# Living Bar: Racist



## bang (May 8, 2002)

*i got forwarded this about the living room*

don't know who it went to or anything as it was forwarded a few times before reaching me but it is an (ahem) interesting read...

The return of Segregation? 
My name is Richard Waterhouse. I am a writer, poet, artist, 
photographer, musician and DJ. 
And when I feel something, I have to tell it. And I don't hold back! 
As a black Brixtonian who has experienced racism in all forms here in the U.K. and overseas in the U.S.A., (where I grew up). I find it incredible to believe that there are establishments in the heart of Brixton (a predominantly black population) that are practising racism. I particularly make direct reference to the LIVING Bar, located in Coldharbour Lane. 

From my personal experience I was a DJ there, playing R&B alongside my friend Crispin J. Glover, who is white. We established a weekly clubnight, our inspirations were promotions such as Simply Boogie, a hugely successful Sunday night party held at the Bug Bar in Brixton. A venue where it is 
obvious the management is a lot more sensible and realistic in their understanding of the community. 

Over the past year we endeavoured to achieve the same atmosphere. An inter-racial mix of people from the local community and beyond, and we had our successes. We attempted to set an example of racial unity, myself 
being black and Crispin being white, DJing together. The result of our efforts lead to an eclectic mix of music and people from all nationalities. It was all about the music, and never was there any trouble or violence related to race. 

However, it appears the management at LIVING (Mr. Laurence Merritt) does not hold the same view. Our success was his success, and should have been noted as such. It seems our success may have been a catalyst. The night was moved 
from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at short notice. Actually no notice. 

A direct interpretation of his fear, which is obviously of black people. On occasion I had been asked about certain black people, friends, lawyers even relatives who had entered the bar. Regular followers of the night, customers, patrons of his establishment! 

Slowly but surely we began again to re-build. After awhile people began to return, black and white alike. Uninformed and unaware. After establishing ourselves again, overcoming the demoralisation by management, following comments relayed to me from Laurence, I had to withdraw from associating myself with the venue. e.g. 'Not the right sort of people'. 'The music attracts the wrong crowd'. Stevie Wonder? Michael Jackson? R&B? o.k.

To top it off, he did not even have the courage to say these things to my face! (another example of fear and ignorance.) I had also noticed a depletion of black people at the venue, directly due to the door policy to not let black people in, or to discourage entry to the bar. Obviously this is working for him, but not acceptable by any standard for Brixton. Not positive. 

Unity with all races was the success of the night. 
It appears they have a whites only preference, where black men are scrutinised on entry and generally made to feel unwelcome. Noticeably blacks and other ethnicity's employed by this establishment are ashtray cleaners, glass collectors and generally employed for menial work. 

I have personally witnessed the 'imperialist' attitude of this management with disgust. My question to the black community is, why is this blatant affront and disrespect allowed to propagate itself within our community? We are becoming displaced within our own community. Young black people wishing to just 
enjoy themselves, not looking for trouble or involving themselves with drugs are being subjected to this subtle racism. Eventually this situation will come to a head. Someone will challenge this behaviour and it won't be in writing as I am attempting. 

My question to Lambeth Borough Council is, why are other known 
establishments in the community not licensed on an even par with theses places? Is this the return of segregation? Or is this a colonisation of our community, where this attitude is allowed to breed on the strength of the pound? 

No amount of money can justify these policies. Black money spends just the same as white money. 
We all know there is no room for racism anywhere, especially in Brixton which is so racially intermixed. Establishments such as LIVING need to address their fears and insecurities with regard to black people and get with the Brixton program, which is living together without stereotyping and bigotry. I am not alone with these views. Black, White, Hispanic, all races of people live here. Why create a divide? If places run by black businessmen 
and women cannot progress, what is going to happen? The situation is outrageous. 

Brixton has enough problems to address, but its not only street crime, drugs, or homelessness. This is a definite problem, which will eventually erupt, and when it does I don't want to be in the vicinity. My attempt is to inform, impart and make people aware of the danger associated with this sneaky, underhanded racism. 
For it to be rearing it's ugly head in this community under our noses is unthinkable, raising public awareness is necessary as we all pay taxes and have the right to vote. 

This is our community and that is the highest consideration that should be acknowledged by these establishments. If the community functions in general harmony, why create discord? Why create a division in an area where you are the minority? Apartheid, segregation and all other attempts to separate 
race have all failed miserably. History has already proven this. Imperialist and colonial attitudes always end in war. In Brixton there is no 'right sort of person', just Brixtonians. If you don't want black people in your clubs, don't have clubs in Brixton. Brixton is black before anything else and tolerance levels are running low. 

My message to Lambeth is pay attention. The black voters whom you represent are the same people being affected by this outrage, and we are not muggers, murderers or drug-dealers. We are professionals, who live in this community and endeavour to give service to the community. There is a proportionate deficit in provision for the black community and we want to know what is going to be done to balance this situation. 

Finally my message to all Brixtonians is BOYCOTT. Don't give them your money. Don't support them. Be aware, step back and take a look around you because you're missing something. Don't be fooled by fake smiles. You will see the truth for yourselves. 

Richard Waterhouse.


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## moon (May 8, 2002)

Reading that has made me very very angry and upset   

Is boycotting the establishment enough? Surely we can do more in terms of direct action to stop this form of blatant racism existing within the centre of one of London's most multi-cultural boroughs.

I would dearly love to see the owners license revoked, but feel that it would take more substantiated allegations than those outlined above before that could happen.

Why couldn't Donald Macintyre have made an undercover programme about these issues!!???


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## Anna Key (May 8, 2002)

It's actually worse than the initial post suggests.

Living Bar received planning permission from Lambeth Council about 3 weeks ago to extend the premises, in flagrant breach of the Council's own nightclub zoning polices, and despite strong local opposition.

The bar is right next door to numerous flats - Chaplin House, the block above Satay Bar, Hereford House, Rosslyn House - and opens til 4 am.

The Living Bar owner has also got hold of the lease to the old Brixton Cycles shop two doors down Coldharbour Lane (No 435).

He plans a stacked 3 bar, 600 customer nightclub complex there. The top bar will be for 'A guest list people.' This goes before Planning Committee in June.

He also has an interest in Dogstar, Mass, Z Bar and Redstar (Camberwell) plus a bar called PLAY in Clerkenwell. Maybe others too.

I believe that Lambeth New Labour held their 1997 victory celebration at Dogstar.

There was a long thread on this on U75 about three months ago. Should be in the archive.

So the problem is wide and deep. Lots of money involved. Lots of politics.

NB I've done a quick google on Richard Waterhouse. He seems to exist.


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## sonicdancer (May 8, 2002)

Theres always two sides to a story, maybe Mr. Laurence Merritt would like to comment ??


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## moon (May 8, 2002)

Anna, is this the thread you mean?

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=380&highlight=living+room

Sonic, I would love to hear what Mr. Laurence Merritt has to say on the subject, is he known to read these boards?


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## sunshine (May 8, 2002)

Yes, I agree with Sonicdancer. It would be good to hear his side of the story. Didn't he post here some time ago? 

However, I cannot believe that they are taking over the old Brixton Cycle shop. It's getting pathetic, sad and boring. Can't we have something a bit different?!

S


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## Anna Key (May 8, 2002)

> However, I cannot believe that they are taking over the old Brixton Cycle shop. It's getting pathetic, sad and boring. Can't we have something a bit different?!



Assume your disbelief is rhetorical... but anyone can check the change of use application and the plans at the Planning Office on Acre Lane (next to the UNISON office). I warn you, it doesn't make pleasant reading.

For example, Brixton is being offered a 'unique cultural experience' and "an exciting ICA-type venture.' Take a sick bag.

"Can't we have something a bit different?!"

Exactly. Only one McDonalds would be allowed in Brixton - thank God - but we have multiple dogstars, and more to come.

Presumably, this is what Nelson Mandella was celebrating when he came here.


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## corporate whore (May 8, 2002)

Agree Merritt should be allowed a comeback on this thread, as at the moment he's being accused of racism becuase he moved a an RnB night from Tuesday to Wednesday. I know there've been rumblings of prejudice on the door before, but this seems to be dubious ground.

On a lighter note, if Living (that droplet of Clapham Junction in Brixton's mashed up ocean) is allowed to extend to become an 'ICA-type' place, I can't wait to see 'A' list celebs running the mixed herb gauntlet on Coldharbour Lane...

Perhaps the fact that Labour no longer has any power in Lambeth could be a catalyst for change - the same old back scratchings, nods & winks could be a thing of the past? Obviously, they'd be replaced by new ones, as that's how it goes, but maybe Merritt's empire will be out of favour?


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## christonabike (May 8, 2002)

Hi all

On this subject, I always said we had a "an exciting ICA-type venture" and it was called Cooltan

This just sounds like a load of bars, so why tart it up as a "unique cultural experience"

I'm sure they ain't gonna be opening up the space for art

In fact, it sounds more like the now defunct Home club in Leicester Square

Laters


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## William of Walworth (May 8, 2002)

Do you *honestly* think the Lib Dems will be any different, corporate? (to be continued in the Lambeth No Overall Control thread perhaps). Surely these business interests have enough influence to lean on them as well, and the LDs in other boroughs have no especially clean track record. They just play on the their holier than thou/cleaner than clean image, which apart from Simon Hughes MP, has little justification. At counsellor level they can play dirty tricks and corruption with the worst, in inner city areas anyway. Look at Islington.

I disagree with you (as a non local though) about this Living Room story not being so much to worry about. In fact I'm amazed you seem so unconcerned. 

Mike, could you invite Lawrence to reply?

He has the opportunity to inform (or correct the widespread impression held by?) a lot of Brixtonites who tread** these boards both about door policy and on the plans for Brixton Cycles, and the suggestion that planning (and licensing?) regs are being breached.

**"tread" was a typo but it looks quite apt so I'll leave it!


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## corporate whore (May 8, 2002)

William - I don't trust the Lib Dems to conduct themselves any differently than Labour in Lambeth but I am suggesting perhaps they won't feel they owe anyone any favours, or at least perhaps not the same people Labour did. And they may feel more of a need to get local residents onside re: licensing laws.

Forgive me for being an optimist.


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## dr256 (May 8, 2002)

The night in question was the only time I ever go to the Living Roon for exactly that mix of like minded funk loving people. I went about seven times.

It's completely true that the Living Room and the Dog Star have a door policy regarding too many blacks. Just ask the bouncers. 
What's most dissapointing is that it's black security people that are enforcing it on behalf of white property owners.

Who said that slavery was over?


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## moon (May 8, 2002)

dr256

'It's completely true that the Living Room and the Dog Star have a door policy regarding too many blacks. Just ask the bouncers.'

I thought these establishments were in Brixton, London, not 1980's Johannesburg


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## Bond (May 8, 2002)

I've been to both Living Room and DogStar quite a lot of times and you hardly see any afro-carribean people in there. 

From what I've heard from the Brixton Urbanites about the guy who runs these places is not good as I had never myself had any previous trouble whatsoever.

After what some of the Urbanites and this thread have said however I doubt I'll be going back to those places as often as I used to.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 8, 2002)

The blatant prejudice in Living isn't confined to black people...gays and lesbians aren't allowed in either........it's "couples only" ie white heterosexual couples.


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## Allan (May 9, 2002)

I long ago decided never to go in either of these places again for precisely these reasons.


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## isvicthere? (May 9, 2002)

All the foregoing is very disturbing, if unsurprising. However, I have long since been boycotting the Living Room (or whatever it's called) for a different reason.

It's shit.


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## drfranni (May 9, 2002)

> _Originally posted by isvicthere? _
> *However, I have long since been boycotting the Living Room (or whatever it's called) for a different reason.
> It's shit. *



Spooky isn't it? Like you, I went in once, found it nasty in a non-specific way I couldn't quite put my finger on (it was lunchtime so no bouncers etc) and never went again. It's shit and, when it becomes three times the size, will be a huge steaming pile.


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## Mr Retro (May 9, 2002)

I never liked Living but I used to go to the Dogstar a lot after the pubs closed on saturday nights. 

I feel kind of wierd about this one. Not angry as I normally would expect but kind of resigned and hopeless. 

Mr Merritt should comment here and explain his door policies - if he doesn't then he is another money grabbing faceless coward.


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## bang (May 9, 2002)

I went to the Dogstar for the first time in about 3 years last year and was really surprised at how the types of people in there had changed, reminded me more of a Slug & Lettuce crowd...
...has it had new management? 
they still get some good musical acts in there though


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## Bond (May 9, 2002)

I find it fucking outrageous that those 2 places can get away such blatant racism!!  

Have also informed most of my friends and we've agreed to steer clear of both bars.


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## moon (May 9, 2002)

I think someone from U75 ought to investigate these allegations.

Does anyone have a secret camera that they can lend me.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 9, 2002)

Just a dictaphone would probably do.....you will have no problem getting in there weekday lunchtimes and quiet times. They do let some black females in.....it's single black males that have the real difficulty, black couples or groups of black people, gays and lesbians. Black people in a predominantly white group will probably get in. I know plenty of people that have been refused entry.....A problem with a local boycott (most locals do boycott it) is that the clientele are not from Brixton........


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## bang (May 9, 2002)

sounds like a job for Donal MacIntyre 
reckon he can handle it??!?


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## RubyToogood (May 9, 2002)

I know you were joking but I think you should do it! Except we'll all have to delete our posts about this, and it'll probably be too late because someone will have tipped them off...


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## detective-boy (May 10, 2002)

*So do I Mr/Ms Bond, so do I!*



> _Originally posted by Bond _
> *I find it fucking outrageous that those 2 places can get away such blatant racism!! *



This sort of "background" racism is a real problem.  It's not a sort of police type problem like overt / in your face / on the street stuff but it provides the foundation for that.

I think the CRE have some powers in this area (Health warning - Detective-Boy getting out of his depth!) but it surely represents the most common form of racism about - the pub landlord, the letting agency, the job vacancy ....  Can't say I've ever seen a report of any proceedings, criminal or civil, though.

Something must be done about it (my God, I sound like the Daily Mail - Nurse, Nurse, quick ...) because it is all pervasive and whilst it is not headline grabbing stuff like petrol bombed corner shops or black suspects batoned by the Old Bill it *MUST* be far more common.  (Pay attention to the shite the waiters put up with next time you're in an Indian Restaurant) 

I'd put money on the fact that an Asian Mr McIntyre wouldn't have to wander around Burnley / Oldham / Leeds / A Stan Boardman gig /... for three days before getting abused / discriminated against.   (mind you, bearing in mind some of the things I have put money on, that's not such a selling point!!)


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## Mrs Magpie (May 10, 2002)

Thankfully the stuff that happens in Living is not the norm.....The funny thing is, at around the time I started calling Living Room 'Lebensraum' they suddenly dropped the 'Room' bit from their name.......I thought it was connected in some bizarre way......well, OK nearly everone in Coldharbour Lane knew I called it Lebensraum* but it turned out they hadn't checked the name wasn't already in use and another bar in London that got the name first, threatened legal action.....


*Lebensraum is the German for Living Room, or Living Space and was the name of a Nazi policy of dispossessing Poles and putting Nazis and their families in residence...basically taking over and exploiting whole areas in a feudal, corrupt and morally bankrupt manner.

Lebensraum is now a contaminated word in German because of its Nazi associations.


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## hatboy (May 10, 2002)

I'd really recommend everybody who feels strongly about this to read the thread mentioned in Happy Happy Jo Wonderland's post above (link).  Just see how long this has been an all too quiet scandal in Brixton.

Quite often recently there's been talk in the news about Brixton uniting. As if that's some sort of surprise. I believe Brixton is, mostly, a pretty united place already.  Especially when it comes to something important, witness the whole Paddick affair.

The widely acknowledged racism of Lawrence Merrit is a very important thing.  This man cares nothing for this area other than to make money from it, yet the council appear to look favourably on his planning and licencing. He treats both his staff and customers with contempt and black people get chucked out as fast as they can get in there!  

How dare he attempt to drive a wedge between people in Brixton.  I hate to say it,  but this could build into a very resentful situation, even a (that word) riot.  No-one really wants that! We'd be left with two beautiful pubs in Coldharbour Lane burnt out and all the clearing up to do, while Mr Merrit scoops the insurance money.  

So what can be done about this?  You could all contact newspapers like the Voice, Nation and the South London press for a start.


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## isvicthere? (May 10, 2002)

Mrs. Magpie - ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Stylebar!


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## isvicthere? (May 10, 2002)

Seriously, though, folks......... 

I'd heard talk about this for quite some time, and was willing to attribute it to idle gossip against an unpopular businessman. 

The foregoing, however, has made me think again. It STINKS! Would all the "cool" nu-Brixtonians feel as smug as they always look when I walk past if they new of the murky shame which taints their poncey watering hole? I'm with Hatboy - it should be broadcast far and wide.


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## William of Walworth (May 10, 2002)

*Pubs = ace, "bars" = shit (c. NVP)*

I share all the other peoples' outrage! I never went in for no other real reason than I don't like "stylish bars" (give me untrendy PUBS any time) but it would appear there are very very good and principled reasons for avoiding it.

I agree with hatboy. Noise this (seemingly) noisesome character's conduct far and wide ... or perhaps he might care to respond here? He has done  before.


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## LDR (May 10, 2002)

My wife and some of her other girlfriends frequent the Living Room from time to time.  They like "stylish bars" and having girly cocktail nights, etc. Not my idea of a good night out, but different strokes for different folks.  

Until Hatboy mentioned it to her, she would have had no idea about the discriminating polices that are employed there.

Herein lies the problem, I suspect most patrons of the establishment are unaware of the discrimination that goes on and I think awareness needs to be raised, but short of writing letters to papers I'm not sure of the best way to do this.

My wife would never have gone there if she had known about the discrimination before hand.


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## editor (May 10, 2002)

One word of caution: several of these posts could be drifting into the area of defamation: please be careful what you post!

I'm also a little uncomfortable with this all being one-way traffic: if I see Lawrence I will inform him of this thread and give him the opportunity to defend himself, but if anyone's going to the place, please mention this thread!

Equitably yours...


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## sunshine (May 10, 2002)

*Mrs Magpie*

sorry to disagree, but Lebensraum is still used commonly in Germany and has no association with Nazi Germany. It never once crossed my mind that I could not use this word in any phrase whatsoever nor do any of my friends. Maybe its just a bit of media hype. Personally I use this word a lot for interior design and creating new images for furniture companies. 

S


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## Caspar Hauser (May 10, 2002)

*Sorry sunshine* 

but I have to agree with Mrs. M. 

The word 'Lebensraum' is still used but only as the German expression for biosphere (eg nature, animals,...).

Regarding interior design and furniture the appropiate words would be 'Wohnraum' or 'Wohnzimmer'.


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## sunshine (May 10, 2002)

*CH*

If I have the time I forward you the leaflets we did for a few Italian furniture companies. We did them for the Moebelmesse in Koeln. The reason why they wanted it, is to give it a new twist.

Anyway, would you agree that we (I am also German mothertongue) use the word Wohnraum quiet commonly without thinking about Nazi Germany?

Schoenes Wochenende CH 

S


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## Caspar Hauser (May 10, 2002)

Sunshine, why shouldn't we use Wohnraum and why, when we do it, should we think about the Nazis?    It's an entirely different term.

But I think we are destroying a very good and important thread, so if we discuss the semantics of words any further we should maybe start a new one.


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## Anna Key (May 10, 2002)

*ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Stylebar*



> if I see Lawrence I will inform him of this thread and give him the opportunity to defend himself,



Good. Until he does here's some more grist.

Living Bar keeps building things without planning permission!

Examples:-

Tasteful drinking deck on Coldharbour Lane
Ubercool projected advertising signage and associated equipment
Full length window on Electric Lane
Air conditioning plant on the roof

The Council have warned Mr Merrett several times, in writing, to apply for retrospective planning consent or to remove the items. Nothing happens.

Mr Merrett is highly fortunate not to have had enforcement action taken against him by the council. Lambeth has wide legal powers in this area. They've an expensive legal department (paid for by us) to enforce these powers. They've failed to move against him, despite very clear breaches and repeated written warnings from their own planners.

This is much less serious than the discrimination charge, but is still an issue and is easily proven. Anyone can look in the planning file. There's also stuff in pdf files on the Council web site - see reports to 23/4/02 planning committee meeting.

IMO this is a clear, public record, proven, long-standing example of Mr Merrett's contempt for the local community.

Planning law gives people just a tiny bit of control over their local environment. Living Bar, by subverting the planning rules, denies the community that control. I don't want to go over the top here, but it's actually a small attack on local democracy itself.

It's also taking advantage of the fact that the areas is poor. Imagine Mr Merrett trying this sort of behaviour in a rich district - say Kensington or Westminster - he'd have a highly organised, highly litigious residents' group after him quick as a flash. He'd be out in six months. If he didn't shut up at night he'd have his sound equipment confiscated and his liquor license removed.

So not only is he ripping money out of Brixton and giving nothing back, disrespecting the local community and subverting local democracy, he's taking advantage of the area's poverty in order to line his pocket. 

And then there's the discrimination charge.


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## William of Walworth (May 10, 2002)

Ran that one past your lawyer, did you, Anna?


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## hatboy (May 10, 2002)

I've been telling people about Mr Merrit for five years. Don't under-estimate the strength of feeling on this Mike, nor the justification for this feeling.  What is the point of asking for Merrit's response on this?  His attitude will be as it was on the other linked thread of many months ago.  I've hoped he would mellow and change. He clearly has not.

ENOUGH!!


Richard Waterhouse - I want to hear from you. Please get in touch. Anyone know this man?

Anna Key - and other locals with experience of this outrage, please get in touch also.

I have had enough of the discord, and frankly, pain that Mr Merrit is causing in this community.  We need to speak up.

I am not exaggerating about Mr Merrit Mike.  Don't think that for a moment.  The proof is all around you.


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## Mr Retro (May 10, 2002)

How about an open letter in the Press simply asking for:

a) His door policy.
b) His reason for not seeking planning permission for alterations to the building.


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## hatboy (May 10, 2002)

He will state, as before, that his door policy is not racist.

I value more the comments I hear almost weekly from black friends and aquaintances who have been offended by him/his establishments.

Get out of Brixton Laurence. We don't fucking want you here.  Just piss off.


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## IntoStella (May 10, 2002)

AMEN TO THAT


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## William of Walworth (May 10, 2002)

!!!!!!!


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## Streathamite (May 10, 2002)

IF Merrett is guilty as charged, and IF the racism accusation can be made to stick (never mind the fact that his joint is a soulless,over-hyped, crass airport lounge of a bar-if that was a crime, Islington would have gone bust years ago), then we need 3 things:
1) leafletting (leaflet checked by m'learned friends, natch)
2) picketting (also subject to legal advice)   
3) full gory details on that brixton local website, Mike, HB, you know what its called


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## christonabike (May 10, 2002)

That's three things...........now you've changed it I feel stoopid, Hatboy, check yerPM's


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## LDR (May 10, 2002)

Mike - Taken into account what has been said on this thread would it be worth considering an update to the blurb under Brixton Bar Listings?



> the Living Room comes as close to a New York bar as Brixton can get.


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## hatboy (May 10, 2002)

Yes that's right Mike. I really don't think you can continue to be equivocal about this place. How many times do you need to hear of Mr Merrit's hateful attitudes?


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## RubyToogood (May 10, 2002)

No offence, like, but without more actual evidence of racism it just sounds like a lynch mob.

<suddenly realises the irony in her choice of words>


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## pinkmonkey (May 10, 2002)

*I had a similar experience...*

used to be a memeber of a glam house affair called Pushca.

They started doing monthly parties at the Ministry of Sound.  My mate came over from Taiwan, having heard a lot about the Ministry of Sound he was really keen to go.  So I bought some Pushca tickets and off we went..

There were eight of us in the group, seven white and one Taiwanese.  They refused him entry, gave us all sorts of bullshit about what he was wearing.  He looked the same as the rest of us though!  The door pickers were the same couple I've been acquainted with for years, been to loads of their parties.  

Anyway, in the end, none of us went in.  Got a refund and wrote them a nasty letter.  I sent my membership card back in disgust.

Sad to think that this sort of thing still goes on ......


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## Choc (May 10, 2002)

it is true that in the living room and dogstar and redstar are very few black people.

surely one of the reasons by the management would be to try to cut out on drug dealing (coldharbourlane blahblah) although it isn't actually very difficult to recognise people who use hard drugs from people who don't, regardless of skincolour. so really this excuse doesn't count!

but then again the living room in particular attracts mainly boring/mainstream people that i think that even a bunch of colourful artist would have a hard time to be allowed in.

what a pitty that the owner of the dogstar and living room (i believe they are the same people already) did (eventually) get permission for the premises of old brixton cycles. how sad, as if there are no other individuals who could run a bar/club and bring us something new.

apparently the living room, dogstar and that new bar in atlantic road are full of coke-heads at management level. in a way these individuals shouldn't be allowed to their own parties/premises. but of course this is acceptable only a little bit of coke... and an extra big line for the new brixton cycles deal yeahhhh!!!!!


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## Anna Key (May 11, 2002)

*bang to rights*

To back-up what I posted earlier about Living Bar planning law violations:-

Extract from report to 23/4/02 Lambeth Council Planning Committee meeting:

"You are advised that the front decking, air conditioning units, sign light projectors, spotlights and full length window fronting Electric Lane are unauthorsied and require planning permission. These should be removed and the premises reinstated to its original condition, or a planning application submitted to regularise these alterations, within one month from the date of
this decision. Failure to do so will result in enforcement action to secure the removal of these alterations."


Extract from minutes of 23/4/02 Lambeth Council Planning Committee meeting:

"RESOLVED: That the application be approved subject to the
conditions set out in the report."

These two documents can be found as pdfs on the Lambeth Council website.

The formal position, therefore, is that Lambeth Council has now given Mr Merrett until 23/5/02 to obey planning rules or face enforcement action.

The planning enforcement officer is Mr Paul Wilford. He's based at the Acre Lane planning office. I'll try and find an email address for him.


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## editor (May 11, 2002)

Re: my review of the Living (Room). The Brixton guide is there to help and inform people going out for a night. 

It would be absolutely hypocritical of me to start telling people never to set foot in the place when I've enjoyed (mid week) evenings there quite recently - as have many others who post here, if I'm not mistaken.

But that's not to say that alleged racist behaviour by the club should be overlooked: I will make sure that any reported incidents of racism are made *very* public on this site.

I would suggest that a well-researched, factual piece including first hand attributed testimony would be the way to forward these accusations and I would be delighted to link to such a feature from the Living Room review. 

Naturally, there would be a forum thread offering a right to reply and giving others the opportunity to add their own experiences.

As Ruby has pointed out, an endless stream of unsubstantiated accusations here will most probably come over as a load of personal axe-grinding and might possibly leave posters open to the possibility of legal action.

Now, who wants to write that article?!


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## han (May 11, 2002)

Yes, the Living Room does not reflect the diversity of the local community at all.

A very nice bloke I know (who shall remain nameless) dj-ed there every week for two years and recently got 'replaced' by someone else, and was given no reason or warning. He brought in the crowds and it was a popular night. (Not most people here's cuppa tea, like, but he celebrated the naffness of it goodheartedly )......

It seems like, as well as the lack of consideration for the local community (awful decking, no planning permission etc.), and these allegations of racism, that he also treats his staff like disposable cogs in his money-making machine. Once he THINKS they're looking slightly worn (even if they're REALLY popular, like Bang's night obviously was), he'll dump 'em. Just like that.

[I've just edited this, as I have changed my mind about a few things.]


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## han (May 11, 2002)

<oops, simultaneous posting alert!>

A feature on this site about the Living Room?
Oooh, interesting. Interesting!


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## septic tank (May 11, 2002)

Who wants to go on the record, name and everything, about specific racist incedents they've experienced or witnessed there? Given a few names, I'd be happy to write it up. Might make a nice article for one of the local papers, no?


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## IntoStella (May 11, 2002)

Unfortunately it's not just a matter of who writes the piece but who publishes it. I think any paper would see it as too much of a legal hot potato. 
And I have to agree with Mike that there is absolutely no point in getting u75 sued. 
While it might, theoretically, make a great court case, the legal costs would be completely prohibitive.  A u75 fighting fund and a whip-round in the Albert just  couldn't cut it. 
The libel laws may have changed over the years but in cases like this (and it would turn into a very complex case), it is usually the person with the most high powered lawyers who wins, not the person who is 'right'.
However, it is certainly true to say that Laurence Merrett has flagrantly breached planning laws on several occasions and it is fair comment that his bars have had a detrimental effect on the area. I think it is also fair comment that he does not give a damn about the local community and that he is taking the piss.


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## detective-boy (May 11, 2002)

*Yes please!*



> _Originally posted by gea _
> *although it isn't actually very difficult to recognise people who use hard drugs from people who don't *



Can I have 27,000 places on the course please, for my collegaues and I?

Or did you miss out the word "some"?

Couldn't agree more with your comments about executive-level coke use though - and the lawyers, TV people, advertising execs, accountants, City types ...  

Perhaps we should forget about white-collar crime and start having a bit of a go at white nostril crime!


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## John Wisehammer (May 12, 2002)

[edited]

Rhubarb, custard and celery. Nothing to see here.


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## Dangerous (May 12, 2002)

Whoah, just a minute!

This seems like a wild rant about a quite unsubstantiated incident which has sparked off a whole host of accusations.



> _Originally posted by editor _
> 
> As Ruby has pointed out, an endless stream of unsubstantiated accusations here will most probably come over as a load of personal axe-grinding [/B]



Well said, Ruby and Ed. I am not surprised that Larry has not replied to this thread. He made quite a good case for the last attack, alot of which became personally directed at him. Judging from most of the comments here, save possibly claims from Anna & Richard, there are alot of people with axes to grind, or that have simply jumped at the chance to have moan and that see this as another excuse to have a pop at someone/something (is this what is known as rubber-necking?!)


Lets have a look at some basic facts:

Race issues & Living 

-Lawrence himself is mixed race, I think
-the manager of the bar is from Indonesia
-the barstaff are a pretty mixed bunch too
-security on the door / ash tray collectors are both black, white etc
-it may have a predominantly white clientele, but on most nights that i have been there (quite a few) there has been a rough split of white/other 60/40
-none of my friends (black, white, yellow blah blah) have ever encountered any form of harrassment, save pissed up twats on the dance floor on the pull (although i realise that this does not discount that others may have encountered racism there - this is my own testimony)
-what sparked off this thread? possibly someone with his own personal axe. music policy is directed by demand or by other forces. club nights do change (even successful ones!)

Racism in general
Race is an  issue in Brixton! There are many places that are predominatly black. I left the place about 3 years ago and was glad to go because there is alot of segregation between communities -much more than in other parts of London. 

It is good to raise this type of debate, but surely it can be raised in a more sensitive way? How easy it is to jump on the bandwagon. How hard it is to turn back the clocks once racial hatred is ignited. The type of comments on this forum, and possibly some actions planned through it can fuel more tension. Allegations should of course be fully investigated, but is there not enough tension in Brixton already, without the need to incite more?

The wider context - the society in which we live

Other allegations have been thrown into the mix which bring up questions from a much, much wider debate. Many U75 members come from an anti-globalisation anti-capitalist leaning, could these issues therefore, not be addressed properly in that context? On the decking and the window complaints, i personally do not see these as a problem, but then i dont live on coldharbour. I can understand that some residents may, however, have a prorblem with them. But aren't the Macdonalds, Tescos and KFCs of this world not far more offensive/socially & environmentally damaging? 

Although we live in a democracy, it is a rat democracy. How many of you voted in the last election? Probably quite a few on this board! But society in general doesn't give a toss. Why waste time thinking about who to vote for, when labour/cons/libs will get in anyway? Most people therefore either don't think about candidates' actual policies or don't vote altogether, but get on with watching 'who wants to be a millionaire' or with 'blib=nd date'. This is called free-riding (free-loading?) and sadly is the basis of our society. As long as society doesn't give a shit (big) business buys policies to suit their interests. Whilst I am not justifying bribes, corruption blah blah it is a fact of the society we live in, and is part of our so-called democracy. 

I am new to U75, but there is clearly alot of acrimony towards Lawrence and his bars. Is this because of his success and any perceived effects this has had on the gentrification of Brixton? There is much talk of old and new Brixton, but surely aren't we all new? 

All things, be it the culture of a community, or the culture of a civilisation must change and do change. Nothing is static, but is constantly moving. The sooner people can see that, the easier it is to both move on and accept change whilst still preserving the good out of the old!

End of rant (my hand hurts!)

I do not condone racism. Allegations need to be looked at carefully. Debate should be sensitive. Brixton no need more tension. Wider debate...anyone up for it?


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## John Wisehammer (May 12, 2002)

(Just because staff are non-white, it doesn't mean that they can't be or enforce racist corporate policy. Denny's in the US got serious done for refusing service or making uncomfortable black customers at night, and were fined millions of dollars. This was despite the fact that most of this discrimination was actually being performed by black restaurant employees). (Personally, I'm inclined to see planning laws and proper consultation as one of the few tools ordinary residents have against corporate abuse - and when they start to get chipped away at, then citizens' meagre rights are being abused. It's the camel's nose in the tent).


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## IntoStella (May 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Dangerous _
> *Whoah, just a minute!
> 
> I am new to U75, but there is clearly alot of acrimony towards Lawrence and his bars. Is this because of his success and any perceived effects this has had on the gentrification of Brixton? There is much talk of old and new Brixton, but surely aren't we all new?
> *



Ah, ri-i-i-i-i-ight, so we're jealous. 
Personally, I am jealous of the way he blocks the pavement in Electric Lane every Saturday and Sunday morning with a huge, steaming pile of reeking rubbish bags, leaking odious alcopops, mexican piss-beer and squished lime slices into the gutter. I just wish I could do that on MY street...
Just goes to show what a community minded guy he is.


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## LDR (May 12, 2002)

Dangerous - Great first post.

I've been more open to the Living than maybe other people on this board as my wife likes it there.  I do get a little miffed about people who say that people who go there are boring/mainstream, etc. as it feels sometimes like an attack on my wife.  That's besides the point anyway.  I also haven't been affected directly by any of the issues raised in this thread. 

However, people I know and trust have told me about their experiences and I value their judgements and both my wife and I are unlikely to drink there until we know more about the situation.

The only way anybody is to find out what is happening is by people having an honest debate, which in fairness needs input from both sides.  But until I hear otherwise I'm going to trust my friends opinions.


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## hatboy (May 12, 2002)

I personally don't like Mr Merrit.  But that is irrelevant.   I can assure readers here that too many people in Brixton have had too many negative experiences of Mr Merrit and his bars for this to be a matter of afew jealous people.

Anyone with an ear to the ground in Brixton knows Mr Merrit is widely despised.  Not for his success,  but for his greed, racism and flagrant disdain for the people of the area he has chosen to exploit.


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## Dr Maboozer (May 12, 2002)

A few comments:

Society at large is racist so believe me there is a lot of racism out there in the entertainment / leisure industry.

I don't think we should confuse the planning permission debate with the allegations of racism.

It seems that the Living Bar deliberately post a bouncer blocking the door for a sort of scarecrow effect. Anyone else noticed this? Believe me this can have a psychological effect on Black / Asian males.

I was turned away from the Dogstar back in 1998 by a white bouncer who said come back with your girlfriend mate (I'm asian). I carried on going there later as I figured it was just a racist individual.

Last year, the Dogstar had a predominately black/mixed nite on Tuesdays called Bullitt (rap music) which was good.

My own thoughts on Dogstar and Living are that the bar staff are mainly O.K. but the management are ruthless.

Maybe we should test Living out to see if this couples only policy is enforced with white middle-class men as well. We should try to be objective before calling for a boycott.

When Living Bar opened there were accusations of racism on the chitchat area of the  living bar's website 

This seems to have been the management response...

Bored:
"the living room doesn't have a problem with colour but it IS an issue in brixton: i have never seen such segregation, white bars or black bars & not alot of mixing going on. don't want to sound corny bt we are all one family, so see beyond the surface. " 09/06/01 , 18:19:43


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## John Wisehammer (May 12, 2002)

Just to be clear: is the implication of your last paragraph that the Living Room put a message which implictly or explictly said "it's not us that's racist, it's everyone else that hates us because we're not black"? Or have I totally misread what you've said? 

(Genuinely confused).


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## Dangerous (May 13, 2002)

Thanks for the support, Scott. As a virgin here was a bit reluctant to post such a long counter one….

Point taken  John: staff make up does not necessarily reflect management policy and that there are issues (rubbish etc) that piss off the community. Could not all of these issues be raised directly with Lawrence? I don’t know him personally, but from looking at other threads, he seems open to comments from the public, and willing to ‘address’ problems. 

On the door policy,  why does excluding men-only as opposed to women-men = racism? Only if the rule only applies to minorities only. Are there white men that may have been turned away for this reason? As a girl myself, it can be really intimidating to be in bar (cattle market style) that is predominantly male, other than most gay bars i know.

On the rubbish thing – this a a problem all over a London and reflects the crap so-called services that we get from the council. Have you been to the West End at any time of day? I try to avoid it but when I do go its hard not to fall over the shite that litters the pavements and although not as extreme you can see it all over the place, from Camden to Clerkenwell.

On the empire expanding ICA-style, surely now is the time to raise all concerns in a constructive & direct way, so that problems are resolved quickly. You can be sure that if the Living crew do not develop Brixton Cycles, some other business will, possibly one that is far more damaging for the community. Although business can buy policies, there seems to be a human face here.  If he has any sense, I would have thought that (especially where it concerned his business) he should be more than happy to resolve such issues.

I simply wanted to put out some facts from the other side of the fence. It is quite easy to jump on the bandwagon of racism and clearly there are a lot of people in Brixton that would like to see Merritt fail. But it is also easy to get all hysterical especially when it comes to race issues. Personally, I feel really strongly that sparking more conflict in Brixton, especially if unsubstantiated, could have really detrimental effects for the community. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Brixton does not need any more tension. Take the latest ‘riots’, the old riots and riots from Toxteth to Handsworth: there are a lot of people out there happy and willing to loot and fight whether they know what the cause is about or not. This is not a reason to overlook any form of discrimination. Far from it. It is more a ‘warning’ that it should be handled super-sensitively. 

I abhore racism! To provide a bit of background info so you can see where I am coming from: I am pretty mixed myself and my friends are all shapes, sizes, colours and have a pretty wide range of sexual leanings as well.  I know of the hardship, poverty and misery that racism causes, and have never understood how we (the human race) can judge someone on colour, sexuality or any other factor. On politics, I vote green, and believe that as individuals we can turn the tide. Should a candidate from the BNP come to stand a chance of getting in, à la Le Penn, I would would have no reluctance to ‘use’ my vote to try to ensure that he/she did not get in. 

Apolgies, this was not meant to be another long one. Promise I wont do it again!

BTW the name dangerous is a bit of a misnomer (had to look it up!) and the result of a bit of a wobbly night. Can I change it please?


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## IntoStella (May 13, 2002)

'Dangerous',  for somebody who 'doesn't know Laurence personally', you seem to have an AWFULLY big vested interest. 
And your assertion about rubbish being a problem everywhere and ultimately the fault of the council is  100% per cent prime bullshit. Local people shouldn't HAVE to 'take it up' with Laurence that he is piling stinking rubbish on public thoroughfares.
Also, your suggestion  that if the 'Living crew' ,as you cosily call them , don't take over Brixton cycles, it could be turned into something 'worse' is UTTERLY LUDICROUS.  Like WHAT??
Funny that you should want to change your username. It does seem a very ODD  choice for a girl.
So why ARE you defending Laurence Merret? 
In my experience, those who come on these boards assuming that people  are gullible and stupid usually get a major kick up the ass. 
If I was pretending to be somebody else online, it would be an obvious step to  change my apparent gender. I might even go so far as to spell my own name wrong.........


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## newbie (May 13, 2002)

IntoStella, I think your attack on Dangerous is a bit harsh.  Why, if it comes to it, are you attacking LM?  Your posts to this thread indicate a minor concern about planning and a (joke) desire to strew your street with rubbish.  So why the attack?

Declaration of interest: none.  I've never been in Living/Dogstar/Albert nor have I any intention of doing so.  All I know about this is what I read here.  Further interest: I'd prefer it if there were less alcohol outlets in Brixton (trendy or otherwise)- but that's just me and my preferences.  Another big one in CHL strikes me as a bad idea, whoever owns it. 

It does strike me though, that Ruby made a good point when she said "without more actual evidence of racism it just sounds like a lynch mob".

The email at the top boils down to DJ gets gig bumped and falls out with owner because of what 3rd party says owner said.  That's a 'dog bites man' story.  Within this thread there is precious little direct, personal evidence ("this happened to *me* ") to support the allegations of racism, although there is sufficient anecdotal evidence from people who appear to know, so I don't doubt that there is a perceived problem.  Yet Dr M, to whom it happened personally, chose to continue to go there: is the conclusion really cut & dried?

I don't think anyone has yet offered a suggestion as to why a racist should open a bar in Brixton, or why bar owner with a major business in Brixton should become racist (which may be the allegation).  As the email at the top says "Black money spends just the same as white money".  So what business excludes paying punters?  Is it possible (please bear in mind that I really don't know before you flame me: this is a genuine question) that the door policy is to exclude groups of men, and/or the poor or those in search of a local, in favour of starry eyed tourists easily parted from their money?

Dangerous, given that you've only posted to this thread, why not just register another name, tell us 'Soft&Fluffy' used to be 'Dangerous' and I'm sure we'll live with it.  It's a hostage to fortune as it stands, if you're not trying to troll.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

I know well respected people in Brixton, black men, gays and lesbians (sorry love, couples only....meaning heterosexual couples that is.....) who have been refused entry to Dogstar and Lebensraum, even when they have had people inside waiting for them. My daughter fainted outside Lebensraum last year and was told it was £1.75 for a glass of water brought to her. A Somalian woman was being badly hassled by white youth while the Living door staff looked on until a young girl demanded that they assist...yeah great fucking community spirit. 

Also Dangerous, Larry, Larry's typist, or whoever you are, yes there are places that tend to have mostly black faces, mainly because of the music played there eg The Angel and Harmony BUT I as a white person, whether on my own or with other white people, gay or straight, have always been made very welcome indeed and feel perfectly comfortable and unhassled there. (I do wish though that when I ask for a glass of wine in the Angel I had a bigger choice than Liebfraumilch or Black Tower......is that racism or classism because they don't do Chablis Spritzer?) You are saying then, with your obvious hotline to Larry, if I turned up with regulars from the Angel or Harmony we would be let in to Lebensraum or the Dogstar?...................brief pause whilst I pick myself up from the floor and wipe up the wee because I have pissed myself laughing. Many people who drink in the Angel were 'displaced' when the Atlantic became the Dogstar, and the Coach and Horses became Isobar, then Lebensraum.

I have more to say...just the planning stuff, the litter, the increasing rumours of bouncing cheques, racism and homophobia, the increase in Drugs tourists that I have witnessed scoring and then pootling straight into Lebensraum and the Dogstar, the complete lack of consideration for local residents would each take up a thread on their own. It doesn't help that some of the Larry Inner Circle have been loudly boasting around Coldharbour Lane of what they can and have been getting away with (and even at Pat's Wake too.......words fail me.) I am a dowdy middle-aged woman and so I am rendered 'invisible' a lot of the time. It means that I hear and see stuff all the time and no one even notices that I am there, taking it all in and noting for future reference. 

......I have loads of other stuff I could say but I am busy with lots of more important family and work stuff to deal with today. Unless there is a radical shift in the attitude and policies of Team Merret then I think that there is likely to be a vociferous organised broad cross-section campaign formed, gathering strength with every recorded incident.


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## hatboy (May 13, 2002)

I say again:

Anyone with an ear to the ground in Brixton knows Mr Merrit is widely despised. Not for his success, but for his greed, racism and flagrant disdain for the people of the area he has chosen to exploit.


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## Choc (May 13, 2002)

sorry scott for offending you with boring/mainstream, i certainly did not intend to offend.

but i do think that it is harder for people who are non european, or the white midddle class type to get into the livingroom.

which can make it a bit ... boring, but i only speak about friday and saturday's here. i'am also a direct neighbour of the living room and dogstar but don't feel too disturbed by the litter or noise. i actually like that brixton gets trendier but wished that more different kind of locations would open instead of one success-concept everywhere.

@ detective boy: maby we should open a discussion of those rumors (s.a) on the drug board  .


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## Dr Maboozer (May 13, 2002)

*Couples Only Policy*

A 'couples-only' policy to keep out most blacks is overt racism / classism.

A 'couples-only' policy to turn away males in Brixton is covert racism / exclusive bullshit.

Even turning away the odd troublemaker with a 'couples-only' policy is bullshit as they should just be straight with people and say "YOU are not allowed in here".

I am more than happy to join Hatboy and others in picketing Living Bar if there is still a 'couples-only' policy, but we need the involvement of black Brixtonians.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

It's not just about racism, it's about homophobia too.


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## christonabike (May 13, 2002)

And hataphobia as well, I got asked to take mine off about two steps into the place

Refused and went to the Albert

Never been back


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

ooooh! are you the handsome man with the black fedora?....why am I here?...I should be working out the spec. for a fountain........


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## Dangerous (May 13, 2002)

Will try and keep this one short.

Intostella:

If I am who you think I am, do you think I would quite so publicly want to change my dodgy username? If you have a look, I signed up to U75 in April. I have been pretty busy, and have not felt compelled enough to subscribe to a thread until now. Is this a crime?

In defence of my defence of lawrence (laurence-WTF?!): this thread has, as newbie suggests, been based pretty much on hear-say. My BIG vested interest as you nicely put it, is from someone who has enjoyed going to the bar. I feel like i have tried to highlight some facts, and present another point of view to what has pretty much been a one-sided attack. 

I do not know the bloke (therefore I do not know it is spelt, sorry) personally. If i did, and if he is as Hatboy & others suggests, believe me I would not be defending him. If you have a look at my msges, they have tried to present a more open view, counter to those on the board. My vested interest, if any, is to try to avoid engendering any kind of witchhunt, escalation of racial tension in brixton etc. which it seems to be headed in.

If that doesn't suffice i am happy to prove my identity to you. Not sure how these things work, via a message board or something (?), although judging from the tone of your msg you wouldnt believe me anyway! Sorry to be such a disappointing illusion. 

From a soft and fluffy girl, who used to be a dangerous one


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## LDR (May 13, 2002)

> sorry scott for offending you with boring/mainstream, i certainly did not intend to offend.



Gea - no problem.    I wasn't trying to single you out at all.   I didn't even remember who posted what.

I've just got the impression that people who went to the Living weren't worth knowing.  That impression wasn't just from your post but from others as well and talking to people also.  

I could be a little sensitive.


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## John Wisehammer (May 13, 2002)

Dr Maboozer - well, hold on a wee bit there - a couples-only policy (actually a no men without a female escort policy, seeing as women never get stopped by it) is not _necessarily_ racist _if_ it's applied to all men equally. This is the central question and I am more than willing to defer to people with better local knowledge than me on this - but I'm just making the point it's not always racist. However, it's strongly arguable that it's homophobic and 100% arguable that it's the sign of a really shitty bar, IMO.

Hats - usually the point is that it's moody stroppy kids that wear baseball caps and it's a marker for troublemakers, at least this is what my bouncer mate tells me (by the way, I don't believe that what he says is racially motivated for the simple fact he's not racist, and he works in Bath where there are as far as I can see no black people, and all the kids that get stopped by it are white). I've noticed in Central London that bouncers at some places where guys wear hats will get them to take it off at the door and get them to look up at a CCTV for a mo so they're taped clearly, then let them put it back on.

As someone who doesn't live in Brixton, I certainly feel the suggestion that these bars are mostly patronised (and I think I do mean patronised) by people from outside Brixton AND would not be willing for their neighbourhoods to be treated in the same way as Brixton is, _is_ a relevant issue to all this. It's like a microcosm of Cuban or Thai tourism - people go across somewhere for attitudes and behaviour that they would not stand for at home.


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## IntoStella (May 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Dangerous _
> *This thread has, as newbie suggests, been based pretty much on hear-say.  *


S&FG aka Dangerous,
This is simply not true. Many people have posted on these boards with first hand and sometimes WELL DOCUMENTED evidence to back up their complaints.
I still can't understand why it means so much to you just because you 'have enjoyed going there'. The people who are making the complaints are not doing so out of sour grapes. They have real and legitimate grievances. What makes you think  their complaints AREN'T legitimate?  Why make such an effort to defend 'the bloke' when you don't actually know him, allegedly, OR the people who are making the complaints? 
This is not a witchhunt.
Doesn't a community have the right to defend itself against disruption and exploitation?


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## hatboy (May 13, 2002)

Dangerous said:

"Personally, I feel really strongly that sparking more conflict in Brixton could have really detrimental effects for the community. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Brixton does not need any more tension".

Well ask your mate Laurence if he'd care to sell up to a more tolerant, accepting person then.

Newbie said:

"I don't think anyone has yet offered a suggestion as to why a racist should open a bar in Brixton, or why bar owner with a major business in Brixton should become racist".

1) Because he wanted to milk Brixton Challenge for grants, because he wants to further exploit Brixton's status as a weekend clubbers' destination regardless of locals' needs or wishes.

2) He didn't become, he always was. A priviledged, Eton-educated elitist who saw an opportunity to make a killing in a formerly run-down part of London.


There's another issue here too which others have touched on:  Many locals clearly do not want Laurence Merrit to monopolise central Brixton. There should be controls to prevent his empire expanding to the detriment of other businesses and locals' concerns.


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## William of Walworth (May 13, 2002)

If as some have suggested I think, the Merrett empire plans to buy up the Albert, opposing that would be the a focal point for a broader campaign ...


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## Dr Maboozer (May 13, 2002)

I've posted the following on the Living Bar's website 

"To the management, Do you have a 'couples only' or no men without a female escort entrance policy?"


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by William of Walworth _
> *If as some have suggested I think, the Merrett empire plans to buy up the Albert, opposing that would be the a focal point for a broader campaign ... *



He couldn't buy it but he MIGHT be able to lease it...the brewery do franchise or leasehold....I am not worried about the Albert as yet. Trevor, who is managing it at the moment, and knew Pat and whom Pat trusted, is being very open about any developments with the regulars....so far, apart from the massive void where Pat should be, some regulars a bit tearful because we miss Pat dreadfully, and the Stella shirts, the Albert is much the same. The brewery know that the Albert broke all the corporate rules for profitability, but still made a good profit. They know that without the goodwill of the regulars, that pub won't continue to be profitable. They are not stupid.


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## Choc (May 13, 2002)

hatboy has got a good point by asking why the hell should a barowner in brixton be a racist!? i mean how difficult does one make his/her life?

i've been thinking in the bus from work home, and maby this is dangerous ground but ,as a female who went to the dogstar a lot about 2 years ago i (like other girl friends) was hassled on the dancefloor by lonley men who wanted to dance (and whatever else) with me/us. the sort of opposite each other maby quite tight dance style that i just can't dance and don't feel comfortable with.  the dogstar dancefloor was always a bit of a shark-basain where all sorts of men circle you in tighter and tighter till you give in and stop dancing. maby these are reasons for the door policys because if you make people pay in a lot of money it is only in the owners interest to avoid having too many of one sex and different type of dancing techniques, if the place is geared to cater for the middleclass type (which it definitly is on the weekends). 

saying this i don't mean that this sort of thinking is cool, especially not in the first place. everyone who is ever been in the bug bar on sundays knows that homos heteros blacks whites and everyone else look fantastic together and the dancefloor works as well.

as for foreign barstaff, i think, in london,  even  the biggest racist would draw a line here because every owner loves foreign barstaff, who else would work nightshifts for 3.50 an hour!!


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## newbie (May 13, 2002)

Thanks Hatboy.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by gea _
> *hatboy has got a good point by asking why the hell should a barowner in brixton be a racist!? i mean how difficult does one make his/her life?*



Hatboy didn't say this, Newbie did. Hatboy quoted Newbie and then listed reasons why a racist person might have started a business in Brixton.

Also re dancing and sharks circling. There are staff who are meant to stop trouble like that. A mark of a bad bar if lone females get hassled I'd say. The one and only time a bloke bothered me in the Albert and wouldn't go away, Pat chucked him out with a loud "The lady asked you leave her alone. GET OUT!"

Is there dancing in Living?...dont think so.....


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## Choc (May 13, 2002)

oh, dear! good point anyway 

edited to say now i confused things totally. however quoting is bending facts towards what suits best, ..sometimes  this has just happend here sorry newbie and hatboy i usually try to read posts properly!


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## hatboy (May 13, 2002)

Yes there is dancing in the Living Bar Mrs M,  often.

Back to the subject: Just look at the detail in post one on this thread. And Richard's experience ties in with what myself and others have witnessed/experienced for years.

Please can people stop saying "Are you sure?" and "Could this really happen?"

YES IT CAN HAPPEN

YES IT IS HAPPENING

As I've said before Mr Merrit's exploitation of Brixton an it's people IS a scandal. But of course nothing will happen. Nothing will change. Money,  power and connections high up always win.

Let's all give up and become money-grabbing racist little shits who don't give a fuck about anyone.  That's clearly the way to get on.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by hatboy _
> *Yes there is dancing in the Living Bar Mrs M,  often.*


I stand corrected. I know there is space to dance in the Dogstar, but I only went into Living once, during the day, and there were chairs and tables filling the space and no room for dancing.

<removed mis-understanding>


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## Dr Maboozer (May 14, 2002)

FYI "Crispin J Glover & Richard Waterhouse " are still featured as playing on Wednesdays on Living Bars website.


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## editor (May 14, 2002)

The 'chit chat' section of their website is almost a text book example of how *not* to develop an online community.

Clearly untroubled by moderators, editors or just anyone clearing out the rubbish from time to time, the board is full of customer-scaring rants like, "If you fuck with us we will fuck with you cunts",  "LIVING EXCLUDES LOCALS. LIVING IS RACIST. LIVING IS NOT WANTED IN BRIXTON. BURN YOU BASTARDS." and "WELCOM to the SHITBAR hehehe"

Impressive, no?!


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## IntoStella (May 14, 2002)

Shameful.
I hope we don't know any of those people. Threats and abuse never solved anything.
Mike, perhaps you could offer to moderate Larry's boards??!!


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## editor (May 14, 2002)

"Mike, perhaps you could offer to moderate Larry's boards?"

Not a fucking chance!


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## pooka (May 14, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Mrs Magpie _
> *I am a dowdy middle-aged woman and so I am rendered 'invisible' a lot of the time. It means that I hear and see stuff all the time and no one even notices that I am there, taking it all in and noting for future reference.  *



Do you knit, Mrs M.?


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## Dangerous (May 14, 2002)

for fear of being labelled 'in defence of' yet again, BUT

isn't the fact that they allow freedom of expression, good, bad & obviously pretty ugly, a sign that they may be a bit more openminded and less concerned with pr/image than people may think?

clearly most people who subscribe here are not punters. there is quite a cross over of people who drink in satay, bug, z that enjoy the bar. most of my friends from brixton (yes black, white etc) do enjoy certain nights there. they would not go if they had directly encountered racism. but, their views are not counted because they do not subscribe here.

the community does have a right to defend itself. in an earlier post i suggested that maybe all complaints should be taken directly to the management. again, in fear of being deemed 'an insider': has anybody done this yet? surely this would ultimately be far more constructive than comments like 'piss off/sell up'?

S&F aka D.


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## Dangerous (May 14, 2002)

> _Originally posted by IntoStella _
> *Shameful.
> I hope we don't know any of those people. Threats and abuse never solved anything.
> *



nice one cyril.

i recall you/the board threatening to kick my butt recently...!


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## Mrs Magpie (May 14, 2002)

> _Originally posted by pooka _
> *Do you knit, Mrs M.? *



Only as my alter-ego, Madame Lafarge.


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## isvicthere? (May 14, 2002)

Dangerous - Into Stella did no such thing. Re-read her post. She was just drawing your attention to the fact that people coming on these boards claiming to be someone they are not tend to get short shrift from other posters. She used the metaphor of getting thier "arse kicked" to illustrate this. If you took that as a "threat" you must be pretty flippin' sensitive.


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## William of Walworth (May 14, 2002)

> Only as my alter-ego, Madame Lafarge



LOL!!


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## John Wisehammer (May 14, 2002)

"isn't the fact that they allow freedom of expression..."

I don't think it shows a lack of concern about image or commitment to freedom of expression - I think it just means no-one's bothered to look at the site recently!


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## moon (May 14, 2002)

Anna Key
Quote
He also has an interest in Dogstar, Mass, Z Bar and Redstar (Camberwell) plus a bar called PLAY in Clerkenwell. Maybe others too. 
Unquote

I find it interesting that Mr Merritt is rumoured to have some involvement in the Z Bar.

I wonder if there is still a file in the filling cabinet from when this bar was called the Brixton Brasserie? the file was said to be named 'Wogs' and was rumoured to contain details of non-white employees?


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## IntoStella (May 14, 2002)

<overtaken   by  events>


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## Mrs Magpie (May 14, 2002)

Is this something you know for a fact Happy? Can you verify this? If not I'd be careful. Don't leave yourself open to possible libel complications.


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## bang (May 14, 2002)

yes mrs magpie is right...some of the stuff on here is pretty close to libel, what is the legal situation for bulletin boards?? I always wondered how popbitch gets away with some of the stuff posted on their site...


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## moon (May 14, 2002)

I was told about the existence of the alleged file in 1995 when the Z bar was called the 'Brixton Brasserie'. 

One of the employees allegedly found the file marked 'Wogs' and was surprised to find the details of black employees inside it.

I have no idea if Mr Merritt was involved in the bar when this incident took place.

Edited to add some backgound information

A friend of my flatmate at the time, used to work at the Brixton brasserie, she found the filling cabinet unlocked and had a look inside, this is when she says she found the file.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 14, 2002)

Oooh horrid to hear mention of the Brixton brasserie..they grudgingly served me & Mr M with a meal once...they were not keen on an uncool couple eating there...one of them blind too.....The food was execreble though expensive. Naturally we never went back.


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## IntoStella (May 14, 2002)

.................
I ordered  a  tequila sunrise in the Brixton Brassiere once. The barman STIRRED it. (It was more of a tequila sodium light).


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## Dangerous (May 14, 2002)

Have just re-read Jo's msge. Did not get the full force of what was written the first time round. My reaction? Feel pretty stunned also, whose ever file it is/was. Could jo provide us with a bit more info? did she/someone else actually work for LM etc? 

Referring to my comment on your 'threat': I did not take it seriously, more a comment to highlight the double meanings of what you wrote. But others may have seen it as a threat, and it doesn;t look great does it?

S&F

Overtaken by edited messages


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## Dr Maboozer (May 14, 2002)

The Equal Opportunities Commission  site has some interesting information:

"The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) makes it unlawful for pubs and nightclubs which are open to the public to discriminate on the ground of sex when providing goods, facilities and services ... it applies equally to discrimination against men"

"QUESTION- Can a nightclub refuse to admit large parties of one sex?
ANSWER - To operate a policy that automatically bars all-male but not all-female parties (or vice versa) is likely to be unlawful."


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## LDR (May 14, 2002)

The word is getting round.

My wife (Jo) was arranging to meet her girlfriends for a drink - they normally meet at the Living but Jo says she doesn't want to go there for the reasons already discussed. 

Her mates replied, that neither do they because they heard about the reputation of the owner.   As far as I know, Jo's friends don't look at the boards so they must have heard elsewhere.


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## Dangerous (May 14, 2002)

overtaken by editing of messages


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## editor (May 14, 2002)

Time for another reminder to posters: please bear in mind that the defammation laws are the same for websites as print media, and passing off any unsubstantiated opinions as fact may lead to legal problems.

You are free to express opinions, rumours and things you've heard, but please be careful about making specific accusations.

Bear in mind that the legal process in such cases can revolve around who's got the deepest wallets so please consider your posts carefully.

Cautiously yours....


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## Bond (May 14, 2002)

Scott you must remember me telling you once I used to go there myself quite often. Me and my friends have also decided not to there anymore for the reasons stated in this thread so she's not in the same boat.


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## IntoStella (May 14, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Dangerous _
> *
> Referring to my comment on your 'threat': I did not take it seriously, more a comment to highlight the double meanings of what you wrote. But others may have seen it as a threat, and it doesn;t look great does it?
> 
> S&F *



I did not reply to your post. Isvicthere? replied to your post.  I am sorry if you are not acquainted with the metaphorical term 'to get one's butt  kicked', meaning to get short shrift and carrying no implicit threat of violence of any sort.
No-one ever suggested  that YOU,  Dangerous,  were going get  your 'butt kicked.'
I clearly  stated that THOSE WHO COME ON THESE BOARDS THINKING  PEOPLE ARE GULLIBLE AND STUPID tend to get their butt kicked.
So your  inferred threat seems like a clear admission that you DO think people on these boards are gullible and stupid. Otherwise, why would you  take offence?

--------------
PS: Don't you love it when threads stop making sense?!


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## Anna Key (May 14, 2002)

*Merrettising Brixton*

One point which hasn't been mentioned yet:-

Mr Merrett has constructed his Living Bar drinking deck on Coldharbour Lane without planning consent. See above for details and sources. 

This is proven. Anyone can check the Council records. I've quoted some of them above.

By doing so he's disrespected the local community and undermined local democracy (IMHO). He's subverted the legal rights of his neighbours to influence their local built environment.

This isn't the end of the world, but it's irritating. Also the Coach and Horses (as was) is a good example of late 19thC pub architecture. It doesn't deserve to be Merettised [verb. To merrettise. From: Merrettism; a branch of 1980s capitalism. See Thatcherism.]

Mr Merrett was asked last July by Lambeth Council, formally and in writing, to regularise the situation. He didn't. He's now been told again, in a formal report to Planning Committee. Lets see what happens.

Until the Council make him take it down (or he receives retrospective planning consent after everyone's been consulted) the drinking deck remains in use. He's making money from it.

Would Lambeth Council licensing department award an entertainments license covering a drinking deck constructed without planning permission and subject to enforcement action?

Would a Magistrates' Court grant a license for alcohol consumption in respect of such an (unauthorised) edifice?

I'm checking this. Should others care to join me, feel free.

Details are:-


Lambeth Council Senior Services Officer (Licensing): Mr W Pape (bppape@lambeth.gov.uk).

The Licensing Clerk to the Greater London Magistrates Court Authority: Mr Philip Fernandez (philip.fernandez@glmca.mcs.gov.uk)


BTW Dangerous. Your writing style remind me SO MUCH of a certain "Larry" who posted here last year. Even certain spelling and grammar errors are identical. Are you by any chance related?

I'm unable to access the U75 "Larry" archives to make a detailed check. The link given earlier on this thread doesn't work.


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## RubyToogood (May 14, 2002)

Yes, what happened to that thread? The link worked ok a couple of days ago.


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## Dangerous (May 14, 2002)

Intostella: Last one on this note, it is truly starting to get really confusing.

-I was trying to highlight the 'hypocrasy' of what you wrote regarding threats.
-My calling what you wrote as 'threat' does not imply that i actually thought that you were REALLY going to kick butt!

On a different, more cryptic level: what is the difference between a threat and an implied threat, anyway? Surely they are both pretty much the same thing unless they lead to actual violence? 

But no! Ididn't think you were really going to.

I did get lost with the 'therefore you must think that people on this board are gullible' bit....?

Anna: how can i reply to that one? my writing style is my own, sorry about that. Short of sticking a jpeg up with a full frontal and my wobbly bits, not sure what will work. but then you would probably think that was a set up too, wouldn;t you?

Confused, S&F


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## John Wisehammer (May 14, 2002)

You could always stick the jpeg up and give us a bit of a laugh in any case, dangerous!


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## Mrs Magpie (May 15, 2002)

*Merrettising Brixton*



> _Originally posted by Anna Key _
> *Mr Merrett has constructed his Living Bar drinking deck on Coldharbour Lane without planning consent*



This has already been raised at a Lambeth Transport and Traffic Meeting as it has blocked sight lines for cars turning into Coldharbour Lane and there have been several near-misses.........


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## IntoStella (May 15, 2002)

*I say!*



> Anna: how can i reply to that one?



Don't bother. You Eton chaps are all the same.


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## Dangerous (May 15, 2002)

now this is getting personal...i am not larry!!!


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## Anna Key (May 15, 2002)

*old boy network*



> i am not larry!!!



Of cource not. Different IP address.


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## isvicthere? (May 15, 2002)

I am not Larry!


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## Mr Retro (May 15, 2002)

I'm Larry and so's my wife


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## John Wisehammer (May 15, 2002)

Larry is a manifestation of our dark and twisted selfish impulses. Like Satan, he's a metaphor more than a person. We are all Larry.


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## Dangerous (May 15, 2002)

I know nothing about old boy networks. But this:

Some have thrown in comments which seem to judge someone by what school they went to. what actually makes this any better than judging someone for the colour of their skin, sexual preference etc?

A child born into a favela or with a silver spoon has no choice in the matter. it is what you DO with your life that counts. surely that should be the main focus of this? so why not get back to the real issues: allegations of racism etc, and positive solutions for dealing with community issues.

I do not know lawrence. it is quite possible that he does not know about this debate. would it not make sense for one of the moderators to get in touch with him to both verify this and look at ways to address all issues raised here?

Thanks & its been, how should i put this? interesting. S&F


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## Anna Key (May 15, 2002)

*bad form*



> Some have thrown in comments which seem to judge someone by what school they went to.




I think you'll find the Eton crack was a joke.

Surely, there's a long, long tradition in the UK of laughing at public school boys - Monty Python, Harry Enfield, the great Vic Lambrusco...?

In fact, what's the point of HAVING a public school system unless everyone laughs at it? What other function does it serve, except to amuse the nation?



<edited to change "pubic" to "public." Sorry!>


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## IntoStella (May 15, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Dangerous _
> *
> Some have thrown in comments which seem to judge someone by what school they went to *



Hmmmm......... funny that. The public school twats at my university certainly judged ME by what school I went to. 
Oh, and whoever originally spelled 'hypocracy' (sic) like that, it certainly wasn't me. I bet it was Anna Key!!


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## Anna Key (May 15, 2002)

*jolly rum thing*



> I bet it was Anna Key!!



That's a bit orf. Judging a cove by one's spelling. I say!


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## IntoStella (May 15, 2002)

Dangerous???
Have you run away???
Was it something we said?


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## WATERHOUSE (May 15, 2002)

*living Bar? or dead Bar?*

I am now registered, so if anyone wants to direct this discussion my way, feel free.  I have mailed Hatboy my reply to my initial thread, which has been 'in my eyes' effective thus far. 

WATERHOUSE.


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## Anna Key (May 15, 2002)

WELCOME Mr Waterhouse.

This is an extract from the thread 'I went to the living room the other night..."



> Posted 05 July 2001 07:53 PM
> 
> larry
> contributor
> ...



I'm writing what follows on the assumption that this was indeed Mr Lawrence Merrett describing, in his own words, Living Bar's door policy.

I can't prove that it wasn't someone impersonating him. This seems unlikey. Should it turn out not to have been Mr Merrett I shall withdraw this post immediately.


Living Bar door policy, on the date of the posting, clearly discriminated on grounds of gender: people were being refused entry to the bar on grounds of sex.

Sex discrimination has been generally illegal in the UK since about 1975.

Such a door policy would also discriminate, indirectly, against gay men, as a man is less likely to gain entry to the bar compared to a woman.

Accordingly, Living Bar door policy, on the date of the posting, was clearly discriminating on grounds of sexuality.

Discrimination against gay men is not illegal in the UK, but is highly immoral. A bar doing it should be exposed.

The Pink Paper and Stonewall are likely to be interested in this.

Lambeth Council Licensing Committee will also be concerned. The Council, at least on paper, enforces an equal opportunities policy, which includes opposition to discrimination on grounds of sexuality.

I'd like to know if Living Bar's door policy operating on 5/7/01 still applies.

If not, why was it ever applied? What will Mr Merrett do to make up for enforcing such a policy?

If the policy still applies, it stinks.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 15, 2002)

Dear All,

It seems my letter has ‘picked the scab’ off of one of our local festering wounds. Liable, slander, defamation of character, are all terms applied when a blatant untruth is told about a person. I don’t need to slander a lifeform of Mr. Merritt’s evolution. He does that all for himself. 

I have visited the site and read all of the threads posted. I would like to reply in general to the people who believe this is a personal ‘rant’ by myself about  the ‘man’, and the rest of the sofa dwellers too wrapped up in their own problems to notice what’s happening around them to care. 

It may seem out of character for a ‘black’ man from ‘Brixton’, like myself, to respond in such a manner. With measured thought, intelligence. Sorry to disappoint you. 
My true stereotype should be outside the bar with about 50-60 black men, waiting to see why we aren’t allowed to come in, directly ready to ‘kick off’.  I actually think that is what most people would expect, except no-one has anything to gain from such behaviour. We would be living up to the expectations of all those folk who feel safe in their cosy, but sadly, racist pocket in Brixton. I have lived in Brixton long enough to see the positive changes in the community. I feel there is a need to protect these developments and not take a step backwards. We don’t need or want rioting in the streets! 

To those of you who are incredulous at the calling of the ‘man’ racist, I have only one thing to say... Until you have had someone look you in the eye, spit in your face and call you a “nigger”, you have no authority in the definition of who or what is a racist. I have worked at his bar for over a year, and I have clearly seen his attitudes towards black people. They are inexcusable and should not be allowed to continue unchallenged. He is not an idiot either. Using black doormen to turn away black people is the ‘softly, softly’ approach and not likely to create a scene, as would the contrary if the doorman were white. Most people in those professions are bound by the management’s wishes and have to comply, otherwise no more work. Plus, its easy money if you’re just a stormtrooper, following orders. 
However, it makes no difference as the majority of the curious black population of Brixton seem to have gotten the ‘message’ by now.

‘Gentrification’, such a nice word. Except it applies to gentlemen. ‘True capitalist’, more to the point, but lets go back about 250 years. ‘Disposable workforce’, slaves by any other name. All the makings of a good plantation. Well done ‘Massa Merritt. It was only 50 years ago when the last white ONLY bars were begrudgingly converted for the use by ‘coloured folk’ in America. Where is this ‘man’s’ head at? Does he think he’s Dr.Who or something? Time travel is impossible!

To all the people who have frequented the bar, had a good time, etc... I have had some amazing times at his bar. Yes, it is a lovely venue. Comfortable. I treated it like my own Living room. Turn off the music, flashing lights, sober up... He’s taking your money and he doesn’t give a fuck. About you or anyone in fact. Business, by any means necessary. Which brings me nicely into the planning permission fiasco. 

I was surprised to read of the cheek of the ‘man’, obviously ‘above the law’ with cash to spare, getting away with whatever Lambeth lets him. I wonder who got the ‘gravel driveway’ at local government? Such accusations! To even think of it.... is enough. What else can you do? Why haven’t any other businesses in the vicinity built without permission? Maybe it has something to do with being law-abiding and honest. No respect for the law, the community or its inhabitants. Blatant. As noted, I am sure other boroughs would be less lenient. As would their communities, trendy or not. 

Finally to all who feel this is ‘all a bit too uncomfortable’, and have some sympathetic notions towards this ‘little man’. 
With one letter I have opened a genuine forum for discussion. I have not lied or embellished my account. I will stand in any court of law and reiterate my opinion. Either Mr.Merritt is a ’man’ who has made it his mission to really annoy Brixtonians to the point of explosion, because of his attitudes and practices in Brixton or I and many other members of this community are just ‘jealous of his successes’ and we are just being ‘vindictive’. 
Bullshit. He’s a SCUMBAG!! through and through! All the talk about him being mixed-race don’t mean squat. If you don’t like black people, you don’t. Whether you’re Chinese or whatever. If that’s the way you are, you are not likely to change. Until you are educated enough to realise all races make up this world. I don’t think social anthropology was one of his strongest subjects. Such a waste of a blue chip education. 

Mr Merritt knows who I am. I have spoken the truth and he knows it! If he can HONESTLY defend his honour like a true ‘man’, with balls, he may gain enough respect from me to look at under an electron microscope. I doubt very much that he will have anything honest to say in his defence of my claims, as he tends to stutter under pressure.

To all who agree with me and feel the same about this social pariah we have acquired......Keep telling the truth. Because the truth hurts.

WATERHOUSE.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 15, 2002)

*LIVING? or HIDING?*



> _Originally posted by Mr Retro _
> *
> Mr Merritt should comment here and explain his door policies - if he doesn't then he is another money grabbing faceless coward. *




Mr. Retro you are obviously an intellegent person. You said it before I wrote it.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 15, 2002)

*I hear voices too!*

For the record -

FROM "FELIX" TO RICHARD WATERHOUSE:

Too damb right!
I noticed this some time ago, I dont go in there, and although I would love to have a regular Brixton gig, haven't replied to his request for new promoters for LIVING, RED STAR, and PLAY.
It's fucked up, I have heard from the previous manager of LIVING that Lawence even asked him not to let any 'Niggers' in on the opening night, as well as the manager of the RED STAR asking Jools Butterfield to stop playing 'Nigger' music (I'm quoting this, they both really did use that term). This is obviously some kind of segregation that Lawence is trying to promote, I dont know were he thinks it will get him, but its sertainly not getting him any love or respect from this quarter. In fact the only thing this kind of segregation promotes is distrust, disunity, resentment, and hatred, which do nothing for the state of the comunity, and will only get worse if this matter is not adressed. I've been boycoting them for some time, but wonder if this is what Lawence wants, as the fewer open minded people who frequent his establishment, the more his narrow minded views are allowed to grow. I hope that your campaign has more impact, maybe even getting this matter included in the institutionalised racism debate that Lambeth Council are conducting at the moment. Retract his license, Brixton is a multi-cultural community, but there is no place for the apparteid culture that he is overtly promoting.
Peace.

Felix

     This is NOT a VENDETTA, just simple truths.
OUCH!

<re-arranged slightly for clarity>


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## John Wisehammer (May 15, 2002)

If you lose all the irrelevant bollocks about plantations (not least because slaves specifically aren't disposable or flexible workforces, part of the reason they disappeared), those are interesting posts there (if a bit confusing to read - is it Felix Waterhouse and Stuart Noble, two different people?).

But if the man's such a obvious cunt and "everyone knows it", why did you work for him for so long? I'm sure you'll realise that it looks (as somone that doesn't know either you or this Larry punter and is just going by what's written here) a bit odd for you to work for him for two years then turn around and tell so many stories about racism and other scummy behaviour right from day one. Obviously this is an individual question about you - but when you're putting forward individual opinions and experiences, then I think it's a fair question. (And don't get me wrong - it's fair enough to say that you enjoyed the work and liked the wages - most of us have to work for a living and there aren't that many people who love everything about their job).


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## Mrs Magpie (May 15, 2002)

I was originally pleased to see the investment in the area but my enthusiasm waned fast. I have seen lots of documents relating to Living in particular but his other businesses too and the fact that there has been collating of stuff like that for quite some time by concerned residents first made me think maybe the investment was a a bit of a Trojan Horse. 

I am better able to comment on the goings on at Living in better detail because I have to wait ages for the P5 at differing times of the day or night. Living is directly opposite. I have seen people being turned away regularly. I know people who have been turned away. With one exception they were black or gay.........

I have heard local residents complain about the thumping bass in the middle of the night, how Merrett seems to flout planning laws with impunity (I have heard rumours that he has a little friend in the planning department. I have no idea if this is true or not). He is not at all respected by local businesses or people. A really quiet gentle person that runs a local business has actually been driven to something approaching hatred of the man. A lot of people that I respect are active in their desire to rid the area of what they regard as his malign influence.


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## hatboy (May 15, 2002)

This is a very serious issue - ie a racist bar in Brixton.  Pease can we keep to the subject.

What is the point of Mr Merrit coming on here? He's been on here before and  how ever reasonable he may seem many people, including myself and Richard above, have experienced or witnessed his racism and generally supercilious behavior to all around him.  

I know Mr Merrit and some of you are not aware that I used to work for him at the Dogstar six years ago. His interest  in the Dogstar at that time was as great as his interest in Living now.

While I had fun working at the Dogstar, Laurence and his shitty attitude to everyone there (except total arselickers, the only ones who utimately rise in his organization) was a constant problem.

We eventually parted company. I was sacked but it was a relief really and was brewing for awhile.  I think I was about to leave anyway.   Why did I go?  In fairness I don't take to being ordered about and I was probably drinking abit too much on the job.  However I was also very good at the job of welcoming and entertaining people at the door of the club/bar.   The MAIN REASON I went was that I couldn't stand Laurence's racism anymore. As fast as I got people into the bar/club he was ejecting them, and it was always black men getting chucked out!

Some examples of Mr Merrit's attitude:

Often he would point at a black man with dreads while I was on the door of the club and say to me within their earshot, "Is that a dealer, is that a dealer? He hadn't got a clue who was who and just went on his naive ideas on who was a "low-life" (his word).

When I once remarked how well I was getting on with a particular security man who worked with me at the Dogstar  (who is still a close friend) and is black Laurence said "Oh yes, he's like one of us isn't he?"

Several black friends of mine have been accused of "making people nervous" or drug dealing in the Dogstar or Living.

A black musician I know was persistently refused admission at the Dogstar until he explained that he was there on business. Then he was grudgingly admitted.

The whole thing stinks. Have no doubt of that.


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## editor (May 15, 2002)

> What is the point of Mr Merrit coming on here?


 Because this is a public board and he has every right to answer the criticism levelled at him - if he dares!


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## hatboy (May 15, 2002)

Well now it is time for action. We all know what he is and how he operates - regardless of the lies he may tell in his defence. (Mike - where is the other "Living" thread. The link is dead). If you don't know, then get to know.

This needs to move beyond Brixton pub conversations and web banter.


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## ats (May 15, 2002)

Hold it, Hatboy! You may know that Merritt is racist - or you may simply believe that he is.  If you're chucking statements like 'Well now it is time for action...This needs to move beyond Brixton pub conversations and web banter.' at us, we need to be convinced.  I don't have the direct experience of Mr Merritt that some people here clearly do, and what I'd say I see so far is a strong case for the prosecution rather than a proved case.  If he's definitely racist, then please argue the case fully to people like m.e


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## hatboy (May 16, 2002)

Isn't there more than enough on this thread already? What do you want ats? Look at the emails from to Richard above or my examples. 

I appeal to rocket no 9 to contribute too if he's reading this.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 16, 2002)

*exploitation reversal*



> _Originally posted by John Wisehammer _
> *But if the man's such a obvious cunt and "everyone knows it", why did you work for him for so long?
> 
> It is unfortunate that whatever a persons circumstances are they are in a corner and need the money.  People are trying to make headway any way they can. Conveniently wealthy and a cunt...... fair play! but you can only take so much before you have to say goodbaye to the bollocks.  Exploiting the Exploiter!
> ...


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## William of Walworth (May 16, 2002)

*Hatboy is right ...*

I am continuing to be stunned at this thread! Good luck to all hoping for a decent and fair resolution to this disgraceful saga ...


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## TopCat (May 16, 2002)

Waterhouse joined the debate and I must  take isue with a couple of points...



> It may seem out of character for a ‘black’ man from ‘Brixton’, like myself, to respond in such a manner. With measured thought, intelligence. Sorry to disappoint you.



This is a an offensive slur on everyone here. Justify this crap eh?

Further...


> Until you have had someone look you in the eye, spit in your face and call you a “nigger”, you have no authority in the definition of who or what is a racist.



This is not true either, I have strong opinions on racism and do not need anyone bestowing upon me the right to hold them. 

Racism can affect all sorts of people and there are enough racists of all colours in Brixton and elsewhere.

Waterhouse in my view hardly has much authority here as he was complicit in enforcing the racism of Mr Living Room. 

We all need to make money but I feel we can decide how much shit to eat for our cash and he went way too far.

I personally much preferred the Coach and Horses and The Atlantic to their reincarnations as trendy style bars for white Clapham wankers. Consequently  I have never been in the Dog Awful or Living. 

I would appeal to everyone not to spend any more money in these establishments.

Arson as a "solution" is totally out of order and counter productive, however a huge tin of pink paint thrown up the side of Living might get the point across, especially if repeated a few times, cheap too.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (May 16, 2002)

Unfortunately this issue is not new. I remember when the LivingRoom first opened - within a few weeks there was a debate on the messageboards on Brixtonline.co.uk about not only the racist attitudes of the door staff, but also of the bar staff - not serving black people who were at the bar etc. It's a shame that after the 2/3 years or whatever that they've been opened, they're still getting away with this attitude.


----------



## hatboy (May 16, 2002)

Topcat has a point there Richard (Waterhouse).  Give people here some credit for being mostly reasonably informed and non-racist please.

I don't think it's fair to say "you shouldn't have worked for him then" Topcat.  Laurence's attitudes are cumulative. You might or might not notice them on one visit to his bar.  But working for him becomes increasingly difficult for any open-minded, non-racist person as time goes on. I know since I also worked for him some years ago.

I have now met Richard and he speaks the truth about Mr Merrit.  I urge others here to support him.  I shall be.


----------



## TopCat (May 16, 2002)

Well perhaps I was being too harsh, but personally I would never drink at the two establishments let alone work for the fucker.

It was never a surprise to me that when it kicked off a while back down the lane the Dog awful was one of the first places turned over.

Hit the git where it hurts him most...in the wallet...


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## Dr Maboozer (May 16, 2002)

Brixton Hatter's right, I was around when it opened. Some annoyed customers wrote the following on living website .

David Jenner: YEAH. THEY DON'T LIKE BLACKS THERE!
01/06/01 , 15:18:11

Geelow: What a yuppiefied piece of crap. stinks big time. Jus for rich & white ; NAZIS
01/06/01 , 02:53:14

Brad: What the fuck is "couples only" supposed to mean?
16/05/01 , 17:22:24


----------



## WATERHOUSE (May 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by TopCat _
> [
> 
> This is a an offensive slur on everyone here. Justify this crap eh?
> ...


----------



## Streathamite (May 16, 2002)

> It may seem out of character for a ‘black’ man from ‘Brixton’, like myself, to respond in such a manner. With measured thought, intelligence. Sorry to disappoint you.


Richard, I've met a lot of people who post here - not one of them indulges in racism or Racial Stereotypes. That comment was unworthy of you.
Right, that over with, I'm 100% with you on this. This man must be fought with every legal weapon possible. So - what to do?
I think leaflets & pickets are a good idea. As are affidavits from felix and Stuart Noble, and yourself (we'd need those on the leaflet, to avoid a libel suit). Can anyone interested in meeting up to rough out a leaflet please PM me.


----------



## bellies (May 16, 2002)

I never liked the place for purely asthetic reasons.


Brixton is a great night out though, Bug bar, Dogstar and the Albert are great.

Was anyone in the Albert when that weird theatre group did a xmas play?  I think is was on the saturday before xmas?


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## WATERHOUSE (May 16, 2002)

OK OK OK Already....

I apologise globally to the forum.
Initially, after reading the threads, I had formed an opinion of my own. Is'nt this what its all about? 

Angry, pissed off and generally surprised by some of the responses my reply was not aimed at those out there who are giving  support. 

Anyone else?

WATERHOUSE


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## Dr Maboozer (May 16, 2002)

<overtaken by events>


----------



## Bond (May 16, 2002)

Defintely agree with Bellies about Bug Bar and Albert.


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## Streathamite (May 16, 2002)

Richard (Waterhouse) - well said (last post). We need a campaign. We can use this thread to organise one.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 16, 2002)

Part of the Merrett Empire, although Larry no longer is (on paper anyway, as I understand) directly involved with the running now, is the Dogstar. I have, in the last 48 hours, been informed of two disturbing incidents at the Dogstar. The first involves racism, the second is a policy of serving short measures.

A group of young black men have been regularly attending the Drum '' Bass nights on thursdays. They were used to being 'shadowed' by one of the security guys when they were in there but put up with it because they liked the music. Last thursday one of them had arranged to meet his girlfriends mother there, as usual. She waited all evening because they were all refused entry. There have been no incidents involving these guys, they have always behaved well, and they all believe it to be racism as they have always been treated in a sub-standard way in there, they strongly believe it is because they are black men. I heard this from the mother who waited in the Dogstar all evening.

Today something happened that is a job for Trading Standards, and probably whoever grants an alcohol license to the Dogstar.. Three young men were waiting to be seved in the Dogstar and they saw a paper marked 'Staff Policy'. It stated that takings were down and therefore short measures were to be served to customers asking for spirits.. As they were reading this, someone saw, the paper was snatched from them and they were thrown out onto the street. I was told this in person, and all three are willing to sign legal documents to confirm what they saw. As far as I am concerned deliberately serving short measures is THEFT.


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## Dr Maboozer (May 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Mrs Magpie _
> *A group of young black men ... were all refused entry. *



Would we gain anything by getting these incidents on film?


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## Mrs Magpie (May 16, 2002)

Unfortunately I think it may well be far harder to prove racism  than the trading standards and planning stuff. Black women are allowed in (probably seen as exotic and non-threatening!) I know most Asian men are allowed in but if those who have been refused entry for they believe are racist reasons are prepared to sign a legal document, it would be hard to refute. I have only heard of gays and lesbians being refused entry to Living. However, I think, having heard the increasing rumours of Larry's cheques bouncing, perhaps he may in the end just be a victim of his lifestyle...........I for one would cheer loudly if the receivers were called in at any point in the future.


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## William of Walworth (May 17, 2002)

*Prosecute the fuckers ...*



> Today something happened that is a job for Trading Standards, and probably whoever grants an alcohol license to the Dogstar.. Three young men were waiting to be seved in the Dogstar and they saw a paper marked 'Staff Policy'. It stated that takings were down and therefore short measures were to be served to customers asking for spirits.. As they were reading this, someone saw, the paper was snatched from them and they were thrown out onto the street. I was told this in person, and all three are willing to sign legal documents to confirm what they saw. As far as I am concerned deliberately serving short measures is THEFT.


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## Streathamite (May 17, 2002)

Mrs M (again, congratters to yourself and Mr M!) would these chaps swear affidavits to that effect? And does anyone here have mates amongst m'learned friends, who will help out gratis?


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## WATERHOUSE (May 17, 2002)

All persons interested in getting together to plan a campaign, please contact me via p.m.

We have all done a lot of talking and a brainstorming is required.


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## hatboy (May 17, 2002)

*PLEASE SUPPORT*

As I said above I've met with Richard and I said I'd try and motivate afew people on this. Would Mrs M, Anna Key and others who care about this PLEASE PM Richard Waterhouse so he can co-ordinate a meeting.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 19, 2002)

Well its Sunday, I'm still waiting to hear from people. 
I do find it tiresome but its got to be done.  

Has anyone got the e-mail for Town Planning?

Do we know who to contact in local govt.?

Anyone got a spare copy of the Race Relations Act
(amended 2000) lying around?

Does anyone want to buy a silver BMW z3? I heard theres one for sale.

WATERHOUSE


----------



## hatboy (May 19, 2002)

Come on people, this is important.

Richard - have you checked your PMs (in "user cp" at the top of the page)?


----------



## IntoStella (May 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by WATERHOUSE _
> *Does anyone want to buy a silver BMW z3? I heard theres one for sale.
> WATERHOUSE *


.....''One spineless owner....
Apply to Obergruppenstylebarfuehrer.....''
 
PS WH, I'm sure you can find the race relations act online. Try the CRE website


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## WATERHOUSE (May 19, 2002)

*PM's*

Figured out where the msgs were 

Back to that nasty bit of  business we need to do.

Everyone who PM'd me, Thanks. 
I have some free time coming up, and I hope to get this together in that time.

Yes Hatboy. This is important. 

Thanx to all.
Waterhouse.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 19, 2002)

serving short measures is THEFT. [/B][/QUOTE]


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## Aitch (May 20, 2002)

I  too was told by reliable source about the Dogstar measures. Also I was in the Dogstar on Saturday night coz Clown Warfare etc was playing.  my boyfriend is black and both of us noticed that every five minuted security were coming over and  giving us the eyeball at first we found it funny after a while it got annoying I did eventually ask one if he had a problem and he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, it really felt like we were under a microscope.  shame 

Music was wicked though


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## Anna Key (May 20, 2002)

I hope that performers at dogstar/living/mass/redstar/play etc have read this thread, or will shortly. Some of them post on U75.

I look at the dogstar etc programme and either know for certain or strongly suspect that every perfomer is anti-discrimination and pro-diversity who respects Brixton and would hate what's described on this thread.

A legitimate question then:- 

Why take the Merrett shilling? Ignorance? Poverty? A platform to pursue a greater good?

Perhaps they could refer Mr Merrett to this thread before performing and ask for an assurance that it's all untrue?

Alternatively they could perform elsewhere.

I know this is difficult - people have their own priorities and children must be fed. I'm not telling anyone where to perform. Just asking people to read this thread and to think about it.


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## Dr Maboozer (May 20, 2002)

I think the security at dogstar/living/mass/redstar/play is provided by Panther Security.


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## WATERHOUSE (May 20, 2002)

*Money talks, Bullshit walks.*



> _Originally posted by Anna Key _
> [
> Why take the Merrett shilling? Ignorance? Poverty? A platform to pursue a greater good?
> 
> ...


----------



## hatboy (May 20, 2002)

Too right!  - A man who is not only without integrity, but who doesn't even realise integrity is worth having.


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## dia1964 (May 21, 2002)

how absolutely fucking disgusting...... however why the hell am i surprised??? this fucking country seems to still be so fucking racist, that i am seriously thinking about leaving....i was born and raised here, in london, and i want to know how the hell does someone get away with having a night like this one at the living bar?????   do people realise that racism is a killer?? people kill,are killed, or kill themselves because of this sick fucking shit..... do people realize what racism does to the brain/mind....i could go   on  and on, but i say BOYCOTT the damn place..... black people REALLY NEED  to stop taking this fucking outrageous shit.                                                                                                  fuck the living bar, and fuck racism.


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## LDR (May 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by dia1964 _
> *this fucking country seems to still be so fucking racist, that i am seriously thinking about leaving.... *



The sad thing is it's not just this country.


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## Anna Key (May 22, 2002)

*never ending story*

Dogstar short measures shock horror spreads to another thread! 

here


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## hatboy (May 22, 2002)

FROM R DALEY OF FRIDGE SECURITY:

Hi
I read your e-mail concerning the antics of the management of the Living Room Bar in Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. I have worked at the Fridge nightclub & Bar in Brixton for many years and I also happen to be a Black Male. I am also a Senior Manager and a Director of two related companies that run and operate the Fridge. The story that you relate does not surprise me as I am aware of the blatantly racist policies of the Living Room and their apartheid brand of management. This situation has been long standing and I am happy that others are now seeing what we have condemned openly for the past two years, that racism in certain establishments in Brixton are real and not imagined. A Black member of security that was employed by the Living Room told me that the management of that establishment had told him to 'keep Black men out' and that there were cases whereby Black men who had gained entry were told to leave when Laurence (management) saw them on the premises. I asked the security man why he would work in such an environment and he replied that he 'needs to live'. I honestly fear that we are seeing the beginnings of a potential disastrous conflict that will take place in Brixton sooner or later as I do not believe that Black people and fair whites will tolerate this situation for much longer. I hope that a situation arises whereby this venue is boycotted and effective steps are taken to close this venue. Perhaps the management of that venue should consider moving to Burnley. I am informed that the BNP did quite well in the local elections recently.

R. Daley


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## TopCat (May 22, 2002)

More on this another time...


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## WATERHOUSE (May 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by hatboy _
> *FROM R DALEY OF FRIDGE SECURITY:
> 
> 
> ...



Spot on!!!  
Maybe they could go to Holland? I hear they repond well to self-styled aristocrats.


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## Streathamite (May 22, 2002)

> Maybe they could go to Holland? I hear they repond well to self-styled aristocrats


Ooh! shot, sir! Richard, I am PMing you with names/ideas-check PMs


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## ceridwen (May 24, 2002)

*living bar racist*

Well..well. Is there anyone out there who remembers The Coach and Horses and The Atlantic?  They had black land-lords one Sonny and t'other George Berry.  The Atlantic was well known as a meeting place for people arriving from the 'Islands'  to look up friends and family. So wha' gwan? So is dat the same Lawrence who had a twin brother and a fat share of da Brixton Challenge cheque?  Oooo..da stinky rascist plot thickens?? More info pleeze!!


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## Mrs Magpie (May 25, 2002)

Yes! I remember the Coach & Horses...bit of a dive towards the end but still far far FAR better than its new incarnation............


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## Anna Key (May 25, 2002)

I also remember the Coach & Horses. Pat in the Albert once told me that George Berry was the first black landlord in London.

Perhaps Mr Merrett might care to put a plaque on the wall to commemorate this important historical fact?


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## hatboy (May 29, 2002)

Bump - keeping this important thread visible.  Remember BOYCOTT Living.


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## ceridwen (May 29, 2002)

Definitly Hatboy!  I shall tell all my friends as I'll be in the area this weekend!  Respect!


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## Streathamite (May 29, 2002)

Bumped again, for same reason as hatboy's. HB, check PMs.
This man (merrett) is a cultural poison.


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## ngeru (May 31, 2002)

*Damn Straight!*

I've been boycotting it for about 2-3 months now. Not that I went there much anyway... just a few quite drinks on the odd occasion. 

Now that I'm informed I won't be going back. And I've told my mates to do the same...


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## wurlycurly (May 31, 2002)

Blacked by me and three friends last Saturday. U75 at its best.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 31, 2002)

Yeah, told someone who was considering suggesting it as a venue for a hen party that it had a local reputation for racism.......so they went elsewhere........


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## Streathamite (Jun 3, 2002)

bump....Hatboy, Richard (Waterhouse), mrs M keep me posted in general (zat OK Mrs M?)


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## Mrs Magpie (Jun 4, 2002)

Yes Jezza, as soon as I hear owt on the (hopefully crumbling) Merrett Empire you'll be the first to know!


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## Anna Key (Jun 5, 2002)

*Merrettville*

More Tales from Merrettville can be obtained at www.companieshouse.gov.uk

Some companies of interest:-

Dogstar Leisure Ltd          (03088638)
Living Room Leisure Ltd    (63995826)
Redstar Leisure Ltd          (04009939)
Play Leisure Ltd                (04096298)

Number in brackets = company number.

Some of these companies have "The Brix" as their registered office. At least two are late submitting accounts. Naughty, naughty...

Dogstar and Living (Room) Bar accounts are of special interest. Is there really no connection between these bars, as claimed on another thread?

And does it make sense to boycott Living Bar but not Dogstar?


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## TopCat (Jun 5, 2002)

I am very biased on this. 

I have loathed both the Dog awful and the Living hell since their inception. 

Their predessors were much better, a bit seedy sometimes but I like that.

When The Railway is turned inevitably into another Living/Dog clone, the circle will be complete.

I will not drink in these establishments, I will throw stones when drunk, I will continue to bitch about them to my mates....

Fuck 'em...

And the horse they rode in on...


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## IntoStella (Jun 5, 2002)

*WTG TC  *


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## ats (Jun 5, 2002)

Is it significant that each pub is registered as a separate company?  Or is that common practice?


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## Anna Key (Jun 6, 2002)

Another Merrett planning law violation:-

Locals will remember the old comic shop (Ace) at 391 Coldharbour Lane, next to Dogstar.

It closed a few years back and the metal riot shutter has been down ever since.

_Suddenly_ it became the Dogstar cloakroom: a hole had been knocked through the dividing wall.

_Suddenly_ Dogstar and MASS office space appeared in the upper floors, where previously there were flats.

Both events occurred without planning permission being sought and obtained: the Council's planning department computer shows the ground floor as daytime business premises and the upper floors as flats.

So Dogstar has breached planning law, caused daytime retail space to disappear from Coldharbour Lane and abolished central brixton residential units.

Dogstar did this without consulting the community - one of the main affects of ignoring planning law - and has undermined local democracy as a result.

Dogstar will have behaved in this way - disrespecting the community, undermining local democracy, breaking planning law, removing daytime retail space, abolishing central Brixton flats  - to increase profits.

Should anyone wish to complain about this, details are:-

Planning Office Case Officer: Ms Julie Ann Bowker(jabowker@lambeth.gov.uk).

Should anyone wish to complain about the numerous Living Bar planning violations (Merrett was given until 23/5/02 to comply - see posts earlier in this thread):- 

Planning Office Enforcement Officer: Mr Paul Wilford (pwilford@lambeth.gov.uk).


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## Anna Key (Jun 6, 2002)

> _Originally posted by ats _
> Is it significant that each pub is registered as a separate company?  Or is that common practice?



Not sure. I think someone needs to get into the accounts to see what's really happening.

Also I'm sure I've missed some companies - presumably there's one controlling Mass. Perhaps there's also a holding company into which profits/losses from all the bars are fed.

Plus there's the registered office use of "The Brix." Does this mean The Brix has also been Merrettised?


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## ck (Jun 6, 2002)

it seems sad that the avearge joe that goes in there just won't think twice about this ; they are just happy supping on their vodka-cranberries and feeling safe from the very street it stands on.


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 9, 2002)

I notice two things:

firstly, the Living Room had to change its name to avoid clashing with some place in Leeds. Secondly, the website http://www.livingbar.co.uk/ has been hacked - when you go into the chitchat section, a couple of popups saying "fucking cunts" emerge.

<nelson>
Ha-ha!
</nelson>


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## IntoStella (Jun 9, 2002)

> _Originally posted by John Wisehammer _
> *the website http://www.livingbar.co.uk/ has been hacked - when you go into the chitchat section, a couple of popups saying "fucking cunts" emerge.
> *


ROFLMAO. Thank for pointing that  out. That is the funniest thing I have seen in ages.


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## atty (Jun 9, 2002)

*some correction Living Room/racism<>Dog Star*

a lot of emotive racist accusations about the Living Room and Dog Star being hurled about here without too much checking

most of the specific accusations about racism recorded here relate to the Living Room. On Friday I was refused entry on the grounds of 'no singles', being male and white, but I was with a mate who happens to be black and male and quite big. (incidentally we had just come from the Dog Star where no problem) I have often been allowed in with upto three other single white males at the same time on a friday night > recently. One can only draw the obvious conclusions. I have also had black mates asked to remove head scarves on the grounds of 'no hats', what is that about? What I think is perfectly clear is that Lawerence is aiming 'up-market' and essentially non-Brixton. 

BUT for a local thread, the lumping together of the Living Room and Dog Star seems to me really ignorant and crass

Lawerence Merritt used to run the Dog Star (and there were a lot of doubts about their door policy then) but it is several years since he regularly stepped foot on the premises (or is welcome there). Although the Dog Star is still run by the Merritt family to put it diplomatically it is a different part of the family (they can correct me if this is not near the mark) and I think the present management has clearly and consistently put on nights which are for a black young audience > viz another post re Chilli Dog night. And I would add that some nights there are probably more young black single males then any other 'demographic' section of audience.

Beyond this I think the present management of the Dog Star is taking a good stance on widening its scope and comittment in relation to entertainment, culture and community locally including recent additions of poetry, Sunday film showings and the digital night out that I have been involved with.

yours
atty

ps
I am not condoning the 'argie' email which I certainly agree was ridiclous and offensive, even if tongue in cheek > but then I find a high proportion of UK world cup coverage very similar. Conversely this is the next open_digi at Dog Star planned http://club.net-art.ws/default.asp#june


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## hatboy (Jun 9, 2002)

I'd go along with that. While I might still have problems with the Dogstar, it seems the further Laurence Merrit moves away from it the better it gets.  Now if he'd only move away from Brixton altogether?


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## Anna Key (Jun 10, 2002)

> _Originally posted by John Wisehammer _
> the website http://www.livingbar.co.uk/ has been hacked - when you go into the chitchat section, a couple of popups saying "fucking cunts" emerge.


And despite all the old complaints now having vanished (in a puff of vodka-cranberry martini) more have arrived:-



> Clapham Dave:
> I heard from my mate that there's a lot of racism at the Living Room. I'd never noticed it myself, being a white guy, but I had a look around last time I was there and noticed that there were practically no black people at all there, apart from people working. That doesn't seem right. Plus the one man, one woman door rule is a total fucking drag when I'm not with/arriving separately from my girlfriend. It's a real downer. I don't think I'll be going again.
> dave@claphma.com
> 09/06/2002


and



> pissed off:
> why couldn't my black friends come in last night!?!?!?
> blahdeyblahdey@blah.com
> 08/06/2002


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 11, 2002)

*Brixton Action*

For all visitors/regulars to U75who wish to contact with regard to Racism @ LIVING do so @

brixtonaction@btconnect.com

where you can relay your experiences. 
Persons wishing to support reply also, resources are appreciated.

N.B. Please be factual.



<Edited to add:  If you click on the email above you must edit out the break in the address (you'll see, very easy) in order for it to work>


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## GODSMACKED (Jun 11, 2002)

*Lambeth Council: Act Now*

An an ex-customer at Living Bar I've read this thread with gob-smacked amazement. This is my first and probably last post - no regular internet access - but I feel there's something important to add.

Posts on this thread accuse Living Room Leisure Ltd Director Lawrence Merrett of:

_- Enforcing a racist door policy
- Enforcing a sexist door policy
- Enforcing a door policy which discriminates against Gays and Lesbians
- Brazen, repeated and on-going breaches of planning rules
- Breaking the terms of a Licensing Magistrates' Alcohol License
- Breaking the terms of a Local Authority Entertainment License
- Breaking weights and measures law on licensed premises where he may also be a company director (The Dogstar pub)._

That's quite a list. What will Lawrence Merrett be accused of next? Killing a Crusty and serving him to Claphamites as a bar snack? What other allegations need to be made before the authorities act?

If the allegations are false Lawrence Merrett should reply on this thread or threaten libel action. If the allegations are true Living Bar should be closed by Lambeth Council.

These allegations, against a prominent Brixton businessman, are now in the public domain. Why has the press taken no interest in the story? 

The story is journalism heaven: allegations of racism, Council planning department shenanigans, family rifts, barrel-loads of nightclub cash money flushing around, a famous area of London resisting gentrification, the spectre of civil unrest, and much of the preparatory work already done by U75 posters.

Is the UK media now so supine, trivia-obsessed and terrified of the libel laws that it finds it impossible to investigate a South London nightclub family?

Urban75 is not some fly-by-night web site run by a dimwit with an HTML manual. It's a beautifully constructed, well maintained, internationally respected internet site. It's an electronic community with a huge hit rate, a burgeoning membership and with strong local links to Brixton.

The Editor, who has twice warned posters of the defamation risks and has offered Lawrence Merrett a Right of Reply, appears regularly on my TV screen talking intelligently about issues of public concern, e.g. the Brian Paddick affair and UK drugs policy.

The Editor's (and Commander Paddick's) broad views on cannabis reform have now become government policy: re-classification is about to happen.

It follows that Lawrence Merrett is subject to very serious allegations arising from a highly respectable source whose roots run deep in the local community.

Lawrence Merrett's alleged conduct, combined with Lambeth Council's failure to act, should itself be a major news story. It's a scandal it's not a scandal.

One reason why it's essential for Lambeth Council to investigate is because since 1981 Brixton has used the political riot as a weapon against racism.

Each day that passes without public investigation by Lambeth Council of Lawrence Merrett's alleged racist, sexist, homophobic, illegal and unethical conduct increases the risk of direct action against his company. Sister companies, such as Dogstar Leisure Ltd, who may now have no link to Lawrence Merrett, could get dragged in. Innocent people could be hurt and their property destroyed.

If civil unrest occurs a portion of responsibility will rest with Lambeth Council for permitting this situation to arise.

Lawrence Merrett's alleged behaviour has clear public order implications. Lambeth Council must act immediately.

And there should be absolutely no question of Lawrence Merrett being authorised by Lambeth Council to launch further business ventures in Brixton until the allegations have been cleared up. He's acquired the premises on Coldharbour Lane previously occupied by Brixton Cycles, and plans a huge nightclub. It would be outrageous should Lambeth Council permit this to proceed while the allegations have not been investigated.

Why hasn't the Lambeth Council Chief Executive posted a response on these boards? Senior Council people are not fools and will be aware of this thread.

*And why was Lawrence Merrett, at a London Borough of Lambeth Planning Committee meeting held on 23rd April 2002, given permission to enlarge Living Bar? Why haven't investigative journalists dug into this? Which Councillors took the decision, what are their precise links to Lawrence Merrett, what went on behind the scenes at Council Officer level?*

Could a Moderator extend a formal invitation to the Lambeth Council Chief Executive to respond on these boards to this thread? If the Council declines the invitation, could its refusal, and the reasons for it, be posted for all to see?

Hats off to Richard Waterhouse and others for speaking out. As Richard Waterhouse says:

"Someone will challenge this behaviour and it won't be in writing as I am attempting."

Hats off to the Editor for carrying the thread. Should this site come under pressure from Merrett lawyers I hope full details will be posted here.

Has there been any pressure so far?, legal or otherwise? I notice that the link to the earlier Merrett thread no longer works (see Happy Happy Jo Wonderland's 08-05-2002 10:37 AM post above). I hope this is just a technical problem.

Here's the link again: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/sh...ght=living+room 

Finally, Lawrence Merrett runs a large security operation - doormen, bouncers, plenty of muscle. Are those who criticise his conduct at physical risk?

Should only a fraction of the allegations be true Lawrence Merrett is not "Mr Upright Citizen." Is he likely to get violent towards those who disagree with him, who question his expansionist plans or who urge a boycott of his companies? Is there a history of violence? Does Lawrence Merrett have a criminal record?

Pushing allegations against a nightclub empire can be risky. People need to know what they're getting into. If Lawrence Merrett has a criminal record let's hear about it. And let Lambeth Council investigate that too.

GODSMACKED


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## William of Walworth (Jun 11, 2002)

What a superb post, with all the essential telling points!!!


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## hatboy (Jun 11, 2002)

Agreed.  This may be of interest:

Email for current Labour councillor, Coldharbour ward Mr Donatus Anyanwu:

danyanwu@lambeth.gov.uk


Email him.


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## wildwildlifer (Jun 11, 2002)

*Lambeth Council: Act Now*



> _Originally posted by GODSMACKED _
> * This is my first and probably last post - no regular internet access -
> GODSMACKED *


If anyone deserves or needs a computer and internet access more than this person, I'd be surprised.
anyone help him out with an old puter?


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## editor (Jun 11, 2002)

*LEGAL NOTICE*

It is my duty as owner of these boards to warn people of the potentially adverse legal consequences of posting up defamatory material on these boards.

Bulletin boards are rarely truly anonymous and I am duty bound under current law to provide IP address and email information about posters, if requested to do so by police holding the neccesary authorisation.

While I am happy for members of the community to passionately voice their honest opinions and concerns about what is happening to Brixton, please bear in mind that you are accountable for your words.

Of course, individuals are free to answer whatever points that have been raised against them on these boards, or if they wish to send me a prepared statement, I will be happy to repost it here.

These boards are not here to be used as vindictive witch hunts against individuals and businesses, but as a means for local people to express their opinions about local issues.

Anyone posting up vindictive and inaccurate attacks on local businesses may end up on the receiving end of a law suit if the accusations prove to be unfounded.

If anyone feels that illegal or defamatory comments have been posted up about them on these boards, please contact the moderators who will try to ascertain the validity of the claim and remove the posts as soon as is practically possible, if necessary.

It may be prudent at this point to repost part of the urban75 disclaimer:

"Chat room/Bulletin boards 
The views expressed in the chat room and bulletin boards are those of the individual user and not those of urban75 or its ISPs. You are asked not to post messages or emails which are abusive, racist, obscene, defamatory or the content of which is otherwise undesirable, illegal or in breach of any person's rights. We reserve the right, at our full discretion, to remove any such emails at any time and without notice to you. Bona fide requests to remove defamatory content will be honoured, although we can give no guarantee to time scale."


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## TopCat (Jun 11, 2002)

Mike: Are you not regarded as the publisher here and are jointly liable for libel if proved?


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## hatboy (Jun 11, 2002)

The allegations and comments on Laurence Merrit are clearly not a "witch-hunt". They are the rightful expression of disgust from ordinary members of the Brixton community who are angry about his shameful attitude to this area and it's people.


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## editor (Jun 11, 2002)

Legally, I am obliged to respect bona fide requests to remove defamatory posts, but it would be unreasonable for me to be expected to delete any posts in a public forum the second they happened.

If, however, I refused to delete offending posts, then I may possibly become liable as publisher.

The Godfrey vs Demon Internet case would seem to bear out this interpretation of the law.


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## hatboy (Jun 11, 2002)

They are not your views Mike. They are the views of individuals posting here. So relax.  And if Mr Merrit wants to sue me I couldn't give a shit.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 11, 2002)

*Just as GOBSMACKED*

Well said Mr Gobsmacked,

The Town center managers have recieved e-mail today regarding community concerns. 
Mr Anyanwu has also recieved a copy. they have the reply link.
I am interested by what their responses will be.

I myself and others here ARE concerned about liable etc.... 
I am sure no-one has spoken a false word against Mr.Merritt. Even due to the fact "anger" is generally felt towards the 'man' for what he represents, WORDS have been chosen carefully.

A great show of control.

Basic:  We have had enough of what these people represent.
           We want them to go away now. 
            Please.

If we ask correctly, maybe we'll get to say THANK YOU.


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 11, 2002)

"They are not your views Mike. They are the views of individuals posting here. So relax..."

Unfortunately, the English courts have interpreted the obsolete libel law in such a way that website hosts and owners can be counted as the publishers of whatever it is they're hosting, regardless of whether they're actually aware or responsible for what's there. See for instance popbitch and Jeremy Clarkson. Obviously this law made sense for e.g. newspapers where there's strict hierarchical control but not for websites where anyone can post - regardless of this, Mike could be in the shit for anything naughty that goes up here. So he can't relax.


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## hatboy (Jun 12, 2002)

1) There are enough people in Brixton who will swear on oath that allegations here are true.

2) Sueing Richard or Mike or whoever would only draw (media) attention to these allegations.


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 12, 2002)

Yes, but libel law works in the opposite direction: Mike would have to prove the stuff was true, not Larry prove it was false. You don't get legal aid for defamation cases. It's a totally unproductive process?

Isn't it up to Mike whether he gets into an expensive, time-consuming libel case or not? (and he seems to be saying he'd prefer not to?)


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## ats (Jun 12, 2002)

*Punctuation note*

I think Mike would like any casual visitors reminded that the thread is not

"Living Bar - Racist" 

It's

"Living Bar - Racist?"

The question mark could make all the difference!


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 13, 2002)

*Grammar note*



> _Originally posted by ats _
> "Living Bar - Racist?"
> 
> The question mark could make all the difference! [/B]



or The mark of the question could make all the diference!

I'll say it ONE MORE TIME just so visitors etc et al can understand.

I truly cannot believe so many people are telling lies and slandering poor Laurence! To the point he has lost all courage to stand up for himself and put down these defamatory and liableous remarks, not a whiff of cheap solicitors after-shave anywhere! To be frank, not a peep out of Laurence. I know he knows this is brewing. We have been truthful in the entirety of this thread. The original issue of his policies has opened up into a myriad of accusations. None without foundation. Enquiry has only reinforced these claims. Facts are being found on a daily basis. Witnesses, victims, perpetrators connected to LIVING are all in front of us. How can anyone deny such a weight of factual, accurate and truthful information. People have likened this to a witch-hunt. "Mr BRIXTON" comes under attack from jealous, unappreciative locals who wish they could all be as great as him!"
THIS IS NOT A WITCH-HUNT!! Witches never had the opportunity to represent themselves, they were quickly burnt at the stake or drowned. I also want to make clear to everyone here, Aude Henry IS a respected Black businessman. It is unfortunate he has an affiliation to LIVING (only 1/3rd to my knowledge.)He is NOT responsible for the policies enforced by Management. It may be Laurence's 'cop-out' to assume because he has some partnership, why are people shouting DISCRIMINATION? 
The facts remain:
Discriminatory door policies operate nevertheless.
Any excuse is given to discourage single men black/white,(mainly black men) entering their bar. 
Gay/Lesbian couples also. 
So there is a large section of the local populus alienated. Considering local people vote for their rights of representation by Councillors and other government officiaries, who we also pay hard earned taxes to keep in their employment. 
They are not paying attention...yet. But soon. 
The BIG Why? is being asked and answers will have to be given. 
Accusatons of serving 'short' shorts need to be proven.
NO PROOF, NO ARGUMENT.
There is a lot of DISCRIMINATORY proof, with witnesses including their own CCTV (what are the legal requirements for retaining CCTV records? anyone?) Dubious accounting? PROOF required.
Planning violations? Full documentation required. I NEED PROOF. So will the judge. 
We are working on factual data, please present your data to this link:                 

brixtonaction@btconnect.com 

(REPAIR BREAK IN LINK IF NECESSARY)

Don't be shy or afraid of them either, cos' they can't do shit as long as you present the facts & the TRUTH.

Mike, nuff respect is due for keeping this thread live!
It is important this type of behavior is 'named and shamed'. My hope is it is not a waste of effort by all who wish to remove this 'blot' from our community.

Please can all correspondence regarding the LIVING Issue be passed to the link in this post.

Semper Fidelis.
WATERHOUSE


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## editor (Jun 13, 2002)

As a point of balance, this comment could apply to any number of West End bars:

"Discriminatory door policies operate nevertheless. 
Any excuse is given to discourage single men black/white,(mainly black men) entering their bar. 
Gay/Lesbian couples also"

Bar owners are entirely within their rights to refuse whoever they like, only breaking the law if their policy is provably racist (and I suspect that it might prove very difficult to prove an outright racist policy, even when it appears blatant)


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 13, 2002)

But didn't Mrs M post something up earlier on saying that sex ratio door policy (or barring men) was also illegal (despite the fact it happens in lots of places)?


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## editor (Jun 13, 2002)

I'd be amazed if that was a law because it would be an utterly daft one: if I ran a bar the last thing I'd want is for it to be so full of guys that women would be put off coming in. 

I've certainly known clubs openly running this policy for years on end and I can't imagine how you could outlaw it: the doorman's entitled to let in who he feels like and admission is not a right to anyone.

 After all, he's entirely at liberty to turn away gangs of football fans regardless of whether they're drunk or not, so discrimination has long been part of pub culture.


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## ceridwen (Jun 13, 2002)

I remember drinking in The Atlantic/Coach and Horses before The Merricks took over.  None of the old regulars went back after the change over.  So to me, right from the start I feel they wanted a more up-market i.e white middleclass clientel.  Which I suppose makes business sense, but at the expense of the local community, same old,same old!!


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## editor (Jun 13, 2002)

But let's be honest: the Coach and Horses was such a terrible pub with awful beer that it was barely troubled by customers, ever. 

I don't think I ever saw more than ten people in the place, apart from the time my friend had a party in the back room - and that turned out to be a poor affair with crap bar service and rubbish  food.

I'm not saying I want a street full of Living Bars, but I refuse to get all misty-eyed and nostalgic about a crap pub with no atmosphere that no one ever visited.


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## Mrs Magpie (Jun 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by John Wisehammer _
> *But didn't Mrs M post something up earlier on saying that sex ratio door policy (or barring men) was also illegal (despite the fact it happens in lots of places)? *




er no, I don't think so.......unless something I posted has been misinterpreted......about to go with a friend to her hospital appointment so I can't check now to see if I posted something open to misinterpretation.........


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## Mrs Magpie (Jun 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by editor _
> *But let's be honest: the Coach and Horses was such a terrible pub with awful beer that it was barely troubled by customers, ever. *


That was certainly true at the end of its life as the Coach & Horses, but it wasn't always so......it used to be a good pub with a great atmosphere......


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## tarannau (Jun 13, 2002)

> But didn't Mrs M post something up earlier on saying that sex ratio door policy (or barring men) was also illegal (despite the fact it happens in lots of places)?



Unfortunately, unless something's changed recently, a licensee has the right to withhold entry to any person, or group of people, that they wish. If the licensee wishes to ban all people wearing lumberjack shirts for example, then that's their choice (although the police may raise an eyebrow if called to enforce...)

That's not to say that we shouldn't enforce our rights as customers and withold our cash from this distasteful man and establishment. I've stayed off this thread for some time (you guys are doing a great job...) but a couple of my friends who worked at Living at the beginning have confirmed every nasty suspicion about our Larry.  Dodgy door policies, Larry personally singling out 'disruptive' black males and insisting that (embarrassed) security guards remove them. Add a whole ream of comments that sounds as if they're straight from the bigots handbook. Arse...

Even allowing for the potential of sour grapes, it seems remarkable that so many of Merritt's ex-friends and employees have so many bad things to say about him. I'd hate to think that my old pub staff had things half as bad to say about me. 

Either way, it's clear that Merritt isn't the community spirited employer or investor that we want to encourage. ...


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 13, 2002)

*This is NOT the WEST END!*

It was noted: that Many bars operate this policy in the west end. Brixton is geographically SOUTH. 
The population of the Brixton majority are ethnic minorities (mixed)
West end Gaybars allow Straight people in without prejudice.
It is only homophobia that creates this discrimination.
What is the ratio of the West end population black:white:gay?
Ask the same for Brixton. What are your results? The west end is home to tourism/visitors. An industry in itself. I have rarely experienced discrimination in the west end and I am interested to know where they are.
But in my own manor, well,.. this is what we are discussing at present.  

I read an interesting article today in the Daily Mail where Mike Best, editor of The Voice is quoted as saying :'Truly the black community faces a national crisis. We have to accept that a number of our young people are very,very, violent and it is time for us to take stock'
Is this because he does not think that discriminatory door policies are newsworthy,( I can provide the original message recieved from the Voice as a reply to the letter which has started this thread) and the young people in Brixton being discriminated against on a daily basis by these establishments are at fault because of their frustration.
Taking stock means being fair. If you beat a dog every day, one day he'll bite you! This is the same Mike Best whose paper called for the return of stop and search in March.
Does Mr. Best live in Brixton? 
It also means starting at home. How can I explain to my children about my experiences of Racism and Discrimination and tell them to stay away from 'places' because they are discriminatory.
Or not to go out because you may be harrased by police.
How do you think they will react at 15 or 16yrs old. I am writing in the future tense, as this is the future spread out in front of us if we don't challenge discrimination now. We will all be tired and old by then, and these claims about our youth will be too true. We want to pre-empt this situation by moving as a community and represent our up and coming youth so the the future will be less drug-fuelled and violent. Boredom leads to drugs, Provocation leads to violence. Do you really think the youth of today have the same tolerance as we do?, and what do you suppose will be the outcome if 'trivialities' regarding door policies are left unchallenged?

Mr. Best is right, 'it is time for us to take stock'
So where do we start Mike?

 A 'disturbed' Waterhouse


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## Dr Maboozer (Jun 13, 2002)

*What do legal brains make of this?*

just repeating my earlier post:

http://www.eoc.org.uk/EOCeng/dynpages/Pubs_Clubs.asp
"The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) makes it unlawful for pubs and nightclubs which are open to the public to discriminate on the ground of sex when providing goods, facilities and services ... it applies equally to discrimination against men" 

"QUESTION- Can a nightclub refuse to admit large parties of one sex? 
ANSWER - To operate a policy that automatically bars all-male but not all-female parties (or vice versa) is likely to be unlawful. Of course, the equality legislation would not override policies that are in place to protect the public on safety grounds."


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 13, 2002)

Yes, sorry, I meant Dr Maboozer, not Mrs M. Apologies.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by tarannau _
> *
> 
> Unfortunately, unless something's changed recently, a licensee has the right to withhold entry to any person, or group of people, that they wish.
> ...


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## hatboy (Jun 13, 2002)

Whatever the exact legal position (and let's stop splitting hairs on this), discrimination, especially on the grounds of race is 100% unnacceptable.  And a venue operating in Brixton that has upset and angered so many people (on grounds of racism and more) is clearly a scandal.   The many with first hand experience of this know, others who consider themselves fair-minded and non-racist should listen and support them.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 13, 2002)

*FOCUS*

Racial discrimination against young black men at this premises is occuring. You cannot justify it. 
Potentially, it can spark into a very nasty situation, where we will only be able to watch and say 'told you so'
The blame for this will not lie with LIVING.
It will be directed toward the youth in the community.
Development and local trade will be damaged. 
Everyone will plead ignorance to the cause of this.

It does matter what happens in other areas of London. (How other businesses behave.)
Making a start by exposing these people could change the law or reinforce existing laws on discrimination.

This IS happening on Coldharbour Lane. Brixton.

My community, where I live.

Nostalgia has its place in our local history. Fond memories of amicable pubs are a reminder this kind of policy should not be tolerated.

Times are changing and the present looks crap at the moment.
I think we have the ability to shape our future. 

Local petitions, Public awareness, Boycotting all can be used to apply pressure and show them to door out of Brixton. 
Local councillors and MP's hold surgeries where this issue can be repeatedly voiced.

Whatever their reason for excluding people on the basis of race or sexuality cannot be supported by law.
The issue of discriminating on the basis of sex is a tricky one, nonetheless the clientele would have to be extremely disruptive and a threat to the safety of the clients inside.

This is why Door Supervisors are now licensed.
They are trained to anticipate these very scenarios.
Bar owners rely on this training to keep their premises/clients safe.
Bar owners/Licensees are not highly qualified in the art of bouncing. (Although Pat from the Albert was.)

It should not be necessary for owners to enforce such policies if they rely so heavily on trained security members within their organisation. I have never witnessed a drunken, violent, abusive black man inside LIVING Bar. I'm sure on Fri & Sat nights where their policy to exclude single black men, has many incidences of ejecting drunken punters, violence included.

Food fror thought


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 13, 2002)

BTW, I notice that Brixton Cycles's old shop is being used as a mixed office / barrel storage space. Is this in accordance with its zoning (prolly, actually).


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## hatboy (Jun 16, 2002)

Full of prats on Saturday as usual.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 17, 2002)

*Gettin' hot, but not in the kitchen !!*

My sources tell me, beads of sweat are forming.
'Watch the ride' as we like to say on the Lane.


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## Anna Key (Jun 17, 2002)

One or two posts have said that a pub can refuse entry to anyone it wants.

That's only true in the sense that we're all free to break the law.

There's *no doubt whatever* that it is illegal to run a pub door policy which discriminates on grounds of race, gender or disability.

The UK, almost alone in Europe, has no similar laws covering discrimination on grounds of sexuality: it is *legal* in Britain to run a pub door policy which discriminates on grounds of sexuality.

However, a Lambeth licensee gets his/her license within the framework of Lambeth Council's equal opportunities rules. Should a pub licensee run a door policy which discriminates on grounds of race, gender, disability or sexuality there's a good case for suspending that license.

So Gays and Lesbians (plus persons of other sexuality and possibly no sexuality) who suffer a discriminatory pub door policy have some redress, but not a legal one.

People discriminated against on grounds of race, gender or disability have clear legal remidies.


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## editor (Jun 17, 2002)

> People discriminated against on grounds of race, gender or disability have clear legal remidies


 That's true but it's a bugger to actually enforce unless you happen to have a video camera and a host of independent witnesses recording the incident at the time and can be arsed to pursue the thing through the legal process.

The pub/bar/restaurant can make up any excuse they like in the absence of hard evidence ("they looked drunk to me", "unsuitably dressed" etc - I should know, I've heard them aimed at me enough times!). 

If someone is sure that a pub is indulging in such practices, my advice would be to accumulate some hard evidence through whatever means necessary and progress from a strong position of these documented cases of racism/homophobia etc...

Without such damning evidence, there is a chance that the accusers could find themselves victim to a counter claim of defammation, so I would advise caution.


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## GaryJenkins (Jun 17, 2002)

> Should a pub licensee run a door policy which discriminates on grounds of race, gender, disability or sexuality there's a good case for suspending that license.
> 
> So Gays and Lesbians (plus persons of other sexuality and possibly no sexuality) who suffer a discriminatory pub door policy have some redress, but not a legal one.



What if a gay pub refuses entry to couples of mixed gender or to people who look too heterosexual?


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## Mr Retro (Jun 17, 2002)

Same rules apply I suppose.

There is a bar on Clapham High street called the Kazbar which is mainly gay. I used to go in there a bit with Mrs Retro because it was the best bar in that area (before Arch 635). The door staff would always ask me if I had been there before and if I knew the type of bar it was. Lots of people would turn away at the door but I don't think they were turned away by the door staff. Good policy I thought.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 18, 2002)

*RETRACTION*

Today I was contacted by Stuart Noble in person.

It appears someone has e-mailed me with an account of events which have not been endorsed by him.

This account was posted by myself on the site on 15 May 2002.

Mr. Noble has asked not to be associated with this post, so therefore I cannot allow for it to be accepted as his personal view, and it MUST be disregarded.

However, the fact still stands that whomever the person was that sent me the e-mail, obviously had some experiences of the operations within the Dogstar and has used Mr.Noble's name as a cover in order to remain anonymous.

My public apologies to  Mr.Noble and any distress caused to him.

WATERHOUSE


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## hatboy (Jun 18, 2002)

Mr Noble's comments have been removed.  Surely the sender is visible on the email header?

I think some small business people feel reluctant to criticise Merrit for fear of damaging their livelyhood. Thankfully many others do not.


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## editor (Jun 18, 2002)

"I think some small business people feel reluctant to criticise Merrit for fear of damaging their livelyhood."

In this case, you're jumping to the wrong conclusion, as Stuart rang me up and explained his side of the story to me.

I won't be reposting his comments here though, because he's made it clear that he doesn't want his private comments published on these boards - which he's perfectly entitled to request.

Will posters be _very careful_  when posting up private correspondence from third parties in the future and ensure that they:

(a) get their permission first and
(b) check the authorship. 

Cheers!


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## Anna Key (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by hatboy _
> I think some small business people feel reluctant to criticise Merrit for fear of damaging their livelyhood. Thankfully many others do not.


Yes. In my experience local people are being very careful. However, the bulk of Coldharbour Lane daytime business (the parade from Ritzy to Dogstar) signed a strong petition against the proposed Merrett nightclub in the old Brixton Cycles building, including Pat at the Albert.

Many know they'd face rent rises should there be more night economy development on this stretch of Coldharbour Lane. Shops like Bookmongers would be under threat.

Do people really want to exchange Bookmongers for a Merrett nightclub called WALLPAPER offering Brixton an "exciting ICA-type experience" with "A-list guests" chillin2 "ambyant sounz?"

The petitions are with the Council planning department. 300 other people signed too, mostly local residents.

Then there's the problem raised by GODSMACKED above:-


> Should only a fraction of the allegations be true Lawrence Merrett is not "Mr Upright Citizen." Is he likely to get violent towards those who disagree with him, who question his expansionist plans or who urge a boycott of his companies? Is there a history of violence? Does Lawrence Merrett have a criminal record?


These strike me as sensible questions. Let's put a stop to Mr Merrett's alleged bad behaviour but, at the same time, minimise any possible personal risk to those who speak out.

Does anyone know how to discover if someone has a criminal record? It's very private information so, presumably, is handled with great care. There's also the question of spent convictions and ex-prisoners being allowed to make a fresh start.

Despite Mr Merrett's alleged behaviour I want to see his rights respected. He's clearly treated the community without respect and has attacked local democracy (e.g. all the proven planning violations - see the Lambeth Council Planning Committee minutes quoted above) but I don't want to sink to his level.

Also, I agree with the Editor about the undesirability of witch-hunts. I simply want Mr Merrett - an important Brixton businessman - to obey the law, to stop subverting local democracy and to respect the local community. 

Not much to ask. Certainly not a witch hunt.


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## hatboy (Jun 18, 2002)

Yeah, and if he stopped being a racist and pissed off that would be good too.

I don't believe he is a violent man but I've already consulted the police on this and if I get so much as slapped by some hired thug in the next few months they know EXACTLY where to look first.  

This is not my personal battle. I lost interest in L. Merrit years ago. This is many from the Brixton community speaking up for themselves, their area and what is right.


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 19, 2002)

To be frank, the calm I have exerted thusfar is bordering on fury! It pains me to have to backtrack.(reference to the Noble issue) I have endeavoured to be factual, but somehow there has been an anomaly. 
And yes Hatboy, I do posess the header for the e-mail, retained for legal purposes, should anyone decide to threaten action.


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## IntoStella (Jun 20, 2002)

By way of a bump and just in case anyone missed the news


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## WATERHOUSE (Jun 21, 2002)

*Sorry Mike.*

I should be a bit more controlled and less fanatical when it comes to these issues. 

This thread and its content are only here because the Editor is open-minded enough and realises that the view I have on LIVING and its management are not unique, and give others the ability to air their views, whether I agree or disagree with them.

It also shows that he has great integrity with regard to some difficult/sensitive issues.

I am sure this is not the first time issues like this have been posted and his experience shows this.

I am relatively new to U75. I don't know much about its history at all.
What I do know however, is that this thread is INTENSE. Legal threats may come about because of its content. Physical threats of violence may come also. 

The editor has done a good job.

As I mentioned before, I'm not having a pop at you Mike.
I can't stand what the place represents, and I apologise for being out of order. 
But you can't fight passion. 
And I can't help the way I write sometimes either, it just comes out. 


Waterhouse.


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## bencockle (Jun 21, 2002)

*Hello - I'm Ben & work with Lawrence*

hello, it's always nice to be amongst friends.

i was slightly flummoxed when i saw that not only is Mr Hatboy a man with with strong - and obviously personal feelings - on this subject but he also seems to be the moderator, which as far as i can ascertain is defined as;

_"Moderators oversee specific forums. They generally have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads, and perform other manipulations. Becoming a moderator for a specific forum is usually rewarded to users who are particularly helpful and knowledgeable in the subject of the forum they are moderating."_ 

this fills me with worries as to the objectivity of the forum that i would have thought should be at least given lip service. after all one should not merely be whiter than white (a slightly unfortunate turn of phrase i know considering the subject matter, but please give me some leeway) but seen to be whiter than white.

does anyone else think this is a valid point? or will they be censored??

cheers

ben


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## editor (Jun 21, 2002)

Please note: The 'Living' bar on Coldharbour Lane is nothing to do with the large bar chain who run several bars called the "Living Room".

(They're the people who forced the Coldharbour Lane version to change their name).


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## hatboy (Jun 23, 2002)

I bet they're glad they did too. It would be damaging for them to be associated with a racist bar in Brixton.


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## John Wisehammer (Jun 23, 2002)

ben cockle - your 'point' about Hatboy being a moderator is irrelevant and a pathetic attempt to divert the course of the discussion. Moderators on U75 don't select or censor genuine opinions or posts, they just delete ads, legally dodgy stuff and irrelevant bollocks. Nobody's ever been stopped from saying anything so long as it's on-topic and respectful in the time I've been here.

Perhaps you should stop arsing around and address some of the issues raised?


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## Streathamite (Jun 23, 2002)

precisely, john. Ben:
a) moderators are reactive, not proactive (ie they respond to specific problems, rather than steer discussions)
b) you chose to come here. Well done, it's a good thing, welcome etc. But you did so according to the house rules.
So, like JWH said - address the issues.


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## Anna Key (Jun 24, 2002)

I posted this on the I went to the Living Bar tonight thread a few days ago, but got no response. Thought I'd try again here:-

Welcome Ben. Given the criticisms of your employer, Lawrence Merrett, on these boards I respect you for posting here. 

Can you comment on the complaints against Living Bar or, as Lawrence Merrett's employee, is this difficult for you? 

I appreciate your need to be loyal to your employer, who pays your wages and could discipline or sack you should you be disloyal. 

A reminder of the main points, from Living Bar: Racist? 


> _Originally posted by GODSMACKED:_
> 
> Posts on this thread accuse Living Room Leisure Ltd Director Lawrence Merrett of:
> 
> ...


Any thoughts?


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## editor (Jun 24, 2002)

Ben: as has been stated by others, I can repeat that Hatboy's role as  'moderator' is simply as a helping hand to occasionally  delete clearly offensive/racist posts, blatant trolls and adverts and bona fide defamatory/illegal comments.

He has no authority to delete posts that he doesn't personally agree with, nor can he steer debates in a direction he likes or interfere with other people's posts.

His (much appreciated) role is the same as the other moderators here, and that is to facilitate free, open and honest debate within the clearly-defined rules of this forum. In reality, that means he does very little indeed, other than be another set of 'eye's for me.

I can assure you that he will not delete/edit/alter any of your posts here so long as they comply with the conditions above, so please feel free to answer the points repeatedly raised by others.


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## TopCat (Jun 24, 2002)

*Don't hold your breath waiting...*

Oi you lot , your all going blue! 

Hell may freeze before Lawrence's employees stand up to the Eton wally...

Then again bar jobs are two a penny so go on Ben answer the questions!


----------



## Streathamite (Jun 26, 2002)

How silent of you, Ben. DO you intend to rebut them substantively. This issue will NOT go away if you just ignore it. But I think that if you convince people on this site with a reasoned argument against these allegations, people will take them and consider them seriously (but not as gospel). So-run away or put up?

<edited to add: by "seriously", I personally will not quite so openly display the deep loathing I feel for a racist bully (Lawrence) and the disdain for a lackey whose testicles appear entirely non-functional on current showing, metaphorically speaking


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## GODSMACKED (Jun 28, 2002)

How pathetic.

Lawrence Merrett sends his employee to these boards to try and dampen things down.

Said employee is given special protection by the Editor, who asks people to be nice to Ben.

Said employee attacks a moderator (Hatboy).

Said employee moans about people not wanting a debate.

Said employee refuses to debate.

Said employee lies about Living Bar wrecking a crime scene.

Ben. You are a proven tosspot.


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## IntoStella (Jun 28, 2002)

...Who not only lies about tampering with a crime scene but accuses a moderator who witnessed the act and spoke to the police at the scene of lying. Isn't tampering with evidence a pretty serious crime in itself? BTW welcome back, GOD. Will we be seeing more of you?


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## editor (Jun 28, 2002)

> Said employee is given special protection by the Editor, who asks people to be nice to Ben.


This is deeply offensive bullshit of the highest order.

Ben will be treated no different to any other poster here.

If you want any credibility here, try sticking to the truth. After all, I don't see anyone editing your comments, do you?


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## Mrs Magpie (Jun 28, 2002)

I am not happy about the swipe at Mike either.......Mike runs these boards, in his own time and at his own expense, so that we are able to debate stuff here. The breadth of debate here is like nowhere else. By running these boards extremely well Mike is actually facilitating interaction amongst a broad section of computer users, not just in Brixton, but around the world. Have you taken a look at other bulletin boards? This is really a site in a class of its own......which is why it is so popular. That demands a great deal of respect. 

Tell me GODSMACKED of the shouty capitals, what have you contributed to your community recently?


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## hatboy (Jun 28, 2002)

I don't think that was mean't to be a swipe. I get the impression that GODSMACKED was saying that despite being politely welcomed by the Editor, Ben Cockle still failed miserably to address the allegations of racism being levelled at his employer. 

Pathetic.


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## editor (Jun 28, 2002)

hatboy: His comments were very specific: "Said employee is given special protection by the Editor, who asks people to be nice to Ben" and it was most certainly (another) snipe.

To be honest, I really don't take too kindly to some new poster using these boards to post up a bag of lies about me supposedly granting 'special protection' to anyone associated with the Living Room.

I would have thought the fact that I'm hosting pages and pages of debate slagging off the place is more than enough proof of that...

<deep sigh>


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## TopCat (Jun 28, 2002)

It WAS a swipe and was out of order.

ben we are still waiting for your reply...

<tumbleweed goes by for tenth time>


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## IntoStella (Jun 28, 2002)

*Read it again*

You're arguing over a grammatical nuance:


> _Originally posted by GODSMACKED _
> *Said employee is given special protection by the Editor, who asks people to be nice to Ben.
> *


I interpreted this as GS saying that Ben has been given special protection _insofar as_ Mike has asked people to be nice to him, and that nothing more than that is implied.
Mike, I think you are being too touchy about this.


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## Mrs Magpie (Jun 29, 2002)

I didn't read it like that at all at first, but I see what you mean.......it had been a pretty full on day for the Mike & the Mods, I know that I was pretty snippy with one & all..........

OK, well if you meant it like IntoStella suggests, then sorry for my snippiness, I do hope I misinterpreted your remark, if not then what I said stands.....


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## academia (Jun 29, 2002)




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## editor (Jun 29, 2002)

Supposedly offering 'special protection' and asking people to 'be nice' sound like two entirely different things to me, hence my response.

Ben has no 'special protection' whatsoever, neither have I asked people to be 'nice' to him: I've just tried to ensure that he gets the chance to argue for himself and not be held personally responsible for every gripe that people have with the bar he works for.

And my comments about his posts not getting altered weren't about 'protection' - they were designed to remove any chance of him wriggling out of answering the questions posed by others.

That's why I clearly and unequivocally implored him to "to answer the points repeatedly raised by others".


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## Mr Retro (Jun 29, 2002)

mmm I read it as an out of order swipe. How did you mean it to sound 'shouty letters'? (lol @ Mrs Magpie)


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## Streathamite (Jul 2, 2002)

Still no answer though - I really think that says it all


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## William of Walworth (Jul 2, 2002)

*Agree with Jezza ...*

Indeed!


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## Streathamite (Jul 2, 2002)

Good lord - you're back! Welcome back, and ta for kind words


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## tarannau (Jul 4, 2002)

For some reason Living/Redstar/Play/Merrittprofitville keep on emailing me with their latest events. Straight into the junk mail filter with them, but annoying that their unsubscribe function doesn't appear to have worked eh... 

Anyway, seems our pal Ben may have an email for correspondence. If anyone feels free to jolt his memory about our concerns, he seems all too willing to quote ben@redstar.co.uk as his contact point...


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## Anna Key (Jul 11, 2002)

Can anyone help out with some photographs of central Brixton? 

I’m after photos of the Coach & Horses Pub in Coldharbour Lane before it was “modernised” by Isobar then Living (Room) Bar. 

It’s for a planning scuffle that’s going on (see above) and might help preserve the building - a good example of 19th century pub architecture in a Conservation Area and subject to... ahem... enthusiastic building work. 

There’s also a bit of social history involved. Pat from the Albert, now sadly deceased, leaned over the bar one afternoon and told me that the Coach & Horses had the first Black landlord in London (or Britain - I can’t remember which she said and can no longer ask her). 

Anyone know anything about this? If it’s a fact (and Pat usually got these right) there should be a plaque on the wall, IMO. 

If you can help please post here or PM/email me. Thanks!

<Please excuse the double post - this also on a separate thread.>


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## GaryJenkins (Jul 11, 2002)

On 24 May on Page 8 of this very thread Ceridwen said



> Well..well. Is there anyone out there who remembers The Coach and Horses and The Atlantic? They had black land-lords one Sonny and t'other George Berry.



There used to be a footballer called George Berry (Wolves?), is this the same person?


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## IntoStella (Jul 22, 2002)

*NON SEQUITUR OF THE WEEK*

*



Originally posted by GaryJenkins 
There used to be a footballer called George Berry (Wolves?), is this the same person?
		
Click to expand...

Apparently not, but Gil Scott Heron's dad played for Celtic.*


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## Streathamite (Aug 1, 2002)

Intostella, you are a veritable eldorado of utterly useless information. 
bumping this thread because it is so fucking important


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## IntoStella (Aug 1, 2002)

Just trying to say something more interesting than bump. So where is everybody?
What happened to Waterhouse?
<edited to say: If you just got here, go to the start of the thread. It's extremely important>


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## hatboy (Aug 7, 2002)

I have emailed Waterhouse several times for an update on this.  No response.   

What's going on with planning and enforcement??? Nothing no doubt. Money talks... again.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Aug 7, 2002)

I rekon the bloke who's article appeared in the 1st post (havn't read any others...yet) is just whinging becuase nobody likes R'n'B anymore...


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## hatboy (Aug 7, 2002)

Harold Bishop - about discrimination at Living: I'm afraid that IS NOT imaginary. I've witnessed it and so have many in Brixton. You wouldn't be so aware of stuff round here I guess since you give your location as E3.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Aug 8, 2002)

hey... i used to live in east dulwich and go to the living room quite often.. I never noticed any descrimination, apart from the usual you get with clubs on the door, like how much money have you got and no sportswear. It seemed quite mixed whenever i was there.


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## hatboy (Aug 8, 2002)

It might not be apparent on one or two visits my friend. But black friends of mine (and others) have been treated discriminatorily there and it's abit rich to accuse Richard Waterhouse's original comments of being simply a moan about whether people still like R&B.  

Re-read this thread, R Daley's comments for instance are pretty damning.  

More generally (reposted from elsewhere) I'm afraid the long and the short of it is that Dogstar, Living, now Babushka; many of these "style bars" just DO NOT care about allowing people to have fun in any way but the most moderate. They want you to spend your money and shut up. It makes me so angry. I'm not saying you should be able to break things and swing from the light fittings, but a bit of expression of fun, individuality or eccentricity? Why the fuck not! 

I'm glad your experience there was OK Harold, but it really isn't like that for everybody. OK


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## bouncer_the_dog (Aug 8, 2002)

OK i will study this thread, but i would like to point out that last time I went to the living room (well over a year ago) it was on thier 80's ironic (fingers in air making comma sign) nights.... I did my morrisey swinging flowers manouver on the dance floor, followed by a request for G'n"R sweet child of mine (which was duely played) later I was to be seen leading the air guitar solo of bon jovis living on a prayer while standing on a chair. May I point out also this behaviour was prompted by a) noticing everyone was too trendy to jump around to house of pains jump around and b) being very, very, very drunk.
Maybe its changed in a year or so.


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...oh well, they've got Lincoln (bug bar, Z bar, brixton cycles) there on a monday now so I'm going to support him.


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## Anna Key (Aug 12, 2002)

*it's not cool*

_aviatik wrote_


> *...oh well, they've got Lincoln... there on a monday now so I'm going to support him.*


By supporting Lincoln you're also supporting this:


> _Extract from R Daley's email (page 8 this thread)_
> *... concerning the antics of the management of the Living Room Bar in Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. I have worked at the Fridge nightclub & Bar in Brixton for many years and I also happen to be a Black Male... The story that you relate does not surprise me as I am aware of the blatantly racist policies of the Living Room and their apartheid brand of management. This situation has been long standing and I am happy that others are now seeing what we have condemned openly for the past two years...*


and this:


> _Mrs Magpie wrote: (page 3 this thread)_
> *I know well respected people in Brixton, black men, gays and lesbians (sorry love, couples only....meaning heterosexual couples that is.....) who have been refused entry to Dogstar and (Living Bar) even when they have had people inside waiting for them. My daughter fainted outside (Living Bar) last year and was told it was £1.75 for a glass of water brought to her...*


and this:


> _GODSMACKED wrote: (page 9 this thread)_
> *Posts on this thread accuse Living Room Leisure Ltd Director Lawrence Merrett of:
> - Enforcing a racist door policy
> - Enforcing a sexist door policy
> ...


You know how bars like Living and Dogstar work. They try to get a buzz going, try and build a rep for being 'cool' and 'trendy' and 'happenin.' Just look at the (appalling) Living Bar web site. See the self-congratulatory puff on their own 'innit' cred.

When people walk past on the pavement (or when music journalists arrive) the management want the place rammed.

So when a musician (like Lincoln) performs at Living Bar and a supporter (like you) turns up you're key movers in making the bar a success. Living Bar relies on people like you to arrive for the acts, consume their booze, prop an elbow on the bar and say "oh well..."

I don't know you aviatik and mean you no disrespect but do you want the behaviour described in these posts to continue?

Because that's the affect of walking into that bar. I'd also put money on Lincoln not knowing the score. Otherwise, why would he agree to perform?


[See also the posts made by Ben Cockle, a Living Bar employee. He failed to address a single substantive point on this thread. When this was (courteously) pointed out to him he ran off. His posts are here.]


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## John Wisehammer (Aug 12, 2002)

A close friend of mine knows Lincoln (if it's the same geezer from Brixton Cycles) as a very nice guy - it might be worth chatting to him about what's been said here so at least he might know what people are saying.


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...so now I don't know what to do...I want to go and hear Lincoln play...but feel that I shouldn't. If Lincoln's night doesn't take off because of the unofficial boycott people like myself would be responsible...it's hard enough getting anyone in any bar on a monday night as it is


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## John Wisehammer (Aug 12, 2002)

"If Lincoln's night doesn't take off because of the unofficial boycott people like myself would be responsible"

No, it won't - it'll be the bar management's fault for operation a bar that pisses people off. It's not the consumers' fault if a product does badly.


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...might not the fact that he's there at all demonstrate the effectiveness of the "boycott"?


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## John Wisehammer (Aug 12, 2002)

Well, jesus, you can't have it both ways - either this "boycott" (which seems to exist among some U75ers and their viral antimarketing) is effective at emptying the gaff or it isn't! Well, let's find out if this Lincoln punter - who, as I say, has been described to me as a sound person by someone I trust - knows about the type of criticism made on this thread - what would happen if he pulled out or raised the issue with the management?

I don't have a clue how high awareness of Living Bar's shitey behaviour is among the potential market but I'm glad I've seen this thread so I at least won't be funding it.


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## Anna Key (Aug 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by aviatik _
> *...might not the fact that he's there at all demonstrate the effectiveness of the "boycott"?*


LOL I've not heard him play but he can't be that bad.... 

Why not point him towards this thread? He can't have read it. Otherwise he wouldn't be performing at Living Bar.

If he's from Brixton Cycles they've always struck me as nice people running a great company (co-op). Why he'd want his name connected with Living Bar is a mystery, unless he's unaware of this thread. So you'd be doing him a favour by telling him.

OK, the thread's had 10,000 hits but _some_ people won't have read it! Let them educate themselves and make informed choices.

Once he knows the details he may decide to avoid the bar. Entirely up to him. A bit like choosing not to buy South African products during Apartheid. 

But more powerful because Brixton's a small community where motivated people can make a difference.

I don't see anything wrong with all performers at the bar (and the sister bars) being asked if they're aware of the background. Let them have the relevant information before agreeing to play. Let them ask the bar management what's going on.

They could also suggest, as has been proposed on this thread, that Lambeth Council investigate the bars' door and other policies before granting or renewing public entertainment licenses. Let the allegations be investigated by some trusted person.

Most musicians I meet in Brixton are fiercely pro-diversity, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, etc and would be well pissed-off at their names being associated with a suspect bar.

I guess the bulk of the musicians on Living Bar flyers are just ignorant, through no fault of their own.

Most of the performers have email addresses. Some have web pages. And some of these web pages carry political statements professing anti-racist and pro-diversity sentiments (a bit like this site).

It's bizarre for any of them to be taking the Merrett shilling. A bit like Yehudi Menuhin agreeing to perform at a Ku Klux Klan convention.


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## hatboy (Aug 12, 2002)

Well the email for Brixton Cycles is sales@brixtoncycles.co.uk - would it be a good idea to email some quotes from here and a link to this thread fo the attention of Lincoln?


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## Mrs Magpie (Aug 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Anna Key _
> *A bit like Yehudi Menuhin agreeing to perform at a Ku Klux Klan convention. *


Steady the buffs Anna, LM is a deeply unpleasant man but as far as I know don't think he's responsible for racist murders.....the most recent act that I have witnessed is him slapping the backside of one of the female staff in the Phoenix...who the fuck does he think he is?Sleazeball is one of his current nicknames.....


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## Anna Key (Aug 12, 2002)

Point taken Mrs M.

I'll substitute "A bit like Chumbawumba agreeing to perform at John Prescott's birthday party."

I'd like to be there to witness the fallout should he decide to goose a Magpie.

Big laugh eh? Wealthy and powerful local businessman pinches cafe employee's bottom.  

From your description the object of his _affections_ has grounds for complaint to the police (alleged indecent assault) and maybe the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Perhaps she also has some large brothers with _views_ on family honour?


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...still confused... 

...is dogstar now ok (see "dogstar sunday nights" thread) but living rooms not ok?

does going to a bar to hear someone play count as a complete endorsement of the alleged or otherwise proven attitudes of the owners/management/staff/bouncers?

...let me give you an analogy...now, I think Celia Cruz is a great singer: she is, as it happens, anti - Castro...so is it possible at all to enjoy her music or does that make me by association sympathetic with US intervention in Cuba?

...all I said was that I wanted to hear someone play at a bar with which some board users dislike for some (I understand very valid) reasons. He is, in my opinion, a very good DJ who plays some great music...if that is not reason enough to go, what is? Perhaps someone could point out where else I can hear him or, for that matter, Tuggy (thursdays @ living rooms) at a venue which is more ethically sound.

Come to think of it, might not other venues be operating similar door policies but you just don't know about it...


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...STOP PRESS!

just seen the "dogstar tonight" post...would like to go but is it "ok" for me to do so without endorsing etc. etc.

correct me if I'm wrong but (ahem) 

a) living rooms monday  
b) dogstar monday  

...is that about the shape of it?


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## John Wisehammer (Aug 12, 2002)

It's not as if there's any sort of U75 monothink! Surely each has to decide for herself? It would seem there are two pretty simple questions: do you believe what people above have said about Living's behaviour? if yes, does it matter if you give money to people who behave like that?

Music / politics - fair enough question: http://urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16023


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## editor (Aug 12, 2002)

aviatik: do whatever you feel like doing and make whatever compromises and sacrifices that  *you* feel comfortable with, not what others try to tell you.

After all, every day we invariably end up consuming/using some product or service created by an exploitative multinational, business or individual and in the grand scheme of of things, whether you have a drink in a dodgy Brixton bar or not isn't going to make a whole lot of difference: it's your call.

If you feel gut-bustingly wired-up and angry about the allegations of racism at the Living bar, don't go there and persuade others to avoid the place like the plague.

If you're aware of the rumours, but heck, it's your mate who's playing there, then go along and support him if you want to. Life's too short to take on every issue under the sun, so sometimes you've got to make compromises to keep things sweet (but while you're there you might want to pass on what you've heard here).

On the other hand, if you don't give a flying fuck about the rumours (it's just a bar after all) and feel you've got far more important things to get bothered about,  then go along and enjoy your night. It's your call, and no one else's.

As for me, I go to the Dogstar occasionally in the week and have had some great nights - after all, it's free to get in, the beer's reasonably priced, the DJs can be entertaining and it sure beats sitting in some smoke and phlegm filled old man's boozer (well, sometimes!) and being kicked out at 11.20.


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## hatboy (Aug 12, 2002)

While I really applaud the editor's equanimity, for me it's Living - a definite NO WAY! Dogstar - mm, maybe - but probably not, because of their poor soundsystem and the general "walk on the mildside" atmosphere.


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## editor (Aug 12, 2002)

Come on hatboy! I could list hundreds of pubs that suffer from 'walking on the mildside', but at least the Dogstar is:

1. local
2. open late
3. reasonably priced * 
4. decent music (sometimes) *
5. not full of brawling piss heads *
6. lets me and my scruffy mates in

And when they're not foolishly trying to ban me for running this site they've also been known to support local ventures, so cut the place a bit of slack, eh?

I mean, if you don't like the pub, fair enough, but I can think of a whole *lot* of  pubs with far worse sound-systems, beer, bouncers, ambiance and people: and they charge you for the privilege!

(*Caveat: I am talking about the Dogstar in the week here. Come the weekend and it undergoes a dreadful metamorphosis into some Disco Dante's Dystopia which you certainly won't hear me singing the praises of!)


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## hatboy (Aug 12, 2002)

OK Mike - I give in, Neil wotsit was very nice to me today so I'll go again sometime when I'm in the mood. That is of course if the security consent to un-ban me. Refusal for being pissed I can accept, refusal for being myself I can't. I'm still suspicious of LM's part-ownership however (if this is still so, someone confirm it's not).  

And I think your above post is abit too cosy  <sorry Ed>


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## editor (Aug 12, 2002)

I wonder how many bar owners would feel that a description of their bar as 'Disco Dante's Dystopia ' is a  'cosy' one?!!!


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## hatboy (Aug 12, 2002)

The bit before that bit I, er, didn't read.   

LEAVE IT!


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## aviatik (Aug 12, 2002)

...oh! I couldn't go in the end anyway...

 

...seriously though, I've followed the thread and can only comment that when I have been there (would have been a thursday when tuggy was playing) the crowd such as it was, seemed very "mixed" and the music was superb...


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## atty (Aug 13, 2002)

*dogstar<>living*

apparently things are brewing below decks (or in basements or in solicitors offices) re the relationship between the dogstar and the living room, different sides of meritt clan etc, which may leave with egg on our faces all those of us who have defended the recent dogstar in some way.

Meantime the new promotion manager at the dogstar seems to be succesfully pulling in young lasses with blonde hair the like of which have not been seen in the neighbourhood for several years (especially on a monday). 

It's going to be an interesting familly/corporate dogfight to spectate

laters
atty

ps
I called in on lincoln at living and having known him for years (being an ex bike courier) but never having heard him dj before I was well impressed, however given time of year there were only 10 audience (and also evidently no racist door policy on a monday)


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## Anna Key (Aug 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by hatboy _
> *I'm still suspicious of LM's part-ownership however (of Dogstar). *



Too right. I've never believed his alleged withdrawal from Dogstar.

We need the records from Companies House. Accounts and directors listings cost about £10 each. I've tracked four companies so that's £80.

Is anyone a corporate subscriber to Companies House? Firms of accountants and solicitors usually are - they need frequent access to company records. If so, it shouldn't cost anything to get the material.

I'm damned if I'm spending £80 to own bits of paper with "Living Bar" and "Merrett" written on them!

Details:-

Companies House
21 Bloomsbury St
London WC1B 3XD
Information and Telesales - Tel +44 (0)870 3333636
Fax - 029 20 380900
Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm

http://ws5.companies-house.gov.uk 

Dogstar Leisure Ltd (03088638)
Living Room Leisure Ltd (63995826) 
Redstar Leisure Ltd (04009939) 
Play Leisure Ltd (04096298)

Bracketed number = company number

There could be another company for MASS. Couldn't find it. Alternatively, MASS could be buried in the Dogstar accounts. Anyone who's been paid by cheque for working at MASS might know the name of the company (from the cheque).

There might be a sixth company into which the others feed. Couldn't find that either.


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## WATERHOUSE (Aug 14, 2002)

Hello again everyone.  I have not abandoned this issue, and there are other issues which have a greater need. i.e. Myself.
My computer was hacked and I have not been on-line for some time, for security reasons. My system is still down. It will stay down for some time. 
Sometimes it is good to look from the outside at what is going on. Merrett has got the idea, and has been trying to rectify his bullshit since this thread exposed his true nature. There have been threats of legal action which have amounted to nothing, and the realisation that 'there are quite a few coloured folk in the manor', who also have money is starting to sink in. I never had a personal axe to grind with Merrett and I maintain that I spoke with a true voice from the start. He is still a wanker in my book. I do not like the man. Or what he represents. I have seen him in public on many occasions and I believe he knows where I am coming from. 
It is interesting that Linx is Djing there on Mondays, maybe he's the new token for LIVING. I know Linx, and I wonder what the motive for him playing there is? Good luck to him I say. I have filed an official complaint with the CRE. I still strive to deal with these scum on a legal level. Its a matter of wait and see. When all avenues have been exhausted, then it will be just see. I have been quiet and away from these boards for good reasons. I am always watching.


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## IntoStella (Aug 15, 2002)

*...Plus ça change....?*


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## aviatik (Aug 19, 2002)

...right then, its _definitely_ ok for me to go and hear lincoln play this monday then?


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## Anna Key (Aug 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by aviatik _
> *...right then, its definitely ok for me to go and hear lincoln play this monday then?*


No. Ask yourself:-

Is it the right thing to do?


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## Kinska (Aug 19, 2002)

I can only comment from a personal perspective as I don't really know the ins and outs of this entire situation.

However, I've been at the Dogstar every Tuesday for the last few weeks and I have never found the bouncers to be anything but friendly, helpful and courteous (sp?).

I have noticed them asking two people to leave.  One was dancing on the speakers in front of the booth and was knocking on the decks at the same time, making the records skip.  He was asked to get down once but refused and was subsequently asked to leave.

The second person was someone that tried to get the DJ to turn the music down so that a group of friends could sing 'happy birthday' to their mate.  The DJ told the guy to ask the promotor but he wouldn't and tried to keep on pressuring at which point he was asked to leave.

Inicidently, both of these people were white.

I am yet to see them turn people away.


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## Streathamite (Aug 24, 2002)

Black friends of mine have CERTAINLY been given grief at Living.
_(edited cos Your Dipstick Correspondent somehow failed to see richard's post)_


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## Streathamite (Aug 24, 2002)

richard, please do keep us posted on the CRE thang-excellent news that you've done that. Who has lawrence made legal threats to?


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## isvicthere? (Aug 27, 2002)

This thread has been looked at over 11 000 times - Living staff are most certainly aware of it, and have been given ample and courteous opportunity to respond to concerns raised. They have signally failed to come up with anything but quickly refuted denials and an alacritous withdrawal from comment.

As I said much earlier, I never go in Living. To me it has the ambience,though none of the excitement, of a dentist's waiting room. But whatever comes of this thread, it leaves a bad taste.


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## Smilie (Aug 30, 2002)

*living n lawrence*

my best mate is a promoter (he does the most excellent pool parties at brockwell lido) and apparantly larrie at living approached him and asked if he wanted to do a monthly saturday residency at

'a new venue in brixton' that would make him lots of money - but would not give anything away...!!

you reckon its gonna be this 3 storey cycle shop thing??


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## IntoStella (Aug 31, 2002)

I have an idea. Why not rename the whole street Larry Lane and broadcast 'bangin' chuuuns' over some sort of tannoy system?  The road could be covered over with a nice 'drinking deck', running the length of the Lane. Implementing Larry's door policy might prove problematic, though.......


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## isvicthere? (Sep 2, 2002)

I just wonder how the council have given him permission, considering that the Dog Star is 50 yards down the street and Living virtually next door. 

One thing that people constantly say about Brixton is that it has a wonderful air of diversity about it. Three virtually identical venues within 20 seconds' walk of one another make no sense, planning or otherwise.


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## Mrs Magpie (Sep 2, 2002)

Well the rumours of you-know-who being deep in the financial shit are gathering pace...Coldharbour Lane is now rife with rumours of his lack of available dosh, far beyond the usual temporary cash flow problems that businesses have....so lets all pray that the next legal stuff that he's having to deal with will involve bankruptcy as well as planning regulation flouting......................


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## IntoStella (Sep 2, 2002)




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## IntoStella (Sep 4, 2002)

*Ello ello ello... What's goin' on 'ere, then?.....*


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## Anna Key (Sep 5, 2002)

*result*

An extract from an email I received today from Lambeth Planning Department:-
*



			Enforcement Notices were issued today on Living. The requirements of the Notice are:
1. Remove the wooden decking and enclosure at the front of the premises
2. Remove the white floodlights/heaters on the front elevation located above the ground floor windows and all associated electric's/wiring
3. Remove the spotlights located above ground floor windows on front and side elevations and all associated electric's/wiring
4. Remove the scaffold brackets and projection units/holders on front and side elevations of the premises at first floor level and associated fixtures/fittings
5. Remove all air conditioning units/air handling plant, flues and related works from the flat roof of the two storey rear extension, flat roof of the single storey rear extension and roof plane of the hipped roof at the rear of the premises
6. Remove all windows at 1st floor level and replace with softwood framed windows with vertically sliding sashes counterbalanced by weights
7. Remove the two doors in the front elevation and replace with original doors as existed prior to the breach of planning control
8. Remove all resultant debris from the premises and make good generally the building to a high standard consistent with the quality of the original building

The Notice takes effect on the 16th October 2002 and allows him 84 days to carry out the above. If he wishes to appeal this must be submitted (to the Planning Inspectorate) before the 16th October 2002.

If you wish to see a copy of the Enforcement Notice it is in the Planning Register in our Town Planning Advice Centre (I cannot send you an electronic copy).

I hope this information is of use and if you wish to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to get in contact.
		
Click to expand...

*I've looked at the Notice (ref: 01/00373 at the Acre Lane Planning Office). In addition to the above requirements it says:-
*



			The unauthorised works detract from a building which, prior to the works, contributed positively to the conservation area. The unauthorised works litter the front, side and rear elevations and do not preserve or enhance the character of the area and relate poorly to the building in terms of proportion and rhythm, materials and colour, roofscape, design details and style. Individually, and cumulatively, the unauthorised works are detrimental to the visual amenities of the neighbourhood and are of a low quality in terms of design.
		
Click to expand...

*In other words:-

Lambeth Council has just thrown the planning book at Lawrence Merrett. The Council's told him, subject to appeal, to repair the damage he's caused to a handsome Victorian pub in central Brixton, or face the consequences. The latter can be severe.

It turns out that the planning complaints about Living Bar posted earlier on this thread are quite mild. It's clear from the list of works required by the Council, shown above, that the situation is somewhat worse than people thought. 

For example, I didn't realise that all the first floor windows have been wrecked. Walking past today I saw what the planners are complaining about: the old Victorian sash windows (the ones with weights on either side) have all gone.

What's so ludicrous is that this could all have been avoided: if Lawrence Merrett had obeyed planning law and permitted local people to be consulted about the built environment where they live, work and visit.


p.s. Sorry about the length of this post. But this thread's had nearly 12,000 hits and I thought quite a few people might be interested. Much respect to Mike and U75 for carrying the story. I hope Richard Waterhouse gets a similar result with the CRE. It goes without saying that racism is more important than town planning.


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## John Wisehammer (Sep 5, 2002)

*Excellent work, Ms. Key!*


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## Gramsci (Sep 5, 2002)

Yippee!!

    I can hardly believe the council have thrown the book at Larry.His attitude must really have upset them.I did put in a complaint some time ago about it.I did see my local councillor about his intentions about the old bike shop.To my surprise(as a new Labour councillor) she was not keen on the Larrys intentions either.I did mention what he had done to the Coach and Horses.When she talked to the planning office about it they told her his plans for the bike shop had to be treated as a separate issue and would not prejudice his application for the bike shop.This unfortunately his how the system works in planning law.However I would think that with his past history they will look at his application much more closely(I hope).

     It appears to me that Larry has squandered the goodwill that he had from the Labour councillors when he first came to Brixton.Maybe he does not care.I wonder what he will do know?He could possibly appeal.I would not put that past him.The council may not want to get involved in expensive legal action and come to a compromise.I hope not.He could go to the papers and argue he is a businessman "revitalising" the area being obstructed by bureaucrats etc.I think it will still need residents to keep on the case.


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## tarannau (Sep 5, 2002)

Excellent news! 

Rest assured that at least a few locals are quite happy to keep a wary eye on the situation.

If he wants to moan to the local press he may find that there's not only one side of the story to be told....


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## IntoStella (Sep 6, 2002)

*Bravo, Anna Key, you are a trooper and a genius. 
Please accept this bouquet as a token of my esteem!






Three Cheers for Anna Key! 

Hip Hip....

*


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## IntoStella (Sep 16, 2002)

...... So now they're filming Babyfather in Living? 

(They were setting up this morning)  


That's fucking priceless, that is.....


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## edgarlesty (Sep 16, 2002)

*...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...*

...i wondered what all the black cloth was about this morning when i wandered past on me way to work

thought it might have been funereal to mark the (alleged) passing of Larry from the management (!)

but after all the justifiable debate about exclusive racist door policies on this thread, I agree with IntoStella on the filming of Babyfather - YOU COULD NOT MAKE THIS UP!

what's next,  a vegetarian cooking programme filmed in McDonald's? a gay night at the Coast Bar? a drug rehab meeting in the 414?


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## WATERHOUSE (Sep 18, 2002)

*GONE.......???? Hmm.. R U Sure?? Let's B sure!!*

-With all due respect to the Editor and patrons of these boards, If that wanker Merrett is gone........all I have to say is FUCK OFF AND GOOD RIDDANCE. dont look back, keep going, and if you're in deep shit, I hope it stinks. 

BTW the CRE have my complaint. They refused to comment on what they intended to do to the media. More Government RED tape if you ask me. 

Bad boys move in silence.
WATERHOUSE.


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## Maggot (Sep 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by editor _
> *I wonder how many bar owners would feel that a description of their bar as 'Disco Dante's Dystopia ' is a  'cosy' one?!!!
> 
> *




I think Disco Dante's Dystopia is an excellent name for a club!


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## hatboy (Oct 6, 2002)

Any news on the CRE thing?


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## IntoStella (Mar 19, 2003)

Is this thread still in Brixton forum? I can't see it anywhere. Am I being stoopid here?    

Saw Mr Waterhouse in the Albert yesterday, incidentally,  but I wasn't introduced *sniff*. 

Will LB coin it in from Dogsturd  losing its late licence?


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## isvicthere? (Mar 20, 2003)

Things have gone quiet recently on the LB front. Has anyone got an update on developments (if any) there? 

I must say that, just like the Dogstar, every time I've gone past it recently, it certainly seems to be less popular than hitherto. Is this the sign of a fad passing, or an indication that "nu"-Brixton is on the wane, making way (hopefully) for something more authentic/creative/community friendly?


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## IntoStella (Mar 20, 2003)

Well, plenty of new trendy late bars have opened in the past year or two. Maybe the Clapham kroo have simply switched their very fickle loyalties to other places that aren't bounced by assholes.  Maybe many of them didn't like running the gauntlet of all the nasty dwug dealers on CHL -- unless they wanted to buy some fake charlie, of course.  Maybe they didn't like their black friends being told to go home and change their shoes when everyone else in the same footwear was being let in.  

Maybe they didn't like being thrown down the stairs and punched in the face by the bouncers, as happened a few months ago to a u75 user who does not want  to be identified or make a fuss owing to the necessity of walking  past the place. The person is understandably worried about reprisals.  How d'ya like them apples? There are people who are afraid to walk down CHL because of Larry's bouncers.  

Or maybe LB has just had its day.


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## Anna Key (Mar 20, 2003)

> _Originally posted by isvicthere? _
> *Things have gone quiet recently on the LB front. Has anyone got an update on developments (if any) there?  *


There was a Public Inquiry held last week into Living Bar's numerous planning violations. Result awaited but a little bird told me the trouble centres on the first floor windows.

Photographic evidence was produced showing the old windows and there may be a dispute as to who ripped them out and when.

There are at least two live planning applications, one to extend the place still further. The music still thumps out late at night and they still chuck their rubbish in the street.

One of my neighbours walked round recently and challenged the bouncers about the noise. She was told "You'll get used to it. This is Brixton baby." She wasn't over-impressed.

Amusingly there's a new private block of flats being built bang next to Living Bar on Electric Lane. This will, presumably, be let for £oodles and the tenants, paying through their noses, are unlikey to appreciate being bombed out of bed by LB's 'ambyant computa sounz' at 4am.

So all in all things are looking up. Dogstar and Mass in liquidation and LB may even have costs awarded against it for the Planning Inquiry. Not sure how much this would be but I've heard "£thousands."

Did anyone go to the Inquiry? It was run by a central Government Inspector so may have presented LB with difficulties gathering political support.

On the 'WALLPAPER' front (the proposed Merrett 600 capacity nightclub in the Old Bike Shop) not a dicky bird. It's still with the planners and has yet to go to planning committee.

If the planners recommend 'yes' (which seems unlikely after two company liquidations, a Public Inquiry and Labour losing control) we should all attend the meeting and kick up stink.


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## Streathamite (Mar 20, 2003)

bloody well done Anna Key! and "hear, hear" mr Waterhouse!


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## Gramsci (Mar 24, 2003)

The planning inquiry into the Living Bar was open to the public.The problem was that the council omitted to tell all "interested parties" that it was happening.I am going to complain as I was not notified.Someone I know who did get notified was not impressed by the councils legal team.I remember ages ago when Larry was refused an upstairs entertainments license for the Dogstar he appealed to the magistrates court.I agreed to be a witness for the council.His lawyer was organised and had put together a case for his client.The councils lawyer hadnt.He was still reading the papers outside the court just before it began.Things went downhill from their and Larry got his license.Larry was right to appeal against his enforcement order as Lambeth are generally not good on legal stuff in my experience.


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## IntoStella (Mar 25, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Gramsci _
> *The planning inquiry into the Living Bar was open to the public.The problem was that the council omitted to tell all "interested parties" that it was happening.I am going to complain as I was not notified.. *


 Well done, Gramsci --  and I look forward  to your updates on this. 

This is all part of the same phenomenon as the proposed RR/CM sell offs: ignoring long-standing residents and business-people of central Brixton and their concerns and wishes, and instead   behaving in an  entirely undemocratic manner. It is essential that people don't let it pass.

It has been said often before but really cannot be overstated: a commercial entity mismanaged  like LB doesn't enrich central Brixton. It attracts taxi'd-in Claphamites, it attracts people selling (badly cut or fake) coke, crack and other shit,  and all Brixton is left with is more crime, noise, chaos and piles of street debris. Let there be good bars and clubs in Brixton -- yes, yes, yes -- but let them be an asset, not a parasite on the area.


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## Dionysus (Apr 10, 2003)

It seems rather late for me to be wading in after all seems discussed, digested, 're-produced' and discussed again. However, I have strong feelings about Brixton and the issue (racism and clubs in Brixton if I have already lost you) at hand since, as a black Brixtonian, I have been on the receiving end of some ugly treatment - and it is a point I am repeating from another thread on a similar topic.

The insulting of single, male, blacks in bars like the Living bar, the Dogstar, the Redstar and the ilk is real. The door policy (enforced in the clumsiest, rudest way by some depressing members of the species - unfortunately, usually also black males, not chosen for personableness) reflects the management. 

The shame is that these bars were good fun when they first opened, and I would have no trouble getting into them, even on my own on a Saturday night - now, who remembers the free mini-buses to the Redstar?

But, at some point the thought crystallises as you stand there, fuming from the bouncer and being stung for some silly entry fee, clutching an over-priced drink painfully extracted from fluffy bar staff, and surrounded by wankers for a couple of hours, to some questionable music, "This is seriously shit. Do not come here again." After that, a better life. If it is your thing, or you do not experience any of the above, then stay and be happy, with my sincere blessing.

In the meantime, Brixton is lovely for a good reason. There are always alternatives. And people in Brixton know what they like. Build the biggest, plushest wank bar you like and it will still be a wank bar, and some of us will still not go in. Easy.

The rest does not really matter to the masses like me. I am not hot on local politics, or palsy-walsy with the management of these places. What's more, I do not feel I should have to be just to enjoy a pleasant beer in the area where I live, and an okay area at that. Sort yourselves out.

In the meantime, you might bump into me propping up the bar at the Effra, the Queens Head, SW9, the Windmill, the Mambo Inn, Mango Landin' ...


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## Anna Key (Apr 10, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Dionysus _
> *... or palsy-walsy with the management of these places... *


What a horrible thought.

The trouble with the "vote with your feet there are plenty of  decent bars in Brixton" argument is that it leaves the problem unsolved.

It means that some black guy visiting Brixton and just walking into one of these bars by chance may get the treatment you describe.

Which doesn't strike me as good.


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## Dionysus (Apr 10, 2003)

If you can suggest a better alternative to voting with one's feet then I would like to know about it. Deny then oxygen and the flames die.

Declare open war and invade the place with troops? Picket outside it with banners? Get a 'higher' authority to impose a minimum quota of blacks?

I stress again, this place is for entertainment. I am not about to overturn the priorities in my life to tackle this kind of farce. Close it down and and in a few months we will be discussing the replacement for the same reasons. They are in demand. There are countless others in London alone. The world needs wank bars, and for very obvious reasons.

Moreover, black guys can look after themselves - I'mold enough to know. If one is prepared to suffer that kind of shit then who are we to interfere with one's democratic rights? I am happy enough to share thoughts and raise wareness, so that people can make an informed choice.

By the time the problem becomes bar management it is already a fundamentally social one, and needs to be tackled before one is facing the entrance to a bar with trepidation. To use an extremety, it was not the police who killed Stephen Lawrence - however, existing social issues were only exposed by their mishandling of it.


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## Anna Key (Apr 11, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Dionysus _
> *By the time the problem becomes bar management it is already a fundamentally social one, and needs to be tackled before one is facing the entrance to a bar with trepidation. To use an extremety, it was not the police who killed Stephen Lawrence - however, existing social issues were only exposed by their mishandling of it. *


I agree with you in the sense that alleged door-policy racism and other problems with Living Bar have deeper causes.

But you seemed trapped in a contradiction.

First you use the 'vote with your feet' argument: "Deny then oxygen and the flames die." Good. Lots of people refuse to enter Living Bar, you included by the sound of it.

Second you use the 'there's no point doing anything' argument:


> Close it down and and in a few months we will be discussing the replacement for the same reasons. They are in demand. There are countless others in London alone. The world needs wank bars, and for very obvious reasons.


I disagree with the second argument.

Just because there is a demand for something doesn't mean there should be a supply. There's a demand for child pornography and cluster bombs and Richard Littlejohn. The British National Party might decide, in a moment of lunacy, to rent office space on Brixton Hill. Supply (office space) would seek to satisfy demand (the BNP's desire and capacity to rent it).

Individuals, neighbourhoods and societies have always said: "No. In this instance we're going to regulate the market. In this case we won't permit supply to satisfy demand.

I support the right of a neighbourhood to regulate its environment. In fact, unless people have a degree of control over the local market I'd argue that meaningful 'community' can't exist. All you have are powerless individuals 'managed' by businessmen and politicians.

So I disagree with you. The neighbourhood deserves better, has the right to better, can have better and should demand better. There's no need to tolerate the sort of behaviour you and others describe, either from Living Bar or any other local venue.


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## Anna Key (May 21, 2003)

Just spotted this on the Chronicleworld Message Board, posted last month. (http://www.dream-tools.com/tools/messages.mv?index+chronicleworld) So the saga continues:-


> I find it incredible to believe that there are establishments in the heart of Brixton (a predominantly black population) that are practising racism. I particularly make direct reference to the LIVING Bar, located in Coldharbour Lane. On occasion I had been asked about certain black people, friends, lawyers even relatives who had entered the bar. Regular followers of the night, customers, patrons of his establishment! Slowly but surely we began again to re-build. After awhile people began to return, black and white alike. Uninformed and unaware. After establishing ourselves again, overcoming the demoralisation by management, following comments relayed to me from Laurence, I had to withdraw from associating myself with the venue. e.g. 'Not the right sort of people'. 'The music attracts the wrong crowd'. Stevie Wonder? Michael Jackson? R&B? o.k.
> To top it off, he did not even have the courage to say these things to my face! (another example of fear and ignorance.) I had also noticed a depletion of black people at the venue, directly due to the door policy to not let black people in, or to discourage entry to the bar. Obviously this is working for him, but not acceptable by any standard for Brixton. Not positive. Unity with all races was the success of the night. It appears they have a whites only preference, where black men are scrutinised on entry and generally made to feel unwelcome. Noticeably blacks and other ethnicity's employed by this establishment are ashtray cleaners, glass collectors and generally employed for menial work. I have personally witnessed the 'imperialist' attitude of this management with disgust. My question to the black community is, why is this blatant affront and disrespect allowed to propagate itself within our community? We are becoming displaced within our own community. Young black people wishing to just enjoy themselves, not looking for trouble or involving themselves with drugs are being subjected to this subtle racism. Eventually this situation will come to a head. Someone will challenge this behaviour and it won't be in writing as I am attempting. My question to Lambeth Borough Council is, why are other known establishments in the community not licensed on an even par with theses places? Is this the return of segregation? Or is this a colonisation of our community, where this attitude is allowed to breed on the strength of the pound? No amount of money can justify these policies. Black money spends just the same as white money. We all know there is no room for racism anywhere, especially in Brixton which is so racially intermixed. Establishments such as LIVING need to address their fears and insecurities with regard to black people and get with the Brixton program, which is living together without stereotyping and bigotry. I am not alone with these views. Black, White, Hispanic, all races of people live here. Why create a divide? If places run by black businessmen and women cannot progress, what is going to happen? The situation is outrageous. Brixton has enough problems to address, but its not only street crime, drugs, or homelessness. This is a definite problem, which will eventually erupt, and when it does I don't want to be in the vicinity. My attempt is to inform, impart and make people aware of the danger associated with this sneaky, underhanded racism. For it to be rearing it's ugly head in this community under our noses is unthinkable, raising public awareness is necessary as we all pay taxes and have the right to vote. This is our community and that is the highest consideration that should be acknowledged by these establishments. If the community functions in general harmony, why create discord? Why create a division in an area where you are the minority? Apartheid, segregation and all other attempts to separate race have all failed miserably. History has already proven this. Imperialist and colonial attitudes always end in war. In Brixton there is no 'right sort of person', just Brixtonians. If you don't want black people in your clubs, don't have clubs in Brixton. Brixton is black before anything else and tolerance levels are running low. My message to Lambeth is pay attention. The black voters whom you represent are the same people being affected by this outrage, and we are not muggers, murderers or drug-dealers. We are professionals, who live in this community and endeavour to give service to the community. There is a proportionate deficit in provision for the black community and we want to know what is going to be done to balance this situation. Finally my message to all Brixtonians is BOYCOTT. Don't give them your money. Don't support them. Be aware, step back and take a look around you because you're missing something. Don't be fooled by fake smiles. You will see the truth for yourselves. Richard Waterhouse.


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## Anna Key (Sep 27, 2003)

Bumped for nanook. Enjoy!


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## Streathamite (Sep 27, 2003)

_viva_ Richard Waterhouse! And anna key is right,Dionysius: It is about the effect on Brixton as a whole, as well as fundamental considerations concerning racism. market forces plus "pull in the weekend trendies out for a bit of cool-by-association" is an insult to brixton - I cannot and will not ignore the nasty, racist practices of this bar.


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## CK1977 (Sep 29, 2003)

> I cannot and will not ignore the nasty, racist practices of this bar.



Yeah me too, as a Black Guy I've experienced problems getting in the bar too...I gave up on it ages ago.  I don't like the Music in their anyway...so I just walk past as if the place doesn't exist.

In regards to the racism point, I'm sure Mr Merrett will have his excuses...like the tired old line of "We're not racists we employ 2 Black Cleaners and a Black Glass Collecter"  

BOYCOTT LIVING


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## Anna Key (Sep 29, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CK1977 _
> *In regards to the racism point, I'm sure Mr Merrett will have his excuses...like the tired old line of "We're not racists we employ 2 Black Cleaners and a Black Glass Collecter"  *


A poster called Larry (Member # 1537) said this on another thread: 


> Yes we have a door policy. it is very simple at weekends like all popular bars we get too many guys so we need to in effect penalise groups of guys.


A bar operating a door policy which illegally discriminates on grounds of gender (and admits to it, openly, on a public bulletin board) does not _necessarily_ discriminate on grounds of race also.

But if I was a trade union official going into a firm which admitted openly to discriminating against employees on grounds of gender I'd take a long hard look at its race policies.

NB: This thread has received over 14,500 hits. Is that a record and will Living Bar receive some sort of certificate?


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## CK1977 (Sep 29, 2003)

> A poster called Larry (Member # 1537) said this on another thread:



Thanks for that AK.  I'd never browsed that thread before so that was an interesting read. 

Larry quoted "We by the way now have "door pickers" at the weekend is not security doing the picking"

The above sounds very dubious to me


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## Anna Key (Sep 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CK1977 _
> *The above sounds very dubious to me  *


I agree, and would like to know the basis on which they 'pick.' Is 'picking' performed on race grounds or do they only discriminate on grounds of gender, following a management instruction to "penalise groups of guys?"

I suspect it's only a matter of time before a disgruntled ex-'picker' comes on these boards and explains precisely how the 'picking' was undertaken.


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## paul weates (Jul 27, 2012)

Snip


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## colacubes (Jul 27, 2012)

Ok - nearly 8 year bump on a thread, and you've included an address in the message.  That's definitely not weird at all


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## Pickman's model (Jul 27, 2012)

Will this be one of those famous facebook partirs?


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## Belushi (Jul 27, 2012)

The more things change the more they stay the same..


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## Mrs Magpie (Jul 27, 2012)

Well I have no idea what that poster's agenda is other than malign so he's out of here.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 27, 2012)

ahhh nostalgic


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## Winot (Jul 27, 2012)

Probably worth turning off the Brixton Buzz auto-tweet for bumps like this.


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## editor (Jul 27, 2012)

Winot said:


> Probably worth turning off the Brixton Buzz auto-tweet for bumps like this.


It's all part of Brixton's lively history and the Living Bar no longer exists anyway.


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## el-ahrairah (Jul 27, 2012)

i missed this by reading the whole thread fro the beginiing for old-times sake.


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## 5t3IIa (Jul 27, 2012)

Something about decking.


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## fogbat (Jul 27, 2012)

I assumed they'd just refused to contribute to Brixton Splash.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

Mrs Magpie said:


> Well I have no idea what that poster's agenda is other than malign so he's out of here.


 
There was another (new) poster here a few weeks ago who bumped an ancient Larry thread and posted an address on here, which was quickly removed. I assume it is the same person with a grudge of some sort, or wanting to stir things up.


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## TopCat (Jul 31, 2012)

It takes me right back.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2012)

All we need now is hatboy to start "tidying up" threads


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## Butler56 (Jan 24, 2020)

ceridwen said:


> *living bar racist*
> 
> Well..well. Is there anyone out there who remembers The Coach and Horses and The Atlantic?  They had black land-lords one Sonny and t'other George Berry.  The Atlantic was well known as a meeting place for people arriving from the 'Islands'  to look up friends and family. So wha' gwan? So is dat the same Lawrence who had a twin brother and a fat share of da Brixton Challenge cheque?  Oooo..da stinky rascist plot thickens?? More info pleeze!!





atty said:


> *some correction Living Room/racism<>Dog Star*
> 
> a lot of emotive racist accusations about the Living Room and Dog Star being hurled about here without too much checking
> 
> ...





Wow !!

I stumbled upon this site, while searching the name Lawrence Merritt.
Who incidentally was my boss 21 years ago when I was offered the task as a freelance consultant to set-up & run the Living Room back in 1999.
I had independently approached Lawrence Merritt back in 1999 having learnt of his acquisition of this historic premises!
......Yes!
On the corner of  the iconic "Electric Avenue" 
Brought to International fame thanks to the legendary 
"God Father" of popular reggae.....Eddy Grant!!

Yes Lawrence had a twin brother & co owner, sons of Mr Merritt (Senior) owner of "The Dog Star" & "Mass"

I'd been a resident of Brixton at this point for about 11 years. And had been frustrated by the numerous spit & sawdust beer drenched operations that had dominated the Brixton licenced pub scene. At this point its important for me to explain I had been in the Bar/Pub/Restaurant & Club scene for about 19 years by this point & former manager of the  world renowned & Infamous........."Atlantic Bar & Grill"
(Piccadilly London)
I had pitched the concept of Brixtons need for a non pretentious slightly more up market stylised bar where the local residents upwardly mobile & visitors to Brixton could come for tea or coffee pastries,  cocktails & drinks in a sumptuous leather sofa & relaxed environment friendly staff local DJ's talent playing chilled background grooves while you recline feet up on your laptop finishing off a college assignment or e-mailing a client ?
Or just chilling to grooves while taking in our visual projections without the smell of stale beer at no extra cost !!!!
The idea being we will deliver more for less in a stylish comfortable friendly environment!

Michael Groce a Brixton resident & community worker, ex Bank robber turned good became a close friend of mine & a major contributor to our poetry night. A Brother who with the support of the Brixton Metropolitan Police would tour local schools & youth centres giving inspirational talks dissuading young kids from following a life of crime !

I must point out that I personally worked very closely with local businesses being of mix race myself I was very aware of the importance of community!

I am a very outspoken head strong individual & will not tolerate any form of racial religious sexual or homophobic discrimination, however!!!!!!

...........I eventually became aware that our front of house security staff (who were of Afro Caribbean heritage) been given explicit instructions not to admit a specific racial demographic which I expressed disgust upon on numerous occasions only to be patronised by.........."but your different" yeah!!
Because I went to a private boarding school in Ireland 🤬 !
I overheard instructions being given by an individual to security not to admit any "Pakkis"
.....to which I shouted across the bar W.T.F ? Deepi (my partner) is a Pakki  !!
Only to be told ......."eerrrmmm yeah no sorry I don't mean it like that" !!!

I left the operation in late 2001.

I felt it important to tell my story & it distresses me to hear that real people have reported having found themselves on the receiving end of this kind of experience. 

Butler56


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