For nearly 40 years, The Acorn Group have been helping clients make their property dreams a reality. From people taking their first tentative steps, to seasoned landlords and experienced buyers, we are here for your property journey.
Wherever it takes you.
Watch the video at acorngroup.co.uk/journey
One of our favourite restaurants in Camberwell is the Vineyard Greek Taverna on Camberwell Grove – so it was a pleasure to interview the current proprietor Andreas, who inherited the longstanding local eatery from his father. He shares the story behind the family-run restaurant – which first opened its doors in 1974 – and discusses the secret to its longevity and the mouthwatering menu on page 16.
We also meet two formidable local talents who are rising stars in the worlds of acting and music. Emma McDonald, who grew up in Camberwell, has amassed an impressive number of acting credits to her name, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, Queens of Mystery and most recently, American sci-fi drama Moonhaven. She talks about her love of Camberwell and her career to date on page eight.
Meanwhile Mebrakh HaughtonJohnson’s standout talent for the clarinet has taken him first to the prestigious Royal College of Music and then around the world, playing with the acclaimed Chineke Orchestra, Benji B and Tyler, the Creator. Find out more on page 10.
We also sat down for a chat with local resident Jordana Leighton, a branding specialist, organiser extraordinaire, community champion and all-round good egg whose
love of Camberwell and infectious enthusiasm for this corner of southeast London knows no bounds. Turn to page 21 for more.
We also enjoyed chatting to talented local photographer Oliver McKenzie about his series of images of the people of Camberwell Green. He tells us more about the project and what inspired him to start it on page 12.
We’re now working on the Christmas edition of The Camberwell Clarion, which will be published in early December. If you run a business or organisation or have an event that you’re keen to advertise to local people in the run-up to Christmas or the new year, please get in touch via camberwellclarion@gmail.com to find out how we can promote what you do across Camberwell, Peckham, south-east London and beyond, both in print and online.
And if you have a story idea with a Camberwell connection that you think our readers might be interested in – or if there is someone locally who you would like to see featured on our pages – please get in touch at the same address. We are always looking for editorial ideas for the paper so would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy the issue!
Mark McGinlay and Kate WhiteThe competition to succeed Harriet Harman as the Labour party’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Camberwell and Peckham is hotting up with a host of contenders jostling for prime position.
Harman has represented Camberwell and Peckham since 1997, having also represented the previous constituency of Peckham since 1982. Last September she announced that she would be standing down at the next general election, precipitating something of a rush among local politicians keen to represent what was – at the last election –the 19th safest parliamentary seat in the UK.
Two contenders – Sunny Lambe and Maurice Mcleod – are now out of the race. Mcleod, a leading anti-racism campaigner who currently represents the Battersea Park ward in Wandsworth, was controversially prevented from standing as this paper was about to go to press.
Mcleod said he was “blocked by the Labour party machine”, adding: “I am deeply disappointed by this unfair decision taken behind closed doors, which denies local members the opportunity to vote for me.”
He added: “The reasons given are as frivolous as once liking a tweet by Caroline Lucas. This was plainly a factional intervention.” He ended his statement by wishing those who have made the longlist the very best.
Here is The Camberwell Clarion’s A to Z guide to the candidates still in the running.
Marina Ahmad Born in Bangladesh, Ahmad was raised on a south London council estate. A trained barrister who has formerly worked for the Crown Prosecution Service among other roles in the public sector, she has been the London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark since May 2021. She has previously stood three times unsuccessfully in the general election in the constituency of Beckenham and is currently chair of the GMB southern region race network, as well as the founder of social policy think-tank Race on the Agenda.
Evelyn Akoto Akoto grew up on the Aylesbury Estate and is currently a councillor representing the Old Kent Road ward, as well as Southwark Council cabinet member for health and wellbeing. Akoto officially launched her campaign to succeed Harman in October and has previously stood unsuccessfully for the position of Labour candidate for Lambeth and Southwark in the London Assembly elections. The mother of three founded the Southwark Safe Spaces initiative, which provides support to domestic abuse survivors.
Babudu attended St Thomas the Apostle secondary school in Peckham before studying PPE at the University of Oxford. He represented the Rye Lane ward on Southwark Council from 2018 until 2022, working to reduce and eliminate exclusions within local schools. He is now the assistant director of research and youth understanding for the Youth Endowment Fund, an early intervention organisation that tackles youth violence and crime.
Fahnbulleh has been the chief executive of the New Economics Foundation thinktank since 2017. She also previously served as the director of policy and research at the Institute for Public Policy Research and was an adviser to the former Labour party leader Ed Miliband from 2013 to 2015. She also worked in the strategy unit for then prime minister Gordon Brown during the global financial crisis of 2008. Born in Liberia, Fahnbulleh arrived in the UK with her family as refugees in 1986.
A doctor and A&E consultant for the NHS, Patil was previously a councillor in Lambeth and was mayor of the borough from 2010-11. He has been a governor at King’s College and St Thomas’ hospitals and plays an active part in promoting community cohesion between Indian and Pakistani communities in the UK. In the 2017 general election he stood in Putney, where he lost to then education secretary Justine Greening by 1,554 votes, achieving a 10.8% swing for Labour.
Situ – who was interviewed in the last issue of our sister title The Peckham Peculiar – is a senior adviser to London mayor Sadiq Khan. Before working at City Hall he served as a councillor for the Peckham ward from 2014 to 2021 and was also a cabinet member of Southwark Council for five years, helping to create 2,000 local apprenticeships as well as being a key player in Southwark’s council house-building programme.
Those Camberwellians in mourning over the closure of Rat Records – which shut this summer after more than 20 years of trading – will be pleased to hear the space has been taken over by another small business.
The site at 348 Camberwell New Road formerly occupied by the iconic secondhand vinyl shop now houses Dash The Henge – a store selling “independent music, merch and literature”.
Dash The Henge started life as a record label, founded in 2020 by Tim Harper, Nathan Saoudi and Rebecca Prochnik. Now the brand – which aims to “bring through and develop new artists” – is a shop too, having officially opened its doors on 12 October.
“We got word over the summer that Rat Records was closing down,” Tim told The Camberwell Clarion.
“We had an initial conversation with [owner] Tom Fisher about taking over Rat but decided we wanted to do something different. With Tom’s blessing the direction of the conversation changed.
“Everything was looking good, but then we discovered that there was an application to turn the property into a chicken shop. Thankfully that plan got rejected by the council and we were back in the running.
“Rat closed down on 18 June and I think our first Instagram post that we were ‘coming soon’ was on 12 August. Then on 12 September we got the keys and since then
we’ve been absolutely heads down getting it sorted, making it look pretty and getting stock in and loaded on to the system. It’s been an epic task.
“We opened with a surprise in-store performance on Tuesday evening by [postpunk band] Warmduscher, which was pretty lively and then we opened for trading at 11am the next morning.”
Tim feels there is a hunger in Camberwell for the offering that Dash The Henge is providing.
“We’ve had a fantastic reception,” he said. “I’ve been here for four weeks doing the refit and making good, including a lot of work on the front of the store, and – no word of a lie – at least 30 people a day have been coming up to me saying, ‘Is it going to be a record shop again? I hope it’s not going to be a coffee shop is it, or a chicken shop?’”
Tim believes that Dash The Henge can honour the legacy of Rat Records while also bringing something new and exciting to Camberwell.
“There is so much love still for Rat Records and what it was and I think we’re going to be doing something to continue that legacy but also something that’s a bit different as well,” he said.
“We’re planning to be able to host in-store gigs, book readings, poetry nights, a chess club, short film screenings and all sorts of other things.”
The latest Camberwell Talks series organised by the SE5 Forum is now in full swing, with a varied range of topics and speakers.
The season kicked off in October with a talk by Dr Francisco Diego, an astrophysicist and environmentalist from University College London.
Next up, on 7 November at the Grove House Tavern, Jessica Moxham will be speaking about her book The Cracks that Let the Light In.
“I am delighted to be taking part in the SE5 Forum Camberwell talks,” Jessica told The Camberwell Clarion. “I grew up in Camberwell and am now raising my children here. I love being part of a local community.
“I’ll be talking about being a mother to my eldest son, Ben, who is 12, loves comedy sketch shows, hates dogs and is disabled.
“We help him day-to-day – he uses a wheelchair, we feed him through a tube, and he communicates with his eyes since he can’t talk.
“His life has been a rapid education for me in the issues surrounding disability and the practicalities involved, but also filled with adventure, brilliant people and loads and loads of books.”
Finally, on 5 December, the series will be rounded off at the Crypt at St Giles’ Church by
the redoubtable Kit Green – writer, performer, music hall legend and Camberwell’s very own Organoke rapping pensioner Ida Barr.
“I’ve loved getting to know St Giles and many Camberwell residents through my collaboration with Organoke and this is a beautiful chance to talk a little about that,” Kit said. “I’ll discuss my music hall/hip-hop character Ida Barr and how she came into
my life and how she came to be the queen of Organoke.
“I will also talk about my immersive theatre projects – I’m in the middle of my trilogy of big shows which are respectively about sex, old age and death. There’s much to discuss about how I get the ‘lols’ out of that.
“Mostly I love hearing from people so I’m hoping the evening will involve responding
to lots of questions. That’s what makes me happiest!”
Tickets cost £10 (concessions £7) and include a free drink. Italian restaurant Caravaggio is also offering a half-price pre- or post-talk set menu for ticket holders. Buy tickets from SE5 Forum’s stall at the Camberwell Green farmers’ market on Saturdays from 10am-2pm
Luxury bed linen in 220 and 420 thread counts. Cushions and throws in silk, linen, velvet and wool in six chic colours.
www.paduk.london 020 7639
An architect based in Camberwell, designing carefully crafted spaces that can change your way of living, working and being.
There are plenty more Black History Month events still to come in SE5 and the surrounding area this October.
Workshops on the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira and associated dances and rhythms will celebrate the fight for freedom by African slaves in Brazil. There will also be public displays and artistic presentations at the events, on 21 and 28 October from 5-8pm at 140 Wyndham Road.
Over on Havil Street, catch a performance of Housewarming – an expressionistic, physically driven piece about home, belonging and self within the diaspora that is coming to Theatre Peckham for three nights.
Five performers will embody one character, Anashe, as they invite the audience into their home, reflecting on what it means to be from somewhere else, wherever they are. Performances take place from 21-23 October, with tickets available to buy from the Theatre Peckham website.
Everyone is invited to gather for a reading and reflection on key pieces from Wild Imperfections – an anthology of womanist
poetry featuring work by black women poets from Botswana to Brazil.
Attendees will have the chance to participate in a collaborative piece of art inspired by the book and its spirit of authenticity, activism and self-expression, at Camberwell Library on 22 October from 11am-4pm.
The library is also hosting a traffic-lightmaking craft session in honour of Garrett Augustus Morgan, the inventor of the traffic light. The son of freed slaves, he went on to become a world-renowned inventor and businessman in the USA. The event is suitable for all ages and takes place on 26 October from 2-3pm.
The following day there will be more crafts-related activity at the library, with a workshop on African fans. People taking part in the event, which is aimed at those aged five and upwards, will be able to choose from a range of colours and patterns when making a fan, on 27 October from 2-3pm.
If film is more your thing, the Walworth Golden Oldies documentary about the
changing landscape of the borough, organised by the Walworth Golden Oldies community care project, is an event that’s not to be missed. It will be screened on 27 October from 12-1.30pm at Walworth Methodist Church, 54 Camberwell Road.
Meanwhile on Bethwin Road, the Blue Elephant Theatre is hosting Forgotten Voices, a storytelling show for families – specifically those with children aged seven to 11 – about Windrush and pursuing one’s dreams in an unfamiliar land. It will be followed by a 30-minute workshop for kids and takes place on 27 October from 3-4pm.
Last but not least, young people are also invited to Stories Through Art, which will feature African djembe drums, poetry, storytelling and food for under-16s at Draper Hall on Hampton Street on October 28 from 4.30-8pm.
Most events are free but some require booking in advance. For full details and listings, visit southwark.gov.uk/eventsculture-and-heritage
Two businesses from Camberwell have been named winners at the 2022 Southwark Business Awards.
Osteopathy on the Green scooped the “best new business” award. A healthcare clinic specialising in musculoskeletal treatment and offering osteopathy and massage therapy, its ethos is simple: to help improve the physical health of its patients.
Having run busy patient lists elsewhere in London for over five years, lead clinicians Dilly Prytherch and Mark Childerstone have thousands of hours of clinical experience under their belts.
Mark and Dilly spent a year renovating the site, at 12 Camberwell Green, into a space
they could be proud to open to the public and are active members of the local small business community, contributing personally as well as professionally to the rich fabric of Camberwell and south-east London.
Meanwhile the “outstanding team” award went to celebrated cultural hub Theatre Peckham on Havil Street.
“The great thing is that it’s not just about one person or one element, it’s about everything collaboratively,” said Suzann McLean, who joined Theatre Peckham as artistic director in 2018.
“It’s a fantastic team and yes, we collaborate together but it’s also about our respect, our trust for each other.”
Sculpture, collage, neon and moving images are all hallmarks of the acclaimed artist Simeon Barclay, who currently has a major solo exhibition at the South London Gallery.
The visually striking show explores how we navigate and perform identity. Simeon’s varied influences range from folk tales to fashion and club culture, through to concepts of masculinity and the history of art.
Titled In the Name of the Father, it brings together a new body of work that extends the artist’s inquiry into questions of legacy and identity through the lens of the fatherson relationship.
The show has a strong autobiographical element – Simeon was born in Huddersfield and the history of its cloth industry and Simeon’s dad’s original trade as a tailor are
both alluded to, as is the wider history of urbanisation and migration in the town.
Reviewing the exhibition for Time Out, Eddy Frankel wrote: “The show is full of symbols. There are lost footballs stuck up in the eaves of the gallery, totally out of reach.
The locked doors have incomprehensible signs on them, like they’re the offices of faceless government departments.
“One of the doors is open, you push through and find a huge neon sign for Johnny’s, a nightclub in Huddersfield that was hard to get into. This is direct, physical, imposing art that forces you to feel the alienation and rejection of being an outgroup.”
In the Name of the Father is free and is on until 27 November
Emma McDonald – one of the country’s fastest rising young talents – begins our interview with a confession.
When I tell her what a joy it is to see a dyed in the wool south Londoner making it big in the acting world, she admits: “I feel bad because I’m currently speaking to you from north London!” After laughing at my gasp of mock outrage, she assures me: “I might live in north London right now, but I am moving back to south London next year. I’m loyal! I’m coming back!” It’s an exchange that sums up Emma’s instant likeability and charisma. She is clearly a woman of substance and intelligence who takes acting seriously, but doesn’t take herself too seriously. And she has a great sense of humour.
Given her south London credentials and frequent references to how much she loves Camberwell, Emma can also be forgiven for her brief sojourn
north of the Thames. “Yes, I love south London,” she confirms. “It’s my home first and foremost. My grandma grew up in Brixton after originally coming from Jamaica. My parents still live on the same road where I grew up.
Ruskin Park was my local park and the community garden in Brockwell Park I absolutely love.
“South London is really diverse, much more so than north London, which is beautiful but for me it doesn’t have the diversity that Camberwell, Brixton and Peckham have. In south London and around Camberwell you have all the different cuisines, the greenery. All my friends are there and south London people just seem friendlier to me.
“My heart would always beat faster when I came back home from university in Nottingham and I arrived at Brixton Tube station – it was like, ‘Yes I’m home!’ Everything about the area says home to me. I worked at Urban Village [estate agents] for a while. I love all the charity shops as
well. I picked up three books from Crisis in Camberwell the other day.”
Camberwell should certainly be proud of effervescent Emma and all that she has already achieved in double-quick time.
Her dramatic journey began at the Charter School in Dulwich where she was the first ever head girl. “My friends still take the p*ss out of me and claim the position didn’t exist until I bullied them into creating it,” she laughs.
When Emma was in year nine she wowed audiences with her portrayal of Fagin in Oliver. “That was an important moment,” she says. “My dad still says that was the best performance I’ve ever given. And I say, ‘Dad, I’ve been acting professionally now for eight years…’”
She sighs in the way that only daughters can about their embarrassing dads. “Somehow playing Fagin still tops his charts!”
Post-Fagin, it was Emma’s performance in a play as a sixth
former that helped launch her into an acting career. Her talent was spotted by the legendary writer Michael Frayn who was in the audience. Frayn then wrote to her offering to support and advise her if she decided to pursue acting. Emma was already bound for the University of Nottingham to study maths and psychology, but Frayn kept his word, dispatching an agent to watch her in a university production. The agent signed her up and she was on her way.
After university Emma enjoyed several highly educative years in rep with the Watermill Theatre. “That was pretty much where I did my training because I didn’t go to drama school,” she reflects. “It was a great experience, I was doing classical texts, I was touring, playing instruments on stage and so on.
“The Watermill is quite special because all the actors live on site. I had the opportunity to play roles I otherwise wouldn’t have played for many years – I’d be playing Lady
My character Bella is a bad-ass pilot. She flies a spaceship and has a very dry sense of humour. And she saves humanity as well, which is a win!
Above and right: Emma McDonald PHOTOS BY LIMA CHARLIE
With a CV ranging from Shakespeare to sci-fi, Camberwell actor Emma McDonald is a star on the rise
Macbeth in a matinee and then Titania at night time and so on. It was so much fun. Doing so many different plays keeps things fresh and it really set me up in terms of learning lines. In rep you have to really stay on top of your game.”
Emma’s move into film and TV came about largely because of the pandemic. “In rep I’d often be there the whole summer and quite often I’d be booked up quite a long way in advance, so film and television were often out of the question.
“When lockdown happened I was set to play Hamlet at the Watermill but sadly that wasn’t to be. All of a sudden I had a great stretch of time in front of me where I was free. I ended up doing my first two television jobs in the same year as well as three films, including The Picture of Dorian Gray directed by the brilliant Tamara Harvey, who had actually directed my first ever professional acting job at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.”
Emma’s role in the second series of acclaimed comedy-drama Queens of Mystery was a standout experience.
“That was so much fun,” she recalls. “I got to die by acupuncture and wear the most fabulous flamboyant pink leotards and stunning high heels. It was a very funny, super feminine, overthe-top character who I just loved.”
However it is the starring role of Bella Sway in ambitious US sci-fi drama Moonhaven that has really propelled her career forwards. The
utopian spectacular premiered last summer, won rave notices and a second season has already been commissioned.
The character of Bella certainly showcases Emma’s impressive dramatic range and versatility when placed alongside her work on stage and in Queens of Mystery.
“She’s an incredibly masculine, badass pilot,” Emma explains. “She’s a lot cooler than I am. She flies a spaceship.
She’s got a very dry sense of humour, a very sharp wit, she’s got an ex-military background. She’s romantic in her taste in music.
“She doesn’t really like to spend time with other people but when she does and they are in her inner circle they are her family. And she saves humanity as well, which is a win!”
Emma landed the role despite a final audition on Zoom that was beset with technical woes. “My agent told
Urban Village holds the record for best prices achieved for our clients in our core area.
Outperforming many of the big brands and corporate agents. We have an excellent marketing strategy that we tailor to suit your individual property needs. We are independent and versatile, and our experienced and professional team provide the very best advice on both letting and selling your property.
Take the stress out of letting your property, with our 5% including VAT (per month, from the rental income) managed take-over service. With a full compliance check included, to ensure you meet current legislation and licencing obligations.
We are lean, green, cycling machines: Our pink bicycles are an eco-friendly alternative to driving between viewings – helping us to reduce our carbon footprint.
me they had narrowed it down to two actors. I went into the final chemistry read with Dominic Monaghan online. But my internet failed about seven times, I kept getting thrown out of Zoom. It’s hard enough trying to create chemistry with someone over Zoom, let alone when it keeps freezing. Afterwards I burst into tears and called my mum… then two days later I got the job!”
After the success of Moonhaven’s first season, Emma is looking forward to seeing where the series goes next. “I’m thrilled there is going to be a second season,” she admits. “A lot of sci-fi genre television is notorious for not getting a second season, so it was amazing to find out that we did.
“Next week I’m going to be with our series creator Peter Ocko in New York for an AMC [the American entertainment company that produces Moonhaven] panel, which is an annual event, so I’m going to pick his brains and those of our other fantastic writers. I’m hoping Bella has some more fights in the next season. I had an epic one in the last series with Joe Manganiello. I won and his character ended up in a coma so I hope we have another one and I win again!”
Having begun the interview with a confession, Emma ends it with a promise as our conversation turns once again to south London. “It’s a beautiful place and it has my heart. I want to settle down there and I will do next year… I promise!”
helped save
Donating £40,000 to save Ruskin Park’s much-loved paddling pool that has recently gone through a major refurbishment.
We give back to charities and local schools: We actively get involved in community and sponsored events, from seasonal school fetes to local dog shows & Ruskin Park fete. We’ve helped raise money for some great neighbourhood causes.
We’re a friendly, focussed team, with clear fair fees set out from the very start. You’ll like dealing with us!
South London is a beautiful place – it has my heartHerne Hill
Join us for seasonal shopping, open studios, art markets and more in this annual showcase of our local arts scene.
Winter Art Market & Winter Open Studios
Not many 11-year-old boys would choose a clarinet over a Nintendo DS, but that’s exactly what Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson did one fateful childhood birthday – and it’s a decision that has more than paid off.
The last few years have seen him achieve a first-class degree with honours in clarinet, historical clarinet, conducting and composing at the Royal College of Music, gain a fulltuition scholarship to the prestigious performing arts school Juilliard in New York, travel quite literally to the other side of the world to perform with the incredible Chineke Orchestra, and even hang out with legends from more mainstream musical genres like Benji B and Tyler, the Creator.
Reading that list of achievements you could quite understandably believe that Mebrakh was given a magic wand that birthday rather than one of the lesser known, less heralded, orchestral woodwind instruments. But once you hear him play and hear him talk about his passion and dedication to his instrument, you realise that he has, in a way, turned his clarinet into a kind of wand. Weaving musical magic with an expressive tone and unique style is taking him around the globe, while opening up opportunities for him to perform and learn from some of the world’s greatest.
But before we get to those experiences, I have to ask one question: why the clarinet? “I was drawn to the clarinet as one of my class teachers brought one in for ‘show and tell’. She couldn’t play much as it was broken, but I was mesmerised by the instrument,” he tells me from New York, where he currently lives as a student at Juilliard.
Seeing that instrument lit a spark, and though he came to the classical world quite late – “I didn’t have my first lesson till 14 and hadn’t even played in an orchestra until my final year of sixth form when I joined a Saturday music centre” – a decision to take a gap year, pass his grade eight exam and audition for conservatoires paid off with a fully funded place at the Royal College of Music in South Kensington.
It was a slight about-turn from his original career plan. “Initially, I set out to be a cardiologist or psychiatrist – I had already been volunteering at a hospital and witnessed openheart surgery so I was excited to go down the medical route. But after discovering my love for classical music and performing with friends, I decided to follow the path that I enjoyed the most – music.”
It was clearly the right choice, and since then Mebrakh has made the
most of the experiences his hard work and talent have opened up for him.
One of these opportunities was to join the Chineke Orchestra, Europe’s first majority black and ethnically diverse orchestra, in 2019. “I first heard the Chineke Junior Orchestra play at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2018 and was blown away by the talent,” he says.
“I was so eager to join I absolutely bombarded them with emails.”
It worked, and after speaking over Zoom with founder and artistic director Chi-chi Nwanoku, he was invited to join the junior programme.
And it’s not just on stage that he’s played his part in the orchestra. He has involved himself fully in the outreach and educational aspect of its work, while also teaching clarinet, saxophone, flute and oboe in several local schools with the aim of providing the students with a role model who potentially shares a similar background and cultural experience.
Last year, he even got to travel with members of the orchestra to Australia as part of the Adelaide Festival. While there he took time to learn about the places he was visiting on a deeper level. “The team I flew over with were so lovely and it was truly an
enlightening experience – learning the history of the country and the First Nations people was incredible.”
Oz is not the only stamp he’s collected in his passport either. His first performance with Chineke in February 2020 was in Ludwigshafen, Germany, just before the first lockdown.
Travel, as well as introducing art old and new to different audiences, is one of the main joys of music for Mebrakh. “I love that being an artist has brought me across the world to experience different cultures, form many great relationships and have the chance to practice my language skills,” he says.
But how does a young man deeply in love with classical music find himself being driven around Paris in blacked out SUVs, hanging out with one of the most distinctive voices in US hip-hop from the last 10 years and one of the UK’s most progressive producers?
Well, when Benji B was tasked with providing the soundtrack to much-missed designer Virgil Abloh’s final Louis Vuitton show in Paris he was adamant he was going to create something truly special. That something special included a score by
Tyler, the Creator, performed by the Chineke Orchestra under the baton of legendary conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Among this esteemed company was Mebrakh, this time on the saxophone. It was an experience that was not only musically enriching but allowed him to discover so much about the fashion and cuisine of that most beautiful of European cities.
“It was a true privilege to be involved in that show,” he says. “It really sparked my interest in fashion as an art form, and I was thrilled to try the Parisian restaurants too.”
With so much going on, including recently packing his life into a suitcase and relocating to the city that never sleeps, Mebrakh tries to keep a levelheaded perspective, realising that what has come before and what’s to come in the future is never certain.
“I really do believe in the saying ‘Everything happens for a reason’, even if it’s not the outcome you desired at that time,” he says. “Something better suited for your stage in your journey always comes.”
Throughout our interview he constantly goes back to giving thanks to those mentors, sponsors and believers who have helped him at each stage of that journey – from family members who nourished his talent early on to people like Lady Victoria Robey who bought him his first two clarinets and saxophone when he started at the Royal College of Music.
He also talks of his extended family and friends in Camberwell and beyond who, on hearing that he had received a scholarship to study at Juilliard, flocked to a GoFundMe page set up to help him raise the extra cash that taking up a place like that entails.
As he notes: “The area in Camberwell I grew up in has such a strong sense of community. So many people have offered kindness and support on every step of my journey. I feel very honoured.”
Although he now has trips to Australia, Germany, New York and Paris under his belt, it’s the people of Camberwell who kicked off his love of art, food and of course, music.
“Growing up in south London has granted me access to so many different cultures and experiences, which have fuelled my curiosity and passions,” he says.
And while NYC may be home to some of the greatest street food in the world, it turns out that it can’t come close to his family’s home cooking.
“I miss my family’s cooking daily – everyone in my household was a terrific cook,” he says. “I miss all the traditional Caribbean, Ethiopian and Asian dishes that we would have.”
PHOTO BY MICHAEL WHARLEYGrowing up in south London has granted me access to so many different cultures and experiences, which have fuelled my curiosity and passions
Above: Mebrakh HaughtonJohnson in Brixton Market
Camberwell’s Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson developed a love of classical music and the clarinet that has seen him study at the Royal College of Music and play with the Chineke Orchestra, Benji B and Tyler, the Creator
Camberwell Green is a unique melting pot of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds – and now local resident Oliver McKenzie has captured the incredible variety of the iconic location in a brilliant new photography project.
Edinburgh-born Oliver first caught the photography bug as a youngster when his father bought him a classic Canon A-1 camera. His interest intensified while living in Russia for a year as part of his degree course.
“I bought myself a pretty professional camera and at that point I started to take my photography seriously and that’s the same camera I have used for the Camberwell Green project,” Oliver said.
“I mainly focus on portraiture and people, although I’ve also dabbled in landscapes and so on. I’m not a full-time photographer although eventually I’d like my photography to take me somewhere. But I care passionately about capturing my surroundings and aestheticising my relationship with people and places that I know.”
Oliver is a recent arrival in Camberwell. “I moved here in February not knowing anything about Camberwell. After finishing university London seemed an obvious destination. I wanted to be somewhere I felt a sense of adventure, especially photographically.
“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by Camberwell. There’s a very strong sense of community here. It’s visually very interesting and it’s very diverse.”
Oliver also explained how he came to begin photographing people at Camberwell Green. “I happened upon Camberwell Green and was very struck by the variety of people I saw there. That was the initial stimulus – wanting to capture Camberwell Green in all its glory.
“It’s a very striking place and whenever I’ve been there the sun always seems to be shining! I was a bit tentative at first and wondered how people would react to the project and to the thought of being photographed. But almost everyone I’ve interacted with has got on board pretty immediately.
“The project has really got me thinking about why people go to the green. A part of it sometimes is to be by yourself, but it’s probably also because people are looking for a chance to make connections with other people, as well as relax, escape reality, enjoy the greenery and the sun.
“I think a lot of people were happy to be approached and given the opportunity to share. I’ve often ended up speaking to each individual I’ve photographed for a good 10 or 15 minutes.”
To see more of Oliver’s work, visit olivermckenzie. com/projects/camberwell-green
Vineyard Greek Taverna has been delighting diners since 1974. Genial host Andreas tells us more about the buzzing, family-run restaurant – which is a true Camberwell classic
BY MIRANDA KNOX
When Anastasi Pelou Stasi first opened the Vineyard Greek Taverna on Camberwell Grove way back in 1974, it was one of only two restaurants in the area – the other being a T-bone steak house.
Fast forward a staggering 48 years and not only has the area seen an influx of new and diverse restaurants, but the longstanding Greek and Cypriot eatery has done what so many others can’t, and has truly stood the test of time.
In fact, not only is it still hugely successful nearly 50 years on, it’s also still family-run, with Anastasi’s son Andreas, 63, and Andreas’ wife Carol – who runs the kitchen – both at the helm.
The Dulwich-based couple have been in charge for the last seven years, taking over when Anastasi retired – but they have both worked there for far, far longer.
And Andreas welcomes the newer restaurants in the area, saying: “We’ve worked here for 30 years. It was very different in the beginning.
“There were only two restaurants: this place and a T-bone steak house. There wasn’t anything else really, not even McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken – nothing.
“It’s a lot better now. There are so many restaurants, so it brings people into the area.
“It’s always been busy but [before] it wasn’t a destination for people to come for food, and they’d stay in areas like Dulwich.
“Now, people come to the area at the weekends looking for somewhere to eat, which is good for us.”
Andreas was born in Cyprus and grew up there, before moving to London to join his family in 1969, when he was 10.
He says: “My mum and dad moved to London three years earlier because there was no work in Cyprus.
“They found jobs, somewhere to rent, then brought us over.
“They always lived in south London – New Cross, Dulwich.
“It was very difficult to start with. It was tough in the beginning, it was quite rough.
“You go to school in Cyprus, learn the language, then you come to England and going to school was difficult. I couldn’t understand English,
and it was hard to learn. It was a difficult time but we managed.”
Initially, Andreas’ mother made dresses at home while his father took a job working in a doll factory, before he started his own business.
Andreas – who still returns to visit family including his grown-up daughter in Cyprus once a year – says: “My dad first bought chip shops, in Bromley and Beckenham.
Christmas at the Camberwell Arms is about generous portions served ‘family style’, with a seasonal menu for the table to share. Festive feasting menus are now available to book from Monday 21st November –Friday 23rd December
For big families and group gatherings of up to 45 guests, the upstairs dining area is available for exclusive hire from 12-5pm, 6pm-midnight or all day.
To make a booking, please get in touch: enquiries@thecamberwellarms.co.uk
We look forward to celebrating the festive period with you soon.
Some people have been coming to eat here for over 30 years
“There were six of us siblings – four boys and two girls – so he decided we as a family would work [together] here and he bought this place in 1974.
“Eventually I joined too after working in a chip shop, and we worked together. [My siblings] moved on, and I stayed!”
Andreas initially started off as a waiter, and has always had a love of food – a passion he learned from his family.
He says: “It was a family business, so we didn’t go to college or anything to learn.
“Our parents just taught us how to make the food. We learned from them.
“I’ve always loved food. Cooking at home – when I was about 12 my mum and dad went out shopping so I decided to cook for them without them knowing.
“I did chicken, potato, some onions – put it in the oven – they came back and were surprised. They enjoyed it!”
Over the years the restaurant has changed with the times to some extent, but has also remained true to its roots, with a traditional and largely unchanged authentic menu.
In terms of the most popular dishes, Andreas says: “The full meze is three courses, then there’s the mini meze which is two courses, and a vegetarian meze too. The moussaka and keoftethes – meatballs done Cypriot style – are also very popular.”
As well as being the most popular options on the menu, arguably the best value for money (especially if you’re hungry) is the meze.
There’s a three-course option for two or more people costing £23 per person, consisting of a first course of taramasalata, humous, tzatziki, beetroot, tuna salad, seafood salad, potato salad and chickpeas, followed by stuffed vine leaves, loundza (a smoked pork fillet), halloumi, calamari and king prawns, and a third course including kebabs, feta salad and chips.
A “mini” two-course option is also available for those less hungry or after a light bite, as is a veggie option, for £15 per person.
If you’re not full and still have room, among the choices for dessert there’s baklava – a traditional Greek cake made with filo pastry, pistachio nuts and syrup – and tarta fantastica, a rich caramel ice cream sandwiched between two layers of vanilla, with toffee caramel sauce.
While the menu typically stays the same apart from the odd special, the restaurant itself did have a revamp
during the pandemic, while ensuring the atmosphere and offering has stayed the same.
Andreas says: “The character is still the same but before it was an oldfashioned taverna – there were plastic grapes and everything.
“Two years ago during lockdown we changed everything and it was completely redone. It’s brighter.”
Heart-warmingly, from the food to the decor, everything about the place and business seems to tell a story with the simple aim to provide a welcoming atmosphere and relaxed
Above: inside Vineyard Greek Taverna Left: the outdoor area is a sought-after spot during the summer months
Opposite page: proprietor Andreas
PHOTOS BY LIMA CHARLIEmeal in a traditional taverna-style restaurant.
For example, Andreas says: “The art on the wall tells the story of how they make the wine.
“The first picture is the vineyard where they grow the grapes, then the donkey brings the grapes to the mill where they step on them to make the wine, and then over here it shows where they bottle it.”
The idea of family is a central focus of the restaurant and the experience they offer to guests.
Andreas proudly says: “We’re familyrun – it’s more welcoming, people feel at home. It’s very relaxed. It’s not a chain where you sit down and then leave. It’s an experience here.
“People like the relaxed atmosphere – it makes them feel like they’re in Greece or Cyprus. When we have the windows open [on a summer’s day], you can feel like you’re on holiday.
“In the summer we get very busy because people like to sit outside. We make our money in the summer, and some restaurants don’t have that outside space.
“We’re quieter in the winter but summer is busy for us, so we’ll carry on.”
While the winter months may be slower, there’s no doubt that the taverna’s loyal fanbase would keep them going in even the toughest of times.
Andreas says: “All our customers are very good to us.
“We have had some famous customers over the years [too], including Frank Bruno years ago.
“We have a lot of regulars, some have been coming for over 30 years!”
And no doubt they’ll be returning for many years to come, too.
People like the relaxed atmosphere – it makes them feel like they’re in Greece or Cyprus. When we have the windows open on a summer’s day, you can feel like you’re on holiday
Rock Steady Eddie’s on Coldharbour Lane has been serving the Camberwell community since 1989. We popped in for a cuppa with owner Salih Salih to find out more about the SE5 stalwart
BY ISAAC RANGASWAMIA full English breakfast is a beautiful thing. Like a Sunday roast or fish and chips, a morning fry-up is a tradition that many people hold dear. Yes, you can make one yourself – but for some reason it never tastes quite as good at home. The best place to eat one is most definitely a caff.
London was once bursting with these simple, homely eateries, with their fixed seating, wood-panelled walls and affordable prices. But from Hackney to Hammersmith, the vast majority of the capital’s oldschool caffs have died out. Although some still soldier on, they remain at risk – facing stiff competition from coffeehouse chains, fast-food restaurants and Instagram-friendly brunch spots.
Somehow Rock Steady Eddie’s in Camberwell, which is located just yards from a McDonald’s, Costa and Greggs, has survived. Step inside and you’ll find aging 1950s memorabilia, leatherette booths and all walks of Camberwell life
A cooked breakfast – egg, bacon, sausage, fried bread, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, two slices of toast and tea or coffee – will set you back around £7.50 and you’re very much welcome to take your time with it. You could spend all day here, nursing a hot drink without being moved along. Many people do.
If you’ve ever been to Rock Steady Eddie’s you’ve probably been served by its good-humoured proprietor, Salih Salih. I recently had a chat with Salih after he’d closed up for the evening. Over a cup of tea he kindly made me, he shed some light on his caff and its staying power.
Salih has worked at Rock Steady Eddie’s since his family opened it in 1989. He has deep roots in south-east London and was born in Lewisham, before his family moved to Coldharbour Lane.
His dad, originally from Turkey, ran various shops on the lane. He owned a chip shop there in the 1960s and later a clothing store called Golden Scissors Fashion, which became a grocery store and finally a kebab shop, where Salih worked as a teenager.
“We didn’t have a motor in those days, as we had just started,” Salih says. “I would sit at the window and turn the kebab for my dad, so it wouldn’t burn.”
Around this time Salih inspired another business idea for the family. “I was a Happy Days fan. So I said to my brother, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a caff like that?’ It’s a little dream we had as kids – a caff with a kind of 50s theme. And we ended up having a caff like that.”
While Salih was still working night shifts at the kebab shop, the family opened Rock Steady Eddie’s, also on Coldharbour Lane, where the road converges with Denmark Hill.
Salih has been running Rock Steady Eddie’s for a while now and he has plenty of longstanding regulars, most of whom he knows by name. He traces his customer service skills back to his teen years.
“I became good at it by observing other shopkeepers,” he says. “There was an English fella who used to work next door. This guy was very, very bubbly. I used to go into his newsagents and I’d observe him speaking to people. I learned from him. He used to tell jokes to customers and chat.
“I started using that [approach] in the kebab shop, which was my first kind of service [role], with students from the hospital. It was good for
business, but I wasn’t thinking about money at the time. I was being nice because I liked what [the English shopkeeper] had done. I was only like 14, 15.”
You can see this ability to observe and learn, through a kind of curiousminded resourcefulness, in other aspects of Salih’s life. He likes to fix things and even taught himself how to arc weld, the process of joining together metals using an electrified rod.
Back to the cafe and in among Salih’s expressive customer notices is an interesting artwork, tucked away in the far left-hand corner booth. It’s a framed print of a painting by the artist Ed Gray, who paints scenes of daily life in cities, mainly in London.
The painting, titled Full English, depicts a typical scene inside Rock Steady Eddie’s, with people tucking into fry-ups and Salih in the middle
collecting plates. There’s a video on YouTube of Gray talking about the painting’s interesting details and characters, including Salih: “[He] cares for everyone really, he has time for everyone and looks after everyone,” Gray says.
Salih credits working at Rock Steady Eddie’s for all these years with keeping him young.
“I’ve been preserved in here,” he jokes. “I’m not bragging – I look after myself. I know I’m aging, but slower than some people, because I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I don’t feel old.”
We talk a little about retirement and what he’d do with himself if he wasn’t working at the cafe.
“Me, I’ll develop a hobby,” he says. His dream, he adds, is to have a small shed, where he can tinker with little projects. “But I’d sooner not have anything wrong with me and work forever,” he says. “That’s my policy.”
I was a Happy Days fan. So I said to my brother, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a caff like that?’
Above: Salih Salih in his much-loved local caff Rock Steady Eddie’s PHOTO BY LIMA CHARLIE
our recent refurbishment, Copper & Ink have reopened with an all new menu and striking new décor.
offer a monthly changing menu showcasing seasonal produce with gluten free & vegan options available. Our drinks list includes an array of spirits, beers, soft drinks and a great selection of wines from across the globe including oranges and naturals.
& Ink, 5 Lee Road, Blackheath, SE3 9RQ www.copperandink.com | 07823 555 011
Since moving to SE5 14 years ago, Jordana Leighton has made an indelible impact on the area. She tells us what she loves about Camberwell and its community
BY LUKE G WILLIAMSJordana Leighton – branding specialist, organiser extraordinaire, community icon and so much more besides – has a theory about Camberwell.
“The best thing about Camberwell and the reason it is so special is that it doesn’t have a Tube station,” she says, with a “Hey, hear me out!” tone to her voice.
“I’ve thought about this theory a lot over many years,” she adds with a chuckle. “And I’ve noticed that people live in Camberwell because they love the area and the sense of community.
“I’ve lived in other parts of London before and I’ve always lived in those parts of London because they were near to a Tube station which helped me get to work. So I never needed to make the effort to get to know the immediate area because the Tube allowed me to go to other places. If you’re in Camberwell you’re here because you want to be here and you’re here to assimilate yourself and build a community.”
Jordana has done a great deal to make Camberwell the special, vibrant place that it is – from her work with the Camberwell Arts Festival, Organoke and Music at St Giles to her current role as a business marketeer helping bring local businesses back to life post-Covid.
It’s a CV to make your head spin – and that’s without even touching on her varied “day job”, a career in licensing and branding for prestigious outlets such as the BBC and Walker Books. How on earth – I ask myself – does she find enough hours in the day?
The woman who would become a Camberwell fixture arrived in the area in 2008 and hasn’t budged since, becoming an unashamed evangelist for Camberwell and its virtues.
“Camberwell is such a great mix,” she says. “Obviously it has great food and the art school. It’s also so green and has so many parks.
“I’ve spoken to so many people who have moved here post-lockdown who say that where they were living before was too industrial – but here we have about six or seven parks within a few minutes’ walk of each other, which is wonderful.
“Camberwell has also got a really interesting social mix. There’s the wealthy people up on Grove Lane, the students, sadly some quite significantly poor areas as well, but everyone is living with each other side by side.
“Places like the Hermits Cave are the perfect breeding ground for what makes Camberwell so special – it’s a pub that still has its old-school charm
and the people who have been going there for decades, but it’s also got new students and other arrivals every year.”
Jordana’s first Camberwell-centric role was as a volunteer producer for Camberwell Arts in 2013. A year later she relaunched Camberwell Open Studios, an initiative to showcase the area’s artists, makers and creatives that is still going strong even though her own association with it ended in 2017.
“My day job is in licensing and it’s a really precarious job,” she explains.
“When times are tough it’s one of the things that goes first! I’ve had three redundancies in my career. I started working and volunteering for Camberwell Arts just after being made redundant by the BBC.
“My job has always been very creative but with a lot of project management mixed in. So working with something like the Camberwell Arts Festival was a natural fit with my skillset. I also really wanted to contribute to something locally.
“One of the things I did was put on my licensing hat by suggesting to the festival that we design bespoke, exclusive merchandise, which we then sold to raise money for the festival. The ranges sold out in days and we raised about £8,000.
“I’m quite good at putting people in touch with each other to help make things happen,” she adds. “I’m not necessarily a creative doer – I can’t paint or draw – but I’m good with ideas and finding someone who can articulate on paper what I’m thinking.”
Jordana’s success masterminding Open Studios is a further example of her ability to bring commercial and business savvy to artistic projects.
“There are so many people with so much talent in Camberwell, but having talent doesn’t necessarily mean they are great at marketing themselves or making a living from what they do. I found I was quite good at helping out with that and the Open Studios project has really grown over the years.”
From her work with Camberwell Arts, Jordana segued into creating and co-founding the Peckham Festival, for which she served as a director for three years from 2016 until 2019. Around the same time, she and her husband Tom became involved with Music at St Giles, launching the massively popular organ karaoke night Organoke.
“Organoke premiered at Camberwell Arts in 2016,” she says. “It was incredibly rough and ready. Music at St Giles has always been there but Tom and I have got more involved in the running of it over the years.”
To the delight of its many devotees, Organoke returned stronger than ever post-Covid with a spectacular twonight run in June. “Our comeback two-nighter was incredible!” Jordana enthuses. “We didn’t know what to expect after Covid. But everyone was so up for it. Saturday was full of our regulars who had been away for twoand-a-half years and were desperate to come back. That was brilliant.
“Sunday couldn’t have been more different. It was probably 80 or 90%
people who had never been before. The atmosphere was a bit like the first day of school – no one quite knew what to do – but it took people just one song to get warmed up and then everyone had a great time and it was a really joyous occasion.”
Organoke will be back on 10 and 11 December, but in the meantime, as well as her current role as a consultant for Walker Books, Jordana is moving full steam ahead with working alongside Southwark Council on a special project aimed at supporting local businesses to recover from the rigours of the pandemic.
“In the role I work as a business marketeer. I had to go back to basics in terms of having face-toface meetings with every business that I can. We’ve started out by concentrating on the area from the top of Denmark Hill where the station is along Camberwell Road to Burgess Park. And in the other direction, from left to right, we started from where the Pelican is past the old town hall, all the way along to the green and up to the Clarendon Terrace collection of shops [on Camberwell New Road].
“There’s obviously lots of other pockets of shops in other places who are welcome to be a part of the scheme. Just those areas alone represent about 300 shops. We have focused only on the independents.
“We’ve been putting together newsletters to give these businesses updates on what’s happening, we’ve been showing them where they can go for funding or free business advice. And based on the conversations we’ve been having we’ve been pinpointing who will benefit from certain assistance.”
With her track record, there is no one better to lead Camberwell’s businesses into a brave new postCovid era. And if there’s a moral to Jordana’s story then it’s summed up with two inspiring words: “get involved.”
“Yes,” she agrees, “if this interview does anything then I hope it will encourage people who are new to the area – or who have been here a long time but want to feel even more embedded – to volunteer their time to local events and organisations. I started off volunteering and that has evolved into paid positions. But more importantly, by lending your time, the skills you learn are incredible.
“Nearly all the skills I’ve learned in the last 10 years have come from working locally or as a volunteer – I’ve learned much more from that than I have from my ‘career’.
PHOTO BY LIMA CHARLIE“I’ve learned how to deal with people, how to work with people, how to network. I’ve also made some incredible friends, people I would now class as lifelong friends. I feel like I’ve become more of a well-rounded individual because I’ve done things I never would have got to do as part of my job.”
The best thing about Camberwell and the reason it is so special is that it doesn’t have a Tube station...
If you’re in Camberwell you’re here because you want to be here and you’re here to assimilate yourself and build a community
Above: Camberwell powerhouse Jordana Leighton
People often say remember to look up, but on the streets of SE5 it’s worth looking down, too.
These small cast metal markers were designed by schoolchildren, artists, galleries and groups for the 2017 Camberwell Art Trail, in a community project led by artist Leoni Bullcock.
Set into pavements and other spots around Camberwell, they are deliberately designed to blend in with familiar fixtures, including lamp posts, bollards and drain covers, aiming to share a story about SE5 and spark a sense of curiosity in the everyday environment.
Imagine crispy seaweed but the Christmassy version. This recipe is so delicious that even non-sprout people will be in awe, writes Mike Davies, chef director at the Camberwell Arms
For 4 people generously (trust me, you’ll want as much as you can handle).
1 red onion peeled and thinly sliced 100ml red wine vinegar
sugar
bread
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C.
2. Lightly salt the red onions in a colander and leave for 30 minutes. Mix the vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil, then allow to cool completely. Once it’s cooled, pour it over the onions.
3. Blend up your old bread, mix with a little olive oil and lightly season, put it on a tray and toast in the oven until golden.
oil
Brussels sprouts
and pepper
6. Heat a pan of neutral oil such as sunflower – 3cm of oil should be enough; you want to deep-fry the sprouts. Test the temperature by putting in one sprout – when it’s hot enough it will start to bubble and crisp (at approximately 180°C if you have a thermometer). Drop the rest of the sprouts in and fry until coloured and crisp, lifting them out with a slotted spoon into a mixing bowl.
7. Mix the hot sprouts with some crumbs, thyme and some of your pickled onions (and their juice) and season plentifully with salt and pepper. Serve immediately!
