Thank you Isaac Watts for this Stoke Newington classic.

I usually knock out blogs in my lunch hour….well…..lunch half hour by the time I’ve got me grub and wolfed it down.  Not for the past week or so though.  Oh no.  Lunchtime’s have been spent wandering aimlessly around the West End hoping that something jumps off a shelf, slaps me in the face and tells me that my Mum would love it.

 It was a bit of an effort but the shopping’s all done and dusted.  Finished it this afternoon I did.  Just had to visit John Lewis for the sixth day on the spin to get the old girl a dressing gown (don’t worry she won’t be reading this shit). 

I had no idea what department you would find a dressing gown in.  Had to call the girlfriend in the end and get some directions.  Lingerie section.  Who’da thunk it huh?  I never venture down to the lingerie section, the word doesn’t even register in my brain.  I don’t get a hard on or nuffin like that.  I just get a bit anxious looking at girls looking at pants.  It’s not so bad in John Lewis though.  It’s all middle-aged housewives so you don’t feel like a perv……or is that more pervy?…..I dunno.  Got the job done with minimum fuss though.  Unlike yesterdays trip to Selfridges.  Loads of Agent Provocateur birds handing stuff out in stockings ‘n’ that.  I was so entranced I ended up on the fourth floor.  I don’t even remember getting on the escalator.  I don’t know how blokes cope if they’ve got a half decent bird in that gear.  I’d be finished before I’ve started.

Anyway.  I realised during these traumatic days of Xmas shopping that I’m treating my girlfriend a bit too well.  I remember when we first started going out she’d be constantly saying “I want” “I need” and getting gifts was easy.  If you only remembered half the things she wanted or needed then you were good for about 58 presents.  Now days though she appears to want for nothing.  I suppose when you’ve got a fella like me what else do you need?  Lucky bitch.

Got her some stuff that could be a bit hit and miss.  It’s her birthday in Jan as well, I’ll be well and truly lost when that comes around.  Got their family a present.  They’re all grown up now so they complain a bit about Xmas being a bit boring.  They’ll probably read this so I can’t disclose what it is, but it’s got the potential to ruin their day……or at least cause a massive argument.  God that would be amazing.  If I could start ruining days without even being there I’d be so proud of myself.

It’s my last day at work today so I’m off to play Hungry Hungry Hippos and Pop Up Pirate.  I LOVE the last day of term!!!

Oh, before I go.  I was coming out of John Lewis via the food department earlier.  Some old girl knocks a jar of pickles off the shelf and they smash at my feet.  She didn’t bat an eye and fucked straight off leaving me to cop the disapproving looks. I didn’t know what to do.  Ended up just getting flustered and pointing to the poor old cow saying to strangers that “it was her, it wasn’t me……it wasn’t me…..”.  She looked back at me with this dough eyed innocence.  For a second even I thought I was lying.  I swear she smirked as she turned away.  Crafty little bastards those OAP’s.  I reckon she was on the rob as well.  She’ll probably cite her Alzheimer’s if she get’s caught.  Seriously.  Don’t trust them.  Calculating old fucks.

Have a good Xmas party people!  Mine is going to made bearable by corrupting my sweet little niece.  I think we could be spending some more time on the naughty step.

Anarchy!

RnR

A friend of mine always says that ‘happy people don’t keep diaries’ and given the utter deafening silence here that could be true. More likely is that busy people have Outlook to manage their diaries for them and thus never notice the gaps…!

As ever, December descended into the mental abyss of Christmas do’s, beer festivals, rounding off with a couple of quiet weeks at work as people start to disappear on their jollies.

Pigs Ear 2009 (ELAC CAMRA/Hackney Beer Festival) was a great success. More people through the door than ever before and some excellent beer on hand. Even got a few of the grads from work out for an excellent night at the foreign bar. As a pigs ear worker, I got stuck in helping run the games including the awesome roll the barrel:

Mind the rolling barrel...

Needless to say, I was bloody awful, despite all the practice I had to drum up a crowd!

Action shot of the happy punters...

I finally bought a proper camera but haven’t had time to use it in anger yet. I guess one more thing to plan in for the new year.

Not much to do now but pack for xmas. I have half a kilo of excellent bacon, some rather special cheese and a bottle of Orkney Dark Island Special Reserve to bring North. Mmmmm…

アーティストたちが多く住むイーストロンドンのハックニー区にある我が家の近くには、グラフィティアート（ストリートアート）がそこかしこで見られる。有名なところでは、ステンシルを使った作品で世界的に知られるストリートアーティスト、バンクシーの「Hoodie」（フード付きスウェットを着た男：イギリスでは不良の代名詞）（写真上）。Shepherdess Walk（シェファーデス・ウォーク）を北上、Regent’s Canal（リージェンツ・カナル）にかかる橋の下にある。またバンクシー作品では、Essex Road（エセックス・ロード）にある薬局の壁に描かれた、テスコのレジ袋を国旗のように掲げて皮肉った「Pledge Your Allegiance / Very Little Helps」（忠誠の誓い/あまりためにならない（テスコのスローガン「Every Little Helps」をもじった）もある。クラーケンウェル（Clerkenwell）にある、Mが愛車のベスパを買ったバイクショップの壁面に描かれていた、時価30万ポンドの「Old Skool」は、たった£1,000で匿名のドイツ人に売られたとニュースで知った。その話をした時に、ショップのオーナーは、「購入者も壁をはがすのに大金がかかったし、誰でも持ってってくれたら良かったんだよ」と笑っていた。欲のない人だ。そのドイツ人は業者を雇い、6週間もかけて壁をはがして、持ち帰ったそうだ。

There are Graffitis here and there in our neighborhood in Hackney, East London, where many artists live. One of the famous one is “Hoodie” (photo above) by famous British graffiti artist Banksy who uses stencils to create his works. You can find it under the bridge over the Regent’s Canal, on the North of the Shepherdess Walk. Another one of Banksy’s work nearby is “Pledge Your Allegiance / Very Little Helps” on the wall of a pharmacy on Essex Road, with two children pledging allegiance to supermarket giant Tesco (the title is a parody of Tesco’s slogan, “Every Little Helps”).  ”Old Skool“, worth £300,000, drawn on the wall of a motorcycle shop in Clerkenwell, where M bought his Vespa, was sold it to an anonymous German buyer for only £1,000. When we talked about it with the owner of the shop, he smiled and said “I am glad someone took the painting anyway, and he paid a lots of money for its removal, so it’s fine.” He was not greedy at all! The German hired Wall Paintings Workshop and it took 6 weeks for them to remove the painting.

一番近いのは、Prestwood Street（プレストウッド・ストリート）にある、オーストラリア生まれ・ベルリン在住のChristopher Charlie Isoeの作品（写真上）。マフィアのような男性の顔の上に、ピエロのようなメイクを施している。

The closest graffiti is Australian-born and Berlin-based Christopher Charlie Isoe’s work on the Prestwood Street – a painting of a Mafioso-look guy with make-up of a clown on the top of his face.

二番目に近いグラフィティ（写真上）。元々はRentokil（レントキル・英ビジネスサービス企業。日本ではカルミックと提携）の事務所だった建物の壁にかかれた、アメリカ人アーティスト、David Choeの作品（敷地内の他の作品：１／２）。つい最近、彼が作品を制作している最中に通りがかったのだけれど、その時はカメラを持っていなくて写真を撮れなかった。彼のブログによると、２日かけて完成させたそう。今日通りかかった時に、ちょうど門の鍵が開いていたので、写真撮影に成功。この前には、ネズミの顔をした、黒の制服を来た警察官（？）が描かれていた（作者不明）。私は前の方が好きだな。写真を撮っておくんだった。

The second closest from us is on the wall of former-Rentokil building, painted by American artist David Choe (photo above. Other works in the same place 1/2). I passed by when he was working on it but I didn’t have my camera that day, but I was lucky today that the gate was open (usually locked) and had my camera with me. He took 2 days to finish the work, according to his blog. Before Choe’s work, there was a painting of 2 rat-face men in black (police?) uniform – I couldn’t find who did it. I prefer the previous work – I should have taken a photo of it.

私は基本的にグラフィティはあんまり好きじゃない。タギングとか、落書きや文字が書いてあるものはどれも似たり寄ったりで個性がないし、なんだかラフすぎて、ティーンエイジャー向けという感じ。でもその中では、元祖ステンシルアーティストのBlek the ratやバンクシーの作品は好き。バンクシーは時に政治メッセージが強すぎると思うけれど。また、Pizza EastやAlbionの近く、Redchurch Street（レッドチャーチ・ストリート）とClub Row（クラブ・ロウ）の角にある、ベルギー人アーティスト・Roaのリスのグラフィティ（写真下）もいい。Roaは、動物の絵をよく描いているようだけれど、同じRedchurch Streetにある豚2匹の顔はちょっと怖い。。。

To be honest, I don’t like graffiti much in general. It tends to be too busy and too much colors, and more or less it looks all the same (especially the writing). It looks too rough and edgy, and is for teenagers to me. However, I kind of like Stencils, such as the works of French Blek the rat, the godfather of stencil graffiti art, and Banksy, though I don’t like his tendency to be too political.  I also like Belgian artist Roa’s ‘Squirrel’ (photo below), at the corner of Redchurch street and Club Row, near Pizza East and Albion. Roa seems to like to paint animals, but some of them look a bit scary, like the two pigs on top of each other on the same Redchurch street.

グラフィティは、立派なアートだと言う人もいるけれど、無許可であればそれは当然、違法行為。カウンシル（区役所）は、市民からの通報を受け付けていて、通報があれば、48時間以内に調査の上、カウンシル所有の建物に描かれたグラフィティで、不適切なものは24時間以内に、その他のものは14日以内に消去される（ハックニー区の場合）。あのバンクシーの作品の中にも消されたものがいくつかある。カウンシルも必要経費購入者もちで希望者に売って、それを区の財源にすればいいのにね。

Some say graffiti is an art, but if it is done without permission, obviously it is illegal. Borough Councils accept a report of illegal graffiti from public. Once reported, all reports of graffiti will be investigated within 48 hours, and offensive graffiti on buildings owned and run by the Council will be removed within 24 hours of a report being received, and non-offensive graffiti will be removed within 14 days (Borough of Hackney’s case). Even some of Banksy’s works were erased or painted over due to its illegality – maybe the Councils should sell the graffitis, with removal on buyer’s expense, and get extra money to use for the community’s sake.

He scanned the headline.

Hackney Empire, Mare Street, Hackney, E8

His heart leapt with anguish as he read and re-read the opening paragraph.

It’s been a bit of a quandary for me recently deciding whether or not to blog about the clothing line that’s had me looking like such a cool mother fucker for past couple of years.  You want to let people know about something you love, but on the other hand you don’t want any old twat stealing your vibe. 

Unfortunately the good folk at errrr Folk have gone and fucked it all up by doing too well.  The bastards.

I was pleased when I heard news of them extending the flagship store on Lambs Conduit St to two floors.  They were doing well, and rightly so, but now they’ve opened a 2nd store just off Brick Lane.  There’s no point trying to keep quiet about it now is there.  Every sap’s over there at the weekend now days.

With a simple but quirky design ethic and great attention to detail, they’re consistently knocking out must have pieces.  I can’t think of another label that has me wanting pretty much everything they produce. 

These are some of my highlights from the latest line, floating my boat in a big way they are:

You really should pop in and check it out.  Some of it isn’t the cheapest, but twisted classic design won’t be heading anywhere will it.  So un-like your mates who rape the high street you won’t look like a prick when you’re checking out photos from more than 3 months ago.  The staff are a friendly bunch as well, be warned you might end up in there for a while having a chat.  If they like you they might even knock a few bob off.  Can’t say fairer than that can ya.

 Folky!

RnR

A four-storey building sits on a row of terraced houses, with boarded
up windows, crumbling walls and rubbish strewn around the front yard.
This house has been uninhabited for around 15 years and is one of
three
empty properties on Moulins Road in Hackney.

In London as a
whole 87,000 properties lie empty, either abandoned by previous owners
and landowners who cannot afford their upkeep or which are sitting unused
between sales.

Meanwhile, statistics published by Inside Housing, a website that studies social housing, show that more than one and a half million households are waiting for housing.

Should we be demanding that something gets done to let those in need of homes use these empty houses, even if just as temporary accomodation?

Right.  Let’s get busy.  I’ve got some mad catch-up to do.  Been taking quite a bit of time off work lately.  Trying to use up holiday before the end of the year.  I’m definitely missing a trick.  Next year I’ll be taking my quota by May and chucking in sickies every other Monday and Friday for the rest of the year.  Some of the people I work with must live in fucking dungeons judging on how many “colds” they get.  Suppose I should feel sorry for them not having luxuries like central heating, hot water and fruit.  I’m half expecting to see an appeal e-mail asking for a fiver a month when I come into work now days.

If you could spare just £5 a month you could save my ears from listening to people constantly complain about how busy they are…….actually I think I might get the appeal going.  Could get the sickly fuckers some multi-vitamins for a start.

I’m a bit of a dour bastard today.  I think I’m just a bit annoyed about missing the Xmas party to be fair.  I think I’m more annoyed at the fact that there appears to be zero gossip.  No fingering in the toilets, nuffin.  There should always be someone dreading coming to work the day after.  It’s a rule that should never be broken.  I remember I was the talk of my first ever office party when I was 17.  Took until February for the gossip to stop.  Dishing a bit of stick out to a slapper at work is probably my favourite bit of Xmas and I don’t even get to do that this year.  Fuck it.  I might just make something up.  They’ll wish they stood on a table and got their tits out.  That’ll learn ‘em.

Anyway. 

First up there was the Bare Bones 2nd issue exhibition.  Managed to worm our way in after about an hour of hiding from the crowds in the Owl and Pussycat.  Worth the wait it has to be said.  Good it was.  Had some of the housemates find their favourite page.  Gilbey had 3 favourite pages…..although I suspect he just likes a bit of a pose.

Javvy rocked up looking like Del Boy and started taking pictures of people’s eyes for some reason.  Someone suggested he was trying to rip off Rankin.  Whoever said that must’ve been pretty stupid.  The only Rankin he knows is the wafty garage MC from the nineties.  They came out alright though.  More to do with the fancy camera than any idea of photography or art.

 In a new move the featured artists are producing limited runs of original A5 pieces for twenty quid a pop.  Some really good bits there.  Having turned up quite late I did miss out on a few that I would’ve definitely gone for.  Namely this one by my old mate Harry Malt.  Those of you who check in regularly would know that the inspiration behind this was our night in watching that crap Channel 4 3-D stuff.  I should surely be entitled to a percentage of the sale.  That’s the way it works right?

 I did pick up these two rather lovely bits though.  You can’t go wrong with a bit of Johnny Cash can ya.  Just have to get my arse in gear and get them framed now.

 There’s also some larger works going for (I think) £120.  Again, there’s some really decent stuff.  Bit of an investment as well.  I can’t imagine you’ll lose any money on them.  Any of the stuff would make someone a nice Xmas present.  Get yourselves along and check it out for yourselves.  Or have a look at the gallery web-site and see if anything takes your fancy on there.  Either way.  CHECK.IT.

I think I’ll have to call it quits for now.  This seems to have turned into a quite monstrous post.

Just one last thing.  The night coincided with Frieda’s birthday so we were all back to ours for a bit of a dance around the kitchen after.  The wife proper stacked it on the way home.  Probably the funniest thing I’ve seen since….well….she last fell over.  She’s still complaining about the rather huge grazes on her knees.  Frieda stacked it in the kitchen but still managed to carry on and complete her now obligatory table top dancing.

All in all a good night/morning.  A few sorry looking people wandering the streets of Hackney……or having breakfast and lunch in Mare St Spoons.  Dirty bastards.

I’ve got a couple of spare copies of the 2nd issue at home.  If anyone wants one then send me a message.  I’ll even pick up the postage.  I’m a fucking great guy like that.

Over and out for now.

Peas!

RnR

Buses let people off at the narrow way. A steady stream of shops, loads of shops. Smell of fresh bread from the bakery at the corner. Mobile phones, curtains, shoes, groceries, vitamins, casual wear all pecked, picked, bought and sold by people moving in and out in a cultural rainbow of zigzags.

Brown, tan and peach figures hop from one shop to the next, bargaining and bartering, voices raised high in righteousness, singing. Children are whining and pointing. Babies are crying and laughing. Prams everywhere, forcing their way through narrow doors that open up into big displays of shelves; racks of things you’ll never need, but everyone needs them.

Grabbing and tossing, blue plastic bags filled high with trinkets. It’s almost Christmas, and the smell of green hovers in some shops as wreaths and pine cones are piled into shopping bags. Tinny radios play the songs everyone knows best. One rebel Reggae player breaks through with Bhuju Bhanton wailing a true sermon. He’s calling to customers – and then the smell. Jerk chicken with spices rich in flavor as the Caribbean itself. Bhuju says, ‘Come. Eat sumting dat will make ya feel right.’

Heads swirl, as the day moves on. Second wind and the negotiations begin again. Nothing costs what it’s worth. No one pays what it costs. The hurrying reaches a fevered pitch. Dinner time is approaching. Just a few more items to purchase, just a few more trinkets to buy. One more bargain.

Almost relentless, this bustling energy is finally reduced in pace and number by the setting of the sun. Orange streaks across the sky attract only a moderate amount of attention before giving way to the dark of night. Street lights flicker on. The whistling winter wind softly bites as it gently sweeps bits of rubbish down the road.

By midnight, only a few lone figures are left on the narrow way. The liveliness of the morning is replaced with the dispossessed movements of foxes in the nearby churchyard. A can from the rubbish bin falls to the pavement.

The wind drifts again softly down the alley to the corner shop. The Turkish man who runs it has a kind and large face. His shiny black hair curls up a bit in the front. He looks about 55 and wears the same dark sweater with corduroy trimmings every day. He’s been here for 12 years, but his English is still, “No so good.”

Someone enters the shop and the shopkeeper straightens his shoulders. His eyes widen. He awaits the slightest sign of indecision from his customer before scuttling to her side to help. He waves goodbye when she leaves. The shop is empty. His shoulders slump forward again. He waits.

Tucked away off Dalston Kingsland’s high street lies The Arcola Theatre. You wouldn’t notice the sign unless you were looking for it but once inside you feel you’ve been let into a secret. It’s another example of how much working for What’s Up has changed my perception of the area i live in… let me explain

Front and centre

Arcola runs a programme of youth theatre for 12-25 year olds living in the Hackney area. There are also courses and workshops for the more serious young lovies and all sorts of activities from Capoeria to Congolese Youth Theatre. It runs loads of shows, has  lovely cosy coffee shop you could read a book in for hours and offers a ‘pay what you can’ day on Tuesdays. I went down on a cold Tuesday to chat to two members of the youth theatre.

The first thing that struck me when i met Moe and Sarah was how friendly and bright they were. By bright i don’t just mean clever, which i am certain they both are, i mean the kind of shiny, illuminating bright that  comes when people talk about something they care about.

To them theatre meant having something to look forward to, belong to and be part of. They talked about developing different perspectives, having the space to discuss issues without being condemned and empathy. Both had learnt to push themselves out of their comfort zone.

Moe had struggled to balance life with his father, school and acting and had returned to drama with a new passion when he moved in with his mum, Sarah had found acting as a way of escaping bullying and the environment offered friends, fun and real excitement.

That’s what struck me as i was walking off. These two 19 year olds had found drama and invested time and energy into it and as a result where really inspiring to talk to. If you’d of asked me to sign up for an acting course there and then i would of – ( and i am fairly certain i have no acting talent! ) so thank goodness they only run courses for young people. I will however make a promise to go to the Arcola in 2010 and i now KNOW that the area i live in is that much richer in culture than i thought it to be before i visited!

The theatre has load of free opportunities: from theatre taster days to accredited courses.  Interested in getting involved? Find out more here : http://www.whatsupinformation.com/freethreatrecoursesatarcola

Web:  Arcola Youth Theatre

Email:  youth@arcolatheatre.com

Phone:  020 7503 1645

Address:  27 Arcola Street, Hackney E8 2DJ

I was on Church Street today, minding my own business, as I do, when some school-kids with a camera and a microphone asked if they could interview me.

Because I am nice, I said yes and and asked them what it was about.

With camera rolling, the interviewer told me that Hackney Council is proposing putting – wait for it – wind turbines on Hackney Marshes and was asked, “what’s more important, football or the environment”?

Because I’m not rude and don’t swear in front of young people, I did not ask which brainiac came up with the ridiculous idea that wind turbines will “save the environment” and which dumbass thinks it’s a brilliant idea to ruin football on the Marshes for a fricking publicity stunt?

Hey, I’m all for alternative energy – and I do get that we need to conserve resources and limit the pollution we create. I also however get that wind farms belong in isolated areas and not the inner city. If they must be in the inner city, can’t you find some disused brownfield site rather than spoiling the one green space they have to play football and learn teamwork and discipline?!

Let’s look at Hackney Council’s reasons “for”. Firstly, they say, “if the 120 metre high turbine goes ahead, it will offer Hackney the opportunity to buy green energy for up to 25 years, cutting carbon emissions significantly and potentially saving money. The Council could also receive rent for the land the turbine would sit on, which could be invested in sports and playing facilities on the Marshes”.

Hummm,they could also save money by not pouring millions of pounds down the pan “project managing” Clissold Leisure Centre and Park…

Notice that Hackney, “will have the opportunity to buy green energy“. Not get free green energy, merely have the “option to buy”. Hello, are you telling me they don’t have the option to buy green energy now? Bullshit.

As for Hackney Council’s brilliant negotiating skills and “getting rent”, we need only look to the Clissold Leisure Centre and ITNet before that to see those razor-sharp skills in action. Utter fucking fiasco.

As for the second reason, “the ODA is already going ahead with one wind turbine on Eton Manor in the neighbouring borough of Waltham Forest. If a turbine was built on East Marsh, the two together could generate enough green electricity to power Hackney¹s street lighting at night and all the main Council buildings by day”.

Oh, one’s going up in Waltham Forest anyways, so we might as well have one too? As for “the two together could generate enough green energy to power Hackney’s street lighting all night and the main council buildings by day” – yes, they could. They could provide the green energy IF WE PAY FOR IT. [not to mention that the energy generated isn't earmarked to light up Hackney - just that it could generate enough to light up Hackney]

Hackney Council propose to spoil Hackney Marshes in return for a nominal rent from the turbine owner and the opportunity to BUY energy from that owner. Brilliant.

Thanks, but no thanks, Jules: you’ve done enough already.

Yet again, Hackney Council’s going to get turned over by disingenuous morons who couldn’t run a bath.

東ロンドンのショーディッチのLeonard Streetに最近できた、カフェ／バー／レストラン、The  Book Club。バー／クラブ・Queen of Hoxtonと同じオーナーが経営、以前はHOMEというバーだったビクトリア時代の倉庫があった建物にある。元倉庫のレンガ壁と広々としたスペースを生かした、2階に分かれたフロアは、ビンテージ風の家具や長テーブルが置かれ、地階にはビリヤード台、1階には卓球台が置いてある小部屋もある。また、トークやワークショップ等の文化イベントも開催されており、週末等にはDJも入る（イベントスケジュールはこちら）。客層は場所柄、デザイン事務所やファッション、メディア等で働くクリエーターや、ヒップな若者が多い。Wi-Fiは無料、プライベート・ミーティングルームや映写施設もある。ちなみにイギリスでは、カフェやパブで、一般客に混じってビジネス・ミーティングをしているのをよく見かける。テーブルが小さかったり、うるさい場所でもやってるので、気が散らないのだろうかといつも思う。

オープン時間は朝8時から深夜まで（木・金・土は午前2時まで）、時間帯によって食事メニューも変わる。夜はお皿のサイズで値段が決まるユニークなシステムで、グループ用に大鍋でパスタやシチューも注文できるそうだ。私たちは遅めのランチで、スパゲティ・ミートボールと、Bangers&Mash（ソーセージとマッシュポテト）を注文。ソーセージ＆マッシュはまずまず。スパイシーなトマトソースとミートボールは美味しかったけれど、スパゲティは品質が良くなく、ゆで過ぎだったのが残念。

The Book Club is a recently opened café/Bar/Restaurant, located on Leonard Street in a former Victorian warehouse (where used to be the HOME bar) in Shoreditch, East London. Run by the same people as the Queen of Hoxton, this former warehouse with brick walls and vast 2-floor spaces is decorated with vintage-style furniture and long tables, and has a pool table and a DJ area downstairs and a ping-pong table in a small room on the corner of the ground floor. The Book Club also offers a variety of creative and cultural events as well as parties and DJ nights (event schedules are here), and attracts creative workers and hip twenty-somethings who live or work around the area. Wi-Fi is free, and you can also use private meeting rooms and screening facilities. I often see people having a business meeting in a café or a pub in UK and always wonder if they are not distracted: sometimes it is noisy and a table is too small to spread documents.

The Book Club opens all day from 8 am to midnight (until 2 am on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays), and the menu changes accordingly. In the evening, diners pay by plate size and large groups can purchase huge pots of pasta or stew. We ordered Spaghetti with Italian Meatballs and Bangers&Mash for our late lunch. Bangers&Mash is not bad, and spicy tomato sauce for the pasta was good, but disappointment was the spaghetti – it was a cheap kind and mushy + far away from al dente…

OK, a couple of deep breaths and some very loud techno later, I’m feeling a bit more sanguine.

So it might be a good time to drop a quick update of some of the good stuff I’ve been up to in the last couple of weeks. Despite my bitching, there’s plenty going on at the moment. So, in no particular order here’s a few of the goodies I’ve been attending:

News Quiz Recording – Good to see this in action. For those who don’t listen to Radio 4, this is the weekly topical quiz, hosted by Sandi Toksvig. When I saw it, the panellists were Jeremy Hardy, Sue Perkins, Francis Wheen and Carrie Quinlan. I can’t remember what topics were on the night, but it was just as they announced the new President of Europe, and there was a debate as to whether secularists should be allowed on Thought for the Day. The live version’s actually as good as the edited version, and you get to hear all the swearing and libellous quips that they usually cut out in the broadcast. (It’s a bit long though). I met one of the writers too, Gareth Gwynn. Very nice chap.

Richard Herring’s As It Occurs to Me – Another live recording, this time of a comedy podcast. In contrast to the News Quiz, Rich’s whole USP here is that it’s unedited and goes out as raw as when it was recorded. It’s a good example of the whole online comedy explosion, where comics don’t wait to be commissioned; they just get up and do it. Rich explains his thinking on the Culture Show here.

Hackney Empire’s Panto – I’m never sure how much people know about panto. Obviously here in the UK it’s a pretty well established; further afield, I have no idea. The Hackney Empire effort is usually a safe bet, particularly with Clive Rowe as Widow Twanky. But I was watching it with an American girl and I kept wanting to explain what the hell was going on (‘Yeah, the principal boy’s always a leggy girl, the dame’s always a fat bloke, and don’t be surprised if someone bursts into song or starts shouting for no reason – you’ll catch on.’ I’m not sure she did).

Hide&Seek’s Sandpit – I mentioned this in an earlier post. Hide&Seek is a company that arranges social games, and their latest showcase at the Royal Festival Hall was a chance for games designers to try out their new wares. Apparently they do this quite a lot. This was my first one, and it was a lot of fun (again a bit long – I suspect I’ve just got an exceptionally low boredom threshold or I get hungry too quickly). Games that stick in the memory include a translation game that was hosted by Russell Davies where you’ve got to decipher an emergency message, and one for about 60 people where we all had to make up Beatles’ lyrics from the cards scattered about. Definitely up for another one. (I also met some interesting types like Good Machine, who’s good on the social games front).

Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy – Slipped over to this one last night, as it’s the last week of the exhibition. I have to say that given the effusive reviews both in the press and from my mates I was expecting more. Old Anish is certainly good at probing the boundaries of art. And some of his pieces were genuinely fantastic. I loved the hyper-shined distorting mirrors and the cannon firing a block of wax at the wall, for example. But the massive concrete dog-poo things just didn’t do it for me. Here’s a video about the exhibition, if you want to see what the hell I’m wittering about.

Designed by Ray Walker; two details follow

Without meaning to sound complacent, I think I’ve almost nailed the art of interviewing.  Know what you want from the conversation, ask the questions to help you get it, throw in a ‘If you could be any Spice Girl…’ type question,  and hope you get a quote containing the words  ‘empower’ or ‘endeavour’.

All the interviews I’ve done so far, however, have been conducted with a least one other person from What’s Up present.  So when I was asked to go alone to the Free Form Arts Trust, interviewing suddenly didn’t feel so simple.  The interview was with some young people on a silk screen printing course at Hackney’s Hothouse, where Free Form is located.

Free Form is one of those organisations that’s difficult to explain in plain English – as demonstrated by its website.  Its basic aim appears to be helping creativity survive and thrive.  It’s the home of many creative businesses, has space available to rent, and runs various courses covering many creative areas.  The courses have the added bonus of actually leading somewhere too – completion of the silk screen printing programme qualifies you to teach your new found skills to others.

Things didn’t start so well in my quest to find the building.  One or two wrong turns meant a 45 minute walk to a destination that, according to Google Maps, is just a six minute walk away.  Why doesn’t London have any street signs?

Things picked up when I found the place.  The structure is impressive – extremely innovative and definitely somewhere that has to been seen, not explained, to be appreciated.  It’s also the kind of place you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t already aware of its presence.  That’s one thing I’ve found about living in London – there are so many hidden gems lurking in places you wouldn’t dream of finding them.  Living in this city, and working for What’s Up, has really made me appreciate my surroundings more.

The course I had come to see was in its final session, and the evening’s events had a strict running order.  This meant I had to wait for my interview opportunity, but there was some benefit in this.  Listening to speeches and seeing the certificates presented allowed me to find out what the course involved, and if the participants shared the co-ordinator’s enthusiasm for printing.

The T-shirts the young people had designed and printed themselves using the silk screen process were really good.  Unfortunately, we’re a photographer short of a news crew at the moment (not a euphemism), so I didn’t get any pictures.  There was a lady from a local paper with a camera though, and she has promised we can use her pictures for the website.

Almost two hours flew by (I’m not sure if I’m being sarcastic or not), and it was time for the interview.  The three people I spoke to made the whole thing easy.  They were polite, answered every question fully and brilliantly, and once again showed why the stereotypical, narrow-minded, tabloid view of this country’s youth is largely incorrect.

Full interview:  http://www.whatsupinformation.com/featff

Chris Warburton

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Alright, you fuckers. You remember the 22 October 2009 Question Time? The Nick Griffin hoo-ha with the rest of the panel bricking it? The rest of the panel, that is, with the exception of Bonnie Greer. Oh the irony. Bonnie earned high praise that night because she was the only one on that set not hyper-ventilating. I’m guessing it’s because she was brought up with the First Amendment and she’s not interested in attempting to control what other people say.

Anyhoo

Bonnie will be holding court down in Dalston on 5 December. bonniegreer flyer

For any of you who can’t make it, a reminder of the night we were all glued to our seats:

Youtube 1 of Question Time here.

Youtube 2 of QT here

Youtube 3 of QT here

Youtube 4 of QT here

Youtube 5 of QT here

Youtube 6 of QT here

Gosh darn it – it’s just so hard to keep up with all the murders and attempted murders in Stoke Newington these days.

I can’t believe this passed me by:

Shocked community leaders believe last month’s triple-shooting of three teenagers has set a precedent and are calling for improved security measures in the area.

All three victims have been discharged from hospital. Source

Tom, Lizzie, your thoughts? We already know Jules Pipe’s response: “Dial 999“.

Have you ever wanted to get out and do something different? Squatting is one of the alternative lifestyles many people pursuit. As demonstrated from on interviewee, one of the greatest things about squatting is that you’r living in a communal, social centre. ” Squatting becomes a  platform for sharing by  leading creative workshops and gigs.

Video and interview by Joanna Aniel Bidar