WHERE HAS IT GONE?

This site can now be seen on

www.grouchosouth-east.blogspot.com

From September 2009 Groucho South-East will be in the capable and enthusiastic hands of David Merewether. This site will remain as a Groucho archive, for the use of future generations researching PhDs into "Time wasting in the early 21st century"

If you are in the Peckham or Dulwich area of London, check out

Groucho-on-the-Rye

Monday, June 22: midsummer farewell

As you may or may not have heard, Pam and I are selling up after 20 years and returning to London where, we are reliably informed, the streets are paved with gold.

My farewell Groucho will be on Monday, June 22, possibly the longest day of the year, depending on how it pans out.
It will be on Benenden village green, as usual from 6.15pm
Please bring a picnic: a blanket, something refreshing, possibly sparkling, to drink with flute/plastic cup, and maybe a snack - mezze, tapas, amuse-bouche, crisps or any such culinary fascinator.

If wet, in the Bull...

Hope to see you there

Thursday, June 4

Bristol hotels have once more been in the news this week, with the murder of Kinga Legg at Le Bristol in Paris. Unsurprisingly the hotel is reluctant to give out the room number where this occurred; just as the room number was not disclosed when Amschel Rothschild, the 41-year-old millionaire financier, hung himself with a bath robe cord in the hotel in 1966.

See you on Thursday for further news and gossip.

Wednesday, May 20

Among items to talk about is a new book about Father Browne, well known as the photographer of the maiden voyage of the Titanic (he got off at Cork). Now his own personal pictures have been collected and published with illuminating text by Johnny Martin, Browne's great nephew, who has a collection of his pictures and photographic paraphernaila. Matthew Kellet has been involved in the book and its design, and Johnny, who lives locally and is in Ireland promoting the book this week, has expressed interest in coming to the Groucho soon. His story about Father Browne is a curious one...

Tuesday, May 5

The Manchester United-Arsenal game may have kept a few Grouchos at home, but in fact a large television set had been installed in the main bar of the Bull. Landlady Lucy found it overwhelming, and it is unlikely to be in evidence in the future.
Kent Barker had a beef about organisations not responding to journalistic enquiries, Zoe Meyer, with a wounded dog in the car, talked of her new project and introduced Youbyyou run by Anna Foster in Biddenden, who specialises in memoires. David Merewether extolled the virtues of Adobe Lightbox for creating websites, and to show how good they are pointed us in the direction of photographs from his recent Kenya trip, one of which is shown here.
Penny Tweedie, in absentia, said she would like to do a ‘practice run’ for her NUJ presentation on May 18, to get feedback. “This presentation has to be much shorter than I normally do so am very nervous... I have time to make alterations as result of people’s criticism/suggestions.” Anyone who would like to go along one evening, please let her know. She is also looking for a projector.

This Thursday, May 7, is live music night in the Bull. The following Thursday (14th) is preview night of Kate Crook’s exhibition in Shoreditch Town Hall.

Looking ahead: we may have a midsummer picnic on Benenden green, on Monday, June 22, when there will be a new moon. It is also the anniversary of St Alban, the first British Christian martyr.

Thursday, April 23

A full big table - and a new table, too. Nick Snow came with the cover of his new illustrated book, a thrilling docudrama exposing the hidden story behind the first moon landing: full details are on The Rocket's Trail website. It launches on July 16, the 40th anniversary of the event. Another first was Land of the Lakes, designed by Clive Crook and, unexpectedly, published by Roger Williams, which was handed around. David Merewether had been looking at a digital back for a Haselblad, and talked in terms of 60megapixel pix, while Penny Tweedie was too preoccupied to attend, having lost of zillions of pictures on her external hard drives. It was nice to see Minnie Garnier (who brought news that Emma Freeman was on a photography assignment in Geneva), Kent Barker and Zoe Meyer, who has a most excellent publishing idea that she is pursuing with Ruth Clark.

Thursday night is now curry night at the Bull (£10, including a pint of beer), and the pub began filling up as we left...

Wednesday, April 8

Well, we all got around the big table again and chatted. Dick Stevenson had been trying to raise film capital from national web broadcasters. Such a way to go about these things was news to some of us, though Simon Spanswick undoubtedly knows all about it. There was technical photographic talk among Penny Tweedie, Clive Crook and Rohan Barnett. Kate Crook gave out invitations to her show at Spitalfields Town Hall on May 15–17. May Corfield's appearance was an unexpected pleasure; since her inaugural visit in March 2008, a second visitation had been anticipated much as the Jews anticipate to the second coming of Our Lord.
Next Groucho on Thursday, April 23