Web Site for Richard Wood

London (South of River), Co-operatives, Credit Unions, Friends, books worth reading.

Get on board the East London Line to see where it takes YOU!

Welcome to my cyber-world. I hope you enjoy rummaging through my cyber-drawers! But first a word of warning. If you have rooted antipathy to sex, politics, co-operation, or the gay scene south of the Thames then go to a site where these things don't crop up. Why not go to http://www.ocsltd.com A Brilliant website! Check out Sean's Motorbike!

You are listening to "The Minstrel Boy" a setting to Moore's poem of that name by Charles Villiers Stanford

Well, I suppose these things are at least of marginal interest to you now you have got this far

Yes I do sometimes have sex, even with other people, but the least said about that the better!

Retail Co-operatives

Yes, I am interested in the Co-op. Here in London there are two co-ops and I am a member of both. Check out their websites at http://www.co-op.co.uk That is the CWS web site, in whose area I live as it is located south of the Thames. They are now the largest co-op in the UK, covering Northern Ireland, most of Scotland, South London to Brighton and the North East and Cumbria. The other co-op is north of the river and used to be the biggest co-op in the country (if not the World) when it was London Co-operative Society. Find out about them on http://www.co-operative.co.uk and while you're there ask them to send you their CD-rom (PC only I'm afraid to say). It is packed with information about the movement, pictures and games. I have the Rochdale Pioneers (The founders of the modern co-operative movement) picture on my desktop! From the websites you can get to the International Co-operative alliance, to which most co-ops belong. International co-operators' day is celebrated on the first Saturday in July.

Credit Unions

For members of CRS Co-op we have Rainbow Saver London Credit Union. This was founded by members of CRS London as a home for their savings and to make cheap rate loans from this fund to members of the Credit Union. I have been elected to the board of Directors. They don't have a website yet but I'm working on it!

Credit Unions are good news if you can save regularly and need a low cost loan for "A provident and productive purpose." You can contact The Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) at Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, if you want to find out if there are any ABCUL Credit Unions which you could join.

Where I Live!

I live in Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark, so if you swim at Seven Islands Leisure centre you might have seen me there! If you ever go into Rotherhithe Library, maybe you'll see me there changing my books too! For Southwark Council's website try http://www.southwark.gov.uk they have some good links as well as a virtual tour of the sights, but I haven't been able to get Lewisham to work. Maybe you'll fare better. Greenwich is good too, and the City of London is excellent.

I come from Teesside in the north east of England try http://www.teesside.com. This gives links to almost every website on Teesside, but please don't talk too much about football in the chat rooms, it gets very boring twenty four hours a day!!!

One famous new art work in the North East is "The Angel of the North" a steel colossus with wings. Some people don't like it and say it is a waste of money. I disagree!

Who am I?

You know my name and where I live so let me tell you a bit more about me. First of all I am 32 years old, 5'10" with a medium build, brown hair and blue eyes. My taste in clothes is for sloppy jumpers, polo necks, and jeans, as long as they are not (Well, sometimes they are) blue- you could say I was auditioning for a part as a 1950s drama student (if you were unkind!). Before I came to London I was a housing manager for a large Housing Association. For all they were a large Association they were still only the size of a small council Housing Department (They have 15000 dwellings spread all over the country whilst Southwark Council has 55326). I decided I wasn't going anywhere with them and decided to move to London, where it is all happening. A friend of mine David who left London in his twenties advised me that London had everything I wanted but everything I didn't want as well. I replied that where I was living had everything I didn't want and nothing much I did, so I would only be better off. I have friends here both gay and straight which was useful and nice as they could tell me what was going on and introduce me to people. Since I moved here I have had no regrets. I would like a nicer flat but I will get one eventually.

My taste in music is pretty wide ranging and I like most things, as is my taste in films. I like scary horror films but I do not like Sci-fi!

My main hobby is the arts: I'm not so keen on sport. You'll often find me in the Whitechapel Art Gallery or the Tate, I love the Victoria and Albert Museum, and there are lots of other places to go. I never thought the National Protrait Gallery would be very exciting but my friend Ken took me there once and I enjoyed the special exhibition. I don't like the Natural History Museum as the specimens in there look very moth eaten, the Horniman is better.

I'm currently working for Guy's & St Thomas's Hospital trust as a general buyer, I obtain everything from bandages to pens and a lot more besides. Previously, I worked voluntarily for the Woodcraft Folk which is a children's educational charity attatched to the co-operative movement. We are like the Scouts and are co-educational, peace-loving and non-discriminatory. Our motto is "Span the world with friendship." Their website is /a

You can e-mail me with any questions or comments-mailto:wrichard@mailcity.com but be warned, if I think they are interesting enough, humourous enough, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or otherwise of interest to a broader readership, I may just put them up here!

Is she a man in drag?

Gay Scene of South East London.

*Warning* the gay scene is constantly changing. I get my information from personal experience and the experience of others, but what may apply today may not apply tomorrow.

Centre Stage, Lower Road

Better when it was The Orange, this is a cabaret bar with drag acts and others. Very good if you like that sort of thing!!!

The Fort, Grange Road

Advertised as the Pub nobody admits they visit, it is really difficult to tell which group the customers belong to. What is certain is that they come from far and wide. Not so much a pub with a darkroom as a darkroom with a bar. Be careful not to lose your change, it is so dark you'll never find it. Don't wear white trousers if you plan to be kneeling. They will come up black. No dancing but do check out the famous underwear parties on a Thursday and Sunday night. I am an infrequent visitor to the Fort. Normal pub hours are kept which is an advantage as you can be home before midnight! Take the Tube to Elephant and Castle or Surrey Quays and then the 199 'bus to Bermondsey Mother and Baby Clinic (an art deco building with a sculpture of a mother and baby on the front). The bus stops just outside the Fort.

Dew Drop Inn

Difficult to get to as you have to walk a bit, this is a gay pub which tends to be a bit on the mixed side, which is OK as long as you don't behave as though you are visiting the zoo! No darkrooms here but there is dancing and karaoke certain nights of the week. The pub is open late too! To get there take the East London Line to New Cross or New Cross gate and turn left or right, towards Deptford Town Hall. There is a nightclub called The Venue and you need to wakl down the hill beside this club, cross the Park and the Dew Drop Inn is on your right.

FIST, Imperial Gardens, Medlar Street Camberwell

A monthly night out at a great club. Two dance floors, three bars, a chill out room and a rest area. The club is very nicely fitted out and is open from 2200-0600 one Saturday in each month. To get there go to the Elephant and Castle and get almost any bus going to Camberwell as most pass Camberwell Green. From Lewisham/Deptford take the 36. Their website is http://www.ainexus.com/fist

The Father Red Cap, Camberwell Green

Large pub with occasional Caberet.Travel information as for FIST

The Hoist

Famous club for the leather man. I visit once in a while. Located near Vauxhall Tube (or from Lewisham/Deptford take the 36 'bus)

 And that is all I know really south of the river. I do visit places in the west end (sometimes) and the Central Station at Kings Cross (it is a pub!). There are lots of other interesting places in London, and I suggest you get Boyz (free newspaper) for a full listing. Look at Peter Boots's gay guide to London if you like.{what his website}If you are visiting London you can email me with any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

http://www.expectations.co.uk Shop for the discerning leather man

http://www.channels.nl Take the virtual tour of Amsterdam.

http://www.illinimedia.com/di/archives/1995/October/5/p8-gays.html Gay people in history!

http://www.uploaded.com The magazine "for men who should know better" is actually better than it sounds!

http://www.Bsskin.com Skinhead action from the master of them all!

http://www.projetx.com Not to be confused with Project X which is a site for dx-ers, this is the French fetish magazine banned in Britain.

recoil.5678 a rubberwear shop in Southwark