Brixton and tourists: a long note

Old Aug 4th, 2001, 08:59 AM
  #1  
s.fowler
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Brixton and tourists: a long note

TOO long a note

Try posting it in parts as a response to this thread.
 
Old Aug 4th, 2001, 12:50 PM
  #2  
Ben Haines
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S Fowler. Thsank you. Here goes.


BRIXTON

REPORT OF VISITS

A correspondence in Fodor's European forum had raised the question: should an American family visit Brixton ? So on Monday 30 July I spent an hour in Brixton from 5 to 6 pm.

When I asked, a white woman police constable in the police station said that tourists should not come to Brixton. It was a dangerous place, with drug dealers and the country's highest crime rate. I found the Brixton Academy closed, so asked a white shopkeeper next door the same question. He said tourists should not come to Brixton.
I asked somebody the way and a well-dressed black woman picked up my question and replied. So I asked her: aged about 30 she said she lived in Brixton. There were drug dealers on back streets, but they ignored non-buyers. Otherwise, living there, she had no problem at any hour. I listed the ages of the enquirers as daughter 16, grandma 60, and mother about 32, and the places I had in mind: the Academy, the St Matthews Meeting Place, the Ritzy cinema, and the markets around the station. She saw no problem for them at any hour. Asked about the Angel Town estate she agreed that it might be unsafe: she was not sure. I ordered a lemonade at the bar of the Ritzy and quizzed the white bartender. He lived in Brixton, went home at all hours, and agreed in detail with the woman of 30. He thought that a girl aged 16 would probably get into the Academy for the shows that end at 11, which are just bands playing to seated audiences. For strongly Caribbean meals he recommended "My Father's Place".
 
Old Aug 4th, 2001, 12:52 PM
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Ben Haines
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I went to the Bahumbug restaurant, phone 020 7738 3184, in St Matthews Meeting Place, They have vegetarian and fish meals at about 9 pounds a plate, a lounge area, an outside area, and well-laid tables. The bartender was a Frenchman of mixed race from Grenoble, lived in the area, and agreed with the woman of 30 and the barman at the Ritzy. He brought his manager into the conversation, a youngish white woman. She was cross with the police constable for talking nonsense. People came to her restaurant any hour, and went, wholly untroubled. She said there were cameras all over central Brixton. She said she was thinking of phoning the police station to complain. Both thought that the family party would like the Bah Bar next door, in the same building, with music most evenings, and otherwise recommended the Effra. This turned out to be a pub on the corner of Railtray Road and Ellett Road, with music most nights, phone 7652 0031. The landlord nodded that a girl of 16 with her mother would in fact get in.

I went on to My Father's Place, 336 Coldharbour Lane, phone 7737 3258. This was a normal West Indian café-restaurant of a kind common in south London, plastic tables, unlicensed, with steamed fish about 9 pounds, jerk chicken at 6 pounds, and curried goat (which to my taste can be marvellous) about 5 pounds. It has no drinks licence.

I looked out for alarming people. The worst I found were some winos on the grass opposite the Ritzy, middle aged men of all colours - black, white, and in between. Near the Effra were two black men standing about, who I suppose might worry a racist.

Music was coming out of record shops, but there seemed few dress shops. This being late Monday, the open-air market was not in session, so I planned to return at the weekend.

This I did, at Saturday lunchtime. Dress shops were there in plenty, especially in the covered arcade, Market Row. This also offered a standard South London workers' café, Engens Café, that served braised lamb, a rare dish in such a place. More exotic was Que ? Arepa !, next to the Atlantic Café at no 50 Granville Arcade, which had Colombian sausages and sausages, and corn bread. The Atlantic Road between the market and Kellett Road was much quieter than the market, but had interesting Rasta shops, and a clean and tidy licensed café, The Lounge, with light food that Time Out magazine had praised but I found short on taste.

 
Old Aug 4th, 2001, 12:53 PM
  #4  
Ben Haines
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WEB SITES

Some useful websites are these

Time out magazine says what Brixton offers visitors on http://www.timeout.com/london/sight/brixton.html

Reacting too fast to what he thought was a handgun, on 16 July a Brixton policeman shot dead a black mental patient: there was resulting violence and unrest in Brixton on 20 July. The Independent newspaper describes this on http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=84612: there was no recurrence.

Brixton Market. The Evening Standard, the daily London paper, recommends it to visitors on http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynami..._text_id=14505

Brixton Academy: http://www.brixton-academy.co.uk/: phone 7924 9999,
then 2

Bahumbug Restaurant: http://www.bahhumbug.co.uk/. In 1999 before he became our Mayor Ken Livingstone reviewed it favourably on http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynami...text_id=14505/.


I didn't visit the Brixton Fridge, http://www.fridge.co.uk/netscape.htm/. 7326 5100 then 121.

The Helter Skelter restaurant, 50 Atlantic Road, SW9 8JN, phone 020-7274 8600, had a favourable review in 1977, at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynami...text_id=14505/, but is closed until September.

The calendar for Brixton clubs is in the weekly magazine Time Out, and also on http://icsouthlondon.ic24.com/. If you search there icsouthlondon for "Brixton Clubs you see them all - but you'll still need to phone to check age limits.

 
Old Aug 4th, 2001, 12:55 PM
  #5  
hardy
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What's the definition of mass confusion?


Father's Day in Brixton!
 
Old Aug 13th, 2001, 05:05 AM
  #6  
Sheila
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Ben

That's the best thing I've ever read on this Forum! Hurrah for you
 
Old Jul 30th, 2002, 10:15 AM
  #7  
xxx
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top.
 
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