Rumours of my demise…

Just in case my last post left anyone with the impression that I would no longer be posting here: you should be so lucky. No, my idiosyncratic writing style and random choice of subjects are here to stay. Sorry.

The reason for the lack of posts is just that I’ve been very busy since last week; work, web projects and football have kept me quiet.

Camberwell news? Ummm… the 2‑for‑1 pizza in BRB (The Grove) on Tuesday nights is excellent value.

Author: Peter

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

19 thoughts on “Rumours of my demise…”

  1. And a very Dulwich Village yummy mummy style clothing and knick-knack shop seems to have opened next to Cornners and the Denmark Hill Tandoori on Grove Lane…

    Good luck to em I say! (though i’ve a feeling it won’t suit me…)

  2. not surprised, the way our climate is going, I’m sure it’s more than feasable to grow a few palm trees these days…

  3. Has anyone been down to the Monday Night Quiz at the Grove? The team that won last week had 12 players!!! And you can only win a tenner!!!

    Okay, in the interests of full disclosure, I finished eighth, but I was on my own! The missus was working. Not that she’d have been any help.

    Anyone ever been into Miliki Spot on Camberwell New Rd? It has a really cool name (from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, I believe), but it looks like a shithole.

    Sully Shuffles on Walworth Road has closed. I was never in there, so I don’t care. I used to go down the road to The Red Lion to watch Galway lose All-Ireland Finals in either the hurling or Gaelic football. They’re still going strong (The Red Lion, not Galway). You can get lung cancer just thinking about The Red Lion.

    My tests came through this week. I don’t have diabetes, my white blood cell count is normal, as is my glucose level. They’ve lost my liver test! Result! I have a reprieve till at least the duration of the World Cup!

    Back of the net!

  4. I’m quite fond of The Joiner’s Arms myself — if only to admire the magnificent socialist inspired ceramic tiled wall that is inside — a work of art and no mistake…

  5. There are three other Miliki Spots I know of — one in Ado Ekiti city, south-western Nigeria, another in Dublin and the third behind Dog Kennel Hill, the old Greendale estate pub. There are always loads of Nigerian Guinness cardboard boxes outside there by the cycle path to East Dulwich. They used to say about the Guinness that there was “A baby in every bottle.” I like it, though it tastes slightly of sorghum, since barley growth is restricted in Nigeria. It used to be affordable in the shops, but the blighters have put the price up, which is a pity, because I am keen to embrace diversity — socialist tiles here, potent Guinness there. You don’t find such riches in Camberley.

  6. Dagmar — I think the Nigerian Guinness should be used to curb anti-social behaviour — A couple of those will numb anyone into behaving themselves — It’s like pouring a mixture of treacle and penicillin down one’s gullet — a tranquiliser in a bottle…it’s not possible to misbehave after a couple of them — unlike the fizzy lager…

  7. BRB gets a little too busy nowadays on Tuesdays, best when the students are on holiday. If you don’t mind getting a bus over the hill to Lordship Lane, the Magdala does 2for1 pizzas on Mondays and Tuesdays, and they’re far nicer !

  8. Eleanor — you’re right, it was Moloko in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, not Miliki. Bah, foiled again!

    Dagmar — what does sorghum taste like? How would anyone know what sorghum tastes like? Good word, though. There’s also a very good film called RED SORGHUM. Check it out.

    southmark — Yeah the BRB/Grove can get annoying sometimes, but it’s the best place in Camberwell for the World Cup. Put some money on the Aussies to get a draw against Brazil on Sunday. Honest Lord Henry wouldn’t let you down. Nod’s as good as a wink to a blind man. Etc.

  9. Where I come from (Alabama, yes I know) we consider Sorghum syrup a special treat: poured slowly over our hot, buttered biscuits (the real kind, not ‘cookies’) and eaten much like your would hot pancakes with syrup.

    Of course we also marry our relatives.

  10. So, if we with Alabama of the mind had taken some calming, strong, asphalt-like stout last night to support Trinidad & Tobago to victory, we could today, in a laid-back style, breathing a sorghummy sigh of relief, Exhale on Cold Lager Pain.

    Or Exhale on Cold Lager Haine.

    La Haine, that French film, “Hatred”, about life in a French Camberwell.

    By golly, it’s strong stuff…

  11. I take back what I said about the BRB/Grove. I was in there for the beginning of the England v Trinidad game. The worst service I have ever experienced in a bar. They only had four staff working (for an England World Cup game!!), and those staff looked totally inexperienced. For instance, they were doing the “I won’t serve the person who’s been at the bar the longest, I’ll serve the nearest person to me” gig. What does that person then order? Four mojitos!! How can it get any worse than this I asked myself? Easy. The barmaid then gets out the “how to make a cocktail” book and leafs through it. Very very slowly.

    I went down to the Hermits (no apostrophe) Cave and it was buzzing in there. They had the same number of staff as the Grove (for a pub a third of the size), two big screens, and the landlord put loud music on to announce Rooney’s arrival, and the scoring of each goal. Of course there were the usual couple of smackheads wandering in and out, but that’s to be expected.

  12. I watched the Brazil — Croatia game in BRB, and even though it was 2‑for‑1 pizza night it wasn’t too busy. Mind you, I had to fight to hang on to two chairs I was reserving for my companions.

  13. BRB: Excel on cold lager late.

    I thought England displayed English Zen — after digging, weeding, hoeing and raking for 80 minutes, they then planted two beautiful goals.

    The cheap German Hock from the petrol station on Peckham Road is good.

  14. Lord Henry — I agree about the barstaff at the BRB — the current lot don’t appear to be very sharp — I went in there last Wednesday with a friend to watch the Spain v Ukraine game and ordered 2 pizzas a couple of side dishes and some lagers — The person behind the bar seemed to have his mind elsewhere as he wasn’t very communicative (no eye contact,mumbling under breath) when I placed my order — Despite the place being practically empty it took over 12 an hour to bring our food to the table as the pizza “chefs” behind the counter seemed to be confused — then they gave us an extra Margerita pizza that we didn’t order, which we pointed out and were told — “oh you might as well have it as well, free of charge” only for him to return 10 minutes later and take it away (a still intact Margerita) to somewhere in the vicinity of the beer garden…very strange, Spain even won 4–0!

  15. BRB: my rumour mountain tells me is not really BRB any more because the freeholder, Punch, is selling it off as a long tied lease (broadly like mine at The Sun and Doves, except my Landlord is S&NPE (Scottish and Newcastle Pub Enterprises)). Si my guess is that it’s being marketed and there’s a bunch of short tenure staff in there keeping it open until a sucker comes along and takes on a lease and removes Punch from any tedious obligations such as: repair and maintenace of the bulding; paying the staff; pensions; employers liabilities; recruitment; staying ahead of the game locally to keep the business busy. And on, and on, and on.

    I know a whole bunch of staff were laid off at BRB recently — some came to S&D looking for work — which kind of links up with the story about it being sold off to a numbskull who thinks they can make money out of it on a long tied lease, urhm maybe I should look at it, I never thought the BRB concept was right there, I’m sure it’s possible to attract nearby monied neighbours but no I forgot I have a tied lease already. I just love Shackles, Chains, Bonds, Penury; Serfdom; they aren’t called ‘TIED’ for nothing.

  16. Mark — It all makes perfect sense now! — I also noticed the leather sofas in BRB were in shockingly poor condition too — ripped to pieces with the foam falling out all over the floor — very poor attention to detail indeed…I think a Sun & Doves type arrangement on the Grove would work very well indeed…The Redstar also totally blew it after showing some initial early promise — what that place needs is a strong landlord/landlady with a firm but fair hand and it can’t fail, it’s an excellent site — towards the end they allowed all the boozed up lads in there — clearly forgetting the golden rule of 2–3 ladies for every 1 man on club nights…

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