What we'll miss about a night at the Willow – captured by this wonderful set of pictures

Showing off their Willow stamps with pride… All photographs © Ceri Oakes

Sunday saw the Willow’s last stand.

Well technically it was Monday (July 27), as we all know this is one venue which doesn’t really get into gear until the early hours.

Read Ceri’s original article on her photography blog

After 42 years as a Chinese restaurant and disco (and another 30 years before that as a tea room with the same name) the Willow is closing forever.

Press photographer Ceri Oakes was a regular visitor when she was a student. She returned for one last time a few days before the doors shut.

And her wonderful pictures, reproduced with her kind permission here, capture the unique essence of a Willow night. As Ceri writes on her blog

What attracts them in their masses? To me, an avid visitor of The Willow in my student years, its the house party vibe. A small venue, with an interior that hasn’t changed in years, with peeling decor, it’s like going to a slightly scabby house party.

The smell of cooking oil and prawn crackers hits you as you walk in through those magical double doors, and you can’t help but charge straight onto the dance floor before you’ve even considered buying a Sammy B.

So, what are we going to miss about a night at the Willow?