Latest news with #Clapham
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
The date was going well - until we hit a strip club
At 25, I hit the dating apps – hard. I'd been single for about 18 months, having split with my long-term boyfriend for the simple reason that you don't tend to marry the guy you met at Clapham's Infernos when you're 21. It turned out I could do well as I really fancy short(er) guys, and every other woman seemed not to. I didn't have to be the best looking woman in the world, I just had to be in their inbox. While the app wasn't full of firemen, police men, or other hunks as the promo content implied (maybe they were thinking of the Village People?), I quickly matched with Dylan* and we started chatting. We almost got into a weird, penpal-type situation where we'd send each other long, hilarious messages that were almost competitively funny. So when he broke the jam and suggested going drinking and people-watching in a central London bar at 3pm on a Saturday, I agreed. While I was happy to go where the night took me, I had no idea just how mad things would get on that date. He arrived late and flustered, but at 5'7, blonde, blue-eyed and almost angelic-looking, he was forgiven. We sat at an outside table and ordered this fancy new drink everyone was talking about: a mojito. We nattered away, with Dylan telling me an anecdote about a dead dog on the Tube. Love reading juicy stories like this? Need some tips for how to spice things up in the bedroom? Sign up to The Hook-Up and we'll slide into your inbox every week with all the latest sex and dating stories from Metro. We can't wait for you to join us! Sadly, it was a classic urban legend I'd read on the internet years before. Still, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, and the chat was soon flowing as well as the drinks. One mojito turned into two, which turned into 10, and when it was closing time, we weren't sure where to go next. That's when someone, I truly can't remember who, suggested the strip club. Obviously, it was 'for a joke' but suddenly, we were heading to a London erotic dancing venue famed for being a tourist trap. I think we thought we were young, wild, and hedonistic. We were certainly very, very drunk and on a date that had now been going for 10 hours too long. Inside, it was immediately awkward. The dancers seemed as bemused as we were at the situation. We were shown to the table and audibly gulped at the prices. About £7 a beer – which all those years ago, was a lot. But we decided to drink through it. Dylan paid for everything, doing that very male thing of saying, 'No, no, I've got this, don't worry', despite the very large bill. So, How Did It Go? is a weekly series that will make you cringe with second-hand embarrassment or ooze with jealousy as people share their worst and best date stories. Want to spill the beans about your own awkward encounter or love story? Contact Neither of us wanted private shows, but within minutes a dancer had clambered onto the table, kicking over our overpriced beers in the process. She was wearing underwear but was completely topless. Dylan was more embarrassed than me, so he didn't really look. While Dylan was studying the menu prices and fending off dancers trying to drag him into the champagne room, I ended up talking to one known as 'Sapphire' for ages about her university course. She was studying biomedical sciences, so we spent half the night huddled over a napkin brainstorming career options over the top of very loud 90s R&B. 'Most expensive date I've ever been on,' Dylan muttered as we left around 4am. We went back to his place, a sprawling four-storey house he shared with his siblings in South London. But we didn't have sex: I don't think either of us could, or wanted to at that point – either down to drunkenness, overexposure, or both! Eventually, our conversation started to fizzle out. He started seeing someone else, and so did I. I told the story a few times to friends and forgot about him. Until one bank holiday weekend, around a year later. It was around 1am, and I was outside my flat with two mates, when a black cab pulled up. Dylan stepped out. More Trending He'd been nearby, remembered I lived around there from a cancelled plan months before, and thought he'd try his luck. No message. No call. No heads up. He hugged me like no time had passed and he joined me and my mates upstairs for a spontaneous drinking session. Sooner or later, Dylan and I were having sex in my bathroom, as my housemate who actually had to work that next day angrily banged on the door. He left in the morning, and I never saw him again. But I do still have that napkin with the biomedical science CV notes, in a shoebox of odd memories under my bed, just in case Sapphire ever needs it. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: I filmed myself having sex – I was shocked it turned me on MORE: I got gonorrhoea, but my doctor doubted my explanation MORE: After a bad breakup two years ago, my boyfriend and I are trying again
Times
15-05-2025
- Times
Victim tells rapist in court: You brought me here to humiliate me
A former public schoolboy convicted of rape and sexual assault was condemned for his 'vile and predatory' crimes by one of his victims at his sentencing on Tuesday. Gabriel Hay, 28, of Clapham, southwest London, began his campaign of sexual violence aged 17 and had a 'distorted view of consent'. Inner London crown court was told that Hay, who attended Dulwich College in south London, committed his first offence — a sexual assault — at a house party in April 2014. He followed a teenage girl into a toilet, held her against a wall, exposed himself and pushed his penis against her. Two years later, in July 2016, he attempted to rape the same woman at the home he shared with his mother and siblings.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New post office opens in Clapham with postal and banking services
A new post office has opened in Clapham Park Road, restoring vital services to the community. The branch, located at 82-84 Clapham Park Road, was officially opened by Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill. The new post office offers a modern, open-plan retail environment and is open 56 hours a week. This new branch will provide a range of services, including bill payment, cash withdrawals, foreign currency, postage, and home shopping collections and returns. Clapham Park welcomes new post office after closure sparks local campaign. (Image: Post Office) Customers of the main UK banks can also access their accounts at the new branch, restoring banking services to the area. The branch also features an eye-catching mural on the post office shutters, which can be admired after hours. The opening of the new post office follows the closure of the directly managed branch at Clapham Common in March 2024. The premises at 161-163 Clapham High Street were deemed unsustainable due to the need for investment. The new Clapham Park Road post office is run by a highly experienced and well-regarded postmaster family, the Shahs. Shah family unveils vibrant new post office with mural tribute to Sox (Image: Post Office) Krishan Shah, a second-generation postmaster, leads the family, who have been running busy London post offices since 1987. The branch has four post office counters, one full-screened, two open-plan, and a post office counter alongside the retail counter of the cards and stationery store. This is large enough to meet the needs of the community. Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP said: "The closure of Clapham Common Post Office was a real blow to our community. "The decision to close this busy branch attracted widespread local opposition and triggered a community campaign to protect local postal services. "I welcome the opening of the new Clapham Park Post Office, which will provide a wide range of services to plug this gap. "I want to thank postmaster Krishan Shah and his family for their big investment into the new branch, which looks great inside and out with some fantastic artwork on the shutters." The Clapham Park Road branch offers a wide range of post office services, including driving licence renewals, ID verification, and vehicle tax renewal, excluding passports. With no banks in the area after four closures in recent years, the branch provides a convenient location for businesses and residents to do their everyday banking and withdraw cash during the post office's opening hours. Customers can also post letters and parcels, and collect and return online shopping items. Noah Rai, Post Office Area Change Manager, said: "We're delighted Clapham Park Road Post Office has opened. "It's operated by a well-respected independent postmaster family. "With no banks or ATMs in this vicinity, it provides a convenient location for businesses and residents to do their everyday banking and for people to withdraw cash during the Post Office's opening hours. "It provides a wide range of Post Office services." The premises were formerly a shisha bar and have been completely refurbished to create spacious, modern premises with new lighting, counters, shelving, and flooring. The mural on the shutters, an anti-graffiti deterrent, was painted by a professional artist with Post Office-themed artwork, co-designed with the postmaster's wife, Aarti. It features a black and white cat, similar to Jess from Postman Pat, but it is their oldest cat, called Sox, who is 16 years old. Krishan Shah said: "We love cats. "As our family's originally from Kenya, we could have featured big cats, but it tied in nicely to feature our black and white cat in the Post Office-themed mural. "The community really loves it. "They admire it when they pass by out of hours. "It's a real talking point."
Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Times
We're siblings and bought a house together — here's how we did it
Brother and sister George and Jess Robbin get along very well. They are both laid-back and enjoy hanging out with their friends, yet value their independence. It's just as well, because together they bought a £511,250 four-bedroom flat in Clapham, south London, in March. 'It was a bit of a no-brainer buying together if I'm honest,' said George, 23, a software developer. 'I was living at home with my parents for almost two years after I left university, and Jess's lease on her flat expired in January. Rent rates have also gone through the roof, so it made sense to get on the property ladder together.' Both had saved up about £13,000 each — Jess used a cash Isa while George used a stocks and
Irish Times
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Times
Of all the culture war issues in Britain, the 20mph limit in London is one of the oddest
Driving in London is rarely enjoyable. There is, of course, the interminable traffic – data from TomTom, the GPS maps company, suggests the city is the slowest-moving in Europe . There is also the slightly peevish driving culture. Compared to the British , Irish drivers are at once cheekier and more polite – they might take liberties but they'll also let you away with your ones. London drivers, meanwhile, are joyless sticklers. Then there are the 20 miles per hour (32km/h) speed limits. Like many cities, London has lowered its limits to barely above a crawl in many built-up areas. But here, they actually mean it. I was driving at night in a van in moving traffic on the road bisecting Clapham Common in southwest London, fixated upon the 20mph signs. I had figured out that in third gear, the natural weight of my foot touching the accelerator – no extra pressing – was just enough to keep me within the limit. READ MORE I drove up behind a cyclist and, giving him room to the side, went to overtake. I kicked the accelerator slightly to move the van past him swiftly and safely. At that moment, I was flashed by a speed camera. A citation for my crime came in the post – 24mph in a 20mph zone. The Metropolitan Police gave me a choice: an unspecified fine (the minimum is £100) plus three points on my driving licence, or I could take a three-hour speed awareness course online instead. The course cost £98 – almost the same as a fine – and I knew the Met would never be able to register points against my Irish licence. But I took the course anyway, out of curiosity. UK speed awareness courses are like the prison in The Shawshank Redemption – everybody says they're innocent. Paul, an older bus driver who was clocked on a motorway, was the only other male participant on my course, which started at 7.45am on a weekday morning. The rest were middle-aged women who, like me, had all been clocked in 20mph zones. None were happy about it, and it showed. Kudi complained that she had been done for driving at just 23mph. She was even more innocent than I was. The course trainer, John, said he was a former royal marine. He seemed too breathless and chirpy to be a commando. 'Why did you all choose to come on the course?' he asked. To avoid the three penalty points, replied the women, wearily. 'And why do you think police gave you the option?' said John. 'To make money,' said Lucy, whose demeanour suggested she was having none of John's jauntiness that early in the morning. Lucy had slept it out for her original early morning course. They charged her another £42 on top of the original fee to retake it – £140, she sighed, for breaching 20mph. John played a video designed to puncture the 'hard done by' attitude of his 20mph violators. It focused on the impact on braking distances. It showed where you would stop if you were driving at 30mph and jammed on the brakes. At 31mph, you would still be travelling at 8mph when you hit the previous stopping point. What if that point was a pedestrian, said John. He had a reasonable point, although he never showed us the corresponding calculation for 20mph. Lucy was still having none of it. John paused the class as if to admonish an unruly child, asking her to participate and not be doing housework 'willy nilly' around her kitchen, as her camera showed. 'I was hungry,' she said, teeth gritted. Later, she disappeared for a full five minutes. John challenged her again, warning her she would be thrown off the course. You can't opt to do a speed awareness course a second time if you are caught speeding again within three years in the UK. John was effectively threatening her with three points on her licence. Eventually, a sullen Lucy relented and took part. Of all the touchstone culture wars issues in Britain, the 20mph limit is one of the oddest. The limits are routinely portrayed by the political right as the over-reach of meddling left-wing politicians and environmentalists. Reform UK's manifesto last year promised to scrap most of them. London mayor Sadiq Khan , a hate figure on the right, is slated for London's 20mph limits, even though many are brought in by borough councils. The 20mph limit is on the way in Scotland and has also morphed into a big political issue in Wales, where its introduction as the default urban speed limit has been blamed for trashing the devolved Labour administration's popularity. The Tories say they'll scrap the limit in next year's Welsh elections. Reform, meanwhile, could scrap the Welsh Tories, if opinion polls are correct. Lucy would probably approve.
