65. Dracula Woz 'Ere! I've mentioned in two previous posts (episodes 1 and 20) the mystery and controversy of the Highgate Vampire, and now for a foggy yarn of another London blood-sucker! On the 15th and 17th of August 1978, the London Evening News reported on a rather bizarre discovery – the alleged grave of a vampire... well, not just any vampire, but the king of the undead, Count Dracula! Whilst renovations were underway......

What is it? Railway sidings. Actually, an embankment. Fenced off. Unused but for the odd fly-tipper. Seldom visited. Unloved and unnoticed. ‘Cept of course by your roving Londonist reporter. Where is it? Now in London we all live near railways in some way or another. So we’d like you to read this as any-railway in any-street. But if you must know ours is in Peckham, off Lyndhurst Way, at the entrance of a mini......

Dan Shipsides, Several sequenced problems on Contemporary Art (Frieze), installation view, 2008, mixed media, dimensions variable. Photo by Andy Keate. Peckham. The mere mention of this seemingly blighted borough is enough to send some running for the hills. Much in the same way as mentioning Hackney in the 1980s would do. But this just makes its treasures more special. We aren't ashamed to say we are fans of Peckham. South London Gallery, created in the......

A blogs-eye view of the little bits of London that Nature left behind What is it? The London Wildlife Gardening Centre seedling plantation. (We didn't actually know this: we had to ring the council, who put us in touch with their ecology officer, who was extraordinarily helpful. How cool is that, to have an ecology officer just waiting to answer inane blogger questions?! Of course he does lots of good ecological stuff as well.)......

Welcome to Versus, where Londonist takes like for like and decides which one is more likeable. You’ve gotta pity the Peckhamites. It’s really hard for them to shop anywhere other than Peckham, on account of everything being so darned cheap thereabouts. They’ve got a Lidl AND a Netto AND a Primark for goodness’ sake. AND what on preliminary reconnaissance seems to be no less than FOUR One Pound Shops. We thought they were trying......

There can be few Londoners who have not now heard of Camila Batmangeilidjh and her visionary creation, Kids Company. Camila has been working her extraordinary magic on kids for over 10 years now, sweeping the streets of those left behind, the ones that fall through the social net, the children no-one knows what to do with. The charity is now well established and much admired, and there are plans to replicate it all over the......

Now Londonist loves nothing more than to lambast the more-often-than-not witless or unwitting honourable members for London, whatever hue they be. But occasionally it behoves us to buck the trend and defend them. Today it seems to be Harriet Harman’s turn for a ribbing. Her scandalous action? A walk around Peckham/Camberwell sporting a stab-proof vest. Ah, but this dame is no Jacqui Smith, she of the chauffeur-driven kebab. Ms. Harman was on the beat with......

East is the new West. You read it here second. The battle begins. To save our post offices that is. Londonist is certainly not going to walk further or queue longer. Porsche versus Ken. This should be interesting. As another youth dies by the knife in Woolwich, gang members are consulted in Lambeth. Somethinng’s gotta give, that’s for sure. Pint in Peckham courtesy of Mot the Hoople’s flickr photo stream.......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. PETITOU 63, Choumert Road, Peckham LONDON SE15 4AR Nearest Station: Peckham Rye PHONE NUMBER: 020 7639 2613 9am – 5.30pm, Tues – Sat; 10am - 5.30pm Sun. Expect to Pay: £5 - £6 for a ‘main course’ Rating: 9 out of 10 Time for South London to get itself on the lunch menu. Petitou is an absolute treasure nestled......

Ever controversial, the Stop and Search policy looks set to be reintroduced. Mugged cyclist says yah-boo-sucks to her attackers. Beadle’s not about any more. Say what you will, he made this Londonist smile. Hungry hoodies' Hawaiian heist. (Actually, it may have been a Napoli with extra chillies for all we know – what price alliteration?) Police raids in Edmonton and Peckham round up people smugglers. And people. We-really-shouldn’t-blog-when-we’re-hungry piccie courtesy of mmmmichie’s flickr photo......

You wouldn’t think Jacqui Smith scares easily. In her time as Home Secretary she’s dealt with car bombs and blazing jeeps, and she’s lately been facing down a bunch of mightily annoyed cops. But in an interview appearing today in the Sunday Times, Jacqui revealed that she wouldn’t dare walk down a London street alone at night. Would she feel safe walking alone at night in, say, Hackney, east London? She looks alarmed: “No.......

Fancy getting sporty next summer? Two day athletics beano planned. Thames Gateway staff turnaround. Don't suppose it will be the last. Peckham's Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is praying for a financial revelation. Daffy immigration rules hit football. 2012 budget in the news again: this time it's security issues. Image taken in St James' Park yesterday courtesy of daveograve@ via the Londonist flickr group.......

Dusting off the snow from last year, every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... The Londonist team is full of interesting people doing exciting things but one in particular has been......

Those Peckhamites have got their rose-tinted spectacles on again. This Saturday and Sunday sees the 4th (or 5th - really ought to research things more thoroughly) annual Flavas of Peckham Festival in Peckham Town Square. Which is of course a food festival. Now Londonist is rather partial to food, so this one may be worth checking out. We're not talking gourmet and celeb chef here - the festival is all about celebrating the area's multi-flava-ed......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 26th November 1983: An armed robbery at the Brinks Mat warehouse near Heathrow Airport becomes the largest heist in British history, as £25 million worth of gold bullion is pinched. Tuesday – 27th November 2000: 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor is stabbed in the leg and dies in Peckham, south London. The following six years would see several trials and re-trials over the killing, finally culminating in the......

Get thee to Peckham this week, where the good citizens are organising the inaugural Peckham Literary Festival. Apparently Dell Boy moved out a number of years ago…. It is billed as ‘2 shops, 4 days, 8 events,’ although Londonist counted 5 days, 3-4 venues and rather more than 8 events. It is seemingly part of the growing I Love Peckham movement – we have to hand it to them down there in the deep south…they......

It’s funny what it takes to get the townsfolk riled. A few murders here and there, rampant drug abuse, the cost of living, the state of the world…. these are met with little rumbles of protest at best. No, if you really want to get those petitions signed and that drum banged, bring on the dancing girls. Seriously. (Actually, citizens have also been known to unite over shoddy refuse collection, but that too comes down......

Peckham continues to earn its arty-farty reputation. Few weekends go by when there is not something amazing, avant-garde or just plain good old-fashioned fun going on. Next weekend sees a moving-out party with a difference: artist Mike Cupcake and a few of his friends are turning his (soon to be former) residence into a sort of installation thingy for a couple of days. There’ll be live music, video bits, lots of art, photography…something for everyone,......

Werewolves aren't generally assumed to be artistic but it seems that London-based lycanthropes are blessed with creative streaks. Not only are they artistic but they are a friendly and helpful group who come to one another's rescue when artistic blockage occurs. There are eight artists who are the Werewolves of London: Michael Lawton, Claire McArdle, Mike Ryder, Luke Drozd, George Cutts, Edward Newton, Emma-Jane Portway and Tom Railton. Each has a problem, a nugget......

Area 10 Project Space is an artistic Never Never Land, hidden in wasteland in Peckham, overlooking the now-filled-in canal and overshadowed by the award-winning, (albeit strangely short of books) library. To step through its doors is to enter another world, where aerial perfomers tumble and artists build the most amazing follies out of scrap and left-over timber. It is a magical realm of possibility and fantasy. And occasionally they let the public in…. It......

Or, stuff about London you think is true, but is actually rubbish. 1. The Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus. Ah, the Eros statue. A symbol of love in the midst of tourists and shoppers. How romantic. Er, actually, sorry to dissapoint you, but it's all rubbish. Think we're making it up? Allow us to explain. The statue is a memorial to The 7th Earl of Shaftsbury (yep, that's where the avenue got its name) and......

London is well accustomed to the old North/South debate. In times fortunately gone by, the question of on which side of the river you resided was up with whether you eat peas off your knife in terms of social significance. It seems however that recently there is something of an East/West issue as well. According to our man at Wandsworth town hall, those spoiled westerners of Acton and beyond have been offered a viable......

Poor Peckham. It really doesn’t have the best time of it in the press. Shootings. Stabbings. The odd ministerial walkabout, with a lot of head and hand shaking involved. It has become the sort of place which causes passers by to lock their doors, crank up the volume and accelerate. But the citizens of this much maligned southern resort are fighting back. This week marks the fourth annual I LOVE PECKHAM Festival, which amounts......

11. Spring Heeled Jack: A Chronicle of Chaos “But most of all did he dwell upon some mysterious blazing entity that shook and laughed and mocked at him.” Beyond The Wall Of Sleep – H. P. Lovecraft Supernatural? Invader from space? Prankster? Hysteria? Spring Heeled Jack’s notorious crimes that littered 19th Century London remain to this day one of the capital’s most bizarre series of crimes. Here is a brief catalogue of the weird......

Life's a gas, so says Marc Bolan as well as Joey Ramone. And jumpin' jack flash it may be true: Londonist itself is a gas, albeit an unstable, inert one. Recently we explored the sublime in previewing Lou Smith and Lorraine Liyanage's Gas Organ showing at the Sassoon Gallery in Peckham. With its unique exploration of sound through physics and fire, we couldn't resist paying it another visit, especially when it meant seeing gas-masked......

Imagine the tall pipes of a church organ. Imagine each pipe is made of glass. Imagine those pipes are not connected to a keyboard but freestanding, attached to slim white metal frames, originally intended for film or theatre lighting rigs. Imagine each of those glass tubes has a small propane torch attached at the bottom, aiming a blue flame upwards into the hollow centre of the tube. Imagine the sound it makes. Can you......

More fatal gun crime: Officers were called to reports of a shooting in Scrubs Lane at 1615 GMT on Sunday afternoon. The victim, a 21-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Monday. In a separate incident a policer officer was shot in South London: The officer, from Southwark, was unhurt in the shooting in Beaton Close, Peckham, in the early hours of Sunday. No-one......

As Tony Blair holds a summit on the recent spate of shootings, a walk of peace is taking place in Peckham and Brixton. Chris Eubank doesn't want Harry going to war (the ex-boxer has never been a fan of physical conflict). His bizarre trucking protest ended in arrest. It's adults only at the Barbican. Surfing. Indoors. What will they think of next. Image courtesy of DaveWilliams via the Londonist flickr group.......

Here's the latest news following the recent fatal shootings: Did 15-year-old Billy Cox die because of a text message? Sir Ian Blair will be meeting John Reid to discuss the shootings. Cameron reckons it's down to the fathers and wants powers introduced to "compel" them to look after the kids. The BBC has been testing the mood on the streets: They have no conscience. They think they can just do whatever they like. They......

Hundreds of people have turned out for a public meeting in Peckham to discuss the recent spate of violence in south-east London: Southwark Council leader Nick Stanton said all those who attended the meeting "demonstrated huge spirit and determination". "They proved how strong and tight-knit the people of Peckham are and how they will not be beaten by the very small minority who get involved in serious criminal activity. "The vast majority of those......