Gay Camberwell

by Layla

Last weekend my parents travelled down from Scotland to the sunny shores of Camberwell, and like the SE5-obsessed daughter that I am, I didn't let them stray over the borders. They left thinking that Camberwell is indeed an excellent place. They stayed at the Camberwell Church Street Hotel which, if you are feeling extravagant, turns out to be a fantastic place to send visiting friends and relatives - a proper boutique hotel, with friendly staff and a rather unique ambience of Cuba meets Camberwell. My parents were rather excited, having never stayed in such a designer-y hotel. The walls of their room were bright blue. The bathroom was covered by mosaic tiles. The triple glazing achieved an impressive silence despite the room facing the main road. There was free Green and Black chocolate, replenished daily. The bed was reportedly beautifully comfortable and the breakfast delicious. My father continues to talk about the exemplary croissants. The only flaw was that the breakfast room, which is supposed to be an honesty bar, and station from which to obtain tea and coffee for hotel guests (unavailable in the rooms), was transformed into an overspill room for Angels and Gypsies restaurant, leaving hotel guests unable to access that room's drinks, tea, coffee or DVDs (they have a good collection, available for free, including a few gay titles such as Brokeback Mountain and Milk) without embarrassingly walking around the restaurant as diners ate. Nevertheless, my parents were cheerful.

We took them for Saturday lunch to the South London Gallery cafe and again felt very smug at the excellence of the ambience and food at this fantastic new venue. My mother then became obsessed with the idea of buying us a vegetable rack, and her delight on finding the exact model she wanted in a classy Butterfly Walk shop was very sweet. Don't say I don't give my visitors a good time... That evening we walked up the hill to Buddha Jazz, via Odie and Amanda where we were furnished with kir royales and cupcakes baked by Steve and greeted so warmly that my parents could only conclude that Camberwell was the friendliest place on earth. A very pleasant dinner at Buddha Jazz, and it was off home. 

Sunday was a Burgess Park day, and my parents were very taken with Chumleigh Gardens. It is a travesty that the beautiful oasis of the cafe's elegant but understated iron garden furniture placed on the grass under the shade of beautiful trees, clustered serenely around the pond, is about to be scrapped for a fluorescent green canteen overlooking the children's play area and the road. It would be nice if the council remembered that not everyone wants to watch children and new does not always equal improved... but I will maintain a degree of optimism that in fact it might be nice. We spent most of the afternoon in Chumleigh Gardens and lamented its loss. 

After we saw them off on the 42 bus bound for the airport, we tried for a JJ Caterers treat to end the weekend but they were closed so we had a Safa takeaway which was rather delicious. Hmmm may need to go on a diet one day...