Friday Night

I finally managed to get out and see a little more of the area this weekend — starting with the Cadeleigh Arms which is, geographically, my local — owing to it’s location on the corner of my street.

From outside it looks quite pleasant; fresh green and white paint job, blinds on the windows. Inside it’s a little different. It’s… strange. Not bad, just obviously a pub with a very habitual clientele. There’s a pool table in the small front bar and a large-screen TV and dartboard in the back room. The landlady, whose name I heard was Mary, was kind enough to switch on the big TV even though I was the only one who wanted to watch the Arsenal match.

I had a couple of pints of Guiness there — it was nicely poured and well chilled. Mary was very kind and even, when I went back there on Sunday night to watch the other Arsenal match, remembered what I was drinking.

This isn’t the type of pub I’d take my mates out to, but it’s likely to be my base for watching football next season. It’s pretty cheap, unthreatening, and ridiculously close to my home.

The wife came in to meet me for the second half and after the game we walked across the street to our flat and got changed to go out and celebrate our first six months of marriage. We got a little sidetracked and left slightly later than we wanted, so ended up going back to Blake House.

The upstairs restaurant was closed so we ate downstairs. The pub seemed a lot busier than the previous times we’d been there, but it still seems like it could be in financial trouble as the portions we were served were disappointingly small. Even with the complimentary bread and a dessert I was far from full. It was nice food, but not value for money. Walking past the next night, the restaurant was closed again. They’re stuck in a Catch 22; they don’t want to serve big portions so they can keep their costs down, but people won’t go there if they don’t start giving more value.

Author: Peter

Long-time resident of Camberwell, author of this blog since July 2004.