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Change is inevitable, yet we tend not to like it too much.

You don’t have to be Buddhist to accept that today’s society is undergoing relentless, seismic shifts – but it might help.

Alternatively, this weekly newsletter aims to unpick how some of the biggest transformations, impacting millions of lives across the globe, are being experienced here at the local level.

As we teeter on the algorithmic abyss, the hope is that bringing a particular Camden perspective to it all might make all the unstoppable tech-driven transitions feel a little less uncomfortable, and the positives can be teased out, too.

That, plus we’re obviously big on the regular reminders that there’s more to life out there than scrolling 15-second videos or ordering another sofa-bound takeaway.

This week was Indie News Week, which has meant pints shared with some of the brilliant journalists and publishers all trying to make sense of the current state of media in the capital.

In many ways it’s depressing, as quality writing, reporting and holding power to account continues to be underfunded and ignored by the meme-addled masses. But equally, there’s loads of experimentation and casting off the shackles of thoroughly broken old ways of sharing news, scoops and features.

At Goldsmiths on Monday, London Centric founder Jim Waterson was provocatively negative towards those harking back to pipedreams of local newsrooms stuffed with trainee reporters. He suggested that journalists should rather be paying attention to an ‘OnlyFans model’ of creator-led independence, and while I’m sadly in no position to cash in on disrobing, the support Camdenist receives from readers and local partnerships does power the whole enterprise in ways that finally feel exciting, direct and potentially even sustainable.

Then last night at Islington’s lovely (recently saved from noise complaint madness) Sekeforde pub, the conversations continued at The Londoner’s belated launch, where the growing ecosystem of London-focused titles felt like a genuine positive movement. I wonder if, after years of decline, there are finally some glimmers of hope for supporting local media beyond terrible websites stuffed with banner ads. Good people are certainly trying to make it happen.

Us foolhardy media types can’t do it by ourselves though. Society has to get a grip on the ways the algorithms are reshaping our relationships, polarising our opinions and erasing our attention spans just like they did ad revenues.

It’s A LOT to cope with, but cope we must, as our techno-utopian overlords seem to feel that chucking out unregulated, dizzily powerful new toys with the ability to transform global structures is just so cool.

Sycophantic AI backchat is the latest thing to come under the spotlight, as all that “great idea!” shtick they spout may already be eroding our tolerance for the ruff and tumble of actual conversation and argument. Due to its convenience, the rate of adoption of AI tools is one change people do seem to be embracing at pace but, with the system’s designers seemingly hell-bent on using their creations to replace creatives, it’s even more important we don’t sleepwalk into yet more unwanted social disruption. Quite the challenge.

Check this week’s video below, where local film-maker Roland Denning dives into the darkside of it all.

It all still comes back to getting out there and engaging in more human-centric activities - all the good stuff we bang on about here every week. If we can’t trust America not to willfully create a misinformation maelstrom (and we can’t) then it is our local interactions that will save us from slithering into the mirror world of online confusion and anger.

A thriving real world cultural life, one that delights as much as provides vital social interaction, is something that need not change, despite the shifting sands. It feels like we might just be getting a handle on how to use our digital shiny things to serve this purpose, not just suck up our attention.

That’s one change that really can’t come soon enough.

🎞️ The Odeon Camden Town may be condemned by the changing face of cinema attendances, but do remember, last week’s Guest Editor on the topic, Nigel Smith, is offering 20% off all cinema tours at his Memory Palaces website to Camdenist readers - just use the promo code CAMDENIST at the checkout before 30th June. 

FOOD & DRINK

3 new cafes hidden inside bigger spaces for you to try

Sometimes it’s well worth digging a little deeper, to pay a visit to those little cafes and bars that are often the semi-secret preserve of a building’s regular users, workers and visitors. Three such hidden newcomers recently opened in the area are highlighted below, and I bet there are more. If you’ve got a tipoff about such a spot, email [email protected] and we’ll spread the word.

☎️ Making a swerve off the main York Way drag to the Tileyard Studios complex worthwhile for more than just music industry bigwigs, all-day cafe Ask for Janice has just opening as the new on-site restaurant, serving sharing plates, flatbreads and decent cocktails. Two and a half years ago the operators shut their original site over in Smithfields, but now the cult brand, named after an obscure 12-second Beastie Boys LP skit, is very much back alongside destination backstreet brewery and fire pit, Two Tribes.

🥧 We’ve already celebrated the return of the magnificent 176 Prince of Wales gallery-in-a-chapel, reborn as Camden Arts Projects (main pic), but as well as the current massive interactive ball pit by Turner prize winner Martin Creed, it’s well worth a visit for a new outpost by Primrose Hill’s artisan bread and pastry champs, Little Bread Peddler. They’re operating the cafe in the bright reception area from Wed-Sun, and if you’re lucky, you might still discover one of the specially commissioned miniature ceramics artworks by filmmaker and artist Charlotte Colbert, hidden inside some of the pastries, in the French tradition of Galette De Rois.

🍚 Not only is Camden Town institution Triyoga tucked away in an old piano factory off Jamestown Rd, but The Good Gut cafe is tucked away deep within that. They’ve just taken on the space, offering an introductory menu of soups, smokey dhal, protein bowls and topped organic rye breads alongside hearty smoothies. And also to be found up at Tufnell Park’s brand new fitness location The Movement Studio, on Fortess Rd, too.

FESTIVALS

This week’s big (mostly free) celebrations of urban life

🥳 Camley Street Festival - this annual street takeover sees everything from skateboarding lessons for kids, gardening and clay pot workshops, games, free facepainting, jewellery-making and tie-dying, craft and community stalls, DJs and live music. Vouchers for complimentary food and drink will be available for people from local postcodes, and there’s the chance to have your say on proposals for the redevelopment of Camley Street, which promises new homes, science and tech employment space, new walking and cycling routes, cafes, and public green spaces. It’s all happening at the northern end of Camley St this Sat 14th Jun.

🎹 Alternative King’s Fair - Somers Town’s A Space For Us People’s Museum is always good for a Pearly King or Queen, and this Sat 14th Jun they’re parading from the Story Garden (where you’ll also find family activities) up to the museum, for a singalong around the old joanna with Kate Garner, the daughter of Chas of Chas ‘n Dave fame, no less.

🤡 London Clown Festival begins on Mon 16th Jun, with a bumper crop of contemporary clowning performances being held at either end of the borough. It kicks off with the Opening Cabaret at Soho Theatre, launching a programme of top performers through the week, then things move to Jacksons Lane, where the shows continue until 4th July.

🚲 World Naked Bike Ride (pictured) is back to brighten up the streets of the capital on Sat 14th Jun with over a thousand cyclists baring as much as they dare to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists on our roads, celebrate body and sex positivity and protest against the global dependency on oil. Meet on Regent’s Park Outer Circle for the local chapter - bring sunscreen, a bike, but not much else.

🍖 Taste of London opens in Regent’s Park on Wed 18th Jun with five days of food-focused festivities bringing dishes from 36 of the city’s most exciting restaurants into the great outdoors, plus live entertainment every day.

🏦 London Festival of Architecture sees Fitzrovia also very much en fête all this month, with talks, tours, showcases and events, plus the second, dessert-focused Food & Drinks Trail this Tues 17th Jun, where you get to eat and quaff your way around over 50 local restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs.

🎧 Pop-up street sensation DJ AG is bringing the free festival vibes to the streets of the borough, with his latest residency in the middle of the newly pedestrianised Camden High Street every Wednesday afternoon. He brought hip hop royalty Slick Rick down to perform at the first event last week. AG is also roadblocking his usual spot in King’s Cross, joined earlier this week by none other than Will Smith on his ongoing post Oscars slap rehabilitation tour, plus Rita Ora and Jamelia to boot! Smith also wisely paid a visit to Camden Rd Caribbean stalwart Roger’s Kitchen for his pre-gig plate.

…and some of your comments

“A great pity to have such an iconic cinema close. It certainly does need a facelift, but were this to be done it could once again become the jewel it once was.”

“Now I’ll have to walk to Archway to see a new movie...I can't go straight after school :(”

“I stopped going because of how run down it was - the seats had huge holes, and you got the impression it was not kept clean.”

“Shame. İt is a welcoming and affordable cinema. Curzon is very expensive.”

“I am sorry to see the Odeon Camden Town close- but then again I was thinking about the last film I saw there, and I can’t remember what and when it was.”

“Use 'em or lose 'em!”

“Feels really ripe to be transformed back into an independent - the Parkway Cinema looked gorgeous. I think people still go to the cinema if it feels like a glam night out, and the Odeon has been in need of a lick of paint and some love and care for a while.”

“It had a beautiful unique interior which, if restored, might encourage people to go there for a more glamorous cinematic experience. In its current bland presentation it’s like entering an out-of-town shopping precinct. Restoration & revival could reinvigorate it if only someone had the money and vision.”

“I still go to Odeon Camden with the kids (now teens!) to watch a movie. Yes, we do have 'movie nights' at home, but spending time flicking through Netflix or Disney can be tedious and boring. Going to the cinema to watch a specific movie takes the argument away over what to watch. Plus no one looks at their phones!”

“It’s such a shame to lose this iconic building, a place you could go out and watch a film for a reasonable price. Some of the newer local cinemas are overpriced and pretentious in my opinion, (with each person taking up a whole sofa whilst my husband and myself could not even sit next to each other). Also, the location of that particular venue meant going home in the dark walking through a soulless lonely area, whereas a cinema on a bustling street feels much safer. Camden Odeon will be missed!”

We’re still experimenting with a few new ideas on expanding the regular Music and Stage listings at the moment, but they will return here soon…

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