Gay Camberwell

by Layla

Last month we wrote a blog about the supper club phenomenon in London and our experiences at a selection of these curious events, where someone (typically a very good chef) cooks for a large dinner party-sized collection of foodies who sign up in advance, for instance via Facebook or Twitter, and pay a 'donation' for the privilege of attending the chef's house for a sumptuous dinner. We have described our past experiences as the novelty lesbians in a sea of heterosexual couples all gazing at us as though we were zoo specimens. This was - of course - not the case in a supper club in the gay mecca that is Camberwell...

Roz and I were delighted to be e-mailed via gaycamberwell.com by the organiser of a popular supper club, Pip's Dinners, that has recently located itself in Camberwell. And so, last night we embarked upon a grand expedition, walking but two minutes from our front door, to a rather sweet little Camberwell house and two rather sweet newly Camberwellian gay hosts. 

The long table held an eclectic mix of people, with a few heterosexual couples at one end and an explosion of gay men at the other. The conversation was great: literary chat, competitive restaurant experience comparisons, and tales from foreign climes (and even a rather doctor-y conversation for me). The food was excellent, and accompanied by some delicious wines. I particularly liked the fennel soup, and the reimagining of the knickerbocker glory. Mmmm. We had a lovely evening: a dinner party with excellent chef and an array of interesting guests provided in the price. And the high proportion of gay people (mostly locals) was an added bonus. 

Supper clubs may just have redeemed themselves for us. Yet again a cautionary tale about straying too far from Camberwell, when the best version of what you're looking for can probably be found in SE5... 

by Layla


When we had our civil partnership last year, our first inclination was to have it in Camberwell. Sadly the register office didn't hold quite enough guests (about 36 if I recall) so we had to ditch the idea in favour of Marylebone Town Hall and the Blueprint Cafe at the Design Museum. But we always wondered what it would have been like to have our reception in the Crypt. So when we were invited to a friend's civil partnership reception in the Crypt, we trudged through the snow with interest and envy. 


After their ceremony, they went to the Hermit's Cave, and then to Johannsen's for a champagne cream tea, which sounded very lovely, before progressing to the Crypt, which did indeed prove a fun place for a wedding reception. When we arrived we were sorry to have just missed the London Gay Men's Choir, but the gayness levels were still very high indeed, with speeches, then songs reminiscent of the gay wedding in Sex and the City 2, and song sheets provided so that we could all sing Christmas carols. And luckily the Choir couldn't resist a couple of camp festive renditions around the microphone on the stage.  As we were leaving, it seemed as though some sort of karaoke had commenced. We fled before anyone uncovered our tunelessness!


Last week I abandoned Roz to a mad residential conference in the house in Salzburg where the Sound of Music was filmed. She popped into the Blue Elephant Theatre in my absence one night to be embraced by Jasmine, the Blue Elephant Theatre's artistic director, in a lovely local way. The two shows, 'Cliched' and 'Mind the Gap', were an innovative dance/theatre combo double-bill, with very good performances. The theatre was packed but in the margins Roz had discussions with an anxious Jasmine who has concerns about ongoing Council funding; let's hope the funding problems don't come to fruition because the Blue Elephant Theatre really is fab, and a great Camberwell venue. 


The fun doesn't seem to end for us in Camberwell this week. You'll recall a few weeks ago we wrote a blog about supper clubs... well, a rather gay one has turned up in Camberwell and we're off there on Tuesday! We will be reporting back of course!

by Layla

It's been too long since Roz and I spent a Saturday in Camberwell. And so it was with cheer that, as I cycled up to the post office to pick up my oversized online Christmas shopping (ah, the modern world), I noted the planned Christmas farmers' market on Camberwell Green was already hotting up. Christmas gifts duly collected and deposited at home, Roz popped some baked potatoes in the oven for lunch, and we set out into the crisp winter streets of Camberwell.

First stop was the market. There has been some talk of bringing a monthly farmers' market to Camberwell Green; detractors have suggested that with a regular market in both Oval and Peckham, there was no call for it. The crowds teeming around the stalls on Saturday disagreed. The place was bustling and cheery, with a very inclusive vibe of all sort of Camberwellians shopping happily (and sampling the free cheese samples) together. The stallholders seemed to be selling. We bought cheese and some delicious olive oil before proceeding up Denmark Hill with the taste of farm fresh food samples on our tongues and the hope of being able to meander to the Green on future Saturdays for some lovely fresh bread...

Next was the really very lovely shop Cowling and Wilcox, round the corner from the Denmark Hill post office. This really is a gem of an art supplies shop, with all the paper and pens and paints and assorted arty stuff that one could dream of. I bought some paper to make Christmas cards while Roz admired the diaries (and I told her not to  buy a work diary with pink paper...).

Next stop was Empress Mews, a collection of art studios having an open day. We'd run into the lovely gay couple who run Mini Moderns last week, at the East London Design Fair, and had been almost seduced  by their cool Festival of Britain wallpaper. We hadn't bought it as we had to contemplate dimensions, and they warned us it would be tricky to pick it up as their studio was far away in... Camberwell! Returning as promised, we were met with great enthusiasm and duly bought the very cool wallpaper. We also browsed the other art studios, including one with great 'net and ball' design vases and plates, run by another gay couple who had just had some anti-gay graffiti scrawled on their shop window for the first time ever: disgusting. Glad to hear the police were helpful, and everyone was appropriately horrified. Unusual for Camberwell, and frustrating. Indeed, pathetic. Finally we went to the Clockwork Studios, also having an open day, and admired some impressive headpieces and some cool vintage travel posters. Very vehemently holding hands. 

Before dashing home just before the potatoes burned to a crisp!