Category Archives: Rye Lane

before I die I want to

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A blackboard on Barry Road (Peckham Rye end) is headed ‘before I die I want to…’ Here are some of the wishes

The chalkface of desires

The chalkface of desires

see a puffin… say love you… see the Northern lights (with Amy)… hang out with my dog… (dog’s wish – to catch a squirrel)… make a masterpiece… eat around the world… meet David Attenborough… do well in SATs… witness the end of poverty… enjoy every moment…make my kids proud

todobeforeyoudie

The little girl’s wish is to dance. I’m not saying what mine was… and by now it has been rubbed away to make room for other people’s wishes .

 

 

We’re in the pink

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Rye Poets at Ivy House

Rye Poets at Ivy House

I am a Rye Poet. We are a triangle of poets. We live near Peckham Rye, which is one explanation for our name; the other is that our poetry can be wry. Tonight we will perform at the Ivy House, London’s first community pub. The pub was saved from demoliton a few years ago by achieving status as a community asset. That wasn’t the end of the story. The next move was to get the community to cough up the cash to put the business back on its tremulous feet. And it did. We did. Now the pub  flourishes as a venue for all kinds of entertainment including evenings of poetry and  blues. We’re in the pink!

Desmond’s barbershop

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desmond'sAre you familiar with Desmond’s, the Channel Four sitcom – its longest-ever-running sitcom – and still available for viewing on 4OD? Well, it was inspired by a real barbershop in Peckham. I am exhibiting photos I took over a period of three visits, 2009/10. It was a gloriously ramshackle kind of a place that had seen a lot of life, now consigned to history as it closed  six years ago. Here is one of those photos. An exhibition of them is currently being shown at DKUK, a hair salon that doubles as an art gallery.

Baby Love

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Where Did Our Love Go?

An example of the new and old face of Peckham.

New is the man pushing a buggy. Once this was a rare sight, now they are  everywhere. I wonder, though, if beards are about redressing the balance. As if to say, I may be a caring, sharing type of guy but I’m also a caveman.

New is the Foxtons’ sign, or F for short. They too are everywhere.

Old is the fab looking hairdressers. New and old is the artwork. A portrait of Diana Ross circa 1960?