Gay Camberwell

Upon arrival at the lovely Seymour's for brunch on Saturday, we were met with a newly-painted olive-green facade headed by a slightly tacky "Johansen's" sign in place of our beloved Seymour's black and white paint. Horrified, we hurried inside to find that apart from some slightly posher tables and chairs, all was as it always has been. But not for long! The waitress told us that from January, it will be all change and Seymour's will be transformed into Johansen's cafe/deli/bistro/winebar. Well! Apparently it's a franchise, and it'll probably be good for the area. Seymour's is moving to Peckham High Street, but I do feel Camberwell is losing out on a great venue. Did the new place really have to replace what is probably one of Camberwell's most popular cafes and restaurants? We loved the Thai restaurant: the atmosphere, the roaring fire, the friendly staff, the BYOB. We remain cautious: can Johansen's live up to Seymour's? We fear not but shall remain open-minded.

With sadness in our hearts, we headed off to Club Wotever, relocated due to the sudden and unexpected closure of Redstar. Quite a loss, as it was the main venue in the area actively putting on gay events. Fortunately the Sun and Doves came to Wotever's assistance and any concern I had about the S&D being a good club venue was immediately relieved: what a fantastic night! The place was packed (and we were delighted to see many people ordering the Gay Camberwell cocktails!) for this club, which is internationally renowned and made its first ever trip south of the river this weekend. Judging from the turnout, I suspect we can look forward to further events, and what an event it was. Fantastic cabaret ensued, with a friendly, cheery, party atmosphere, and a proud tale from cabaret star Michael Twaits about how he'd walked from Denmark Hill station in full drag without being killed. Hooray for Camberwell.

The next event in the Gay Camberwell launch month is the final Pink November film screening, My Summer of Love, tomorrow (8pm), and then the grand closing night party at the Cambria on Friday (7pm). After the success of the launch party, performers have been lining up to get involved, which is why we now have, in addition to the fantastic Marcus Reeves who will be giving us an acoustic set, the rather popular and famous performers Claire Benjamin (cabaret and comedy), Michael Twaits (performance and cabaret), and Yeah Sparrow (acoustic folk/jazz). With free pink martinis, and a special Gay Camberwell food menu, we're going to toast the launch of Gay Camberwell in style.

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