Nunhead-raised Richard Balfe, 31, owns south London’s well-loved Balfe’s Bikes – which has branches in Kennington, East Dulwich and Streatham. He grew up with his mother opposite Nunhead’s Victorian cemetery, south London’s lesser-known answer to Highgate’s more famous graveyard, “which gave me a few jaunts as a boy,” he says. As well as owning three busy shops, Richard is busy at home too, as father to twin sons, Henry and George. He still lives in Nunhead with the boys and wife Ellie.
Where in south London have you been happiest?
I enjoyed living in Camberwell for seven years but feel at home in Nunhead now.
Where would you like to live in south London?
I’d like to live in the old 18th and 19th century streets behind Southwark Bridge where it is a bit quiet but still right in the middle of everything. I would love a topsy turvy house with a big roof garden and kitchen on the top floor with workshop on ground floor. I’d like a dog but am too busy, so would settle for a ghost.
Who is your favourite south Londoner?
[Deptford-born] Danny Baker. I don’t know if Tony Robinson is from south London but if he is, him too.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Screw it, just do it!
What is your earliest south London memory?
I loved being on the campaign bus with my dad who used to be an MEP. Vote Balfe!
What makes you unhappy?
Having one of those days where I finish with more to do than I start it with.
What simple thing would improve your quality of life?
Improving society’s acceptance of people who smell of raw garlic.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Raw garlic.
What is your guilty pleasure in south London?
Mirash curry from Lordship Lane and beer!
Where do you hang out?
At work, but sometimes at Herne Hill Velodrome and when free the Amersham Arms with my pal Geoff in New Cross.
Who or what do you dislike and why?
Bad customer service and gobbing on the floor. It winds me up.
Best south London gig or night out?
Pizza Express with my wife when we have child care.
What’s your best south London night out?
I used to love drinking in the Joiner’s Arms in Camberwell. Nothing special but a nice place to go. Except when I got barred for dancing on the table in clown shoes.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My ability to gain weight and inability to lose it.
What’s the worst thing anyone’s said to you?
Someone who left their bicycle with us for nine months once told me they would go to their church and curse me for selling their bike to cover costs. That was a couple of years ago now and I’ve opened two shops, got married and had two sons. I now sell bikes if they have been with us for more than three months in an attempt to repeat the good luck he brought me.
Tell us a secret
I fancy a cigarette.
What has your career taught you?
Be flexible, be kind, keep an eye on the future, work hard. Keep learning…
The house I live in is…
Built in the modernist style to match the converted 30s leisure centre opposite. It is mostly all glass at the front. We are near Queen’s Road Peckham; it is a lovely house which has morphed through the stages of being a shared house full of beer to now being a family house with my wife and boys.
Your favourite (south London) building or landmark?
So many! I love the New Den [home to Richard’s football team, Millwall – of course], and some of the old industrial areas of Bermondsey. I love any tower block from the 60s or 70s that goes up 20 floors or more. I dream of owning one and renting three-quarters of it out as social housing and having the top five floors dedicated to different decades in its history. Bring on the tourists! I lived on the 17th floor of a tower block in Camberwell for three years from the age of 17 which was an intense and marvellous time. I love Rye Lane and I love Nunhead Cemetery. I like south London’s parks and I love dodgy estate boozers where all you can get is Stella and Carling. I love spaces where you find people who feel as if they belong there, wherever they come from or whichever community they belong to when people feel as if they belong they look after themselves and take pride in their surroundings.
Describe yourself as an animal
Woof bark, grooowl snuff wooof wwooof. Animals translation: Funny chap likes bright un-coordinated clothing, get’s a bit maniacally bossy at work and often smells of garlic.
