Camberwell News

SE5 Forum’s Camberwell Talks in May & June: from post-show gossip with Eurovision 2023 to a delve into Camberwell’s fascinating music hall heritage. Plus: save the dates for our free Feel Good Festival on 8 and 15 July.

We have two exciting talks in the coming weeks:

Monday 15 May 7pm
: Get all the Liverpool glam and gossip from top Eurovision expert William Lee Adams, who will be entertaining the audience at The Crypt, St Giles Church.

Monday 5 June 7pm: Camberwell Arts presents historian Richard Norman, who will delve into Camberwell’s fascinating musical hall and variety past – the talk ties in with the Camberwell Arts Festival‘s theme this year of It’s Showtime. The festival kicks off on Sat 10 June on the green and runs until 18 June: camberwellarts.org.uk

Tickets for Camberwell Talks are £10/£7 concessions, including a free drink. Each ticket also gives you a half-price meal deal at local restaurant Caravaggio. For anyone who’d like to attend but is affected by the current cost of living, please email us at admin@se5forum.org.uk.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

 
    



Save the Dates for our free Feel Good Festival
Sat 8 July Camberwell Green • Sat 15 July Ruskin Park 11am-3pm

Our popular free health and wellbeing event – the Feel Good Festival – is back in 2023. Open to all the community, SE5 Forum is excited to announce that this year there will be two events – one on Camberwell Green on 8 July to refresh and rivatilise your Mind & Body and a second event in Ruskin Park, in collaboration with Friends of Ruskin Park and their new Wellbeing Garden, with a focus on green growth, nature and wellbeing.

Both sessions will bring a range of free taster exercise sessions to enhance physical and mental wellbeing, as well as arts, craft and children’s activities, NHS health checks, free food, local food charities, choirs, music and much more. Watch this space! 

We would like to thank King’s College Hospital charity for their amazing support: www.supportkings.org.uk

• WHAT’S ON IN CAMBERWELL


Camberwell Arts Festival: It’s Showtime! 
It’s that time of year again when Camberwell Arts Festival brings art out into the street to celebrate our local creative talent with open studios, micro commissions and a festival fringe. 

This year’s festival takes the theme of Showtime – shining a spotlight on Camberwell’s fascinating music hall heritage. The festival is also looking for volunteers to help get the show on the road. To find out more or how to get involved, go to their website at: camberwellarts.org.uk

 

Organoke is back
The legendary Organoke returns to St Giles’ Church, Camberwell, for two nights of joyous singing on Sat 3 June 8pm and Sun 4th June 7.30pm. Early bird tickets are now on sale so snap yours up quick.
BOOK TICKETS HERE 



May Bazaar: Table Top Sale
Lyndhurst Primary School: Sat 20 May 10-1


SE5 Forum Market Stall


Free Sunflower Seeds & Litterpicker equipment loan

We are giving out free sunflower seeds to the community to brighten up our local community. Come and visit our market stall on Saturdays 10am-3pm on Camberwell Green to get your packet! 

We also have a set of litter picking equipment we are very happy to loan for free to local litter picking groups. Contact us and we will arrange handover at the stall. 

We’re also asking for any local organisations for their leaflets to display on our stall.

We also have our usual wide range of Camberwell themed merchandise, including our popular range of Camberwell mugs, butterfly t-shirts and more. And you can find out about our latest work and campaigns. Looking forward to seeing you! 
  
 

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Camberwell News

Don’t miss SE5 Forum’s upcoming events: Free Tree Drawing Workshops in Brunswick Park Sat 13 May • Camberwell Talks Summer 2023 – Leading Eurovision expert gives us all the gossip from Liverpool on 15 May and Camberwell Arts delves into Camberwell’s music hall heritage with historian Richard Norman on 5 June.


Join us at for an inspirational free tree drawing workshop with tree illustrator David More in Brunswick Park.

There will be two free workshop sessions on Saturday 13th May, starting at 2pm and 3.30pm. 
Book your free place here 

Drawing materials will be provided, and all levels of ability, whether adults or children, are welcome. Participants under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 

Local artist David More is a renowned illustrator of tree guides and encyclopedias. Brunswick Park has a number of interesting trees to draw, including a lime said to be the tallest tree in Camberwell, and a horse chestnut with tangled and twisty branches.

The workshops are brought to you by the Trees and Green Spaces group, sponsored by SE5 Forum for Camberwell and The Camberwell Society. and are part of the 2023 Urban Tree Festival.

• EVENTS: CAMBERWELL TALKS

Camberwell Talks go Eurovision! 15 May 7pm • Free tree drawing workshop in Brunswick Park • Camberwell Business Event • Arts Festival Showtime • New midweek market on the green, our sunflower seed giveaways and more local news…

Get all the Liverpool gossip from top Eurovision expert: We’ve added an extra date to our SE5 Forum Camberwell Talks to celebrate Eurovision 2023 coming to the UK. Leading Eurovision journalist William Lee Adams will be entertaining the audience on Monday 15th May 7pm at The Crypt, St Giles Church. 

Tickets are £10/£7 concessions, including a free drink. Tickets also give you a half-price meal deal at local restaurant Caravaggio. For anyone who’d like to attend but is affected by the current cost of living, please email us at admin@se5forum.org.uk.

CAMBERWELL TALK 5 JUNEm 7pm: IT’S SHOWTIME with Camberwell Arts and historian Richard Norman

Dive into the music hall past of Camberwell with historian Richard Norman as part of SE5 Forum’s Camberwell Talks and in collaboration with @CamberwellArts. 

The talk ties in with the Camberwell Arts Festival 2023 theme: It’s Showtime (10-18 June). 
Richard’s Camberwell Talk will unfold the various forms of entertainment, from Victorian times to the end of the twentieth century, covering Music Hall, Theatre and Cinema and the buildings which were especially constructed to entertain the folk of Camberwell and beyond. Delving further into South London’s heritage, the talk will also include the contribution Camberwell has made to the world of entertainment during the early days of pioneering film production and music hall comedy.
This will be a well-illustrated talk also using samples of songs and music. Richard Norman is a local historian specialising in buildings designed for entertainment and has given talks at the Victorian and Albert Museum, Tate Modern and many local history societies.


Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite (£10/£7 plus drink, plus half-price meal deal at Caravaggio) below. The talk takes place at Goose Green Theatre, 146 Camberwell New Road, SE5 0RR and is an accessible venue. 

BOOK TICKETS HERE


 



Camberwell Arts Festival: It’s Showtime! 
It’s that time of year again when Camberwell Arts Festival brings art out into the street to celebrate our local creative talent with open studios, micro commissions and a festival fringe. 

This year’s festival takes the theme of Showtime – shining a spotlight on Camberwell’s fascinating music hall heritage. The festival organisers would love to hear from any local actors, artists, comedians, performers performing pets and anyone else willing to help create an all-singing, all-dancing festival that captures the unique spirt of Camberwell.  

The festival is also looking for volunteers to help get the show on the road. To find out more or how to get involved, go to their website at: camberwellarts.org.uk

 


Camberwell Business Event: Wed 3 May 6pm 
Southwark Council is hosting a free event for all Camberwell businesses at Camberwell Library on Wed 3 May 6-7.30pm. 

If you run a local business, come and find out what help is on offer and give feedback on what your business needs. At the event, you will be able to find out:

• What help and support Southwark Council can offer your business
• How to access the council’s Southwark Pioneers Fund
• How to benefit from the Thriving High Streets Fund
• What is planned for Camberwell town centre
• How you can use the council’s free graffiti removal service offer

You will also be able to put your questions to Councillor Martin Seaton, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Business and Town Centres and give your feedback and input into future plans for Camberwell.

Reserve your free attendance on Eventbrite

 


NEWS 


New mid-week Camberwell Green Market 
Building on the success of the Saturday Camberwell Green Market, Southwark Council is launching a mid-week market at Camberwell Green from this Thursday, 20th April. 

The new market will run 10am to 3pm every Thursday and Friday as a pilot until Christmas 2023. For more info, go to: msdmarkets.co.uk


 


SE5 Forum Market Stall: Free Sunflower Seeds
We are giving out free sunflower seeds to the community to brighten up our local community. Come and visit our market stall on Saturdays 10am-3pm on Camberwell Green to get your packet! 

We’re also asking local organisations for their leaflets for the display on our stall.

We also have our usual wide range of Camberwell themed merchandise, including our popular range of Camberwell mugs, butterfly t-shirts and more. And you can find out about our latest work and campaigns. Looking forward to seeing you! 
  
 


 Making Southwark more age-friendly 
Southwark Council is holding two community engagement events on how to make the borough more age-friendly. Find out more here: 

 


 The Met Police Ride Along Scheme
The Met Police is publicising its Ride Along Scheme, which offers members of the public the chance to join its officers on patrol and experience daily policing first hand. You can also give feedback to police from your perspective as a member of the community. You must be aged 16 or over and live in London. You’ll need to fill in a consent form and pass a criminal record check. You can join the following units: Emergency Policing Response Team; Territorial Support Group; Violent Crime Task Force; or the Roads Policing Team. To apply, fill in the online application form.


 FixMyStreet App in Southwark:Residents in Southwark can now use the FixMyStreet App to report fly-tipping, graffiti, potholes and more through the online app and web service.  The app has been used successfully by other boroughs.


  New free fob for the safe cycle parking hub at Denmark Hill Station is now available from Govia Thameslink. Collect your free fob at the ticket office at the station’s Champion Hill entrance. 

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New SE5 Forum events: Camberwell Talks spring season and our free Ruskin Tree Walk

SE5 Forum is proud to present two new events coming up soon: Ruskin Tree Walks and Camberwell Talks:

Free Ruskin Tree Walk (& Draw)
Sunday 5th March, 2pm and 3pm

Following on from a successful event last year (including the making of a film), SE5 Forum and The Camberwell Society present the 2023 edition of our free RUSKIN TREE WALK, with optional drawing workshop.  

The guided tree walk around Ruskin Park will be led by volunteers from King’s College Hospital and Friends of Ruskin Park to explore linkages between trees, nature and wellbeing. 

They will present key insights about John Ruskin, the Victorian artist and thinker, written by world leading experts on his ideas on nature. 

After each walk, you can choose to participate in a free Tree Drawing Workshop led by local artist Natasha Godfrey. 

The two walks – at 2pm and 3pm – are limited to 30 people so book your free ticket/s quickly to avoid disappointment: **UPDATE – both walks are now booked up!

If you’d like to do a self-guided Ruskin Tree Walk or find more information, go to The Camberwell Society’s Ruskin Tree Walk page, where you can download a map, guide, essays and illustrations: camberwellsociety.org.uk/treewalk3 There are guides to other fascinating tree walks in SE5, too.

BOOK YOUR FREE TICKET HERE 

New season of Camberwell Talks
From Monday 6 March 7pm

Spring is coming… and with it our new season of Camberwell Talks!

First stop is Chris Roberts, an expert in all things Camberwellian.Then we get physical with Support & Sustain’s physiotherapy advice for women, arty with a mystery talk by Camberwell Arts as they launch their 2023 festival, and green-fingered with a special summer Camberwell Gardeners’ question time.

Tickets are £10/£7 concessions including a free drink. Plus there’s a half-price meal deal at local restaurant Caravaggio on the night. For anyone who’d like to attend but is affected by the current cost of living, please email us at admin@se5forum.org.uk.

BOOK TICKETS HERE


Other Events: 
• The ever-popular Camberwell Organoke is stepping out of SE5 for a special Karaoke Classics sing-off at Battersea Arts Centre’s Grand Hall with the star of the show, The Hope-Jones Organ, plus a live band and legendary local MC Ida Barr. Book tickets here: https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/organoke

• Theatre Peckham: Following a sold-out run at Peckham Fringe in 2022, new show Sunny Side Up is a lyrical solo performance piece, blending drama and poetry until 4 March. Book here: theatrepeckham.co.uk

• New to skating and want to have a try? SE5’s Jam Speed Rollers are putting on another community indoor skate event tomorrow – 4pm for families and 7pm for adults – with optional fancy dress! The sessions takes place at Ark Globe Academy but they’d love to find an indoor venue in SE5 in the future. 
BOOK TICKETS HERE 

You can find more local events on Southwark Council’s Southwark Presents listings: click here


News

Southwark 2030:
Have your say on the future of Southwark. Southwark Council is holding a wide-scale Southwark 2030 consultation – it wants “local people to share their ambitions and hopes, to develop a shared vision with the council, local partners, community groups and businesses”. 

Ways of responding to the consultation:
Fill in the short online survey here
Join a Conversations event: sign up here. There are events still available until 8th March. 
There are also school packs and opportunities for groups to host ‘listening events’. Find out more here

Southwark Pensioners is hosting its own listening event for older people on 24 February 10.30am to 1.45pm at Inspire in the Crypt, St. Peter’s Church, Liverpool Grove, SE17 2HH. To attend, tel: 020 7708 4556 or email info@southwarkpensioners.org.uk.

New free fob for Denmark Hill Station cycle hub
Govia Thameslink is re-launching the cycle parking hub at Windsor Walk,Denmark Hill Station this Monday 20th February, at 10am, with a free fob available to all cyclists to park their bikes safely. 

The Community Engagement Officer will be on hand to explain the new fob entry system and how you get access. From now on, free fobs will be available from the ticket office at the Champion Hill entrance. You just need to give your email address and show Photo ID. The fobs are registered for 12 months and will need reactivating once a year. They can also be activated at other cycle hub locations on the network. 

Disused railway arches in Camberwell to get £1.1m restoration
Five abandoned railway arches in Camberwell, which have been empty for over five years, will be given a £1.1 million investment so they can be rented out again amid the demand for industrial space.
Read more here in Southwark News

New Retired People’s Lunch Club
Myatt’s Fields Park Depot has launched a new Retired People’s Lunch Club. It takes place at Myatt’s Fields Park depot (warm space) on Wednesdays noon to 2 pm. You can also choose activities such as trips, art, dance. Find out more heremyattsfieldspark.info


SE5 Forum Market Stall
Visit our market stall on Saturdays 10am-3pm on Camberwell Green
Come and browse our Camberwell Identity merchandise, including our popular range of Camberwell mugs, butterfly t-shirts and more. And find out about our latest work and campaigns.

We always welcome new volunteers and board members to help us improve Camberwell. We’re also looking for volunteers to help us with our Saturday stall – either setting up and down or on the stall. If you’re interested, please email: admin@se5forum.org.uk.

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SE5 Forum launches free Christmas Community Kitchen
Camberwell Green – Saturday 10 December 12-2pm

Santa is coming to the Saturday market at Camberwell Green bringing a free Caribbean lunch, free treats and Xmas decoration workshops for kids, choirs and a tree of wishes….

SE5 Forum is launching a free Festive Community Kitchen on Camberwell Green on Saturday 10 December in partnership with local food bank Spring Community Hub and Southwark Pensioners

The free Christmas Community Kitchen will offer: 

• A free Caribbean lunch for all

• Pop-up Pantry – five items for free 

• Free Activities for Kids – making Christmas decorations, decorating gingerbread, making treats

• Meet Santa and get a free stocking filler 

• Add your wish to the Tree of Wishes

• Pick up no cook/low cook recipes

• Community Stall with festive gifts and info about local food charities, warm spaces and cost of living crisis support 

• Free festive music from local choirs Cambria Choir, Camberwell Choir School and Give a Song (featured on BBC One)

Come down and find out about or support your local food banks and pantries.

Marie Staunton, Secretary of SE5 Forum for Camberwell says: “Local groups have come together to celebrate Christmas for everyone in our community. The Camberwell Saturday market will bring free festive cheer with a free Caribbean lunch, music and Xmas workshops. But we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, so will also give out information about access to food and warm spaces this difficult winter. And by creating more awareness, we will help local food charities fundraise for badly needed Christmas hampers for families and the elderly.”* 

This festive special Community Kitchen follows on from SE5 Forum’s two successful summer Community Kitchens this year. It aims to create awareness of the food banks and pantries in the area and destigmatise food insecurity. All three Community Kitchens have been funded by a grant from Southwark Council’s Neighbourhoods Fund.

Thanks to our partners Spring Community Hub and Southwark Pensioners, and support from Healthy Living Platform, Cambria Choir, Camberwell Community School Choir, Give a Song, University of Arts London (UAL), Good Gym, the Urban Farmers Market and volunteers. 

*NOTE: A Christmas hamper for a family costs £50 and £30 for an elderly person.

Info: admin@se5forum.org.uk 

Spring Community Hub: cschub.co.ukDonations can be dropped off at: Spring Community Hub, 1 Wilson Road, Modular Building, London, SE5 8LU. Monday – Friday, 10am to 2pm.

Southwark Pensioners Centre – www.southwarkpensioners.org.uk

Healthy Living Platform – healthylivingplatform.org

Cambria Choir – cambriachoir.wordpress.com

Camberwell Community School Choir – camberwellchoirschool.org.uk

Give a Song – giveasong.org.uk

University of the Arts London (UAL) – arts.ac.uk

Good Gym – goodgym.org

Urban Farmers Market www.urban-farmers-market.co.uk

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Act now to save our Camberwell name!

The Boundary Commission has proposed revised areas and names for parliamentary constituencies.  
The Camberwell name has been completely dropped, despite residents feeling strongly about our identity. 

Save the Camberwell Name – act now, before 5 December, and let the Boundary Commission know that the Camberwell name is important.  

••Read our chair Sophy Tayler’s piece: Cancelling Camberwell: Why Parliamentary Boundaries Matter
Respond to the Boundary Commission here before 5 December 
– and ask them to save Camberwell’s name

We may not be able to change the proposed boundaries, which have divided Camberwell in to three, but we may have a chance of saving Camberwell’s nameon one of the constituencies. 

You have until December 5 to send in your comments: 

You could say: 
“I am a resident of Camberwell and I am writing to you to keep Camberwell in the name of our local constituency – either Camberwell and Peckham, or Camberwell and Vauxhall. Camberwell is an ancient, historic place. It appears in the Domesday book and has its own identity, local groups and organisations.”

The proposals to drop the name Camberwell and divide our town centre between three different constituencies is against the wishes of local people set out in a previous 800 signature petition submitted to them earlier in the proposals. 

Jordana Leighton, SE5 Forum’s Camberwell Business Marketeer, who helped lead our high street recovery fund grant programme this year, told Southwark News: “This new proposal completely eradicates Camberwell from the agenda. Camberwell is not going to get a well-rounded strategy because we’ll have to answer to three MPs who might not have that much of an affinity with the area.”
Read the full Southwark News piece here: 
Constituency boundary reshuffle could ‘wipe Walworth and Camberwell off the map’

Note: 
The Boundary Commission for England is an independent body, which is redrawing parliamentary constituencies. It aims to divide Camberwell into two at the Green – creating the two new constituencies of Vauxhall and Peckham – and also moving Champion Hill to a new Dulwich and West Norwood constituency.

The name Camberwell will disappear from the name of any constituency at parliamentary elections. 
(Our local wards will remain the same for Council elections)

Read the Camberwell Quarterly news piece below:


Bus Routes 12 and 45 Saved! 
Thanks to everyone who supported the community-wide campaign against proposed cuts to bus routes affecting Camberwell and responded to TfL’s consultation. TfL have now made a U-turn after the backlash, and the bus route cuts to the 12 and 45 affecting Camberwell will no longer go ahead.

With help from local transport expert Jane Bevis, we put together a comprehensive response to the bus route cut proposals, and also co-ordinated with Southwark Council. This is a great win showing the strength of community response. Read more here from Southwark Council


What’s On: Festive Camberwell 

Community Kitchen: Saturday 10 December on the Green

Save the date for SE5 Forum’s Festive Community Kitchen on the green which aims to destigmatise food insecurity and support those struggling with the cost of living.

Our Community Kitchen is in partnership with Spring Community Hub, Healthy Living Platform and other local supporters – there will be a free lunch, food pantries, signposting to food poverty service, choirs and more. We look forward to seeing you there!
Full details will follow soon.

Camberwell Arts Winter Festival
Camberwell Arts Winter Festival Outdoor Arts Market kicks off the festive spirit tomorrow on Camberwell Green! There will be unique festive gifts, art works and designs as well as festive food and music. 

You can also visit artists, designers and makers in their studios at the festival’s Open Studios, running this weekend 26/27 November – and 3/4 December. 

The Camberwell Winter Festival’s Indoor Market is at St Giles’ Church on Saturday 17 December. 
camberwellarts.org.uk/winter-2022



Cost of Living Crisis Concert: 10 December
SE5 Forum is delighted to support this fundraising concert in aid of local charities who are helping those struggling with food poverty and the cost of living crisis – Copleston Centre and St Giles’ Trust and Pantry.
£5 donation suggested and/or bring non-perishable food items for the Albrighton Community Fridge and Food Shift Charity Grove Collective.
On Saturday 10 December 3.30-11.30pm at the George Canning, 123 Grove Lane, SE5 8BG. 
https://twitter.com/CostCrisis

  

Camberwell: Warm Spaces 
For anyone needing to keep bills down and keep warm this winter, Southwark Council has opened 30 warm spaces across the borough, including in/near Camberwell: Southwark Pensioners, Camberwell Library, Copleston Centre, and Southwark Carers. 
Full list of Southwark warm spaces here. 


What’s On: Theatre Shows and School Winter Fairs
Look out for all the local school winter fairs coming up in Camberwell. Kids can find Santa in his grotto at Lyndhurst School’s Winter Fair tomorrow.
 

Theatre Peckham’s Scroogelicious is an unmissable musical take on Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol – but this time Scrooge is an unscrupulous property developer looking to make bucks gentrifying the local area! 

 

Golden Goose Theatre – Off West End Award Winners 2022 – has comedy, children’s stories, Shakespeare Scratch and a Dream Machine throughout December.
Golden Goose Theatre, 146 Camberwell New Road, SE5 0RR.

Blue Elephant Theatre is perfect for young kids this year with its inventive A Topsy Turvy Christmas suitable for 4-8 years. 9-18 December. 59a Bethwin Road, SE5 0XT. 

Longfield Hall‘s fabulous festive family production by The Dot Collective is The Elves and the Shoemaker from 9-11 December. 50 Knatchbull Road, SE5 9QY.



Camberwell Talks: Kit Green – Mon 5 December, 7pm
The last of our Autumn Camberwell Talks welcomes Kit Green, writer, performer, music hall legend and Camberwell’s Organoke rapping pensioner, aka Ida Barr, who will share tales of their fascinating life and work. Tickets £10 or £7 concessions, including a free drink and discount meal at Caravaggio. Please email if you’d like further concessions: admin@se5forum.org.uk. The Crypt at St Giles Church.
BOOK TICKETS HERE

 



Give to a local charity next week and double your donation
The Big Give: 29 November-6 December 

If you’re able to support a local charity this Christmas, then look out for The Big Give running from 29 November to 6 December. If you donate between those dates, your donation is doubled as part of The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022.

  



Reminder: Southwark Council wants your views on Camberwell Area Study
Southwark Council is undertaking an Area Character Study of Camberwell and they want your views. The study looks at the physical, social and economic information about Camberwell. It considers the experience of those who live, work in and visit the area. It will inform priorities for the area and guide future changes. The online consultation will close on 18 January 2023: Have your say online



Come and see us on our Saturday market stall! 
Saturday on the Green 10am-3pm

Come and browse all our Camberwell merchandise and find out a festive gift celebrating our local area! We have adult and kids’ t-shirts, water bottles, prints, Colour in Camberwell books, and beautiful mugs, and more.

We also have a fab new Tote bag design @£10 as well as as a lovely new print design by artist Dean Wood of the historic Clarendon Terrace parade on Camberwell New Road on sale – as a framed print or simply as an attractive tea towel! 

 
  

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SE5 Forum AGM: How can Camberwell survive and thrive?

We are are delighted to invite you to come along to our next SE5 Forum AGM public meeting and discussion. There will be key speakers covering developments and issues in the town centre and beyond for residents and businesses. Plus: we will be holding our board elections and are looking for new board members who want to contribute in any way to our area.

SE5 FORUM AGM 2022 
HOW CAN CAMBERWELL SURVIVE AND THRIVE?

Wednesday 5 October, 6.30-8.15pm
In-person at United Reformed Church, Love Walk SE5 7AE 
or on Zoom

This year’s AGM focuses on:
How can Camberwell survive and thrive?

There will be key speakers covering developments and issues in the town centre and beyond for residents and businesses. 

Panel includes:

  • Kieron Williams, Camberwell Green councillor + Southwark Council Leader
  • Stephen Lovejoy, Urban Planner – on the Character of Camberwell study
  • Jordan Leighton on the High Street Recovery Fund and supporting local Camberwell businesses
  • SE5 Forum board member Tony Jones on tackling graffiti and street clutter and cleaning up the town centrer
  • Peter Babadu, ex-Southwark Councillor and standing as an MP for Camberwell & Peckham on his Camberwell survey
  • Councillor Donatus Anyanwu, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Lambeth Council

We will also look at what SE5 Forum is achieving with local partners including:

•  Six to Fix campaign to clear rubbish, graffiti and street clutter.

•  Feel Good Festival on Camberwell Green.

•  Community Kitchens  working with food banks and pantries.

•  Love Local – promoting local businesses, the high street and the market.

•  Trees & Green Spaces – tree planting, green walks & Ruskin Park tree film.

•  Transport – campaigning for buses, trams, cycles and Camberwell station.

•  Identity –  shop front murals, more banners and the new Wyndham Road mural.


We look forward to seeing you there and hearing your views on how we can help Camberwell thrive in the coming years. 

To attend in-person, please register on Eventbrite here

To attend on Zoom, please register on Eventbrite here 
You can watch the speakers and discussion and post questions in the Chat.


Would you like to become an SE5 Forum board member? 

As always, we will be holding our board elections at the AGM and we welcome new members to join our Board! An invitation to new members and information on what’s involved is HERE

Last year, new board member Shazna Choudhry wanted to focus on the health and wellbeing of all the community and set up our fantastic summer Wellbeing Festival on the green.

We would love to recruit some more members from BAME backgrounds as well as younger members, too, to increase the age and ethnic diversity of our board.

If you’d like to have an input in your local area or just want to find out more about SE5 Forum, please contact us on admin@se5forum.org.uk to express an interest or discuss further. The deadline for nominations is 21 September 2022. 

GET THE BOARD INVITATION HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FLYER BELOW as pdf 

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Camberwell Talks Autumn 2022 Programme

Our next season of fascinating talks by talented locals kicks off on 3 October. Come and join the conversation first Mondays from October to December, with a free drink and a local meal deal at Caravaggio thrown in!
First Mondays from October-December
.


BOOK TICKETS HERE

3rd October 7pm: Dr Francisco Diegoastrophysicist and environmentalist at UCL, guides us through the amazing images from the new James Webb Space telescope and how these reflect on our Paradise Planet Earth. @ The Crypt, St. Giles’ Church, Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8RB.

7th November 7pm: Jessica Moxham, writer and mother, talks about the joys and challenges of bringing up a disabled son and her book ‘The Cracks that let the light in’. @ At the Grove Room, Grove House Tavern, 26 Camberwell Grove, SE5 8RE. Step-free access.

5th December 7pm: Kit Green: writer, performer, music hall legend and Camberwell’s own Organoke rapping pensioner AKA Ida Barr, shares tales of their life and work. @ The Crypt, St. Giles’ Church, Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8RB*.

Tickets £10 (£7 conc.) including a free drink.
Carravagio is offering a half-price pre- or post-talk set menu meal for ticket holders.
You can also buy tickets from the SE5 Forum stall, Camberwell Green Market, Saturdays 10am-2pm.


*Please note that The Crypt does not have step-free access. 

BOOK TICKETS HERE

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Bus Route Cuts: Have your Say

TfL Bus Route Reductions: consultation ends on 7 August. Find out more about SE5 Forum’s campaign and read our consultation response.


The TfL Central London Bus Consultation closes on 7 August; this will remove routes 12 and 45 that go through Camberwell. 

SE5 Forum objects in the strongest terms to TfL’s proposals to reduce and re-route bus services from Camberwell. They fail to recognise the significant socio-economic and equalities issues affecting Camberwell and its residents.

SE5 Forum is using social media to campaign to fight these cuts due to their negative impact on Camberwell – please share our tweets and posts. We are calling on the Mayor of London to withdraw these flawed proposals and reverse other recent cuts.

We will also be submitting our response to the consultation and sharing our objections. If you care about the loss of bus services, have your say here: haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/busreview.

Here is a summary of our consultation response: 
Thank you to consultant Jane Bevis, for volunteering to put together a full response to these cuts and show their negative effect on public transport in Camberwell. You can read the full document here

• The proposals to withdraw completely two bus services connecting Camberwell with central London to the north, Lambeth to the west and reducing service along the corridor towards Lewisham in the east. These are key locations supporting Camberwell’s economy and opening up employment and education opportunities across London for residents.

• Overall TfL’s proposes to withdraw 16 routes across London. It is completely disproportionate to target 2 of these on Camberwell – a single community reliant on its bus connections.

• High levels of multiple deprivation, unemployment, low pay, child poverty, physical and mental health problems and an ageing population speak to the need for enhanced, not deteriorating, public transport services in Camberwell.

• Access to car transport is limited among residents and TfL targets for Southwark look to reduce car ownership further.

• Impacts resulting from the withdrawal of services and re-routing of others include increased and less predictable door to door journey times, loss of Hopper fares due to extended journey times, and fears over personal safety at interchange points affecting women, older and young people, disabled people and LGBTQ people. Camberwell has a majority BAME population, many of whom experience multiple deprivation factors.

• Collectively these factors show TfL is failing in its Public Sector Equality Duty in the way it has assessed its proposals and their impacts on Camberwell residents.

• Visitors to Camberwell and its businesses and services, notably including two major London hospitals, King’s College Hospital and South London & Maudsley Hospital, will also face reduced services and access.

• Significant levels of housebuilding in Camberwell means the population is growing and bus passenger figures can be expected to rise by 15-30 percent by 2030.

• There has been a century of disinvestment in Camberwell’s transport infrastructure since the railway station closed in 1916. Repeated failures over 80 years to invest in Tube, rail and tram services connecting Camberwell with central London leaves Camberwell uniquely reliant on bus services. Over recent years these too have been reduced with the loss of 5 cross-river bus services and the reduction in frequency on remaining routes.

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SE5 Forum launches Free Feel Good Festival on the Green

NEW free Feel Good Festival brings health, art, music and food experts to Camberwell Green this summer 

  • Free workshops covering all areas of physical & mental wellbeing for children and adults 
  • Every Saturday from 25th June to 30th July at SE5 Forum’s stall at Camberwell Green market, from 10am to 1pm 

SE5 Forum’s Feel Good Festival brings together 35 health professionals to run free health and wellbeing sessions for the community on Camberwell Green over 6 weeks this summer. 

The sessions include exercise, yoga, tai chi, skating and cycling classes, art, music, creative writing, nutrition and food pantries. Partnership Southwark’s health and wellbeing tent will also be there to provide mini health checks alongside Covid-19 vaccination for all the family. The aim is to help local residents improve their physical and mental health and to signpost people to services. 

The programme is the brainchild of local parent Shazna Choudhry. She was moved by the impact of COVID on her community. Shazna says: “When lockdown hit, I saw the loneliness of my elderly neighbours, the isolation of  our children, the difficulty of accessing health care. Now post-COVID, it is wonderful to see the community coming together in our Feel Good Festival to improve everyone’s wellbeing.”

Shazna joined the board of community organisation SE5 Forum, who backed the Feel Good Festival as did Partnership Southwark, MIND and the Bethlem Gallery at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Shazna’s own employer Eversholt Rail, generously provided funding, while local health practitioners are providing their services for free. Local dad Pete Lewis, who runs creative design agency Curious Ways, has designed all the marketing for the event free of charge.

Shazna says: “It is so special to have all these experts provide their skills and services for free to the community for our Feel Good Festival.”

For further information, please email: admin@se5 Forum.org.uk. 

Feel Good Festival programme:

***LAST-MINUTE PROGRAMME CHANGES:

Week 2: – Izzy Parker workshop replaced with Weaving a Community Tapestry with Camberwell Arts’ Debbie Allen.
– Added: Clay candleholder making at 12-1pm.

Week 1 – Saturday 25th June: BODY with face and henna painting, mini health checks and Covid-19 vaccination at the health and wellbeing tent from Partnership Southwark, Osteopathy from Osteopathy on the Green, Pulse diagnosis, Women’s cycling for beginners with Joyriders, Salsation with Rebeca Italiani, a guided tree walk with The Camberwell Society and Tai chi with Wu Style Brixton.

Week 2 – Saturday 2nd July: ART with creative workshops by Izzy Parker and Bethlem Gallery, Restore Your Calm with Arts by Kola, Wor(l)d building writing with Mary Paterson, #joinmycanvas with Ange Mukeza, Yoga with Oshala Livity.

Week 3 – Saturday 9th JULY: MIND with the MIND charity, My Emotions activity book workshop with Laura H Brown, Mindfulness through photography and play with South London & Maudsley CAMHS, Creative Writing with Camberwell Scribes, Music performance with Lyndhurst Primary School Choirs, and Healthcheck and fitness advice with Pure Gym.

Week 4 – Saturday 16th July: MUSIC with drop-in sessions for parents with child psychologist Dr Jen Wills Lamacq, Margaret’s Music – Kids’ singing workshop with South London Songsters, EasyGym fitness class and free gym passes, Salsation with Rebeca Italiani, Skating for beginners with Landshark. 

Week 5 – Saturday 23rd July: FOOD with Nutrition & Caribbean fermentation workshop with Jasmine Carbon, Pop up Pantry and Food Workshop with Healthy Living Platform, West African Feast with Spring Community Hub, Fitness with BizzyIzzy, Get Fit & Do Good with GoodGym Southwark, Nikcarl Mckenzie’s comic drawing workshop.

Week 6 – Saturday 30th July: EXERCISE withYoga with Mistercollieman, Self-defence with Vegan Special Forces, Whole Body Workout with Alex Naylor, Salsation with Rebeca Italiani, Nikcarl Mckenzie’s kids’ skate workshop, Mini health checks and Covid-19 vaccination at the Partnership Southwark health and wellbeing tent. 

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Platinum Party on the Green Sat 4 June • Big Feast, Community Kitchen, arts stalls and more • New mural for Wyndham Road • Nandine’s story at Camberwell Talks • Have your say on proposed bus route cuts in Camberwell
Platinum Party on the Green this Saturday!
Big Feast, Community Kitchen, art stalls, dog show and more

This year’s Camberwell Arts Festival (4-12 June) kicks off in platinum style on Camberwell Green. A free feast has been laid on for all and SE5 Forum has teamed up with Camberwell Arts, and local food bank Spring Community Hub to create a Community Kitchen on healthy food:

• Big Feast – Camberwell’s fantastic restaurants are providing a free Jubilee feast. Serving starts at 12noon until the food runs out! 
• Community Kitchen – Food demos and ideas focusing on healthy food and food poverty. Starts at 11am with a Food Fuel demo followed by the QuizDog fun-filled quiz at 12 and a No-bake treats session at 2pm. Come to the SE5 Forum stall to join in. 
• Arts Market – browse 70 arts market stalls between 11am – 5pm
• Family fun, music and a Fire Engine on site (11am-1pm) 
• Dog Show at 2pm (register your dog from 1.30pm)

PLUS don’t forget to send your unique Camberwell photos to Camberwell Arts’ new archive: share your favourite photographs of Camberwell from 1952 to today.
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO HERE

Download the @Camberwell Arts brochure here

New mural for Wyndham Road celebrates Camberwell’s vibrant community

Unveiled for the Camberwell Arts Festival, artist Joel Gray, master stonecutter from the Anish Kapoor’s Studio, has painted the new ‘Patterns of Camberwell’ mural with help from London Urban Textiles Commons.

The mural was designed with the artist working with pupils from the two local schools next to the studio – Ark All Saints Academy and Highshore School, using expanding geometric shapes drawing on religious, cultural and artistic traditions associated with Camberwell. It was organised by the Camberwell Identity Group (a joint project of SE5 Forum, Camberwell Arts and The Camberwell Society). 

 
Camberwell Talk: Nandine’s Pary Baban tells the moving story of her much-loved Kurdish recipes 
Monday 6 June, 7pm, at The Crypt, St Giles’ Church 

Pary Baban fled genocide with her family as a young Kurdish woman, holding on to her love of food and cooking passed down by her grandmother, by collecting unique Kurdish recipes from villages on her way. Now she runs her two successful Nandine restaurants in Camberwell based on these delicious recipes. Expect tasters and a chance to win a Nandine meal in the raffle. 
Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/camberwell-talks-summer-2022-tickets-324845500637

 
ON a more negative and urgent note – bus routes are being cut…
TfL Bus Route Reductions in Camberwell and wider area
Have your Say on proposed removal of routes 12, 45 and 78

Respond to the TfL consultation by 12 July here. 
Sign the Change.org #SaveSouthwarkBuses petition


Transport for London (TfL) has just announced proposed reductions to bus routes, which will affect Camberwell residents with the removal of routes 12, 45 and 78. We are encouraging everyone to respond to the consultation and sign the petition. 

At our SE5 Election Hustings in April, we asked for ‘No reduction in the level of bus services through Camberwell’, with agreement from all candidates. SE5 Forum will be putting together our response to the consultation. 
Please contact us at admin@se5forum.org.uk if you have expertise in this area and would like to contribute.  

The reductions have been already severely criticised by Southwark Council leader Kieron Williams, and both local MPs Harriet Harman and Helen Hayes:

“The proposed cuts to buses announced today would be deeply damaging…Southwark runs on buses. They’re how 1,000s get to school,work & family & it’s disproportionately people experiencing the hardest lives that depend on them most. At a time when we also need to urgently cut carbon emissions cutting public transport is on every level the wrong call”: Cllr Kieron Williams

“Tube-less Camberwell and Peckham needs more buses not fewer! What an irony days after Elizabeth Line opened! We must have detailed “impact assessment” on race/class/gender. Elderly at risk on crowded buses, women/girls not safe waiting/walking, etc”: Harriet Harman MP

“…cuts to bus services…will have the worst impacts on Londoners on the lowest incomes, women & those from Black & minoritised communities, at a time when the climate emergency means we need more public transport not less. It isn’t acceptable.” Helen Hayes MP

Respond to the TfL consultation by 12 July here. 
Sign the Change.org #SaveSouthwarkBuses petition

 

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Camberwell Talks Summer Programme • Ruskin Tree Walk film premiere • Volunteers needed for Big Feast + Community Kitchen events
We’ve got lots of events planned for the coming weeks: New Camberwell Talks by inspiring locals, a film premiere of our Ruskin Tree Walk plus volunteers needed for the Big Feast and Community Kitchen food events on the Green….
 
Camberwell Talks Summer Programme: Tickets on sale
Looking for inspiration on your doorstep? Don’t miss our next Camberwell Talks programme at St Giles’ Church this time featuring:
– Monday 9 May, 7pm: the innovative vision for youth theatre of Theatre Peckham’s artistic director Suzann Mclean. 
– Monday 6 June, 7pm: Nandine’s Pary Baban sharing the story of her delicious Kurdish recipes. 
– Monday 4 July, 7pm: Antiques Roadshow resident art expert Rupert Maastalking art and money.

Come and join the Camberwell conversation.
BOOK YOUR TICKETS ON EVENTBRITE HERE
Tickets are £10 (£7 concessions) and include a free drink and a half-price discount on the set menu meal at local restaurant Caravaggio before or after the talk.


 

Can you help out at our community food events?
Volunteers needed!

SE5 Forum is planning some exciting free community food events on Camberwell Green this summer and we urgently need some volunteers to help out. 

Help is needed for Camberwell Arts Big Feast (Sat 4 June) and two Community Kitchen events with workshops and demonstrations as part of the Big Feast on Sat 4 June and the SE5 Forum Feel Good Festival on 23rd July.
• Help out on Friday 3 June with food collection and preparation tasks before the Big Feast on Saturday 4 June.

• Help on the day:
 Saturday 4 June: to help staff a gazebo on the Green promoting Community Kitchen, Big Feast and Feel Good Festival events as a carnival of food aimed at all communities and cuisines in Camberwell, including those in food poverty.
– Saturday 4 June Big Feast: to collect food donations from businesses, receive deliveries, set out and serve food, etc. 
 Sat 4 June Big Feast and Saturday 23 July Feel Good Festival Nutrition Day Workshops: To help with activities for our Community Kitchen healthy eating and food poverty support workshops and demonstrations.

We need your help to make these free food events a great success for all of the Camberwell community. Anyone interested, please get in touch at admin@se5forum.org.uk• More details coming soon on our 6-week Feel Good Festival – which will run every Saturday on Camberwell Green from 25 June to 30 July. 

 Ruskin Tree Walk Film Premiere at The Cambria 
Local film, local cast, local food! Come and join us for the premiere of a short film featuring the Ruskin Tree Walk.

Following on from our successful Ruskin Tree Walk, SE5 Forum for Camberwell and The Camberwell Society are delighted to present the Ruskin Tree Walk Film Premiere on Saturday 21 May, 12pm or 1pm at the newly re-opened The Cambria.

In this movie short, a group of volunteer presenters cast from the local community provide compelling insights from leading experts about the Victorian influencer John Ruskin. The film was produced by independent filmmaker Lisa Thomson. Book tickets here on Eventbrite for 12pm or 1pm on Saturday 21st May 
at The Cambria, 40 Kemerton Road, London SE5 9AR. Tickets cost £10 (or £5 concessions). This includes a free drink and 20% discount on The Cambria’s food menu on the day on presentation of your ticket.Event proceeds will support litter picking and community gardening activities organised by the Camberwell Trees and Green Spaces Group, a joint initiative of The Camberwell Society and SE5 Forum for Camberwell.Book tickets here on Eventbrite


 
Our Local Elections Hustings
SE5 Forum’s Local Elections Hustings on 20 April, held at United Reformed Church, were a great success – with seven candidates speaking from the four main parties for Southwark and Lambeth wards within SE5.

The speakers responded to a range of questions specific to Camberwell, including air pollution and traffic congestion, improving schools, how to help independent businesses, community spaces, the cost of living crisis and housing/homeless. Thanks to all those who spoke, attended and submitted questions. SE5 Forum asked for election pledges from candidates on some of our priorities (which have come out of ongoing consultations with our members and the public) and we were pleased that all candidates were happy to support them, including:Town Centre – our 6-point plan to clean up the town centre and make it more attractive for visitors and businesses. SE5 Forum will organise a walkabout after the hustings.  Active Travel: increasing cycle storage and hire, and creating new green walking routes. Public Transport – re-opening Camberwell train station, introducing a tram route, and no reductions to bus routes. 

An example of answers to questions submitted by the public:




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Camberwell Talks Summer Programme

Come join the Camberwell conversation at the next series of talks hosted by SE5 Forum for Camberwell at St Giles’ Church. From the innovative youth theatre vision of Suzann McLean, artistic director of Theatre Peckham, to the stories behind the delicious Kurdish cuisine served up by Nandine’s Pary Baban and Antiques Roadshow’s resident art expert Rupert Maas talks art and money.

Don’t miss these fascinating, personal stories from our inspiring locals.
Book tickets here on Eventbrite: £10 or £7 concession. Your ticket also includes a free drink and a half-price deal on the night for a pre- or post-talk set meal at local restaurant Caravaggio.

BOOK TICKETS HERE
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/camberwell-talks-summer-202
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BOOK TICKETS HERE:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/camberwell-talks-summer-2022

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