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

Okay, let’s move on to lighter topics.

My personal campaign to get a zoo opened in Burgess Park received a boost when I found out that there used to be a zoo in nearby Walworth. With this kind of historical connection, it can only be a matter of time until we have bears back in South East London.

Speaking of bears, I went to The Bear (ha!) a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic Scottish beer called Trade Winds. The wife said it was the best beer she’d ever tasted, so we went back again this weekend for more. Unfortunately, they don’t sell it any more. A shame; you would have liked it.

Speaking of return visits, we tried out FM Mangal, the new Turkish restaurant on C. Church Street, after hearing so many people speak highly of it. They weren’t wrong; nice big portions of tasty meats cooked on their charcoal grill, and fairly priced. I had grilled lamb kebabs with yoghurt, which was great. They have their own bread in there as well, which comes free with the food and good enough to eat on its own; we almost ruined our appetites on it.

It was so good that we went back for a takeaway two nights later, on the way back from the pub.

Speaking of food (I know this sounds like we eat out all the time, but it’s just because I haven’t written about it for a while), we went for dinner at Pasha, the Kazakhstani hotel/restaurant on Walworth Road. It was crazy. First of all, you walk down a really, really long corridor through the hotel until you arrive in the restaurant at the back. This has a river in it, with fish and a turtle, and a little footbridge which you cross to get to the tables (you can sit on cushions on the floor, if you prefer).

Throughout the meal there was a guy on keyboads playing (what sounded like) Russian soft rock ballads; he was later joined by a lady who sang, then a woman who sang and played bazouki, and finally a belly dancer. When we asked for the bill at the end of the meal, the waitress asked that we wait a little longer as they wanted everyone to get up and dance. They weren’t joking; the belly dancer started a conga chain around the restaurant and literally dragged me from my table. I had to dance (not alone) to Hava Nagila (YouTube link) before they’d let me sit down again.

It was an awful lot of fun, and the staff were super-friendly. The food was ok. I recommend you go there on a Friday night to get the full experience.

Get out there and enjoy the long evenings.

I finally went to The Cambria last weekend; it was very, very busy on a late Sunday afternoon. Food looked great, although we didn’t eat there; we had a pint in the lovely little back garden. Inside is very nice, although a bit chandelier-y for my taste; I guess that comes from the gay owners (a little stereotyping never hurt anyone).

Last night the wife and I strayed over the Peckham borders and went for dinner at Il Giardino, the Peruvian-run Italian restaurant with substantial Brazilian clientele (at least it was last night, and the super-friendly waitress said that it’s pretty common). The food was nice and reasonably priced, the place was busy and the service awesome. Earns an official COB recommendation.

Before Il Giardino we went to The Montpelier for a drink; it’s a nice pub, but they’ve still got bare walls which makes it feel empty and half-finished; surely someone there could use a bit of nous and get some local art students to display something there.

This morning as I walked to Peckham Rye I saw Olivia Colman (from my favourite comedy, Peep Show). This confirms the gentrification of Bellenden Road, now that we have film stars living there. Yesterday I saw Una Stubbs in Muji, Long Acre, but that’s not really relevant here; I just wanted to tell someone.

As a final note, and related to this month’s theme, I’ve enjoyed the story of the Gay Sex Ordeal in (Camberwell) Doctor’s Surgery; not because I find sexual molestation enjoyable, but because of the victim’s claim that he “fell into a trance” while being massaged (yeah, right!), and “when he came to he found the doctor holding a massaging machine in one hand and the patient’s private parts in the other”. The doctor is accused of “massaging a patient without either consent or gloves”.

Thanks to someone I can’t remember, I’ve recently found the blog of local councillor John Friary, of the Camberwell Green ward. It’s very useful for local news; for example, his latest post mentions that the future of the Baths / Leisure Centre is not as rosy as it could be -  survival depends on Southwark being able to get £2m Government funding from a pot of £50m — which 200 other local authorities have also made bids on. News on the future of the Town Hall there as well.

The latest installment of My Middle-Class Weekends saw me and the wife check out the Saturday farmer’s market in Oval (which we can probably just about squeeze into Camberwell, as it’s at the very end of Camberwell New Road). It’s bigger than the Sunday market at Peckham, with more food actually cooked and served there. Peckham’s still great for picking up the basics, but for something a little more tasty — such as the delicious venison and mushroom pie we had for dinner — it merits a trip on the 436. And I don’t say that lightly.

Earlier that day we dropped a few items off at the PROS bring & take event at the Synergy Centre. Hope that went well.

Later we thought we’d try The Cambria, which everyone has been raving about, but after cycling over there we realised that a) neither of us had any cash and b) all of the outside tables were in the shade. It looks beautiful inside, but we’ll have to go back another time to review it properly. Instead, we wrang out the last few drops of sunshine in the Sun & Doves garden.

To close, some gossip; my mate at the pub says that the Camberwell Grove development isn’t selling well at all. After having to scale back their plans considerably (due to the opposition of the Camberwell Grove Society) they decided to make up their profits by charging more for the properties. Obviously the current financial climate has seen prices tumble, but St George have yet to follow suit; hence, slow sales. As with all gossip, I cannot vouch for its veracity.

If St George would like some free publicity, I will gladly sing their praises here in return for a one-bedroom flat. For a two-bedroom flat, I will also renounce my dislike of the Vauxhall Bridge development.

* In case you don’t know what feeds are, the BBC have a good overview; they’re much more convenient than visiting loads of sites every day. While on technical matters, the 30% of people who visit this site using Internet Explorer 6 should really consider updating to a modern browser; IE6 is old, slow, and potentially insecure. Ask a web-savvy friend if you don’t know what this means.

On the subject of housing, I took a pass through the St George development at Vauxhall last weekend; it was horrible. Empty and vapid, it seemed like there was maximal development on the allowed space and minimal planning; the blocks loomed over central courtyards and made them cold and dark on a sunny day. I hope the staunch opposition by the Camberwell Grove mob has been enough to ensure the same doesn’t happen here.

Been out for a bit of tennis up at Ruskin Park; they say you have to pay to reserve a court, but no-one enforces it so even if you do the right thing and make your booking, chances are that someone will be on the court already. Very unrewarding. Had to throw a father and child off last time; felt evil, but rules are rules. That didn’t seem to stop the boy from crying.

Goings-on: Last Saturday was Bonkersfest! on the Green; as is my annual tradition, I missed it. It’s not my fault that a lot of my friends were born in the summer. Lots of photos on Flickr if you want to see what it’s about. Carnaval del Pueblo is on in Burgess Park on August 3; I’ll be at a football match that day. Honestly, it’s kind of ridiculous.

I’m still looking for more people to contribute here; Drew’s post was excellent and highlighted (highlit?) events that may otherwise have gone unreported. That’s the kind of thing I’m after. If anyone wants to have a go, just let me know.

News from around;  it seems that we had our own little Cans Festival here, on Camberwell Passage. You can go down and see some of the artworks still, I believe.

I had a somewhat boozy few games of pool in the Cadeleigh recently, and promised Mary (the landlady) that I would mention that Dermot (the landlord) scored a hole-in-one at golf. He is very proud, apparently.

Lots of websites: Loughborough Junction looks to be the result of one man trying to promote the area to increase his house’s value (not your friend the piano man is it, Alan?). Sorry, that was quite mean of me; it’s actually a look at places and services around the titular area. People’s Republic of Southwark is a migraine-inducing site with social and environmental tips and articles; Creative Camberwell Network is a hub for artistic endeavours in SE5.

The SE5 Forum website is back online at the correct address now, although I have some stuff I need to do to rescue it completely. No, I’m not the admin again, I’m just a caretaker manager.

I had some other news which I kept reminding myself to write down, and didn’t, and forgot. Again.

Tucked away amongst the images of South London life was the old coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, with its now cheerfully ironic motto “All’s Well”:

While on the subject of Camberwell’s history, some pictures turned up over the weekend showing the streets which were knocked down to form Burgess Park in the early 1980s. Interesting to think of what was there before.

I also strayed across the border on Saturday night, visiting Peckham’s new bar/dining room, The Montpelier. Nice, although a little barn-like; big empty spaces and plain walls. The table service was welcome, although the food was a couple of quid overpriced for my tastes. Selection of beers wasn’t great, either. Over all it was pretty good, but didn’t give me the urge to rush back there.

Like always, I’m sure I had something else to comment upon, but I just can’t remember it now. I really should keep a list.

Something a little different today: photo updates.

Last weekend, Beverley Carpenter projected some images onto Camberwell Magistrates Court.

Peckham Farmers Market was very busy on Sunday. They had some delicious English apples.

And reader Alan Edwards has put together what is surely the definitive tribute to Kennedy’s Sausages & Pies, now closed after 130 years.

A change is as good as a rest.

As I tucked into a satisfying ‘almonds & apricots with yoghurt coating Eat Natural’ bar the other day, I took a look at the company information on the back and was surprised to see the legal address: 95 Camberwell Station Rd, London SE5 9JJ.

Yes, ‘the UK’s fastest-growing snack bar’ (doesn’t that make it sound like Frankenstein food?) is made right here in SE5. And not in a factory or a bakery; no, this snack is made in their — wait for it — Makery. We have a Makery here!

(Whilst I’m being snarky, is it really necessary to advise consumers of an ‘almonds & apricots with yoghurt coating’ bar that it contains nuts?)

A quick reminder that the AGM of the SE5Forum will take place next Wednesday at the Institute of Psychiatry (you don’t have to be mad, etc). This is a bit of a reboot of the Forum, so it’s a good time to go along. Chelsea fans will be unable to attend as that night sees them play Everton, but to be honest we’re better off without them anyway. Ooh! Football humour!

Went to the Peckham Farmer’s Market again yesterday. There’s a new goat’s dairy stall and a smaller vegetable stall with lots of different types of cabbage. Here’s wishing them success.

A couple of small Camberwell connections over the festive period: the wife received a copy of former Blur bassist Alex James’ autobiography, which features tales of his time at Camberwell College of Arts; and one of the comedians we saw at a comedy club on NYE was from Camberwell. And yes, I am just sad enough that both of those gave me a tiny thrill.

The fag-end of 2007 saw another shooting in the area, this time on the Aylesbury estate. There are a lot of posters around the area trumpeting the regeneration of the estate, but I suspect everyone would be a little better off if they razed it to the ground and started again.

But I don’t want to dwell on the negatives too much; after all, it’s a new calendar year and we should be looking forward to a positive future. I don’t make resolutions, but I’d be interested in hearing what everyone else has vowed to do in 2008.