Thursday 7 June, 2018
We want to put plants on the windowsill now that we are opening the windows up. It feels like a lengthy process. So far all that’s happened is talking about it. Such is life with a perfectionist. Let’s make this so!
Plan: herbs on the kitchen windowsill – parsley, basil, rosemary…so far. I think also thyme, oregano, and sage, perhaps coriander – not sure. In the living room a mix of green plants and wildish flowers plus lavender. Instead of a box, we will have pots grouped together.
There are some nice plant shops on Stoke Newington Church Street and I can go there today or tomorrow and pick some things up. But I’ve also noticed from the bus a place called Hackney Flower Warehouse so I decided to pop along there in a quiet time to see what they had to offer.
The shops are at Victoria Park Road right by the Regent’s Canal. It’s old school Hackney in this neighbourhood.
Regent’s Canal stretches from the Grand Union Canal at Paddington in the West to the Limehouse Basin and the Thames in the east It’s 13.8km (8.6 miles) long. It also runs parallel (just a dozen metres away) to the house I grew up in so it’s an old friend. While the Grand Union Canal can be wide and surprising with its greenery and wildlife and majestic views, Regent’s Canal is like an everyday Londoner. There are factories, derelict stretches, ordinary homes – modern and old, and walkers, runners and bicyclists along the way. Building began in 1812 and the first stretch was open in 1816. The part that runs through Hackney opened in 1820 so almost 200 years ago.
It can be very picturesque along the canal, with its greenery and barges but not everywhere. Going through Hackney Wick it can be a real mess with the expected graffiti everywhere. This section is a mixed bag.
There’s a fair bit of construction on the east side. I wonder what they’re planning.
I see there’s a plant warehouse on my side of the street so I wandered around that a bit. Some really nice big plants and containers, a bit on the pricey side. I headed over to the flower warehouse and look around. It’s a nice feeling that everywhere in the world, when you step into a florist, the warm damp smells are the same. It’s quite heady.
Nothing blew me away here. I walked around a few times, seeing the options and making mental notes of what might be nice. The prices here are pretty good. In fact, they are about on par with Columbia Road Flower Market – three or four small plants for £10 – and it’s a lot less crowded! Noted! I’ll see what I can get along Stoke Newington Church Street and perhaps return to fill in some gaps.
In the evening I had booked tickets to a Hackney Museum event co-sponsored by Bump Buddies, the organisation I volunteer for. When I got there, I recognised Jane who ran my program but no one else. No Bump Buddies had answered my WhatsApp message about coming so I was on my own. After a glass of wine and a rice crispy snack, there was a bit of a presentation by the Museum Director, the Shoreditch Trust Director, and by councillor Sophie Conway.
This is the official opening of the Mothers In Hackney exhibit and all talked about their own experiences of motherhood and isolation and the support they got in the borough. The exhibit shows the five women who helped to shape the exhibit space – lifestyle cardboard pictures with their thoughts on a placard next to each.
Three of them came together at the front to talk about their participation. The Bump Buddies staff didn’t talk at all but there was a video playing silently in the background.
After a break, the mayor turned up to talk about his involvement with the project. He was looking slimmer than I remember and I like his relaxed manner. Remember his messy desk?
Then Krish and I walked over to Lower Clapton Road and tried out the new restarant that’s taken the place of our old go-to, Il Novanta la Trattoria. The menu looks suspiciously similar so we don’t know how new it really is. Food was decent. Their pasta is better than the other place and their pizza pretty much the same. We’re stuck on a Capriciossa anyway – almost always our choice.
I didn’t eat very much and half way through the meal had stomach cramps. I did make it home but it was an uncomfortable walk. Blame the rice crispies or the pizzapasta? Hmmm…