OK – so it’s been a rough few days in Peckham. Monday night wasn’t much fun. We wrote about it here: it was scary, and we were scared. Our little town centre was, for a few hours, barely recognisable.
But we were lucky. And Peckham was lucky. A lot of other areas had it far worse. The police were great, and even Southwark Council did their bit: they had the place swept and polished the next morning before you could say brainless fuckfaces. Most importantly, the riot really brought out the Peckham love. Customer Aine O’Keeffe snapped this wall of Love Peckham post-it notes yesterday, tacked on to the boarded-up window of Poundland:
A few out-of-town yobs (for many of those involved were really not from round here) cannot and will not break the spirit of Peckham. In fact, many of them undoubtedly left wishing they hadn’t bothered. Peckham has the most wonderful shops – for foodies and those on a budget. For those in search of something different. It has little to offer the modern looter about town. Furthermore, we watched in glee as the neighbouring barber shops plucked fleeing rioters off the streets, whacked them with brollies and sent them flying again. Would that we’d been as brave.
A lot of our wonderful, caring, lovely customers have e-mailed/called/dropped in to check up on us and see if there is anything they can do. Well, actually, there is something you can all do. Keep smiling, keep shopping, keep visiting your cornershop, and keep coming to Peckham. Oh – and most of all, to quote the incredibly lovely Camilla Batmanghelidjh, keep loving.