Christmas events around Camberwell
Written by mumu | Filed under Events
(With apologies to Peter for posting so soon after his magnificent post — I have been planning this for several days!)
There are various Christmas events in and around Camberwell in the next few days which I thought worth highlighting:
(Not strictly in Camberwell I know but nearby) On Friday 10 December 2010, 7:30pm, there is a carol concert including performances of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and Vaughan Williams’ Withers Carol in aid of the Robes homeless shelter at St John the Divine Church, Vassall Road, Kennington, SW9 — more information on the Robes website
On Friday 10 (evening), Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 (12-5pm) December 2010 Clockwork Studios in Southwell Road are holding open days and studio sales — more information on the Studios’ website
Also on Friday 10 (evening preview), Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 (10am-6pm) Empress Mews Studios just off Kenbury Street are holding an art, giftware, craft and design sale — more information on the Kennington blog
On Saturday 11 December 2010 10am onwards there is a Christmas farmers and crafts market with arts and crafts and food stalls together with face painting, choirs and other activities. More details on the Southwark website (at time of writing its a bit vague — there are no location details for example!) — Peoples Republic of Southwark is more definite — it on Camberwell Green
On Sunday 12 December 2010 in Myatt’s Fields Park there is a Christmas market and carol singing — market 2pm onwards, carols from 4 — more information on local Vassall Ward website
On Monday 13 December 2010 at the South London Gallery there is the Camberwell Society Christmas Party, 7:30pm onwards for members — join on the door. Not much information online — see the Society website or the numerous posters dotted around Camberwell
On Friday 17 Decemember 2010 there is candlelit carol singing accompanied by mulled wine, mince pies and chestnuts and short concert by the Pop up Choir 7pm onwards at the Secret Garden on the D’Eynsford estate — see Secret Garden blog for location
If you know of any other Camberwell Christmas events post below!
The Empress Mews studios, SE5 9BT is having a private view on Friday and studio sale Saturday and Sunday 10–6 (four lovely studios selling paintings, china, textiles, wallpaper, and homeware. We met a lovely couple who run one of the East London design companies, Mini Moderns, at a design fair — recommended!)
On Friday 17th December at 7pm the Secret Garden is having an evening of candlelit Carol singing accompanied by mulled wine, mince pies and chestnuts.
There will be a short concert by the Pop Up Choir (www.popupchoir.co.uk), followed by Carols.
The Secret Garden is on the D’Enysford estate. See link for directions: http://deynsfordsecretgarden.blogspot.com
Any money raised from the sale of minced pies will go to help the garden buy more seeds for next year.
New Year’s Eve is a bit further ahead but planning for it is important:
Stay local; come to The Sun and Doves for midnight chimes and bubbly accompanied by the truly magnificent, swinging South London Jazz Orchestra.
http://www.sljo.org.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesunanddoves/5165961179/#/photos/thesunanddoves/5165961179/lightbox/
A note that Burgess Park plans are finally in for approval. I have been both encouraged by the wonderful effort by the Friends of Burgess Park in getting something special, and baffled by the unhelpful, combative stance of the Burgess Park Action Group (basically, in my opinion, a small chorus of people bent on opposing everything). It seems in Camberwell, we are often our own worst enemy. But the Friends Group, much like the Baths Group, has stayed positive, stayed the course and we are seeing real change. Well done to them and shame on those who never saw an opportunity as nothing more than a chance to protest.
More over t’junction end of camberwell — clockwork studios are having open studio days on
Friday 10 December: 6.00 — 9.00pm
Saturday 11 December: 12.00 — 5.00pm
Sunday 12 December: 12.00 — 5.00pm
at
38 Southwell Road
London SE5 9PG
Excellent — Saturday can be studio-hopping day!
Thanks for the contributions — I have incorporated them into the text (well not the S&D new years details — that can wait for the New Year blogpost) — the pleasures of crowd sourcing!
Police got thuggy in town tonight, like the miners’ strike, doing the Conservatives’ dirty work, busting up citizens.
That peaceful anti-second-Iraq war protest was the biggest ever in Britain, but had mild headlines and no graphic images like paint on Prince Charles’s car. He does not hold British state schools, teachers or children in good regard, it must be remembered.
Lyndhurst Primary Winter Fair brought in £4,200, we are told today. A very practically creative, retail-and-festival-aware bunch of Camberwell parents do a lot to get that result.
The money goes towards trips out for the kids — London Zoo and the like. Two coaches for that costs £700.
Some of the money raised may go towards providing window blinds for the school so the kids and teachers don’t get boiled in the summer.
This is how things are. Trips out and window blinds do not get provided for by the government. Isn’t that incredible?
ALL after-school care for children in Southwark whose parents are working beyond school hours — the very people propping up the economy on minimal wages — is being cut from 2012.
People currently aged 1 in our parish are paying for the wealth crash and to bail out the Blair/Cameron, institutional, natural, tribal antipathy towards state children.
As an “icon”, Charles and Camilla sure looked pathetic in their cocoon.
I think the thugs have shown enormous restraint in putting up with a medieval hereditary monarchy for hundreds of years.
When I see pictures on TV of thugs waving their sticks, shouting aggressively and scaring passers-by with their actions, they usually seem to be dressed as Met Officers.
If we don’t put up a fight — They will take it all
The clock is being turned back to the exact point before modern social justice started (1865, more or less)
The last 145 years of death, destruction,facism & genocide have been a result of the determination of the bourgeoise supremacy to make the masses pay for that huge kick in the balls that derailed their highly lucrative gravy train and ensure we regress back to that point in time.
And they are in the home straight — the light at the end of the tunnel is now very much within sight.
What is most concerning is that the perpetrators are even more cynical & extreme than the famous dictators which used to provide a very public focal point for their aggression.
(Hitler,Stalin,Franco,Mussolini etc)
Take your pick!
Now we have political leaders who show great democracy and say all the right words and appear to be reasonable human beings — but the only thing they have the power to change is their underpants.
It’s not even about the invented class system anymore
64% of the population will always believe what they are told by the government and media
35% don’t know the answer to everything but are a hell of a lot more aware than is appreciated
These percentages cut across all classes (Working,Middle and Upper)
The 1% of the anonymous bourgeoise supremacy control the minds of the 64%
That is all they need to do — Simple
We are living in some very dark times, indeed
The pressing need to rise up is all we’ve got left!
re police: they will behave abysmally regardless of which party is in government (see also: jean charles de menezes, ian tomlinson, SOCPA, climate camp searches where crayons are weapons of mass…distraction?!)
one good thing that happened yesterday was that the protest could not be ignored any more and went national, channel 4, bbc, guardian, etc covered it live. some were even reporting the police brutality as it was unravelling.
as someone who’d lived in other countries & experienced other protests and other propagandas, hearing official government/police comments and/or party political blamegames is a major yawn as it’s just not news — in yugoslavia, we had ‘the forces of evil and darkness’ protesting against ‘the good president’ (milosevic) and of course everyone who did not agree was foreign and an enemy.
Can’t stand the po-lice. However, it’s obvious that many of these protestors are hoody kids off the nearby estates looking to run amok.
It’s terrible though, landing young people with that much debt. Really bad.
Just another example of the intergenerational screwover that’s going on.
I can see the students’ anger, but they really need to ask their own lecturers about their very generous pay and pensions. Lots of the fees go there.
All these pretend universities Liebour created don’t help much either. Something’s got to give.
And I could’ve done parts of my degree in half the time, no problem.
Education is most important peacetime government responsibility of all however the way it is paid for needs to change. It cannot be paid for by ALL students and it cannot be universally free as millions exploit the system and don’t value their education pissing it up the wall. At present so many students go to university just to get a ‘degree’ they study a popular subject say Geography and then come out and get a job in the city earning big bucks. Their degree has been paid for by many people who will earn much less than them.
A fair system means rewarding students who go into the vocation which the country paid for them to study – giving back to society. Engineering graduates that go into engineering jobs don’t pay fees and those going into more lucrative careers such as finance do – its as simple as that. At present thousands of our best and brightest from Oxbridge are lured away from poor paying research or education proffesions to jobs in the city.
With a ‘fair’ system you can tailor the degrees on offer giving the graduates the country needs. Those that want to go into more lucrative careers are free to do so but they must then be prepared to pay for their education.
Maybe there is a floor in this plan – but it seems to make sense to me.
As for the police It must be a hellish tough job and like the protesters there will be good and bad cops but it will always be the dark sadistic ones that give the good caring ones a bad name however I strongly believe they should be obliged to be as diverse as the community they are responsible for.
At least there is an iconic photograph now, or ironic photograph. Image, that’s it. Icon. Picture. Pic. Piccie. Since our opposition politicians now speak policy-wonk gibberish, we will have to do with pix.
Until we have a leader.
Who can say.
That nevah.
In the field of human concrete.
Has such muck.
Been throwed.
To such poo.
By so brainy.
Or something like that.
Car accidents seem to have a critical role in national changes of mood in recent years.
Not a dry eye in the house at the Villa Nursery nativity play today. Some star performances. When Mary dropped her baby, an real baby in the audience cried out. Wicked! Excellent piano accompaniment by Mrs Vinyl.
When there is so much tragedy in the world, especially on Coronation Street… it’s nice that… Cliff Richard… John Cage, Gary Glitter, Shane McGowan and the Priests.… tinsel…
In looking for some more information about THIS AFTERNOON’S Christmas Farmer’s Market Fair on Camberwell Green I found this interesting and long ‘untitled document’ called “RARE DOINGS AT CAMBERWELL” with a lot of interesting stuff about Camberwell:
http://www.alphabetthreat.co.uk/pasttense/camberwell.html:
Do not forget New Year’s Eve and the South London JAzz Orchestra at The Sun and Doves
Just delved a bit behind the above Camberwell article. It’s from ‘past tense’ an assemblage of radical history items largely about London. The description heading the article is thus:
• Rare Doings at Camberwell: radicals, subversion and social control: a short tour through Camberwell’s underground history. A wild ramble through London SE5’s murky past, featuring a dubious cast of rowdy fairgoers, proletarian artists, rioting chartists, squatters, feminist authors, mad folk, anti-fascists… and the occasional transexual trotskyist housing officer.
Seems like a description of here and now.
If anyone knows a Sarah Jane Harding who ate in Carravagios last evening at about nine thru ten and had her purse stolen, please tell her it has been handed into Walworth Road Police Station this morning.
There is some very valuable stuff in it.
@Chunters: I’ve put out the message on Twitter as well; hope it finds her.
The Christmas Market is on Camberwell Green now; more information on the Urban Farmers’ Market website.
Fun at the fair
I think it may be mine. What’s in it? One of my noms de plume de ma tante is John Wesley Harding.
The Camberwell Society is having a do on Monday evening at the South London Gallery — you can join at a discount on the door.
The Camberwell Society is great, incredibly gentle and wise but with a great punch when it wants to throw it to protect Camberwell.
You’re being romantic Dagmar; ‘Protect Camberwell’ from what? its interminable slide into ignominy? Get real.
@markd: se5 forum has been russianised again.
and don’t call me shirley
Thanks Lili. More elbow to the grindstone. And by the way, surely you can see I was being serious?
i shirley do/did
x
Camberwell Christmas will not be complete without
’A Camberwell Carol’, play at the Blue Elephant Theatre, brought to you by the Wyndham & Comber Community Play, on for two nights only, 20th and 21st December, 7pm start. Tickets are on sale now at the Blue Elephant Theatre, £4 adults, £2 young people, free for under-5s
One of the Russians was coming online just as I deleted his account. I’m sure the two actions were unrelated.
Camberwell Society: The Society’s objectives, as defined by our constitution, are: to stimulate public interest in Camberwell, to promote high standards of planning and architecture in Camberwell, and to secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of historic or public interest in Camberwell.
And it’s been going since 1970?
Huh?
Definitely going to SLG tomorrow night though, my family membership lapsed a couple of years ago when I was really broke.
Hi Mark,
Why are you trolling about the Camberwell Society again.
SE5 Forum is great but so is the Camberwell Society — they do good things — I don’t understand your dislike? — I know you wish they would do more and you think they just look after a certain ‘patch’ (i disagree) but these are just short comings not a reason for turning people against them.
I should prevent myself from rising to the negative posts but it is sad when the movers and shakers in Camberwell slag each other off especially when in the end we want the same thing — a better place to live and work.
Nick
Nick. It’s not off topic; it’s pertinent. It’s not trolling. Posting the aims of the Society is just posting the aims of the Society. You consider this trolling — WHY? You could easily interpret posting the aims of the society as a promotion of its activities which, of course, is what I intended. Please do inspect the Society’s website and consider what it’s achieved and consider then what forty years of Camberwell Society has done for the area. And rejoice:
http://www.camberwellsociety.org.uk/
Mark, stop being dodgy.
I think, like many people, that you feel that the Camberwell Society is a bit narrow in its remit and is only really concerned with the nicer, fluffier bits of Camberwell. I certainly do. If that’s your belief too then just say so.
Nick, stop being so touchy. You are reacting like a Daily Express reader.
The reality is that both Camberwell Society and SE5 Forum are able to do little that improves the lot of those of us that choose to live and work in Camberwell. It doesn’t mean that either group has the higher moral value, or is the true voice of the people or anything else really.
Now kiss and make up please.
Thanks Uncle Jes.
See you, and Nick I hope, at the Christmas party.
ha — your right Jes — mark knows that i love him really.
What better reason can there to finally leave what has been said and done in the past behind and co-operate to make Camberwell a better place to live in the future — Especially if there is a chance to create a Community Development Trust?
Would it be asking too much to make that a new year’s resolution for 2011?
Come on Camberwell Society…if you finally make the effort to nudge a bit closer then everyone else will do the same in return…I’m not sure anybody else knows how to approach the CS — There is a definite degree of intimidation there…well founded or not
Nick W — Any chance that you may fancy playing peace broker?
Come along, Camberwell. Old Dodds just had a bit of the country-and-westerns: “It’s four in the morning and once more the dawning has woke up the wanting in me…”
To post past 2am is always a dicey roll of the roulette wheel or a to-hell-with-it pull on the one-armed bandit of emotions. Chunck! chunck! chunck! Three maudlins!
Me and Elton John are working on a musical about a jazz club in the crypt of a church — a basement where normally the bodies of posh people are hung out to dry — you open the cupboard doors down there and there they are grinning pretty jolly, hey!
Anyway, the storyline goes that the jazz club — for the wild and free music of the slaves, directly below the house of the uptight Christians — is taken over after many years by a huge corporate corporation intent on selling product. What happens next?
It is the first ever musical with pure jazz — fabulous tenor sax solos, Elton on piano.
Old Sharon doesn’t know he’s composing the base tunes yet or is involved at all — I will just send him the lyrics bashed out on scraps of paper on an old typewriter. He’ll know what to do with them.
What’s the word from the Camberwell Society do at the SLG?
Mid 19th Century, the National Gallery was where working-class people went to see the classic art. Towards the end of the century, however, when places like Camberwell were being heavily built up and populated, the workers’ art education and training was being furthered by the new galleries like the Whitechapel and South London.
The Camberwell Society is a jewel in our flat cap, like Dulwich Hamlet, the nearby Dulwich Picture Gallery, Lucas Gardens, the Town Hall, the Hermits Cave, Noddles City or the 99p shop.
Did anyone make it down to the farmers’ market last weekend? It was a delight: great stalls, and mobbed with people of all sorts. A proper Camberwell representation. I really hope that this becomes a regular thing. Camberwellians seem ready for it!
Missed it. But I am after some ethically produced and marketed Christmas presents. Handmade jewellery, organic cotton T-Shirts…that kind of thing. Any ideas locally?
The poundshop doesn’t count. You just know someone in China or Vietnam suffered plastic poisoning producing that junk.
The Christmas Farmers’ Market: http://bit.ly/hbzjrP
Camberwell Society Flat Cap Do: http://bit.ly/hVc04M
More farmers’ market days will be on, likely from March 2011, once a month. Possibly. It was good to see The Tiger busy on Saturday afternoon with a good mix of people.
Camberwell Society’s Christmas party was good natured, good fun and in a great venue. They should aim to make next year’s do much bigger with a lot longer promoting in advance. Adam Woodward did a great job of organising it. Well done Adam. I didn’t see Nick W so let’s catch up somewhere else eh Nick? Oh and Jes couldn’t make it. Shame on you Jesabelle.
You really should see in New Year’s Eve at The Sun and Doves if you’ve never done it before… This year will be the BEST! With South London Jazz Orchestra blowing and swinging in the New Year with Glen Miller classics to dance to if you’re In The Mood… a lot of family friendly fun, dancing with mulled wine, stollen and bubbly with Big Ben in the background.
Oh God, so listen, Mark. Da Camberwell Society need to get real, right?
Maybe they want a musical done about themselves composed by Elton John? He will do it for me. What’s the story, though?
Got it.
Camberwell Society hold their next do in the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
The whole of Camberwell then gets bought by Russian oligarchs and gasilarchs or just in in for a larks.
They pump millions — in gas alone — into Millwall, who are den ver new all-UK national team for the Qatar World Cup.
No-one likes it. But the Russians don’t care.
I like The Tiger — It’s the best new/old addition to Camberwell this year…
It’s a lovely place to drop into after work…The food is simple and traditional pub grub done quite well — The building facade has been painted and the ceramic tiles tidied up too.
See what happens when somebody goes out of their way to make an effort?
Me like
Exactly, Euse. Normally after Camberwell Society meetings, many members used to go to the Hermits Cave. But a few of us mature ladies used to escape to the old Buckle and dance to the hi-life. There was no need for our husbands to know. They were too busy in court — one way or another!
@Gabe
have you checked out brixton village market? lots of new shops there specialising in ethical, local and recycled
fashion, jewelery, furniture…
http://spacemakers.org.uk/brixton/shops/
Yea sorry didn’t go to the CS christmas party. I was feeling rough and couldn’t afford the £8 — also not really my thing. Went to the Christmas farmers market on the green which I thought was great. Also went to the Open Studios at Clockwork Studios which was interesting. I would love to get to look in the tall wearhouse building next door. You can just see inside it from the train on the approach to Denmark Hill Station from the west.
SE freezing. First the Russians buy football with their spare change, then they take over Camberwell. Still, a lot of Russians are really warm.
The bin outside is frozed shut. Inside is warm. My laptop has had Vista reinstalled in error. This is annoying. This is Camberwell. Vista in all its glory. And it’s not 2am.
Chairinthesky, nice one. Haven’t been that way for a long time.
Went to FM Mangal again a couple of nights ago. Excellent as always.
Went to the Tiger last night. Very busy.
I think Camberwell is quite run down and filled with charlatons, low lives and less decent people (I appreciate the decent residents folks whom try to make things better and end up getting put down by scumbags in the area from time-to-time). The area needs vamping up and a character change.Most people are miserable,negative and narrow-minded and some are trying get by positively!The Shops and transport are accessible but most people walking by, are filled with negativity! Especially that blabber mouth [[Redacted by Peter]] who can’t keep his trap shut!Instead of helping the Community he just spread vicious comments and untrue statements about people…by the way, I know Camberwell has a lot to offer but we have to work as a Community to make the area look better.We have a lot of history and we were once part of the county of Surrey and we use to be a provider of spring water in Camberwell Grove. The Well is blocked due to Industrialisation…we have talented art students from the Art College, Musicians and wildlife plus commerce…regeneration, should also start in Camberwell.
@Voicer — I removed the name of someone from your comment as I thought it could be potentially libellous, and I won’t be responsible for that.
Who was it? Pete, you’re such a tease!
It’s a nice thought, Voicer, that we used to provide spring water. It would be great if there was a new bottling plant with profits going back into the community. Everyone round here would drink it. The pubs would sell nothing else!
We used to be part of Surrey! Wow! I might start telling people that. No surprise that Surrey cut us off, wrote us out of their will.
The home of Surrey County Cricket Club is The Oval Cricket Ground
Blabber Mouth. Sorry I mean Voicer — what ARE you on about? Get out and DO something instead of blabbering on like that.
Camber is currently Unwell
I’m rather confused by the Nikki Hebert comment above because I wrote and posted it and I have no idea who Nikki Hebert is
@Voicer: this is not a Camberwell I recognise.
I see a community that has a lot of fun and works together, with the occasional nutter running around and a few mighty fine places to eat.
Ah! The Nikki Hebert comment was spam; repeated a previous comment, but with a link to a spam website as the author. Well spotted, J Mark.
Estate agents are going to start badging the place up as ‘Old Surrey’ before we know it.
New Camberwell Green.
I confess I almost always carry a camera with me. This has resulted in my being described as being ‘definitely in the autistic spectrum’ by my nearest and dearest who then tells me ‘you have no sense of humour’ when I don’t find this remotely amusing.
Many times I put this little picture takey thing on my belt and think “not very likely to come across anything interesting just going to get a pint of milk but hey, you never know”.
So this morning I happened by Wyndham & Comber Estate on Wyndham Road and cast a glance at the Jessie Duffet Hall and the forecourt/piazza in front of the building where I have, on occasion (http://www.flickr.com/photos/markdodds/288932378/#/photos/markdodds/288932378/lightbox/), been for a tipple and a sausage roll or two at a birthday party or Christening… and BEHOLD from the street level I saw what looked like two huge overblown tubular draught excluders curled up on the ground. I stopped, I turned, I gasped a gasp of incomprehension and another of disbelief, I pulled my camera out of its holster and snapped away. Here you are: feast your eyes on this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markdodds/sets/72157625627503543/with/5326364307/
Can anyone tell me anything about this marvellous, interesting, no doubt expensive and apparently pointless decoration of the estate?
Isn’t it obvious? It’s… erm…
the big colourful things are seating. and decking platforms which are for stuff. there is light underneath the decking but to be honest i still haven’t seen it at night — i think there’s other external lighting which may ruin the effect a bit but don’t quote me as i really can’t remember. and yes it was expensive and got to be more and more and more expensive as years went by (it took some 3 years altogether i think) and then they never removed all of the big squarey things which i can’t remember the word for and which were blocking the area & making it dangerous. there’s lots more which could be done there though
happy new year everyone
x
Hi all,
J Mark Dodd, we excercise freedom of speech in this Country.I do not share your Communist mindset!!
Please view weblinks about the History of Camberwell.
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200130/camberwell/288/camberwell-the_people/1
http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-507126-the-platanes-now-king-s-college-hall-cam
http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-290455.html
Big up to Prince Camber (Bronze age King).
Yes, Camberwell is ‘unwell’ but it can get better. There should be more Commercial projects in the area…there are too many Drunks, snowballers, hookers in Camberwell Green park at night! Also, the daytime is no good as well.Camberwell should be cleaned up plus more money should be spent on Community projects.
I don’t like Camberwell referred as a ‘bad-breed’ area!We know for sure, half of the Residents are not ‘bad-breeds.’
I appreciate some of the Locals taking pictures here and far.Good thinking.
Maybe a ‘Well’ and ‘Prince Camber’ as symbols of Camberwell would do the trick, as people enter into Camberwell???
Any suggestions???
Look forward to your comments.
OK, let’s go, allons-y.
What about a tanning salon like “Sunaholic” off the Walworth Road? Ours could have a slogan like, “Get as bronzed as Prince Camber!”
There is a tanning salon near Bellingham with the promise, “Ladies tanning room upstairs.” This has always appealed to me very much.
What about a complete rebrand. “Welcome to Nor’ Nor’ East Dulwich, Home of Women so Tanned They Look Like Kippers.”
Is Camberwell unwell? Only if we say so.
“Well, well, Camberwell,” is much more on the money.
ah, that was spot on. there’s too much communism on this blog. down with that sort of thing!
@Peter, re Wyndham and Comber, exactly.
@Lili, much as I thought.
@Voicer — to which country exactly are you referring? And why do you have the (wrong) impression that I have a Communist mindset? And I’d appreciate your saying what’s the point you’re making with those links.
Maybe you and I are on a similar tack about Camberwell but as I can’t express myself very well the matter remains confused.
Saw Jeremy Bowen, who’s at this moment commenting on R4 about Tunisia, this morning wearing a red track suit jogging across Denmark Hill into Ruskin Park. It made my morning. I look forward to my afternoon being made at the Den with my boys and uncle Jes and Mickey.
@mark: glad you understood it
x
Last week BBC Radio 4 had Camberwell’s Jeremy Bowen reporting on the Bekaa Valley vineyards in the Lebanon, Camberwell’s Jenny Eclair with the second series of her older mother comedy every day plus repeat in the evening and Camberwell’s Stella Duffy reviewing the film Blue Valentine on Front Row — well done Stella!
Millwall had a scare today with Priskin the Hungarian scoring the first goal, for Ipswich, but the Wall came back and Morison got the winner — he is very handy.
Soon Millwall may be in the Premier League, which means than many moneyed fans will come seeking the Samarkand that is held in awe throughout the land and called Camberwell.
Jeremy Bowen,Jenny Eclair, Stella Duffy are not bred in Camberwell therefore they should not be classed as ‘Hometown Heros’ but I appreciate what they do.
Prince Kamber is a Hometown Hero.Henry Bessemer is a hometown hero as far as I know.Not to be rude, I do not see any blue plaques at the moment (where famous people once lived) in Camberwell unlike Walworth and Brixton.
A few blue plaques are around. But not many:
Chamberlain, Joseph (1836–1914)
Statesman, lived here.
188 Camberwell Grove, SE5
Southwark 1920
I’m pretty sure there’s one on Dr Lettsom’s house next to Lettsome Gardens.
Thinking on the ‘Home Town Heroes’ tack, what IS a home town hero?
Someone who was born in ‘your town’ who did something heroic — ‘somewhere’ — or someone who was born in ‘your town’ who did something heroic specifically in ‘your town’?
Camberwell’s Choc A Bloc with history and of people having done famous or very important things while they lived or worked here. Nothing has changed, it’s still happening.
There’s also a blue plaque on Brunswick Park to Una Marson, a black lady who worked at the BBC — http://www.international-womens-month.com/news/una-marson.html. It’s not clear from this link why, as it says she lived in Peckham with the famous Dr Moody. Stupidly I didn’t take a picture when I first saw it…
Actually have now found Southwark’s official list of Camberwell Blue Plaques: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/1227/blue_plaques_and_locations-camberwell
There are only two here — it doesn’t include the more historical ones like Chamberlain and Lettsom, presumably because they’re too bourgeois…
On the more ironic end, there’s a Blue Plaque on the Coldharbour Lane side of the railway bridge over Denmark Road which says something like ‘This Plaque placed here on 7th June 2009′ or something, but without it appearing to commemorate anything at all.
On the subject of developments, I’ve been hunting down information on the building site on Camberwell New Road opposite the Black Sheep pub.
It was designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects and was ‘expected to start on-site in mid-2009′ — which it has done. http://www.cartwrightpickard.com/news/cartwright-pickard-leads-elephant-and-castle-regeneration
For some reason they call the area ‘Newington South’ — which I’ve never heard as a designation before — rather than Camberwell or Kennington (both closer than the old village of Newington, which most people now know as Elephant & Castle).
There will be 107 apartments and 6 houses, almost all of them affordable dwellings run by Wandle Housing Association.
The heating engineers responsible for the eco-friendly biomass plant that will heat the flats also have some information: http://www.whiteassociates.co.uk/projects/camberwell-new-road
Muriel Spark wrote The prime of Miss jean Brodie in Baldwin Crescent. I think there should definitely be a blue plaque there.…
Voicer, do you have access to the internet? There’s a lot about old Bessemer on the web! He was born and grew up in Charlton, not Camberwell.
Charlton in Hertfordshire, that is, now a part of Hitchin.
He retired to Camberwell to live in the Denmark Hill part of the luxe Dulwich Estate — very grand. He bought the house when he was 50 and moved in much later when it had been extended to include an astronomical observatory — massive thing. The place was demolished in 1947, pity.
His dad was an inventor, too, and went to live in a place called France where he worked until he had to return to escape the chop — the guillotine.
But he had made enough to buy a small estate in Charlton, HERTFORDSHIRE.
Interestingly enough — keep up, Voicer! — interestingly enough, Guillotin was a French doctor who wanted to abolish the death penalty altogether.
He sat on a committee about how best to execute people during the Terror — tu connais? — but only advised on what was humane. His family later changed their name because they HATED being associated with the guillotine.
Amazing, eh?
My advice is, when you see couple of our Camberwell Ivoreans babbling away in French, say to them “Ta guele! Tu veux le guillotin, quoi?” and see how you get on.
Also.…
[Hours later… cobwebs hang from the screen…]
… blue plaque in Denman Road, almost next door to the old Denman Arms. Sir Alan Cobham — proper Camberwell chap — was the famous aviator who attended Wilson’s Grammar School which amazingly relocated to the site of Croydon Airport in 1975 which is exactly where Sir Alan ran his airline to the Channel Islands before… amazing aerial exploits… the great but strange John Ruskin… pubic hair… Robert Browning — hang on — my time’s expired.
Rats!
I am pretty sure that a future Camberwell Plaque will honour…
Camila Batmanghelidjh
Oh yes, As the kids like to say around here — props are due!
On the subject of JAZZ, last Friday’s gig at Camberwell Crypt Jazz Club kicked off the New Year to a buzzingly packed night with Adam Glasser Quintet; vibey mellow music led by Adam on harmonica with Roger Beaujolais on the vibraphone…
Coming up this Friday 21st we have the wonderful “World Service Project” who have just won the 2010 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award. And if that isn’t enough, on the 28th the most hotly tipped by the Mercury Music Awards band the Kairos 4tet, fresh out of the studio from recording their second album.
Recommended Everywhere. And also here.
There’s a lot afoot in the planning undergrowth locally.
Just posted a map of the big Camberwell building developments over on the SE5 forum: http://www.se5forum.org/forum/index.php?topic=1836.0
@NickW — Nice work! Is there a higher-res version available anywhere?
Good beer in Hoopers at the moment.
The atmosphere in that pub is much improved since the current manager took charge.
Could do with reviewing the table arrangement but that’s a relatively minor criticism..
@Alan Dale — I’ve never been to Hoopers (never been inside, at any rate). I’ll change that shortly.
Great. Be sure to let me know your thoughts.
There is a back room with the old ‘Ivanhoe’ pub sign on the wall. Be sure to take a look..
Two ‘be sure’s to be sure.
Two be sure two be sure. I spend quite a lot of time in Hoopers since the George Canning closed. You know, since the George Canning CLOSED — before the pubco spent £140K on making it into a better, more relevant pub. Before the last three tenants lost their shirt on it. You know, the last time it was busy even though it needed a load of money spending on it to make it a better, more relevant pub.
Anyway Hoopers is where we plot a lot of our Fair Pint stuff and other highly secretive plans. I only sip the beer for tasting because of habit I don’t drink beer but I’ve tasted some pretty impressive cask ales — a grapefruit juice and lime overtone tasting stout was one. Amazing.
Nick, the manager at Hooper’s, is good at his job. Neither Jamie Hooper, the owner, nor Nick, appear to know much about wine. Hooper’s wines are consistently not nice. Not off, not corked, not badly kept; Just not nice wines.
I keep meaning to point this out to them and to offer support but as consistently as the wine is not nice, I forget. I drank tap water the last time I was there.
I can well vouch for Hoopers. Good place to watch the Six Nations and hold forth. Nice pies too. And the walk home is downhill for most of us, which is a good thing
I agree with the Hoopers comment. Was in there friday night and there was a great atmosphere with an Irish folk band playing away.
Much use of the em dash — well, I think that’s what it’s called — in your last post Dagmar. Not that I’m complaining — how rude that would be! — it’s just I’ve never understood that punctuation properly.
Other than the Joiners — and excluding the one at the top of Shenley Road — which other pubs in Camberwell have a pool table?
Oh yes, we went to the Arts Against Cuts thing at the art school.
A little intellectual for us. Dude with a slide set giving a preso on the use of protest posters in Paris in ’69. That kind of thing. And meetings.
We liked the sculpture left out in the yard from earlier, more affluent days. Various types of, erm, transport — possibly with an eco-theme. A moveable greenhouse. A transit van with no engine converted into something that looked pretty cool.
The New Gallery on Peckham Road had a jumble sale. Very hipstery. I like that vibe even if hipsters aren’t hip any more.
Mixed reaction to the SLG exhibit. Video stuff. Our eldest didn’t like it, apart from the film projectors, which *are* interesting. I’m waiting to see what the critics think before deciding. Still think that place could use some actual energy in the art it shows and something a bit more extrovert and positive than what it has been serving up. It’s all a bit introspective and not really of our times.
Peckham Road was backed up for miles due to roadworks. It meant you could actually get across without risking your life. How progressive. Might stick that in my submission to the planning officials.
@Gabe — Why exclude The Cadeleigh at the top of Shenley Road? That’s my local, and a great pub.
By a feat of sheer convenience, it’s ended up that the football squad Christmas night out will be a pub crawl around Camberwell this February.
Not sure we’d blend in at The Cadleigh. On second thoughts…
Also, need to find somewhere for a dozen or so people to eat before the pub. It’s tricky because several of us are vegetarian, one is vegan, one has a beard, and some are McDonalds types (well not that bad, but you get the idea).
Suggestions?
“Portuguese travel magazine has a 14-page article on visiting Peckham & Camberwell!” wow this is so cool — makes this area look great — nice photos (skip to page 54). Where did you hear about that Peter? http://issuu.com/revistas-blue/docs/blue_travel_84
I saw it on the Twitter stream of Persia in Peckham — no idea how they heard about it.
Amazing on the Portuguese mag. Who’d have thought it. Is that The Cambria that they’re calling Peckham though? Mustn’t quibble.
V interested in Hoopers. Not too far from me. Must try it some day.
I know The Cadeleigh too but haven’t been in a long time.
Yeah, they call it Peckham but it covers Camberwell too. If I’m at a loose end (not likely) I may translate it for you all.
Nick W
Good find…Er… were you involved in some of the photos?
Minor quibble — The correct title should have been Camberwell & Peckham
Nevermind
Peter — I am able to translate too…if somebody is desperate enough!
Nick W, thank you for posting Portuguese travel magazine.Despite my limited Portuguese lingo, they showed more ‘white people’ when in fact, Camberwell and Peckham are diverse Communities.They should have asked J Mark Dodds for some pics…
Thanks but the credit has to go to Peter — he saw it on the Twitter stream of Persia in Peckham.
Peckham, the perfect place for a minibreak.
My folks visited just after Xmas and that kid was shot in the Pelican estate. The next day a street or so away and there were police, TV crews, the lot. Later on we saw it on the main news.
That night there was a major swoop by the bizzies on a flat in my street at 4am. The shouting woke me up. Cars and cars of coppers hauling away hoodies, and nearby a van full of brooding, overpaid, skinheaded, low IQ plod.
Peckham, come visit.
Thanks for the pointer to my pics Voicer, I tend to shy away from people pics — don’t like to poke my camera into other people’s lives, although that is something I’m working on getting over…
ON pics though HERE is the blue plaque at the end of Camberwell Station Road
And HERE is the trasit van at Wilson’s Road annexe car park that Gabe mentions above.
Camberwell and Peckham in a Portuguese language publication. Who’d Adam and Eve it? Imagine there’s a lot of appreciative natives on the ground here though eh?
There’s a meeting of the southwark planning committee tonight. They will be discussing the changes to the internal structure at the bingo hall. I sent a rather rushed letter to councillors saying why I object (mainly because they haven’t done a very good job of the lobby and it was subject to them getting permission for change of use). You can see it at http://www.camberwellvillagehall.com
Here’s another culinary expose. Been wondering about PASHA for a long time.
Pasha’s quite popular at the moment as it’s on the Groupon discount site, so there are lots of bewildered bargain hunters travelling by Tube and bus to end up in the Walworth / Camberwell borderlands wondering what the hell they’ve let themselves in for.
We went for the hammam and meal combo. Never realised it but there’s a ‘spa’ function here and it could be OK for massages etc. The hammam is a nice idea and they’ve put some money into it, but it also smelled of damp and mould, and the changing area was a bit odd. It was like a steam room at a gym, but not as hot. Q authentic though with its marbled walls and floor. I’ve been to them in Morocco and Turkey but didn’t really like this one. Couldn’t really recommend it.
Then through to the restaurant at the back of the building. Interesting seating choices: tables and chairs, or rugs, cushions and low tables. The whole point of coming was to try Central Asian / Kazakh fare but very few dishes on the menu seemed to cover that. Most of it seemed Turkish, and I suspect you’d get better Turkish elsewhere.
Our group tried the fixed Kazakh menu. Uninspiring salads mix for starters. Potato salad, some beetroot in a salad cream type sauce, some spam ham bits, some OK rice noodles. Filling and straightforward, but unremarkable. Mains were dumplings and pilav rice with lamb. The dumplings were similar to the Chinese ones you can get in Silk Rd but much bigger and not as tasty. A big lump of unseasoned mince inside. Not good at all really. The Pilav (plov they call it) was much better, especially if you like lamb. Light, fragrant, not too greasy. The meat was tender. It could’ve used some sauce or a more generous side salad. Dessert was some rice crispie like cake thing with honey and raisins.
Overall, the food was disappointing and I definitely wouldn’t return for it. People on this site have suggested otherwise, but in my view Pasha is certainly not up there with either Camberwell’s finer dining options (Ganapati, The Bear before standards dropped) or its cheaper but flavoursome places like Wuli Wuli, Silk Rd, Mangal etc.
However, it was very ‘different’ and is one of those London cultural experiences where you’re happy to let standards slide for an evening as long as it’s sufficiently different. There were a few Russian speaking diners boosting the whole Steppe vibe, and there was also some funky Kazakh muzak going on, so it wasn’t all bad. Glad we tried it anyway.
ps. Note now that Johannsons is serving dinner.
Nice pic mark. That ex-Transit would be great at a festival or outdoor rave.
First blossoms are out on our street. A cherry tree, I think. And the daffodils are poking through.
@Phil G — Agree with you that the food is unremarkable, but it was a proper Central Asian party the night we went which made it very memorable.
Thanks for the pic of that Blue Plaque on Camberwell Station Rd, Mark — can’t imagine who’s idea that was but all part of the sometimes surreal fabric of London (like the other photo!).
I’m curious about Phil’s comment re the Bear — when did standards drop, in your view?
Wish I could read that article in Spanish, though judging by the photos I’m somewhat appalled by what a white-wash it was. I guess the tourist industry only wants ethnic when it goes with exotic climes and sun and sea. Hardly proper journalism, though.
A friend had lunch at the Bear last Saturday. She was disappointed with the stew with chorizo which was flavourless and dry and expensive and presented badly i.e. it looked unappetising on the plate.
I sent in a note to the councillors about the back application for internal work at the bingo hall — pointing out that it is ILLEGAL to do this and that officers seem to be labouring under the belief that the place ‘has remained vacant for a number of years following cessation of the Bingo Hall’ when it only ceased trading because it was sold to the new owners who intended to change its use without taking into account caveat emptor. BUYER BEWARE. The buyers are not being aware, they just think they can do whatever they like with impunity.
J Mark Dodds
The Bingo Hall closed for business on the 2nd last weekend of February 2010 — The new owners occupied the building 1st March 2010…
I wouldn’t want to describe a building as vacant for “years” for fear of being accused of being dishonest…I genuinely hope that the councillors deciding on this application take that important fact into consideration.
Taking of food — if The Bear need advice on how to make a good chorizo stew…they can do worse than ask me
It’s all in the white beans (soak overnight) and of course a decent chorizo…there is lots of “bandido” stuff going around London
A good stew should be cooked earlier…allowed to rest then heated naturally (no microwaves!) later on…
Thank me later!
Gracias eusebiovic. The chorizo was not piquant nor oily. It was without the zing it should have.
I make a mean fabadas Asturianas as it happens but have never BEAN able to find out whether it should instead be fabada Asturiana.
I knew it! — No zing means poor quality chorizo (ie it’s not cured enough and still appears raw) and lack of sufficient paprika…
Fabada Asturiana — is the term I use or a slightly different version goes by the name of Cocido Montanes (mountain stew)
Where is the accent above the “n” when I need it?
“Obrigado, Eus,” il faudrait dire, quoi!
The fool moon tonight.
HUGE!
“Oh, MOON!
Which sheds its gleam
Upon the rooftops
Of East Cheam…”
Gabe, you can’t do an en rule on this site. Trust me. I used to cast ‘em in lead.
breaking news: southwark council approves of illegal activities as long as they is in pretty colours! (as in bingo hall retrospective planning permission for listed building is granted)
Lili
What are the chances of that happening?
Who’d a thunk it?
As councillor McGovern used to regularly ask…
“Where is the drive and vision in this place?”
Quite
THE BEAR FREE HOUSE
@Lili: Retrospective Planning Consent has been granted on alterations to the interior of a listed building that wasn’t approved before it was carried out and completed?
Shirley Shome Mishtake? Surely heads should roll for condoning illegal activity?
the cost of rolling heads, for the record, is £8-10k. ask gary rice, head of planning. £8-10K is really nothing compared to council’s monthly catering spendings.
I think The Bear is great. I’m in there a couple of times a week. Don’t do the Sunday roasts that often as it’s a little too early for me, but it was lovely the Sunday just gone, and the place was packed. The staff are always really nice as well.
I admit I’ve had my disappointments at the Bear — pigeon was one example, actually the only one I can remember because I blank out negative memories (nothing to do with the drink).
BUT last time I was there was a Sunday and their roast is peerless in my experience.
Thinking on about Southwark Planning Department and the bingo hall.
Given what has happened it appears that planning officers consider it logical to grant permission to substantially change the interior a listed building without consent AFTER the work has been done — WITHOUT CONSENT and therefore illegally.
While the work was being carried out illegally to convert the entrance of a bulding ready for a use it was not designed for the same planning officers rejected an application for the building’s change of use.
‘No, you cannot change use of the building because you have not proved the case for its need to change while there is huge support for it to remain in whole community use.’
But
‘Yes, of course you can change the premises so they are ready for use for activities we have refused permission to be carried out in the premises. This is what we call: ‘rejected.” (Accepted). ‘If you do the work you shouldn’t without our consent anyway we will defend your right to do it by granting approval, even though what you did was illegal.
There. That makes sense of a nonsensical situation. Doesn’t it.
There MUST be some means of legal redress here. No?
I really rated the Bear for a while and would go every 6 weeks or so. Suddenly, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when — last summer perhaps — it seemed to be a lot less tasty. The menu also narrowed and some of the interesting stuff dropped off it. Rumour here was there were new staff.
After two meals where we were less than impressed we vowed not to go again. The food wasn’t bad as such it just wasn’t worth it.
However, it must be six months since I’ve been so maybe things have changed.
I used to frequent the Bear quite happily, but then got annoyed by them trying to be a restaurant when they are a pub (I know this sounds bad, and I am kind of sorry for saying it especially to the publicons out there, but it used to piss me off when I’d try to order at the bar, then they’d tell me to go and sit and someone would take my order, I would do so and then be charged 12.5% service charge, when all I really wanted to do was order at the bar). Also by the price of the food — which is too expensive for me, also by the fact that they advertise their website and twitter feed but noone seems to have updated it for ages.
By contrast, I went to the Recreation Ground last night for the first time, fantastic fabada asturiana, and I had a fab burger too, we were very impressed, nice wine selection, and we had a good malbec which would have been the cheapest in the Bear but in the Rec was about the 4th from the bottom.
It was terribly quiet though, but maybe that was the weather/time of year/bad luck. We would return, but not sit in the window booths because they were very draughty and chilly, both ended up sitting there in our coats. Generally, very pleasant, the worst bit was having to negotiate our way round the bus stops at the bottom of Camberwell Church St, I know on the green side of the road there is more room, because the Safa side is just laughable, but it doesn’t compensate for the rude people who take it upon themselves to distribute themselves across the pavement in the most space inefficient way, grrrr.
Good news that Johanssons is open in the evenings, I will definitely try to go, just wonder if they can get enough trade? angels and gypsies was busy as I walked past, properly love that place, although I have only been once.
Agree with @genfink. The width of the pavement by Safa is ridiculous, especially for anyone with impaired mobility or sight. The red route needs to be narrowed to make room — Dear Council, please implement.
To the alcoholics camping in that bus shelter *all day*, WTF?
Yeah, watch out for my main man in that bus stop, always with a can of Super.
He’s got a beard and a puffa jacket on these days. He’s a true prophet of the Super. I don’t think he’ll live much longer but he’s lasted this long.
The Safa pavement pinchpoint is irritating. It’s like that bit on the Scalextric (sp?) track where the cars are forced into each other.
Maybe the council deliberately leave it that way as some sort of community exercise, as it’s one of the few places where Camberwell people are forced to acknowledge each other’s presence. As people here say, often that doesn’t work out.