. Can anyone pick a winner? Any other recommendations?
@Genfink: This is on the side of the old public baths and library on Wells Way;
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=se5+8nf&sll=53.981935,-4.042969&sspn=21.679198,40.341797&ie=UTF8&ll=51.482412,-0.085562&spn=0.001395,0.002462&t=h&z=19
@Alan Dale: No joke, sorry. Was discussed here in the comments of the previous post.
Oh dear.
Thanks.
@Peter, thank you, there is so much more in this area for me to discover!
IN my dreams; one day I would have a drink at the Silver Buckle with Alan Dale then we’d get a take away from one of those terrifying places further down Church Street and I would feel like I’d been baptised, again.
@Phil G
Don’t hire a car! If there are businesses with sharper practices I’ve yet to come across one (OK, if Mark’s listening, maybe Pubcos)
Join Streetcar and pick-up one of many around Camberwell (Alan Dale Close, Denmark Hill, Denmark Road, to name but a few). Been a member now for a year or more and it works for me.
In my experience Streetcar can be expensive if you are hiring it by the week — they are great for day or hourly hires but cant usually compete with the longer hire website deals of car hire companies.
Other options at Oval include Avis, National and eSixt — check out their websites for the latest offers.
Yeah, I’m loathe to do it. Seems like a rip-off and a way to get into loads of hidden charges. No choice though since I sold my car last year. I went with Alamo at Oval/Kennington in the end. I will report back.
Sixt seem to be a bit less convenient for me as they’re at Battersea. Q a clear website though — unlike some of the others.
Streetcar is v interesting. My neighbour recommends it. Mumu is right, it doesn’t really work out for a week’s hire but I am considering joining it for shopping / weekend jaunts etc.
Streetcar sent me an email saying how they’d reduced their weekly rates and gave an illustration of how they were (probably read “could be”) cheaper than Avis etc.
Anyone able to clarify how the Castle’s windows got piled in? There’s talk that it was gunshots. Surprise, surprise.
PhilG — if Alamo is based at Vauxhall (like Hertz and Sixt), be aware that the first time you’ll drive the car it will be into the giratory system round the bus station, which can be pretty nasty. If you can, time your pick up and drop off to avoid the worst of the traffic, so while you’re getting used to the car there isn’t someone right up your backside. Alternatively adopt the white man van approach and take no prisoners!
@yak: The white man van? That’s a bit racist, isn’t it?
@Peter: hee hee! Or an attack of computer dyslexia…
Cheers Yak. Damn I forgot about the Sixt at Vauxhall, I only saw the Battersea one on their site. Ah well. Alamo was cheaper.
On an earlier thread, there’s an interesting special supplement in The Economist called the “end of retirement”.
On the housing market — I know a few people flathunting in SE5 and SE22 and stuff is moving very fast. My mate sold his house in Loughborough J quickly and there was a bidding war for it. Another mate had 10 viewings in a few days, and 3 offers.
Happy days are here again. Vote Labour!
Yes, indeedy, here we go again! Get ready for the ‘W’ recesssion.
For some reason my previous post didn’t go through. I blame it on being dopey. Was at Wimbledon on that hill (it’s a lot steeper than it looks on telly)for A.M. Esq. and his true brit extravaganza. i.e. almost grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory and giving us all a few heart attacks on the way.
Anyway, enough boasting of my day off.
For some reason, car brokers are often cheaper than booking direct so try someone like
holidayautos.co.uk
or
http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/cheap-car-hire/
or http://www.carrentals.co.uk
By the way if you are going to Spain (and I believe other countries around there) try http://www.hispacar.com By far the cheapest option. I used them all the time when i lived there as it was cheaper than owning a car. To give an example, it cost €35 to rent for a weekend, but €46 to get a return taxi to the airport. A week would be about €50 or €60. These guys are brokers too.
So what are we hoping for to replace the Silver Buckle?
I am hoping they completely gut it out and start selling rugs with pictures of tigers on.
Split it into two and open a betting shop & off-license.
Maybe they could follow the example of Zavvi on Oxford St and keep the old fittings but have have various stalls inside selling cheap clothes and accessories, sort of like an indoor market.
Or maybe a nail bar? Or a yam shop? Or both in one? That’d be what the good people of Camberwell want, right?
@ Mushti — I spoke too soon. The East Coast line is back in state hands.
For some reason renting a car is usually cheaper through a broker such as holidayautos.co.uk or just type cheap car rental into google.
On an aside http://www.hispacar.com if you are ever in Spain and a few other countries. I wish all car rentals were as cheap as them.
Ok so have discovered that when i mention anything to do with car rental it gets put down as spam…why is this…I was only trying to mention a cheap car rental option!
Ideally the Sun and Doves would relocate to the middle of Camberwell.
I expect that the rent on the Buckle is astronomical though.
@Monkeycat: Have rescued your posts from the spam filter; had to reach all the way down inside it, and now I have spam under my fingernails.
Hopefully you won’t be flagged as a persistent spammer (as Chunters is, for some reason), but if you do have trouble posting you could try asking me to register an account. That goes for anyone, by the way.
If posts ever get mislaid, email me at peter@camberwellonline.co.uk and let me know.
Now I am Spamming! Seem to have posted it 5 million times!
Cheers Peter.
The Buckle would be best replaced by a wood oven pizza restaurant.
@Phil G. Now that’s a good idea.
Thanks Alan, it crossed my mind once — moving to the middle of Camberwell — but the location (middle of Camberwell) is potentially more terrifying late at night even than Coldharbour Lane.
I believe Silver Buckle’s rent was £75K. At least it was a few years ago. Could have gone up since.
Greetings all. Slightly off-topic (as usual) — has anyone heard a date for when the new morrisons will open?
Seems to be taking an awfully long time ..
Thanks
It was supposed originally to be opening mid-June but when I passed it yesterday they didnt seem to be very close to finishing — the interior was still empty although they had started to remove the Somerfield graphics from the windows and the Somerfield sign had gone. I guess it is taking longer than they thought
Whilst I am very happy with Camberwell I do feel that the are around the Green could do with rebranding.
The rebirth of the Buckle as S+DII would definitely expedite local gentrification (nb if not regeneration).
That said S+D does pull a mixed crowd. There was a family of about 20 Brazilians drinking outside the Doves with me on Saturday night. Not your usual Converse wearing trendies… they were in the back garden.
Almost forgot the Lesbian tango lessons. What an incredibly strange evening. Well done Mark and Gay-C — I assume that’s you Gay-C running the same sex ents.. apologies if not.
I saw Marie Cool smile. This sublime experience was the pinnacle of my Arts Week. Too hot to say more as yet. Will make enquiries about the Buckle. I wonder if the parish council, the beadle and the constabulary had a hand in its closure. The house took good money. There must be more to this than meets the eye.
@Dagmar; there’s a pubco somewhere behind it. It’s almost always the case when a pub closes.
ON a serious note oh readers. What WOULD work at the Buckle site? Speak out! I have an idea.
Me no expert. But the people behind the East Dulwich Tavern do corners well (Antic?). So booze, food, comedy and rugger. Has it got a garden? Never ventured in myself.
The site is probably too small, but my vote would be for a cinema.
cinema / pizzeria comme la ritzy.
The Buckle was an excellent Buckle. The nearest other such pub was in Grimsby, Glasgow, Dublin or Lagos.
The Golden Grill must be feeling the pinch with the absence of the Buckle and all you can eat Chinese in the same price range.
What’s the big idea Mark?
Will you save the day?
It’s far too small for a cinema. A nicer pub or restaurant. It’s all it can be.
Salsa dance studio? Sex shop with continental style video “cabins”?
Spoke to a nice chirpy chippy at the Morrisons site yesterday. He told me that they are signing off the site next Thursday and that it usually takes to weeks to stock and get the staff ready.
So in 3 weeks time…
Re: Buckle…any decent wood oven pizza restaurant would have my vote…there are a lot of blooming good pubs at the moment anyway, and another will just hurt my liver and bank account far too much!
A small cinema would be great too… how about a cinema / bar?
I thought someone posted up ages ago that when Safeways closed it was going to be for 3 months, so by that reckoning, it should be open at the beginning of August.
By the way, does anyone play tennis? My usual tennis partner is away for the summer…
I can only play a few sets at a time at the mo cos I sprained my ankle and have only just started playing again…
Do people live above the Buckle?
Maybe it could be a bloody awful five floor super club like On Anon.
@southmark
Somerfield was scheduled to reopen as Morrisons mid June. The Somerfield in central Croydon (same size) closed on the same day as the Camberwell one and reopened as a Waitrose within 6 weeks. It all depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of the new owner; clearly Waitrose are in a different class.
re: Silver Buckle, unfortunately there’s no garden as it backs on to the delivery area for Butterfly Walk (though there is a small smoking area behind the fruit stall). A pizza place would be excellent, though a Pizza Express might be too much to hope for.
How about turning it into a drop-in centre for those with behavioural and/or addiction issues?
No wait, it was that anyway.
How about the Noodels franchise gets extended? Behold the new restaurant: Ryce Town.
Midsummer madness! Phil G cracks good jokes. Then, man rushes into Buckle, “Anyone for tennis?” Old LNER gets nationalised. At this rate, Mandy will be PM by Christmas.
The idea’s kind of open really. And probably not realisable but involves a deal with S&NPE — the freeholders of SB and S&D — and negating debts on S&D in return for taking on SB. A challenging prospect but one, nonetheless, might be worth pursuing because they haven’t got a clue about what they are doing — and WE know what Camberwell needs.
Don’t we?
I believe that you do.
It’s a brilliant idea. You could turn that corner into a money factory and revitalise the town.
Just needs what you already have in CH Lane but in this more prominent location.
Wor Harriet on Question Time last night. Didn’t do too well in the bit I saw, but it’s a tough job answering for ID cards, trains, everything.
I see our two castles are for sale:
http://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/Castle-SE5-0ED-Freehold-Pub-Camberwell-For-sale.aspx
http://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/The-Castle-Pub-Camberwell-London-For-Sale.aspx
“Camberwell is an affluent and vibrant south London suburb with expensive housing stocks. ”
That freehold price for the Castlemeade Castle is a JOKE. It came on the market at £1.25mill a couple of years ago. £150K would be nearer realistic.
The Church Street Castle is like S&D — a tied lease. I think the lease is a lot longer than mine though. Still, hard work to recoup the capital on that.
Once I had the lease on the Castle. Remember Pacific Bar? That was me. Lost about £80K on it and got a CCJ and all sorts of personal debts which took me the best part of a decade to pay off. That was a nice time. Southwark Licensing department had a lot to do with that failure back in the good old days before corruption was weeded out.
Damn, so they’re selling the Castle on Church St.
I was out in SE5 last night. A lot of places looking quiet, especially the restaurants.
Try the Fox on the Hill.
Big Fire at Sceaux Gardens, two dead, many injured. More info on East Dulwich Forum and BBC.
Nasty fire on the Sceaux Gardens Estate — http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8133871.stm
mumu, yes, horrible :S
Started in a stairwell. Recent history of youth trouble. It is grim, very sad. Every kind of attention, assistance and help is thrown at young men and they are still childish. A 3-week-old baby died in the fire. And still the young men will say dey is hard done bah.
on a totally different note, would any of you have any picture frames you don’t need any more?
i’m starting an art project for the residents on our estate in a couple of weeks & need lots & lots of picture frames — if you’ve got any you’d give away for free, give me a shout/drop me a line?
thanks
I despair of young men and how selfish and useless they are without having to be put into chains and beaten.
I watched the progress of the fire yesterday and it was horrendous. It appears to have started in a single flat on the 9/10th floor, but then spread both upwards and downwards, fanned by the wind and the fact that people had their windows open because of the hot weather.
Flats on the 7th to the 12th floors have been burned out and the damage appears very extensive — perhaps 15 or so dwellings. All those below will have been flooded out by the water used to put the flames out. Southwark set up an emergency unit in Bushey Hill Road to place people in temporary homes.
What is really worrying is the fact that the fire spread from one dwelling to another. I’ve seen fires in that block before and these have been contained to their source. This time, not only did it spread upwards, it even spread downwards and jumped across the central lift shaft area to dwellings on the other side of the block.
Awful.
I feel so sad for those who lost their lives and their families of
yesterday in the horrific fire. I feel like I want to do something, but I’m not sure what. I keep looking at my baby girl and thinking there but for the grace of god etc; etc; She will get lots of extra cuddles today.
I heard helicopters overhead yesterday afternoon and didn’t think to try and find out what it was, just got annoyed because they kept waking my little one up from her nap.
Will be taking some flowers over to the estate later today.
@Amanda
That is a really nice sentiment. I’m a bit traumatised from watching it yesterday. I live on Sceaux Gardens and the flats that burned have 4 possible fire exits from each dwelling. Those that died were either trapped on all four exits or overcome by the smoke. 6 people are now dead and there may well be more. I have spent this morning reflecting on how lucky I am and to remind myself of this on a regular basis.
Mushtimushta, I have loads and loads of baby clothes and bottles, cot bedding and other baby things I’d be more than happy to donate if there’s anyone who has a baby and has lost their things either from the fire or the flooding from it being put out, if you know of anyone who might need this stuff or anyone who’s co-ordinating collections or donations please email me and let me know.
*** How can I get my email address to you? Could you get it from Peter with my permission? I don’t want to publish it online.
@Amanda
Again, a brilliant sentiment. I don’t know any of the affected families personally, but I will try and find out if anyone is organising things of this sort. The Council and British Red Cross used Welton Hall in Bushey Hill Rd as a reception centre for those living in the block yesterday. I know one of the Housing Officers, so will find out for you if there is an appeal for supplies.
Most of the affected block is empty, with the residents being placed in temporary accommodation.
@Amanda (and all)
Have just spoken to my friend in Southwark Housing. The Council are still using Welton Hall in Bushey Hill Rd (off Peckham Rd). No appeal for supplies or money has been launched yet, but anyone interested could pop along there and speak with those handling the management of the situation. Southwark are themselves supplying emergency clothes, food etc to those affected where they cannot rely on friends or family members, but these supplies are likely to be finite.
i’ve just put it up on people’s republic of southwark
http://www.peoplesrepublicofsouthwark.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:sceaux-gardens-fire&catid=2:the-news&Itemid=3
Thank you Mushtimushta.
I’ll go over there when my little girl wakes up from her nap. I won’t be able to carry anything over as I’ll have the pram etc; but I can give my address to those managing the situation and find out if there’s anything else I can do. I can’t get the thought of that poor little baby and the other two children out of my head. It’s just awful.
@Alan and ‘what’s the big idea Mark? : http://www.frankxerox.com/aboutFX.html
It’s a terrible shame that Camberwell is famous for its bad news and not much for the good things.
Gonna turn the Buckle into a gingerbread house? Could work..
I have just taken some children’s clothes to the emergency centre — they have some supplies but not loads and were glad to get more. I think they will be grateful for any clothes suitable for this hot weather.