The Bell House, Camden

This is top of my list for London pubs. Expect: great food, friendly folk, a cozy garden with good views of the canal - and a good diary of entertainment.
Last Tuesday I spent a pleasant evening in the basement at the launch of The Bard the Beat & the Blues (alternative Tuesday evenings from 7th Oct). It was uncannily like being in the Troubadour Coffee House in the 60's and 70's. Everyone and his wife seemed to be a musician, poet, painter or eccentric sort who was just having an evening away from the wigwam. The performers and audience were a who's who of the acoustic, alternative music or poetry scenes - having hung around London's coffee houses in the 70s many of the faces were familiar even if the names were lost to me. But what I found really refreshing was the performances by the two young guitarists who hosted the show - Jonathan Forbes and Joe Wooley...raw talent in the making...new "keepers of the flame". At the end of the evening, feeling pretty inspired myself, I dusted off my old dulcimer and strummed away with an old goose feather till the wee hours...I wonder if I they offer floor spots!

11 Oct 2008 21:40