Groucho-on-the-Rye

Wednesday, February 1, at The Vale

2012-01-28T17:31:00.001Z

The next Groucho is on Wednesday, February 1, from 7pm, at The Vale pub, nearly opposite East Dulwich station. Chris Clack, a few yards away in Oglander Road, has an exhibition of his latest oeuvres that evening (see below), to which Grouchos are invited. So we can combine the two*.

EVENTS
Saturday, January 28, Renato d'Aiello, hot-foot from Pizza Express, is playing at The Clockhouse from 8pm; Scottish folk singer Ewan McLennan is at the Ivy House, with Rosemary Lippard and Tim Graham, courtesy of The Goose is Out (£8).

Sunday, January 29 Laura Eades, prime talent of the Honorable Society of Faster Craftswomen, is talking about the beauty of postcards on Radio 4' Something Understood (6.05am, 11.30pm)

Wednesday, February 1 Death is Certain – Nothing Dies is the title of new works by Chris Clack. Groushos are invited to a private viewing at Modern Religious Art, 73 Oglander Road SE15 4DD, from 5.30pm. Visitors can request a copy of their own free Death Certificate. Or a Life Certificate, by the artist. The show is open 11am–6pm till Saturday, Feb 7.

Thursday, February 9 Journey Without Maps is an evening of poems and songs with Wendy French, John Gibbens and Armorel Weston at Christ's Chapel in Gallery Road, Dulwich, from 7pm. Donations welcome.

REGULARS
Catch up with Here Be Angels - podcasts of local life. Free on iTunes.
From Blues to Bach, is the title of a free lunchtime concert series being held every Wednesday between now an March 28, 1.30-2pm, in Christ's Chapel of Alleyn's College (entrance from Dulwich Picture Gallery), performed by pupils from the three local private schools.

Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell & Peckham and newly appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is inviting all "creatives" on Southwark to join her new Camberwell & Peckham Advisary Panel to "advise me on my national brief and help guide me as I support our creatve sector in Southwark". Email her: harriet.harman.mp@parliament.uk

* Wednesday at the Vale is also a good excuse for the launch of two eBooks, just published : Aftermath & A-Train.

Friday Jan 13th: Last Orders at The Bun House

2012-01-12T06:31:00.004Z

The Bun House pub, 96 Peckham High Street (opposite the Library) closes at the end of this month. The last art exhibition in its upstairs room has a private view from 7pm on Friday 13th, running until the 27th. "Tracing Reflection" is a one-man show from Timo Kube, described thus: "Set in the context of The Bun House, with its rich history, and in light of the latest news – its immanent closure subject to commercial property development – the works seep into the space and evoke an increased sense of reflection on the present as a situation."

Have a good break...

2011-12-20T10:25:00.001Z

See you in the New Year!

Thursday, November 24, at the Mag

2011-11-06T12:24:00.019Z

Next Groucho Thursday November 24 at The Mag, 211 Lordship Lane. From 7.30pm

• Monday, Nov 21-27: Peckham Literary Festival in various venues, centred on the Review Bookshop in Bellenden Road.

• Monday, Nov 28: "Ladies in Jazz" is the title of Renato d'Aiello's current Monday night slot Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's. Tonight spotlights Jo Wallfisch from Dulwich. "She sings like an angel" says Renato. Plus a classical duo (piano and violin) and maybe poetry, too. See his Facebook page.

• Till December 10 Groucher Evadne Rickets is starring in Stepping Out at the Union Theatre, from November 15 (not Mondays). "It's a fun show," she says.

• Friday, Dec 2 Marianne Gray of PeckhamPlex invites Grouchos to the North London Self-Employed Lunch Club's Christmas lunch.

• Just opened Rye Books, a new bookshop, 45 Uplands Road.

Third week in October

2011-10-18T10:08:00.006+01:00

An invitation from Hylda Sims

And a message from Peckhamplex:

In response to the current economic climate from 21^st October until the end of 2011 ALL TICKETS ALL DAY WILL BE JUST £4.99.

There is also a number of Special Events at the cinema: see website

• The Westbridge by Rachel De-lahay, the second of two Theatre Local productions by the Royal Court at the Bussy Building in Rye Lane, runs from November 3 – 19.

Week of Oct 10-14

2011-10-10T10:55:00.003+01:00

Monday, October 10 Renato has his regular Monday slot Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's.

Thursday, October 13 Christopher Bowden is inviting Grouchos to a launch of his third book, 'The Red House', at Dulwich Books, from 7.30pm. Christopher is also interviewed in Dulwich-on-View.

Friday, October 14 High Arctic, an exhibition of wildlife photography by Louise Murray is on at the prestigious Lacock Gallery in Wiltshire. It had an excellent write-up in the Telegraph. Grouchos are invited to the opening on Friday, October 14. RSVP.

Friday, October 14 Renato is back at the Plough, 381 Lordship Lane, from 8.30. Free.

Next Groucho TBA

Wednesday, September 28 at Franklins

2011-09-28T08:15:00.000+01:00

The next Groucho will be on Wednesday, September 28, at Franklins, 157 Lordship Lane.

Tuesday, September 13 at The East Dulwich Tavern

2011-09-11T11:49:00.003+01:00

•Next Groucho Tuesday, September 13 at the East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm

FILM
• This week Peckham and Nunhead Free Film Festival continues all week. Highlights are Baraka at the Wildlife Garden Centre on Thursday, plus Harold Loyd in Safety Last on Peckham Common and Battleship Potempkin, both with live music, on the top storey of the car park. Download a programme from their website
• Peckham Artist Moving Image Festival (PAMI) is part of the Free Film Festival and has events in various Peckham galleries and spaces from September 15-18, launching Sept 14.

MUSIC
• Sept 12 An evening of post rock and folk, with emerging bands, at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Tickets £5.
• Sept 17-22 The Herne Hill Festival runs from, with jazz, classical and lighter music.
• Renato d'Aiello continues his regular Monday evening slot at Ronnie Scott's

Tea and bowls, Peckham Common and Park, Sunday, Sept 4

2011-08-31T18:20:00.006+01:00

ART
Sunday, Sept 4: This pop-up art gallery (above) in Upland Road, at the Lordship Lane end, on Sunday provides a focus for the weekend. It runs from midday. If it's sunny, afterwards head up to Peckham Common and the cafe for good cakes and coffee or tea - or something stronger. And there is achance to get on the bowling green in the park behind, where the cafe serves the same food, and has books to swap.
Around 4pm?
Saturday, Sept 3-28 Martin Fidler has an exhibition at GxGallery, 43 Denmark Hill in Camberwell. He does some really nice things. His drawings of Ruskin Park and and pantings of woodlands (right) are terrific.

FILM
Friday, September 9: Nunhead Free Film Festival begins with The Ladykillers in Nunhead cemetery.
Thursday September 8–18: The Peckham Free Film Festival includes outdoor screenings of Harold Lloyd in Safety Last by the Cafe on Peckham Rye Common (16th) and Battleship Potempkin with live soundtrack music on the roof of the Peckham multi-storey car park (18th).

GROUCHO
Tuesday, September 13: The next pub Groucho, probably back in the East Dulwich Tavern.

BROADCAST NEWS
• A petition to protest against BBC's proposal to axe BBC4 (which has about the only watchable programmes on TV) is still seeking signatures. See here.
• Sorry to see the BBC selling off the Radio Times, for which this writer was once a correspondent. The magazine, along with 18 other BBC branded titles, has been sold to Exponent, a private equity company and owners of the media jobs website Gorkhana.

Tuesday, August 2 at The Gowlett

2011-07-30T10:38:00.014+01:00

NEXT GROUCHO: August 2 at The Gowlett, in Gowlett Road off East Dulwich Road. There are tables on the pavement outside, and also in the yard at the back. Pizzas here are okay, but they take only cash.

This date as been moved from Monday, August 1, so Grouchos could catch Renato d'Aiello at Ronnie Scott's. He is also playing at the Plough, Lordship Lane, on Saturday, July 30, from 8.30. Free entry.

• Evadne Rickets will not, alas, be coming along. It;s the opening night of A Lady of Pleasure, a Restoration play in which she is performing at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington. It runs till August 23.

• Dulwich Picture Galley has a Fifties night, showing Grease on the big screen, on Bank Holiday Monday.

July

2011-07-22T10:20:00.008+01:00

The BBC has reduced the number of short stories it broadcasts on Radio 4 from five, to three, and now to one a week. Controller Gwyneth Williams recently announced these cuts as part of her reorganisation of the BBC Radio 4 schedule. See Press release:

There is an online petition on the National Short Story Week website.

• Friday, July 22. Hylda Sims' Fourth Friday at the Poetry Cafe, from 8pm.

• Saturday, July 23. There will be a full scale production on The Rite of Spring put on by Bold Tendencies in the car park behind Peckhamplex. Tickets are free but need to be booked

• Saturday July 23 Renato d'Aiello is playing American jazz standards at the Secondo Bar Cafe, Voltair Road, Clapham, from 8pm, free entry. Renato is also now playing regularly every Monday night Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's.

• Friday, July 29 Three short 16mm films by Matoharu Jonouchi at Flat Time House, part of South London Art Map's last Friday events. Free, but needs to be booked.

Thursday, July 14 at Frank's Cafe and Campari Bar

2011-07-08T16:59:00.008+01:00

Time to check out this season's Bold Tendencies at Frank's Cafe and Campari Bar - if you haven't already done so.

Thursday, July 14, from 7.30pm...

Also

Saturday July 9 Renato d'Aiello is playing with his trio at The Plough, opposite Dulwich Library, from 8.30. It's free. The pub's food is said to be okay. On Monday, July 11, he will be Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's - a regular fortnightly gig.

Friday Jul 15 is a gallery opening at The Sunday Painter

July 22-23 Laura Eades is looking for an appreciative audience in Euston in her latest production for the The Honorable Society of Faster Craftswomen

• The second edition of Here Be Angels, podcast is now out. Heather Davies visits a food and craft emporium in Nunhead, Richard Leeming investigates English Heritage's visit to Peckham, and there is a Campari-fuelled report on Frank's.

The midsummer picnic

2011-06-22T23:20:00.004+01:00

Well, the sun did come out, the pigeons cooed and the children slept, and soon the honeyed sounds of Renato's sax accompanied by Johnny's gentlemanly guitar were wafting around the picnickers on the common...
The picture on the left is by the photographer Simona Aru, who fortuitously was here with her camera phone.

Midsummer Picnic

2011-06-06T11:58:00.007+01:00

The annual Groucho-on-the-Rye midsummer picnic will be held around the plane tree in the middle of Peckham Rye Common on Tuesday June 21, from 7.30pm. Bring whatever you want to celebrate the solstice – food, wine, musical instrument, frisbees, friends... (If wet, in The Clockhouse.)

There are now more than 80 media people in and around Peckham and Dulwich

signed up to Groucho-on-the-Rye.

Their details can be found by clicking on the column on the right >>

• Check your details to ensure they are up to date.

• Do use the web pages as a resource - for people and for information.

• Get in touch if you have anything to shout about.

Also coming up...

Here Be Angels podcast has just launched, with features about Peckham and East Dulwich. Richard Leeming reports on Bellenden Road, Heather Davies reports on Lordship Lane and Sarah Jane Griffiths (Grouchers all) meets the Dulwich Ukelele Club. Check it out.

June 11: Local Saxophonist Renato d'Aiello is playing at the Plough at the bottom of Lordship Lane (No 381, opposite Dulwich Library), from 8.30. He continues his twice-monthly Italian jazz night at Ronnie Scott's bar on the 13th, and will be playing every Monday from August 2011 onwards.

June 24-26 Book Market at the Son Gallery who say: "We have a great list of organisations involved and it will be a great start for a summer of arts and culture here in Peckham. It starts on the Last Friday of June, and it is the official After Party for the South London Art Map's last friday."

July 31 Deadline for Peckham & Nunhead Free Film Festival's SE15 Young Filmmakers' Competition for under 25s. See website

Wednesday April 20 at the Dog

2011-04-20T09:12:00.000+01:00

The next Groucho is on Wednesday, April 20 at The Crown & Greyhound in Dulwich Village, from 7.30

• Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers is looking for help publishing postcards of drawing and paintings of their work.

• An Apple insiders says if you are thinking of buying an iPhone, don't get one just yet.

• Anyone go to the London Book Fair?

Wednesday April 20, at The Dog

2011-04-17T08:19:00.007+01:00

• Renato d'Aillo d'Aillo is playing at the EDT at lunchtime on Sunday (April 17) with his Brazilian music trio playing some tributes to Jobim. He's at Ronnie Scotts upstairs the following evening.

• Saturday, April 16, at 7.30, Fish Tank is showing free at the Old Nun's Head. Our Kirsty will be there

• Next Groucho is on Wednesday, 20th at the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich.

Angels at the East Dulwich Tavern, March 29

2011-03-30T12:22:00.006+01:00

Richard Leeming from the BBC showed the way forward with an idea he has been hatching with Heather Davies about a new podcast for Peckham and Dulwich. It is proposed to have mainstream material, which might include interviews with MPs, art discussions, food topics and so on. It has a name and a blank website: HERE BE ANGELS, after Blake's vision in Peckham. He can set the thing up but needs input for audio material, including jingles and 'idents', and from designers, for logos etc. And he needs people to keep it going (no money, of course). Sarah Jane Griffiths, who also works for BBC Radio, was seriously interested. Journalist Daryll Chamberlain, another new and welcome Groucher, from Charlton, who has a blog called 853 about the Greenwich area, was also interested. Rhian Wheeler and Malcolm Young came to hear, too. And with Les Burton, Chris Clack, Lousie Murray and another new Groucher, science writer Carolyn Fry, we all managed to sit outside till late.
Spring is here.

Dates:
Thursday, March 31: Grouchos are all invited to look at the Old Waiting Room at Peckham Station, for a "Celebration of Peckham's Historic Architecture". There will be talks about the development of Peckham. 6–9pm
• Saturday April 2 at the Old Nun's Head.The Fat Arthur Band's evening of punk-curcus-lounge-funk, 8pm till late, featuring Groucher Hugo Simms on the theramin.
NEXT GROUCHO: I need to skip a week, so it will be on Wednesday, April 20 at the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich.

Tuesday, March 29, at the EDT

2011-03-27T19:57:00.006+01:00

The next Groucho is on Tuesday, March 29, from 7.30pm at the East Dulwich Tavern.

Heather Davies and Richard Leeming promise to turn up. They have an audio proposition and they would appreciate Groucho input. They want to do a podcast for Peckham / Dulwich - "like the famous Hackney Podcast, but less ethereal, says Heather. "We're still very much in the ideas stage."

• Saturday April 2 at The Old Nun's Head. "The Fat Arthur Band presents a musical evening of punk-circus-lounge-funk brought to you by the medium of live music, recorded music, film, light,

colour and cake. 8pm till late - Bar till 1am. Free entry"

Groucher Hugo Simms is the band's theraminist (thereminator? - don't ask, just go and hear)and the provider of recorded music.

Monday, March 15 at the EDT

2011-03-16T14:08:00.005Z

A civilised table. Hugo Simms talked about his interview with the Fentimans, former landlords of the Ivy House, who turned a struggling pub into a popular music venue – a blueprint that perhaps could be followed. Chris Clack described the Peckham Space interview with Jessica Voorsanger in which questions were welcomed - though his was not. Nigel Soper showed an iPhone video of the work of Anthony McCall (pictured below) who has a commission for a large work for the Olympics. Angie Macdonald talked about the new Panda algorithm coding that Google is introducing, which will make any text copied from the web traceable, and thus help protect copyright. Louise Murray is making plans to take her cameras to the Russian Arctic. Dejla Kadim arrived after a day at Gorkhana, a media data base that, once signed up for (free), for has lots of information about jobs and industry staff movement.
Evadne Rickets sent reviews for her recent sell-out play Keeping Mum, in which she is described as being "miraculous in her restrained performance".

• The NEXT GROUCHO is on Tuesday, March 29 at the EDT. Heather Davies and Richard Leeming have an audio proposition they want to bring along to try out on Grouchers.

PRIVATE VIEWS

* 40 Hours 10 Artists. Friday, March 25, 6-9pm, Nolia gallery, 60 Gt Suffolk Street. Groucher Joan Byrne won a free show here, described in Dulwich on View:
* Shaun McDowell, Recent Works March 16, 6.30–8.30 Hannah Barry Gallery

MUSIC

* Renato di'Aiello at The Lodge above the EDT on Sunday, March 20. (The food here was much better organised last time). Renato is also playing Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's on Monday, March 21, which is his birthday and promises to be a good session. On the 25th he's at The Poet in Herne Hill.

WORDS

• April 7, Wordsworth's Birthday, is being celebrated in the back room of the Montpelier.

Monday, March 14 at the EDT

2011-03-14T07:28:00.000Z

The next Grouch salon is on Monday, Match 14 at the EDT.

Thursday, February 24 at the Montpelier

2011-03-04T14:46:00.013Z

A busy bar, many perhaps from the Sunday Painter gallery opening. Hugo Simms is still on the trail of Ivy House glory days, and has tracked former landlords down to talk to about their time with Ian Dury and co. Nigel Soper discovered Peckham Rye railway station, just around the corner, is only one stop from West Dulwich. Kirsty Hamilton dropped by on her way home from work. The poet Wendy French was a welcome newcomer, and David Jennings brought along two friends, Niall Anderson, who works in the British Library archives, and Lawrence Chiles, from the Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

• The Montpelier is starting a series of free video screenings in its new back room, starting with An Island directed by Vincent Moon and Efterklang, on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th March.

• Next Groucho will be Monday March 14, back at the East Dulwich Tavern. Renato is playing there at lunchtime on Sunday, 20th.

Thursday, February 24 at the Montpelier

2011-02-17T09:33:00.018Z

The next Groucho is on Thursday February 24 at The Montpelier in Choumert Road, from 7.30pm. The Sunday Painter, a couple of minutes away at 12–16 Blenheim Grove, has a Private View for The Ready Meal, 6–9pm on the same night and could provide an apperetif to the evening.

• SLAM Fridays is part of the newly launched South London Arts Map. Galleries will open on the last Friday of the month from 6–8.30pm, starting February 25. Flat Times House in Bellenden Road has a John Latham installation opening on the night, and Peckham Space is also keeping its doors open.

• PeckhamPlex has been in touch to say it now has regular Thursday morning screenings for the over 60s (Silver Screen Club), and for parents with children (Watch with Baby). Tea and biscuits, coffee and cake, are included. To get on the mailing list, email: peckham.managers@movieshack.co.uk

• Peckham is the highlight of this issue of the Portuguese magazine Revistas Blue, which Ros at the Review bookshop brings to our attention. Stroll through 16 pages of glorious pictures and words – it makes Peckham look like the best place in the world to be. Which of course it is.

• bibliotastic.com is a new website for free ebooks, and a platform for aspiring writers to reach an audience and for the growing community of ebook readers to access free content.

• Renato d'Aiello, who had a great night at Ronnie Scott's on Monday, with more gigs there promised, is playing at The Poet Bar, 215-216 Railton Road in Herne Hill on Friday 25th, and in The Lodge, upstairs at the East Dulwich Tavern on Sunday 27th Lunchtime

Wednesday, Feb 9, at the Mag

2011-02-10T22:28:00.004Z

A bit of an empty pub, but our table was full. Nice to meet Dejla Kadhim, of Gorkana, a Floral-Street-based agency that sources journalists and matches them to projects, PRs and so forth: any writer interested, email: mail@gorkhana. com. Les Burton talked about his quincunx, Angie Macdonald has a new web design site: ZenAngie. Nigel Soper mentioned his son Sam's gig on Saturday at the Ritzy (see poster). Annie Fatet said there was a new (expensive) Creatuve Writing Kitchen in Bellenden Road, and a recent poetry evening at the Montpelier, now to be a monthly event. Nick Snow of Groucho Southeast had a look in, and Kirsty Hamilton arrived enraged, having come across somebody in Lordship Lane off his face, and nobody prepared to call the police or an ambulance. What would you/should you do in such a situation? She is going to make some calls find out.

Next Groucho at the Montpelier on Thursday February 24

Wednesday Feb 9, at the Mag, 211 Lordship Lane

2011-02-06T21:17:00.002Z

The next Groucho will be on Wednesday, Feb 9 at The Mag, 211 Lordship Lane. They are reserving the sofas in the corner from 7.30pm. (There is a football match on Wednesday, and the EDT will be packed)

Meantime have a listen to Hylda Sims guiding us around her 1950s Soho on this podcast she made for The Guardian. She comes in after about 9 minutes and the tour lasts for around 20 minutes -- with songs and music from Hylda and her skiffling friends.

***Most attractive invitation of the week? The Ventriloquists Club of Great Britain is holding a competition for scripts: £50 for the winner!

Burns Night at the East Dulwich Tavern

2011-01-26T11:25:00.002Z

A full table in the gloaming corner…Louise Murray was first in. She talked about the usefulness of the position marker on her Olympus voice recorder: when you recording, you click on it when something interesting is said, and the mark appears on the audio file on screen when you download it, so you can just scroll through for the good bits. You can also get an app that turns your iPhone/smartphone into a recorder with position marker. She introduced Mike Usiskin, a photographer currently on assignment for Newsweek, who has spent many months photographing lifers in the UK's maximum security jails; now an exhibition, touring in France. See his website. Martin Fidler came with Chris Clack and Ronnie, and there was talk of putting videos on screens in local windows, with speakers for constant public performances.

Peter Tullin, back from Australia, said his Culture Label website was expanding. He brought Heather Thomas, Director of Development for Brighton Festival, though she lives just around the corner. David Jennings had copies of Unplugged: The Agile Learning Newspaper, explaining how he produced this 12-page Berliner/Guardian-sized papers through Newspaper Club at a cost of £1.03 per copy for 200 copies, plus VAT, (£0.82p plus VAT for 500).

Christie Hickman arrived after a hard day's reading at Random House, Rose Shepherd after a stint of making silk purses at The Sunday Times Magazine. Bob Schweizer's restaurant column is something we are all hungrily anticipating. Nigel Soper wondered if it wouldn't be possible for a salvage company to remove the ballroom from the Ivy House and put it somewhere more convenient.

• Sunday, Jan 30 Jazz brunch at the Lodge, upstairs at East Dulwich Tavern. Renato d'Aiello will be blowing his brilliant sax with two fellow Italians – Bruno Montrone on piano and Marco Panascia on bass. The first set starts at 1pm, the second at 2.30, finishing at 3.30. Free entry and no obligation to eat.

• Marianne Gray, new owner of the PeckhamPlex wants suggestions for film seasons/themed days or nights at the cinema. She is open to all ideas.

Tuesday, January 25 at the East Dulwich Tavern

2011-01-23T09:30:00.005Z

The next Groucho is on Tuesday, January 25, at the East Dulwich Tavern.

On Monday, January 24, the latest Consume Peckham shorts by the Chelsea College of Arts is showing at the PeckhamPlex, 7-8pm, £1.99: a sample video is shown here:

Consume Peckham: Take 16 (2 selected from 16 films) from david barnett on Vimeo.

Sad to announce the death of the photographer Penny Tweedie, a stalwart of Groucho South-East. Her funeral will be held at Charing Crematorium, near Ashford in Kent, on Thursday, January 27 at 3.20pm. Her obituary was published in the Guardian on Friday.

Monday, January 10, EDT

2011-01-11T10:39:00.018Z

Final curtain for The Ivy House? (pic © Bob Schweizer)

Well, we didn't know that the EDT would close at 9pm so that the staff of the group (which includes the Bishop, the Actress and the Victoria) could swan off to a party. This venue has become such a regular it didn't seem worth checking. Will do so next time.

But it was enough time for Hugo Simms, Hylda Sims, Nigel Soper and Chris Clack to sit around the fire and talk about the future of the Ivy House pub, which has just closed. Hugo, who had been involved in saving the 100 Club, mentioned just some of the people who have appeared in the excellent cabaret room at the the back of the pub, including Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and Wilko Johnson, as well as, more recently, Arthur Smith at the packed comedy nights. Nigel's son Sam plays guitar in Severed Limb, a band that has dates at the Ivy House - they'll be at Glastonbury this year. A campaign will undoubtedly get underway, and anyone interested should get in touch.
Ideas were canvassed for a new book of 600 Amazing Places in London: all contributions welcome.
Unfortunately we were kicked out of the pub shortly before David Jennings arrived with copies of his new paper hot off the press to distribute. You can read about it here.

Perhaps David can bring some copies to the next Groucho, on Tuesday, January 25.
• Monday, Jan 24. The screening of Consume Peckham: Take 16, the Chelsea students' videos about Peckham, is at the PeckhamPlex at 7pm
• Renato d'Aiello is playing Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's on the same night (Jan 24). Renato is now giving saxophone lessons. and anyone interested should get in touch with him: renatodaiello@yahoo.co.uk

Monday, January 10, East Dulwich Tavern

2010-12-29T17:15:00.001Z

Monday, January 10: the next Groucho, at East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm

Monday January 24: Take 16 at PeckhamPlex: videos made about Peckham by students at Chelsea College of Art. This is their second series. The last one, Consume Peckham, was excellent.
Sunday, January 30: Renato d'Aiello and his talented Italian colleagues return for Sunday Jazz upstairs at the Lodge, East Dulwich Tavern

Rhian Wheeler at The Gardens, Thurs, Dec 16

2010-12-13T15:59:00.010Z

Well, Renato and his amazing Italian band were as good as jazz gets. The venue, the Lodge at the EDT, was great, too, even if the food was a little lacking. Looking forward to his next gig there on Jan 30th.

Thursday December 16, 6.30–8.30: Last Groucho event before the New Year, Rhian Wheeler's opening at The Gardens gallery on the corner of The Gardens and Peckham Rye. The Clockhouse pub is nearby if anyone wants to linger.

Meantime the open exhibition at Peckham Space - the new gallery outside the library – continues until January 20. Chris Clack and Joan Byrne both have work there. Chris has just won the Rosa competition run by Dulwich-on-View. Gathering of Armed Men was chosen by the director of the Dulwich Picture Gallery. The brief was to produce an interpretation of a painting by Salvator Rosa. They usually have such a competition for their contemporary shows – currently it's Norman Rockwell.

Printed on 310 gsm Hahnemuhle William Turner, 'Gathering of Armed Men'

measures 27x24in and is selling for £450 framed to archival standards.

Christmas Brunch Party in The Lodge, East Dulwich Tavern, Sunday December 13.

2010-12-03T14:25:00.007Z

Renato D'Aiello, Dec 12: Renato d'Aiello, who put in a a guest appearance at this week's Groucho at the EDT, is playing Sunday Jazz Brunch at the East Dulwich Tavern on December 12, so we thought that we'd make this Groucho's Christmas Party. It's free entry (the Lodge door is on the right as you look at the pub from Lordship Lane) and Renato and his highly acclaimed Italian quartet will be playing from 1-3.30 with one 20-minute break.
Do come. Tell your friends, bring your relations...

Dec 13: Renato is playing Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's. Plus, Opera in Southwark Cathedral.
Dec 16: Rhian Wheeler's opening night at The Gardens Gallery, 6-30-8.30.
Peckham Space Open exhibition, in the new gallery outside Peckham Library, has work by Chris Clack and Joan Byrne and is on until December 18

Tuesday Nov 30, East Dulwich Tavern

2010-11-29T09:12:00.001Z

The next Groucho is on Tuesday, November 30, at the East Dulwich tavern. Let's try to bag the sofas by the fire.

Topics??
Murdock's Daily in the iPad
Wikileaks
PeckhamPlex (sign up to get weekly ebulletin: www.peckhamplex.com)
Arts funding cuts
Gauguin
Best Christmas reads...

Events
Dec 3: Grouchos are invited to join the North London Self-Employed Lunch Club at Le Petit Auberge in Upper Street - see earlier emails
Dec 12: Renato d'Aiello is playing a Sunday Jazz Lunch at the East Dulwich Tavern
Dec 13: Opera at Southwark Cathedral; Renato d'Aiello is Upstairs at Ronnie Scotts.
Dec 16: Rhian Wheeler's opening night at The Gardens Gallery

Monday Nov 15, EDT

2010-11-16T12:42:00.048Z

A full table at the EDT was made up of regulars, not-been-for-a-whilers, and welcome newcomers. Of the latter, first in was Annie, a former ceramicist and translator, originally from St-Etienne in France (a few weeks ago we swapped emails, but I cannot for the life of me now find her contact details – Annie, get in touch!)

Other arrivistes were Harriet Blaise, who curates the Flux cinema in Dalston and hopes to link up with the new owners of PeckhamPlex, and Lydia Kawinski Shearer, who is also involved in arts events, including Peckham Free Film Festival, and may be seen behind the bar in the Gowlett. Sarah Alexander took us into the world of automata with her Cabaret Mechanical Theatre – she used to have the shop/museum in Covent Garden. Pictured here is Transports of Delight by Keith Newstead, selling at £3,500.

David Jennings and Les Burton railed against script and book editors.

Nigel Soper has designed the catalogue for Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition at the V&A, (Dec 7–Feb 27), Anne Reckless was showing her new Kindle (she has surprised herself by enjoying its 3,500-book capacity), Simon Tait brought copies of the latest Arts Industry News. Chris and Louise Clack brought Ronnie, now that EDT has relaxed rules about dogs.

Also good to see Alyse Dar, Cathy Muscat and Pam Barrett returning to the table.

EVENTS
• Wednesday, November 17, 6.30: The new owners of the PeckhamPlex are putting on the Chelsea Art School student videos, £1.99, and afterwards in the bar at the Bussey building.
• Monday November 22, local saxophonist Renato d'Aiello has another date upstairs at Ronnie Scotts. Nice atmosphere. £5 entrance, eight till late.
• Tuesday November 23. Private View at The Sunday Painter, for Angry Film by Sam Austen, a new video showing opposite Peckham Rye station's platform 1; 6-9.30pm, BBQ and drinks.
• Friday November 26: Peckham Literary Festival ends
• Tuesday November 30 Next Groucho get-together, East Dulwich Tavern
• December 16: Groucher Rhian Wheeler has an exhibition at The Gardens, a former Electrical Engineering showroom and now an extremely interesting looking cafe/gallery on Pekham Rye.

Monday, November 15, East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm

2010-11-11T18:24:00.013Z

The next Groucho get-together will be on Monday November 15 at the East Dulwich Tavern (by the roundabout at the top of Lordship Lane)

Topics:

• PECKHAM CINEMA

Marianne Gray, former chair of the Film Critics Circle and now a director of the newly independent PeckhamPlex (ex-Multiplex), writes to GOTR to say:

"We intend to update PeckhamPlex to be fully digital in the New Year and turn one of the six screens into a sort of film club, playing foreign films, art house films and alternative fare like opera, live football, a Sunday with the three Godfather films screened, all kinds of wonderful and interesting stuff.

"Your Groucho members sound so like the audience we would like to attract to this new development. I would be happy to put any members on our email circuit to get our weekly screening programme."

Wednesday, Nov 17th, 6.30: Meantime, students from the Chelsea School of Art have a documentary festival of 16 shorts they shot in Peckham, £1.99 entrance at PeckhamPlex, and afterwards in the bar at the Bussey building.

• PECKHAM LITERARY FESTIVAL 2010

November 10-17 "Ten days of free events showcasing the pick of Peckham's literary talents". It includes bookswaps, belly dancing, talks and readings. For details see the Review Bookshop website

• JANE NEWBERY GALLERY
Sunday, November 14, 2–4pm. 80:20 Eighty per cent of received information is via images, leaving 20 per cent for language. Discuss! Joan Byrne and Pia Randall Goddard invite us to the Jane Newbery Gallery, 33 Dulwich Village (next to the art and stationery shop):

"We will explore the dynamic between words and images beginning with an overview of artists whose work combines both. We will then show on screen our own photography and perform (short) readings of our written work. There’s an open mic for other writers; if you’d like to read, please contact: joanbyrnemedia@googlemail.com"

Part of South London Women Artists programme of talks. £5 includes refreshments.

Thursday, November 4

2010-10-31T18:40:00.004Z

Three private view invitations this week:

Wednesday November 3, 8-10pm. South London Women's Artists at Dulwich Library (invite courtesy of Joan Byrne)

Thursday, November 4:

Laura Moreton-Griffiths, paintings, drawings and prints, 6– 9 pm. Jane Newbery Gallery 33 Dulwich Village SE (Chris Clack recommendation)

Also on Thursday, a Groucho night special, The Big Art Affair Gallery, above the Vibe Bar in The Old Truman Brewery, Brisk Lane.

Thursday Nov 4, 6–9.30.

Wednesday Oct 20, at the East Dulwich Tavern

2010-10-21T09:13:00.010+01:00

The evening had a filmic theme: Neil Johns, copywriter and organiser of the Free Film Festival and the Paradiso Film Society arrived at the same time as Bella Tulo from Gallery Film (check out their new season's programmes), which is run for the Dulwich Picture Gallery, as is Dulwich on View. Ingrid Beazley, editor of this online magazine for the gallery, said their recent garden party had attracted 100 more regular readers, and as they use half a dozen stories a week they are always after material.

Rose Shepherd put in an early appearance. Simon Tait at Arts Industry News has a new website. Martin Fidler was full of bright ideas as usual. Hylda Sims was in need of a plumber (thanks for all suggestions, some of which have been passed on to her, too). Rhian Wheeler and Malcolm Young of Ruby Design want to find a lawyer who will charge less than £175 an hour to sort out a lease, and are looking for a three-bed house for £350,000.

Chris Clack wonders if we can't have a stall donated to Groucho-on-the-Rye at the Big Art Affair at the Dulwich Hamlet football ground next May. To this end the next Groucho will be outside the parish -- at the Vibe Bar in the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, at the invitation of the Big Art Affair "team"

Wednesday, Oct 20, EDT

2010-10-18T08:36:00.000+01:00

Next Groucho: Wednesday Oct 20 at the East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm
Topics?, London Film Festival... 10–30,000 word eBooks sought by Amazon, as ideal for Kindle... Introduction of News of the World paywall... Video installation on Sunday Painters' roof (studios to let) next to Platform 1, Peckham Rye station... an annual Groucho Photographic show. And the man in East Dulwich who mortgaged his house to complete a movie

Tuesday October 5 at the East Dulwich Tavern

2010-10-06T10:23:00.007+01:00

A lively Tuesday: Les Burton was first in: other regulars soon followed – Simon Tait, whose Arts Industry reflects interesting times, and Martin Fidler, who talked about his Ruskin walk for sketchers. Joan Byrne forsook the life drawing class at Review for an evening of our company. Hylda Sims, Chris Clack and Louise Murray expanded the table, and Nick Snow came briefly by. Newcomers included Katie Coyne, a feelance writer, formerly news editor of The Bookseller, now writing about pubs and about to leave for New Zealand. David Jennings runs Alchemi – "An individual brew of learning, culture and technology". His book, Net, Blogs and Rock'n'Roll: How Digital Discovery Works and What it Means for Consumers, Creators and Culture, looks extremely interesting.

Talking of which, Jessica Cargill Thompson sent apologies and news of her new book, The Midlife Manual – "a wry take on one’s middle years". The Times Magazine called it "the funniest book of the year". Co-writer John O’Connell, former Time Out book critic, is a Herne Hill resident.

Also at the table was local accountant Ray Coman, who comes recommended.

East Dulwich Tavern, Tuesday, Oct 5

2010-10-03T13:09:00.003+01:00

The next Groucho, from 7.30pm
• Did anybody get a copy of Frantzen's pre-pulped Freedom? Don't send it back! It will be worth a few bob - and interesting to see the errors of his ways.

• Anybody pitching at Frankfurt?

• The Crypt, Camberwell, is in business after the recent hiatus.

• Will the government's October 20 spending cuts affect you?

Monday, September 20 at East Dulwich Tavern

2010-09-23T17:53:00.003+01:00

A quiet Monday. Hugo Simms, in the throes of writing a children's play, has just purchased a Mac – the free tutorials at Apple's Regent Street store (left) can't be too highly recommended (one Groucho's mother takes her iBook along to the Genius bar to get them to sort out her on-line domestic bills). The Garage Band tutorial is extraordinary.

Louise Murray said she was shortly off to take night-time videos of wildlife in Botswana. Christopher Bowden talked about his third book and the efforts he has put into selling his first two, and how he inveigled Prunella Scales to read his manuscript. Hylda Sims talked of her own writing experience, putting her life into her novel, Peckham Rising, soon, she hopes, to be out as an eBook.

A number of apologies were received. Most of them were acceptable. Chris Clack, for instance, had just sold major artworks at Nunhead Cemetery, which had opened as part of London Open House Weekend, and had to make the delivery. Oh, and another ebook was published this week…

Monday, September 20, East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm

2010-09-20T08:13:00.005+01:00

• The first paid for app from a regional daily: the ThisisBristol app for iPhones is on iTunes at £1.19 and lets users browse local stories and view pictures.

• Anybody know where to go to get a Mac Word file on an old floppy disc (circa 1999) converted?

• There is a Hannah Barry Gallery opening on Wednesday: Empire, by Sculptor Marcus Kleinfeld, from 6.30pm

• The Multiplex in Rye Lane is now independent and touting for suggestions about what films to put on.

• East Dulwich sax star Renato d'Aiello is playing tonight Upstairs at Ronnie Scotts, with Italian vocalist Paola Arnesano (2009 Italian jazz award as Best Jazz vocalist) and on Wednesday (22nd) at Spice of Life, Soho.

Next Groucho: Tuesday, Oct 5, East Dulwich Tavern, from 7.30pm

Monday, Sept 20, East Dulwich Tavern

2010-09-13T22:01:00.001+01:00

The week of outdoor film laid on by the Cinema Paradiso's Free Film Festival was a triumph, in spite of many having to be turned away from Nunhead Cemetery because of a restriction on numbers. According to a guy on the door, 675 people turned up at Frank's at the car park for the final film, Nosferatu. with excellent live musicians, and an added bonus of views of the fireworks from the Thames festival afterwards.

Bad news: jazz in the Crypt, Camberwell, has been given a week's notice. If you are interested, take time to email them - this is what they say:

Dear Jazz Live Fans

It is with great regret that we have to report to you that , after 15 years of successfully promoting jazz concerts, we have been sacked from the Crypt of St Giles Church by the church authorities and that the Jazzlive@theCrypt project no longer exists at St Giles Church. We have moved our jazz promoting operation to Le Petit Parisien Brasserie on Sundays where we will continue to promote high quality live jazz at accessible and affordable prices for you, along with the usual atmosphere and unbeatable vibe we are known for.

As you know the vicar of St Giles Church the Rev'd Nick George has installed new management at the Crypt led by Mr Mark Dodds of the Sun and Doves pub in Camberwell, with his associate Mr Steve Corbett as venue manager. Unfortunately the venue manager gave us one week's notice to remove all our equipment from the venue and stop promoting jazz.

Please let us know (jazz@looksouth.net) what you think about this decision, whether you would like to know more about it or do anything about it. We will get back to you soon!

In the meantime the Jazz Live team and the Company and Registered Charity behind it, Jazz Umbrella, would like to thank all of you for visiting and supporting the club and our music at the Crypt of St Giles Church for the last 15 years, at what will go down in history as one of London's legendary jazz clubs. Please support us in our new venue!

Also, Wethersppon's seems to be on the verge of taking over The Vale, near East Dulwich station. What will happen to the fiddly-diddly music on Sunday nights?

Events Sept 3–12

2010-09-03T10:38:00.001+01:00

Wednesday, Sept 1 at The Montpelier: three new faces, three old. Chris Clack brought along local artist Martin Fidler, who advocated wild sculpture placings on public walls – the paining here, of Thames Gateway, is from his website. He turned out to have something in common with Joan Byrne, namely Finland (Hel Yes! is a Finish popup restaurant just opened in N1). Web designer Julie from Smith + Manz, who has been on the Groucho mailing list since the beginning, turned up for the first time, bringing local illustrator Alyana Cazalet (the illustration of the cats here can be seen on her website). And the pub ran out of beer.

EVENTS

FRIDAY, Sept 3: Some Kind of Blue at the Camberwell Crypt. Late night at The Tate.
SATURDAY, Sept 4: Peckham Rye Fete, on the Common, 12-5pm

SUNDAY, Sept 5: Peckham Experiment Archive film at The Pioneer Centre, 8-10pm

***FRIDAY, Sept 10: A Matter of Life and Death showing at Nunhead Cemetery, 8pm, and afterwards in the Old Nun's Head where there is music upstairs. Nominated Groucho night

SATURDAY, Sept 11 Short Films afternoon in the Bussey Building, 1-6pm.

Blues Brothers open-air screening on Peckham Common by the cafe, 8pm.

***SUNDAY, Sept 12: Nosferatu, open-air cinema in the car park, Franks cafe, 8pm. Nominated Groucho night

For full details of film nights see Free Film Festival

Wednesday, September 1 at the Montpelier

2010-08-27T09:49:00.002+01:00

Topics?

Blair's memoires

The Man Booker Shortlist

Anybody know about Nosweat Journalism training courses in Camberwell?

September events

The Troubadour and Sir Hugh de Peckham Rye, by W.S. Gilbert, from Bab Ballads:

Tuesday, August 17 at the EDT

2010-08-18T09:56:00.013+01:00

A good evening, up in the corner beneath the tassled standard lamp… Hylda Sims star of the City Rambler's Moscow tour (check it out if you haven't seen it) explained to young Kirsty Hamilton what a skiffle band was – Kirsty confessed her enjoyment of Resonance 104.4FM, the London arts radio. Nick Snow talked about the newly redundant UK Film Council boss, whom he knows, and Nick's own book, The Rocket's Trail, a novel based on Nazi scientists who enabled the US space programme. Christopher Bowden, a welcome new Groucho, is author of colourful and well received novels, The Blue Book, based in south London, and The Yellow Room.

Simon Tait's Arts Industry news is about to go monthly, and his blog, Tait Mail, is getting a lot of hits. He brought along Peter Tullin, who has started up Culture Label, an on-line shop for items from top museum shops and galleries. He talked with Chris Clack about the The Big Art Affair billed as "the UK's largest artists' fair" and scheduled for next May in Dulwich Hamlet football ground. Single stalls will cost £1,500.

Ann Reckless, a peace-loving Quaker, continues her stout defence for working at Janes.

Francine Higham's – and Trinity Mirror's – interest in local newspapers, leads her to wonder if Southwark News would be interested in some link-up. She recommends TBD in Washington DC, a "cool" hyperlocal. Marilyn Parr has found work, with Sky, and her article How to Handle a Hangover in Bariloche is up for this year's TNT travel writing awards.

• Simon Tait says: "If there are any Grouchos who like a bit of Irish diddly-diddly, the Vale in Grove Vale has set up a regular folk session on Sunday nights starting at 8."

• Next Groucho moves round to Wednesday, September 1 (Saints Day of Giles of Provence), probably at the Montpelier, Choumert Road.
Then Thursday September 16 at the Crystal Palace Tavern
Then Monday, October 4 at the East Dulwich Tavern

Tuesday , August 17, EDT

2010-08-14T21:45:00.004+01:00

The next Groucho is on Tuesday, August 17 at the East Dulwich Tavern. at the north end of Lordhip Land by the roundabout.

Topics?
• Dirty Des at Channel 5.
• Axing the Film Council.
• Barnes and Noble going under.
• Trinity Mirror forging new hyperlocal partners. with new community news sites + US local news startup Bringmethenews attracts million dollar investment.
• More Wikileaks
• FT getting more than half a million paid online readers a day.
• Any evening classes to recommend this autumn? Floodlight doesn't seem to be publishing in print form this year.
• Videos from iMovies and Garageband - anybody into these? I am struggling and have some questions.

Monday, August 2 at the EDT

2010-08-03T08:01:00.000+01:00

A turn-out of old and new, old being Bob Schweizer, Rose Shepherd, Max Holloway and Louise Murray - who had just returned from an Arctic tour, with fine walrus pix on her iphone. Max said he had been unable to put a comment on this blog, so I have now clicked a couple of buttons and hope this can happen. Christie Hickman was on her second visit, and, as a publishers' and agents' reader, she talked about what kind of novel was liable to get through. This was of particular interest to newcomer Marilyn Parr, a South African journalist who has been travelling and is now looking for work - and is writing a book. She arrived with fellow South African Francine Higham, who works for Trinity Mirror's regional web programme and is looking at micro news outlets: she thinks the East Dulwich Forum (which is what alerted her to Groucho-on-the-Rye) has got it absolutely right. Kirsty Hamilton, of New Ballads of Pekham Rye fame, wondered what we thought of Wikileaks. And Nikki Spencer, who freelances for the Guardian and Indie, was in search of a venue for dance events.

• The East Dulwich Tavern is pretty central, relatively spacious and quiet, and we could go back there again next time, on Tuesday, August 17

• Groucher Laura Eades is in performance with the Honorable Society of Faster Craftswomen at the Camden Fringe Festival, August 9–11

• Joan Byrne has just had an extract of her Dole Diary published, with her pictures (as here) in 20x20 magazine, pp 12-17

Friday, July 16, Peckham Rye Station/Montpelier

2010-07-13T08:12:00.000+01:00

The celebration of the renovation of the Old Waiting Room at Peckham Rye station is from 6.30-8.30. At around 7– 7.15, restoration architect Benedict O'Looney will talk briefly on the project, followed by Paul Dobraszczyk, world expert on the original architect, Charles Henry Driver, plus somebody from English Heritage.

• Afterwards (or meantime for those who have not asked to attend) in the Montpelier in Choumert Grove.

Eileen Conn, who has been involved in organising this event and runs Peckham Residents' Network, writes:

I hope we can establish some kind of working connection with you on how to market what we are doing through the media. For example, we are thinking of an exhibition this autumn for us to get all town centre enthusiasts across the sectors together to market what we know Peckham town centre is and can be to the outside world. Friday evening's event is a toe in the water. Is there anyone amongst your group who would be interested in getting involved in that?

If you would like to get involved, or add your name to Eileen's email list, for Peckham Residents News, send her an email with your contact details: e.conn@nutbrook.demon.co.uk

See Peckham Vision for the things in store.

Monday July 12 at Ronnie Scott's

2010-07-08T19:52:00.000+01:00

Renato D'Aiello blew away the night at Ronnie's on Monday. Billed as an Italian Jazz night, the line up was Neapolitan Renato, with a drummer just flown in from Bari, a long-time collaborator from Sardinia on the double bass, and a guitarist from Foggia. Now handsome in a Thelonius Monk beard and cap, East-Dulwich-based Renato added his own inimitable voice to the swooping tones of his tenor sax. Ronnie's, the upstairs bar at Ronnie Scott's, is looking good since the renovation. It's relaxed, with sensible seating, airy, with a big skylight, and not too expensive.

Check out Renato on http://www.myspace.com/renatodaiello

Hannah Barry/Franks Cafe

2010-07-02T06:30:00.000+01:00

Hannah Barry, Rye Lane Car Park, Wed, June 30

2010-06-28T10:45:00.000+01:00

Grouchers have been invited to the opening of Hannah Barry's annual exhibition, Bold Tendencies, on the roof of the Rye Lane Car park, incorporating Franks Cafe and Campari Bar.

It's on Wednesday, June 30, from 6-11pm. I'll be there around 7.15pm.

Midsummer's eve

2010-06-22T10:01:00.000+01:00

Dips, olives, home-made brownies, home-made muffins, snap peas, dolmades, pork pies (pork pies?), Lucas's bread, cheeses, strawberries, quantities of wine. A balmy evening on the longest day, and all was right with the world...

June 21, Midsummer's eve on Rye Common

2010-06-16T20:27:00.000+01:00

Monday, June 21, is midsummer's eve, and we'll picnic around the big plane tree in the middle of Rye Common. Bring all your needs - blanket, wine, grappa, elderflower cordial, strawberries, olives, amuses gueules, roast hog, plus frisbees, kites, pan pipes, flutes, guitars, banjos, mandolins... you know the kind of thing.

We'll start a little earlier, at 7pm, to catch the sun.

If wet, in The Clockhouse opposite.

June 10 at the Victoria

2010-06-13T17:53:00.001+01:00

Crowded and noisy, we ended up outside. Hugo Simms talked about his book project after spending a year going to live gigs just about every night. Sounds promising. Les Burton told of his screenwriting success, Chris Clack suggested tying future Grouchos to local events, such as gallery nights - not a bad idea.

But the star turn was Hylda Sims, who had just heard out of the blue from a Russian music fan who had unearthed a video of her performing with the City Ramblers skiffle group in Moscow in 1958. Here it is. The quality of both the film and the performance is excellent.... they are the second act, after about a minute.. ("It's not too embarrassing is it," says Hylda, "apart from my strange fringe!")

May 11 at the CPT

2010-05-13T08:28:00.000+01:00

There was a post-mortem on the first weekend of artists' Open Studios under the Dulwich Festival – around 130 of them this year, each artist paying £50 to have their names in the programme. Chris Clack said the turnout at his house, where several artists are showing, was disappointing, but the weather had been bad and there's another weekend to go. Joan Byrne sold some photographs, according to Phil Polglaze, a welcome new Groucher. Phil has been photographing Peckham and its people since the age of 13 and judging by the length and greyness of his beard that must have been a pretty long time. Anne Reckless was enjoying a moment of Schadenfreude at the news of Will Lewis's departure from the Telegraph. She brought along an old friend and colleague Helen Placito, managing editor of Conde Nast's Glamour magazine, another welcome newcomer. There was talk of the current feud between Wikipedia and the National Portrait Gallery over copyright, and Max Holloway recommended a useful website, own.it.org, which covers intellectual copyright for creatives. He also mentioned the Frieze Writers' Prize - we look forward to an excoriating piece from him. It was good to see Rhian Wheeler and Malcolm Young again - though it's untrue they had been kept away because they knew we would ask about the progress of their gallery project, which has been slow. Talk, of course, turned to the elections, and Hylda Sims recalled that, as a mature student in the 1970s, she had been taught by the Marxist sociologist Ralph Miliband, father of the David at Ed, at the LSE.

• May 26 The next Groucho is on Wednesday May 26, at the Montpellier, Choumert Road. I won't be there for this one, but I hope people turn up for a drink anyway. It's a pleasant pub and needs checking out.

• Jun 10 Maybe the old Wishing Well, now the Victoria, will be open by then.

• Jun 21 Midsummer eve. A picnic on the Common...

Two art events

2010-04-28T09:13:00.000+01:00

A couple of art events to publicise as a result of the get together on Monday, April 26.

Joan Byrne's photographs can be seen at the South London Women Artists' show at Bankside gallery, from April 28 to May 3. Her picture on the left was taken in Rye Lane. You can also see her photographs of Peckham at the Artists' Open House weekends, Sat-Sun May 8-9 and 15–16, 11am–6pm, 24 Homeleigh Road, Nunhead SE15 3EE, where she is exhibiting with the artist Caroline Wright

Chris Clack at Dulwich Print and Printing will also have an open house on both weekends of the Dulwich Festival – May 8-9 and May 15-16. He is at 73 Oglander Road (Grove Vale End), and there will be works from several artists on show. This picture (above right) is entitled 'The Gift'

Others at The Uplands on Monday night included Hylda Sims, whose Reaching Peckam poems have just been re-issued, along with a CD (see New Ballads of Peckham Rye). Also on the sofas of this otherwise pretty empty pub were Gillian Cargil from Light Monkey across the road, Louise Murray, off soon to dive with sharks in Cornwall, Rose Shepherd and Bob Schweizer

Newcomers were Hugo Simms, a promising writer and performer: see Skittlemustard, and mural artist James O'Meara.

• Bob Schweizer is chucking out thousands of rolls of 35mm film that is a little out of date if anybody wants it...Contact him direct – see Groucho People.

• Next Groucho Tuesday, May 11, venue to be decided.

Thursday, April 8

2010-04-05T17:31:00.000+01:00

• Look out for Evadne Ricketts' latest venture: Restoration Man, at 9pm on Sundays on Channel 4. "Its a great series about great people converting unusual properties into their dream homes," she says, adding: "I'm rather proud of it."

• An impoverished Groucher wants a book proofread in return for a website/any writing task/some light carpentry or decorating/ ironing...

Wednesday, March 24 at The Vale

2010-03-25T08:28:00.000Z

A big pub, with plenty of space despite sport on TV screens, which did not intrude. The landlord was incensed that the Chancellor had just put 50p on a bottle of cider. Ronnie was banned - the first No Dogs pub we have encountered.

Angie Macdonald arrived with the good news that the makeover of Dulwich-on-View is complete. It looks good - check it out. They are always on the lookout for new writers and volunteers. Angie also recommended two websites: Puma, for great videos, and Animoto, who create videos out of your still pictures.

It was a delight to meet Christie Hickman, who has not been before, not least because of a lack of bus services around Croxted Road. She is still 'buying' fiction for The Express Magazine, though she is having to beg publishers and writers, as there's no money involved. Same story everywhere. There was a general chat about how the internet is liable to make us less willing and able to read books.

Max Holloway has had his business cards printed, with a selection of his paintings on one side, such as the one shown here. These are produced inexpensively by a company called Moo, who customise business cards, postcards and other material, and he recommends them.

Angie expressed a long-held wish to learn how to draw, and Chris Clack, who teaches art at The International School of London in Gunnersbury, thinks it is our preconceptions of drawing that hold us back. We draw with lines, he pointed out, but if you look at somebody's face, there are no lines on it...

Apologies arrived from Nigel Soper, who sent this cover image of the book he has designed for the current exhibition Victoria & Albert: Art & Love at The Queen's Gallery. "It's a really vibrant and stimulating show," he says, "and I can't recommend it too much."

Also recommended are the Dulwich Paradiso Film Society shows, upstairs at the Mag on Tuesdays: Sleep Furiously is on March 30.

Next Groucho: Thursday, April 8 at The Old Nun's Head - don't forget to log on to the link to collect your FREE DRINK

Tuesday March 9 at The Rye

2010-03-10T10:56:00.000Z

Everyone thought The Rye a nice pub, though we couldn't have got many more on the sofas. For the first time it seemed like a boys' night out, so it was good to see Rhian Wheeler, whose gallery web project we all want to see materialise. Two arrivistes were Martin Cloake and Chris Essex-Hill. Martin is a production journalist who has been lecturing on multimedia production at the London College of Communications: check him out on his website www.martincloake.com. Chris runs puremacintosh limited, offering consultancy and support for local Apple Mac users. He has caused a new section – IT Support – to be added to the 'Groucho People' list (see right) where his website gives details. Designer Max Holloway, first at the bar, was getting iPhone calls for business even as we started to sink our Guinnesses, and Chris Clack arrived complaining that his art print business was so brisk that it was in danger of feeling like a full time job. Nigel Soper revealed his latest publication, a 192-page book for an exhibition about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Queen's Gallery, opening on March 19. Rob Stone, a fine artist who teaches at Canterbury University was another welcome new Groucher. There was talk of how very senior jobs, even ones with public profiles, can go to completely incompetent people - their glowing references given by fellow workers who can't wait to get rid of them.

But whoever said life was fair?

(The gratuitous illustration is by John Karley, a student at the London College of Communications.)

Next Groucho: Wednesday March 24 at The Vale Bar opposite East Dulwich Station.

Tuesday, March 9, at The Rye

2010-03-09T11:44:00.000Z

Apologies from Jessica Cargill Thompson, who sends this...

I thought I’d share these jobs sites I’ve come across recently; they specialise in part time posts so might be of interest for those looking for something extra on top of subbing shifts (I don’t think you have to be female or a mother to use them, in spite of their titles):

http://www.workingmums.co.uk/
http://www.womenlikeus.org.uk/jobs.aspx
Working Mums was recently advertising for someone to edit their website on a part time basis.

And I can recommend her blog:

How to be Unemployed – the white collar way http://jctblog.wordpress.com

Monday, February 22 at The Plough

2010-02-23T12:17:00.000Z

The Plough was a spacious, if rather cold venue, to be visited again only when the weather gets warmer. Two new faces: Jenny Myddleton is a writer in the travel industry, who has contributed to Dorling Kindersley titles and publications for Journey Latin America, and Max Holloway, a fine-art trained designer back from a stint with HSBC in The Philippines, which, he pointed out, was a perilous place for journalists (you may recall the massacre of 12 reporters on their way to cover elections on the island of Mindanao last November). Max is hoping to start up a design business with his wife. It turned out that Gillian Cargill of Light Monkey had taken photographs of their wedding some four years ago. Gillian came with the Oglander Road “media-ocrity”, as Mrs Christopher Clack would have it (dare she show her face after such a vile jibe?), Chris Clack with Ronnie and Anne Reckless who was on painkillers after cracking a rib in a bathroom incident. Anne, a frequent visitor to Israel-Palestine, has just secured an interview with a “key player in creative projects in the region that are bringing both sides of the conflict together”. Louise Murray, preparing to encounter giant squids, recommended website Travel Photography of the Year.

Alyse Dar said things were busy at Insight Guides, with two new series, which is good news. Maggie Richards has just secured a writing contract with an AOL blog to contribute mind/body/spirit posts, an outlet that sounds like it has possibilities (is she really going to Denmark?). Angie MacDonald said that Dulwich-on-View had a good response to their Paul Nash Art Competition, inviting people to send in samples based on the painter’s work. Nigel Soper, who designed the exhibition catalogue (shown above), was astonished at the power of the internet in researching the remaking of a cover (left) for a special-edition Quiet Sun CD (see Wikipedia), for which he was asked to tell the story of his original LP design.

• April 27 Dulwich Paradiso is putting on an evening of short films (up to 12 minutes) at the Mag to show to “a friendly audience of around 80 local people”; entries to be in by March 12. info@paradisofilm.co.uk

• Pub news: Owners of the Bishop pub in Lordship Lane have taken over the Wishing Well in Bellenden Road and Uplands in North Cross Road, both possible future venues.

• The next Groucho-on-the-Rye will be at The Rye Hotel, 31 Peckham Rye, SE15 3NX on Tuesday, March 9.

Thursday, February 4, Crystal Palace Tavern

2010-02-05T10:54:00.000Z

Crystal Palace Tavern was a good venue, though the choice of bars proved divisive. Book designer Nigel Soper and friends opted for the comfort of the public bar, with street views, so further arrivals could see where we were. The rest went to the saloon at the back.

Chris Clack and fragrant Ronnie brought Gillian Cargill from Light Monkey, who mentioned the Red DSMC (digital still motion camera), a hybrid that can take both videos and produce quality hi-resolution stills grabbed from the video. Gillian, originally from South Africa, was able to swap tales with Lisa Grainger, a new arrival with a distinguished background in newspaper reporting that goes back to her times as Soweto correspondent at the age of 20. She brought along out-of-towner Sue Turton, late of Channel 4 News and now making hard-nosed documentaries.

Rhian Wheeler and Malcolm Young say they are looking for a venue to launch their new arts website

in a couple of months, perhaps around Bermondsey Street. Rose Shepherd and Bob Schweizer have a new book out: Dorling Kindersley’s Back Roads of Britain, to which they contributed a considerable amount of text and many pictures. Reader’s Digest filing for bankcruptcy is not good news. Abi Foss was last to arrive to add to the conversational mix.

There was a guest appearance from old Sunday Timers Stephanie Thompson and Keith Sutton, jetting in from Nice. Keith, who taught Nigella Lawson all she knows about sub-editing, edited the anti-Murdoch Wapping Post during the 1986 dispute: even people who were on holiday made sure they got their copies.

• The next Groucho will be on Monday, Feb 22, at The Plough, opposite Dulwich Library

• Tuesday March 9, The Wishing Well may be back in operation in Bellenden Road, and could prove a suitable spot

Wednesday, January 20 at Hoopers

2010-01-18T06:25:00.000Z

Mobile phone conversations are not often welcome in pubs – but Skyping takes the intrusion one step further. Lone Skyper apart, Hoopers' back bar proved a good venue.

Chris Clack said he had been busy - though his website, Dulwich Prints and Printers brings calls for general print work that he doesn't have the machinery for, and he is wondering about buying a suitable printer. He produced an excellent print of the photo taken by Bob Schweizer (see Nov 22 meeting) of Ronnie, who wished his presence to be known throughout the evening. Rose Shepherd took it on Bob's behalf – football kept him from us. Louise Murray wanted to know how well SLR HD videos performed, as she is about to go cage diving to photograph the Humboldt Squid in the Pacific, off Mexico. Malcolm Young said he had good reports from video promo makers. Malcolm works with his partner Rhian Wheeler at Ruby Designs (nice website) and they are putting together a project on local art galleries.

There were three other first-timers. Tom Simpson is a photographer who specialises in action - mainly cycling - and portrait photography: check out his website. Nick Snow, a

pilgrim from Groucho South-East, runs Advanced Television, web and print magazines on global television technicalities. Following the publication of his book, The Rocket's Trail: "the untold horror story behind the first moon landing", he explained how you can rack up your ranking on Amazon. Like Nick, Jim Taylor, Assistant Editor (Pictures) at Zoo Magazine, one-time Rex Features rep and would-be more active photographer if work didn't get in the way, has long known the area and we're glad that he finally made a Groucho night. Anne Reckless, however, warned him that she was a "rabid feminist", but she was happy, having just picked up a writing commission. Jim and Louise discovered a mutual love of creepy crawlies – leeches are among her best selling images. Good to see writer Abi Foss again, a returnee from the first Groucho in The Glasshouse.

• Pubs The Wishing Well in Bellenden Road has apparently been taken over by the owners of The Bishop in Lordship Lane, with a proviso that they leave the Victorian interior intact. Definitely a Groucho contender when completed. Next meetings on Thursday Feb 4 at Cryatal Palace Tavern (CPT), 193 Crystal Palace Road and Monday Feb 22, venue t/c

• Recommended: Points of View: Capturing the 19th century in photographs, a free exhibition at the British Library (until March 7)

Tuesday January 5 at the Crown & Greyhound

2010-01-04T06:05:00.000Z

It was a dark and snowy night... but the fire roared and the company was warm. Bob Schweizer reported his first greetings card picture sale: cider bottles in Normandy - expect a birthday card this year. Rose Shepherd produced a feature article from The Times about a Vietnam draft dodger (Bob), whose experience had echoes of Guantánamo. Shocking stuff. Chris Clack explained how painters such as Cézanne showed how our two eyes see something quite different from the one eye of a camera. And Angie Macdonald, an Eng Lit graduate, confessed to a weakness for instruction manuals, which explains her competence in web building. She recommends the Missing Manuals series ("the book that should have been in the box") as helpful for understanding various systems and applications. She also recommended cloud-based dropbox, a free 2Gb cross-platform application to store, share and sync files, which gets around email attachments, memory sticks and other backups. It's good and simple and efficient and works with both PCs and Macs.

• Steve Overbury's recollections of wild times in the Castle in Crystal Palace Road (see Dulwich on View) must make the pub a contender as a Groucho venue.

The Mag, Monday December 14

2009-12-16T13:29:00.000Z

On the corner sofa was - well, Ronnie took up some space. But there was still room for a few more, including the dog's owner, the photographers' printer, Chris Clack. He brought along the photojournalist Louise Murray, a former oil commodity dealer, just back from assignment in East Timor where she had been photographing a "Cetacean soup" of whales and dolphins that gather there each year - you can see some of her pictures (right) on her website.

Ann Reckless came too, glad of her three days a week staff job at Finanacial News, but could do with work on the other two days. It was a wonder to see her fall into a torrent of native Welsh with Maggie Richards (who somehow recognised us), who is setting up a copywriting business while studying trauma therapy: check out her website. Angie MacDonald was another first-timer. She is a partner in the social media consultancy ZenGuide and is responsible for the Dulwich On View website, which, she says, gets around 300 hits a day. It's published twice weekly but is a slightly exhausting process and may become weekly soon. Pam Barrett, a local editor and writer also made a debut appearance, while Rose Shepherd and Bob Schweizer proved reliable as ever, and were pleased to say they had just come from what they hoped would prove to be an interesting writing-photography assignment.

• The next Groucho-on-the-Rye will be on Tuesday, January 5 at 7.30pm at The Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village. Manager Pamela Garcia has set aside the Tap Room for us - that's the bar on the far left as you go in, the one with the fire.

Thursday at the Herne

2009-11-22T17:45:00.000Z

Rose Shepherd hurried here after a shift on the Sunday Times Magazine, and she and Bob Schweizer were first in through the door, Bob with his camera looking for the crowds to photograph. Alas they were thin on the ground. It was nice to see Jessica Cargill Thompson again. She had been doing a kind of job swap on a property magazine, writing about Crouch End while colleague from Crouch End came to get the low-down on Dulwich. Chris Clack of Dulwich Prints & Printing arrived with his whippet, Ronnie (who posed for this picture taken by Bob), and a neighbour, Anne Reckless. Chris has large colour printing facilities, and will give one-to-one Photoshop lessons at £25 an hour. Anne is an experiencd sub-editor, working at Dow Jones on Financial News, and was previously on the business pages of the Telegraph, but like most subs she is finding that work is drying up - all suggestions gratefully received.

There are now more than 40 people who have expressed interest in coming along, and it was thought it would be better to start at a later time of 7.30pm. So there will be just one more Groucho before Christmas, on Monday, December 14, probably at the Mag in Lordship Lane.

Thursday, November 19

2009-11-14T18:42:00.000Z

At the Herne Tavern from 6.30pm

Up for discussion...

Anyone going to the Peckham Literary Festival this week?

Have you heard anything about the new UK Future of News networking group?

Has anybody used SocialEngine yet (free trial and a one-off $250 payment seems pretty reasonable)?

What about the new Canon EOS 5D Mk II, with video?

And the NUJ is trying to get an up-to-date freelance fees guide, can you help?

Meantime our BALLADS OF PECKHAM RYE project is taking off. 'Ballads' can be in any format, visual as well as literary, serious or silly. Here's a couple to start you off:

When Muriel Spark wrote her famous ballad
No Peckham pub had discovered salad,
No Peckham Pulse, no “pop-up bar”,
(Just keep going up when you’ve parked your car)
No crates of yams, no Multiplex,
Just landladies frowning on illicit sex,
And hissing gas fires and spam for tea
And pea-soup fog and mock gentility.
Would she find it strange and unfamiliar
Or, underneath the surface, all very similar?

- PB

* * *

It's pretty crazy after dark

To picnic up in Peckham Park

With moonshine on the herons' lake

And in the hamper chips and steak

A small goose, pigeon, duck and quail

Proseco, Super Malt and ale.

It really does seem quite absurd

To urge us not to feed the birds,

Since no one ever makes a fuss

When the birds are feeding us.

- RW

Now it's your turn...

Wednesday, Nov 4 at The Clockhouse

2009-11-05T11:35:00.000Z

Well, that was fun, a convivial couple of hours ticked swiftly by at the Clockhouse. There was a good turnout. First into the bar was Steve Overbury of Dulwich Design bearing his newly published book on the Sixties: London Babylon, a snip at £12.99 and available at Chener Books in Lordship Lane.

Steve writes for Dulwich on View, as does Bella Tullo who was wearing the most magnificent coat – her treat to herself against the onset of winter. She is also involved with the monthly film season at Dulwich Picture Gallery – the next one is Pather Panchali on November 16.

Sharon Clampin runs Howdy Pardners design team with Neil Smith and sometimes works with book designer Nigel Soper who was there with Paula Soper, an editor at Insight Guides. Insight Guides provided much local talent in the form of three further editors - Alyse Dar, Alexia Georgiou and Cathy Muscat – and designer Richard Cooke.

Evadne Rickets is a freelance TV documentary maker. Laura Eades is a writer who currently night edits the Guardian news web pages. Abi Foss is a freelance writer on spirituality and ‘psychological health’. Jessica Cargill Thompson is a writer and Time Out editor whose World's Greatest Cities is just published – check out her “How to be Unemployed” on jctblog.wordpress.com.

There were around a dozen apologies from people hoping to make it next time.

NEXT TIME: We are going to rotate the network nights, not just through the week, but around the area. The next Groucho-on-the-Rye will be at the Herne Tavern at the south end of Peckham Rye, on Thursday November 19, and on November 30 at the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village.

A reminder will be sent beforehand. Spread the word.

Mission statement

2009-10-25T09:44:00.000Z

Groucho-on-the Rye is a regular fortnightly network night for media people on the Peckham and Dulwich areas. Entirely informal, it aims to bring together freelance journalists, writers, editors, designers, web developers, photographers, broadcasters, TV and film people. The idea is simply to swap gossip and industry news, help resolve IT problems and generally be mutually supportive. It is hoped that this website will build as a resource for information, ideas and work, as people add their names, contact details and websites to the list of Grouchers (see right).

The fortnightly meeting dates rotate through the week, Mondays to Thursday so that people who have regular commitments can be accommodated, and they move around the area, so they are not always more convenient to some than to others. Everybody is welcome, staffers, too. No money changes hands and there are no formalities. Just turn up.

Groucho-on-the-Rye has a precedent in Groucho South-East in the Weald of Kent, which I ran for a few years before moving to London this summer.

–– Roger Williams

Tel: 0207 358 0044, email: crabapple@btinternet.com

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