South East London Journal - Issue No.7

SE LONDON JOURNAL

No. 07 The Collective Issue

SE LONDON JOURNAL

Polly Editor polly@selondonjournal.co.uk

Issue 07 Illustrator Abigail Read

Jessica Creative Director jessica@selondonjournal.co.uk

Contributions info@selondonjournal.co.uk

Benji Roebuck Art Director benji@selondonjournal.co.uk

Advertising advertising@selondonjournal.co.uk

Fleur Treglown Sub-editor fleur@selondonjournal.co.uk

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, South East London Journal does not accept liability for any errors or omissions within this issue. Reprinting of any article or original images from South East London Journal without express permission of the Editor is expressly forbidden. South East London Journal is published by Gaze Media Ltd Š South East London Journal 2016

No.7 The Collective Issue

Welcome to Issue No.7 of South East London Journal.

For this issue, we take a look inside the buildings that house some of this area's creative communities, as well as talking to some important groups and collectives who are actively challenging the status quo — whether that be funding cuts to domestic violence services or culture representation in today's media.

As ever, a huge thank you to our contributors, and all the local businesses who support us through advertising, allowing the Journal to remain free for everyone to enjoy.

Our next edition is out mid-November, and promises to be an extra-special bumper issue full of hearty winter content and conversations for the run up to the festive season.

We hope you enjoy, SELJ

It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. —Charles Darwin

WE ARE TEN MEET BERNARD IS A MENS AND WOMENS CLOTHING STORE SET IN THE HEART OF SOUTH EAST LONDON. WE’RE MARKING OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY THIS MONTH WITH A BRAND NEW LOOK IN STORE AND ONLINE. DROP BY AND MEET BERNARD MEETBERNARD.COM NORSE PROJECTS GANNI FOLK YMC EDWIN SESSÙN GRENSON PAUL SMITH CARHARTT AMERICAN VINTAGE FILSON 22–23 NELSON ROAD GREENWICH SE10 9JB @MEETBERNARDLDN @MEETBERNARD

Autumn 2016 — The Collective Issue

Contents

05

23

61

97

Food

Culture & History

Home

Children & Families

Storecupboard Essentials Recipes Takeaway Roundup

Culture Calendar Edmund de Waal Born n Bread Books Peckham Festival Sisters Uncut Horniman Herstory Abigail Read Copeland Park Art Hub Parkhall Ceramic Workshops South East Makers Club

Inside a Home Soaps

What's On Chocolate Hedgehog What's The Whippet

Done Now? Puzzle The School Collective

1

WHERE’S YOUR COFFEE FROM?

SMALL BATCH ROASTERS — BRIXTON’S OWN

www.volcanocoffeeworks.com

Weekend Wander Deptford Have Brunch

At the top of Deptford High Street is London Velo, which has a cool, minimalist interior, sunny back yard, super-friendly team and great offers (coffee and a filled bagel for £5 on weekdays). They’ll service your bike, too (£15). Further along the High Street you’ll find The Waiting Room, a veggie and vegan café that also offers delicious coffee, all served up with a playful irreverence that has won them many loyal customers.

Have a Mooch

Tanner’s Hill has two great shops.

Family-run butcher Wellbeloved has been supplying Deptford folk with a range of meats, sausages and pies since 1829. The ornate glass sign inside the shop is an instant giveaway of the shop’s heritage.

Just over the road is record shop Vinyl. Stepping inside feels like being welcomed into someone’s front room. There’s a great selection of smoothies and beers for thirstier visitors, too. Saturday is market day.

Head to Douglas Way for the most mind-boggling selection of bric a brac, chat to the stallholders — every one of them has a story to tell. Grab a coffee at Dungarees mobile cafe — lovely! — and next, visit Win & Ruby,

WORDS: Ruth Kent run by Rebecca (the shop is named after her grandparents) for a great selection of design-led gifts and cards.

Time for Lunch

Deli X, on the High Street, serves up scrumptious dishes alongside overflowing deli shelves, full of great ingredients to take home and cook with. Its relaxed setting, complete with sun-trap of a garden, is the perfect place for lazy, healthy lunches with friends.

Over on the corner of New Cross Road and Watson Street is the Greenhouse Cafe – their salads are some of the best to be found in SE London – in fact, the whole menu is very tasty and offers excellent value for money.

Take a Walk

On Douglas Way is the Albany Theatre and its excellent programme of performance-art events.

APT Gallery on Creekside is a beautiful space dedicated to visual art exhibitions. A few doors down is Cockpit Arts, which has a biannual open studios event showcasing some of London’s best designermakers. Also on Creekside is the gorgeous Herzog & de Meuron3

designed Laban Building — head here for contemporary dance events. Deptford Cinema on Deptford Broadway opened when the borough of Lewisham was one of two London boroughs with no cinema. Great films, lovely little bar, all very affordable. Their quiz nights are great too!

Grab a Pint

The Dog & Bell (Prince Street) has quality real ales and a friendly atmosphere. If you like your pint with a side of loud music, the Bird’s Nest (Deptford Church Street) is for you. The Duke (Creek Road) has a great menu and plenty of seating space. The Job Centre bar on Deptford High Street, does a mean scotch egg.

Stop for Dinner

Buster Mantis (Resolution Way) serves impeccable jerk chicken in a contemporary setting. The team are friendly and the owner is both interesting and droll.

Wunderlust (Deptford Church Street) is a kid-friendly venue comprised partly of an old, converted Routemaster bus, with an ever-evolving, tasty menu.

NOW OPEN IN HITHER GREEN! So if you like proper coffee, a hearty & healthy breakfast or lunch come along!

Oh and the Guinness cake is pretty good too.

We are open Mon-Fri: 8.00 - 16.30 Saturday 9.00 - 16.00, Sunday 10.00 - 16.00

60 Springbank Rd SE13 6SN 0203 581 7887

WE BUILT THIS CITY

on Beer, Hot sauce, Vinyl, Wine, Cider.

All the good things.

SHOP TASTING ROOM ONLINE DELIVERY

38 East Dulwich Rd, London SE22 9AX 020 7450 0284 hopburnsblack.co.uk @hopburnsblack

SE LONDON JOURNAL

Chapter One

Food 5

SE LONDON JOURNAL

Store Cupboard Essentials When time or money is tight, there’s only one place to turn: the store cupboard.

Here we have a slightly more indulgent selection of store cupboard essentials, but turn the page to find some fantastic recipes using similar staples.

Minerva Portuguese Sardines F.C. Super, SE15 Sap'Ori & Col'Ori, Strozzapreti Macaroni The Larder, SE13 Smoked garlic bulb Franklin's Farm Shop, SE22 Sua Maesta, Organic Balsamic Vinegar Franklins Farm Shop, SE22

PHOTO: Penny Wincer pennywincer.co.uk SET & STYLING: Juliet Baptiste-Kelly julietbk.com

South London Permaculture Bum Bum Virgin Olive Oil The Larder, SE13 Brockley Honey The Larder, SE13 El Navarrico Garbanzos chickpeas Franklins Farm Shop, SE22 Maldon Smoked Salt The Larder, SE13 Fresh Farm Eggs Flock & Herd, SE15

7

Probably what taught me to cook, in the end, was my wilderness years — post music industry failure, civil service meltdown, something-to-do-with-web-designer crisis… too many times I’ve stood in front of an empty cupboard, ravenous, broke and desperate. Such experiences taught me to prepare for the leaner times by embracing the jarred, tinned, and dried. Since rather bewilderingly finding myself cooking for a living, I’m now short of time more than anything, and the convenience of the store-cupboard rescues me time and time again.

WORDS: Owen Barratt

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SE LONDON JOURNAL

PASTA WITH SARDINES, RAISINS, BREAD— CRUMBS For Two In Sicily, this is made with fresh anchovies/sardines. Sometimes they boil the pasta with a fennel bulb. Sounds weird, but is delicious.

This approximation is a standby I come back to again and again.

If you’re a Puttanesca person, I urge you to try this. Here, I use spaghetti, but any dry pasta will do.

For The Soup: 1 tin sardines in oil 4 anchovy fillets 2 clove garlic, chopped finely 4 tbsp tomato passata 4 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp raisins 3 tbsp breadcrumbs 2 tbsp parsley, chopped finely salt to taste 100-130g pasta per person (use dried. as good as you can find) 1 litre boiling water, with 10g salt per person

Method: 1. Add your pasta to the boiling, salted water.

2. In a dry, hot pan, toast the breadcrumbs until they start to turn golden. Set to once side.

Add the olive oil, chopped garlic and raisins to the hot pan. Cook for a few moments until the garlic starts to smell sweet, but before it starts to colour.

3. Add the anchovies, tomato, and after a few moments, the tin of sardines (drain the oil first).

When the sauce is steaming and the anchovies have melted, turn off the heat. Season with salt to your taste.

4. When the pasta is cooked to your liking, use tongs to lift the pasta into the sauce (or if you use a colander, save some pasta water in a cup before draining), and add the chopped parsley.

5. Toss the pasta through the sauce. Add a little pasta water if it looks too dry, and keep tossing until the sauce sticks to the pasta and the ingredients are equally distributed.

6. Plate the pasta and garnish with the toasted breadcrumbs

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CHICKPEA SOUP WITH SOMETHING GRILLED For Two, easily multiplied Hard to look beyond humus when encountering a quality jar of chickpeas. But you must. This is a brilliant start to a dinner party.

You can finish this with anything grilled - squid, chorizo, courgettes, cauliflower; chose one and grill on a barbecue if you have one to hand. If you can’t find a decent jar of chickpeas, soak and cook your own. This will not be delicious with a tin.

For The Soup: 1 jar garbanzo/chickpeas, drained 1 onion, finely chopped 1 celery stick, finely chopped 1 spring rosemary 1 bay leaf 4 tbsp olive oil 1 litre stock (something light; chicken, veg or veal) Salt and pepper For The Topping: I used roasted cauliflower, in a hot oven for an hour. Use anything you have (see above). Whatever you use, get it nice and charred.

2 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste Pinch salt 2tsp parsley 2tsp mint Method: 1. Over a medium heat, sweat the chopped onion and celery in the olive oil until translucent. Add the rosemary, bay leaf, and chickpeas.

Cook for 30 mins or so, until the broth is fragrant and vegetables have cooked.

3. Remove the rosemary and bay leaf. Use a food processor, blender or hand blender to blend the soup to a smooth, thick soup. Pass this through a sieve if you’re trying to impress someone, and return to the heat.

4. Add stock to reach a thick soup consistency, it should be thick enough to support the weight of your garnish.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste (be careful if you’ve used a stock cube). Remove from the heat until ready to serve. Keep some stock handy in case you need to loosen it up.

6. For the topping mix the crushed garlic with salt, oil and chopped herbs and set to one side.

7. Take your choice of grilled topping, and (whilst it is still hot) add to the herby oil in the bowl.

Toss so each piece is evenly covered.

8. Serve the hot soup with grilled garnish on top, and a generous glug of the best olive oil you can find.

2. Cover with stock, 2 fingers’ height above the chickpeas. Keep the rest of the stock to the side.

11

SE Takeaways We’re blessed with a plethora of fantastic takeaways in South East London, with many of the best known restaurants and eateries having a takeaway outpost too. Here’s a handful of our favourites, all perfect for when the nights start to draw in.

12

Panas Gurkha, SE13

Our takeaway was given to us by the welcoming Sujan, owner of the Panas Gurkha, which has been on Lee High Road for over five years.

Sujan explained that Nepalese cuisine reflects his country’s diverse cultural and ethnic mix.

For a starter, we had a delicious lamb dumpling called a Momo served with a tomato chutney.

Our main course was one of Sujan’s recommendations – Jhaneko Masu – pieces of lamb pan fried with spring onions, chilli and fenugreek; really tasty with a kick. We also ordered Jogi Tarkari: vegetables cooked in a Nepalese sauce. Sujan explained that a jogi is an offering made to the Nepalese monks who would call door to door in his village when he was growing up. Finally, we had a fabulous Tarka Dal – lentils cooked in garlic and cumin seeds, wonderfully creamy as well as rice and naan bread.

Panas Gurkha is definitely worth checking out for a fresh, well cooked and really tasty takeaway.

They are also branching out into catering for events. Failing that, go to the restaurant itself for a really warm Nepalese welcome!

PHIL NICHOLS

THE BREAKFAST CO. SE5 A service that can become dangerous once you know its existence, it’s all too temping to make it a Sunday morning habit!

We went for the Southside Eggs a delicious veggie English muffin option (though you can add bacon) comprising of a tall muffin, soft egg, caramelised onion, chives, cheddar and the glorious South Side sauce — so savoury and delicious, also pretty saucy, which I find it quite rare with the veggie options.

Our second savoury option was the zesty Avocado Smash — a perfectly cooked egg, smashed avocado, fresh chilli, rocket, a round of sourdough toast and a wedge of lime — a perky and fresh brunch option. We felt we had to try the Buttermilk Pancake Stack because it’s hard to resist a sweet treat, but more importantly, we just had to test how the pancakes would travel. They faired pretty well, still sufficiently hot although, unsurprisingly, a tiny bit wilted from the condensation. As we had such a feast it was a bit longer before tackling the pancakes so popped them in the toaster which revived them (also good for left overs) and they were delicious with the house blueberry syrup and whipped cream. We washed all this down with one of the fresh pear and ginger pressed juices; they have a great selection of juices and smoothies to counteract the gluttonous feeling of having breakfast delivered to your door!

GANAPATI TAKEAWAY, SE15 The food on offer at Ganapati Takeaway in Peckham (not to be confused with their sister restaurant — they have similar but different menus) is firmly South Indian. Geographically the regions of Kerela, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, from which Ganapati takes its main inspiration, jut furthest out into the Indian Ocean and as such the menu features a lot of fish, seafood and vegetable dishes — and they’re all delicious. The Chaliyam Fish Curry, a flaky seabass fillet in a mild coconut sauce was a real highlight, sweet, creamy and savoury all at once. Ganapati highlight the vegan options on their menu, which can really hold their own against the meat or fish mains. Pacha Parippu, a daal with courgettes and green cabbage was really good, as was the Thoran — a flavourful stir-fried vegetable dish with coconut and curry leaves; the mung bean and beetroot curry was also excellent.

My favourite dish was actually the Nadan Lamb Curry — really rich and delicious, almost like a spiced stew with potatoes and fennel.

I’d thoroughly recommend Ganapati Takeaway, the food’s great — plus it’s so inclusive, one of those rare places where the meat-eaters can eat as well as the veggies and vegans!

FRANKLINS WOOD ROASTED CHICKEN, SE22 Franklins are staples of Lordship Lane’s food community — not only offering a well stocked farm shop but a great restaurant too and it’s from the latter that this takeaway was delivered. They offer wood roasted chicken as the main element on their takeout menu — coming in quarter, half or whole in lemon, ras el hanout, piri piri and the excellent thyme and garlic that we ordered. The whole bird, turned out onto a plate looked pretty impressive — daunting even, considering its size — for a midweek meal, particularly when accompanied by the amount of sides that came with it (we ordered their Family Bucket). Yet for a weekend treat, or even an effortless meal for a family during the week, you would be hard pressed to get an as-tasty-takeaway for less. There’s a definite mediterranean, verging into middle eastern theme with the flavouring of the meat and the sides — which were varied and also really good. Besides the usual suspects — massive, chunky potato wedges and coleslaw — were wood roasted peppers and onions with basil; cous cous with lentils, chickpeas, mint and zaatar spice mix; and smoky roasted aubergine and cauliflower — kind of like a middle eastern cauliflower cheese which was delicious.

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SE LONDON JOURNAL

MASALA WALA, SE4

On a very hot London evening, I went to pick up my take away from Masala Wala in Brockley.

The small café was packed with mid-week diners. Masala Wala is run by mother and daughter Nabeela and Samia. Their aim is simple: to provide a warm welcome and to showcase traditional Pakistani food using fresh ingredients. The lovely Saima greeted me and explained that all the food is prepared daily and the lamb dish that I had ordered had taken over four hours to cook.

All the recipes are a family secret.

Travelling the short distance back home, the car was filled with some amazing aromas. We shared a generous portion of Buhna Gosht — the spicy lamb — which was tender and beautifully cooked; spiced masala lentils; basmati rice and rotis.

We ate everything, and it was a real treat. Certainly a cut above your usual experience of a takeaway. Really fresh, intense and rustic flavours. Masala Wala is certainly a new favourite on our list! Highly recommended.

ANDY BARKER

EST. 2015

WINE-TAPAS-SHOP OPENING HOURS

MASALA WALA CAFE

WEDNESDAY (evening) 18:00 - 22:30 THURSDAY - SATURDAY (morning) 11:00 - 15:00 (evening) 18:00 - 22:30

ursofspain.co.uk For booking enquiries email loculto@f lavo www.f lavoursofspain.co.uk 57 Loampit Hill London SE13 7SZ

PAKISTANI HOME COOKING 5 Brockley Cross, SE4 2AB 020 3659 4055 www.masalawalacafe.co.uk

@LocultoBrockley

Fantastic tasting local products, organic fruit and vegetables, fresh bread, cheese, charcuterie,store cupboard essentials, wine and local craft beers.

OPENING HOURS MON: closed | TUE - WED: 9am - 6pm THU-FRI: 9am-8pm | SAT: 9am - 5pm | SUN 10am - 4pm www.thelarderdeli.com 71 Ladywell Road, London SE13 7JA t: 0208 314 5797 | e: info@thelarderdeli.com @LaderLadywell

MAMA THAI, SE17

Set up by the head chef of Piccadilly’s award winning Thai Pavillion, I had been taken to Mama Thai on Walworth Road by a friend over a year ago, yet currently living out of the catchment area for delivery, I had been waiting far too long for my next umami fix.

Back then I ordered what was the best prawn dish I’ve had from a thai, but was stumped trying to find it on the menu this time round.

After a long day and craving a familiar friend, I opted for the king prawn red curry and my friend the green curry with chicken. They offered that certain taste you can’t recreate at home — smooth, with a kick and that subtle heat. As a side, we shared a Mama’s Platter — spring rolls, chicken satay, vegetable tempura and fish cakes — that didn’t travel amazingly, but I’ll admit with no shame at all that I very much enjoyed the greasesoaked lettuce at the bottom of the tray. I alway find the idea of a thai takeaway the most enticing, yet sometimes it can be the most disappointing and difficult to get right. Mama Thai certainly excels in it’s more adventurous dishes, so don’t be lazy like us!

HIBAGON SUSHI & GRILL, SE26

Hibagon, in Sydenham brings a flavour of Japan to the South East. Celebrated locally for the incredibly popular chicken katsu curry, this dish is naturally a star attraction — panko-coated chicken fillets flattened and fried, sliced on a length and served on top of boiled rice finished with a flowing river of hot curry sauce.

The homemade curry here is chunky, sweet and rich with just the right kick. With an expansive menu featuring a familiar line-up of Japanese dishes, this is perfect group dining as the smaller sides and starters are amongst the must-try dishes. Get a delivery in, fill the table and feast on the likes of the four-piece monkey balls, fresh red chilli-strewn Torikarage chicken bites with sticky, sharp and sweet Teriyaki sauce and the artisan maki with crispy prawn and avocado surround! The generously portioned salmon bento box, great shared between two, includes a variety of maki, sashimi and nigiri as well as grilled salmon fillet slices and crisp salad with crunchy edamame beans. For non-sake lovers, beer avoiders and those looking for a lower alcohol alternative, try the sparkling sake drink which is both sweet and refreshing!

Totally Thames Arts & Crafts Market Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 September

Our talented designer makers celebrate the Thames in art and craft.

Wellbeing Day

Friday 16 September, 10am – 5.30pm

Family Fun at the Market

Free practical health and wellbeing advice as well as heavenly spa and therapy treatments. Many handmade, organic and fair trade skincare options.

London Design Festival

Saturdays & Sundays 17 & 18, 24 & 25 September

Visit Greenwich Market and meet our arts, craft and designer makers. Delicious street food. Open 10am – 5.30pm, including Bank Holidays. Check online for dates.

Many shops open 7 days a week

greenwichmarketlondon.com

Greenwich Gets Graphic: Weekend Meet the Maker markets, screen printing workshops, pop up art galleries and live street art.

Park It in the Market

Thursdays 29 September & 27 October, 7pm – 10pm Vintage car and bike meet. Delicious food and good music.

Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning Friday 30 September

Join in the Greenwich Bake Off for Macmillan – bring your Greenwich themed cake to the Market for judging. Let’s all make a difference.

“At any time of the year, Greenwich boasts one of London’s favourite markets.” Time Out

Spooktacular Halloween Fun Friday 28 October, 12 noon – 8pm

Face painting, scary fashion show, kids costume workshop, best dressed and best carved pumpkin prizes and a beastly dog show – it’s a scream!

Christmas Lantern Parade and Lights On Wednesday 23 November, 4pm – 6.30pm A Royal Navy charity since 1694

Enjoy the beautiful Lantern Parade through Greenwich and join in the switching on of the Market Christmas lights. Visit Father Christmas in his Greenwich grotto.

Adult learning enrol now!

enrolling now for courses starting in september Aromatherapy and massage, childcare, computing, English and maths, jewellery design, job club plus, illustration, pilates, photography, tailoring and more…

Call us now on 020 8314 3300 Adult Learning Lewisham

ALL

together we flourish

Classes five minutes from Honor Oak Park, Lewisham and Grove Park stations www.lewisham.gov.uk/adultlearning twitter.com/ComEdLewisham the sChool of Arts And design

lAnguAge, heAlth And lifestyle

skills for life And work

Community And fAmily leArning

supported leArning And mindlift

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Chapter Two

Culture & History 19

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Endurance Feat. Tenderlonious (22A) 22 SEPTEMBER

culture

A The first Endurance gathering at Amersham Arms features a DJ set from producer, Tenderlonious. The founder of 22a, the label associated with the talents of Al Dobson Jr, Jeen Bassa and Henry Wu, he’s also a talented multi-instrumentalist who’s earned props from Lefto, Osunlade and Gilles Peterson.

AMERSHAM ARMS, SE14

Pop Up Screens: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 24 SEPTEMBER

Everyone’s favourite teen film from the eighties (bar Empire Records and The Breakfast Club, of course) is being shown across London alongside some other classics as part of Pop Up Screens fifth season.

EAST GREENWICH PLEASAUNCE, SE10

Nunhead Art Trail 24 – 25 SEPTEMBER

In addition to over 80 artists exhibiting their work in local shops, houses and pubs in the area, this year will also include live performances, a 'Sound Trail', photography talk and poetry performances over the event weekend.

VARIOUS VENUES, SE15

No’s Knife 29 SEPTEMBER – 01 OCTOBER

Filled with piercing insight, rage, wit and humour, No’s Knife is an extraordinary journey into the heart of Beckett, unlocking his contemporary relevance to gender, identity and the human condition. It is an invitation to look at ourselves, and to ask who, or whom, am I? A searing personal and political vision of Beckett’s most original work: Texts for Nothing.

THE OLD VIC, SE1

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SE LONDON JOURNAL

calendar

Blue Patch Sustainable Department Store 01 OCTOBER Blue Patch is a social enterprise and curated online shop of sustainable and independently-made goods.

They’re holding their first Department Store Day featuring 200 of Britain’s finest small businesses, including locals such as Ian Dunn Woodwork & Design, SASAWORKS and Kamera Obscure.

ST BARNABAS CHURCH, SE22

London Literature Festival: Living In Future Times 05 – 16 OCTOBER

Now in its tenth year, the festival rediscovers far-sighted classics and examines how we are already living in an era predicted by Science Fiction, celebrating the work of the world’s most visionary established and upcoming writers and artists.

SOUTHBANK CENTRE, SE1

The Mountaintop 07 – 29 OCTOBER

An intimate look into the quieter moments of Dr Martin Luther King’s life, The Mountaintop chips away at the myth of the great man to expose his fears about his family, his country and the everlooming threat of a violent death. Set during the height of America’s Civil Rights Movement, Katori Hall’s sharp and powerful play confronts the legend and his legacy.

SOUTHBANK CENTRE, SE1

Midcentury Modern 20 NOVEMBER

Head to Dulwich College where for one day only Europe’s top mid-century dealers come together with some of Britain’s finest new designers to showcase the very best in 20th Century design from Britain, Europe, America and Scandinavia along with a stunning array of contemporary pieces for your home.

DULWICH COLLEGE, SE21

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In his studio in a converted munitions warehouse in West Norwood, Edmund de Waal creates delicate porcelain vessels, the majority in shades of white and cream, which he arranges in carefully composed collections.

WORDS: Louisa Bee PHOTOS: Mike Bruce

breathturn, I, 2013 Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.Â

SE LONDON JOURNAL

They form the basis of the large-scale installations he has become famous for: hundreds of fragile pots displayed in cabinets, vitrines, even suspended 80 feet in the air and often obscured — testing and questioning the way in which we engage with objects. There is an absence of the individual in De Waal’s work. Informed by his musings on literature (he is simultaneously a celebrated and passionate writer) he makes his pots in series and brings them together, inviting us to look more closely to spot the purposeful irregularities that make each one unique. A Thousand Hours, his landmark 2012 show held at the Alan Cristea Gallery in London, consisted of 2202 hand-thrown vessels, grouped to represent the ‘holding' of a large amount of time in one space. His most recent exhibitions have since transported thousands more of his vessels to locations as diverse as Beverley Hills, Vienna, Orkney and Margate.

De Waal was born in 1964 in Nottingham.

He made his first pot when he was five, after convincing his father to take him along to one of his evening classes. Aged 12, while at school in Canterbury, he started working with Geoffrey Whiting, an austere pottery teacher who told him, “the first 30,000 pots you make are the worst.”

An inconsequential piece of advice perhaps, but unquestionable for De Waal who would go on to throw thousands of the things — and not just for practice, but as the centrepiece for of his artworks.

He was taught by Whiting in the tradition of the great Edwardian potter Bernard Leach (1887-1979), who, after training in Japan, returned to England to pioneer the revival of the English studio pottery movement, championing the Eastern approach to aesthetics. De Waal was eventually to follow a similar path, the country proving a key influence on much of his artistic practice.

At 17, during a two-year apprenticeship with Whiting, De Waal deferred his first year at Cambridge University to spend six months in

Japan, where he assisted master potters and learned their craft in villages across the country.

While in Japan he made several visits to his elderly uncle Iggie, a Jewish émigré who lived in Tokyo. It was there that he first encountered his uncle’s extraordinary collection of 264 netsuke, miniature wood and ivory carvings the size of a walnut shell, traditionally used as kimono sash toggles. De Waal has reminisced on about how they were displayed in an impressive glass vitrine, and the theatre of his uncle lighting up the shelves at the push of a button. Hundreds of characters were there to be handled; wolves, ripe fruit, sleeping servants, a hare with amber eyes, all with their own individual quality and finished with the maker’s signature.

Twenty years and several visits to Japan later, De Waal inherited the collection, which had been in his family for five generations. The idea that these objects had been changing hands for nearly 150 years led him on a journey of discovery from Paris to Vienna, and finally to Tokyo. He wanted to find out more about the people who had touched them and how the collection had remained together for so long.

His international bestseller, The Hare with the Amber Eyes is a family memoir told through these objects, tracing its three previous owners and the lives the collection slotted into. It tells of one family’s experience through the twentieth century, of the turbulent effects of war and the events that ultimately left De Waal’s family with nothing more than a few books, paintings and the netsuke.

It is hard to ignore the lasting influence of the netsuke on De Waal’s choices as an artist; how that first experience of the ornaments displayed so carefully in his uncle’s glass vitrine may have instilled in him the importance of an object’s setting and inspired his move from the functional, individualised style of Whiting and Leach towards his larger collections, made for public display.

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Lichtzwang, 2014 Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.Â

John Hawkins Framing & Fabrication hawkinsframing.net instagram.com/hawkinsframing

Framers

East Dulwich

Gipsy Hill

350 Lordship Lane SE22 8LZ

Unit 6 Hamilton Road Ind. Estate SE27 9SF

020 8299 4102

020 8670 3975

'How objects embody memory – or more particularly, whether objects can hold memories – is a real question for me.

De Waal himself is not a collector in the traditional sense of the word. He has said that the money around objects is inconsequential; the value is in the maker and the artistic purity. He doesn’t buy things, apart from books, which he says doesn’t count. As an artist he focuses on his own instinct to bring objects together and make them coherent.

He has spoken about the metaphor of language in relation to his collections, and the idea of constructing a visual phrase or sentence out of his pots. But for now he has the collection of netsuke, which remains unchanged in an old vitrine in his home in East Dulwich, unlocked so his children can enjoy its contents.

[The book] is my journey to the places in which this collection lived. It is my secret history of touch.'

Predella, 2007.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

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photo: @chloedupre

MIXTAPE: THE COLLECTIVE ISSUE Another weird and wonderful selection of tracks, collectively collected together for collaborative enjoyment, together.

Let’s Work Together — Wilbert Harrison Still Together — Mac Demarco Collective Dreamwish — Grandaddy Of Upperclass Elegance Together We Can Work Together — The Jungle Giants Happy Together — The Turtles Collectors — Springtime Carnivore Collected Views from Dinner — Kilo Kish My Girls — Animal Collective Collaborate — The Outfit Collect The Trophy — 10 Ft. Ganja Plant Let’s Stay Together — Al Green Work It Out — Good Together TOGETHER — KAYTRANADA, AlunaGeorge We Belong Together — Mariah Carey Collect Call — Metric Collecting Shields — Efterklang Together Forever — Rick Astley I'm Every Woman — Chaka Khan Thinking of You — Lord Echo Stand By Me — Ben E. King Close To Me — The Cure

bit.ly/thecollectiveissuemixtape 29

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BORN n BREAD are a South East London creative collective dubbed as major cultural influencers — they have used their own unique flare to create an authentic and refreshing series of printed fanzines, alongside hosting an NTS radio show, DJing internationally, appearing as panellists and curating events. For their latest zine issue ‘African Tales’, the girls have moved beyond South East London, instead exploring their cultural roots in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana. We caught up with them to find out more…

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SELJ: Who is involved with BORN n BREAD? How did you all meet?

get a message out with one button but how long after before another message pushes it down the timeline? We’re tired of scrolling, we want to flip through sometimes. We’ve noticed that people aren’t reading tablets on the train as much anymore. We want something tangible, something that you can read over and over again, something collectible, that’s not going to disappear down the black hole of the World Wide Web. Definitely check out zines like RoadFemme, OOMK, British Values, LAW Mag, girlsclub zine, Susgang and Brash zine.

BNB: Stephanie, Chika, Adelaide, Abigail and Olivia make BORN n BREAD. Stephanie met Adelaide and Chika at Notre Dame high school where they were in the year below her. Sisters Olivia and Abigail grew up on the same estate as Chika, who’s also their godsister. Chika and Olivia went to the same university, and Adelaide met Olivia and Abigail through Chika at a concert. Stephanie met Olivia at Adelaide’s birthday dinner. Through all of those connections, BORN n BREAD was birthed in 2013. Stephanie officially joined BORN n BREAD in 2014 after falling in love with the first issue.

SELJ: You cross the river to host your popular NTS radio show too, are there any other mediums or creative outlets you’re looking to move into and explore?

SELJ: There’s a huge rise in zine culture, why do you think this is, and who else should we check out?

BNB: Zines’ popularity first exploded with the punk scene in the seventies and with Riot Grrrl in the nineties. As radical subcultures, they created a platform to make the voices and interests they didn’t see reflected in the mainstream press heard and it’s the same now. Our generation have a lot to say and if we don’t hear or see our ourselves reflected in the media then we will find a way to get our voices heard. BORN n BREAD was birthed out of the frustration of not seeing ourselves portrayed in a positive light, if any, in the media. We're so immersed in a digital space — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc. People want something else. It’s refreshing to write something down, cut, stick and print it. We can

BNB: We naturally do a lot from publishing to music. We take every day as it comes, we don’t want to do everything. People are doing amazing things that we can’t pull off. We don’t force anything unless it comes naturally to us but there will be panels, hosting, more documentaries and more special nights.

SELJ: Who else have you collaborated or worked with?

BNB: We’ve worked with brands such as Fila and Pum Pum Socks. We are yet to collaborate with anyone locally. Holla!!!

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SE LONDON JOURNAL

SELJ: What other SE-based collectives and creative groups should we keep an eye on?

able accommodation — let alone a studio. Every week a new glass house is being built while hubs, clubs and free spaces are being closed and Tesco Express appears. We work out of our homes or Rye Wax in Peckham, but will hopefully find an affordable studio. We are concerned about how creatives are affected by these rapid changes and the high rises in rent, because a lot of our creative friends have had to move out of London because they can’t afford it anymore. Creatives will always find a way though, we won’t mention the ways, but they’re there. We will always flourish and keep creating.

BNB: There are a bunch of collectives and creatives that we know, but off-head we know you should keep an eye on Unfinished Biz, Girls in Film (GIF), Gal-Dem, Polyester, Black British Girlhood, BossyLdn, BBZ, chi & ebs.

SELJ: How does South East London inspire you?

BNB: South East London inspires everything we do. From the music — when we DJ, you’ll hear our South London roots from the bashment, grime and hip hop that used to be played at all house parties back in the day, the hair salons — where you’ll be asked to come in even if your hair is already done — we’re still inspired by the different styles that come out of those salons. We all experiment with our hair all the time. The colours of the markets, the graffiti on the walls, the style, the music blaring out of shops, the people. Our first issue was definitely inspired by South East London and you can tell from our other issues, it all comes back to South East London.

SELJ: Where are your favourite places in South East London?

BNB: There are so many places in South East so we’ll stay close to Peckham. Rye Wax and Do You Records — buy records, hang, dance and do work. Corals London – good food, good people, great hang. Bussey Building — everyone knows the deal. Peckham Springs — another good spot for a drink, ask Sam to make your Whisky Sours!

Old Spike Roastery — fantastic coffee, cool spot and lovely people. Lolak’s delicious African food, Gabby’s, Jerkiz for tasty Caribbean food, the Korean spot on Walworth Road, Banh Banh, No.67, Moo Moo’s — get your grub on here.

SELJ: The area has changed so much in the past few years, are you concerned about how this will effect how creative people will be able to stay and flourish in this city?

BNB: Change can be good but it all depends on who the change is for. Unfortunately for the creatives, it’s becoming harder to find afford-

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REVIEW: BOOKS Katya and Roz from the brilliant Review Bookshop curate this issue’s book selection. reviewbookshop.co.uk

SPHINX Anne F. Garetta This gem of a novel was published in 1986 and translated into English last year.

In the 1980s, our narrator slips from their rigid life of academia into the fluidity of the Parisian club scene. Garetta, a member of the Oulipo group, worked in this instance with one constraint, that the couple remain genderless to the reader, but despite its lack of gender there is no lack of bodies or sensation.

It’s whilst DJing at Club Apocryphe that the narrator views the crowd, “The numerous, innumerable bodies… a monster of a hundred heads and tangled limbs”. In this melee the narrator meets A***, a cabaret dancer (the sphinx of the title), and a deep sexual passion begins to develop. In a sense the genderless aspect tells you as much about yourself as it does the narrator and A***. In each paragraph, the gender configuration of the couple morphs and changes constantly like the dancers in the club until it becomes simply irrelevant, and the compelling, heartbreaking and entirely relatable love story comes through.

EVERYONE IS WATCHING Megan Bradbury In her debut novel, Megan Bradbury draws a sensuous flesh and blood portrait of New York using the lives and voices of famous artists, alive and dead, and their friends, lovers and relatives to conjure an unusually bold, beautiful and very, very sexy picture of the city from its modern beginnings to the present day. She intersperses the narratives of Robert Mapplethorpe, Edmund White, Walt Whitman and Robert Moses and their various cohorts and contemporaries like Patti Smith, Richard Bucke, Jane Jacobs, and 'others' with short descriptions of real works of art, film, installation and performance

by Gordon Matta-Clark, Laurie Anderson, Nan Goldin and Richard Serra, which enhance the text with known, or knowable, visual images. Through these stories Bradbury is showing us the parts that form the sinewy whole of the city itself, its physicality and the imaginings made real within it by its inhabitants past, present and future.

THE LESSER BOHEMIANS Eimar McBride This story of a young Irish woman moving to London to study drama and falling in love with an older actor was one of the most eagerly awaited books of the year. McBride’s first novel, A Girl Is a Half Formed Thing, scooped a host of prizes, including The Goldsmiths Award and the Desmond Elliot Prize.

Fans of the first novel should certainly not be disappointed by The Lesser Bohemians. McBride’s wildly staccato, Joycean stream of consciousness is peppered with dialogue in loose couplets, quatrains and other prosodic forms, often profane in content. We experience the couple falling in love, revealing themselves and their histories to each other slowly and cautiously amidst the violence of their sexual desire. The Lesser Bohemians is McBride at her best, brutal, tender and linguistically mesmerising.

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Peckham Festival From the people behind Copeland Park, this September sees the inaugural Peckham Festival take place. Here’s our tips for the weekend running 8th—11th. Head to their website to see the full line-up.

FILM

Pedal Powered Cinema — Blues Brothers (1) Hosted by Electric Pedals and Peckham & Nunhead Free Film Festival, this is no ordinary al fresco screening. The concept means audience members have to join together and pedal to keep it playing. Don’t miss this 80s cult classic… with a twist.

Kadialy Kouyate Born into the great line of the Kouyaté Griots in Southern Senegal, Kadialy Kouyate’s kora music has been enjoyed by huge audiences around the world. Last year saw him playing to 750,000 people at Woodstock in Poland. Catch him at in the slightly smaller setting of Copeland Park!

Clowns Without Borders A comedy spectacular in aid of Clowns Without Borders — a group who sends performers to children and communities affected by war, conflict and other crises around the world to improve the psycho-social condition of children through laughter and play.

FOOD & DRINK

Born n Bread DJ Set (4) Some fantastic publications [including us, see p31] have highlighted BORN n BREAD for their bold take on youth culture. Come and hear what makes them tick; if their NTS show is anything to go by, expect the finest selection of hip-hop and R’n’B.

WALKS, TALKS & WORKSHOPS

Guarapo (2) With her sugarcane bar and electric cane press, Dawn is bringing freshly pressed Guarapo to the streets of London, poured over ice with a squeeze of lime. Delicious.

Drums & Flats (3) South London locals, Khamisi McKenzie & Daniel Opoku-Baah set up Drums & Flats in 2015, transforming a passion for chicken wings into not just a business, but also a real labour of love.

MUSIC

Thursday Night At Rye Wax A lesbian night primarily aimed at black women but everyone's welcome here; you can expect to hear everything from bashment and R&B to classic grime and funky cuts.

PERFORMANCE

CAMP-er-VAN (5) Inspired by London’s queer spaces, the CAMP-er-VAN is a transportable performance and community caravan. It will showcase over 20 performances, from burlesque to spoken word, film screenings and audience participation events.

Comedy Show

PECKHAMFESTIVAL.ORG 36

Peckham Vision Walk A tour of the sites that have been part of the community campaign since 2005 when Copeland Park, the Bussey Building and more were threatened with demolition. The tour will recall the history of the buildings and on-going community work.

Southwark Dementia Action Alliance x Dulwich Picture Gallery Particularly welcoming to older people and those with dementia and their carers. Learn about the collection, explore new art techniques, get creative and have fun! All materials will be provided and no experience is necessary. The friendly, experienced educators will be there to provide support and guidance throughout.

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Sisters Uncut WORDS: Emma

Snaith

PHOTOS: Claudia

Guariglia, Emily Benington

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For over a month this summer, activists from feminist direct action group Sisters Uncut occupied a vacant shop on Peckham’s Rye Lane to highlight the lack of social housing for survivors of domestic violence in Southwark. The site was a hive of activity, drawing in the local community with workshops about the current state of domestic violence services, a crèche and yoga and art sessions. We spoke to two of the sisters about the occupation and what the future holds for South East London Sisters Uncut in their fight against cuts to domestic violence services.

South East London Sisters Uncut was formed in early 2016 as a regional offshoot of the national Sisters Uncut group, a vibrant and wellknown feminist direct action group. The national group has recently attracted international attention in its efforts to oppose cuts to domestic violence services. Notable protests saw the group storming the red carpet at the premiere of the Sarah Gavron-directed film Suffragette, burning copies of the Daily Mail outside the newspaper’s head offices, and dying the fountains of Trafalgar Square red.

The South East London Sisters Uncut group has been proactive in making its mark on the local area. In the first half of 2016, it set up a street stall near Lewisham shopping centre, and put up posters around the streets of South East London bearing the slogan ‘Give us dollar George’, calling for the then-Chancellor George Osborne to ring-fence funding for domestic violence services. However, the group’s occupation of a vacant shop in Peckham this summer has been its biggest action to date.

Sitting in the group’s Peckham occupation site, Ashley and Rosa of South East London Sisters Uncut explain the motivation behind their latest project: “Women from Southwark were coming to our meetings and we were just hearing the same thing over and over again: how can we leave, there’s nowhere to go.” Banners baring the group’s unmistakable green and purple logo decorate the walls of the occupation site reiterating the group’s core message with the slogan ‘How can she leave if she has nowhere to go?’

South East London Sisters Uncut point out that social housing is a lifeline for women experiencing domestic violence. This is especially true at a time when government cuts have left domestic violence shelters in crisis, with 34 specialist refuge centres closing since 2010. Yet a

recent freedom of information request revealed that 47% of people who approached Southwark Council to be rehoused following incidents of domestic violence were turned away. This is despite the fact that there are 1,270 empty council homes in Southwark.

These sobering statistics galvanised South East London Sisters Uncut to carry out its recent occupation in Peckham, in protest at what they call Southwark Council’s woeful record of rehousing domestic violence survivors. In doing so, Sisters Uncut emulated the actions of the women who set up the first ever women’s refuges in the 1970s, squatting in empty buildings. The focus of the occupation was to demand support and safe, secure housing for all survivors of domestic violence in the borough.

From the first week of its occupation at the end of June to the last a month later, the group says that the site was “buzzing with activity”. A large banner outside the vacant shop announced Sisters Uncut’s presence on Rye Lane and welcomed women and non-binary people from the local community into the space. Over the course of the project, the group held a series of talks about the current state of domestic violence services and organised film screenings, poetry recitals, self-defense classes, art activities and yoga sessions.

As a key part of raising awareness about the challenges encountered by women facing domestic violence, the group’s members were keen to highlight the specific struggles of women from black and Asian minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Sisters Uncut describes maintaining strong intersectional values as one its driving priorities, recognising that women of colour, disabled women, LGB and trans women face the highest levels of violence. Indeed, this is a particular issue in Southwark — since 2010, Southwark Council has cut all funding for BAME domestic violence services. Rosa explains that during talks the group “would mainly raise up the voices of BAME women, and migrant women, and those needing specialist domestic violence services.”

Sisters Uncut’s Ashley observes that opening the occupation “showed how important these type of spaces are for communities”. She says that the group’s activities were met with great support from the local community, and notes that the group actively created a welcoming and safe environment in which Peckham residents 39

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could come together, including setting up a crèche to ensure that mothers and carers could participate in the services offered by the occupation.

Rosa reflects on how the space became “quite a social centre. We had people bringing us food, bringing us supplies, stopping in,” she continues, adding that “we even had some women who would come in the morning and have their first cuppa with us before going to work.” As a result, the group doubled in size within the space of a week, enabling Sisters Uncut to draw on the specific knowledge of local residents. By the end of the occupation, almost 200 local residents had written postcards to Southwark Council demanding greater support for survivors of domestic violence.

Now that the occupation is over, what’s next for South East London Sister’s Uncut?

Despite drawing significant attention to the plight of domestic violence survivors in Southwark and receiving substantial support from the local community, the group reports that it has so far received a limited response from Southwark Council. Councilor Stephanie Cryan defended the council’s record, arguing that “statistics alone do not show the whole picture.”

South East London Sisters Uncut say they remain undeterred. “Our fight against Southwark Council continues and will escalate” states Rosa.

The group says it has other actions planned for the future, and hopes eventually to set up several more localised collectives across South East London.

The group also intends to continue to support the work of other Sisters Uncut groups across London and the rest of the country. It is currently working alongside the East End Sisters Uncut occupation of an empty council home in Hackney.

Whatever happens, members of South East London Sisters Uncut insist they will continue to use direct action to communicate their message and press for change. “We want to cause disruption.

We don’t want business as usual because business as usual is killing our sisters”, Rosa explains, adding, “so that’s why we turn to direct action.” At a time when much political activism takes place online, Sisters Uncut members feel there is power in taking their campaign to the streets. Musing on the highly creative and visual nature of the group’s protests, Ashley remarks “We choose high visual impact with high disruption – women and nonbinary people are a creative bunch, we’re not basic.”

As austerity cuts continue to result in the reduction of domestic violence services and secure social housing, South East London Sisters Uncut describes its activities as being “more urgent than ever. Two women are killed every week by a partner or ex-partner in the UK, and in London an eighth of people presenting as homeless cite domestic violence as the reason.

However, South East London Sisters Uncut is determined to fight back against these cuts and work within the local community to support survivors of domestic violence.”

— Follow @SistersUncut on social media for updates about the group’s activities. The group urges local women and non-binary people to get involved in its upcoming activities and calls on male supporters to spread the word.

Emma is a freelance journalist writing mostly about politics and social activism. She also works part time at the Hare and Billet Pub in Blackheath.

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HORNIMAN MUSEUM PHOTOS: ALEX REYTO

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North Hall, National History Gallery, 1912

North Hall, National History Gallery, 2016

alexreyto.co.uk

HER– STORY

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‘If you ring The Feminist Library and no one picks up, the answerphone message says: ‘I’m sorry we can’t answer your call, we are too busy fighting the patriarchy”.’

SINCE 1975, SOUTH EAST LONDON HAS BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE HOME TO A LARGE AND BRILLIANT ARCHIVE OF WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT LITERATURE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE FEMINIST LIBRARY. WE CAUGHT UP WITH ALICE WROE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT WITH THE FEMINIST LIBRARY, AND ALSO ABOUT HER CURRENT PROJECT, HERSTORY.

If you ring The Feminist Library and no one picks up, the answerphone message says: ‘I’m sorry we can’t answer your call, we are too busy fighting the patriarchy’. All the women in this collective are busy, all the time. Not only fighting the patriarchy, but also with childcare, paid work and other activist commitments. Joining them, and becoming part of this loud, sprawling collective definitely made me busier. It also gave me new ways of speaking and being, modelled on the women I met, that meant just by existing in a public way I was — as the answerphone – busy fighting the patriarchy.

I love the periodicals room at the Feminist Library; through the journals and magazines that line the walls you can look, read and smell your way through the Women’s Liberation Movement.

I find the advertising in them illuminating, adverts for consciousness-raising groups in London, self-help women’s groups in Ireland and demonstrations across the UK. These magazines seemed to be the link between women around the country; paper pages fostering the community of those in the seventies who had decided that the personal was political and who were seeking to 52

change their lives and the world through working collectively. Most issues of Spare Rib, the Women’s Liberation magazine, are housed at the Feminist Library. When the magazine was founded, a woman could not buy a car or obtain a mortgage without a man’s signature. As the publication developed, the women running it decided it was important to mirror the non-hierarchical ethos of the Women’s Liberation Movement, and so they began to operate as a collective. Work was shared between members and all had equal weight in decision-making.

At the Feminist Library, the aim is to work in the same way. Some of the women I worked with at the library read Spare Rib when it came out in the seventies, some wrote for it. The collective is made up of feminists of all ages. Speaking together and sharing decisions, at its best it allowed space for genuine intergenerational feminist dialogue; at its worst the meetings would take hours and become tense, volunteers would leave.

All of our decisions were made by consensus. We discussed issues until we came to an outcome that everyone felt happy with — or some53

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times that no one felt unhappy with. This requires being generous, bringing your own experience to the table. More importantly it requires knowing when your experience ends and listening to and trusting someone else’s. Meetings were long and often heated, as our differing feminisms meet each other, swelling through the library, intertwining, changing and developing as we spoke together.

Feminist Library legend recalls a time when our dialogue was made manifest in the collection: a book on sex work was catalogued under ‘Work’, the next week it was moved to ‘Violence against women’, then back it went to ‘Work’. For me, conversation and intergenerational working are vital to sustaining the Library and the feminist movement, but both must be places where all selfidentified women feel safe and valued. If we have any hope of bringing down the patriarchy then they must both be places where all feminisms can meet, come together and be challenged.

Being part of a collective is an authentic feminist way of working, where ideology is lived rather than discussed. It enabled me to do the feminism I read about, to support other women, to grow because they support me; it celebrates skill sharing and dialogue. Without working in this way, feminist organisations are in danger of recreating the power structures that uphold the systems we seek to break down. To work genuinely collectively displays the generosity, sensitivity and strength that for me must be the centre of the movement.

I am no longer part of the collective that runs the Feminist Library, as I needed space to focus on my project Herstory, which uses feminist art to engage young people with women’s history that is absent in the curriculum. But I carry with me the ethos of collective action. In these sessions I try to create communities in classrooms, flatten the hierarchies that are inherent when sharing conventional histories. Herstory sessions are shaped by those involved, who learn about, interpret and share the lives of women who have been written out of history. I feel like it is through working in these collective ways that we don’t have to ‘lean in’ as Sheryl Sandberg asks us to. We don’t want to and shouldn’t lean in to a patriarchal, white supremacist system of capitalism and individualism, but rather lean around, creep up on patriarchy and offer different, stronger, collective ways of building and shaping our lives and the world.

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Abigail Read

You might recognise Abigail’s work from the hugely popular plant print she made for The Botanical Issue.

In between commissions for cafes, restaurants and cookery books, we were lucky enough to get Abigail onboard for this autumn edition.

SELJ: How long have you lived in South East London and what brought you to the area?

is done with a more compact kit, which is more efficient. I still love to get back down to the papers, paints and scalpel when I can though…

AR: I moved to Sydenham in 2011, then on to Peckham in 2012. I originally moved here to live with some pals, but now I have big love for SE London, and when those friends moved North, I decided to stay put.

SELJ: What has been your favourite commission so far?

AR: Oh that's a tough one. I was commissioned to do a set of drawings on location for Le Pain Quotidien’s cookbook, which was ace because I was out and about drawing their cafes across London. That one was great. There’s something really lovely about having a set of materials, a quiet spot to sit for a few hours away from a computer screen, and no chances to procrastinate!

SELJ: What is your ideal working set up?

AR: Being outdoors in the sunshine, I find any excuse to get out on my bike and go drawing on location. It has it’s drawbacks — I’m still perfecting my ‘essentials’ kit, and I struggle not to take everything but the kitchen sink. Most of the time though, I can be found in my sunny studio in the Bussey Building in Peckham, with my two ace studio pals, 6music on the radio, a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive… That’s also pretty dreamy.

SELJ: What is your dream commission?

AR: I’d like someone to commission me to go travelling around the world and document my journey through illustration as I go. There’s got to be a way to make that a legitimate job, right?

Anyone…?

SELJ: What is normally the starting point for your

work?

AR: When I get the chance to play around with a project, I start with a big sheet of layout paper and some pencils, and scribble loads of scruffy drawings and ideas out. I usually find my favourite illustrations on those initial sheets.

SELJ: What are your favourite places in SE London?

AR: The Royal Greenwich Observatory and Copeland Park, for completely opposite reasons.

There is something very humbling about looking out over the City from the place where time and space are measured. Copeland Park (home to the Bussey Building and my studio), on the other hand, is just mad. There is always something exciting going on and it’s the home of such a creative and diverse community…. Copeland Park Fam for life, yo.

SELJ: Do you have materials you stick with for most of your work?

AR: I used to do lots of collage with papers that I had painted and drawn on. Now, I have a core set of favourite pencils and paints, along side an iMac, a scanner, and a huge digital library of those collage papers. So now, a lot of my work

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Copeland Park Copeland Park is a collection of old industrial buildings just off Peckham’s busiest street. Here you can find the infamous Bussey Building, as well as the historic retail spaces of Rye Lane’s Holdrons Arcade. The site has slowly become the epicentre of the area’s creative and multi-cultural scene, battling property developers and keeping alive all that makes the area so unique.

Photography: Alex Reyto

Sydney Thornbury we're so happy with how it's looking. It's a testament to the Peckham community that so many people have come forward to take part. We have over 150 activities and over 60 studios open over the four days – it's great!

I think I'm the proudest of the artist commissions with Rye Lane Traders and the Reflecting Peckham exhibition because they really give a taste of what Peckham is all about, which is its rich mix of people.

Sydney Thornbury is helping take Copeland Park and Bussey Building to its next stage.

What do you think are the contributing factors that make Copeland Park / Bussey Building such an interesting place to work? What is your role here?

Copeland Park is such a vibrant and diverse place and I love how organically it's grown. The Wilson family have fought so hard to keep it from being developed for housing. They wanted to make it into a place where people came to work, create and enjoy and I think they've done a great job. They are certainly not your typical landlords! My background is in arts management and social enterprise and I had worked with the Wilsons a bit when I was CEO at the Blackheath Conservatoire. When that job ended, they asked if I would come and help at Copeland Park as it is growing so fast.

They know that they are moving into the next stage of business development where they need to systemise and grow, but they don't want to do anything that will quash the organic and creative vibe that's developed here. That's the space I like to work in — navigating between the needs of artists and the needs of business, so it's a really great gig.

Give us three Copeland Park / Bussey Building tips…

Hmmm. I'm trying to not make them all about food!

Number one: I love all the food places on site but Oi Spaghetti and Taco Queen particularly stand out for me. Number two: we’re doing a lot to green the space and have recently re-located (and are resuscitating!) the fifteen trees from Moncreiff Place, and have also worked with The Nines to build some wonderful benches with planters in them. Bosse & Baum gave us the plants that were donated by the RHS for their recent exhibition, so it's been a real community effort and it's looking great. I love to water the plants with the kids who are here on site. Number three: a couple of months ago we found a secret room under the car park. You can only access it through the man-hole and I'm dying to do a performance in it for the festival next year!

When you venture out of Peckham, where are you favourite places?

Well, I'm a Brockley girl through and through. So I would have to give a big shout out for walking the dog on Hilly Fields, grabbing a coffee at Brown's of Brockley and having dinner at the new tapas place, L'Oculto at Number 57.

It’s the inaugural Peckham Festival this September, how are things shaping up?

Well, Southwark council wanted an Open Studios in Peckham, but we thought we could make it a bit more than that – there’s such a broad range of artists and creatives working across all disciplines here. In this first year we've had to put it together really quickly, but 59

get some great food, drink and visit some of the other independent businesses in the area.

What does your average day look like?

An average day would involve firstly checking any emails that have come in overnight, we’re fortunate to have customers from all over the world — customer service and building strong relationships is at the forefront of what we do. Then it's straight into preparing and packaging up overnight orders from the website. Once this is done, it will be on to shooting any new product that may have arrived and uploading this to the website. On weekdays we have some visitors, but the majority visit on Saturdays due to working during the week and the location!

How has being based in Bussey building influenced or benefited your business?

The shop has been open for eight months, so up until fairly recently I've just been concentrating on getting the shop off the ground and establishing a following.

Now though I've begun talking with some makers based in Bussey/Copeland Park about bringing their ceramics into the store. Most of what we sell comes from the other side of the world, so it's about time we start offering some great work from the other side of the building! Aside from this, from the start I've used Sunset Studios (Photography space) who are located a few floors up from me to do a lot of my product shots.

What drew you to set up shop in Peckham?

It's probably best to give some context to the shop first — the focus from the start was always the online

Alpha Shadows Alpha Shadows provides a curated selection of men’s clothing, contemporary ceramics and handcrafted goods from some of the finest international makers. We spoke to its founder, Tom. Another benefit is that the other businesses provided an extra incentive for customers to visit, such as Rye Wax or the rooftop bar for example.

store. I certainly do most of my shopping online and feel more and more people are the same. But I also appreciate how important it can be to see, feel and try stuff on in the flesh. Therefore I wanted a shop space in a location that people could reach easily from central London — maybe one that isn't a traditional retail destination for mens clothing - but has a lot of interesting things going on. I hope that someone who's made the journey from further afield to see us will also

How did your passion for Japanese clothes develop?

I've always been into clothes and shoes since I can remember really, particularly stuff that was hard to find and I didn't think any of my friends would be wearing!

So from maybe eleven or twelve it would be going up to 60

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London shopping with my Mum, fairly confident in the knowledge I'd be finding something a bit different. By the time I was out of school and at University, I began to spend a lot of time on some of the blogs that had started to appear — this really expanded my knowledge and interest about what was out there. At that time I was more into what would be called 'streetwear', graphic t-shirts from obscure small businesses from San Francisco for example and then over time I became more interested in quality and where something was made. At first this was shirts made in the USA, footwear made in England and then selvedge denim from Japan, which is widely considered to produce the best denim in the world. These were noticeably better in terms of quality and fit then any pair I'd owned before and led me to discover what else these denim brands offered clothing wise. More often than not this would be on an incredibly obscure, indecipherable and often basic Japanese shop's website. Once I'd found these sites, I then began to discover other brands I'd never heard of before and were unobtainable outside of Japan which immensely appealed to my long held desire to wear something that would be different and great quality!

How do you source your pieces from Japan?

I travel there two or three times a year on buying trips visiting brands in person and also doing a lot of walking discovering new ones. The retail experience there is on another level to anywhere else I've been in the world.

Each time I go I always discover some amazing new things, the hardest bit is choosing what would work best for the shop!

What are you favourite places in South East London?

With the shop being based in Peckham I tend to spend the vast amount of my time there - outside of looking after my newborn son. My morning coffee comes from The Refreshment Rooms on my way from the station (Ali Baba Juice Bar — R.I.P). Lunch might come from Oi Spaghetti just outside in Copeland Park, the taco man down in Rye Wax or a halloumi wrap from the Momo's van on rye lane. For an after work drink it's usually The Nines, Bar Story or The Montpelier. There's a great little gift shop too on Bellenden Road for last minute birthday cards etc. as I always leave it late.

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Matt de Jong How has being based in the Bussey Building influenced you?

I find the Bussey Building hugely inspiring. I’m on the 4thfloor so we have views across the whole of London.

Sounds like a cliché but I sometimes look out the windows and realise how lucky I am to be here.

What has been your most interesting brief so far?

This year I’ve actually been travelling between London and New York, working on a film project, helping to visualise the script and introduce a look and feel to the whole project — that’s been incredibly interesting.

Film is a new area for me — but it’s so important to keep on pushing things forward. I like being challenged and I feel that's when I’m the most productive.

What are you currently working on?

I love music and musicians and its incredible to see how much that work inspires culture, but I’m really excited about working with agencies and seeing what value I can bring to big commercial campaigns, so that’s a real focus for me right now.

What are your favourite places in South East London?

I will always love Elephant & Castle — it’s such an odd place. Orlando (The Maccabees) and I lived there for eight years and it played a huge part in the last Maccabees album. It's a place where I feel I did a lot of growing up. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the regeneration of the Heygate Estate will change the area. But if I had to pick a favourite place, I’d just remind people that you can go bowling and get a get a hot dog for under a fiver at the arcade!

Tell us a bit about what you do.

I’m a designer and art director, so I look after the visual side of creative campaigns. I predominantly work in music, but recently I’ve been working in advertising and film.

What does your average day look like?

I try to keep my days as varied as possible – there is the being creative part of my day and then there is the research and experience that inspires that creativity.

This morning I went to see Ragnar Kjartansson’s exhibition at the Barbican Centre — which may I add was absolutely fantastic. However, normally I don’t have such luxuries and my days consist of meetings (mostly with band’s record labels), building out of ideas, or I’m on set, directing photo shoots, etc. I think it’s important to feel inspired and happy with your work, so the research is extremely important. Remember when you were at school and you had that feeling of dread on a Sunday night? I never get that any more and if I ever did I’d most probably look for a different career.

What drew you to set up shop in Peckham?

I had always lived in South London — when I first moved to London I lived on a council estate in Elephant & Castle and I absolutely loved it. Peckham is obviously changing, I really feel the community spirit, which other areas just don’t have. We proved this when part of the Bussey Building was due to be redeveloped.

Everybody protested and the plans were changed.

What a result!

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Elizabeth (aged 7) and Kiki (aged 5) are familiar faces around Copeland Park. Their parents own the shop, Mosaleed Fashion Centre, and you can see the huge mural of Kiki on the other side of the Bussey Building. They can often be found giving a helping hand to the businesses onsite — Elizabeth even helped write her own version of the Peckham Festival press release! We had a chat to find out more about them...

Elizabeth

What is the best thing about your parents having a shop in Copeland Park?

They can do the best things; they can work, they can do different things. It’s near my house!

Where are your favourite parts of Copeland Park?

My favourite part is the office, because we can do homework there. They look after Copeland Park and make sure it’s tidy! I like working with Thea who works there. I also really like Forza Win. Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be Michael Jackson! I want to be a police version of Michael Jackson… or a doctor or a teacher.

Are you excited about Peckham Festival?

Yes. People should come here! The Peckham Festival will be good and fun. We should add a slide and a pool! Bring your kids and their swimming gear!

Kiki

What do you like about Copeland Park?

My friends are there, I can play and I can work with my mum and work with other people.

What does your mum do at Copeland Park?

She has a shop and she sews.

What do you you get up to here?

I like playing with my friends. We play football.

We make slushies and sell them and make loads of money! When I grow up I want to be a slushymaker and a footballer.

Alpha Shadows provides an exclusive selection of men’s clothing, contemporary ceramics and hand crafted goods from the finest makers across the globe.

Our shop is in The Bussey Building in Peckham at 133 Copeland Road, SE15 3SN. Email info@alphashadows.com www.alphashadows.com

Balamii Balamii is a broadcasting platform based in Holdron’s Arcade. We find out more from its founder, James.

alexreyto.com

putting them out on Balamii after. It was then that it became a proper radio station. All the time I was saving money to buy equipment as we went. At the beginning all of it was borrowed — the decks from Miles Davies (Ears Have Eyes Records), the mixer was my best mate Wayne's and the speakers were Joe Millington's.

The whole project has been collaborative from day one really. We still collaborate with YAM Records, putting on in-stores from the shop, live broadcasts etc. We've just done a Wavey Garms Carnival Warm Up party which was broadcasted live with Oneman, Nick Bam, Shy One, Toast London & Daddy Ranks. We also did live music from The Nines every weekend in August. We regularly do stuff with The Bussey & Rye Wax. Tom Unlikely (who runs Rye Wax) helped us out a lot in the early days, suggesting we come and record events and gigs from his shop. All of this has been enabled by the guys who run Copeland though — I can't really express how much they have supported small creative businesses in this area.

Most of what's happening here is down to the decisions they made and still make to back the little guys rather than bigger business.

What does your average day look like?

I wake up and ride straight from Deptford to the studio.

We're currently broadcasting live around twelve hours a day from around 10am ‒ 10pm. This means five or six two-hour shows daily. Currently, I'm working 7 days a week, but normally we broadcast Tuesday ‒ Saturday.

I'd do more but it's only me running the whole thing.

What drew you to set up shop in Peckham?

Having the studio in Peckham is great for two reasons - first is that it's close by to everything that's going on round there at the moment. There are three record shops within fifty meters of the studio, so people are around by proxy. Secondly, the space we have in Holdrons Arcade is financially viable and enables Balamii to function.

What have you got coming up?

In November we'll be doing 'Balamii On Ice' from the ring at Somerset House. Really hoping to get The Square or Vision Crew MCing via wireless microphones on the ice with everyone as you go round but we'll have to wait and see what happens. Very early in the new year we have a big party with Morleys lined up also. Outside of that we'll be broadcasting everyday and doing bits and bobs around the area.

How has being based in Holdrons Arcade influenced your business?

It's been essential to what Balamii is today and how it has grown, I can't really imagine Balamii not being here now, but it was all pretty coincidental how it came about.

Nearly two years ago, the guys who run Peckham Springs told me about a new shop in Holdrens Arcade called YAM Records run by friends of theirs, Tom and Theo and said I should go talk to them about getting a studio for Balamii in there. The guys at YAM didn't hesitate to help out and I can't thank them enough really.

We managed to get a space in Holdrons and six months after we built the studio the website was finally made, then the live feed was built so we could live broadcast.

Up until that point we were recording shows first then

What are you favourite places in South East London?

Pasha Taverna in Lee Green is now gone but if you knew, you know. Bunker Club in Deptford — we grew up in this place — big up Dave and Annie, those two are actual SE Legends. Greenwich and Blackheath, as it’s nice to see some green once in a while. London Bridge — where I used to sell fruit and veg on Borough market when I was a teenager — I love it round there also; The Market Porter definitely needs mention. Lewisham Way, everyone who grew up together round here now lives along it. It's home. Shouts to Meze Mangal. Big up Wavelengths & AMF Bowling for all the good times.

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Art Hub Based in Deptford’s historic Creekside, Art Hub it a not-for-profit studio complex and gallery where members also enjoy free access to the sites facilities. We speak to two of their artists to find out more.

Emma Coop Tell us a bit about what you do…

I'm an artist, but being in artist is a total juggling act.

I split my time between the studio and teaching. I'm currently making drawings and prints depicting the sea. I love being by water, particularly the sea; I always feel reassured by how consistently overwhelming it is. The drawings I create depict split second moments, but they take considerable time to actually make.

Your drawing are so intricate, how long does one piece normally take? Do you do it in one sitting or over a period of time?

A big drawing can take up to a month, but is made over a series of days. I tend to work on a couple of pieces at a time so I may take a day off drawing to make some etchings, and then come back to it. With the sea drawings, I like the slow assimilation of detail, it becomes quite immersive.

How does being based at Art Hub benefit your practice?

I initially came to Art Hub because of the fantastic print facilities, which has given me the means and time to experiment with techniques and create my own style. There is also a framing workshop here which means I can get my work framed onsite.

An added bonus is the studio's position next to the

Thames; I often go and sit by the Thames before working as it helps me 'switch off' from all the everyday faff and clutter in my head and helps me get into a creative place to make work.

Have you collaborated with anyone else at Art Hub? Yes, I've actually just started a collaborative project with Xavier Marchand, an artist who, in his own words, creates 'Maxi Media' art. We’ve been looking at the worn, washed up detritus found from the Thames as a foundation for a body of work.

What’s your normal starting point for a new project?

Usually a feeling, that I want to express, that somehow feels embodied in an object, place or moment.

What would be your dream commission?

To be sent to some remote rocky island where I can make lots of work, slowly.

Where are your favourite places in South East London?

I sail on Greenland Dock; it’s beautiful being there on the water on a sunny day. Also, One Tree Hill in Honor Oak Park is great for blackberries and a bit of countryside-ish wild, with stunning views of London.

It’s particularly great on Bonfire Night, watching the fireworks over London. emmacoop.co.uk

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Luke Merryweather

Tell us a bit about what you do…

I'm a freelance graphic designer and artist. I do jobs for smaller independent businesses in South London - pubs, artists, galleries. I also take on screen printing commissions and show work in venues. Most recently screen prints at Wunderlust in Deptford as well as type cases and beer mats at The Montpelier in Peckham.

Some of your art contains collections of objects, can you tell us more about this? Where do you usually find things?

When I worked in a pub in New Cross around six years ago, there was a cellar full of Breweriana left from the previous publicans. Old signs, pump clips, bottle caps, beer mats, furniture and promotional material. Ever since then I've collected and inherited stuff to do with pubs and brewery culture. People now bring me shed loads of bottle caps, match boxes and bundles of beer mats which get sorted into categories before being made up into frames or added to type cases.

What does your average day look like?

I'm at the studio Monday - Friday from 9am. Three days a week, I’m solidly working on designs for clients.

The other two days I'll be printmaking, working on a collage or continuing the never ending categorising of beer mats and bottle caps. I always watch EastEnders for half an hour at lunchtime.

Some of your work has a feeling of tongue-in-cheek, do you feel that sometimes the art world is too serious?

The art you make has to be intelligent and represent something you feel close to. Do this anyway you want, but ignore trends. If you’re making work because you know it will sell, you’re not an artist.

How does being at Art Hub benefit your practice?

All facilities are included in the monthly cost and available to all members 24/7. I can screen print all night if I need to get the job done. The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious, the group of members is extremely varied - from graduates to grandmas.

Where are your favourite places in South East London?

There is a spot above Maryon Park in Charlton. You have to climb loads of steps and at the top it's a deadend. Just a bench with an amazing view of South East's industrial riverside. Behind is an old quarry I think.

There’s Moonshot, Fordham Park. 24/7 floodlit Ping Pong tables. You meet a real mixture of people. And Dog and Bell in Deptford. One of a handful of pubs left in Deptford ignoring gentrification. ragoworks.com

Have you collaborated with anyone else at Arthub?

I've done a few shows with various artists within the studio group. There is also a fair amount of skill swapping, which I enjoy. I've helped curate and hang people’s shows in return for picture framing; or designed someone’s exhibition catalogue for one of their paintings.

The removal of money from a transaction is something I'm into.

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Parkhall Set back on a quiet residential street, a couple of minutes from Norwood Road, sits Parkhall or Parkhall Business Centre as it is formally known. A handsome old Pye Electronics factory which now houses a wide variety of creative businesses within its office, studio and workshop spaces. It has become a prominent part of West Norwood life with Volcano Coffee’s bustling cafe on the ground floor. We met up with a handful of the businesses based there.

Photography and styling Anna & Tam

Rococo

Sadly I lost my beautiful office there when we appointed our MD Richard Larkin — I miss the views and being able to pop down to Volcano for lunch or coffee.

We caught up with Chantal Coady OBE, the mastermind behind world-renowned chocolate shop, Rococo.

What drew you to West Dulwich to set up Rococo HQ and how long has it been here?

We had to move as our space in Battersea was being redeveloped, so I looked at the map and identified the area in South London as a strategic one for us and importantly for me working there — I would be coming from the centre and going against the flow of the traffic.

The old industrial building is beautiful and the views magnificent — we love being in Park Hall.

You have what must be one of the best OBEs for services to chocolate! Can you tell us about that?

The award came as a total surprise and a huge honour.

To be honest, when the letter arrived I thought it was a scam, but gradually it dawned on me that it was real. I am very proud, of course, and we had a great day at the Palace — one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

You are a member of the Women’s Equality Party and engaged in discussions around gender politics, how do you bring these ideas into your business?

Our workforce is largely women, and many have families. I know what a struggle it is to get a work-life balance and we always try to accommodate that for our team. We have job shares and flexible working, and I think that should be the norm in every organisation. We also have a very low rate of staff turnover, which I think endorses this approach.

Are the chocolates also manufactured here?

Yes indeed, we have a team of talented chocolatiers headed by Karen Waller who make all our small batch fresh “Rococo Couture” collection there.

What does an average day look like for you?

Every day is different — my office is in the London Sketch Club in Chelsea, where I hunker down to my illustration work for new products. Often I will have meetings which tend to based from at our flagship store in Belgravia — I am a keen cyclist and usually flit between locations on my bike.

How does working in a place as vibrant as Parkhall inspire you?

Where are your favourite local places?

Volcano café and the Rosendale are places I enjoy hanging out in; sometimes we get as far as the Railway at Tulse Hill or the Portico galleries which do great shows, events and lots of community stuff too.

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Anorak Tell us what you do...

Anorak is a British brand that makes products for the home and great outdoors. Picnic blankets, towels, bedding sets, that sort of thing. It’s best known for its outdoor-inspired Kissing Animals prints including Kissing Hedgehogs, Kissing Rabbits and brand new Kissing Badgers.

What does an average day look like?

From Anorak's vibrant prints to our fantastic view of Norwood Cemetary, the day certainly looks colourful.

There aren't many average days here at Anorak though, as the majority of the time we're completely flat out!

Without fail, the working day begins with a strong cuppa, then after that it's a varied picture. Being a creative business and a small team, the day can sometimes be chaotic, but we all work hard together to ensure the daily tasks are completed on time.

How does being based in a vibrant place like Parkhall contribute to your business?

It's great having literally hundreds of neighbours covering a wealth of disciplines. On numerous occasions Anorak has benefitted from the services of other Parkhall residents including printers, carpenters and photographers.

Volcano Cafe serves a rather good latte too!

Where are your favourite South East London spots?

Peckham Rye Park, Grow Mayow, Sydenham Woods, Horniman Museum come to mind.We're very lucky to have so many great outdoorsy places on our doorstep, which is very fitting for an outdoorsy brand like Anorak.

annaandtam.com

The Flash Pack Self declared photo wizards and social media mavericks, The Flash Pack provide tailored photo experiences… has been so important to us. We've met so many of our suppliers in this building — from set builders to printers to designers. As a result we have great relationships with our suppliers and people to call on when we need to turn things around quickly. Whenever we need help we always look at who's available in the building first. I also don't know what we would have done without having Volcano coffee on tap. It’s great to have an amazing coffee shop on site.

What does an average day look like?

In a busy month we provide photo experiences at anything up to 70 events — varying from photobooths at weddings to designing and installing an interactive photobooth in W hotel, to a large festival experience for H&M. We have an open plan office, production and kit space. We're also continually coming up with new experiences so a typical day could involve jumping into our new bullet curve camera rig and creating a 3D photo of a new concept to send to a client. Today we are doing a photoshoot in the office which means that people are on the phones speaking to clients one minute and then juggling pineapples the next… So an average day is pretty hectic!

Where are your favourite South East London spots?

I just asked around the office and here's what I got back; Brockwell Park, Corals on Rye Lane, Copeland Park & The Bussey Building, Platform 1 in East Dulwich, Maltby Street Market, the dinosaurs & secret subway in Crystal Palace and The Rosendale Allotments. A lot of the team live in SE London and we all love it here.

How does being based in a vibrant place like Parkhall contribute to your business?

Being around so many other small and growing businesses 73

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Ceramic Workshops ClayKilnCraft, SE19 ClayKilnCraft pottery is located in the centre of Crystal Palace, it was set up a couple of years ago by local ceramic artist and Camberwell College of Arts alumni Aliya Rashid.

two whole floors is amazing! The first thing I did was a children’s party, something I just couldn’t do in the previous space.

How has the new space developed what you offer?

How did ClayKilnCraft come about?

I spent a summer teaching pottery to adults with special needs. I became hooked and knew I wanted to do more. I started by giving lessons on the potter’s wheel out of my studio but as demand grew, I moved into two converted basement toilets — it was all I could afford! As I became more established, I persuaded the landlord of an empty shop to to let me set up as a pop-up. Having

Well the main workshop has four potter’s wheels now and a large, well-equipped handbuilding area with tables perfect for regular classes and courses.

Every Saturday I do taster classes to give people a chance to try out the wheel without committing to a whole course. The courses are more serious; a five week beginners course teaches you to centre, make bowls and cylinders as well as pulling handles and making a mug. It’s a good grounding, for

either going on to the intermediate course or booking the wheel to practice at your own pace.

Handbuilding courses are taught continuously so that people can start whenever it suits them. It’s a very flexible approach. Students come along for all sorts of reasons. Some want to feel a bit creative while others are more serious about learning. Every day is different!

How do you tailor your approach for children?

We have regular childrens workshops which allow kids to make fun objects such as plates, trinket boxes and dinosaur sculptures, plus children’s sessions on the wheel. Plans are also afoot for an after-school pottery club!

What are your future plans for the pottery?

We are currently constructing two permanent studios and a shared membership studio, which I’m so excited about! The membership scheme gives people a chance to take their practice further without having to commit to a full time studio space. Renting by the month, you can start without the huge set-up costs of buying expensive equipment. I can’t wait to have other people working in the studio and sharing ideas. When you run your own business you can never stop.

I find it’s important to keep the ideas flowing — I’m always experimenting and trying out new classes. Starting in September there will be new social events, such as our fabulous pottery and dating nights… Before you start having visions of the movie Ghost it isn’t on the potter’s wheel! I feel very lucky to be working in a field that I feel passionately about. The students are lovely and I get a real kick from seeing them achieve their goals.

ClayKilnCraft.com 75

The Kiln Rooms, SE15 Tell us about The Kiln Rooms:

The Kiln Rooms is an open access ceramics studio in Peckham Rye. Our communal studio, equipment and technical support encourages growth within a community of makers.

How did you get started?

The idea of creating The Kiln Rooms came about through a close friendship between myself, Ben Cooper and Stuart Carey when we met at the Royal College of Art. Stuart was studying an MA in ceramics whilst I managed the bar and events and had an MA in arts management.

With different skill sets but the same drive and vision, we managed to acquire funding and find the right space. The studio opened in June 2015 after raising £20K through Crowdfunder.

What’s the setup?

We provide all of the equipment and tools for just about any form of ceramics and boast large working areas for members. This open access model is becoming increasing popular as it keeps costs down for users and provides studio access to large numbers. Setting us apart from other studios is our professional development programme, which is free for all members; it aims to expose them to other ‘real world’ makers through a lecture series and regular tutorials. We have two shows a year where all members can exhibit and sell their work.

This helps connect makers with the public and creates a network with trade outlets.

Tell us about the community that has formed here...

A wonderful by-product of an open access studio is the creative community which comes from sharing a space. All users work alongside each other for mutual benefit and classes are made up of a diverse range of ages and experiences. Our studio model allows for rapid development of ideas and a broadening of social and professional networks, which is not possible when working in isolation.

Also, being located in Copeland Park has demonstrated how important it is to be part of a wider creative community. The studio team has come into contact with almost every small business onsite and studio users love the surrounding area. thekilnrooms.com Photos: Jessica Williams

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Ceramic Studio Co-op, SE14 which has been really helpful in improving the quality of our work and the tuition we provide.

Tell us about Ceramics Studio Co-op...

Ceramics Studio Co-op is an artist-run ceramics workshop, which is organised as a workers’ cooperative. The studio is owned and run by the people who work in it, who have equal say in what the company does. We run regular classes and provide other ceramics-related services like kiln firings and studio spaces for amateur and professional makers.

Tell us about the community that has formed here...

There is a regular group of about twenty or so makers that operate from the studio. Some of them have spaces in the workshop, others are regular attendees of our People’s Pottery class.

How did you get started?

We were set up two years ago in response to a lack of accessible ceramics workshops for new makers, and also as an attempt to create a space of ethical employment for artists and designers. At the time, pottery didn’t yet have its current popularity and we could see creative colleges shutting down professional ceramics degrees, and the workshops that were attached to them. We wanted to change the perception of ceramics as a dying art and an expensive media to work with. Initially, we were a group of artists and makers based at Ceramics Studio Bermondsey, but then the studio lost its premises and was forced to close down. At this point, the idea of starting a co-operative and collectively organising a new space came about, and ended up being brought to life by two co-founder sisters — Anna and Tatiana Baskakova.

There are also the studio’s long-term customers who rely on us for help with firing their work, technical support and training. We have makers from all over the world in this group — UK, Spain, Slovakia, Venezuela, Russia and Sweden to name a few countries. Some people that are based here have specialist ceramics degrees, others come from fine art backgrounds, or started off at pottery evening classes. We really enjoy having a diverse group, both in terms of their cultural backgrounds and the diversity of the makers’ practices. There is a great community of young experimenters, students and amateur ceramicists in London who are not quite ready, or cannot afford, to invest thousands into making ceramics practice their prime focus. We are happy to be a helping hand here. ceramicsstudio.coop

What’s the setup?

Ceramics Studio Co-op occupies two industrial units on the Juno Way Industrial Estate in New Cross. It has taken us quite a while to do up the space. It was a kitchen before we took it over and DIYed it into the artists’ studio, so we really cherish the space we have, and try to make the most of it! We’re quite a young organization, but we’ve got a good selection of quality ceramics equipment – including a large new kiln which we bought with support from Arts Council England,

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claykilncraft Pottery Classes

Pottery Dating Nights & Social Events+Gallery+Kids workshops+Parties

Pottery Classes, Courses & more!

At ClayKilnCraft we offer an array of taster & one off classes as well as weekly & intensive courses for more serious learners, in both handbuilding & on the potter’s wheel. We also do children’s workshops as well as an after school pottery club. Single? Come to one of our Pottery Dating Nights. If that’s not enough, we also sell the lovely stuff made right here at the pottery. Get in touch for more details or better still, come along and see us in our fabulous studio!

facebook: Clay Kiln Craft at Do and Play phone: 07976 290735 twitter: @ClayKilnCraft email: claykilncraft@hotmail.com

20 Church Road, Crystal Palace, London SE19 2ET

SELJ x SEMC

This September sees the return of the London Design Festival, a citywide celebration which aims to promote London as the design capital of the world. The festivities run from 17th-25th with over four-hundred events and exhibitions taking place throughout the capital.

To celebrate the final weekend of the festival, a new design collective entitled the South East Makers Club invites design and craft enthusiasts to follow a trail through the creative streets and studios of South East London. The journey takes place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September, spanning Deptford, Brockley, New Cross, and Peckham.

“The South East pocket of London is a wonderful incubator of design talent with exceptional people living and working here,” says South East Makers Club founder, Helen Osgerby “but the real story is how much work is actually made here. Great studio spaces that remain just about the right side of affordable make this possible. When I started my business, Simple Shape, a little over a year ago, I really began to appreciate the scale and more importantly the calibre of the local designer/maker community.”

The trail includes a host of workshops, exhibitions, talks, public art installations, films, open studios and a makers market. We have teamed up with purveyor of wonderful lifestyle goods and quizmaster for a night, Tom O’Dell, to bring you our ‘Designer Pub Quiz’.

Held at The Nines in Copeland Park, questions have been submitted by some of the most renowned designers, journalists, curators, retailers, commentators and experts in the design community. Places are limited so book now to guarantee a place: designers-pub-quiz.eventbrite.co.uk southeastmakersclub.co.uk

1 Sebastian Cox

+ Yeshen Venema

Unit 6, The Deptford Market Yard 133 Deptford High St, SE8 4NS

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 10am — 6pm

An installation by award-winning furniture designer-maker Sebastian Cox accompanied by a photographic exhibition by Yeshen Venema.

The space is kindly provided by property developers U+I.

7 SE Makers' Market

Copeland Gallery, The Bussey Building 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 11am-5pm

Browse and buy some of the best craft and design the Southeast has to offer including Conpot, Noble Handmade, The Kiln Rooms and Not Another Bill to name a few.

2 Cockpit Arts Makers 18 — 22 Creekside, SE8 3DZ

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 10:30am, 12pm, 1:30pm, 3:00pm

See, touch, talk, ask, we have extraordinary access to the studios of internationally recognised makers Eleanor Lakelin, Catarina Riccabona and Leah Jensen.

Tours take place four times a day at the time slots listed above.

8 The NINES Designers'

Pub Quiz

The NINES, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4SN

Sunday 25th 7pm — 9pm

The London Design Festival wouldn't be complete without a quiz. Join local quizmaster, Tom O'Dell and the South East London Journal for a pub quiz with a difference.

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3 Simple Shape – Gradient:

Experiments in Clay

Ashby Mews (behind 106 Manor Avenue) SE4 1TE

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 10am — 6pm

Simple Shape presents a joint exhibition of the work of potters Jono Smart and Luke Eastop. See new pieces including vessels, glaze tiles, recipes & prints.

9 Vanguard Court

Rear of 36 — 38 Peckham Road, SE5 8QT

Sunday 25th 3pm talk

Rachael Potter, the apprentice of internationally recognised ceramists Chris Keenan & Carina Ciscato, presents her first solo exhibition.

On Sunday from 3pm, Chris & Carina will give a talk followed by demonstrations.

4 Words & Workshops

The Lewisham Art House, 140 Lewisham Way, SE14 6PD

Saturday 24th: 12:30pm — Jay Osgerby & Max Fraser, in conversation 2:00pm — Ben Chatfield, 3:30pm Bravo Charlie Mike Hotel, talk — Candice Lau

Leather workshop. £25 pp.

Booking neccessary kukubigbag.com

Sunday 25th: 12:30pm — Sebastian Cox Q&A 2:00pm — Eleanor Pritchard Talk 3:30pm — Tord Boontje Talk

5 Curzon Goldsmiths

Richard Hoggart Building, Lewisham Way, SE14 6NW

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th Screenings, 2pm

A second chance to see the Crafts Council’s ‘Real to Reel’ shorts films, which follow the best makers and designers, capturing the fascinating process of creating craft.

Tickets £5 / £4 for concessions

With thanks to Lewisham Art House, the South East Makers Club presents a series for talks, conversations and workshops by local designers and makers, spanning a range of design disciplines including industrial design, furniture making, textile design and graphics.

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6 Designer's Disco

44 Lewisham Way, SE14 6NP

Saturday 24th 8pm-late

In celebration of the first South East Makers Club we have designers taking to the decks at The Fat Walrus. Even designers need to dance sometimes.

Featuring sets by Sebastian Cox and Yeshen Venema.

Amanda Karen Photography

weddings and events creative styling flowers for the home

www.joannetruby.co.uk

Roullier White Luxury lifestyle boutique

125 Lordship Lane

roullierwhite.com

SE LONDON JOURNAL

Chapter Three

Home 83

Inside a Norwood Home PHOTOS: James Balston

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SE LONDON JOURNAL

For The Collective Issue, we take a look at a vivid 1920s Norwood home enhanced by a collection of wonderful wallpapers and patterned fabrics. Jonna Saarinen, a Finnish textile designer and her partner, musician David Wynd tell us more about their home.

How long have you lived in your home?

We moved here in August 2011, from literally down the road. On a winter's day you can see our old road from the upstairs windows.

What state was the house in when you got your hands on it?

The house had been boarded up for over three years when we moved in. Having only been owned by one family since it was built in 1926, it was also in a very original state with all the original features in place.

There was no central heating, but we have a fireplace in each room so one of the first things we did was call a chimney sweeper.

Then we put in windows, had the house fully rewired and got a boiler — the day hot water arrived was amazing!

How has your Finnish heritage inspired your home?

A lot of our things we have inherited from my late grandmother and from my great aunt who was a milliner, so we are surrounded by old Finnish every day things, furniture, handcraft and design. Instead of hiding the inherited pieces away, I kept

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them out on display and organised many of the rooms around them. It is lovely to have pieces with stories behind them, that also remind me of my childhood — things that make me smile every day. I have also been collecting anything Moomin related since I was very young, and those treasures take a pride of place in each room.

There is a bounty of beautiful wallpapers and patterned fabrics are you always on the hunt for interesting additions?

I am collector by heart, so I am always on the look for bright, colourful things that will make me laugh, as well as old things.

I have especially soft spot for Moomin textiles, old toys and anything mid-century — I can not resist a flea market bargain!

How does your background as a textiles and homeware designer influence the way you approached creating your home?

I guess I am the happiest being surrounded by strong patterns and colours, so when I had the chance to decorate my own home I really wanted to go for it. We also allowed rooms to take shape organically with time, and bought furniture pieces one by one when we found them in charity shops and online. Some had to be restored, some just needed a good clean, but as long as there is potential, I can work with that. I do believe good design can stand the test of time and with a little bit of tender loving care you can bring old pieces back to life again!

The house was full of wallpapered walls and most of downstairs was painted pink with murky green doors when we moved in, so when it came to decorating I though it was only fair we keep the spirit of the building and continue the tradition. I sourced most of the vintage wallpapers from Finland and Sweden. The whole house has been done over time. My partner David ended up building things like the kitchen units himself to sympathetically match the old built-in cupboard. Although we don’t have a huge amount of space in the kitchen, there is a massive walk-in larder that comes with a serving hatch. In total, the decorating took us four years to get to the stage we are at now, but there is always something to do, so I am sure our job is not done for a good while yet!

Do you collect anything else?

I collect Finnish glass and I like to rescue pieces on my travels. In Finland you can often get old Iittala glass for one Euro per piece and so I can slowly piece my collections together. I also collect vinyl records, Crystal Palace memorabilia and anything old and camping related for our camper van.

Do you know your Norwood neighbours?

We have the loveliest neighbours on our road and we also have many talented artist friends around Crystal Palace and West Norwood, where my own studio is.

What are your favourite local haunts?

For treasure hunting, I love Haynes Lane Market in Crystal Palace triangle and the Emmaus stores in West Norwood. On a weekend, nothing beats a walk in Crystal Palace Park, I absolutely adore the dinosaurs and you can really get a sense of the history around you when you explore the ruins.

For any mid-century fan, I would recommend a swim at the National Sport Centre in the park, which is possibly my favourite building ever. The best breakfast by far is

by Domali, an amazing vegetarian restaurant in the heart of SE19. This year marked eight years since we moved to the area, and it is still in my opinion the most loveliest place in London with the best views! jonnasaarinen.co.uk

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Ian Dunn

B e sp oke kitc h e ns and fur nit ure han dbui l t in ou r D u lwic h wor kshop A f a mil y r un b usiness wit h ove r 30 years exp e r ien c e C o nt ac t us t o book a design con s ul t ati o n

4& 5 Go o s e Green Tra d in g Es t a t e, 47 East D ulw ic h Ro a d , Lo n d o n SE22 9BN 020 8613 1781 inf o@ian d un n . co m | w w w.ia n d un n .co m

jamesbalston.com

YOU CAN COUNT ON US WHEN IT MATTERS. SOUTH LONDON’S LEADING INDEPENDENT ESTATE AGENT. Jacksons is South London’s leading independent estate agent. We’re proud that what we’ve achieved over the past 21 years is down to a home-grown passion for South London. It’s where we’re from and it’s where we’ve grown our network of 12 offices. We’d be delighted to share our knowledge and passion to help you make South London your home.

We use our independence to treat every client as an individual, always making sure that your property needs are understood, so contact Jacksons’ sales or lettings teams today and experience a personal approach to property.

www.jacksonsestateagents.com

BALHAM 020 8675 6565

BATTERSEA 020 7924 2255

DULWICH 020 8875 7999 TOOTING 020 8767 0522

CLAPHAM 020 8875 7995

EARLSFIELD 020 8971 7070

WANDSWORTH 020 8875 8899

CLAPHAM COMMON 020 7924 8955

STREATHAM 020 8677 9900

WANDSWORTH COMMON 020 8672 9077

WIMBLEDON 020 3750 9111

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2.

The Soap Collection

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3.

4.

Bars of soap are such varied and tactile objects, it is hard to resist picking them to find out what scent they hold. We have rounded up a few of our locally available favourites, all of which will make washing your hands and body an indulgent joy.

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We have an online shop!

selondonjournal.co.uk/shop Grab your self a limited back issue, or a local artist’s print.

JAMES BALSTON INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY Commissions / Cards / Coasters / Cushions james@jamesbalston.com jamesbalston.com

SE LONDON JOURNAL

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1. Baldwin’s Luxury Handmade Milk Spice Soap G Baldwin & Co, SE17 Goat’s milk, shea butter and an intoxicating blend of sweet orange and spices, perfect for when the nights are drawing in.

5. Dr Harris & Co Almond Oil Soap Bunka and Nor, SE23 and SE27 An almond oil soap infused with hints of rose and clove to nourish delicate skin and leave it smelling beautifully clean.

9. Soapsmith Brick Lane Bunka and Nor, SE23 and SE27 A mellow spicy blend of amber, pepper and sandalwood set in a olive oil base make this a nourishing soap that leaves the skin feeling fresh with its gentle scent.

2. Neal’s Yard English Lavender Handmade Soap Neal’s Yard, Tomlinsons SE3 and SE21 Handmade by the Neal’s Yard founder Romy on her farm using organic English lavender to calm and gently cleanse the body — it also has a lovely rustic look.

6. Nathalie Bond Organics Peppermint & Eucalyptus Wash Block The Voewood, SE3 A striking dusky grey handmade vegan bar, with a gentle stress relieving minty scent. Can be used on hands, body and hair — it is even great for troublesome scalps.

10. Mrs White’s All Natural Hand & Body Wash — Wild Mint Roullier White, SE22 An invigorating mint soap made from sugar beet with no nasties — so gentle, it’s even suitable for those with allergies.

3. Ortigia Lime Di Sicilia Glycerine ed, The Dulwich Trader and Tomlinsons, SE22 and SE21 Traditional translucent glycerin soap imbued with the zesty perfume of Sicilian lime.

4. French Honey Soap Bias, SE15 A traditional French vegetable oil soap with a light honey scent — reminiscent of French holidays and freshly laundered sheets.

7. Laughing Bird Chamomile & Lavender Soap G Baldwin & Co, SE17 A calming combination of lavender and chamomile essential oils combined with goats milk, perfect for an evening bath or shower.

8. Three Tval Granatpple ed and The Dulwich Trader, SE22 and SE21 A warming and fruity pomegranate scented almond oil and vegetable wax soap.

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11. Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash Fresh Flower Company, SE22 A cleansing gel for hard-working hands with a uplifting lingering scent of orange, lavender and rosemary.

“Forster Park is a good school with outstanding, rigorous, extremely thoughtful leadership and outstanding Early Years provision.“

VISITS TO THE SCHOOL ARE WELCOME - PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE OR CALL 020 8698 5686

OFSTED, JUNE 2015

FORSTER PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL BOUNDFIELD ROAD CATFORD SE6 1PQ A TEN MINUTE WALK FROM SANDHURST PARADE • • • •

Caring staff and a deep commitment to the progress of every child as an individual Fully renovated classrooms, library and dining hall State of the art computing, music and design technology rooms Brand new playground with enriching games and resources, including qualified sports coaches, shaded areas, climbing wall and quiet area • Breakfast and after-school clubs for wrap-around care from 7.30am until 6pm www.oakbridgefederation.co.uk/forster-park-campus

SE LONDON JOURNAL

Chapter Four

Children & Families 99

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What’s Leaps and Bounds: Unlimited 10 SEPTEMBER

Jason And The Argonauts 24 SEPTEMBER – 21 OCTOBER

Sunday Workshop: Yonderland 25 SEPTEMBER

Leaps and Bounds is Southbank Centre’s series of creative events for disabled children and their families.

Bring your family and join the gardeners to help the threatened bee communities by becoming a family of bees for the day, featuring a multi-sensory environment, inclusive movement workshops, visual art and storytelling surrounded by free play zones that explores the unique family life of a beehive.

Banished as a baby, Jason is back and ready to claim his rightful throne. In order to prove himself, he is sent on an epic quest to find the Golden Fleece. He assembles a crew of mighty Argonauts and they set sail aboard the Argo for the ultimate adventure.

Enter the realm of the Funday workshop where dark forces are eliminated and silliness prevails! Have a mock-battle with a wobbly sword or a funny shield as you add special film effects, or create a fantasy creature to love and take home.

With arts and crafts and prizes for the best creations, this is one fun Funday.

SOUTHBANK CENTRE, SE1

UNICORN THEATRE, SE1

BFI SOUTHBANK, SE1

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On ArtPlay: Stormy Weather 02 OCTOBER

Blackheath Fireworks NOVEMBER, TBC

Weekend Space Cadets WEEKENDS, UNTIL DECEMBER

Selected Sundays of every month, get creative together at ArtPlay, Dulwich Picture Gallery’s practical drop-in session, making everything from bunting to block prints. This session focussing on the theme ’Stormy Weather’.

Drop-in anytime, and, as part of this informal learning session, explore the materials provided to create something fun together.

Join thousands of revellers on Blackheath for the biggest free firework display in London. Hosted

by Lewisham Council, the evening includes a dazzling fireworks display, food and drink, and family fun.

The event is free to attend, but donations towards running costs are appreciated.

Learn about rockets, astronauts, the International Space Station and amazing future space missions.

Join in a varied range of activities related to space science and space exploration; from the International Space Station to the latest discoveries about the Solar System and the wider universe.

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY, SE21

BLACKHEATH COMMON, SE3

GREENWICH ROYAL OBSERVATORY, SE10

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Chocolate Hedgehog Hedgehogs are lovely, wild little animals. They’re nocturnal which means they only emerge at night time. They are mostly recognised by their 5000-7000 spikes (or spines, as they’re called) which cover their backs and their thick grey/brown fur which makes up the skirt.

Here we make our own chocolate hedgehog – perfect for a rainy autumn afternoon!

SE LONDON JOURNAL

You will need‌ A chocolate cake Chocolate icing Two flakes or a large packet of chocolate buttons A butter knife or spatula

Cut the cake into the shape of a house.

You can gently mark a line across the middle of the cake to make a more accurate shape. Save the offcuts!

Place the two off cut sides, flat side down onto the top of the house shaped cake.

This gives the hedgehog the rounded body.

Carefully spread the chocolate icing over the whole cake with the knife or spatula. You can add a spiked effect to the hedgehogs body with the icing.

Show us your own! #SELJ_hedgehog

Push in the flakes or chocolate buttons across the hedgehogs back, leaving his face clear. You can use knife here to smooth out the face. Finally give the hedgehog some eyes and a button nose!

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Th at ca che lle e d C ky w wa a h s lo pta ippe in t ok for i n ac g ha se!

He rounded up his friends...

... and started a big race!

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First came Norrie...

...then came Skiffle...

...and then Bumpy last,

Over the h il l

across the field, they were running fast!

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Design led products for the modern family 210 - 212A Hither Green Lane, SE13 6RT Mon - Sat 9am-5pm

or shop online at cissywears.com

SE LONDON JOURNAL

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Can you spot all of the objects below?

Colour each one in as you find them!

The School Collective Schools are, in many ways, like large collectives.

The way a school works, its individual philosophy and ethos, will – at best – reflect the collective values and priorities of its staff, children, and their parents and carers.

Words: Fleur Treglown

Forster Park School on Catford’s North Downham estate typifies this kind of approach. Its ethos stems directly from an unusually deep interconnectedness of family and community that is represented by the school’s longest-serving members of staff.

Elaine Atkins has worked at Forster Park school as a teaching assistant and lunchtime supervisor for 23 years. She now specialises in providing one-to-one support for pupils with special educational needs. Elaine was a pupil at Forster Park herself, starting in 1966 at the age of five. Although there were fewer play resources and a more formal style of teaching in those days, Mrs Atkins describes her time at the school as “definitely a happy experience — it was a family school, it was very friendly and everybody knew each other. We had a pre-fab on the estate and Mum would walk me home for lunch every day.”

Years later, as an adult, Elaine had a house two doors away from her parents, and her own daughter was a pupil at the school. These connections seem to strongly contribute to the wider collective of the school, when Elaine explains: “I wouldn’t treat the children any different to how I would my own. At the end of the year, you look at the children and think ‘Wow, you’ve come so far’.”

Elaine’s older sister Kath Gordon also works at the school – and has done for a pretty incredible 38 years. Her daughter and granddaughter both went

to the school; her grandson is a pupil there today.

Perhaps surprisingly, Kath and Elaine aren’t the only long-serving staff members whose family connections and long-term commitment make such a contribution to the school. One day in 1985, Kath came down with appendicitis and couldn’t supervise the nursery lunch hour. Lynn Taylor, whose three children were pupils at the school, stepped in as a temporary stop-gap — and she still works at the school today, along with her two sisters Diane, who joined the school as a nursery pupil in 1968, and Teresa. When asked about the school, Diane — who as a pupil in the 1970s raised the alarm and saved the school from fire — says, “The best thing about the school is the children. I think it’s the centre of the neighbourhood; children come here, they grow up, and their children come here too.”

The Taylor sisters’ story offers an insight into the essential network of family, community, and collective effort that forms the base of Forster Park’s core philosophy. Although Lynn herself went to nearby Torridon School, her three siblings all attended Forster Park after their mother took a job in the school kitchen. In the 1980s, Lynn’s three children all went to the school; she now has two grandchildren there.

Although Lynn recently moved several miles away to Bromley Common, her siblings

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and parents still live in the roads immediately surrounding the school. “I’ve lived on this estate,” she says, “I know the parents, they came here as children — I taught them — and now their children are here. I personally love our school, I’m very proud of it — it’s a wonderful school. My family came here, my children came here, and now my grandchildren come here.”

In many ways, these words capture the essence of the school’s overall approach. As Mark Gale, the head of school at Forster Park who himself attended Lee Manor primary school in nearby Hither Green, explains: “The contribution that our longest-serving members of staff make to the school is immeasurable. We are a large, diverse school

12 years ago, she didn’t consider leaving her job at Forster Park. “I stay because the people are special, and the children,” she says. “They’re like your own children. It doesn’t matter how your day is going, someone will say something nice, or something funny, and it will make you laugh. One hundred percent it’s the people – the kids and adults.”

To hear the stories of the women who form such a powerful familial base for this school community is to soak up layers and layers of family history, local folklore, the good times and also the hardest of life’s challenges: the essence of the neighbourhood as it was, and as it is now. Hearing their stories is to gain an insight into the influence their collective approach — caring, no-nonsense,

community and you can’t manufacture the kind of commitment, consistency and care they provide.”

Jill Collier has been a teaching assistant at Forster Park for 25 years. Like Lynn Taylor, she attended Torridon School herself, “We didn’t know about Forster Park then, because the bus didn’t come to the estate — instead of turning off, it went straight on past the allotments on Hazelbank Road.” (The allotments were featured in SE London Journal Issue 06.) But her younger brothers went to the school, and her mother Iris Lengthorn was a well loved and respected chair of governors at the school for five years. Jill remembers her father also being involved with the school, and it was through her mum that she went on to work there.

Although Jill moved away from the area

maternal, proud, consistent over many years – has on the many children they come into contact with at school. “They are kind,” say the kids, when asked about the women who supervise so much of their school day. “They always help me.” “I love them!” “Without them the playground would feel big and lonely.”

Perhaps Lynn Taylor sums it up when she says, “I keep saying I’m going to leave, I’m retiring, I’ve had enough, it’s been 30 years — I’m going.

And then I think — would I miss it? I really would.

I’ll just stay on for another year…” And Elaine Atkins’s parting remark in a phone call several days after our interview encapsulates it all: “No matter who you are — staff, children, parents, carers — you’ve always got a friend at Forster Park.”

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