Are 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.
Category Archives: Rye Lane
Baby Love
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?
Peckham’s red carpet
The red carpet
On a sunny day on Choumert Road off Rye Lane in Peckham I came across these two gentlemen seated on chairs on a red carpet. The scene is very Peckham and surely adds to the jollity of life.
sale tactics
roaring success
Who could resist a sale advertised in such a way? Here in Peckham this is how it’s done.
Voting may soon be made illegal
Depending on your politics the election will have left you feeling cast down or jubilant. Personally, I’m stunned. But cheered that here in multi-cultural Peckham/Nunhead we have voted a fetching shade of Red – Harriet Harman was returned with an increased majority – eschewed the Blues, the Yellows and the smelly Kippers. Hurrah. Now what? A revolution, please.
True?
Here’s a message from a wall in Peckham. Great – let’s all give voice and paint to our opinions.
Salvation is at hand
one of my favourites
I am fond of religious tracts. I like their certainty and message of salvation. Some tracts are handed out on the street and others I, literally, find on the street. I pick them up from odd places. My latest one came from the floor of a bus. I have built a collection of them, and have now made a poster of them to exhibit at a show organized by the South London Women Artists. Here’s the info.
come along!
Heavenly
Sunday ladies
‘I have no very urgent desire to go to Heaven; Peckham is good enough for me,’ wrote William Margrie, founder of the London Explorers Club. It’s not often that Peckham and Heaven appear in the same sentence and, to be frank, there are times it’s more like Hades. But this was a day with glimpses of the celestial.
‘Tis the season to eat!
Wishing you a jolly Christmas and a new year of harmony and health and, if you’re into it, creativity! Why not? It’s cheaper than pills and a lot more fun.
Everything must go… sooner or later
Close to closing?
This shop on Rye Lane has been closing down for as long as I can remember. It must be in excess of 10 years. It’s like a Frank Sinatra farewell tour. Of course, it’s a plea for attention: I may not be here tomorrow, so shop today. But shoppers know this is a case of crying wolf in order to shear the sheep. (A metaphor too many?) One day, though, it will come true.
Was it used as a ball?
As I photographed these ‘heads’ a lady selling stuff in an arcade in Peckham shouted, ‘You should ask first!’ ‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘is it okay if I photograph them?’ Luckily she hadn’t spotted me adjusting the red wig. It entirely covered the model’s face which has been ‘scarred’ by some kind of an accident. Nothing to do but take it on the chin.
Joan Byrne 