Love Clapham website is the local guide for residents and visitors of the Clapham area, London. This includes Clapham Common, Clapham North, Clapham South, Clapham Old Town, Clapham Junction and the surrounding areas of Battersea, Balham, Stockwell, Vauxhall and more.
Weekend watch: Ice cream commeth
What’s your idea of heaven? Part of LoveClapham’s idea of heaven includes endless supplies of ice cream. Thanks to Ben & Jerry’s Sundae on the Common festival this Saturday and Sunday, we’re going to have heaven on earth… on Clapham Common to be specific. Not only are the Human League (the blinkin’ Human League!!) and the Super Furry Animals performing at the festival, there will be non-stop supplies of ice cream too. But that’s not all that’s going on in Clapham this weekend, keep reading for your chance to win a £500 bar tab for The Loft. Enter quickly ‘cos LoveClapham’s got our eye on THAT prize! Continue reading
The Artesian Well
Another of the weird venues in that little pocket of bars on Wandsworth Road. The Artesian Well is a large venue split across floors and with multiple rooms.
Address: The Artesian Well, 693 Wandsworth Road, Battersea, London SW8 3JF
Phone: 0207 627 3353
Lost Society
Lost Society has a fantastic and frankly weird interior and great music, a combination that maxes it out every single weekend. It has a great outdoor courtyard too. One of the highlights of the “between Clapham Junction / Clapham Common pocket”.
Address: Lost Society, 697 Wansworth Road, London SW8 3JF
Phone: 020 7652 6526
Gigalum
During the summer, Gigalum at Clapham South can’t be seen behind the throng of people out the front. It’s an incredibly popular and lively bar opposite Clapham Common.
Address: Gigalum, 7 Cavendish Parade, Clapham South, Clapham, London SW4 9DW
Phone: 0208 772 0303
Firefly
Firefly has dominos, giant jenga and flames outside – need we say more? A small bar with a big atmosphere and one of the best looking Clapham bar interiors.
Address: Firefly, 69 Clapham Common Southside, Clapham, London SW4 9DA
Phone: 0208 673 9162
Armin Van Buuren for South West Four Festival
Watch the above interview with DJ Armin Van Buuren as he talks about the run-up to SW4 on Clapham Common. It’s always a massive festival, and this year looks to be no exception when it finally happens on Saturday 29 August. Note Love Clapham’s favourite clubbing accessory in this video: massive sunglasses when you’re inside. Oh yes. An after show party has also just been announced for an additional twenty smackers at The Coronet in Elephant & Castle. Eric Prydz will be playing, if that helps tempt you to part with your cash. Visit our Clapham Festival Guide to find out about all upcoming Clapham Common gigs.
Clapper of the Week: Clapham Common Polo competitors
This week’s Clapper is going like the clappers. Believe it or not, these stunning photos are from Clapham Common at the Toast Festival 2009 polo competition, the festival’s main highlight. From the first day, you can see South Africa vs Great Britain in the above picture. Great Britain won 7:6. Thanks to Eddie Clarke, who runs the Clapham Omnibus blog, for sending these in, see a selection of photos including the Umhlathuzi welcome singers in the rest of this post. Continue reading
Win 2 tickets to Toast Festival 2009 this weekend!
Take celebrity Australian chef John Torode, three horses, a flock of sheep and some scantily clad Antipodean dancers, stick them altogether on Clapham Common, take a photo a BAM! There’s your perfect launch photo for the Toast Festival 2009 this weekend. Love Clapham has 2 tickets to give away for the Australian day on Sunday – to grab ‘em send us an email titled “I Love Sheep” and you’ll be entered into the prize draw. Read on to learn about the Toast Festivals.
Toast Festival 2009 is the largest celebration of Australian, New Zealand and South African culture to hit the UK. Toast is taking place on Clapham Common this weekend from Friday 26 June until Sunday 28 June showcasing a huge mix of food, wine, sport and culture.
Best bits include polo matches kicking off each day, BBQs piled high, headlining performances from Sydney dance group Sneaky Sound System and over 200 varieties of New World wine. It’s the perfect taste of life down under, so head down there!
In preparation for Toast, MasterChef judge and Aussie cook John Torode has been busy herding sheep on Clapham Common with the help of two other riders, and dancers from South Africa and New Zealand in traditional dress. It was touch and go as a couple of sheep nearly escaped on to Clapham Highstreet but John managed to round them up in the end. Not only a top critic on MasterChef ready to pull apart any dish thrown his way, John also looks good on a horse!
John Torode will be at Toast Festival dishing up traditional Aussie fare including BBQ lamb leg, beef party pies and Hokey Pokey ice-cream. He’s really busy this summer working on Celebrity MasterChef with his partner in crime, Gregg Wallace. He also owns Smiths of Smithfield at the heart of London’s meat market and is launching THE LUXE in Old Spitalfield Market, a restaurant, café bar and live music venue this summer. Finally, his book of recipes ‘Chicken: And Other Birds’ is out this autumn.
Take celebrity Australian chef John Torode, three horses, a flock of sheep and some scantily clad Antipodean dancers. Stick them altogether on Clapham Common, take a photo and BAM! There’s your perfect launch photo for the Toast Festival 2009 this weekend. Update: the competition is now closed, Love Clapham reader Richard Kellow is the lucky winner! Read on to learn about the Toast Festivals. Continue reading
What are the Clapham Common tarmac bumps?
What is this? Clapham Common has four of these blighters and they’re clearly a part of a conspiracy. Someone on our forum suggested Victorian rubbish, another said more air raid shelters, a friend thought old basketball courts. Any clues?
Clapham Band Stand – Summer Schedule 2009
There’s a saying from Ricki Lake: “You have been told girlfriend!” And Love Clapham has been told. There we were, being all smug earlier in the week stating that “Clapham Band Stand is never used” when SHABAM! A whopping great schedule of Clapham Band Stand events comes flying into our inbox. Just for you, fellow Clappers, here is said schedule. Continue reading
Clapham Common festival guide 2009
Oh yes people, it’s that time of year again – Clapham festival time! Love Clapham is going totally gaga thinking about the massive partying ahead of us this summer. With Orbital, Super Furry Animals, Eric Prydz and The Human League all paying a trip to Clapham Common to headline, you lovely Clappers are totally spoilt for choice this year. But why choose when you can go to them all?! Read on for Love Clapham’s definitive guide to Clapham’s 2009 festivals. Continue reading
Clapham sport clubs
Like sports? Live in or near Clapham? Then you really have no excuse not to get off your backside and get involved in some Clapham sports. It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Clapham has a huge common and guess what, local residents definitely make the most of it. You can walk, run, cycle and skate around it and the many local parks for free, but if you fancy a bit of group or one-on-one action, this page lists some of Clapham’s sport clubs. Clubs and teams range from football, frisbee and lacrosse all the way to canoeing. Yeah, canoeing. Believe it! Continue reading
| 1. | Le Petit Boulangerie, Abbeville Road | 1. | Lack of waffles on sale in cafes |
| 2. | Gastro, Venn Street | 2. | Too many Sainsbury's |
| 3. | Clapham's new Leisure Centre | 3. | Rainy weekends :o( |
| 4. | Venn Street Sat market | 4. | Rubbish shops on the High Street |
| 5. | Costa in Clapham Junction station | 5. |