Just married; I moved to East Dulwich in 1994. Lordship Lane felt like a proper high-street and on a human scale. As a runner, this part of SE London provides so many lovely and challenging routes with Nunhead Cemetery, One-Tree Hill and Sydenham Woods being highlights. I have been a teacher here, a freelance journalist and now with Room 12a up and running, a vintage shop-owner (in Rye Lane’s Holdron’s Arcade – part of Copeland Park). Instagram: @Room 12a_
What has changed in East Dulwich?.
It has definitely become younger, and more monied. The area is in a state of negative transition with many of its useful or quirky shops likely to vanish before the inexorable encroachments of estate agents and expensive gift shops.
One Business I miss
For example, the loss of Arterie framers on North Cross Road was one major subtraction that mattered to me as I have too many pictures and far too much mounting and framing going on at any given time. Brown’s framers on East Dulwich Road now bears the brunt of these enthusiasms.
Great purchases.
I have bought all sorts of things at the Saturday market on North Cross Road: ceramics have been an obsession at times and there’s at least one giant earthenware mixing bowl in use in my home that owes its origins to this source.
What do I most value about the area.
The kindness of my neighbours. It is great to be getting to be a part of Peckham’s Rye Lane community too – minutes away from Lordship Lane but such a different vibe! Being in an area for over 28 years means there are memories of shops and restaurants past: the splendidly misspelt El Passo, for example.
Things, locally I could not do without.
They say that London is a city of villages and East Dulwich really lives up to that definition. I love the regular encounters with friends while out and about. I would also miss, were it discontinued, the P13 and its wonderfully rococo route through Bellenden Village to Peckham’s Rye Lane and my shop.
Favourite places (and things) to eat:
The bougatsa and almond croissants at Kanella; the seafood toban yaki at Yama Momo; and the entire menus at Forza Wine and Yadas Green Kitchen on Rye Lane.
My perfect weekend:
This would certainly involve lots of exercise at the start of each day: running with mates. Then breakfast with my wife, Jan while tackling a newspaper quiz. A film or a play outing or a family gathering on Saturday night is my ideal tent-pole event holding the weekend up, but quiet evenings eating in are also a delight.