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Brixton chitter-chatter and news Nov 2011

Ms T said:
70p a pound for Spanish onions strikes me as about right tbh. The ordinary brown ones are suspiciously cheap at supermarkets - probably a loss leader.
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Sounds fairly darn reasonable to me too tbf - large specialist onions command a considerable premium over their smaller and much easier to grow relatives. Pretty sure you'll pay roughly the same, if not a little bit more (£3 for a net of 3?) for similar numbers in the supermarket - Sainsburies 'Taste the Surplus Branding' Vidalia onions iirc. I'm far from an expert on the Bree/Brie/Biriani situation, but the cheeses generally seem competitive compared to their quality ime. Better selections elsewhere admittedly, but at generally much higher prices.

May I add to the chorus of approval for A&C with a giant hell yeah while I'm here too. Fine store, lovely people and one of my most used stores in Brixton, for more years than I care to mention (or even want to think about). It's just a really good all round store, about as far from an unapproachable and 'saw you coming' deli as you can get.
 
Winot said:
They are absolute stars of the community - they get the odd bit of trouble in there because of the location and always handle it superbly.
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They have been lovely to Vicky, the homeless old lady who made the sparkly pictures and played the paper and comb. She used to use the phone in their shop, and now she's in sheltered accommodation, they sell her pictures for her, and I think they also visit her, and drive her back to Brixton occasionally so she can see the 'hood. I actually think they're pretty competitive on price, but I'd happily pay a bit more for my Brie or whatever, just for that.
 
i was talking to someone in the know about sparkly picture lady last week, coincidentally. apparently she was never homeless. people just assumed she was.
 
ive got two of those sparkly pictures. she's a properly cool old girl. havent seen her round for ages, glad to know shes still going, albeit not in brixton.
 
Orang Utan said:
i was talking to someone in the know about sparkly picture lady last week, coincidentally. apparently she was never homeless. people just assumed she was.
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She was homeless, but used to stay in B&B accommodation sometimes.
 
I love the phrase "in the know". Conjures up images of barrage balloons, sand-bagged ministries and plucky WAF gals rushing so as not to be late for their shift in the basement nerve centre HQ.
 
i was in the phoenix this morning and I met the builders doing up the Albert. There's loads of them - at least 10 - and they're a crack gang who go around the country doing up Greene King pubs. They're on a tight schedule and I think they have to go to Newcastle next. The guy I spoke to absolutely guaranteed the job would be finished in time for opening tomorrow. They gave me sneak preview inside the pub. It's noticably different but it's still the Albert. I think most people will like it. It is not pistachio green!
 
London_Calling said:
I love the phrase "in the know". Conjures up images of barrage balloons, sand-bagged ministries and plucky WAF gals rushing so as not to be late for their shift in the basement nerve centre HQ.
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someone who works for a homeless charity( and brixton used to be his beat) is what i meant
 
Brixton Hatter said:
i was in the phoenix this morning and I met the builders doing up the Albert. There's loads of them - at least 10 - and they're a crack gang who go around the country doing up Greene King pubs. They're on a tight schedule and I think they have to go to Newcastle next. The guy I spoke to absolutely guaranteed the job would be finished in time for opening tomorrow. They gave me sneak preview inside the pub. It's noticably different but it's still the Albert. I think most people will like it. It is not pistachio green!
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:cool:

A crack gang of builders :D

Ten years ago, a crack builders gang was sent to prison by Wetherspoons for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the British underground. Today, still wanted by the chain pubs, they survive as heroes of fortune.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...
 
quimcunx said:
I walked past a little while ago and could just see in to the bar (it's in the same place) the wall at the end of the bar looks to be this colour.

MPC00052737-2.jpg
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Looked a bit like this from my little peek.

Are there chandeliers, BH?
 
Orang Utan said:
i was talking to someone in the know about sparkly picture lady last week, coincidentally. apparently she was never homeless. people just assumed she was.
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Well, if you count making enough money to be able to sleep in a B&B most nights as not homeless. I certainly remember times when I was a Lay Visitor/Appropriate Adult when she was sleeping in the foyer of Brixton Police Station because coppers were worried about her welfare. I can also remember times when I'd slip her a tenner because she hadn't made enough to be able to go to the B&B.
 
the stage/raised area has been moved to the middle of the pub...it looks like this will also be used for seating when there's no band. Some people might not like it, but i think it's ok. There was building material everywhere so it's hard to tell what it will look like when finished...but it looks smart and still looks like the Albert. The entrance has been remodelled so there is a porch and you walk through two doors to get in to the bar...useful for keeping the cold out in winter I guess. IIRC there is a new door onto the front decking. That half-height wall has been removed. The sound equipment was sitting on a new shelf where the stage used to be. I can't recall where the door to the mens is...it must be round the corner on the wall at right angles to the old door.
 
Brixton Hatter said:
the stage/raised area has been moved to the middle of the pub..
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It should be against the wall that had the entrance to the mens' loos - the new toilet entrance is further along. The double door is also about keeping down sound pollution.

We're open tomorrow!
 
Brixton Hatter said:
the stage/raised area has been moved to the middle of the pub...it looks like this will also be used for seating when there's no band. Some people might not like it, but i think it's ok. There was building material everywhere so it's hard to tell what it will look like when finished...but it looks smart and still looks like the Albert. The entrance has been remodelled so there is a porch and you walk through two doors to get in to the bar...useful for keeping the cold out in winter I guess. IIRC there is a new door onto the front decking. That half-height wall has been removed. The sound equipment was sitting on a new shelf where the stage used to be. I can't recall where the door to the mens is...it must be round the corner on the wall at right angles to the old door.
Click to expand...
Apparently tall stools are the main seating arrangement. I predict at least 2 cases of concussion before the week is out.
 
I ate at that Mexican place today... Can't recall the name.

Anyway, fairly tasty, but very small portion, I thought. I was still hungry when I finished and mentioned that I was surprised by how small the portion was. It was pointed out to me that the dish (a tostada) was only £4.00 (I think) and that it was really only a starter. But I still say it was not good value for money: a smear of refried beans on a tostada, a mound of shredded lettuce, a scant tablespoon of crumbled feta and another of the veggie stuff. I had extra topping cos it was so small a serving.

I paid £7.80 for a tostada, a drink, and an extra topping, then I went and had some spring rolls at the Thai place around the corner, bringing my total to somewhere just over a tenner.

If I'd eaten a pizza at Franco Manca I'd have spent about the same, but my belly would have been far more satisfied.

This does not give me confidence about the more expensive dishes (£11.00 for the shrimps??)

Alright for a pricey snack, but no good for a hungry lunch.
 
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