I feel safe in Camberwell but not because of any evidence to suggest it’s a harmless area. The road on which I live, Coldharbour Lane, has been referred to as Shotgun Alley, and not without reason, in the time I have been living there 2 people have been killed in violent circumstances along that street. A further three were killed in a shoot out in the street on Camberwell Road about a year ago, and when I first moved here someone had just chopped off a man’s arm with a machete on Camberwell Green! Luckily Camberwell is second to none for house parties, late night drinking and even later night kebabs. Maybe because it is a tolerant place?

It does disturb me that people can get killed on others’ front doorsteps and the atmosphere on the road doesn’t change, there is no palpable remorse, outrage or even fear; I suppose everyone has to just carry on and not let those kind of events bring you down or spoil your life; but when I walk down that stretch of road I remember that behind all the windows I can see when I look up lives a person who has had someone shot on there doorstep, and I wonder what difference it has made to them

Things to avoid doing in Camberwell: using a cash machine, singing karaoke in The Silver Buckle, buying any cakes from Sophocles, hanging out on Camberwell Green, taking a vegetarian to eat in Bolu.

Things to definitely do in Camberwell: eat in Bolu, drink in the Hermit’s Cave, Dance in the Funky Munky, Red Star, the purple pub, other people’s houses, the streets, the buses, the shops…


Celebrities I have seen in Camberwell: Erin O’Connor