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Brixton news, rumour and general chat - March 2016

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friendofdorothy said:
Brixton Rd used to have so many different shoe shops, and now there are so few, I've had to resort to going up west (shudders). Shoe Fayre were always crap though, could never find anything decent in there ever.
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Such a shame when Websters closed.

websters-brixton-closes.jpg


Websters shoe shop closes after 140 years of service to Brixton
 
friendofdorothy said:
Brixton Rd used to have so many different shoe shops, and now there are so few, I've had to resort to going up west (shudders). Shoe Fayre were always crap though, could never find anything decent in there ever.
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The situation is similarly dire for gent's outfitters. Where Footlocker was, and four phone shops are now was Burtons Tailoring. When that closed down and an Asian enterprise took over and was cheaper but same sort of thing.

That fell victim to Lambeth Council's mid 1990s regeneration scheme which swept away Index Bookshop and brought us Argos and WH Smiths and Sainsburys.

Seems the same market forces are still at work - meaning its OK to have two trainer shops in the high street, but not OK to have a "proper" shoe shop (like Websters was).

Currently if I had an emergency posh funeral I could go to The Baron - but he's out in August courtesy of Network Rail.
 
LadyV said:
The organisation I work for is getting rid of a whole load of little storage containers and box files, example pics attached, I wondered if anyone knows of any local charities, community groups or churches perhaps that might have use for them, they'll probably end up getting landfilled if not which depresses me

If you know of anywhere, give me a shout

And apologies for the non Brixton specific comment but it seemed like a good place to start
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I've been doing the same with an office clearout - i offered them to a charity shop in Victoria and they took all of them. Worth trying the same thing locally.
 
CH1 said:
The situation is similarly dire for gent's outfitters. Where Footlocker was, and four phone shops are now was Burtons Tailoring. When that closed down and an Asian enterprise took over and was cheaper but same sort of thing.

That fell victim to Lambeth Council's mid 1990s regeneration scheme which swept away Index Bookshop and brought us Argos and WH Smiths and Sainsburys.

Seems the same market forces are still at work - meaning its OK to have two trainer shops in the high street, but not OK to have a "proper" shoe shop (like Websters was).

Currently if I had an emergency posh funeral I could go to The Baron - but he's out in August courtesy of Network Rail.
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Very sadly i think what you're describing (the disappearance from our streets of bookshops and well dressed men) isn't really a local issue but a sort of widespread tragedy. At least Baron is not going to give up without a fight though.
 
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CH1 said:
The situation is similarly dire for gent's outfitters. Where Footlocker was, and four phone shops are now was Burtons Tailoring. When that closed down and an Asian enterprise took over and was cheaper but same sort of thing.

That fell victim to Lambeth Council's mid 1990s regeneration scheme which swept away Index Bookshop and brought us Argos and WH Smiths and Sainsburys.

Seems the same market forces are still at work - meaning its OK to have two trainer shops in the high street, but not OK to have a "proper" shoe shop (like Websters was).

Currently if I had an emergency posh funeral I could go to The Baron - but he's out in August courtesy of Network Rail.
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You could also go to H&M or Morley's. There's also Joy on Acre Lane and Traid in the same row of shops. And also T K Maxx. And M&S do suits. Not forgetting the painfully hip Shoreditch offshoot Urban Excess on Atlantic Road. To be fair, there's now more mens' outfitters in Brixton than there were when I arrived here back in 1992.

And Burtons haven't been called Burton's Tailoring since the 1970s and hasn't been that posh for about 40 years - Gone for a Burton: Time was when Burton's meant suits. This week they

I share your lament about a lack of bookshops, but there's always BookMongers. BTW, Index didn't close down until 2005, not the mid-1990s.
 
ChrisSouth said:
You could also go to H&M or Morley's. There's also Joy on Acre Lane and Traid in the same row of shops. And also T K Maxx. And M&S do suits. Not forgetting the painfully hip Shoreditch offshoot Urban Excess on Atlantic Road. To be fair, there's now more mens' outfitters in Brixton than there were when I arrived here back in 1992.

And Burtons haven't been called Burton's Tailoring since the 1970s and hasn't been that posh for about 40 years - Gone for a Burton: Time was when Burton's meant suits. This week they

I share your lament about a lack of bookshops, but there's always BookMongers. BTW, Index didn't close down until 2005, not the mid-1990s.
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Re Burtons: I arrived in Brixton in the 1970s.
Hadn't thought of trying H & M - assumed it was women's fashion.
Morleys - menswear used to be very expensive so haven't tried it for 20 years.

But thank you for the suggestions.
 
I see that People Plus - the rebranded A4e bunch - are next to M&S on Brixton Road. Their façade shares a big advert for cocktails which seems a little incongruous.

PeoplePlus, formerly known as Action for Employment or A4e, is a for-profit welfare-to-work company based in the United Kingdom. The company began in Sheffield in 1991 to provide redundant steelworkers with training so that they could find new jobs. Wikipedia
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People Plus (which was then A4E) using the offices above TK Maxx with the entrance to the side of the railway arch.

"All 4 Emma" was the name made up to support allegations against the A4E founder and former CEO
 
snowy_again said:
People Plus (which was then A4E) using the offices above TK Maxx with the entrance to the side of the railway arch.

"All 4 Emma" was the name made up to support allegations against the A4E founder and former CEO
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Um, OK, but the entrance was branded as A4e until quite recently, and enjoyed the same incongruous cocktail advert right next to the entrance.

5.jpg
 
Manter said:
Anyone else as baffled by that interaction as I am?! ^^
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I'm completely baffled. I've no idea where the 'All 4 Emma' branding was supposed to be. I was just making the point that I think it's a bit inappropriate/amusing/whatever to have a cocktail bar advert on the window of a place for people looking for work.
 
Winot said:
I'm glad to see that Google street view has blurred the face of Christ the Redeemer for the sake of anonymity.
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I like the way that from the angle of the photo it almost looks like the finger is pointing into the offices of A4e. This way for cocktails, unemployed people!
 
snowy_again said:
People Plus (which was then A4E) using the offices above TK Maxx with the entrance to the side of the railway arch.

"All 4 Emma" was the name made up to support allegations against the A4E founder and former CEO
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I go past there twice a day and never really noticed. I had the misfortune to be 'helped' by A4E when I was ill/unemployed, so I usually shudder when I see their name. Is it an office for clients or just for admin?
 
trabuquera said:
Not sure if the people mentioned in this piece are still in business or if it's a practical option for Manter but I've read a few things in the press recently about nu-muslim halal hippies who are trying to go back to the land and produce ethical halal organic grass-fed etc…
Halal meat consumers urged to consider animal welfare - BBC News
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Interesting article.

I think its a mistake to see halal meat as for muslims only. The Uzbek I used to know had never had non halal meat until she came here. She preferred the halal meat. Tasted different. Halal slaughtering drains the blood out. Not at all like the traditional British roast beef which is full of it. According to her.

Uzbeks are big meat eaters as descended from nomadic herders.

Its what ur used to having. As an Uzbek she was still influenced by Soviet times- ie Uzbekistan was a secular republic and she was not religious.

Bit like us celebrating Xmas but not being Christian.

Aside from that she liked it here. Could not stay due to our onerous immigration rules. Despite her child being born here. Couldn’t even get dual citizenship for him.
 
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The old Unison offices in Acre Lane now hosts a 'pop up room escape game' called, Enter the Oubliette. It's £30 per person for an hour of an escape game that "is perfect for groups of friends, corporate outings, team-building exercises."
 
Gramsci said:
Interesting article.

I think its a mistake to see halal meat as for muslims only. The Uzbek I used to know had never had non halal meat until she came here. She preferred the halal meat. Tasted different. Halal slaughtering drains the blood out. Not at all like the traditional British roast beef which is full of it. According to her.
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For over 80% of halal meat in the UK there is no real difference in the physical method of slaughter. Animal are stunned and their throat is cut.

Expect to see much more halal meat and halal meat with free range and organic choices in on the shelves in the coming years as supermarkets cash in on the Muslim middle class.

Another (though admittedly minor) reason why more immigrants would benefit us. More demand for halal meat would help our farming industry a bit.
 
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