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Brixton news, rumours and general chat - March 2017

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teuchter said:
It's a bit conspiracy theory to call it "ethnic cleansing" based on names of buildings isn't it?
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OK. They are demolishing buildings named after notable people of ethnic descent. Soon there won't be any such buildings left.

Is that OK?
PS For the avoidance of doubt I put one of those photos there for you!
102856-cea93bfc3cffd9831e741ee73f459910.jpg
 
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editor said:
Two vids of interest

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Nice bit of oral history. Not sure it was such a hassle being gay in Brixton in the 1980s - at least for men. Can't speak for women. But actually there were gay venues in Brixton then, whereas now it's all integrated - like Leo Abse and David Cameron wanted.
 
CH1 said:
This Brixton Splash news was pointed out to me (SLP 3 March)
It has morphed into Brixton Wave apparently and carries the imprimatur of the council apparently. Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere on Urban - but hadn't noticed.
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I'm amazed to see that Ros Griffiths is leading this. She has a reputation for soliciting money from local businesses to support Brixton Splash, but without providing receipts or accountability. People are suspicious. I hope the Wave will have more oversight than the Splash did.
 
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Lovely baristas at the B£ cafe told me they are paid £8.30 per hour. Apparently this is head and shoulders above other coffee shops - yet another reason to go there. The coffee has improved hugely, the wifi is free, the food's delicious, there's a clean, free lavatory and the terrible heating is becoming less noticeable thanks to Spring making the occasional appearance. I reckon people would be queuing out the door if the cafe was in a busy location. That southern bit of Atlantic Road is just tumbleweed.
 
David Clapson said:
Lovely baristas at the B£ cafe told me they are paid £8.30 per hour. Apparently this is head and shoulders above other coffee shops - yet another reason to go there. The coffee has improved hugely, the wifi is free, the food's delicious, there's a clean, free lavatory and the terrible heating is becoming less noticeable thanks to Spring making the occasional appearance. I reckon people would be queuing out the door if the cafe was in a busy location. That southern bit of Atlantic Road is just tumbleweed.
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Another Brixton coffee place I know has paid £10 since they opened though they are about to cut that to £8 I think
 
CH1 said:
Nice bit of oral history. Not sure it was such a hassle being gay in Brixton in the 1980s - at least for men. Can't speak for women. But actually there were gay venues in Brixton then, whereas now it's all integrated - like Leo Abse and David Cameron wanted.
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I don't think being lesbian in Brixton was any more hassle than anywhere else in the city, as in general it wasn't all that welcoming and fairly threatening everywhere back then.

The Albert welcomed everyone (or at least tolerated us all), there were women only showings at the Ritzy, the fridge had some interesting dyke club nights, the 121 anarchists on railton road did some evenings and there was a womens centre for a while.

I remember that Lambeth council got a lot of flak for introducing anti-homophobia rules to things it funded, which didn't go down well with some christian services.Think that was before clause 28 - can't recall what happened after that, except they had to charge us commercial fees for using the parks for Pride events, instead of letting us use them for free.

Now yes it is all integrated, but its quite nice just to pop down to the local with my girlfriend where no one gives a toss, whereas just to go to a pub in 80s was always a political statement with resulting hassle.
 
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3Zeros said:
Really? Were you a gay man in Brixton in the 1980s? Genuinely interested in hearing that perspective if so.
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For a large part of the 1980s the Prince of Wales (including what is now Kentucky) was gay mega-pub. Beer was cheap - probably less than 50p a pint. No admission charge. (Male) strippers several nights, and Sunday lunchtime.

What's not to like about that?
 
The Prince of Wales for starters. I dont know about Greene King or Antic, but i wouldnt of thought they pay their staff in the Albert and Dogstar almost a tenner an hour like The Market House does.
 
CH1 said:
For a large part of the 1980s the Prince of Wales (including what is now Kentucky) was gay mega-pub. Beer was cheap - probably less than 50p a pint. No admission charge. (Male) strippers several nights, and Sunday lunchtime.

What's not to like about that?
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didn't do much for me then :cool:. I remember it being men only, like lots of gay places, or was that just some nights? I never stepped foot in the place back then.
 
If someone buzzes your door today saying 'it's about the gas meter' don't let them in they are just trying to sell you new supplier.
:mad::facepalm:
 
friendofdorothy said:
didn't do much for me then :cool:. I remember it being men only, like lots of gay places, or was that just some nights? I never stepped foot in the place back then.
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It wasn't men only - I recall there being a slight hen party element for some strippers.
But you are right - I don't think any women went there to socialise.

I have a memory of a huge club in Acton or somewhere like that in the late 70s when I first came to London. That was kind of 50/50 men and women. Can you recall that? Must've only been around for a year or two. Doesn't show up on Google unfortunately.
 
jimbarkanoodle said:
The Prince of Wales for starters. I dont know about Greene King or Antic, but i wouldnt of thought they pay their staff in the Albert and Dogstar almost a tenner an hour like The Market House does.
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Would be interesting to know if the Albert and the Dogstar do actually do that considering the shit/boycotts the Ritzy gets. Actually a name and shame list would be quite good.
 
I know for a fact the POW pays its bar staff £8 per hour, rising to £8.50 after 3 months service. Which considering how busy the place is and how much they take, especially on weekends when the club and terrace is also open, isnt really enough. Greene King and Antic, being chains, i suspect may pay even less.
 
CH1 said:
It wasn't men only - I recall there being a slight hen party element for some strippers.
But you are right - I don't think any women went there to socialise.

I have a memory of a huge club in Acton or somewhere like that in the late 70s when I first came to London. That was kind of 50/50 men and women. Can you recall that? Must've only been around for a year or two. Doesn't show up on Google unfortunately.
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only moved to london in 1984 and though I used travel north, east, south and west for those all too rare dyke night, I've no idea where acton is.
 
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Reiabuzz said:
Would be interesting to know if the Albert and the Dogstar do actually do that considering the shit/boycotts the Ritzy gets. Actually a name and shame list would be quite good.
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The Ritzy is under pressure because of the strength of the union campaign. Gotta start somewhere. If there was a similar campaign focussed on other places then I'm sure people would respond.
 
David Clapson said:
Lovely baristas at the B£ cafe told me they are paid £8.30 per hour. Apparently this is head and shoulders above other coffee shops - yet another reason to go there. The coffee has improved hugely, the wifi is free, the food's delicious, there's a clean, free lavatory and the terrible heating is becoming less noticeable thanks to Spring making the occasional appearance. I reckon people would be queuing out the door if the cafe was in a busy location. That southern bit of Atlantic Road is just tumbleweed.
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Thanks, we love you very much in the cafe. Every day is a learning curve but we're getting better and hopefully will have more customers through the door, which of course will mean being able to pay staff more. As you say, we have a great team who make an effort to treat everyone well.

You still need to keep your cat on a lead though :p
 
Winot said:
The Ritzy is under pressure because of the strength of the union campaign. Gotta start somewhere. If there was a similar campaign focussed on other places then I'm sure people would respond.
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So nobody has actually asked if the breweries behind the Albert and the Dogstar if they pay the London living wage? I seem to recall the ritzy protestors decamping to the Albert to celebrate after their strikes. Probably being served by staff not on the London living wage. Bonkers.
 
Getting a bit sick of pointing out hypocrisy here, but doesn't urban75 run nights at the Albert? And the Dogstar. But supports the strike at the Ritzy :facepalm:
 
I recently instigated working for a Greene King pub (outside of Brixton) to earn some extra cash, i was invited for a trial shift where i worked for 3 hours, taking multiple hundreds of pounds in transactions, and not told until afterwards this would be an unpaid shift.

I was then instructed to go on an unpaid all day training session in Kensington in my own time and expense, plus another 3 hours online training before i would be able to finally start earning some (meagre) money behind the fucking bar. I declined their offer of employment. I should have robbed the tills at my 'trial shift' and left it at that!
 
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