Regeneration – Page 10 – slightly weird

21st April 201822nd April 2018

A wander in Stoke Newington, the high street, Old Church, Church Street, and Abney Park

Saturday, 21 April, 2018

My brother, John, has been a keen genealogist for some time and keeps me honest on these pages. The amount of history my family has – on both sides – with this borough of Hackney and that of Tower Hamlets is quite astonishing. No wonder I feel completely at home on these streets. Although it’s not as prolific as the connection with Mile End, Bethnal Green, Spitalfields and Whitechapel, there is a pretty strong line in Hackney so I’ve chased some of the places up.

‘Birth cert of Kate Lees (Samuel Simmons’ – my paternal grandmother – mother) of 1865 shows she was born at 25 Wentworth St. Terrible reputation but maybe the street was not as bad at that time.
Also, her mother Hannah’s last address was 140 Imperial. The Willing great grandparents also lived on Imperial (#37), not sure if they overlapped.’

So on a walk up to Stoke Newington for bread and fabric, I looked for ‘Imperial.’ On a street called Victorian Road is a complex of flats that I immediately recognised as one of the Four Percent Industrial Dwellings that are still scattered around the east end of London.

And part way along, almost where the road becomes a much more modern housing estate, is a chained and padlocked gate. If you look through the bars, there is Imperial Avenue – like a row of mews houses – a hidden pocket of homes.

**Imperial Avenue, seen through the bars of a sturdy modern gate**

I was interested and, as always, my own neighbourhood had surprised me with something I hadn’t seen before. And ‘victorian rd, imperial ave and coronation road. I sense a theme,’ I told John.

Stoke Newington (aka Stokey) can be a grim area along the high street. It’s somehow escaped the gentrification of neighbouring Dalston. However, its age also brings some treasures and I’m very fond of things tour guide Eleanor Blum calls ‘ghosts.’ These are remnants of past times. Still partially there but not in keeping with today.

**This ghost sign on Stoke Newington High Street was painted twice, one on top of the other**

I often buy fresh burrata and newly baked ciabatta at Gallo Nero along the grubby high street. It’s not quite Italy but it’s packed with Italian goods.

Saturday, after a busy morning, I set off again to Stoke Newington. (The New Town in the Woods.) This time to Church Street (Stoke Newington Church Street) because I’d heard there were St George Day celebrations at the last remaining Elizabethan church in London, The Old Church. Contrary to the main high street, Church Street is charming, leafy and feels far different. Continue reading “A wander in Stoke Newington, the high street, Old Church, Church Street, and Abney Park”

1st April 2018

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!

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**

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

6th March 201810th March 2018

Birthday! And foiled plans

Tuesday, 6 March, 2018

I had some birthday wishes – nothing fancy!

Buy chocolates – a gift from my Marks and Spencer rewards point plan, so free
Have a cocktail, something delicious, somewhere relaxing
Have dinner out – decided on Shikumen (we had a coupon)
Eat cake

None of my birthday wishes worked properly! First the chocolates couldn’t be bought – trouble with the coupon I had. Then i decided the antihistamine i was taking (for a post viral rash) was making me very groggy so I decided against alcohol of any kind. Then Shikumen didn’t have the one dish on the menu that was my absolute favourite and I was forced to choose something brand new that wasn’t nearly as good. And we didn’t get the cake since the evening went flat at that point.

It wasn’t the happy birthday i’d planned.

I’ll survive and extend the celebrations until the end of the week so i can fit some good things in. But I did take a few photos.

We weren't sure what this tree was all about — **We weren’t sure what this tree was all about – on Bishopsgate**

**Two photos showing the changing face of The City. Note the curve on the first**

**I really like this little closed street off Bishopsgate, with a tiny peek of the Gherkin. Must take a photo from inside**

**The contrasts around the Gherkin make me smile**

There's always some odd art around the Gherkin — **There’s always some odd art establishment around the Gherkin**

**Chicken Sha Cha at Shikumen – the substitute dish that didn’t come close to my favourite**

There are some happy after-notes, though. Marks and Spencer were so sorry I couldn’t get the chocolates on my birthday that they sent me a e-coupon big enough for chocolates and cake. Hawksmoor are extending their half price offer so I’ll go back. Tom wants to take me to dinner on Wednesday. I picked up ingredients to make aperol spritzes today or tomorrow. Juliet bought me a cornflake cake with some tea on Thursday. Yay!

1st February 20184th February 2018

On the first, a visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum and then a walk

Thursday, 1st February, 2018

Once before I went to Sir John Soane’s museum when it was supposed to be a late closing but I got the date wrong that time. This time I double checked my facts and got the bus to Holborn Station to make my way to Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I was a bit puzzled on why the areas devoted mainly to the legal professions were called Inn (Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn being the ones I know). It turns out that this refers to the ‘Inns of court.’ These are associations that lawyers must belong to and in these fields there are facilities and offices they can use. That’s sort of how it is. We don’t know which is the oldest since apparently there’s a tradition to not tell. However, it seems to date back to the 1300 or 1400s with the squares and buildings themselves in the 1500s. Someone is going to correct me!

I knew nothing about Sir John Soane or his house/museum before visiting but I had heard it was worth a visit and I had a free day.

Lincoln’s Inn Fields itself covers 11 acres within a lovely large square set off by itself not far from the Royal Courts of Justice. The green space is very large and all around the perimeter sit beautiful houses. It’s far more grand than Gray’s Inn Fields.

Today I was sloppy with photos since I wasn’t alone. I shot wildly and quickly.

Sir John Soane’s museum is built inside the walls of his home. Sir John was a famous architect – he designed the original Bank of England, and Dulwich Picture Gallery. He bought three houses in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, demolished and rebuilt them almost two hundred years ago. He requested the houses be left as they were and become a museum.

Sadly, no cameras or phones are allowed. At the door they ask you to turn off your phone and then present you with a large clear plastic bag to put your bag into. A bit annoying to have to carry this around in your hand (I carry my bag on my shoulder so I can avoid that) but them’s the rules.

And it is quite a museum, being absolutely crammed with artifacts since SJS was a great collector – statues, curios, and even a tomb – that of Pharoah Seti II. Oh and small galleries with paintings by such as Hogarth, Turner and Canaletto. In various small ante rooms and courtyards and libraries, all of these things sit from floor to ceiling. It’s overwhelming, slightly oppressive, and very fascinating.

In one room they had an exhibition of Egyptology – items collected by Soanes and a character called Bolzoni. A video showed how they had created a digital image of the Seti sarcophagus and that the replica they would make from this would go back to where it came from. I was sad to hear the original place would get the replica and not the real sarcophagus. Plunder…

They do candlelight tours on some evenings. It would be a creepy tour to take but there it is. Besides the rooms of collections, there are the regular rooms that they lived in. These too seemed dark and heavy to me. Not a single spot to relax in. I wonder how his family life was.

I can’t share photos but this is a crazily dizzying look at the museum, if you want a taste of it. Continue reading “On the first, a visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum and then a walk”

27th January 201811th February 2018

Pictorial walk – lower Clapton and Hackney Central

Saturday, 27 January 2018

There’s a lot to see in my neighbourhood and many ways to walk towards the same point. There’s also a ton of history – enough to probably bury me under for years so I try to pick up bits of it as I can.

Just at the end of the road is the newest Pembury Circus development. It’s built on part of the Pembury Estate.

Pembury estate has two distinct parts; Old Pembury (divided into East and West) and New Pembury. Old Pembury consists of 24 walk-up blocks dating from the 1930s. New Pembury consists of streets of maisonettes and bungalows dating from the 1960s.

In recent years some of the Pembury estate was demolished and newer buildings were constructed along the periphery, called Pembury Circus. I have no idea how much of it is affordable housing but it was the beginning of big changes in the local community. One concession to the former residents was the inclusion of the community centre on the ground floor of the largest new building. There are many community events and a cafe serving breakfasts and lunches. One of these days I want to try their chana roti.

**Pembury Circus towering over the rest of the estate**

It's kind of fun walking through this space towards the much older neighbourhood — **It’s kind of fun walking through this space towards the much older neighbourhood**

At the top of the road that borders the estate is Hackney Downs Park, which gives its name to the station and my whole neighbourhood. This is one of many Hackney borough parks.

Walking away from the park and along the top edge of the park is one favourite way to get to Lower Clapton, another area that is just starting to change into more trendy, vibrant area.

I've coveted this house on the way to Clapton for a long time. Buy it for me! — **I’ve coveted this house on the way to Clapton for a long time. Buy it for me!**

I'm a bit of a sucker for narrow roads! This will take me to Lower Clapton Road — **I’m a bit of a sucker for narrow roads! This will take me to Lower Clapton Road**

**Pages of Hackney, a wonderful indie book store**

The historical Round Chapel in 1871, but its beginnings were in 1804 — **The historical Round Chapel opened in 1871, but its beginnings were in 1804**

The next part of my journey is probably my favourite bit – cutting through from Lower Clapton Road to the Narroway (the upper part of Mare Street, Hackney’s main road). To get there you walk from the now abandoned Clapton Police Station and through the grounds of St. John-at-Hackney Church. It amazes me that in very urban Hackney there are pockets of land that look mostly unchanged from their pastoral beginnings.

**Some tombs in the grounds of St. John-at-Hackney Church (seen in the background)**

To my right is St. John-at-Hackney Church. a very active church. the original dating from 1275. The current church building was built during the 18th century (1792). It was designed by James Spiller, who was influenced by Sir John Soane. (This a massive coincidence since I recently have been to John Soane’s museum.) St. John does a lot for the homeless as well as hosting large musical events. Of the old church only a tower, St Augustine’s Tower (substantially rebuilt 1520), remains. The tower is open to the public once a month so I will take some photos there when I can.

St Augustine's Tower, the only remaining part of the old church — **St Augustine’s Tower, the only remaining part of the old church**

At this point weve reached the Narroway (Narrow Way) which is being pedestrianised. It used to be the route for buses and, trust me, with so many bus routes in Hackney with a bus station entrance at the bottom

, that didn’t make it a very fun place to walk. I won’t lie – it’s maybe the lamest shopping area around. Its redeeming quality is a small Marks & Spencer.

Pedestrianalistion still underway — **Pedestrianisation still underway**

**Love this utility cover on the Narroway**