11 Best Independent Galleries in South London

It may come as something of a surprise to some of you, but art does not have to be in a ginormous, grandiose space in order to be good. In fact, art doesn't have to be anything to be good, you know why? Cos it's all subjective! Art is a matter of taste and taste should be utterly personal, though if we're going to be truthful, that isn't entirely the case. Just like wine and music, it's what you like that matters - not what people tell you to like. Just because something is expensive, and it's by a famous name does not make it good. If you want some art that you like, go find some art you like, and a really good way of doing that is by visiting independent galleries. Just like independent theatres, it's a great place to find emerging artists who haven't necessarily been annointed by wealthy backers, and have had to work their damn socks off even to get in these small galleries. To give you a head start, we've brought together a list of what we, and stress that we part, think are the 11 best independent galleries in South London.

Tom Edwards

11 July 2017

Charlton, Herne HIll, Tooting, Tom Edwards, Richmond, South London, South West London, South East London, Southwark Borough, Lambeth Borough, Greenwich Borough, Wandsworth, Summer

4 Stunning Lidos Of South London

Tom Edwards

11 July 2017

Charlton, Herne HIll, Tooting, Tom Edwards, Richmond, South London, South West London, South East London, Southwark Borough, Lambeth Borough, Greenwich Borough, Wandsworth, Summer

For those of you who somehow do not know, a lido is a public open-air swimming pool or bathing beach. Considering that none of the potential beaches along the Thames are commonly used for any sort of sunbathing anymore, with regards to the urban context of London, a lido commonly denotes a public open-air swimming pool. An essential aspect of the lido is that they are for pubic use, they are not private members clubs, anyone can rock up on the day and have a swim. Over the course of the 20th century, South London has had 21 lidos, now there are only four. We will discuss those former lidos in a future article, and what potential futures those lidos have, but today we are going to discuss the four stunning lidos of South London that are still going. and are still open to the public.

A-Z Independent Breweries Of South London

If there’s one thing that London does well it’s beer. And ale. And stout. Microbreweries and taprooms are sprinkled across the whole of south London. Readers will likely be familiar with stalwarts Meantime and Late Knights but what about Earth Ale or Hop Stuff? For all out beer geekery head down to The Beer Shop in Nunhead or Hop Burns and Black in East Dulwich which both stock some of the best beers you’ll find this side of the Thames. There are new microbreweries popping up all the time so this is not a definitive list. However we’d love to hear from you on social media if there are any that others that you love or would recommend.

Tom Edwards

7 July 2017

Local History, Local People, South West London, Tom Edwards, Merton

Blue Plaques of Wimbledon

Tom Edwards

7 July 2017

Local History, Local People, South West London, Tom Edwards, Merton

Wimbledon is arguably the most famous name in all of South London. Okay, maybe Greenwich or London Bridge run it close. But how many people the world over who know of Greenwich Meantime know that it is named after an actual place in London? Okay, a few. The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club which, for those of who somehow do not know, hosts the most major grass tennis tournament in the world, simply known as ‘Wimbledon’. Beyond knowing there is a tennis tournament in Wimbledon though, many people might not know that Wimbledon has been home to numerous luminaries and big players, most of whom are commemorated by blue plaques.

25 Cuisines To Try in South London

South London is an incredibly diverse region, and is home to numerous different ethnicities that all contribute something different to the areas that they call home. There a number of different avenues through which different groups access each others cultures, and are able to some extent experience them. These include mediums like visual art and music, however, we're not here to talk about them, though they are worthy of discussion, no, we're going to be talk about a more overtly sensational medium - food. Though you can taste similarities between different cuisines, each and all have something about them that sets them apart - be it a reliance on particular ingredients native to the country, or a signature popular dish. There are even some cuisines that have become so established here that the cuisine served on these shores has mutated, for want of a better word, and there are dishes served that were developed in the UK - see chicken tikka masala. So here is a list of 25 different cuisines that you can try in South London.

Vote For South London's Worst Train Station

So we've now established what the top 10 best train stations in South London are, and if you haven't seen that list, click this link and a have a look. The criteria for that list was stations that either more beautiful than others, more useful than others, or possibly even both. The logic would apply that if we reverse that, then we should be able to work out what the worst stations in South London are. So the stations selected on this shortlist are either particularly bleak or unattractive, particularly useless, or even both. Sometimes though they might be quite useful stations, but their bleakness may outweigh that, and vice versa. In terms as to what we are defining South London as, it's the same as before - the outer limit is Zone 4, and the station has to be south of the river. To help you decide, we've included photos of each station below the voting form. Enjoy!

Tom Edwards

23 June 2017

Bermondsey, Balham, Borough, Catford, Croydon, Eltham, Forest Hill, Lambeth Borough, Lewisham Borough, Lewisham, Local People, South London, South East London, South West London, Southwark Borough, Sports, Tom Edwards

28 More Non-League Football Teams In South London

Tom Edwards

23 June 2017

Bermondsey, Balham, Borough, Catford, Croydon, Eltham, Forest Hill, Lambeth Borough, Lewisham Borough, Lewisham, Local People, South London, South East London, South West London, Southwark Borough, Sports, Tom Edwards

28 More Non-League Football Teams In South London

After our last article about non-league football, we received a flurry, a raging, dangerous, flurry of messages demanding an explanation as to why their team had not been included in our list of six teams. It was never a definitive list, but we realise that much of South London was badly under-represented so in this article we've gone out of our way to rectify this issue. Along the way we decided that we might as well include all the teams we could find playing between the sixth and tenth tiers of the English football league system who currently play in South London boroughs. This means that the likes of Kingstonian, though traditionally a London club, are currently playing outside London and thus aren't in the list. We found 28. Just to stress, the previous article (hyperlink) included Dulwich Hamlet, Greenwich Borough, Tooting & Mitcham United, Welling United, Fisher FC, and Cray Valley Paper Mills, so they will not be in this list.

Tom Edwards

22 June 2017

Local History, Local People, South London, South West London, Streatham, Tooting, Tulse Hill

Blue Plaques of Streatham, Tooting & Tulse Hill

Tom Edwards

22 June 2017

Local History, Local People, South London, South West London, Streatham, Tooting, Tulse Hill

Blue Plaques of Streatham, Tooting & Tulse Hill

A group of three areas that straddle two separate boroughs of London, and yet only five blue plaques between the whole lot of them. Now, this is not to say that Streatham, Tooting & Tulse Hill have been historically devoid of people of note – far from it. As we have already covered in this series, South London is unfairly underrepresented in the blue plaque scheme. We at South London Club are not going to argue the proverbial with those north of the river as to why this is the case, it’s obviously prejudice and we are just fine with that. If English Heritage and all the other custodians of the blue plaque scheme want to continue adding to the 165 blue plaques already in Kensington and Chelsea, go for it. We should probably be happy about the lack of blue plaques, all the cool cats South London has produced are still alive. Anyway, here's our list of the blue plaques of Streatham, Tooting & Tulse Hill.

Vote For South London's Best Train Station

At South London Club we've decided it's about time it was decided what is South London's best train station. When deciding what made a train station good, we worked out two key elements - usefulness and beauty. An example of this is Lewisham, which is incredibly useful, but very few would argue it to be beautiful. North Dulwich on the other hand is a very pretty building, but certainly not one of most useful stations in South London. Using this system we whittled down a shortlist of 40 trains stations within Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4, from which you can vote fro what you think is South London's best train station. Check out the list below, and choose your favourite. We've included relevant images of the stations included in case you need a bit of assistance in picking a choice. The results will be announced on Friday 30th June. Keep you eyes peeled for another list of the worst stations in South London for you to vote on.

18 Outdoor Cinema Venues in South London

Going to the pictures in South London has, traditionally, been a rainy-day activity, however, slowly but surely, this perception is being chiselled away. How? Well, after much consultation with scientists it has been discovered that projecting a moving image upon a large screen outside can also be done in the UK. Due to the fickle weather of this country however, this activity is only really doable during the summer months and, thankfully, the kind, handsome, and talented residents of South London are spoilt for choice with regards to venues. We love you guys, and we love films, so to show you our love we’ve compiled what we think is a pretty exhaustive alphabetical guide to 18 outdoor cinema venues in South London. Enjoy.

11 Best Independent Galleries in South London

4 Stunning Lidos Of South London

A-Z Independent Breweries Of South London

Blue Plaques of Wimbledon

25 Cuisines To Try in South London

Vote For South London's Worst Train Station

28 More Non-League Football Teams In South London

Blue Plaques of Streatham, Tooting & Tulse Hill

Vote For South London's Best Train Station

18 Outdoor Cinema Venues in South London

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