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Passover Shopping, Mare Street Market, and the first Seder Night

Saturday, 31 March, 2018
On Wednesday I went with Lisa to do her Passover (Pesach) shopping. We drove into North London through the back streets that she drives with great confidence. I know I will never know London like that! That morning I’d decided to wear regular shoes and set aside the boots. And I wore a sweater and a jacket. I felt free until I went out. The rain began to pour down and the wind blew and I wasn’t dressed anywhere near to appropriately. In fact, I was freezing and my day had hardly begun.
Close to where we were going we got stopped by some cops and had to park at least a five-minute  cold and wet walk from where we needed to go. There had been an accident – a car had ploughed into a shop window and the whole frame was taken out. Lisa heard later that two pedestrians had been hit. I did feel like a ghoul taking a photo but anyway, I did!
Mayhem in Golders Green
Mayhem in Golders Green
In the end, we got falafels from a little place Lisa likes. I did enjoy the experience. Hot falafels were poured into bowls at the end of a long salad bar with all the usual (and unusual) falafal fixings and you helped yourself.  We ate them on the go. Delicious!
But we turned back from that area. It was pointless shopping when we would have had to carry the groceries so far. We drove instead to an area Lisa had taken me before. It has the unlikely name of Temple Fortune. (This conjures up a small town in Thailand and not North London!) We shopped in one little grocery store where we bought mostly matzo. Then stopped by the bagel bakery where I got 8 little cookies and some cheesecake. They turned out to not taste very special for the price.
A cold, wet adventure! Oh, and I fell on the wet sidewalk. A lesson in not swapping boots for shoes too early in the year.
Last week I had two aborted attempts to go to Mare Street Market.  The first because Instagram had led me to believe it was opening on Monday – I was greeted by a notice saying ‘Open on Wednesday.’ Then Krish and I walked over on Thursday in the rain but didn’t really stay since he couldn’t deal with the crowd and the noise. So I took a few photos and will go back between now and Tuesday, when they will still have the 50% soft launch prices. I can’t resist a bargain. Maybe I’ll even go twice!
Some views inside Mare Street Market
Some views inside Mare Street Market

The Mare Street Market is occupying a building that used to be the housing benefit office. It was a depressing, shabby building at best. The renovations to turn it into what’s described as ‘a curated space in Hackney for eating, drinking, and shopping.’ If you click on the link above there are some photos that do this space justice but I took just a few of  my own.

At 50% off, I do think I might go twice. The menus all sound fantastic and will probably seem too expensive once the soft launch ends, I assume Wednesday.
  
Passover was approaching and Lisa had plans to go to family this year. No invitation pending, my brother John suggested I look into a community seder. It took me a while to decide but in the end I said yes to going to the one I contacted.  Continue reading “Passover Shopping, Mare Street Market, and the first Seder Night”
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Hackney Museum visit, the role of women in Hackney

Thursday, 29 April, 2018

We have a lovely little museum inside the Hackney Library. RIght now they have an exhibit called ‘Making Her Mark: 100 years of women’s activism’ which will go until 19 May.  Hackney has a history of women making their mark in London and in the UK.

The museum entrance, Daniel Dafoe a Hackney resident, and an exhibit
The museum entrance, Daniel Dafoe a Hackney resident, and an exhibit

In the 1600s Hackney was known as the The Ladies’ University.’ By 1694 three of the thirteen well-known ladies’ boarding schools in the country were in Hackney.

In 1783 Mary Wollstonecraft, a radical author and philosopher, opened a school for girls in Newington Green. She wrote what is considered the founding text of feminism and inspired women’s suffrage campaigners. She argued that women were not naturally inferior to men, and it was a lack of educaiton which stopped women from fulfilling their potential.In 1824 Fleetword House, Stoke Newington became the Newington Academy for Girls. It was run by Susanne Corder, who broke new ground by teaching subjects like astronomy, chemistry and physics to girls. The area was home to many hugely influential women writers. These include some of the earliest champions for the universal education of women, an idea then viewed as radical and dangerous.

The early Hackney activists along with a modern poster from Sistah Space, which supports African heritage women & girls affected by domestic or sexual violence/abuse/FGM
The early Hackney activists along with a modern poster from Sistah Space, which supports African heritage women & girls affected by domestic or sexual violence/abuse/FGM

Even without the parliamentary vote, Hackney women were shaping policy in education and poor relief from the late 1800s as elected representatives on school boards and as poor law guardians. Following the Qualification of Women Act 1907, women played an influential in Hackney’s local politics, both voting and standing in local elections. In 1910, Nettie Adler was elected as the Progressive Party candidate for the Central Hackney Division of the London County Council.

Over the last hundred years, women from a wide range of political parties stood for election i Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. Though today only 32% of MPs are women, both of Hackney’s elected parliamentary representative – Diane Abbott and Marg Hillier – are.

Born in London to Jamaican parents, Dianne Abbott was the first black woman to become an MP when she was elected to represent Hackney North & Stoke Newington. Abbott’s career in politics began in 1982 when she was elected to Westminster County Council. She was active in the Black Sections movement within the Labour Party campaigning for greater ethnic minority political presentation.

So I’m a proud female Hackney resident. The area keeps changing but throughout history it’s always been cutting edge, a neighourhood were being different and being brave has been embraced.

View from the library towards the Hackney Empire
View from the library towards the Hackney Empire

A greyish day from under the Empire awningA greyish day from under the Empire awning

And today’s Hackney continues to change. Yesterday in Dalston, I noticed this! How have I missed the announcements? Now Hackney has two M&Ss. Amazing!