Issue 22 of The Lewisham Ledger by Lewisham Ledger

Jubilee joy

A FREE NEWSPAPER FOR LEWISHAM

The Lewisham Ledger I S S U E 2 2 | J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

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Summer celebrations in Lewisham PA G E S 12 , 13

Horseman Harry

Proud Mary

The local lad defying the odds

Fashion queen Mary Martin

PAG E 8

PA G E 1 8

Spilling the beans Some good brews at last PAGE 17

CALLING ALL

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THE LE WI S H AM L E D G E R

NEWS

J U LY/A U G U ST 2 022

Welcome to The Lewisham Ledger, a free newspaper for the borough. ur cover stars for this issue are Shai Eilon and Maya Haiman-Eilon, the duo behind award-winning Catford coffee company Mont58. They explain how they came to set up their renowned independent roastery on page 17. Also featured on our front page is 18-yearold Harry Enright. Despite being born without a left hand, passionate horseman Harry, who hails from Lewisham, is determined to pursue a career as a professional jockey. He tells us more on page eight. We also sat down for a chat with local resident Mary Martin, who overcame a difficult start in life to make a name for herself as a celebrated fashion designer. Read Mary's story on page 18. There were celebrations across the borough to mark the Queen's platinum jubilee last month, and two local street parties are featured in our regular photo essay section on page 12. We're now working on the September/ October edition of The Lewisham Ledger, which will be published in mid-September. If you're a local business or organisation who is interested in advertising in our next issue, please get in touch via lewishamledger@gmail. com to find out how we can promote what you do across the borough of Lewisham, southeast London and beyond – both in print and online. We would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy the issue!

Jimi Famurewa (left), Niamh Mulvey (top) and Brenda Garrick

Mark McGinlay and Kate White

The Lewisham Ledger

Turn up for the books A new literary festival is coming to south-east London this autumn. The Catford Literary Festival has been created by Abbotshall HLC in Catford in conjunction with The Lewisham Ledger. The aim in the first year is to put on 10 events over the first weekend of October and to then go on and become an annual staple in the book festival calendar. Natasha Clarkson, Abbotshall’s centre and partnership director, said: “We’re really excited to be teaming up with The Lewisham Ledger to bring a new book festival to south-east London and to highlight literature in Catford. We really want to showcase the diverse literary talent that the area has to offer and have been inundated with local authors wanting to take part.” The main festival sponsor is St Dunstan’s College, with other local businesses including Bottle Bar and Shop and Mont58 sponsoring individual events. A spokesperson for St Dunstan’s said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the first ever Catford Literary Festival, which promises to be a vibrant and engaging event for the local community.” Authors who will be appearing at the festival include Jimi Famurewa, the Evening Standard’s restaurant critic, who will be talking on the Saturday about his forthcoming book, Settlers: Journeys Through the Food, Faith and Culture of Black African London.

Cover photograph Mont58 by James Parsons Editors Mark McGinlay, Kate White Creative directors Andy Keys, Marta Pérez Sainero Type designers a2-type.co.uk londontype.co.uk Photographer Lima Charlie Sub-editor Jack Aston

In the book, Jimi journeys into the world of African London, seeking to understand the ties that bind black African Londoners together and connect them with their home countries. He visits places of worship, markets and restaurants, attends a traditional Nigerian engagement ceremony, shadows people on their journeys to far-flung grammar schools and listens to stories from shopkeepers, activists, artists and politicians. He also investigates the troublesome practice of “farming”, in which young black Nigerians were sent to live with white British foster parents, examines historic interaction with the police, and reveals the friction between traditional black African customs and the stresses of modern life. Also taking part is Rebecca Seal, an award-winning writer who lives in Forest Hill. She will be talking on the Sunday about her book Solo: How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind). Rebecca, who also runs local photography studio Kemble House, has written 10 books, and her journalism is published worldwide in broadsheet newspapers and magazines. There have been times when she has found working alone very hard, and she decided to write Solo because she couldn’t find a book that answered her question: “If I’m doing what I am supposed to love, why am I sometimes so unhappy?” Actor and writer Brenda Garrick will also be appearing on the Sunday, read-

Contributors Rosario Blue, Meg Fozzard, Julia Hawkins, Ronnie Haydon, Jessica Kendrew, Miranda Knox, Luke G Williams Marketing and social media Mark McGinlay

ing from her book Jamakespeare. Containing reimaginings of Shakespeare’s soliloquies and monologues that incorporate Jamaican Patois, her book is an inventive, fresh and engrossing take on the Bard’s classic works that is ideal for young readers. Also appearing will be the writers of the popular Deserter blog, talking about Shirk, Rest and Play – their new illustrated self-help book for wannabe dropouts, dreamers, slackers, gadabouts, smokers, jokers and midnight tokers. The book covers all aspects of life, starting with work and how to avoid it, before moving smartly through leisure, home, money, health, beauty and death, where even amid the tears and sadness, you can still find plates of mini-burgers. Other highlights over the weekend include local writer Niamh Mulvey, who will lead a panel event featuring debut authors, and there will be a food-writing event featuring well-known names from the world of food and drink including Helen Graves, who has lived in southeast London for many years and writes the well-loved blog Food Stories. There’s a suggested donation for entry to each event, as the festival is aiming to raise funds for Abbotshall HLC, but all the events will also have free tickets available in keeping with the ethos of the venue. To book tickets to the various events, go to tiny.cc/catfordlitfest

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N EWS

A helping hand Lewisham Local has launched a cost of living crisis appeal to support residents who are experiencing fuel and food poverty across the borough due to the current economic crisis. The local charity is asking those who can afford it to donate some of their forthcoming council tax energy rebate, or anything else they can spare, to help those living in hardship in Lewisham. Shockingly, it is estimated that one in five households in the borough are now affected by food and fuel poverty. “A big part of what Lewisham Local does is encourage people to give and get involved within the local community,” said Simone Riddle, the charity’s local giving programme manager. “Last year we launched an appeal around food poverty and worked closely with our brilliant network of food banks on that. “We’ve seen first hand the impact of the cost of living crisis and how many people are really struggling. The issues of food and fuel poverty are very much interlinked, which is why we decided to launch this appeal. “It’s an extremely worrying time,” she added. “ We are seeing people come to food banks who say they can’t cope, in-

A fifth of households in the borough are thought to be affected by food and fuel poverty

cluding many people who have never used food banks before. With all the rising costs, many people are struggling to pay their bills and balance the books. We wanted to launch this appeal now because things are going to bite even more as the year goes on and winter arrives.” Half of the proceeds from Lewisham Local’s appeal will be used to support community food projects across the borough, while the other half will go to Warmer Together Lewisham, an initiative that trains people to provide energy-saving advice to the area’s most vulnerable residents. “The appeal is ongoing,” Simone said. “We will review it later in the year but we want to make sure that we get a good amount of funds ready for the winter. “We also want people to know that there is help out there and encourage them to ask for support if they are struggling.” Donations to Lewisham Local’s cost of living crisis appeal can be made via localgiving.org/appeal/cost-ofliving-crisis-appeal

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TH E LE WI S H A M L E DG E R

NEWS

J U LY/A U G U ST 2 022

Mysterious murals For more than a decade now, white murals of stags have been appearing with regularity across the borough of Lewisham, as well as in some neighbouring areas. The work of a mysterious artist who has been dubbed the “Lewisham Natureman”, the existence and locations of these elusive murals have been recorded in a new booklet produced by local resident David Sperlinger. Explaining the inspiration behind The Lewisham Natureman Stag Murals: A Field Guide, retired clinical psychologist David said: “I have lived in Lewisham for 45 years but I had never seen any of the stag murals until I went for a walk five or six years ago with a local group and someone pointed one of them out to me. “I like their mysteriousness and the fact that they are not that easy to find, as well as the attractive way in which they are painted. Indeed, most of them are quite hidden away. “During lockdown I did quite a lot of walking and thought it would be an interesting project to see how many of them I could find. “I never set out to produce the guide, it just sort of happened really after one of my sons said, ‘You should produce a booklet about this.’ “As far as I have gathered, the earliest stags were described on the Wildcornerz blog in around 2011,” David added. “I’ve identified 33 stags, and when I produced the booklet 18 of these were

Above: two of the Lewisham Natureman's much-loved stag murals

still in existence. Another has appeared since the booklet came out, which I’m pretty sure is new given how fresh the paint is.” The identity of the Lewisham Natureman is something of a mystery. The Wildcornerz blog has speculated that he is “not human at all but actually

a spirit of the wild; an urban incarnation of the Green Man or Cernunnos; the stag lord”. David admits: “There don’t seem to be any clues as to the identity of the artist and as far as I know no one has ever seen him painting one. To be honest I’m not that interested in who it is, I think

it adds to their interest that the artist is unknown. “It’s a bit like with Banksy – I know a lot of people have tried to uncover who he is, but I think it makes it more interesting that we don’t know.” Copies of David’s booklet are available, in exchange for a donation, from Manor House Library, the Oxfam bookshop in Greenwich and the Oxfam shop in Blackheath. They can also be purchased online from the Quaggy Waterways Action Group website for £4.50 plus postage and packing: qwag.org.uk/ items-to-buy

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TH E LE WI S H A M L E DG E R

NEWS

J U LY/A U G U ST 2 022

Shops for the chop The Leegate Shopping Centre could be bulldozed if plans for a new mixed-used site by developer Galliard Homes get a green light. If Galliard’s proposals move forward, the redeveloped site on the corner of Burnt Ash and Eltham roads in Lee will incorporate 563 new homes in four tower blocks between eight and 15 storeys high, as well as a public square, gym, restaurant, medical centre, community centre and a replacement for the Edmund Halley pub, which is set to be demolished. Galliard, which submitted a planning application for the site at the end of May, claims the proposed development will “deliver sustainable regeneration of an allocated, underutilised, brownfield site, which is beyond its design life cycle”. It believes the plans will “reinvigorate Lee Green district centre by providing a vibrant, new, purpose-designed flexible retail, commercial and community offer which responds to the site’s function and complements the existing services and facilities at Lee Green”. However, there is significant opposition to the scheme among many local residents. Although Galliard held a consultation period last November, some say that the views expressed by

Above: the Leegate Shopping Centre, which was built in the 1960s

locals within the consultation have been overlooked. Carole Hicks of the Lee Forum, a local community interest company made up of volunteers, told The Lewisham Ledger: “Galliard Homes have ignored

Road to nowhere residents’ views and still plan to build an ugly 15-storey building at the crossroads that everyone has clearly said they don’t want. Furthermore, Lewisham Council is giving residents just four weeks to look through 180-plus documents. It is totally unacceptable.” Her concerns have been echoed by Charles Batchelor of the Lee Manor Society, who has labelled the scheme “totally out of proportion”. In a report outlining the society’s objections to the proposals, he wrote: “We fear that a 15-storey building will dominate the crossroads, currently consisting mainly of three- and four-storey buildings, and cast a shadow over the whole area.” He added: “The process of recent months has been described as a consultation. In reality the local community has been totally ignored.” Previous proposals by St Modwen, the former owners of the Leegate site, to redevelop the area failed to come to fruition, despite being approved by Lewisham Council in 2015. Galliard then acquired the site in 2020.

A Lewisham street is the second most prolific in the country for driving fines, new data has revealed. Dermody Road collected almost £3 million in PCNs in the 2020/21 financial year, with over 48,000 tickets issued. The road is part of Lewisham Council’s controversial Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme, with restrictions displayed on signs and enforced by cameras. Driving uphill on Dermody Road from east to west (from Lee Green towards Hither Green) is banned, but vehicles are allowed to drive from west to east (from Hither Green towards Lee Green). The data was revealed following a freedom of information request by Confused.com, which asked councils to name the street in their area that dished out the most fines during the year.

To view the plans online and have your say, visit planning.lewisham.gov.uk/ online-applications and search for DC/22/126997

Calls for more care A local artist’s work has gone on display at the Houses of Parliament. Dr Gareth Morgan, 52, a scientist and visual artist with a studio in Forest Hill, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 39. He created the artwork to show the complications of living with diabetes. The piece formed part of an exhibition and campaign by Diabetes UK to highlight the need for a national recovery plan to tackle the backlog in diabetes care caused by the pandemic. It went on display in the House of Commons to coincide with the launch of a report by the charity, which highlighted how many people living with diabetes are struggling to access the care they need and called on the government to tackle the problem. Diabetes UK’s Jill Steaton said: “Dr Morgan has produced a wonderful pictorial representation of just how challenging it can be to live with diabetes day in day out, and why it is so important for the estimated 4.9 million people who have the condition in the UK to be supported by healthcare professionals.”

Play to be performed on banks of the Thames Did somebody say sugar? by Forest Hill-based artist Dr Gareth Morgan

A play that looks at the climate emergency through the eyes of three different women is coming to the spectacular setting of the Master Shipwright’s House. The Gretchen Question will be performed in the grounds of the hidden architectural gem in Deptford, which is situated on the banks of the Thames. In the play, a woman called Gretchen bears witness to the discoveries of world exploration at the Royal Society in the late 18th century. Meanwhile Maisie is an influencer with a questionable new brand partnership, and Lulit is in turmoil, struggling to remember what happened to her last night. Through these interwoven stories, The Gretchen Question, presented by

Fuel in collaboration with Shipwright, dissects how we have arrived at the current climate emergency and invites us to inquire what the future holds for us. The Master Shipwright’s House is one of the few remaining parts of Deptford’s former royal dockyard, which was founded by Henry VIII in 1513 and closed in 1869. The Master Shipwright’s House was bought and restored by its current owners in 1998, when it was transformed into a creative space for artists and performers. Yohanna Ephrem will play Maisie in the performance

The Gretchen Question runs from 22 September to 2 October. For tickets, visit fueltheatre.com/projects/thegretchen-question

S PORT

peaking to aspiring jockey Harry Enright, there’s absolutely no doubt that horse racing is what he was born to do. “When you’re riding a horse you get a massive adrenaline rush,” the 18-year-old says. “No offence to anyone who works in an office, but I’d much rather go out riding in the morning. It might be cold, it might be hot, but there will always be a good sunrise. When you watch a couple of horses go galloping, in that sunrise, it’s mad.” Harry pauses for a moment, and then resumes his soliloquy to the power and majesty of horse racing. “It’s the speed and the thrill that I like. When you’re going full pelt, everything normally turns into a blur for me. I really zone in and make sure I’ve got a hold of the horse. If you don’t have hold of the horse you’re going to get run away with, and it ain’t nice when you get run away with and can’t stop.” Although gambling on horses has long been a staple activity among the betting shops that still occupy many urban high streets, the sport of horse racing itself has traditionally been populated by rural types. As such, a working-class Lewisham lad like Harry trying to break into the “sport of kings” is a story in itself. But social class isn’t the only barrier that he faces – there’s also the small matter that he was born without a left hand and is therefore reliant on a custommade prosthetic when riding. Unsurprisingly, there’s never been a one-handed professional jockey, but Harry is utterly determined to become the first. “I’ve always been determined to prove people wrong,” he says with a chuckle. “I love showing that I can do it. Horse racing is very hard. There have been many opportunities for me to turn around and give up because of how hard the sport is. But I just won’t let that happen. I just keep coming back and coming back. “A lot of my friends nowadays are working on scaffolding or on roofs. They love seeing me doing what I’m doing. I told them I would do it and they didn’t really believe me. They all said, ‘Yeah, yeah’, as if I was talking rubbish. There were people who thought I wouldn’t pass my GCSEs, there were people who never thought I would get to where I am now. “There’s never been a one-handed jockey before and I’ve just got to do it. I’ve loved horses from a young age and I’ve just got to keep going. If you want to get somewhere that badly you have to keep going.” Harry first sat on a horse – or rather a donkey – when he was eight months old. According to family legend he was immediately hooked. “Apparently I had a donkey ride on holiday as a baby in Ireland and loved it,” he says. “So later my parents tried me with horse riding and I loved that too. I stopped for a little while and played a lot of football instead. But when it started to get nearer to deciding what I wanted to do with my life and my future I felt I had to choose horses.” Harry learned to ride at Saddles riding centre in Bexley, but it was through the work of a mentor assigned by Urban Synergy, a youth empowerment charity based in Lewisham, that his passion for horse racing and desire to pursue a career

I've always been determined to prove people wrong. Horse racing is very hard but I just keep coming back

RIDING HIGH

Lewisham’s Harry Enright is on a mission to become the first one-handed professional jockey – but he needs to raise enough funds for a new prosthetic first WORDS BY LUKE G WILLIAMS

in the sport crystallised. “They helped me get to where I am today in terms of setting me up with contacts and so on,” Harry explains. “Shortly after I went to the British Racing School for a week’s trial just to get a taste of it and see if I liked it or not. Straight away I loved it and knew I wasn’t going to stop.”

Above: Harry Enright, 18, in action Top: Harry has had a love of horses from a young age

Harry has now completed two courses at the British Racing School, one lasting nine weeks and the other 18 weeks. After a spell with trainer Lawney Hill in Oxfordshire he is now working for Morgan-Evans Equestrian in Newmarket. “I get up at about half six and work all the way through to about 12ish,” he says. “It’s straight mucking out, getting stuck in there. It’s a pre-training yard so the horses are still babies. It’s going really well. “But I really want to get back on a horse again and be learning again. I want to be riding different horses and to go on tracks and show the world what I can do.” The issue Harry currently faces is that he needs a new prosthetic. His previous one was ingeniously designed by the British Racing School’s Andrew Braithwaite, using parts from Screwfix, Selco, B&Q and Homebase. Powered by a Makita battery, it was made of silicone with a magnet that attached to the horse’s reins. If Harry fell off the horse the circuit was broken, ensuring the magnet was released and he didn’t get caught up in the reins. However, for his career to progress he now needs a stronger

and more robust solution. “We’ve got a GoFundMe page set up,” says Harry’s mum Michelle. “There is an engineering company working on it at the moment, but really we would love to get a sponsor for Harry. Even if we raise the funds for the prosthetic it will continue to need updating, repairing and things like that. A sponsor would be really helpful.” The support of Michelle and dad James has been crucial. “I can’t thank my family enough or begin to express how grateful I am to them,” Harry says. “I can’t put those feelings into words. It goes beyond anything. I really couldn’t ask for better teammates.” Michelle admits: “I’m from Lewisham and had no idea about horse riding and horse racing so when Harry started to be interested in the sport I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, how do you become a jockey, let alone a jockey with one hand?’ “But my attitude has always been that you can do anything you want as long as you work hard enough, so I told him we would look into it and see what we could do. “I’m immensely proud of how strong and determined Harry has been. He’s had a few knockbacks along his journey so far and I suspect we will have a few more to come but he just gets back up fighting every time. Both me and his dad are so, so proud of him.” Refreshingly, Harry is as levelheaded as he is ambitious. “You’ve got to have your bigger goals but also your shorter term goals,” he says. “Obviously the main goal for me is to be a professional jockey – to race and have a licence under my belt. But for the time being it’s all about making sure my arm is up to standard for the BHA [British Horseracing Authority] and everyone else in the racing community and industry.” After hearing the impressive steel and fervour underpinning his south London brogue – well, let’s just say I wouldn’t bet against him achieving his dream. To support Harry’s fundraising campaign visit gofund.me/514b3db0

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10 PR O M OT I ON AL F E AT U R E

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE | 15

STRONGER TOGETHER – ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE IS SERIOUS ABOUT WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY St Dunstan’s College, Catford, Lewisham, is passionate about and dedicated to providing life-enriching opportunities to our local community. As one of the only independent schools in Lewisham, St Dunstan’s believe in a broader educational purpose that supports the ongoing aspirations for the betterment of the borough and its residents. The College aims to routinely work with local partners to provide empowering opportunities to local people that will promote social mobility, engender wellbeing, and improve communities in addition to responding with benevolence and charity. Speaking about working with the community, Head Nick Hewlett explains: ‘We realise that we hold a privileged position as an independent school both in terms of our facilities and the experiences of our staff and pupils. It is vitally important for us that this can be of benefit to, and enhanced by, the communities that extend beyond our college gates.’ In 2021, St Dunstan’s College announced a new ground-breaking partnership with Lewisham Council and Westside Leaders Academy to establish the Lewisham Young Leaders Academy (LYLA), and in July the programme

was shortlisted for an award at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards for its contribution to social mobility. The academy was established in response to research and evidence showing disparities in attainment and outcomes for Black Caribbean and dual heritage (Black Caribbean/White) children and young people, not just in Lewisham, but throughout London and the UK. Through weekend classes, Lewisham Young Leaders Academy provides additional support to young people from across Lewisham through transformative teaching in life skills, including leadership, teamwork, presentation skills and CV building. The programme is designed to develop 12 traits of leadership in the young people attending: bearing, courage, decisiveness, enthusiasm, initiative, integrity, judgement, knowledge, loyalty, perseverance, responsibility, and unselfishness. Since launching, the academy has grown from 40 to 60 students attending each week, with three staff mentors and two parent volunteers. Whilst the academy benefits from using St Dunstan’s facilities, including our halls and STEM classrooms, staff from

the school have also led some of the weekend sessions giving up their own time to lead workshops on climbing and martial arts. A survey in autumn 2021 with parents and pupils showed the profound effect the new programme had already had on the young boys and girls attending. When asked if the programme had increased their child’s confidence, 100% of respondents strongly agreed/agreed, with 85% saying it had helped their child develop new skills. 100% of parents also strongly agreed/agreed that the programme had provided opportunities and experiences they may not have had otherwise, with 100% also agreeing it had helped their child develop a positive self-identity. The student responses also showed that the programme had been a positive experience for students attending: 100% strongly agreed/agreed that it had helped them grow confidence and that the sessions had been an opportunity to explore and learn new skills. St Dunstan’s, which was named as Independent Senior School of the Year at the 2022 Tes awards, hopes to explore further collaborative work with LYLA, building on more community partnerships and sustainability projects.

Find out more about St Dunstan’s College at its upcoming open day on Saturday 24 September, 0900 – 1500. Book online at www.stdunstans.org.uk The College is also on Twitter (@StDunstansColl) and Instagram (@StDunstansCollege). JULY/AUGUST 2022

THE DULWICH DIVERTER

TH E LE WI S H A M L E DG E R

iercely intelligent and formidably creative, Lewisham-based poet Rhiya Pau is a talent to watch, with her awardwinning collection Routes set to hit bookshelves later this year. The evening I speak to Rhiya, she has just completed her final edits to Routes – her debut solo work – and submitted the manuscript to her publisher Arachne Press, an influential indie based in Honor Oak. Given the significance of this milestone, it’s not surprising that her voice echoes with the mixture of elation and exhaustion familiar to anyone who has ever toiled in the forbidding shadow of a deadline. “I’ve been in editing mode,” she laughs wearily. “It is a functional rather than a creative process. The editing period is very tiring.” Rhiya’s personal journey is a fascinating story, and essential to understanding her work, which is underpinned by the personal and cultural contexts from which she has emerged. “I was born in London but my family migrated to the UK from India via east Africa,” she explains. “That was a very common route for many of the south Asian diaspora who are now in the UK. Different parts of my family came to the UK from different places in east Africa, mainly the towns on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda. “Much of our community had originally been brought there by the British as indentured labourers to build the railways. As we trace our history as a community, our migratory patterns have been influenced by colonial pressures since the late 1800s. “In a wave of nationalism in the 1970s, which followed independence from the British, Uganda expelled approximately 60,000 Asians from the country, many of whom went on to claim asylum in the UK. “Many south Asians left Kenya around the same time due to increasing discrimination from the ruling government, and as citizens of the empire they were also able to migrate to the UK. The migratory route of my community is something which I’ve always been fascinated by and forms the basis of Routes.” A major influence on Rhiya’s work is the personal backstory and legacy of her late grandfather. “Bapuji was a leader in the community, so growing up I spent a lot of time around him and his peers observing how our community was built and upheld. “Community building was his life’s work. He was born in Kenya, and in the 1940s he travelled alone to India to be a freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement. He spent some time living in Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram, attending protests and in one incident was even shot in the leg. Later, when he was living in the UK he was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to the community, an accolade he was incredibly proud of. “Alongside documenting our migratory histories, my collection looks to explore these conflicts of identity that feature throughout our community. Bapuji was a bold and principled man, who was unafraid to stand by his convictions in the face of disapproval. In Routes I hope to pay tribute to his legacy. It is only by examining our history that we

POETRY

J U LY/A U G U ST 2 022

"Linguistic verve": Rhiya Pau's debut poetry collection Routes is out in November

In many ways I consider poems to be thought experiments

Rhiya’s routes

WORDS BY LUKE G WILLIAMS

PHOTO BY LIMA CHARLIE

This September will mark 50 years since the first Ugandan Asian refugees arrived in the UK – a subject explored in local resident Rhiya Pau's hotly anticipated debut poetry collection

can begin to answer – what is worth holding on to? What memories, what stories, what truths? When we piece these together, what is the narrative we choose to tell? And how are we going to address the silences that remain? Poetry can be a platform for these conversations.” Somewhat ironically, it was the successive lockdowns of the last two years that helped Rhiya form the necessary work ethic and thinking space to write Routes. “The beginning of the pandemic was definitely a turning point,” she admits. “I suddenly felt like I had so much free time as I wasn’t having to commute any more. “I’ve been writing since I was about 11 or 12 – a mixture of poetry and fiction. It’s always been a way that I have processed the world and a way that I imagine. But there have often been times when I have taken long breaks from writing; for example, when I was at university and having to read a lot and write academically. “I’m also quite extroverted and writing can be a very solitary discipline. Distracted by my social life, I can find it hard to make the time to write. The pandemic was a catalyst for me to improve my discipline. I have a very close friend who is also a poet and we got in the habit of writing daily. While it’s not what every writer needs, that practice and routine really helped me.”

While writing Routes, Rhiya ended up living in Lewisham “by chance” after a friend bought a house in the borough. She relishes living in southeast London, and has formed a firm connection and working relationship with the Migration Museum in Lewisham Shopping Centre. “I’m so happy I ended up in Lewisham,” she says. “It definitely feels like home. Wherever I’m located I think it’s important to become involved and connected with the local community and I’ve found that in the Migration Museum. “It’s somewhere I go to a lot to find inspiration. Last year my dear friend, the incredible poet Ankita Saxena and I ran Origins Poetry, a multidisciplinary arts fundraiser for the museum and we are in discussions about running some workshops there later this year.” Based on the extracts supplied by her publisher, and her performance of her poetry that can be found online, Rhiya’s work defies easy classification. Her poems are experimental yet accessible; intelligent and academic, yet also personal and instinctive – and extremely moving. “I think I’m still finding my voice,” she admits with refreshing candour. “This collection is very eclectic. Inspiration has come from some traditional Eastern poetic forms, with descriptive and prosaic narrative lines, and some broken ghazals. My work has also been influenced by my study of physics and philosophy at university and I have experimented with bringing scientific ideas into my writing. “In many ways I consider poems to be thought experiments. I try to think about how the reader is going to interact with my poems and how the poems are going to challenge the reader’s boundaries and imagination.” Before her first collection has even been published, Rhiya has already won two major awards. After scooping a Creative Future platinum poetry prize last year, she was named as one of the seven winners of the Eric Gregory award – a prize for poets under 30 – for 2022, with the judges hailing Routes as a “work of humane intelligence, formal experiment and linguistic verve”. “Winning the award was very unexpected,” Rhiya admits. “I am ecstatic. I really didn’t expect to be publishing a book, let alone an awardwinning book. I’m still processing it to be honest!” Something tells me that it will be the first of many awards to come her way. As for what the future holds, she says: “I would love to write more nonfiction and fiction as well. But now with the manuscript finished, I just want to read and explore and open myself up to new ideas.”

12 LEWI S H AM I N PI CT U R E S

JUBILATION

WORDS BY LUKE G WILLIAMS

JUBILEE

hether you’re a royalist or a republican, the community cohesion and spirit of celebration engendered by the Queen’s recent platinum jubilee was undeniably infectious. Thanks to local photographer Daniela Sbrisny, the jubilee street party celebrations that took place on Stillness Road near Blythe Hill and the Bampton Estate in Forest Hill have been immortalised in a series of striking and candid photos, some of which adorn these two pages. Originally from Germany, Daniela came to the UK in 2004 and has been a freelance photographer since finishing her BA in 2009. She moved to Lewisham recently and saw the jubilee as an ideal opportunity to flex her photographic muscles while also getting to know her new area. “I’ve discovered that Lewisham is full of friendly people and interesting

PHOTOS BY DANIELA SBRISNY

Marking the monarch's 70-year milestone in Lewisham

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Food and drink played an important part in the celebrations

stuff,” Daniela says. “The jubilee was such a momentous occasion and as a documentary photographer that’s just the sort of event I want to record. “I wanted to see how people celebrate on an intimate street level, but I also photographed the trooping of the colour in central London to see another side of the celebrations. It was amazing to see how the street parties brought people together – there were people who lived on the same road who had never met before.” Daniela has worked on various commercial shoots, personal projects and commissions in the past, with an emphasis on documentary and portraiture. Among her many projects, she has followed a breast cancer survivor’s journey to parenthood, travelled with refugees on a difficult journey from Greece to Germany and documented a monumental refurbishment of the organ at Union Chapel.

It was amazing to see how the street parties brought people together

In the age of selfies and Instagram stories, Daniela admits that ensuring her subjects are not self-consciously posing for the camera can be a challenge. She explains that her work achieves its natural and intimate quality through careful consideration and ensuring that her subjects are at ease and comfortable. “In the case of the street parties the organisers knew I was coming and were happy for me to be there,” she says. “It was helpful to have a bit of an introduction from them. “My approach varies – people appreciate you letting them know if you’re photographing them, and sometimes it’s just a case of letting them know you’re there and then letting them get on with what they’re doing.” To see more of Daniela’s work, visit danielasbrisny.co.uk

14 FOOD & D RI N K

onsidering baker Eddy Sleiman gets up at 3am six days a week, to singlehandedly make up to 50 artisan sourdough loaves a day, it’s probably fair to say that if you’re looking to make some quick “easy dough” then a career in high-end baking is not for you. With each loaf taking three days to create, it’s certainly a labour of love, but for self-taught Eddy, it’s more than just a job – it’s a passion. Eddy, 43, opened the doors to his artisan bakery Ed Baker, situated on Campshill Road between Hither Green and Ladywell, six months ago. He adheres to the authentic process of strictly using flour, water, salt and time to make premium quality, fresh bread daily, as well as making a selection of quiches and pasties. Eddy – who moved to London in 2012 and lives in Greenwich – says: “It’s essential you follow the authentic process. I’m sticking to the very old method, which takes approximately eight to nine hours to finish the bulk rise and another two days of proofing, so each loaf takes three days to finish. “We have a range of sourdough bread – the regular white and regular wholemeal, then variations of wholemeal with jalapeño and cheddar, wholemeal with Marmite, wholemeal seeded and beetroot with black pepper, which doesn’t contain water and is hydrated with roasted beetroot juice. There’s also the challah bread, which is a traditional Jewish loaf very prominent in Switzerland. From what I understand from customers, it looks like I’m the only bakery doing it in the area.” Growing up in Lebanon, Eddy has fond early memories of food. “Like the Sunday roast here, in Lebanon we have the grill – we always do a barbecue every Sunday. Growing up, I was solely responsible for the barbecue and grill – a lot of skewers, creating different types with different vegetables and marinades for different meats and fish. White tuna for example marinated in white wine and bay leaves overnight then put on the grill for three minutes on each side – that kind of thing. Then my mum would do all the mezze.” Over the years, his love of food took him all over the world, to countries including France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany. He says: “Most of my travel in the five years before Covid was all designed around culinary experiences, so I wouldn’t travel to a country or place without something I wanted to explore in terms of food.” However, it wasn’t until 2019, when suffering stress at work in his role as a chartered marketer, that Eddy really started to explore his love of food. He says: “I would constantly invite friends over and bake or cook, but I never thought it could actually become a career – that was never on my mind. “Then in 2019 because of stress and anxiety I went through some cognitive therapy and the therapist said I always seemed to smile when talking about food and travel and suggested trying to spend more time in the kitchen just using it as an outlet. “I took that on board. The second half of that year I just started to go mad in the kitchen. I would finish work at half five, come home, shower and then head to the kitchen with a glass of wine.

I'm sticking to the very old method, which means that each loaf takes three days to finish

ED‚S START

Local baker Eddy Sleiman rises at 3am to make up to 50 loaves of sourdough every day. He tells us why he quit the corporate world to pursue his passion for food WORDS BY MIRANDA KNOX

“I’d start to either bake or experiment, then wake up the next day at 4am and finish whatever I was making and take it to the office and share it with colleagues.” Over a period of six months, Eddy’s colleagues became an unofficial focus group, sharing what they liked and didn’t like and helping him to hone his recipes. He says: “I was doing a lot of things at that time like poached pears with red wine, puff pastry, a lot of cakes and

PHOTOS BY LIMA CHARLIE

Above and top: Eddy Sleiman's business Ed Baker is proving a welcome addition to the area

desserts – but not sourdough at that point. It wasn’t baking focused, just food in general.” At the end of that year, Eddy’s passion for baking – and specifically sourdough – was ignited and he can even remember the exact date he created his first sourdough starter recipe. He says: “There was a big movement around the country even before Covid in December that year, where everyone started to bake sourdough. On 3 December 2019 I created my starter and I called it Phoenicio [named after the ancient civilisation of the Phoenicians, who occupied a narrow tract of land along the coast of modern Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel].” It was the start of something special. He says: “I decided 2020 would be when I would quit the corporate world and do something either food or travel related.” After attending a food fair in Italy, Eddy made a decision. He says: “I felt inspired. I came back and then Covid started. Travel was no longer an option, so I changed my living room into a small operation space, stocked up on flour from Shipton

Mill, invested in approximately £2,000-worth of books and started to look into the recipes. “I started to use my analytical mind, starting to identify gaps in different recipes and went through six or seven months of trial and error until I created my own recipes.” By the time Eddy was made redundant in September that year, he’d already secured two wholesale accounts from home, and the following year he started doing markets including Blackheath Farmers’ Market and Catford Food Market. He says: “I was making mainly for myself initially. I consumed a lot of bad bread before I really nailed down the recipe. Then neighbours started to smell it and were curious, so I started to give it to them – throwing it from the window because we weren’t allowed to meet during Covid. Then I started delivery for a high-end deli in Brockley and a wine bar in Elephant and Castle.” Eddy – who is now an ambassador for the Real Bread Campaign – took on the shop lease in Campshill Road in October last year, launching two months later for two weeks on a preorder and collect basis, before opening his doors fully last January. His aim is simple – to provide healthy choices, deliver authentic flavours and use real, organic ingredients, and six months on, business is booming. As well as Eddy’s range of baked goods, the shop has a deli fridge that stocks outsourced items to be paired with bread, such as butter and cheeses, including vegan options, kombucha and juices. Now, Eddy is looking to expand the business by building up a team and upping capacity. He will also be launching a delivery subscription service by bike. He adds: “To increase and move to the next step requires that I hire someone and look at diversification. Hopefully in a month or two I will introduce coffee, then look at introducing croissants and danish pastries too.”

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Wine Weds - Bottle House £15 Happy Hour - Thurs & Sun (5 -7pm) Live Thursdays - Live music from 8pm Brunch / Beer Garden / DJ’s / Cocktails

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37 Deptford High Street, Lewisham, London, SE8 4AD

www.islaray.co.uk @isla_ray_cafe • 0208 691 6740

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he husband and wife team behind Mont58 Coffee, Shai Eilon and Maya Haiman-Eilon, have lived and worked in Catford for 17 years. “We feel very much rooted in where we live and we love this part of London,” says Maya. “As well as taking part in local activities like markets and festivals, we also sponsor and support local schools and other events.” Most recently Mont58 made an appearance at the annual Hilly Fields Summer Fayre, a popular afternoon of outdoor entertainment for the residents of Brockley and beyond. “We employ local people and in that way we contribute to the local economy,” Maya adds. “We also have a range of local blends that we mainly sell through Team Catford, in their shop and online.” Before starting Mont58, Maya and Shai were both working full time in other industries. Maya had her own business – a pilates and yoga streaming website – while Shai worked with big online companies like Amazon, Lastminute.com and most recently Tripadvisor. They both wanted a better worklife balance and Shai especially had been keen to start his own business for a while. “Shai was always very passionate about coffee and decided to buy a very small home roaster and start roasting his own beans,” says Maya. “He really enjoyed it and got good feedback from friends and family whom we gave the coffee to. “After about a year of roasting coffee as a side hustle, and selling to a few shops and individuals, Shai decided to quit his job and concentrate on the business full time. I reduced the hours I worked on my other business and joined him to work on Mont58.” In 2019 the company – with a name that’s a nod to Montacute Road, the Catford street on which it is based – was created and the couple never looked back. Their coffee subscription model means that customers choose how often their delivery arrives and their preferred coffee brewing method. Each time Mont58 sends a different tasting selection of its range of artisan blends, meaning you get to try a variety of coffees from around the world. In recent years small-batch coffee roasting has experienced a massive boom, making the market even more competitive. The boost in popularity is good news for Maya and Shai, but it also means they have to work hard to create a different and distinctive USP. “It goes without saying that we roast delicious coffee, but I think our two main strengths and points of difference are our sustainability focus and our strong local offering,” Maya says. “We have a unique offering where south-east London customers who buy coffee online or subscribe to our regular coffee deliveries get their coffee delivered free to their door by our team of cyclists, with a personal service and zero emissions. We roast in small batches and deliver three times per week so the coffee is always super fresh.” Happily for Maya and Shai, nowadays it seems like an increasing number of coffee drinkers are eschewing the big high street and supermarket brands like Costa,

Cool beans: Mont58 founders Maya Haiman-Eilon and Shai Eilon with their whippet Pi

FULLOFBEANS

Catford couple Maya Haiman-Eilon and Shai Eilon share the story behind Mont58, the successful independent coffee roastery they founded in 2019 WORDS BY MEG FOZZARD

Starbucks and Tesco and are turning instead to more sustainable and local businesses to get their morning caffeine fix. The duo say they are bolstered by the support they have had from local people. “We have been so lucky to continue having amazing support from our local community and our wider customer base,” says Maya. “Ever since we started people have been so supportive and encouraging, which is absolutely great and pushes us on all the time. We have a strong focus on customer service and it feels good to hear that people like it.” The conversation turns to the company’s commitment to sustainability. In addition to the aforementioned coffee deliveries on bikes, Mont58 is a London Living Wage employer and strives to make its practices as environmentally friendly as possible.

PHOTO BY JAMES PARSONS

“As a business we constantly work towards reducing our environmental impact and getting greener,” says Maya. “It is an ongoing process and we’re definitely not completely there yet. “In terms of sourcing, we only buy fair-trade beans and try to have as much traceability [as possible] from the beans to the farmers growing them all over the world. “In addition, our current packaging is either recyclable or compostable, depending on the size. We are currently working on getting all our bags to be compostable.” Mont58 was founded in 2019, a year before lockdown and the seismic impact that it had on so many businesses. The pandemic inevitably had an effect on Mont58’s business model too, but it was local support and the rise of individual subscriptions that saw the company through.

We roast in small batches and deliver three times per week so the coffee is always super fresh

“When the pandemic started and we all went into lockdown we were quite worried, because we had a considerable customer base in offices and cafes that stopped overnight,” Maya says. “But pretty much straight away we saw a big increase in individuals signing up for coffee subscriptions on our website. “As well as working from home and therefore drinking coffee at home, people also discovered their local area and its independent businesses and shops. It meant we were also selling more coffee to our local stockists, which was nice. “During the first lockdown we also opened our roastery gate to Blythe Hill Fields and sold coffee to people in the park, which was really fun and much appreciated by park visitors.” It is not just local people who rate Mont58’s coffee though. The company has been featured in various food-related and national press and has won four Great Taste awards for its Ethiopian, Guatemala, Decaf and Wake-up Call blends – a highly prestigious accolade. Now that the world is attempting to return to normality, Maya and Shai are really grateful that so many people who signed up for their coffee subscription service at the height of the pandemic are still customers now. “Now that most people have gone back to ‘normal’ life some of our office customers have come back and the same with cafes,” Maya says. “The growth of the individual subscribers has gone back to prepandemic levels more or less, but we are really lucky that the people who joined us during the pandemic are sticking with us. Maybe they are too hooked on the coffee now!”

18 FAS H I ON

Dress to impress: celebrated local fashion designer Mary Martin

aking tea with the fashion designer Mary Martin in her favourite Honor Oak cafe is a laugh a minute. At one point, she sends her cooling tea back, demanding a hotter one, and the equally sassy proprietor (a friend of hers) quips, “Anything you say, your majesty!” “You’re closer to the truth than you think,” she shoots back. “I am, in fact, the Queen Mother.” To clarify, Lewisham’s own Ms Mary Martin has been awarded Queen Mother status in the Ghanaian village of Mafi Anfoe. “I go to Ghana every year,” says Mary. “I’m always picking up awards there. The most recent one was for excellence in fashion design.” Why Ghana? “It was purely by chance. Gideon Raji of Global Ovations [who organises a number of fashion events in Accra] found me online in 2016, and loved my stuff. Now they invite me over every year. In fact my father’s mother was Ghanaian, but I never knew her.” Her next trip is in September, for her coronation. “They want me to help found a creative centre in Mafi Anfoe; they know me there as Mama Nenyo. The centre will prepare young people for a career in fashion design.” The move into education will be a poignant step for Mary, given the circumstances that led her to work in the fashion industry. “I was born in Cardiff, and was brought up in a series of children’s homes. It wasn’t my late parents’ fault: they were overwhelmed. I was the seventh of 13 children, the naughty one in the middle. “I was known as Mary with the seven devils, I was wild but creative. However, people only saw bad behaviour, not creativity. I became pregnant young and missed out on education.”

She’s in fashion Mary Martin’s showstopping sartorial creations are both bold and beautiful. She tells us how she overcame a tough start in life to carve out a highly successful career in fashion WORDS BY RONNIE HAYDON

Life was hard for Mary. Practically illiterate, with a daughter to bring up, she moved to London, but poverty meant she had to marshal her creative skills. As an infant, before life in care began, in the brief times she had her beloved mother to herself, she learned one valuable practical lesson. “I remember being told to sit quietly while my mother worked. She was making children’s clothes. I watched her cut them out and run them up on the sewing machine.” Young Mary was transfixed by her mother’s dressmaking and developed a taste for fabric and textile design. Some years later, as a young mother in London with insufficient money to buy clothes for her little girl, this memory came to the fore. “I bought myself an old-fashioned sewing machine and a kind woman who knew me at a Brick Lane fabric stall sold me a huge roll of green material for a few pounds.

PHOTO BY LIMA CHARLIE

“I made clothes, tablecloths, curtains, cushions… everything in my home was green and all my daughter’s clothes were green.” At school, the little girl dressed all in green attracted the wrong sort of attention. “My daughter came home crying, she told me that the other children were laughing at her and calling her ‘pixie’. “I thought for a while, then I went to the head teacher and asked if I could stage a fashion show at the school. The head agreed, so I asked several parents, the ones whose children had teased my daughter, to volunteer their children as models. I ran up a number of pretty outfits – all green of course – for the school catwalk and the little fashion show was a great success. Many of the parents bought the outfits for their kids. So justice was done.” This steely resolve was to resurface when Mary found herself struggling again, her daughter grown up, a bad marriage behind her and her creative

As a child I was wild but creative. However, people only saw bad behaviour, not creativity

urge frustrated by her circumstances. Although her fashion designs had been good enough to earn her a scholarship to the London College of Fashion, her lack of formal education was holding her back. “I could not do a degree course without maths and English GCSEs, so I enrolled into a local college in 2013. I was a very mature student, vintage! But I wanted to go to university. After the GCSEs I studied for an HND [Higher National Diploma] at the London College of Contemporary Arts. Once I’d graduated from there, I was able to go on to degree level. “I was encouraged by my tutor at the University of East London. I was really terrified by the idea of writing a 10,000-word dissertation – only two years before I’d been writing like a five-year-old. However my brother, who is a professor of law, promised to help me with proofreading and editing. “I wrote my dissertation about the Huguenots and other immigrants to the East End and their impact on fashion. My brother told me to concentrate on the minute details of the fashion: lines of stitching, ways of cutting cloth, all the technicalities to fill up the word count!” Her careful wording impressed the examiners and she graduated in 2019. Since then, Covid notwithstanding, she has created a stir with her extraordinary designs. Her collections have a flamboyant, regal look. She has a predilection for grand buildings, and has participated in Africa Fashion Week at the lofty Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden for several years. In 2020 she was invited to stage a show for Black History Month in the extraordinary surroundings of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The show, called The Return: Black Excellence, starred a group of black creatives including an ex-ballerina, a former Miss World contestant and a model who doubles for Usain Bolt. When we meet, she’s putting the finishing touches to her contribution to The Thousand Faces of Grace Jones, part of this year’s Southbank Centre Meltdown festival. Her tribute to the goddess Jones displays the sort of haughty majesty Mary reserves for her catwalk collections. Another member of pop royalty to fall under Mary’s spell is Heather Small, former lead singer of M People, now pursuing a solo career. The pair met at a charity event and have been in touch ever since. Mary has created outfits for Heather’s TV appearances and recently worked as a stylist on a photo shoot she did for the Guardian. Mary’s now channelling her own inner pop princess: she’s made a record with the Jamaican dancehall artist Sikka Rymes. The song, Jesus Wept, is Mary’s natural progression from singing in church every Sunday and celebrates the Christian faith that has seen her through the darkest times. The video, also shot in the Freemasons’ Hall, tells a story of resilience and a belief in a greater power that rewards hard work. It’s a touching tribute to this most inspiring and indomitable of spirits.

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or restaurateur Leke Lasaki, hospitality is about far more than just the food. “Hospitality is entertainment,” says the local entrepreneur. “It’s not just the food, it’s not just the drink, it’s the vibe, the fact that it can be something motivational for young people or old people alike. It’s having a space that means something more to people than just, ‘I want to go out to eat.’” Leke is the founder and owner of Catford restaurant and cocktail bar Fourteen87. With its purple colour scheme, eye-catching flower wall and visually striking cuisine and cocktails, he has indeed created something that’s more than just a restaurant. A Lewisham native through and through, he grew up here, went to secondary school here and also attended Bromley College. When deciding on where to open his restaurant, he initially cast his net across the whole of south London before deciding on Catford. He says: “I grew up in the area and lived in different parts of the borough – Lewisham Way, Forest Hill. I’m a Lewisham lover. To be an owner of a building and a business in the area is quite a nice feeling.” After months of searching, planning, negotiations, refurbishments, a lot of sleepless nights and some tears, Fourteen87 opened its doors on Catford Broadway in July 2018. To have set up a successful business is a marker of personal growth for Leke, and to have done it in his home town, where others have witnessed his growth from boy to businessman, makes that growth even more apparent – he can see how far he has come, not just through his own eyes but through the eyes of other people too. “You can’t match it,” he says. “I’ve had teachers that used to teach me in secondary school come to my restaurant, probably about eight or nine of them. Some didn’t recognise me. Some before coming had heard that the owner was called Leke, and in my school, to my knowledge, I was the only Leke. “I was quite troublesome in school, but academically I was really good. My name would come up in the staff room for being naughty but also for being good.” The name Fourteen87 is pretty mysterious. Does it refer to an address? Nope. A date? Kind of. The combination to a safe? Hopefully not. “It’s actually related to my date of birth,” says Leke. “I was born in 1987, and 14 is actually my date. And what if you look at the logo in itself?” he adds, enigmatically. If you want to find out more, you’ll have to visit the establishment and speak to the man himself, because even then, things are still not what they seem, and you won’t be disappointed. The use of purple – the colour of royalty – in the logo and in the decor was also a deliberate decision. Leke wanted Fourteen87 to ooze luxury and charm while providing customers with an experience that is memorable and unique. “You’re not going to forget it,” he says. Indeed, Fourteen87 is described on its website as bringing “the vibrancy and elegance of the West End to meet the culture of Lewisham as a borough and more particularly Catford”.

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IT‚S A DATE

Buzzing restaurant and bar Fourteen87 has become a popular spot with the people of Catford and beyond since it opened in 2018. Owner Leke Lasaki tells us more about his vibrant and visionary space WORDS BY ROSARIO BLUE

I grew up locally, so to own a business in the area is a nice feeling

PHOTO BY JULIA HAWKINS

Each of its dishes is an explosion of colour: vibrant, exciting, beautifully arranged and strikingly presented. Leke wants the dishes he serves to be what he describes as a “food fashion show”. He didn’t want to limit his cuisine to that of a single culture either, which is why Fourteen87 has an “everevolving” fusion menu using herbs and spices from various continents to create a unique and unforgettable taste experience. As a result, there really is something for everyone, with starters like crispy fried calamari with aioli, pulled

jackfruit tacos and oxtail ravioli, and main courses such as sea bream curry, slow-cooked lamb shank and roasted butternut squash with baba ganoush, tomato salsa and crispy tortilla. Desserts range from chilled chocolate fondant to a selection of ice creams and sorbets, while the cocktail menu features an extensive list of classic and contemporary drinks. “Unless you’re doing something like an Indian restaurant, Nigerian restaurant or a Japanese or Chinese restaurant, I always feel, ‘Why must it be barricaded or cornered into one?’” says Leke.

A warm welcome: Leke Lasaki, owner of Catford restaurant and cocktail bar Fourteen87

“There’s a saying that chicken is chicken. What makes it Chinese chicken is how you season it, and what makes it Indian chicken is how you season it. [But] why not have all the herbs and spices from all over different continents? So, from the Americas, from the Caribbean, from Africa, the Mediterranean, you name it. Just to create a nice combination and something that will bubble in people’s mouths.” Fourteen87 also doubles as a venue that customers can hire, for wedding receptions, birthday parties or even as a filming location. “We’ve done a neosoul night, we’ve done poetry nights, we’ve done a sip and paint, we’ve done a lot of business launch parties, we’ve done video shoots in there,” says Leke. He also has plans to expand the use of the space for things outside of celebratory events. “I looked at the possibility where it can be used as a workspace, where a group of people can actually work from there, especially creatives.” Leke designed Fourteen87 to be a place where customers can feel special. He wanted it to be a vibe, a space to enjoy with your friends, camera-ready for social media and gatherings, a place that you won’t stop talking about. It is a picture-perfect establishment, with the aforementioned flower wall a gift for influencers and content creators, or just for people who love to take photos with their friends and loved ones. It feels warm, regal and inviting. As with any business, and especially in hospitality, the journey has not been easy. Each day brings a new lesson that Leke takes very seriously. “I’m still learning every single day, and there’s always room for improvement in anything that you do. I wouldn’t say it’s been difficult; I’d say it’s been eye-opening. “I mean, you can look at it on a base level: it’s a restaurant, you make food, customers come in, they eat, they pay and go home, but there’s so many other factors that it’s impossible to even look at or try to research until you’re actually in the system of understanding it. “I would say the biggest lesson would probably be to do the small things very, very well. Don’t rush things. Sometimes your ambition is greater than your ability, so always focus on a plan.” Leke wants to impart his wisdom to young people in the area, to teach them that owning a business is a possibility for them, and to give them an idea of how to do so. “Just for the sake of maybe inspiring them,” he says. “My teachers telling me to do this or do that is one thing, but me seeing a representation of myself in another black man – or just a young man – saying the same thing my teachers were saying, it would hit different. “Doing school assemblies or school talks as a local business owner is something I would be very interested in.”

22 LEWI S H AM L E I SU R E

SOMETHING TO EAT Chicken Wings with Tahini and Za’atar South-east London food writer Helen Graves shares a recipe from her brilliant new barbecuing book Live Fire

Set-up indirect cooking Equipment tongs Prep time 25 minutes, plus a minimum of 3 hours marinating time (or overnight if possible) Cook time 30 minutes Serves 6-8 Ingredients 1 tablespoon Turkish red pepper paste (biber salcasi)

4 Prepare a barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat, with the coals arranged in the centre of the barbecue and space around the edge. 5 Once the barbecue is ready, arrange the marinated wings in a circle around the coals, but not directly over them. Cook the wings for about 30 minutes, turning them every so often, until they are cooked through and caramelised. You can move the wings further into the centre of the barbecue as the coals burn down. 6 Serve the wings drizzled with the tahini sauce and sprinkled with the za’atar.

75ml sunflower oil Juice of 1 lemon 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely grated 1 heaped tablespoon pul biber 20 chicken wings separated into flats and drums if you like (discard the tips or put them in the freezer as I do, to use for making chicken stock) Sea salt For the za’atar 150g sesame seeds 4 teaspoons sea salt 2 tablespoons sumac 2 tablespoons dried chilli flakes 2 tablespoons dried thyme 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon ras el hanout 1 teaspoon rose petals

To cook indoors: Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas 6). Bake the wings in the oven on a roasting tray for about 45 minutes, or until crispy and cooked through.

For the tahini sauce 8 garlic cloves, crushed 6 tablespoons tahini Juice of 4 lemons 2 tablespoons olive oil Method 1 Combine the red pepper paste, sunflower oil, lemon juice, garlic and pul biber to make the marinade. Place the wings in a non-reactive dish and add the marinade, mixing well

CROSSWORD NO. 22 ACROSS

DOWN

6 LOCKETCROW (anagram) (5, 5) 9 Childish (8) 10 Oration (6) 11 Evident, obvious (5) 12 Clever (9) 14 Large flightless bird (7) 16 Normal, run-of-themill (7) 18 Observed (9) 20 Stoneworker (5) 21 Riga’s country (6) 22 Mad rush (8) 24 Relevance (10)

1 2 3 4 5

Medic (6) Brief battles (10) Carton (3) Answer, reply (8) Prince Charles’s main title (6, 2, 5) 6 Remark (7) 7 The Grapes of Wrath author (4, 9) 8 Nil, nought (4) 13 Stadium’s main seating area (10) 15 Listed, catalogued (8) 17 Spartan, harsh (7) 19 Ballerina’s skirt (4) 20 Instant (6) 23 Pig’s home (3)

to make sure they’re well coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 3 hours. 2 To make the za’atar, toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium

airtight container away from bright light. The za’atar will stay fresh for a few weeks. 3 To make the tahini sauce, first mix the crushed garlic in a bowl with the tahini. Slowly

heat until golden, keeping a careful eye on them to make sure they don’t burn and stirring regularly. Allow them to cool, then mix with all the other ingredients. Store in an

BY ALDHELM

6 Across is a notable feature in Lewisham.

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whisk in the lemon juice and loosen with a splash of cold water and some salt. Finally whisk in the olive oil. It should be nice and sharp, and wellseasoned.

Helen will be appearing at the inaugural Catford Literary Festival on 2 October. For more details and tickets, visit eventbrite. co.uk and search Catford Literary Festival

A lewisham LOCAL jude law Bafta-winning actor Jude Law was born David Jude Heyworth Law in Lewisham in December 1972. The son of two teachers, he grew up in Blackheath, where he attended John Ball primary school. He began his career in 1987 treading the boards with the National Youth Music Theatre and two years later he made his TV debut in a film based on Beatrix Potter book The Tailor of Gloucester. In 1994 he scored his first major film role in crime drama Shopping and was hailed for his part in 1997 Oscar Wilde biopic Wilde. Further roles followed in films including Gattaca

ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA KENDREW

These wings went down a storm when I cooked them for a Lebanesethemed supper club in collaboration with Chateau Ka – a winery in the Beqaa Valley. The wings at that supper club were ovencooked not grilled but trust me, they absolutely would’ve been had I had access to a barbecue. Could you use shop-bought za’atar for this? Absolutely, although it won’t be the same dish, so please bear that in mind. The recipe below makes a large batch, tastes about 1,000 times nicer and is good for throwing on anything from your eggs in the morning to flatbreads, salads and grilled fish. The tahini and za’atar can be made the day before.

and The Talented Mr Ripley. For the latter, he learned to play the saxophone and won a Bafta for best actor in a supporting role. His other numerous – and varied – film credits include Cold Mountain, Contagion, Hugo and Spy.

ACROSS: 6 Clock tower, 9 Immature, 10 Speech, 11 Clear, 12 Ingenious, 14 Ostrich, 16 Average, 18 Witnessed, 20 Mason, 21 Latvia, 22 Stampede, 24 Pertinence. DOWN: 1 Doctor, 2 Skirmishes, 3 Box, 4 Response, 5 Prince of Wales, 6 Comment, 7 John Steinbeck, 8 Zero, 13 Grandstand, 15 Itemised, 17 Austere, 19 Tutu, 20 Moment, 23 Sty.

FOR INQUISITIVE MINDS SATURDAY 1 ST AND SUNDAY 2 ND OCTOBER 2022 15 AUTHORS IN 30 HOURS

To book tickets, please search ‘Catford Literary Festival’ at eventbrite.co.uk