The Transmitter Issue 33 by Transmission Publications Ltd

A SOUTH EAST LONDON MAGAZINE www.thetransmitter.co.uk

ISSUE 33 Autumn 2014

Interior

Desires

BOOKS • DESIGN • FASHION • FOOD • GARDENING • MUSIC • NEWS

Transmitter 33

Editor Andy Pontin Sub-Editor Annette Prosser Designer Simon Sharville Photographers Nicolai Amter, James Balston, Andy Pontin, Simon Sharville Contributors James Balston, Justine Crow, Mike Fairbrass, Louise Heywood, Jonathan Main, Howard Male, Melanie Reeve, Kate Shipp, Rachel de Thample ,Sue Williams Printed by Cantate Communications Published by Transmission Publications, PO Box 53556, London SE19 2TL, www.thetransmitter.co.uk editor@thetransmitter.co.uk @thetransmitter Cover Model wears items from Coster Copenhagen @Smash Bang Wallop For details see fashion shoot. Photo Andy Pontin

ur autumn issue theme is interiors. We have some gorgeous homes and gardens in our midst and amongst us are many wonderful people who help to create the living spaces of our dreams. And so, in honour of all that, I would like to welcome you to the interior of this magazine. It has lots of pictures in it and some writing, all arranged in an agreeable fashion. Our regular columns are all in there somewhere and I am delighted to introduce two new ones: Louise Heywood’s beauty pages and Melanie Reeve’s wine column. I hope you like it all. Fill your boots.

Welcome to

Autu Disclaimer The views expressed by contributors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect this magazine’s editorial policy or the views of any employee of Transmission Publications. So there.

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News & Events

The happening and the happened

PING-PONG KLAXON!

Never mind the music, the dancing, the slack rope walking, the meditating, the poetry or the beer that we experienced at the festival in the summer, did you get along to the ping pong on the Triangle? If you did and enjoyed unleashing your best backspin serve on an unsuspecting opponent, you’ll be delighted to hear that the Methodist Church are hosting a regular evening table tennis club as part of Churches Together. Take your own bat if you have one (cue the clunk-click of extending loft ladders and mutterings of ‘it’s definitely in here somewhere … ‘) though of course all you need will be provided. Thursdays 7.45 - 9pm Upper Norwood Methodist Church Westow Hill SE19

BUMP AND BABY BALMS

We expect you all know that the Soil Association’s Organic Beauty Week starts 8 September ... really? You didn’t? Weird ... Well, Nom Nom – a local organic mum and baby skincare company – are pretty excited about it as it’s totally their bag having recently won gold and silver awards at the Freefrom Skincare Awards. What’s more they’d like to celebrate the whole shebang with any mums or mums-to-be out there by offering 20% off their range (quote code TMR20). You will find Nom Nom founder, and pregnancy and baby massage therapist, Jayne Russell at the food market on Saturday 13 September so go along and slather her oils and butters on your baby or bump. www.nomnomskincare.com

WITNESS THE FITNESS

This autumn you’ll be able to burn off the calories taken in at Blackbird Bakery just a stone’s throw away from it, as Paxton Mews will soon be home to Bamboo Fitness studio. Opening mid-September, a ‘hot new workout’ based on pilates, dance, cardio and strength training promises to transform your body. You’ll have to pay for your first class but the second one is free: we love that, it’s genius. Timetables, booking info and everything you need to know about Total Barre™ (the body-transforming bit) can all be found on their website. Bamboo Studios 1 Paxton Mews, Westow Street SE19 www.bamboofitness.co.uk

WAKE-UP YOUR MAKE-UP

Louise Heywood has been making our fashion models look amazing for the last couple of issues and when not doing similar things for big fashion mags or penning our new beauty pages (see page 42), Louise can be found in her new Cooper’s Yard studio helping Crystal Palacians with beauty and make-up tips, advice and general warm and friendly loveliness. Louise loves to specialise in a ‘natural’ look but is happy to work on any area you may want some help with. So if you want top professional advice on some slap for a big event or would just like some basic beauty tips, Louise is your girl. Louise Heywood Make-up www.louiseheywood.com @lheywoodmakeup 4

TRAINSPOTTER ALERT!

If you haven’t already entered the ballot to be one of the 750ish lucky visitors to don a hard hat and visit the Crystal Palace Subway as part of the Open House initiative (20 & 21 September) the closing date for applications has now gone. Those with an interest in the stunning vaulted walkway need not despair, however, as a free exhibition will be available to all at another rarely-open local architectural landmark – in the concert platform in Crystal Palace Park. Love it or loathe it the rusty laptop sounds to us like a cool venue to gen up on a bit of subway history. By curious coincidence it was on 20 September 1954 that the high level station was closed. To mark this exact 60th anniversary, the Southwark Model Railway Club will be running a model of the last steam engine to leave the station on their tasty 32ft-model of the tracks as part of the exhibition. We’re feeling the bristles of excitement already. See you there. www.cpsubway.org.uk

Photo © Michael Jones

FESTIVAL FOREVER!

NEW SCHOOL BELL!

It’s official: the brand new Crystal Palace Primary School (CPPS) has now been approved by the Department for Education and given the green light to open its doors in September 2015. The exact location of the school is currently under discussion, but will be within roughly a mile radius of the junction of Westow Hill and Church Road. CPPS will be a two-form entry school for pupils from Reception to Year 6. If you’re interested to simply find out more about the Free School concept or would like more details on admission for your child, all the information you need is on their site or you can follow events @CPPrimarySchool www.crystalpalaceprimary.org.uk

SERENE HALLOWEEN

If you’re not planning on terrorising the neighbours on 31 October but fancy a more peaceful evening out, those creative creatures in Cooper’s Yard are having an Open Studio. All are welcome to browse and have a drink. Open on the Saturday too. Friday 31 October 6-9pm Saturday 1 November 11am-5pm

CPOF Director Noreen Meehan remembers the summer’s successes and looks forward to ramping it up in 2015 Once again we pulled it off. And I really do mean we: our community, the wonderful people of Crystal Palace. The festival is entirely led, organised and staffed by volunteers and supported by local businesses, community groups, individual performers, artists and many small organisations so it truly is a Crystal Palace affair. Thank you to all of these people – this support makes it happen in an era of funding cuts. Thanks also to Arts Council and Film London who funded some very special events: Metamono presents Secrets of Nature: Sounds Unseen, Toddle in the City, The Magical Sprite Village, Pop Up and Sing Along, the Circulate performances in Haynes Lane on Sunday and The Extreme Fans. All four days were full of widely different events with community groups, bars, venues and traders going for it. My personal highlights are too numerous to mention but bringing the festival to Crystal Palace Park for the first time was a big ambition finally realised, with the fantastic Vintage up the Palace on Sunday and the truly wondrous Magical Sprite Village. I feel passionately about the need for everyone to experience the arts, no matter what their income or background. There is a lot of talk about arts funding being focused on London but not too much of it is spent in the outer boroughs. We should be very proud of our ability to bring the arts to Crystal Palace, all accessible to a diverse audience as most of our events are free. But it does come at a price – that of time and resources donated by volunteers and income from sponsors, advertisers, stalls and fundraising activities. Each year the team raise just enough money to cover our infrastructure costs such as insurance, marquees, staging, technical equipment and support, and printing for marketing. The event has grown each year and we are now at a tipping point where more funds must be found to pay some salaries and overheads; it is no longer sustainable to put on such a large event entirely with volunteers. The festival will change in 2015 – we need to become either a charity or a social enterprise and to find a sustainable business model that will enable us to continue. One thing is certain – we will continue to provide free events with access for all. Look out for news about fundraising, volunteering opportunities and the new structure on local community forums, social media and in the local press and please get involved if you can help us move forward to the next stages of sustainability. Currently we need pro bono legal advice on incorporating as a social enterprise or charity – if you can help, please email us at info@crystalpalacefestival.org Let us be happy and proud about our achievements in 2014 – onwards and upwards for 2015! 5

News & Events

Frederick Leslie Kenett FIBP. Twisted abstract form

BID FOR A BRONZE

Sculptures by Frederick Leslie Kenett are up for auction at Rosebery’s on 9 September. Originally internationallyrenowned for his pioneering techniques in photographing sculpture – it was he who provided the images for Tutankhamen: Life and Death of a Pharaoh published in 1963 – he then became a sculptor himself. The ‘perfect form’ of his work was acclaimed by critics and he continued to sculpt until his death in 2012. On 4 October artwork by prominent printmakers are to feature in a 200-lot auction dedicated to modern and contemporary prints. With works by Dame Elisabeth Frink, Henry Moore, Peter Blake, Tracey Emin and Max Beckmann, there’ll be something, as they say, for everyone. www.roseberys.co.uk

Frederick Leslie Kenett FIBP. Open abstract form.

Dame Elisabeth Frink RA. The Cormorant from the Seabirds Series, 1974.

Sir Howard Hodgkin CH CBE. ‘Here we are in Croydon’, 1979.

JUNIOR BOOK FANS!

Under 16? Had your nose buried in a book or two (or seven) all summer? Read on here a mo, this may be of interest. Author visits to Streatham & Clapham High School were proving so popular with students year after year, that the school decided this year to launch their very own book festival. Want to use your MI6 interrogation skills on new Young Bond author Steve Cole? Perhaps grill Holly Smale on why a geek would even THINK she wanted to be a model in the first place? Or maybe just tell Lauren Child how much you love Soren Lorensen? In conjunction with Herne Hill bookshop Tales on Moon Lane, the one-day STREAM South London Book Festival will take place at the school on Saturday 8 November. Bringing together a stupendous party of favourite authors currently writing for children and young adults, the festival will host mostly free readings and talks, although some workshops and specific events – like the Wimpy Kid Show – will have a small charge. With four different venues on the go at the school throughout the day, some with seating for up to 600, this will be a superb opportunity for many of South London’s story-loving youth to both hear readings and talk to their writing heroes and heroines. Members of Children’s Writers and Illustrators in South London (CWISL) will also be participating, and adult authors aspiring to write for children are given their own slot too, with a workshop run by industry expert Beverley Birch. Opening the festival will be Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, who will, along with many of the authors present, be available to sign books for their armies of fans. With a programme promising genres including the punchy Fiction and War and Conflict, Fiction in Dystopian Society and The Contemporary Thriller, alongside Fashion and Fiction, and the Walker Picture Book Party it sounds like everyone will find something that pushes their literary buttons. For more information and to book for events go to www.schs.gdst.net/3353/stream-2014 10am-5pm Saturday 8 November Streatham & Clapham High School Abbotswood Road London SW16

Trading Places

We waited, they came. New caff, new fresh meats & fishes and a helping hand with the decorating

A SIDE ORDER OF MAYOW

Crystal Palacians are by now well versed in the delights of twin sisters Laura & Jess Tilli’s fresh and tasty offerings at Brown & Green cafes in Gipsy Hill and Crystal Palace stations. Now Sydenham folk down the hill are getting a taste of the good stuff as B&G3 has opened in Mayow Park Sydenham, much to the delight of the posh caff-starved locals (just try ordering a grilled halloumi, rocket and pesto open bap in the local greasy spoons). The twins beat off stiff competition from eight other bids to win the tender for the pavilion site, which they refurbed completely and, hey presto (or in their case, pesto), a new B&Gs is born. And it seems to be hitting the mark. ‘It was absolutely crazy on our opening Saturday,’ 8

Jess told us when we visited. ‘The place was packed. We were telling people that there was a 45-minute wait for food and they were saying; that’s ok, we’ll wait. We were taking orders for people sitting over on the grass!’ Jess has an idea about getting lovely big blankets with table numbers sewn into them ... it may be the only way to keep the peeps down in Sydders fed!

Brown & Green Cafe Mayow Park Mayow Road Sydenham SE26 4JA @browngreencafe

Trading Places

FRESH IN TOWN

Following the success of the The Crystal Palace Market restaurant in Church Road, which opened last summer, operators Sergey Men, Chef Bubker Belkhit and Chef Konstantin Tskhay, have now opened a butcher and fishmonger adjacent to the restaurant. This is just what the peeps of CP have been waiting (a long time) for: a non-supermarket, weekday source of market fresh produce on our doorstep. And what a fab looking selection of goodies it is. ‘The grass-fed beef is supplied by Surrey Farm, fishsuppliers vary daily dependent on the catch, with most from the Southeast, plus Cornwall and Scotland too’ they told us. ‘Banham Chickens from Norfolk have an excellent flavour and texture, as does the Devon grass-fed lamb. 10

The free-range pork is as local as it gets, from Cherry Orchard Croydon’. As well as the excellent meat and fish, it’s also worth checking out their bountiful range of small producer cooking sauces, chutneys, relishes and jams including fiery African flavours from Bim’s Kitchen (Baobab Chilli jam anyone?), and there’s a wine list to boot.Get stuck in.

The Crystal Palace Market 9-11 Church Road SE19 Open Monday-Friday 9am-7pm Saturday and Sunday 9am-5.30pm www.thecrystalpalacemarket.com @3CPMarket

Trading Places MORE THAN JUST A PAINT SHOP

Just in time for our home interiors issue, a wonderful haven has been created on Church Road for all you interior designers and DIY enthusiasts (is that still a thing?). Well, actually, they have been open since January and have already gained a substantial customer base but The Transmitter has only just caught up with them. The newly renovated shop is chock-full of all the brilliant stuff you need to get stuck into a home, shop or office improvement project, and there’s plenty of that kind of thing going on around here these days. The shop is usually in the capable hands of manager Robert, as owner Rafael Gabriel Latosinski does a clever balancing act with three inter-related companies. His other operations – a nearby joinery workshop and a renovation company – consume a huge amount of materials that he used to have to source elsewhere. ‘Having our own shop means that we get exactly what we want at a good price and, importantly, we can get it on time,’ he told us. Having built up a thriving business around Greater London, working in places like Putney, Chelsea and Hampstead, Rafael, a Crystal Palace resident himself, is now starting to get more local work as SE London continues to go ‘up’. ‘We used to spend hours travelling to North London, so it’s really great to be getting more local projects now’. Rafael supplies to other companies doing similar work, and works in close partnership with local architects and interior designers, often with Laura Francesca (www.laurafrancesca.com). So whether you need your Grade II-listed pile renovated, or simply require a pot of fancy paint for your bedroom, Rafael and Robert are at your service and will help you achieve the look you’re after. 12

Rafael Gabriel Home Decor 36 Church Road Crystal Palace SE19 Open Monday - Friday 8am-5pm Saturday 8am-4pm 0203 489 6700 www.rafaelgabriel.co.uk 13

The landing area just outside the sitting room exudes glamour with its pewter and turquoise spotty wallpaper. The hall seat was bought locally and Sarah reupholstered the cushion pad in luxurious wool. Hall seat £350 and 1950s vase £145, Do South; wallpaper £45/roll, Margo Selby

MIDCENTURY MAGIC James Balston visits a 1960s split-level home dripping with design cool

Opposite page: Sarah created the lilac-grey colour in the hall herself, something she often does to get exactly what she wants. Here she chose the carpet first - ‘I always start with the trickiest bit’ - then mixed her own shades to match. Map £350, Modern Shows; Biscayne Marshmallow £69/m, Crucial Trading is similar

rtist and designer Sarah Hamilton always had an idea that she’d much rather live in something other than a Victorian terraced house, of which there is no shortage in southeast London. In particular midcentury style appealed, and here among the wooded slopes of Upper Norwood, a wide variety homes built between the 50s and 70s can be found. Many were built by the Dulwich Estate, which has owned huge tracts of local land for centuries. So when Sarah spotted an ad for a four-bedroom splitlevel house on a stylish 1960s estate just off Sydenham Hill, she couldn’t resist taking a look. ‘I knew Peckarmans Wood, and I had a vague idea about the style of the houses so I raced round to see it from the outside.’

The appeal lay not only in its idyllic woodland setting with views over the city, but also with innovative detailing and layout. The house had been built in 1964 by Austin Vernon & Partners, the architects responsible for most of the Dulwich Estate’s homes; they also managed the repairs to Dulwich Picture Gallery after bomb damage inflicted during the war. The steep terrain of the site encouraged the architects to turn housing convention literally upside down. Entering the house on an intermediate level, the living space occupies the upper levels — from where the views are better — while bedrooms and bathrooms are down below. Quite a novelty in its day. However, when Sarah and husband Mark returned to view inside the property, it was clear that they would have their work cut out with this long-neglected home. ‘Sludge predominated,’ Sarah laughs, ‘the ceilings were covered with Artex and there were layers and layers of woodchip on the walls.’ On the plus side it still contained all the original features such as the wooden hand rails on the stairs and glazed partitions between hall and living room. Original units remained in the kitchen as well as the built-in breakfast bar — a key feature in many of the neighbouring houses — though sadly this one was beyond repair. ‘It was a bit of a blessing really,’ admits Sarah, ‘If it had been salvageable we would’ve kept it as it’s important to preserve the integrity of a building. But 16

actually the space works much better without it.’ In redecorating, Sarah and Mark sought to respect and enhance the bright open spaces of this 60s gem. Cream, lilac and soft green form a backdrop on the upper floors, which are furnished with a few well chosen midcentury pieces, without slavishly recreating the era. The couple were spoilt for choice when seeking out furniture and accessories locally, with pieces sourced from Do South and Matt Mitchell at Crystal Palace Antiques. Finishing touches were provided by Sarah’s collection of vintage maps and travel posters, retro rugs by Helen Yardley and colourful cushions and throws, both new and vintage. The house has definitely had an impact on Sarah’s work which is all about light and colour. A result of her studio’s woody outlook is that birds and leaves are recurring motifs in her prints. As she explains: ‘Light pours into the house and everywhere I look I see foliage and flocks of birds, even the occasional parakeet!’ The whole restoration took a year and was clearly a labour of love, but Sarah has no regrets and would happily do it all again. ‘I adored it from the minute we moved in. It’s just a great way to live and we all took to it immediately. In fact it’s the house I would have designed for myself had I been able to.’ Above: At the top of the house is Sarah’s studio, with views across the tree tops to the city. From here she can watch the birds, the foliage and the changing weather, all of which influence her designs

Clockwise from left: In this bedroom cupboards were painted to contrast with the blue used on the walls. Rug from £2,000, Helen Yardley; clock Smycke £15, Ikea has similar; vintage chair £500, for similar try Andy Thornton or The Old Cinema. Light pours into the kitchen from the large picture window. Sarah bought the carved bird on holiday in South Africa and placed it on the wall outside the window to echo the plane on the TAI poster. Vintage TAI poster £500, Chicago Centre for the Print; Ercol chairs £15 for the pair from a local charity shop; dining table £350, Dwell. Eames DSW chair £267, Office Chairs UK. Sofas are arranged to make the most of the spectacular view from the windows which dominate one wall of the sitting room. Grey sofa, £400, Dwell. 1950s purple chair £500, Matt Mitchell. Vintage floral cushions from £55, Do South. Felt cushions, from £40, Georgia Bosson

Clockwise from below: Pale greys upstairs maximise the sense of light and space, but Sarah can’t resist injecting a splash of colour. In the sitting room the hot pink door evokes the spirit of Mexico whilst also picking up the detail in a Mexican travel poster. Poster £500, Chicago Centre for the Print; Cees Braakman Magazine rack £165; rare ‘Madame’ Fritz Neth chair for Correcta £4,000, Matt Mitchell; rug £2,500, Helen Yardley. The draper’s cabinet in the hallway is as stylish as it is practical when it comes to storage. For similar try The Old Cinema or ebay. Rug from £1,200, Helen Yardley. The sideboard — by British firm Nathan — was a favourite find and the Philippe Starck chair was a gift from a (very nice) friend. 1960s sideboard £500 eBay, The Old Cinema; yellow lamp £295, Matt Mitchell; 1960s Hawaiian poster is part of Sarah’s extensive collection, for similar try Modern Shows price from £500; Miss Trip chair by Philippe Starck £211, Made in Design

GalFresco Gilt-edged glamour or Renaissance reproduction Kathryn Rennie has it covered

you sometimes look up at your Victorian cornicing or your Georgian ceiling rose and wish they looked a bit more elegant, you may like to call upon the services of restoration expert Kathryn Rennie of Fresco London, who specialises in decorative painting. Working with heritage organisations, interior designers and homeowners , Kathryn uses her 25 years of fine art experience to either restore damaged period decoration or to create something brand new, be that a magnificent floor to ceiling original trompe l’oeil design, marbling or the reproduction of a favourite floral mural. Following a foundation course at the Camberwell College of Art, Kathryn worked for a gallery in Edenbridge painting portraits including racehorses and learning about gilding techniques. Private commissions continued throughout the years as she brought up her family, then, a few years ago, a property restoration job came up which eventually led to Kathryn setting up her own business. ‘It was a beautiful 16th century house in Kent,’ she remembers, ‘and needed a huge amount of work, including restoring 12 mural panels. It took about 14 months’. As it was a heritage project, techniques for matching existing colours and creating specialist products, such as milk-based paints, were required, Kathryn adding to her skills throughout the experience . And so Fresco London was born. A variety of projects now take Kathryn into people’s homes for a week or so to complete a small mural to two months or more to create

more substantial pieces in large houses or commercial properties. She is currently gilding original panelling in a Georgian hotel in Canterbury. Loving her job is down to several factors: ‘It’s the whole creative process which draws me in,’ she says ‘from researching the history and techniques for the older properties, to the wonderful grand transformation in people’s homes. I like to give my work a real personal touch and it’s very rewarding to me that clients really value the craft process.’ A recent client who loved renaissance paintings wanted a mural depicting the Fall of Icarus in her bedroom, a project Kathryn took great pleasure in. ‘Each job is individual, it’s very exciting.’ It’s early days for anything spectacular in Kathryn’s own home on Anerley hill, as she hasn’t been there long. And, just like builders, her own house is at the bottom of the list when it comes to decorating. But – of course – she has a fantasy: ‘I love neoclassical imagery and Greek mythology, and would love to see Zeus at the top of the stairs’ she reveals, ‘with perhaps a garden scene somewhere too, featuring members of my own family subtly in the background, just like those artists used to do in the 15th century when commissioned to paint some grand religious setting. That would be wonderful.’ email: info@frescolondon.co.uk www.frescolondon.co.uk 21

Outof

Africa David Geuenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gipsy Hill home reveals a passion for the exotic

avid Geuens moved into his SE19 home in 2012, having viewed hundreds of South London properties in his search for the 'right' flat. ‘Having been brought up in Africa, greenery and space mean so much to me psychologically. I had never been to Gipsy Hill but as soon as I saw this flat I knew it was for me.’ Although David's exotic upbringing (as a youngster family 'pets' included two zebras, an antelope and a chimpanzee) clearly influences his own personal style, for his clients David creates homes based on their personalities, rather than imposing any particular style of his own or trying to steer them towards what is currently fashionable. ‘Each home that I design is different. This flat reflects my own taste and personality, but it wouldn't necessarily suit everyone!’ David has had a passion for interior design all his life but started in earnest in 1999 when he was recommended by a friend for a project to decorate the office at an Insurance Company back in South Africa. ‘It was a great success and as clients came to the office, so I started getting more projects all by word of mouth.’ David's mantra is that interior design is a necessity, not a luxury. ‘We all deserve a beautiful home,’ he says. And we agree. studiod-interiors.com dg33b@icloud.com or studiod76@gmail.com 23

BELVEDERE Tower Photo by Nicolai Amter

ichard and Louise have been living in the Tower House, Belvedere Road, for more than 10 years. Built around 1860 – and referred to at the time as being 'in the hamlet of Penge' – it was one of four houses built in a similar style by the gloriously-named Sextus Dyball. He was also the architect behind the huge Gothic house in Church Road and, so they say, the White Hart pub. Louise had lived in SE19 since her early teens, quietly aware of this unusual architecture jutting up into the Crystal Palace sky though at the time it was rather more magnificent wreck than fairy-tale turret. When the refurbished Tower House came up for sale in 2002 she

and husband Richard were powerless to resist. They originally rented out the basement flat – for many years to designer and artist Sarah Campbell – but now, as the family's limbs grow longer and the demand for space increases, the couple have embarked upon putting the house back together again as one home. The tower, which measures around 14ft by 10ft, has mostly been used as a chill out den with big comfy sofa and stereo; it currently serves as a music room complete with drum kit. The windows on all four sides give a dramatic 360º view, making it a pretty spectacular party venue on firework night.

Photos by Nicolai Amter & Simon Shar ville

Th e Recycled House KATE SHIPP explains how an original need to save rather than spend turned into a much deeper desire to live differently

We had been living the secondhand life since the heady days of art college when skips were full of treasure and we survived on a shoestring. We furnished our squats, made art, and wore other people’s cast-offs as a way of eking out our student grants. Everything came with a history: on one occasion a young man shouted, ‘Oi, take care of that, I was born on it!’ as Mark pulled his ‘new’ bed from the skip outside his house. It was our North London version of Arte Povera. Being the mid-80s — a time of consumerist boom and waste — it felt like we were saving the treasure from obscurity. We were the artefact rescue team. We carried it on even when we were living in a tiny flat — all the stuff was stored in cupboards and suitcases, waiting to see the light of day. When we made this house our home, in 2005, there was so much space that we could finally display and use what we had, it was the perfect canvas. As we peeled away the ugly wallpaper and fitted cupboards, the history of the building was revealed: patches of wallpaper, panelled doors, dead builders’ calculations … we wanted to save this too, to revel in the beauty of the discarded and unwanted. We came to the name The Recycled House as a way of showing the possibilities of living elegantly without using up the world’s natural resources. At the time recycling was something you did with your paper and glass bottles, but we felt it could be extended to pretty much everything. Now it’s almost unthinkable for us to buy new things — what do we need that hasn’t been made already? When we opened our doors to the public, the house received a huge amount of exposure, including a 7-page spread in Guardian Weekend; the ‘look’ seemed to capture the public imagination. Even though it’s not a new idea — historically people have always passed down, repaired and renewed their possessions — it stood out at the time because the dominant culture was one of excess. Everything had to be shiny and new and replaced as frequently as possible to keep up with fashion and feed the economic boom. The house was and is the antithesis of this.

The ‘look’ was simply a way of drawing attention to the idea of drastically reducing the use of resources, manufacture, transportation and waste, and of respecting the environment instead. Sadly, a negative outcome is the prevalence of ‘vintage-style’ new goods, made by exploited workers in hazardous factories in the poorest countries of the world. It totally misses the point. Our mission is to empower people to stop, think and make their own version, to be creative with what they have or can find secondhand. From our perspective it feels like we’re no longer cogs in the capitalist machine; we don’t have the stress of working like dogs to pay for the new things people think they need to make them happy.

A bit of

danish We took some fresh Scandinavian style down into the depths of Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern emporium

Photography Andy Pontin Hair & make-up Louise Heywood

On the cover Dress: Coster Copenhagen £89 Bow Necklace: Alex Monroe £120 Original Bertoia bird chair for Knoll, USA, designed by Harry Bertoia 1952 in white enamel (with ottoman) £1,250 from Designs of Modernity

Dress: Coster Copenhagen £89 Coat: Coster Copenhagen £235 Shoes: Joseph Siebel £75 Merlin Shoes Earrings: Dynasty £32 Necklace: Dynasty £155 1960s G-Plan sideboard Similar from Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern

Top: Coster Copenhagen £79 Skirt: Coster Copenhagen £79 Shoes: Joseph Siebel £75 Merlin Shoes Earrings: Dynasty £32 1960s floating brass lamp Similar from Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern Opposite page Top: Coster Copenhagen £69 Trouser: Coster Copenhagen £119 Shoes: Model’s own Hans Brattrud designed ‘scandia’ teak dining chair for Hove Mobler, Norway circa 1968 £2,495 (set of six) from Designs of Modernity

Opposite page Dress: Coster Copenhagen £89 Shoes: Model’s own 1960s floating brass lamp Similar from Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern Top: Coster Copenhagen £69 Skirt: Coster Copenhagen £139 Cardigan: Coster Copenhagen £119 Shoes: Joseph Siebel £75 Merlin Shoes Earrings: Dynasty £32

Top: Coster Copenhagen £69 Earrings: Alex Monroe £150 Small scissors necklace: Alex Monroe £120 Open scissors necklace: Alex Monroe £180 Stockists Smash Bang Wallop 40 Westow Street SE19 (All items other than shoes) Merlin Shoes 44 Westow Street SE19 Designs of Modernity at Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern Jasper Road Crystal Palace SE19 1SG Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm Sundays 10am - 5pm www.designsofmodernity.com

Sweet little

RocA N rolla JUSTINE CROW FINDS HERSELF IN CHURCH ROAD, NOT BROWSING BUT EATING

Photos by Nicolai Amter & Simon Sharville 38

elp! Please recommend somewhere in Crystal Palace for breakfast, ASAP!’ was the text message that greeted me as I climbed out of the pool. Given that it had been left some hours earlier, I ignored it, as you do. Now, as it happens, with an author event the night before and after a hefty morning teaching kids not to drown, I was a meal down. I hate that. It is as if there is a ghost in my stomach. Thus, that morning I had already decided to exorcise the gastric phantom with a visit to the latest place to swell Upper Norwood’s culinary reputation. Which is where I found the sender of the plaintive text, sitting outside and tucking in for all the world as if there had never been an emergency in the first place. Later, in a quieter moment, when I recount my story to owner, Mark Boyce, he is cheerful though he doesn’t quite disguise the shudder. ‘I never wanted to do the full English,’ he says firmly. Indeed, why bother when there are eminent purveyors of the genre, both greasy spoon and silver service, already on the Triangle? Sitting and chatting whilst sipping chilled organic apple juice, spotlit by lazy shafts of sunlight amidst his handpicked tabletops and neatly-stowed vintage chairs, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different to that morning when I met my hitherto helpless friend. Then the café was very, very busy with every seat taken inside and out, lofty plates swooping in all directions, the shunt and clang of the coffee machine as constant as the traffic. Not that the food borne hither and thither bore any resemblance to the dull cliché of a fry-up either. My pal had jolted in guilty full-cheeked surprise when she saw me but luckily she and her partner had room to budge up. Pleasantries dispensed with, the pair declared their food to be EXACTLY what they were desperate for before

continuing to pursue their poached eggs on baby spinach, and chorizo and saffron baked eggs with respective zeal, while I browsed my own options in hungry silence. Suddenly three seemed like a crowd. Currently featuring an eclectic mix of brunch toasties, burritos, brioche, bangers, bacon, eggs, goats cheese, pearl barley and roast veg — variously accompanied by salsa verde and other sides — the menu has something to suit everyone regardless of the time of the day. I settled for an organic free range Gloucester Old Spot sausage with red onion marmalade. When it arrived, the grilled sourdough clamped around it had a mischievous crumpety texture, all the better to absorb those naughty piggy juices, and though I asked for mustard it was unnecessary because the onion jam was the perfect sidekick, being both sweet and slightly tipsy. The whole thing included a greedy heap of leaves and coleslaw and, combined with a couple of lattes, my ghost was vanquished pretty much instantly. Now, as I observe the mix of sunlit vintage seating and regimentally tidy shelves surrounded by ephemera, I ask which came first — furniture or food — as Mr Boyce clearly has a talent for combining the two. He explains with a shy rub of the chin that having been brought up in Bath and studying in South Wales, he set out to do interior design (‘I’m a bit of a ceramicist too’) but at some point in the 90s, ‘fell into Mildred’s,’ the vegetarian restaurant that is a Soho institution. Fast forward several handfuls of years and he says, ‘With a desire not to have to work for anybody else but also wanting to stay in the art world,’ he opened the first Boyce da Roca in Streatham. I told him I’d read that his plan was to sell the stylish stuff that the punters actually sat on as

they ate. Well, it was an idea. ‘We soon knocked it on the head. There’s nothing worse than having lovingly handsanded a beautiful table for days, only to see a toddler drawing all over it.’ Differing from its high road sibling, both demographically as well as in its bill of fare, the SE19 branch arrived somewhat soft-footedly, slipping seamlessly between the diverse curiosities that inhabit Church Road, his customers enjoying coffee and cake al fresco as if they had always been out there among the mannequins and rococo footstools. He intends to expand the menu, sourcing locally as much as possible as always: ‘I’ve been eating all week, I’m sure I’ve got gout!’ Meanwhile, the cakes are made by someone who apparently worked for Ottolenghi. Mildred’s and Yotam? No dusty bric-a-brac in that pedigree then. ‘And,’ with the positive smile of a man whose heart has two halves, ‘one day I’ll set the studio back up ...’ Our conversation is nearly done when a passerby pops his head around the door and points to the eternally perky BSA motorcycle perched in the window. ‘Oi! How much for the bike, mate?’ Mr Boyce yells back good naturedly: ‘Come back and ask Andy (Bambino) tomorrow.’ As I leave, I steal a closer look. The old beezer’s mudguard is liveried with the words ‘GLC Parks Patrol.’ I’ll bet that job worked up an appetite.

Boyce da Roca Church Road Crystal Palace SE19 Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sundays 11am-5pm 39

m a e Creshadows& E y E Louise Heywood with super easy, modern and flattering eye makeup – and you don’t even need a brush

yeshadow seems to be something that many women feel is beyond their capability, and therefore they avoid it altogether. Well, hooray for cream eyeshadows. They don’t make a mess and fall all over your cheek – in fact they’re a cinch to apply – you don’t need a brush, they come in single colours keeping everything simple, they last all day, they look modern and fresh, easy to throw in your bag for touch ups, and they look like you haven’t spent ages ‘doing your eye make up’, which to me is a big plus. What’s not to love! Cream eyeshadows come in pots and are great for patting all over the lid. Eye crayons aka shadowsticks, chubby sticks, crayons, shadow pencils are generally best kept closer to the lashes. These fat sticks of colour smudge easily with the finger and give a soft and lasting look. There are so many wearable gorgeous colours out there now with very subtle iridescence that don’t make you look like you are 15 and about to hit the disco. Many don’t even read as wearing a ‘colour’ but are just more flattering, less harsh and obvious than your average grey, brown or black. It’s best to avoid cream shadows that are too shimmery, especially in very pale colours – and particularly if you are concerned about crepey eyelids – but just the right amount of shimmer is flattering on everyone. I always start eyes with a soft eyeliner smudged into the roots of the lashes, simply to make the lashes appear thicker and darker, then clean most of it away with a cotton bud. With your ring finger, pat (don’t stroke) on the cream eyeshadow starting at the lash line and working up to just above the socket line, so you can still see the colour when your eyes are open. Use a clean finger to blend the edges. Work quickly as once it dries it’s tricky to blend. You can leave it there or follow with an eye crayon near the lashes on the top, and bottom if you fancy, and smudge with your finger. Curl your lashes and apply mascara. Done.

& E ye rayons C

Here are some of my favourites: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow £19.00 in Cement, Beach Bronze and Velvet Plum. Heavenly colours, just the right amount of shimmer and they really last Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Sticks £20.00 in Violet Plum, Golden Bronze and Forest Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon eye shadow pencil £19.00. I love Golden Quartz Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow £16.00. Gemstone is a lovely and flattering grey mauve MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot £15.50 in Painterly and Constructivist. They have a great range of matt neutral colours for a true no ‘make up’ look, or for a gorgeous warm bronze try Constructivist RMS Beauty Cream Eyeshadow £19.00 in Magnetic and Seduce. Not a traditional cream eyeshadow but more of a very sheer tint which doubles as an eye cream. Unlike the others it isn’t long-wearing, as it is completely natural, but looks and feels lovely and is nourishing too www.louiseheywood.com @lheywoodmakeup

WINE MELANIE REEVE SELECTS THREE WHITE WINES SUITABLE FOR SEPTEMBER As the season’s warmth slowly ebbs away, I’ve picked three white wines with plenty of aroma and personality, picturing them at a September picnic in the garden, or enjoyed glass in hand as we catch some late summer evening rays on the balcony.

How much should you spend on a bottle of wine? By deciding to spend a little more, you would be right to think that a higher retail spend reflects a bigger investment in the quality of the fruit. It’s worth bearing in mind that UK taxation levies both excise duty and VAT (plus a third tax – EU customs duty – which applies if alcohol is imported into the UK from outside the EU) and these taxes will be reflected in the bottle price we pay. Domaine de Gaturlon 2013 (Cotes de Gascogne IGP) £8.49 Laithwaites Crisp, vibrant and bursting with grapefruit citrus, this small estate in Gascony has created an interesting, flavourful wine from local grape varieties in a region better-known for producing Armagnac. As demand for this has dwindled, producers are focusing more on still wines and here is a lovely example. Enjoy this with pan-fried sea bass or summer salads. Melanie Reeve is a local wine educator and enthusiast, available for private parties and corporate tastings. Email winealiveuk@gmail.com Wine Alive 44

Chapel Down Tenterden Estate Bacchus Reserve 2012 £14.99 English Wine & Spirits Co at Borough Market The south of England shares similar soil and structure to the Champagne region. Vineyards thrive in areas such as Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Cornwall. Chapel Down winery in Tenterden, Kent is leading the way and makes for a fascinating day out (pre-booking essential). The Tenterden Estate Bacchus Reserve is an example of an estate-grown and made wine which is literally bursting with aromas of ripe apricot, gooseberry and hedgerow, with bright fresh tarragon on the nose. I noticed a nice weight and roundness on the palate, finishing with ripe apricots, a touch of tropical papaya and a strangely attractive clump of nettles. I fancy this with a pea and broadbean risotto served with fresh rocket, drizzled with parsley oil.

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2011 from £25 via online retailers Jeffrey Grosset has been making wine for over 30 years and is internationally recognised as one of the Top 10 White Winemakers according to Decanter magazine, producing a limited selection of premium wines at his estate in Clare Valley, South Australia (100km north of Adelaide). Yes, this wine commands a premium price, though it is a simply stunning example of a top Riesling. The Polish Hill vineyard is ACO Certified Organic, and everything is carried out by hand, from planting through to harvesting. At just under 20 acres of ancient slate, the vines have to work hard in their search for nutrients. Correspondingly the grape-yield is small and the fruit flavours reflect the profile of the vineyard with distinctive, austere flavours. If you are looking for a special bottle then this fits the bill. Full aromas of fresh lime, with a fresh seam of minerality right down the centre. Pure, focused, poised, intense and elegant, with a long, dry finish. It has to be tried. My suggested food match? This would be excellent with goats’ cheese and seafood dishes. 45

IN the

KITCHEN WITH...

Nicolas Ghirlando When he’s not preparing dishes for Nigella Lawson, local food stylist & blogger Nico can be found sniffing out the best cheeses and tucking into the area’s finest burgers. Rachel de Thample caught up with The Modern Husband to steal his famous spatchcock chicken recipe and have a foodie chat Tell us about your background in food My mother was – and is – an amazing cook and she instilled a love of cooking and eating in me. While at art college I cooked in restaurants and then more seriously when I left, leading to my current career as a food stylist and food writer

What’s been your best project to date? Writing a 170-recipe cookbook for Kenwood was great. A lot of testing, eating and shooting!

Where do find inspiration for your cooking? I’m equally excited by a burger with fries as I am by the French classics, and I love reading about a stew cooked in a Peruvian village or a simple dish of Scottish seafood. The world has such an amazing amount of ingredients which we are fortunate to be able to get hold of fairly easily in London. The world really is my oyster when it comes to food

Which are you favourite local food shops? Well, Good Taste certainly. Also the Polish deli, and then a little down the road, William Rose, SMBS … and in Peckham, Flock and Herd. Along with the new Church Road fishmonger and butcher we’re really well catered for

If you could work in any restaurant in Crystal Palace, which one would it be? Joanna’s or Mediterranea. Or a pop-up in both. My restaurant days are behind me, I don’t have the energy. I think you need to be 22 and drink a lot of coffee ... It’s a bit like boot camp or the army in intensity

What’s the funniest cooking incident you’ve ever had? Nigella Lawson opening the door to me on a shoot in a leopard print dressing gown ... Other than that, cooking on a camping stove in a car park for an ad shoot was quite amusing 46

What’s the best piece of cooking advice you’ve ever had? And what’s your best tip? The best advice I’ve had is probably ‘season, taste, taste, season, taste’. My best tip would be to read a recipe and follow it once: then do it your way. And relax!

Who is the most exciting person you’ve worked with? In terms of talent, passion and enthusiasm, it has to be Nigel Slater

What’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten in Crystal Palace? Steak tartare at The Exhibition Rooms or the fantastic hare ragu at Mediterranea

Are there any SE19 food secrets you can share? Pick elderflower from the park … snip a little rosemary and sage from your neighbours if they’ll let you. And go have a burger at Beer Rebellion!

Tell us a bit about this fantastic tandoori chicken recipe No-one I know has a tandoor at home. A barbecue is a close second and a great way to cook this dish. If you can’t be bothered to light the coals, use the grill for almost as good results. You will have to be patient and let it marinade but, apart from that, the prep and cooking time is pretty quick. If you want to spatchcock the chicken yourself you need to turn the chicken breast-side down, and with some heavy kitchen scissors or poultry shears cut out the backbone. You then flatten the chicken as much as possible with your hands, and make sure the legs and thighs are flat too. Alternatively, you can ask your butcher to do it for you www.themodernhusband.com @modern_husband

TANDOORI-STYLE SPATCHCOCK GRILLED CHICKEN SERVES FOUR (OR TWO IF YOU’RE REALLY HUNGRY) PREP TIME 20 MINS + MARINADING COOKING TIME: 25-30 MINS

METHOD Lightly toast the chillies, coriander, fennel, cumin and peppercorns in a dry frying pan, then blitz them to a powder in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar with the remaining spices and salt.

INGREDIENTS 1 free-range chicken (preferably organic) 6 dry red chillies 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns Seeds from 2 cardamom pods 1 tbsp ground turmeric 1 tbsp chilli powder (use less or add more as you wish) 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp dried oregano 2 tsp salt 1 medium onion 2 cloves of garlic 2cm piece of ginger 5 tbsp natural yoghurt

In a food processor blend the onion, garlic and ginger, then add in the previously mixed spices. Add the yoghurt and stir well until you have a paste. If you haven’t asked your butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you, see previous page to find out how to do it yourself. Once it’s prepared slash the skin of the chicken, going about one centimetre into the flesh. Rub the spice paste all over the chicken. Then put it in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably for four hours — even better, leave it overnight. Make sure to scrape out all the spice mix from the bowl ensuring the chicken is well covered. If you’re not barbecuing it heat the grill to maximum with a baking tray under it, then put the chicken on the hot tray skin-side down. Otherwise, put it directly on the barbecue grill. Cook for about 12-15 minutes each side before moving it from the oven and on to a board. Sprinkle the top with sliced spring onion, coriander and fresh red chillies and serve with a cucumber yoghurt on the side. 47

Palace patch Sue Williams visits the glorious garden of a Georgian cottage

orwood is full of surprises. Its development through the years seems to have been more organic than the 19th-century grand designs which followed the railway’s arrival in many London suburbs. The grand Victorian villas of Belvedere Road and Fox Hill herald the glory days of the Palace but along the Western boundary of Norwood there is architecture from an earlier period when Georgian gents and ladies visited the Beulah Spa to take the restorative waters. These days the only refreshment available is the £9.99 deal at the Harvester at the top of Spa Hill but we must all accept time’s inevitable march. Hidden away behind St Joseph’s College on Beulah

Antonia Paul Photography Andy Pontin Hill is Arnull’s Rd. Strictly postcode speaking it is SW16 and not the glorious suburb that is SE19 but it is as near as dammit. Arnulls is chock-full of architectural gems from the 18th century. Willow Cottage is one of the most charming. Occupied for the last twenty five years by Antonia Paul, the house stands alone in the middle of a glorious cottage style garden. In fact Antonia and her late husband Edward bought the house mainly for its garden and spent much of the next twenty years filling it to the brim with clematis, herbaceous perennials and myriad roses. Willow Cottage was built in 1780 when George III was on the throne and just about speaking English. It was

built for the grand sum of £1 17s and 6 pence ... you’d be hard pushed to purchase a skinny latte for that amount these days. The house was owned by a yeoman ... by the 18th century a term used to denote a person who owned his own piece of land but possibly was a bit tuppence hapenny looking down on tuppence. Later the house passed into the hands of St Joseph’s and was used by the monks who taught there. Geese were said to graze on the lawn and the house is so unchanged it is easy to visualise its history even today. Standing next to the house is a yew tree which must reach 15 feet in height. Taxus baccata is a very very slow growing plant so it may date back almost 51

as far as the building itself. On a visit to a Cotswold church many years ago Edward saw some yew trees in the graveyard close clipped to form structural shapes and every year the tree is professionally pruned to retain its distinctive shape. Yew is a fantastic addition to a garden. The trouble is that it is often left untended to become gangly and misshapen. Like children it requires lots of attention but a firm hand. The more it is sheared and trimmed the more it will throw up new green growth and remain close textured. It makes for a marvellous evergreen hedge with its deep foliage and springborne red berries. But be prepared for a long wait ... it is an ancient plant that takes its time. The jewel in the crown of this garden is the long herbaceous border which runs the length of the house. It is in its prime in May but all through the summer it provides a glorious mass of colour. A herbaceous border looks its best if bordering on the chaotic but it requires constant attention to retain this look without tipping over into wilderness. The bed at Willow Cottage is given focal interest by the siting of three metal obelisks in the centre of the bed. These are planted with roses and clematis with Lathyrus latifolius or everlasting sweet pea growing through the central one. The bed has alliums and tulips and peonies in spring which are replaced by day lilies and hollyhocks and foxgloves as the season progresses. The far end of the bed is given over to French roses, and fuchsia and hebe are interplanted with the perennials to provide longer lasting colour.Â There are many, many clematis in the garden ... 52

up to seventy at one time although some of these have bitten the proverbial dust over time. However clematis still seem to clamber up every available piece of vertical space and are frequently grown through climbing roses. This is an excellent way of creating a classic English garden look but again requires judicious pruning through the growing season to prevent delightful tapestry becoming chaotic jumble. Dead-heading is one of Antoniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main summer activities ... these type of gardens are anything but low maintenance. In the garden room there is a prolifically flowering bougainvillea ... a rare sight in our climate ... and an old vine which produces extremely sweet little grapes. The garden works well in all respects. There are two wonderful compost heaps which produce mulch for the whole garden every autumn. Everything bar the deadly bindweed is chopped up and composted and more woody material is burnt in the brazier and the ashes used around the roots of the roses. In London it is rare to have the space to run a garden along these symbiotic lines but it is a very ecological way of recycling the plants and reusing them as goodness for the next season. The garden at Willow Cottage is a really good example of what can be achieved in this benevolent climate in our own sylvanian London suburb. A magnolia tree and Acacia dealbata flourish along a sheltered south facing wall and add a touch of mediterranean oomph along the drive. With many thanks to Antonia for a stroll round her patch of paradise.

Tightly-shape your shrubs for autumn advises Sue Williams. Better still, branch out with a diocesan dahlia

forsythia saga I

’ve been thinking a lot about forsythia just recently. Not in a ‘I think this is a must-haveshrub’ sort of way but rather in a ‘most gardens have got one of these bloody things so what is to be done with it’ type of musing. It’s the dog end of the summer and as the perennials are chopped back and the annuals die down the shrubs tend to come to the fore again. And they often look terrible ... particularly forsythia. Overgrown, lanky and without charm ... a bit like me at 14. I am however a shrub lover and feel they have an essential place in our gardens. It’s all ... as always ... in the pruning. I garden for a lovely lady in Sylvan Hill who has required me to prune her forsythia with a venom rarely seen in the suburban sphere. This has had a surprising and rather pleasing result. The shrub is almost square and close cropped so the leaves form a bright green structural box which turns, in spring, into a bright yellow one. Left to its own devices the forsythia throws out long light brown stems at the end of which nestle a couple of leaves in a gangly mess. Take up the shears and shape away is my advice and put form where there is chaos. The same rules apply to Viburnum, Choysia, Camellia, Photinia ... all the bridesmaids of the border. A tightly-shaped shrub will prevent the end of summer bed from looking tired and out of control. 54

Speaking of tired and out of control, now is a good time to give the climbing roses some attention. They have a tendency to throw up suckering shoots at this time of year, noticeable by their spongy bright coloured stems. Take them out as low down as you can go. Also some judicious dead-heading of any spent blooms will – as I’m sure you already know – encourage repeat flowering. Foxgloves, poppies and hollyhocks are finished by now and ready for cutting down. Save the seed heads and store them in a dry spot until the early spring when they can be sown biblically round the garden. A couple of very striking plants for the early autumn garden are Dahlias and Penstemon. I’m no lover of the Kidderminster country show type of dahlia in glorious yellow or pink (although as in all things each to his own) but, predictably I suppose, the Bishop of Llandaff variety (above) does it for me. This dahlia has deep aubergine foliage with striking red flowers which remain less blousey than their Kidderminster cousins. They look fresh and vibrant at a time of year when not the same can be said of many things. Penstemon are traditionally at their peak earlier in the season but many repeat flower in early September. There are loads of varieties and in a mild winter they retain their foliage ... which is always a bonus. Keep up the good work and happy gardening.

Books @BooksellerCrow

LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR BAD BOOKS. JONATHAN MAIN RECOMMENDS FIVE REALLY GOOD ONES FOR THE AUTUMN

THE BOOKSELLER I

n Will Wiles world things start out innocently enough and escalate by small degrees. In his previous novel Care of Wooden Floors (4th Estate £7.99) a small red wine stain on an immaculate wooden floor culminates in an episode of Some Mothers Do ‘Av ‘Em directed by Kafka. In The Way Inn (4th Estate £14.99) Neil Double books himself into a brand new chain hotel where he will be attending a conference about conferences in the hotel’s adjoining meetings facility. Neil goes to conferences so that you don’t have to. Ingeniously, he is a conference surrogate who will, for a fee, attend a conference on your behalf and report back. He is attending this conference on behalf of a number of clients, which in turn encourages the conference organisers to regard him as something of a parasite. And then things get stranger. He gets locked out of his room. But did the room move and is there more than one room 219? The clock radio emits a trill electronic interference, even when its plug has been pulled from the wall. Later Neil will find a room stacked full of these same clocks. And then there is the redheaded woman who he first met in the chain hotel’s Dubai branch after he saw her sleepwalking. She is staying somewhere at this new hotel, taking pictures of the abstract paintings that hang on every wall. Neil sets out on a quest to find her and his journey within the hotel takes him further than you might ordinarily think. Wiles takes some tremendous imaginative bounds in this book; it is fantastic (in every sense). Melvyn Bragg and another northerner were recently complaining in The Guardian and elsewhere that there were no longer any working class people portrayed in British fiction. Clearly they have never read the novels of Kerry Hudson whose characters exist at the very edges of society even if they don’t wear a flat cap and keep a whippet. In Thirst (Jonathan Cape £12.99) Dave works 56

as a security guard in a Bond Street department store and lives in a shitty bedsit in Hackney. Alena has come to England from Siberia on the promise of a good job only to find herself trafficked to a pimp and his son. Escaping them, Dave catches her shoplifting a pair of shoes. Hudson maps their story with empathy and conviction as she follows the pair from East London back to Siberia. If you were clever enough (you know who you are) then you were at The Bookseller Crow when Jessie Burton read and signed her novel The Miniaturist (Picador £12.99). The last time I looked — and I don’t do it often — the book was number three on Amazon, an amazing achievement for a first-time novel, but deservedly so. This is a terrifically well told story set in 17th-century Amsterdam in which the young daughter from a posh but declining family in the sticks is married off to a wealthy merchant trader who gives her a cabinetsized replica of their home. Told in the third person present tense, Burton, who is also an actress, directs her players who pass in and out of the swiftly moving scenes with great skill. It reminded me a lot of the Peter Greenaway film The Draughtsman’s Contract. Strangely, the Dutch financial markets of the Golden Age get a mention in Smith Henderson’s marvellous Fourth of July Creek (Heinemann £16.99) when Jeremiah Pearl, a paranoid survivalist camping out in the Montana wilderness explains Tulip mania to the social worker who is attempting to be of some use to the man and his son. Set on the cusp of the Reagan era the book moves through un-glamorous communities of the poor, the drunk and drugged and their neglected off-spring, with Pete the social worker attempting to help at every turn, whilst in reality needing help himself. Fourth of July Creek is a big, bold book, that hovers and loops around its stories with some grace, until they, the

s survivalist, the runaway child, the relationships gone bad, eventually congeal. Anybody who reads the usual suspects — Ford, Carver, Cormac McCarthy — will love this book. It is a very fine piece of Americana. Francis Plug: How To Be A Public Author by Paul Ewen (Galley Beggar £11.00 ) is — and uniquely so — both a very funny novel and also a work of brilliant conceptual art. Francis Plug is an unpublished author and gardener who visits the public readings of a list of Booker Prize-winning novelists. His book, How To Be A Public Author, is a catalogue of his interactions with them. As he says in the foreword, it is his ambition for his book to follow in the tradition of the Paris Review’s Writers at Work Series — so that it may inform other would-be writers of the public tasks to which they will need to become accustomed. Here’s the thing: each of the 32 chapters — starting with Salman Rushdie and ending with last year’s winner Eleanor Catton — begins with the title page of their prize-winning novel signed and dedicated to Francis Plug. Well, all except one. I have a fair number of books signed by these authors myself, and can attest to the genuineness of the signatures, which makes the scale of the task Ewen set himself all the more mind boggling. Was he actually present in the guise of Plug at all of these events? I think he must have been. Did he introduce himself as Plug? I guess he must have done. Did Julian Barnes fly up to the gallery of the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on tiny wires before his head fell off? Don’t be silly. That Ewen has managed to render these accounts into what is one of the funniest, cleverest novels for many a year, is a remarkable achievement. Trust me on this, everybody is going to be talking about this book. And if you are a would-be author, as per Francis Plug’s intention, you certainly need to read it. 57

This issue I have employed my mystic powers to generate a ground-breaking fusion of powerful Yin Yang and Feng Shui pseudo sciences to create the new ancient art of:

YaNGSHUi

This innovative discipline combines the dualism of

existence and universal balance with good health and fortune through harmonious energy flow. Cleverly, I also put one word from each older phrase together to make a new one.

I foresee that after you experience this authoritative room by room guide (each page laid out according to my Fang Shui principles),you too may redesign your home as a Yang Shui haven if you have no real priorities and enjoy squandering money.

Entranceway.

In Yang Shui, a front door is essential as this is how Chi, or Universal energy, enters the house. Humans also find them useful for access or egress. A hall mirror facing the door is a disaster as the Chi will think there is another Chi already there and they will wrestle territorially smashing the mirror bringing bad luck. Make sure your staircase is not in alignment with the front door or the chi will sneak upstairs and root through – your intimate drawers causing havoc with any electrical devices there. Finally for the entrance, if you have a downstairs toilet under the stairs keep the door firmly shut as it sometimes smells of dark matter.

Living space

‘Light energy’ is our main celestial nutrient. An essential Yang Shui fundamental, good

quality light for a living space is key and to achieve this I recommend using windows or light bulbs. Adjust this radiant energy according to your mood by using what is called a ‘dimmer switch’ (fitted by a local Yang Shui certified installer). Candles also give off top drawer Yang Shui because they make the room feel all spiritual and ancient. Ensure any loose children are organised in age and height at all times and make sure you give them clear instruction about sensible Yang Shuiprinciples to be strictly adhered to around the house, at least until they become old enough to think logically. Avoid eating TV dinners off your knee in front of the soaps like slobbish poor people as this can encourage celestial Chi dragons or cosmic energy Turtles to be drawn out from the telly’s malevolent magnetic portal directly into your stained lap causing disturbances in the lower organs and bitter tasting gravy.

Bedroom

A good looking partner is preferable to achieve cosmic Yang Shui balance so the bed must be huge and costly to radiate wealth and abundance to prospective mates. However, if the bed is so massive it is tight up against the door this may engender a bothersome outflow of poisonous expletive energy when attempting

Pea wat the cre ene Or sho ‘sh and com If rol sid

The best plate shape is round as roundness has the most flow and harmonious movement No TV or computer is permitted in the because it’s round. Square shaped plates are bad boudoir as ‘blue’ images or films can encourage Yang Shui strictly for show-offs and fancypants restaurants as bad energy gets stuck in the forlorn eruptions of ectoplasmic negative corners. At dinner parties the same applies for Chi. It is especially bad Yang Shuiif you get caught. rectangles of raw hewn slate, slabs of organic Finally, to ward off Yang Shui bogeymen, wood, natural stone platters or peasantesque keep all wardrobe doors locked at night or they banana leaves (except in developing counwill burst out, grabbing your feet and dragging tries). you kicking and screaming into a hellish netherworld for all of eternity. to enter or exit.

Bathroom

Peace, serenity, scented candles, rose petals, healing waters and a glass of crisp Chardonnay - combine the correct elements and materials and you will create a soothing Yang Shui haven of calming energy. Or, if you are male, have a quick shower then grab some half decent ‘shiterature’ (such as that which you now hold) and retire to a safe environment in which to comfortably drive out bad Chi whilst reading. If you really want to go to town a Buddha toiletroll dispenser or Shiva shaped air freshener is considered lucky and will enhance your career.

Kitchen

As you cook it, food is imbued with your personal energy, spiritual energy is imbibed as you eat and in turn your soul is cleansed by the consequent excretion. So it is all nice and cyclical which always equals good with ‘nature’.

Here is my simple Yang Shui recipe to achieve oneness with the Earth. Its fundamental ingredient is cheese. You can hear the Chi it contains in the sound vibration when you say it. …..Cheese.

Yang Shui rarebit. With scissors, cut two slices of toast (one wholemeal, one white) into the interlocking universal symbol of unified existence, Yin Yang. Next, melt two colour contrasting cheeses (e.g. Red Leicester and Cathedral City) on top. Add two poached quail eggs for the dots. Season and eat immediately, naked.

illustration:

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serving suggestion. Packed with supernatural nourishment, I predict you will enjoy…

Pastyche by Pip Irkin Hall Fakin’ Bacon, the cheeky vegetarian treat, desperately seeking to emulate meat.

Phony Baloney, Sham ham, Fake Steak, Spare Fibs. Classic substitute dishes, to fulfil your veggie wishes.

Lancashire Notpot, Spaghetti Bollockall, Trickin’ Nuggets, Tofu in the Hole. Genetic future meat in counterfeit cultures, fresh pink products for famished veggie vultures.

Impossages, Unconmincing, Conned beef, Mincincere. While in giant Petri dishes new meat humanely grows, farmers suffer change as precious livestock goes.

Reproducks, Synthetchick, Pretenderloin, Fraudulentrecote. Whole animals then are future engineered, increasingly life like, convincingly reared.

Vegetarian Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Venison, Veal, Beef Just brain enough to gambol on the factory treadmill, adding realistic texture to the meat that’s worth the kill.

Maisy, Daisy, Dotty, Honey, Pinky, Spot If cognitive enough to frolic credibly in fields, We can label them Free Range to engender better yields. Just like real animals used to be, but ethical to eat, though now with extra sets of legs as that’s the sweetest meat

THE DRUNK

@ ECONOMYCUSTARD | ECONOMYCUSTARD.CO.UK 60

BY ECONOMY CUSTARD

THERE’S A WORLD OUT THERE! Howard Male has been listening to Japanese anarchists, Colombian experimentalists, a singer-songwriter from Birmingham and Sun Ra - the man who probably started all this avant-garde nonsense

love it when bands reinvent the idea of what a band name can be. Funnily enough, the same week that I received a CD by a Japanese outfit called 00I00, I also got a CD from a Spanish combo called 08001. The latter is the band’s Barcelona postcode whereas the former is a digital representation of giving someone the middle finger (a digital representation of a digital gesture, if you think about it). But anyway, it’s the rather rude Japanese musicians who concern us here. On Gamel (Thrill Jockey Records) they have cleverly taken the traditional gongs and mettalophones of the Javanese gamelan style and placed them in a punk rock, post rock context. The end result is by turns beguiling and completely bonkers, bringing to mind artists as diverse as Steve Reich, Bernard Herrmann, Tom Ze and Captain Beefheart. I always try to bring you something different in this column, but if you want something really different, look no further than this challenging but oddly addictive album. Also a little on the unhinged side are the Colombian band, Meridian Brothers. Their shtick is also to take tradition forms and turn them on their head. However, their second international release Salvadora Robot (Soundway Records) is as playfully catchy as it is austerely arty. Various Latin American dance styles such as cumbia are heard as if through the aural equivalent of a fairground mirror. Off-key comedy keyboards, wobbly electric guitar, kitsch 1950s sci-fi sound effects and a lead vocalist who occasionally issues a pantomime villain laugh are all part of the band’s considerable charm. However, after a few tracks, this striving to sound eccentric becomes wearing. In other words, you wouldn’t want to be trapped in a lift with it. Take no more than two tracks a day and don’t operate any heavy machinery. From two new eccentric spaced-out acts to someone I’ve little doubt influenced both of them. If you don’t know the work of Alabama jazz musician and cosmic philosopher Sun Ra, this double CD compilation marking what would have been his 100th birthday is a great portal into a universe of material spanning more than a hundred albums. It breaks you in gently with a few mildly

avant-garde jazz tunes, all walking bass lines, African percussion, sinuous sax and Latin piano. Only on CD two – as we warp drive into the psychedelic late 1960s to the formal experimentation of the 1980s – do the melodies and cohesion give way to dissonance, abstraction and (depending on your taste) self-indulgent meanderings. The squeaking, squawking, banging and crashing must have been great fun for the musicians involved but are not necessarily so enjoyable for the listener trying to assimilate them several decades later. But look – don’t let me put you off. Everyone should have a bit of Sun Ra in their life. He’s like the Duchamp of Jazz – someone had to go there first to see if the air was breathable. And lest I forget, for those already up with the Sun, the album features three previously-unreleased tracks. Finally, a few Transmitters a go, I devoted the whole of this column to Laura Mvula, a singer-songwriter I consider to be the best new music artist this country has produced in a decade or two. For once everyone seems to agree – these days every other reality TV programme seems to use emotive snippets from her songs, just as previously you couldn’t go five minutes without having to endure a blast of Coldplay. But isn’t it a mite self-indulgent to go to Abbey Road Studios just to re-record the whole of your first album with an orchestra? Having heard the results I would emphatically say no. Ms Mvula always heard Sing To The Moon in her head with full orchestration but financial restraints meant she had to make do with whatever could be conjured up from samples and multi-tracking her own voice. Sing to the Moon with The Metropole Orkest (RCA Victor) proves that her harmonically-rich material was meant to be heard buoyed up by a 52-piece orchestra. Curiously it brings out the pastoral Englishness of the material, at times even evoking Elgar and Vaughan Williams. A shiver-downthe-spine gorgeous masterpiece is not putting too fine a point on it. Until next time, fellow sonic space travellers! Howard Male is the author of the novel Etc Etc Amen (available from The Bookseller Crow).

WHAT’S ON SOUTH LONDON THEATRE House of Several Stories by A. John Boulanger 8pm 16 to 20 September 2014 Bastian returns homes for Thanksgiving with news of ‘joining the service’. Mother suggests he join a gym. Bastian’s news takes a backseat when his sister, Rissa, suddenly decides that she’s pregnant, and though no yet showing, expects to deliver ‘any minute now’. Jack the Ripper by Ron Pember and Denis de Marne 8pm 7 to 11 October 2014 Beneath its lively surface, the East End of the 1880s was a dark place where ‘poor unfortunates’ sold their bodies to stay alive. And it became Jack the Ripper’s turf. Set in both the Music Hall and on the murky London streets this is a lively, sad and comical musical play that reconstructs the murders of 1888. Tooth of Crime by Sam Shepard 8pm 21 to 25 October 2014 Tooth of Crime is an exciting drama, set in a parallel version of the United States, in which the protagonists compete in The Game. The Game is governed by kills, won by gaining territory and regulated by The Keepers and The Code. Hoss, with his Solo Rights, is at the top of his game and surrounded by a protective entourage. But do they actually care about him? Or just their prestigious positions? Henry V by William Shakespeare 8pm 4 to 8 November 2014 Gala performance Thursday 6 November It is the 15th century and the political situation in England is tense: King Henry IV has died, and his son, the young King Henry V, has just assumed the throne. Several bitter civil wars have left the people of England restless and dissatisfied. And, in order to gain the respect of the English people and the court, Henry must live down his wild adolescent past, when he consorted with thieves and drunkards in the seedy environs of the Boar’s Head Tavern. This will be an edgy interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved and most political plays and is part of the RSC’s Open Stages project for 2014. South London Theatre The Old Firestation, 2a Norwood High Street, London, SE27 9NS. Box Office: 020 8670 3474. Tickets priced £5-£12.

NORWOOD SOCIETY LOCAL HISTORY TALKS

Every 3rd Thursday of the month at 7.30pm Upper Norwood Library, Westow Hill, SE19 1TJ Entry is free, but a donation towards the cost of tea and cakes is appreciated Local War Memorials Thursday 18 September As part of Lambeth’s Heritage Month Jerry Green introduces the memorials of the area From Fire Station to Theatre Thursday 16 October Bob Callender of the South London Theatre Centre relates the history of West Norwood’s old fire station and its transformation Lambeth’s Archives Thursday 20 November Archivist Zoe Darani from Lambeth Archives talks about Norwood and the Borough of Lambeth

WALKS PROGRAMME

Norwood High Street & Elder Road linear walk Sunday 10 August 2.30pm St Luke’s Church, West Norwood, SE27 0DT ending at Norwood Park Lead by Jill Dudman, Norwood Society West of West Norwood & Tulse Hill circular walk (approx 90 minutes) Sunday 14 September 2.30pm St Luke’s Church, West Norwood, SE27 0DT Lead by Alun Thomas, Norwood Society/Lambeth Heritage Festival

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY

ED COMEDY AT THE HOB

EXHIBITIONS

Art and Life Ben Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, William Staite Murray, 1920-1931 4 June - 21 September 2014

Braine Hownd – Short Film Night An eclectic selection of inspirational & provocative independent short films Followed by Q&A Wednesday 10 September Doors 7pm, Films 8pm £3

An Impossible Bouquet Four Masterpieces by Van Huysum Free entry with a ticket to the permanent collection 1 July - 28 September 2014

Celebrity Pub Quiz With comedian Luke Benson as your quizmaster. Thursday 11 September 8.30pm £2

Friends’ Open Art Exhibition Your chance to own a painting by a local artist and support the work of the Gallery. Tuesday 30 September – Sunday 12 October

GALLERY FILM

Untouchable (2011) Cert 15/112 mins Directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, with François Cluzet and Omar Sy Monday 8 September

Stand Up Comedy Allyson June Smith, Brendan Dempsey plus guests Saturday 13 September 9pm £10 (£6concs) The All New Stand Up Show Open mic night Monday 15 September 8pm £3 Stand Up Comedy Omar Hamdi mc, Ben Clover, Keith Farnan plus guests Followed by Live music from Steve Boltz Saturday 20 September 9pm £10 (£6concs) The All New Stand Up Show Headline Acts perform new material Monday 22 September 8pm £3 Scummy Mummies An hour of laughs for less-than-perfect parents Wednesday 24 September 8.30pm £5 Stand Up Comedy Jessica Fostekew mc, Paul T Eyres, Andy Askins and guest Saturday 27 September 9pm £10 (£6concs) The All New Stand Up Show Open mic night Monday 29 September 8pm £3 Random Act (5th), Talking Strawberries (12th), Strange Brew (19th), Cherry Pie (26th) Live Music Every Friday Free 10pm ED Comedy at The HOB 7 Devonshire Road Forest Hill (opposite the station) SE23 3HE www.edcomedy.com 63

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