I’ve been a long time in south London. There were four student years in Norwich and Paris (and quite a disparity in glamour); both lovely stints, but only because I knew I was coming back. Then there was a failed relocation to Brooklyn a few years ago, which is surely New York’s version of south London anyway. But the rest of my life? I’ve lived right here.
Image: Annie Mole @ www.goingunderground.net
Sometimes I’m self-deprecating about my lack of geographical adventurousness: I grew up near the Young’s Brewery in Wandsworth, slipped into Brixton in the mid-1990s and only recently strayed deeper into SW9, away from the familiar number 37 bus route that used to take me to and from school (often via the Top Shop in Morley’s on Brixton Road). Unadventurous is one view – but I just love this end of south London.
But even that recently, not everyone agreed. Coercing friends from the other side of town to come out round here was an irritating battle – unless they were buying drugs. And black taxis in Soho willing to venture south? Frustratingly rare – though the cabbie who drove me home past burnt out cars and trashed shops during Brixton’s mini riot of 1995 was a hero.
It might be hard to imagine, now the likes of Brixton and Borough, for better and worse, have become major tourist destinations. And that Vauxhall is regenerating into be more than a massive intersection, outdoor sex mecca and brutal techno altar, and that the Southbank no longer looks like an eastern bloc prison with just one bar (Studio Six, some may remember) and one place to eat (Gourmet Pizza, ditto).
South London’s come a long way. But this website isn’t just about celebrating the new and the fashionable – it’s as much about cherishing the old and less obviously hip. Those things that made us long-haulers fall for this side of the river in the first place, the tiny family businesses, the independent places to eat and drink, the old-school cafes, down-to-earth boozers, everyday market stalls… and more than anything, the people.
South London’s artistic legacy In a city that excels in artistic endeavour, we’ve spawned our fair share – from David Bowie to Van Gough, Brixtonites both, to a Chemical Brother and Florence Welch to Boris Karloff (born in Peckham Rye) and Lilian Baylis (1874-1937), the ahead-her-time early 1900s manager of the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells theatres, who lived and died in Stockwell. And that’s not even touching Camberwell School of Art and Goldsmiths. But let’s end with two of the most significant highlights, by remembering that the area shaped two of Britain’s most excellent sitcoms: Desmond’s (pictured) and Only Fools and Horses, which put Peckham on the televisual map.
Read more in our About section.
Words and top image: Kate Burt Want to know the intriguing story behind the graffiti in this photograph, taken in Loughborough Junction? Read about it here
