Love Affair with Brixton/Herne Hill

Hi All!

So at the beginning of this week I finally journeyed to my first open mic night here in London!! Exciting I know. Plus it was free entry. Where was this wonderful event? Brixton my dears, wonderful Brixton. The place where I hear “My sistah.” a lot. Brixton in the past has been known as not the best of London. However, it is a diverse neighborhood far away from the tourist central I live in. It reminds me a lot of Baltimore, Maryland. The Afro-Carribean culture can seen almost immediately as you get off the bus or tube in Brixton. Reggae, hip-hop, and even some salsa hums from the shops and market as you walk through. This time I went at night. Most people who travel to London will learn quickly that most things in London close super early. Weird, but true. I was happy to discover Brixton was alive at night as much as it is during the day. Of course the first thing to do in a neighborhood is pop into a shop and grab some food. My friend and I spotted a chicken and rib joint called Marley’s and I could not resist. Not being stereotypical, just been living off of noodles and Asian food. It was affordable and tasty :) I was a very full and happy woman. In Brixton, I noticed that when learning British slang you also have to learn Black British slang. African American slang does not work well with Black British slang at all. All you get from this is empty stares and a headache. Now I have an acting challenge.

Now the whole reason for this trip was to make it to the open mic night a few blocks away.
Travel tip: Don’t wear heels you aren’t comfortable walking in for blocks on uneven possibly cobblestone streets. 

My friend did not get this memo while my heels are what I like to call “City ready”. Now the actually place the open mic was held at is the Half Moon Pub in Herne Hill the neighbors to Brixton. It was a pretty nice set up with it’s own stage space where events are held at. Including the open mic. There were a lot of acoustic performers. Some amazing while the others were okay. The poets were unique for sure. Even though I was late I was able to sign up in the last spot. By the time my time came most of the people were off to get the last tube home. It was till amazing to do. I’ll probably go on my own next time.

Performer tip: Arrive early to sign up for a good slot in an open mice line-up.
I got to have some good conversation with the people around me and they were extremely nice.
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Cheers!!