Weekend Festival Highlights

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/.

77 thoughts on “Weekend Festival Highlights”

  1. @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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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?

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  11. Big Fire at Sceaux Gardens, two dead, many injured. More info on East Dulwich Forum and BBC.

  14. 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.

  15. 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

  16. I despair of young men and how selfish and useless they are without having to be put into chains and beaten.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. @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.

  20. 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.

  21. @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.

  22. @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.

  24. 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.

  27. 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.

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