Brixton news, rumours and general chat: Summer - Autumn 2018

[alcopop]

Go on, which bit?

The spittle flecked fury about a pub

 

[Nanker Phelge]

The spittle flecked fury about a pub

I hadn't noticed. Can you point it out for me?

 

[editor]

I hadn't noticed. Can you point it out for me?

Good question.

Meanwhile, here's our new Brixton bar owners Brewdog in action again: BrewDog accused of hypocrisy after forcing pub to change name

BrewDog, the craft beer company that prides itself on a “punk” ethos, has been accused of acting like “just another multinational corporate machine” after forcing a family-run pub to change its name or face legal action.
The fast-growing Scottish brewer, which has burnished its underdog credentials with vocal criticism of how major brewers operate, recently launched a vodka brand called Lone Wolf. But it threatened legal action against a pub in Birmingham that opened under the same name, prompting allegations of bullying and hypocrisy from within the pubs and brewing community.

And...

This 'Transphobic' BrewDog Beer Advert Sparks Petition Calling For Removal

In reaction to the campaign, which was launched on the 1st of September, the petition stated: "BrewDog beer company claims to be "beer for punks". They claim to be ethical. Yet in their new crowdsourcing video they mock homeless people, trans women and sex workers.

"They say, "don't make us do this" whilst performing as offensive caricatures of people, many of whom already suffer discrimination every day.

"They are mocking the lives and experiences of people who real punks would be defending and helping."

Yes. This $1 billion valued company are just so fucking 'punk'

 

[CH1]

Yes, tiny 330ml ones that work out at nearly £7 for a pint. How about the vast majority of their other beers - aAre those prices 'reasonable' to you? Please tell me.

Those kind of prices may be be fine for the West End but this is in one of the most deprived wards in London where there is real poverty. This is just another example of divisive gentrification.

What offends me is that a tin of beer can be considered a delicacy. Or rather marketed as one. Even Wetherspoons have caved in to that one.

 

[Gramsci]

Ok what's the deal with pay point in Brixton? We can't seem to find anywhere now to top up the key Any one know of anywhere hiding out of view?

I used to use the newsagent in Atlsntic road ( Railton road end).

The Coop shop in Brixton road ( a bit up from Brixton Jamm so not central Brixton) always has pay point that works.

Paypoint was supposed to make topping up or paying bills easier.

The company that run it pay the newsagents very badly. So many give up on it.

All Coop shops do paypoint.

 

[T & P]

What offends me is that a tin of beer can be considered a delicacy. Or rather marketed as one. Even Wetherspoons have caved in to that one.

Fuller, which few would consider a luxury brand, now sells single bottles of beer for more than £400. That’s the retail price as well- fuck knows how much would a bar or hotel charge.

Vintage Ale

I’m not offended myself by it, even if I think it’s completely preposterous. But if some people want to spend that much money on a bottle of beer, well each to their own. Fair dos to Fuller. In fact for separating fools from their money.

 

[Gramsci]

This is what gentrification does: it provides more and more expensive places for well heeled incomers and excludes those who can't afford them - and in time, such places start to dominate the area, leaving more and more people disenfranchised, excluded and/or eventually priced out.

I agree. To add to that I'd say this process normalises inequality. So complaining ends up appearing to be opposing the inevitable.

 

[editor]

I don't think I saw this when it came out:

 

[editor]

Last night I had the misfortune to bump into the son of a famous 'actor, comedian, author, poet, television presenter and DJ' who was an unbelievable arse with a Matterhorn-sized ego and a very 'erratic/jittery' manner. He came on stage at a jam session and was so self centred and annoying that he managed to clear most of the musicians off stage. I've never seen a single person disrupt a laid back jam so comprehensively. He started lecturing the musicians that they weren't playing well enough while his 'look-at-me' drumming was all over the place. Shame really because he was clearly a very talented guy.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Last night I had the misfortune to bump into the son of a famous "actor, comedian, author, poet, television presenter and DJ" who was an unbelievable arse with a Matterhorn-sized ego and a very 'erratic/jittery' manner. He came on stage at a jam session and was so self centred and annoying that he managed to clear most of the musicians off stage. I've never seen a single person disrupt a laid back jam so comprehensively. He started lecturing the musicians that they weren't playing well enough while his 'look-at-me' drumming was all over the place. Shame really because he was clearly a very talented guy.

Son of a rapist?

 

[editor]

Son of a rapist?

I will say no more. But WHAT an arse he was.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

I will say no more. But WHAT an arse he was.

yep, son of a rapist.

 

[editor]

Photos from last night's delightful folk bash at the Windmill Brixton:

Sunday night in Brixton: No Frills candlelit folk session at the Brixton Windmill

 

[mjd]

I find the perpetual outrage at the gentrification of Brixton tiring.

To be clear, I am not defending companies and other organisations that I accept are clearly in the wrong, such as - for example - Lambeth council with it failure to consult residents, the management of the Ritzy, Brewdog and its advertising campaigns and mistreatment of a worker, or anything else along those lines. Their conduct is wrong, attention should be drawn to that conduct and action should be taken. I also accept that these issues are often linked to gentrification that is rapid or ill-considered, but that does not mean that there should be relentless objection to gentrification in its own right.

Towns and cities evolve throughout history. The fact that the outrage at gentrification emanates predominantly from those who often focus on Brixton's history and how wonderful Brixton apparently used to be is even more tiring. History repeats itself (to paraphrase Miss Bassey) and there is rarely focus on the darker sides of these supposedly halcyon days, so let's look at Brixton's history in a little more detail:

• The etymology of Brixton: Thought to have derived from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. How dare that privileged, titled man impose his name on a place that is to be home to tens of thousands of people in the future? Why wasn't there a vote on what the name was going to be? (Yes, I am aware that even early forms of voting did not arrive until 200 years after the end of the Saxons.)
• The deforestation of Brixton: Originally woodland, this had gradually depleted until by the end of the 18th Century the district was covered by farmland and market garden, well known for its game and strawberries. But what about people who used that woodland to relax, to play with their children? Why was game being hunted there when it was predominantly a food for the gentry? Were the juicy strawberries grown in Brixton available for everyone to eat or only those rich enough to be able to afford such a luxury?
• The city folk: In the 19th Century South London began to be accessible to city dwellers wishing to escape the dirt and noise of London; terraced houses and detached villas began to line the main road. Outrageous. City folk moving into their large houses, looking down on the previous inhabitants of Brixton tilling the fields and bringing with them their fancy ways.
• The windmill arrives: What is this, the Netherlands? Nobody asked Mr Ashby to build this thing. I suppose it'll be a "destination" for those new city folk. Ah, no, even worse, it is supplying wholemeal flour to West End hotels and restaurants. Not even flour for the residents of Brixton. So once it's converted to use a gas engine we put up with the pollution and don't even get the benefits.
• The railway brought a building boom when, in the 1870s the landscape changed with developers building two or three storey terraces aimed at the artisan market. The artisan market? What even is that? Some sort of new-fangled marketing jargon. We don't need more gentrifiers attracted to Brixton; they will just demand more high-end shops selling things that nobody can afford and it'll be far too noisy.
• The shopping revolution: Sure enough, those high-end shops are coming as Bon Marche arrives and pushes out all those independent retailers with its 48 departments. Why a foreign name? So pretentious. Oh, it means cheap. Well it jolly well better be after I've paid for the French lessons. Hopefully it will fail and be pushed out.
• Change is afoot again as, thank goodness, those horrible, large, expensive houses are being subdivided to accommodate the influx of the working classes. They will restore Brixton's glorious former days of, well, I'm not quite sure what.
• As predicted, Bon Marche is failing. But no, saved by private equity backing. I can't believe that those objectionable city capitalists are exploiting the good people of Brixton, saving an icon and turning it into a thriving retail business encouraging more and more people to settle here, more businesses to open and turning the centre of Brixton into a noisy, crowded, thriving shopping area.
• After the war and the destruction wreaked by the Blitz, Brixton is rebuilt. But where is the rebuilding of that which already was? The mix of the middle classes from the late 1800s and the working classes from the start of the 20th Century? The large, expensive houses alongside the boarding houses? The shops and pubs accommodating all of them, catering to different tastes and budgets and ages? I suppose that will have to wait until the 21st Century.

Some of that is a little on the flippant side but the underlying point stands. Places change, old stands alongside new, large alongside small and wealth alongside poverty, and we need to learn to accept that without fighting it just for the sake of it. There will never be at any one point in time an even balance between the sides, so we have to content ourselves with a swing back and forth between one and the other. That swing can take decades each way and inevitably there will be those who are not content at that one point in time, but gentrification is not a new phenomenon and it is responsible for a lot of elements of the past that are now so celebrated by almost everyone.

 

[Winot]

 

[editor]

The fact that the outrage at gentrification emanates predominantly from those who often focus on Brixton's history and how wonderful Brixton apparently used to be is even more tiring.

Does it really? And who is doing that then?

How does being opposed to a multi-multi-million, multinational chain which prices out many locals equate to having some sort of fixation with the glorious past?

In actual fact, the 'outrage at gentrification' generally emanates from those being affected by it. You know, the people being evicted or priced out. I doubt if they have much time for mulling over Brixton's past when they're trying to feed their families and survive. But thanks for the history lesson anyway.

 

[Ms T]

I’ve just been to San Francisco, which makes Brixton look like a utopia of equality and harmony. I’ve never seen so many homeless and derelict people in one city - a city which is being ruined by the tech industry and the enormous wealth it has brought imho.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

old stands alongside new

As if...if only

Take off the rose tinted....

 

[editor]

I’ve just been to San Francisco, which makes Brixton look like a utopia of equality and harmony. I’ve never seen so many homeless and derelict people in one city - a city which is being ruined by the tech industry and the enormous wealth it has brought imho.

There's always somewhere worse off, but there's plenty of inequality closer to home and the poverty gap grows wider with each new luxury block and upmarket restaurant.

Coldharbour ward remains one of the most deprived wards in the whole country, with "exceptionally high levels of need."

 

[Nanker Phelge]

gentrification is not a new phenomenon and it is responsible for a lot of elements of the past that are now so celebrated by almost everyone.

Do tell?

 

[editor]

As if...if only

Take off the rose tinted....

Yep. It's total bollocks as the paucity of people supporting local issues proves beyond doubt.

 

[Winot]

I’ve just been to San Francisco, which makes Brixton look like a utopia of equality and harmony. I’ve never seen so many homeless and derelict people in one city - a city which is being ruined by the tech industry and the enormous wealth it has brought imho.

It's dreadful isn't it? Although apparently it's the only place for miles around that has any kind of funding to help the homeless and so other places basically kick their homeless populations into SF.

 

[klang]

I find the perpetual outrage at the gentrification of Brixton tiring.

i find the gentrification of London and the constant struggle to live with dignity tiring.

 

[DietCokeGirl]

Ugh, Brew dog are fucking awful. Myogonistic, transphobic wankers all done in the faux spirit of being punk and rebellious, to further their brand. It's beer for fucking estate agents.Hopefully someone will poster their windows with news articles about the guy they wrongfully dismissed.

 

[editor]

Ugh, Brew dog are fucking awful. Myogonistic, transphobic wankers all done in the faux spirit of being punk and rebellious, to further their brand. It's beer for fucking estate agents.Hopefully someone will poster their windows with news articles about the guy they wrongfully dismissed.

Yet some people here are - unbelievably - quick to defend them or make excuses for them. Oh look, they've built a staff gym with some loose change out of their millions and millions. Whoopeefuckingdoo.

And apart from all the other shitty things they do, they promote private health care.

 

[Pickman's model]

I find the perpetual outrage at the gentrification of Brixton tiring.

To be clear, I am not defending companies and other organisations that I accept are clearly in the wrong, such as - for example - Lambeth council with it failure to consult residents, the management of the Ritzy, Brewdog and its advertising campaigns and mistreatment of a worker, or anything else along those lines. Their conduct is wrong, attention should be drawn to that conduct and action should be taken. I also accept that these issues are often linked to gentrification that is rapid or ill-considered, but that does not mean that there should be relentless objection to gentrification in its own right.

Towns and cities evolve throughout history. The fact that the outrage at gentrification emanates predominantly from those who often focus on Brixton's history and how wonderful Brixton apparently used to be is even more tiring. History repeats itself (to paraphrase Miss Bassey) and there is rarely focus on the darker sides of these supposedly halcyon days, so let's look at Brixton's history in a little more detail:

• The etymology of Brixton: Thought to have derived from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. How dare that privileged, titled man impose his name on a place that is to be home to tens of thousands of people in the future? Why wasn't there a vote on what the name was going to be? (Yes, I am aware that even early forms of voting did not arrive until 200 years after the end of the Saxons.)
• The deforestation of Brixton: Originally woodland, this had gradually depleted until by the end of the 18th Century the district was covered by farmland and market garden, well known for its game and strawberries. But what about people who used that woodland to relax, to play with their children? Why was game being hunted there when it was predominantly a food for the gentry? Were the juicy strawberries grown in Brixton available for everyone to eat or only those rich enough to be able to afford such a luxury?
• The city folk: In the 19th Century South London began to be accessible to city dwellers wishing to escape the dirt and noise of London; terraced houses and detached villas began to line the main road. Outrageous. City folk moving into their large houses, looking down on the previous inhabitants of Brixton tilling the fields and bringing with them their fancy ways.
• The windmill arrives: What is this, the Netherlands? Nobody asked Mr Ashby to build this thing. I suppose it'll be a "destination" for those new city folk. Ah, no, even worse, it is supplying wholemeal flour to West End hotels and restaurants. Not even flour for the residents of Brixton. So once it's converted to use a gas engine we put up with the pollution and don't even get the benefits.
• The railway brought a building boom when, in the 1870s the landscape changed with developers building two or three storey terraces aimed at the artisan market. The artisan market? What even is that? Some sort of new-fangled marketing jargon. We don't need more gentrifiers attracted to Brixton; they will just demand more high-end shops selling things that nobody can afford and it'll be far too noisy.
• The shopping revolution: Sure enough, those high-end shops are coming as Bon Marche arrives and pushes out all those independent retailers with its 48 departments. Why a foreign name? So pretentious. Oh, it means cheap. Well it jolly well better be after I've paid for the French lessons. Hopefully it will fail and be pushed out.
• Change is afoot again as, thank goodness, those horrible, large, expensive houses are being subdivided to accommodate the influx of the working classes. They will restore Brixton's glorious former days of, well, I'm not quite sure what.
• As predicted, Bon Marche is failing. But no, saved by private equity backing. I can't believe that those objectionable city capitalists are exploiting the good people of Brixton, saving an icon and turning it into a thriving retail business encouraging more and more people to settle here, more businesses to open and turning the centre of Brixton into a noisy, crowded, thriving shopping area.
• After the war and the destruction wreaked by the Blitz, Brixton is rebuilt. But where is the rebuilding of that which already was? The mix of the middle classes from the late 1800s and the working classes from the start of the 20th Century? The large, expensive houses alongside the boarding houses? The shops and pubs accommodating all of them, catering to different tastes and budgets and ages? I suppose that will have to wait until the 21st Century.

Some of that is a little on the flippant side but the underlying point stands. Places change, old stands alongside new, large alongside small and wealth alongside poverty, and we need to learn to accept that without fighting it just for the sake of it. There will never be at any one point in time an even balance between the sides, so we have to content ourselves with a swing back and forth between one and the other. That swing can take decades each way and inevitably there will be those who are not content at that one point in time, but gentrification is not a new phenomenon and it is responsible for a lot of elements of the past that are now so celebrated by almost everyone.

i don't think you understand what gentrification is.

 

[Pickman's model]

I find the perpetual outrage at the gentrification of Brixton tiring.

To be clear, I am not defending companies and other organisations that I accept are clearly in the wrong, such as - for example - Lambeth council with it failure to consult residents, the management of the Ritzy, Brewdog and its advertising campaigns and mistreatment of a worker, or anything else along those lines. Their conduct is wrong, attention should be drawn to that conduct and action should be taken. I also accept that these issues are often linked to gentrification that is rapid or ill-considered, but that does not mean that there should be relentless objection to gentrification in its own right.

Towns and cities evolve throughout history. The fact that the outrage at gentrification emanates predominantly from those who often focus on Brixton's history and how wonderful Brixton apparently used to be is even more tiring. History repeats itself (to paraphrase Miss Bassey) and there is rarely focus on the darker sides of these supposedly halcyon days, so let's look at Brixton's history in a little more detail:

• The etymology of Brixton: Thought to have derived from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. How dare that privileged, titled man impose his name on a place that is to be home to tens of thousands of people in the future? Why wasn't there a vote on what the name was going to be? (Yes, I am aware that even early forms of voting did not arrive until 200 years after the end of the Saxons.)
• The deforestation of Brixton: Originally woodland, this had gradually depleted until by the end of the 18th Century the district was covered by farmland and market garden, well known for its game and strawberries. But what about people who used that woodland to relax, to play with their children? Why was game being hunted there when it was predominantly a food for the gentry? Were the juicy strawberries grown in Brixton available for everyone to eat or only those rich enough to be able to afford such a luxury?
• The city folk: In the 19th Century South London began to be accessible to city dwellers wishing to escape the dirt and noise of London; terraced houses and detached villas began to line the main road. Outrageous. City folk moving into their large houses, looking down on the previous inhabitants of Brixton tilling the fields and bringing with them their fancy ways.
• The windmill arrives: What is this, the Netherlands? Nobody asked Mr Ashby to build this thing. I suppose it'll be a "destination" for those new city folk. Ah, no, even worse, it is supplying wholemeal flour to West End hotels and restaurants. Not even flour for the residents of Brixton. So once it's converted to use a gas engine we put up with the pollution and don't even get the benefits.
• The railway brought a building boom when, in the 1870s the landscape changed with developers building two or three storey terraces aimed at the artisan market. The artisan market? What even is that? Some sort of new-fangled marketing jargon. We don't need more gentrifiers attracted to Brixton; they will just demand more high-end shops selling things that nobody can afford and it'll be far too noisy.
• The shopping revolution: Sure enough, those high-end shops are coming as Bon Marche arrives and pushes out all those independent retailers with its 48 departments. Why a foreign name? So pretentious. Oh, it means cheap. Well it jolly well better be after I've paid for the French lessons. Hopefully it will fail and be pushed out.
• Change is afoot again as, thank goodness, those horrible, large, expensive houses are being subdivided to accommodate the influx of the working classes. They will restore Brixton's glorious former days of, well, I'm not quite sure what.
• As predicted, Bon Marche is failing. But no, saved by private equity backing. I can't believe that those objectionable city capitalists are exploiting the good people of Brixton, saving an icon and turning it into a thriving retail business encouraging more and more people to settle here, more businesses to open and turning the centre of Brixton into a noisy, crowded, thriving shopping area.
• After the war and the destruction wreaked by the Blitz, Brixton is rebuilt. But where is the rebuilding of that which already was? The mix of the middle classes from the late 1800s and the working classes from the start of the 20th Century? The large, expensive houses alongside the boarding houses? The shops and pubs accommodating all of them, catering to different tastes and budgets and ages? I suppose that will have to wait until the 21st Century.

Some of that is a little on the flippant side but the underlying point stands. Places change, old stands alongside new, large alongside small and wealth alongside poverty, and we need to learn to accept that without fighting it just for the sake of it. There will never be at any one point in time an even balance between the sides, so we have to content ourselves with a swing back and forth between one and the other. That swing can take decades each way and inevitably there will be those who are not content at that one point in time, but gentrification is not a new phenomenon and it is responsible for a lot of elements of the past that are now so celebrated by almost everyone.

you've got the situation now where barnsbury's described as super-gentrified. where the children of gentrifiers are forced out of london as they cannot afford to live within it. gentrification's not simple change over time, it is a process which thus far has not been reversed since glass's coining of the term more than 50 years ago. when you get councils jumping on the bandwagon and destroying housing estates like the heygate, like the haggerston, and replacing them with yuppie flats, when you get the state effectively jumping in to accelerate the process of shipping one class out and another class in, it's of a different order to what has happened in london before.

 

[editor]

Some pics from last night:

And....

Sunday night in Brixton: Ese’s Sunday night jam in the Hand & Hand, Brixton

 

[Gramsci]

I find the perpetual outrage at the gentrification of Brixton tiring.

To be clear, I am not defending companies and other organisations that I accept are clearly in the wrong, such as - for example - Lambeth council with it failure to consult residents, the management of the Ritzy, Brewdog and its advertising campaigns and mistreatment of a worker, or anything else along those lines. Their conduct is wrong, attention should be drawn to that conduct and action should be taken. I also accept that these issues are often linked to gentrification that is rapid or ill-considered, but that does not mean that there should be relentless objection to gentrification in its own right.

Towns and cities evolve throughout history. The fact that the outrage at gentrification emanates predominantly from those who often focus on Brixton's history and how wonderful Brixton apparently used to be is even more tiring. History repeats itself (to paraphrase Miss Bassey) and there is rarely focus on the darker sides of these supposedly halcyon days, so let's look at Brixton's history in a little more detail:

• The etymology of Brixton: Thought to have derived from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. How dare that privileged, titled man impose his name on a place that is to be home to tens of thousands of people in the future? Why wasn't there a vote on what the name was going to be? (Yes, I am aware that even early forms of voting did not arrive until 200 years after the end of the Saxons.)
• The deforestation of Brixton: Originally woodland, this had gradually depleted until by the end of the 18th Century the district was covered by farmland and market garden, well known for its game and strawberries. But what about people who used that woodland to relax, to play with their children? Why was game being hunted there when it was predominantly a food for the gentry? Were the juicy strawberries grown in Brixton available for everyone to eat or only those rich enough to be able to afford such a luxury?
• The city folk: In the 19th Century South London began to be accessible to city dwellers wishing to escape the dirt and noise of London; terraced houses and detached villas began to line the main road. Outrageous. City folk moving into their large houses, looking down on the previous inhabitants of Brixton tilling the fields and bringing with them their fancy ways.
• The windmill arrives: What is this, the Netherlands? Nobody asked Mr Ashby to build this thing. I suppose it'll be a "destination" for those new city folk. Ah, no, even worse, it is supplying wholemeal flour to West End hotels and restaurants. Not even flour for the residents of Brixton. So once it's converted to use a gas engine we put up with the pollution and don't even get the benefits.
• The railway brought a building boom when, in the 1870s the landscape changed with developers building two or three storey terraces aimed at the artisan market. The artisan market? What even is that? Some sort of new-fangled marketing jargon. We don't need more gentrifiers attracted to Brixton; they will just demand more high-end shops selling things that nobody can afford and it'll be far too noisy.
• The shopping revolution: Sure enough, those high-end shops are coming as Bon Marche arrives and pushes out all those independent retailers with its 48 departments. Why a foreign name? So pretentious. Oh, it means cheap. Well it jolly well better be after I've paid for the French lessons. Hopefully it will fail and be pushed out.
• Change is afoot again as, thank goodness, those horrible, large, expensive houses are being subdivided to accommodate the influx of the working classes. They will restore Brixton's glorious former days of, well, I'm not quite sure what.
• As predicted, Bon Marche is failing. But no, saved by private equity backing. I can't believe that those objectionable city capitalists are exploiting the good people of Brixton, saving an icon and turning it into a thriving retail business encouraging more and more people to settle here, more businesses to open and turning the centre of Brixton into a noisy, crowded, thriving shopping area.
• After the war and the destruction wreaked by the Blitz, Brixton is rebuilt. But where is the rebuilding of that which already was? The mix of the middle classes from the late 1800s and the working classes from the start of the 20th Century? The large, expensive houses alongside the boarding houses? The shops and pubs accommodating all of them, catering to different tastes and budgets and ages? I suppose that will have to wait until the 21st Century.

Some of that is a little on the flippant side but the underlying point stands. Places change, old stands alongside new, large alongside small and wealth alongside poverty, and we need to learn to accept that without fighting it just for the sake of it. There will never be at any one point in time an even balance between the sides, so we have to content ourselves with a swing back and forth between one and the other. That swing can take decades each way and inevitably there will be those who are not content at that one point in time, but gentrification is not a new phenomenon and it is responsible for a lot of elements of the past that are now so celebrated by almost everyone.

This is the Tory view of history I was taught at school.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

i don't think you understand what gentrification is.

Innit