As the Sun and Doves was within a short walking distance of our flat, had a good range of food and drinks, generally had space and was welcoming to babies, we used to go there regularly as the default option when pub going or when food was required. Of course the film nights, quizzes, live music and art were also attractions but the main reason for going to a pub is the drink and food.

In the past six weeks or so we have had to consider other options when looking for a pub. And so this has given us an opportunity to revisit old haunts and discover new ones in a Men Behaving Badly style quest for a new local.

The Tiger, the Crooked Well, the Bear, the Cambria and Stormbird have all been visited over the past few weeks and a good time was had in all. Most seemed to be reasonably busy when we visited which is good generally for Camberwell. One gap in the market that I have noticed is the late lunch market — we had to go to three pubs on our quest for lunch at 3:30pm last Saturday as most pub kitchens seem to shut after lunch, opening again at 6. But none of the pubs we have been to so far has been as good as the Sun and Doves which is still sadly missed.

One or two other local news stories of interest:

• Saturday 19 November will be the last day of the bendy buses on route 436 — as Londonist notes I dont think there will be quite the outpouring of emotion when the final bendy has run as was the case with the demise of the Routemaster.

• The Lambeth Libraries Commission report has been published and it looks like the Minet Library near to Myatts Fields Park is to remain open but will be under “community control” — see local Vassall ward website for further details. I havent heard anything further about Camberwell main library beyond a news story saying that Southwark has decided that Bermondsey offices were not suitable — anyone know anything more about how the plans are progressing?

Meet local councillors and learn about plans for your area, such as: Improved homes; New library and resource centre; Burgess Park transformation; Street improvement schemes.

Also it’s the College of Arts MA show next week; find out more at MA Digital Arts or MA Fine Art, which has an impressive list of events.

McDonalds on Denmark Hill want to open 24 hours at weekends. I know that in the past the area outside McDonalds has been marked as one with a high incidence of crime, so I hope that’s taken into account when the planning decision’s being made.

Last weekend I went to the new bar where Funky Munky used to be, which is currently nameless (well, I know what the name is but I’m going to let the owners unveil it when they’re ready; suffice it to say, you’ll never guess what it is). It’s bright and spacious and has a fantastic range of beers; they offer the new 1/3 pint measure so you can experiment many different beers without getting too hammered.

It’s not officially opened yet but I’m already optimistic that this is going to be a great addition to the area; finally a place which serves more than the standard choices provided elsewhere (to be fair, The Phoenix has a pretty decent selection too).

I really, really hope they keep the NEVER GIVE UP sign.

Update: More stuff! Saturday is the Brunswick Park fete, from 12–4 in Brunswick Park (obviously). And at 9am on Sunday the Bikes for Books team departs from Camberwell for a ride to Burwash, some 50+ miles away.

Let’s start with the good news. Today I had a day off and the chance to walk around Camberwell and see some of the good side of it. Breakfast at Johanssons followed by a swim at the Baths, and what a marvellous job they’ve done of restoring it; a really beautiful, first class job. The pool looks brilliant and enticing, the changing rooms are modern and clean. Well done to everyone involved. In the reception they’ve a cartoon from 1907 of the Camberwell Ladies fighting to keep the Baths open. Thanks to them, we can enjoy the pool 100 years later.

Later I had a patty from Patty Island, which I probably don’t mention enough even though they make tasty snacks.

Last weekend I went to The Crooked Well, and they’ve done a great job there too; a proper, full redevelopment, not just a lick of paint. The place was busy but we got a table, and the food was delicious. It’s not cheap — about £15 for a main — so it’s a place you’d go to for an occasion, not an off-the-cuff bite to eat (at least, that’s the case for me; richer readers may find that exceptional value). One gripe: the beer’s exactly the same as every other pubco pub. Would be nice to have some more tasty craft beers, but them’s the breaks, I guess.

There’s work going on at (the former?) Funky Munky. I asked in The Hermit’s what was going to happen there, and they said a pub with food, nothing different or more elaborate. All will be revealed.

The bad news? Well, not so much bad, as uncertain. Camberwell’s going through a change at the moment; the old Cypriot Camberwell is disappearing. Paul’s Continental seems to be over, Tadim show no signs of reopening, Cruson’s days are shortening fast… pretty soon only Sophocles (Edit: and The Vineyard) will remain. What will we become when Little Cyprus is forgotten?

More certainly, from 2012 Denmark Hill loses it’s direct connection to London Bridge. It means a change at Peckham Rye, an inconvenience for many people. Also, it could mean the loss of service to London Victoria, which is possibly more serious.

Those aren’t all the changes at Denmark Hill; the row of houses along Windsor Walk is finally being restored — seems they’re to be part of the Hospital, although would have been better if they were private residences, to make that walk seem a little safer at night. Also, work has begun on the new station entrance; a temporary footbridge will be introduced as a first step.

And talking of changes, Burgess Park is to be mostly closed off while the regeneration begins. There’s a map showing the areas that will be out of bounds for a while.

So, lots going on, more even than I’ve mentioned here. The Sun & Doves has had a stay of execution, the Mary Datchelor development looks lovely, work has begun on the old Town Hall buildings… as the Funky Munky used to say (paraphrasing Winston Churchill): Never Give Up.

The book shows old photographs of Camberwell and compares them with a contemporary photo of the same location. This is a really interesting concept; it’s great to see views I recognise now look vastly different — such as seeing the former St George’s church on Wells Way with the canal running in front of it — and places that no longer exist, like the mansion that used to stand at the end of Wren Street.

The main problem with the book is that the modern photographs aren’t as good; they’re not great quality, a few are slightly out of focus, and some are taken from angles which hide much of the subject. Luckily this isn’t a huge drawback because we already know what the locations look like today!

The author’s obviously very knowledgeable about the area and provides plenty of references to other sources, so I can recommend this if you want to know more about your local history.

Moving on to a different subject, last weekend the wife & I ate at Zeret Kitchen, the Ethiopian restaurant, for the first time. I’ve been meaning to go there for literally years, but always managed to avoid it somehow; that was my loss. It’s unassuming both outside (you have to cross the concrete precinct of the Wyndham Estate) and inside (a few tables and chairs, not much in the way of decoration), but the food and service belie the appearance.

The manager is Taffe, who gave us a really warm welcome and helped us through the menu. When the food arrived she brought a small plate for herself and showed us how the food should be eaten, even feeding us pieces as a sign of friendship! There’s no cutlery, you eat using a special kind of flat bread called Enjerra (or Injera).

We had the Zeret Special which is a huge plate, like a sampler, of many different kinds of dishes. The spicy lentils (misir wot) and chopped beef (kitfo) were my favourites. The food is very different from West and Central African, and shows more of an Arabic influence, although it isn’t quite like that. Anyway, it was really good, and Taffe was wonderful, and you should all go there; don’t wait as long as I did.

Walking around the area today there werent a great number of posters up giving details of New Years Eve events in Camberwell pubs so I turned to online searching

I found
The Sun and Doves has the South London Jazz Orchestra and a DJ

The Cambria Arms is having a glamorous Blond or Bond party over two floors — tickets are £5 available from the bar

Planet Nollywood has Chilean music and entertainment

The Recreation Ground and Tiger both have DJs.

Other Camberwell pubs such as Amarylis, the Bear, Black Sheep, Fox on the Hill, George Canning, Grand Union, Hermits Cave, Hoopers, Joiners Arms, Old Dispensary, Petit Parisien, Phoenix and Union Tavern (all located around Camberwell Green/ New Road/ Denmark Hill) as far as I know dont have special events on but will be open as usual to see in 2011. If you know of any other events please post below.

I hope we have a happy Camberwell new year!

If religion is your thing there are likely to be carol services on in the Camberwell churches (or certainly the more ‘conventional’ Church of England churches) this Sunday late afternoon. The beauty of the carols as we head towards a snowy (?) Camberwell Christmas…

Has anyone been to the new Indian Cinnamon on Church St? It seems to be in the location where Four t Four was (44 Church St) — I went to have a look last weekend and it had the shutters down in the day so I couldnt work out if it was a proper restaurant as well as a takeaway — all I could find online is http://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-cinnamon-indian-bengali

In other news Camberwell musician Captain Ska is to release a single Liar Liar! which they want to get to Christmas number 1 — see http://www.facebook.com/pages/Captain-Ska-Liar-Liar-for-Xmas-2010-No1/167549809939108 or interview in the New Statesman or follow him on Twitter

And finally news-wise architects Emrys are talking about their plans for Camberwell New Road

Went with the wife to The Recreation Ground last Sunday; had planned to eat there but they were only serving roasts, so decided to just have a drink instead. The refurb isn’t immediately apparent; it’s obviously cleaner and the walls are bare, but the biggest difference is in the fantastic toilets, now down in the cellar. The area where they used to be has a DJ booth and dancefloor. It was a bit empty when we were there — not helped by the bare walls and big space at the back — but the staff were mega-friendly and the food looked good, so we’ll be going back soon.

On the Friday before we went to check out Wuli Wuli, the new Chinese on Church St. As has been mentioned before, they have a traditional ‘English’ menu, but also more typical real Chinese dishes (offal seems to feature strongly). I had a dish which was strips of beef and chilli and it was absolutely delicious; much spicier than I’m accustomed to. They still have a 15% opening discount, so you should get down there and give it a go.

Also, we went to the GX Gallery last week to see the exhibition by local artist Martin Grover. I loved his work, but the big revelation was the gallery itself; I’d never been down to the cellar before, and it’s astonishing. It’s a converted bakery which still has the old ovens in the wall, and the rest of the space is beautiful old brick with hidden nooks. If you haven’t been, go; I had no idea it was so lovely.

Okay, on to proper news. Lewisham Council recently commissioned a report on options to extend the Bakerloo line [PDF, 410kb]. Only one of the options involves passing through Camberwell, but interestingly that’s the second cheapest option (the cheapest goes through the Aylesbury Estate to Peckham) and they note that this line has been extensively planned in the past. If it does happen it won’t be for many years, but useful to know that it’s still being considered.

Activism: Carter Place Garden, the only green space on Walworth Road, is in danger of being developed on. This post on the SE5Forum explains the context, and what you can do to help.

Also, there’s a public meeting at St Giles Church on Nov 3rd to discuss the Camberwell Baths Campaign. Phase 1 of the work — including the pool, changing rooms, and cafe — has been completed and recently an extra £50,000 was granted for Phase 2, which is the gymnastics hall (and why the Baths remain closed until next year). But there’s apparently still £1.8m needed to complete all the works, and the Campaign needs your help to support their petition to the council. Full details here — please get along if you can.

Its about an event in Myatt’s Fields Park between Camberwell New Road and Coldharbour Lane in the Lambeth part of Camberwell.

The park, as I’m sure you’re aware, has undergone a transformation over the past few years with a new children’s playground, new children’s centre, new cafe and redevelopment of the grounds. The transformation is almost complete — with the last few buildings opening in September. This is a great Camberwell success story achieved by local people working with Lambeth Council with funding from the National Lottery.

This Saturday 14 August in Myatt’s Fields Park there will be Indian barbecue with music, dance and food. Come along to the area around the bandstand 5-7pm — flyer below.

Music every Sunday
At 2pm every Sunday though the summer there is music in the bandstand — this week Javanese band Siswa Sukra will be playing. The Little Cat Cafe is open Wednesday — Sunday selling snacks, home made cakes and other refreshments.

And also this Sunday Come and volunteer in the park: wildlife area gardening day
This Saturday 14 August 11am – 3pm volunteers are needed to help us maintain the wildlife garden. Everyone and all ages welcome. Meet at the wildlife area. Wear suitable clothing

This is Camberwell at its best.

The Myatts Fields Park Group’s website doesnt seem to have been updated for a while — if you want further information your best bet is to sign up for the email bulletins from Victoria Sherwin at Lambeth (email vsherwin@lambeth.gov.uk)

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday 11am — 7pm there is music, dance, food, displays, a flower show, farm animals, charity stalls, owls and all sorts of other things all in the heart of inner London.

Further information is on the Lambeth website including the programme of events.

Update (by Peter): Also it’s the College of Arts MA Summer Show this week; it’s open to the public from tomorrow (Wednesday) until Saturday; details here. And huge apologies to Hannah at the CCA for forgetting to tell you all about the private showing.

Update 16/7/2010 There is also the fabulous Urban Art Fair on Saturday and Sunday on Josephine Avenue, SW2 near to Brockwell Park.
London’s largest annual open air contemporary arts fair will have around 2,000 pieces of work on display from 150 local and international artists. As well as art displays there will be foodstalls, refreshments and a sound stage featuring a mix of local musicians. This is the kind of art event I would like to see Camberwell in the future
www.urbanart.co.uk