Wharf Life, Dec 7, 2022-Jan 11, 2023

Chris Ezekiel on why phones aren’t quite as smart as you may think

Cody Dock - Third Space - Crossword Sudoku - The 1975 - CABNAB Dots And Dashes - Grayson Perry Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom Southbank Place - Jon Hala &Juliet - Wharf Life Hacks South Quay Bridge

David Galman

Natasha Maddison

with virtual shooting venue Clays set to arrive on the Wharf we sit down with its operations director Jon

Probate

inside issue 78

Where? Museum Of London Docklands West India Quay

REPORT | Museums, Class And The Pandemic

Attend the launch of this report by the Museum Of London and King’s College London into issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in the sector.

Jan 11, 6.30pm, free, museumo ondon.org.uk

Where?

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf Cabot Square

GIG | The Christians

Formed in Liverpool in 1986, The Christians went on to become one of the UK’s biggest soul bands led by Ray Bans-wearing Garry Christian.

Jan 18-19, 9.30pm, from £29 (show only), boisdale.co.uk

Where? Jubilee Place Canary Wharf

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SEE | Winter Lights

The Winter Lights festival is set to return in January with more than 20 installations to marvel at. Expect street food and thousands of people having a look.

Jan 18-28, 5pm-10pm, free, canarywharf.com

As its visitor centre rises, we catch up with all the activity at Cody Dock as the site prepares to take the next steps in its ongoing evolution and development beside the Lea

As CABNAB reaches 15, we talk to founder Anthony Okereafor

The O2 prepares to host The 1975 as they take the world by storm

Editorial email info@wharf-life.com call 07765 076 300

Advertising email jess.maddison@wharf-life.com call 07944 000 144

Go to wharf-life.com for more information

Canary Wharf’s Cabot Square has welcomed light-swinging bar The Cocktail Club to its ever-growing portfolio of attractions. Expect low lights, air and precisely executed drinks from a busy team of bartenders thecocktailclub.com

interview with The Cocktail Club founder JJ Goodman online at wharf-life.com

Welcome to the 78th issue of Wharf Life. This paper is all about the future, whether its Third Space’s major update project, the arrival of Clays, building work at Cody Dock or what lies in store for NASSA and CABNAB as its anti knife crime campaign reaches its 15th year. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

on the radar

need to know

Wood Wharf has welcomed Dishoom to its ever-expanding collection of restaurants and bars. Certain to be a hit on the estate, it’s a venue rich in story and myth offering a fabulous interior with just the faint scent of financial scandal in the air dishoom.com

Market Halls has expanded its operation up to North Colonnade with a new Cocktail Bar at street level. The space adds a little extra depth to the venue which offers a wide range of street food outlets on its lower level beside the Liz Line station markethalls.co.uk

legal matters by Charlotte Miller

It may be quicker and easier to build your own fence if a dispute about maintenance arises

What happens if a neighbour refuses to repair their fence? It’s a problem that comes up a lot. The initial joy of acquiring a home with a garden starts to wear thin once a high wind blows down one of your fences. Sadly their ownership and maintenance is frequently a thorny issue surrounded by urban myth.

For newer properties you can go back to the original transfer. The developer should have placed a “T” mark on the inside of the boundary line to indicate the fences that belong to the property and which have to be maintained.

Other properties on that development may also have the benefit of that obligation, thus allowing them to take legal action against their neighbours if a fence falls into disrepair.

However, due to the vagaries of our land laws, it is rare for subsequent owners to inherit that burden. At best, their only duty is to remove the fence if it is dangerous.

For older homes one falls back on the basic rule that if you put it up, it’s yours. The fence post must sit on your land, unless your neighbour agrees otherwise.

However, just because your neighbour constructed a fence, does not mean that you can make them maintain it. The property information form supplied by your seller at the point of purchase will tell you which boundary fences they maintained and that is a clue to ownership.

If, on the other hand, you are lucky enough to have garden walls rather than fences, those are party structures and the cost of maintenance is shared.

Title deeds may restrict the type of boundary structure your neighbour can have in terms of height or materials. The good news is that, unlike positive covenants to maintain, restrictive cove nants do pass on to subsequent owners and you may have a right to enforce that covenant. A simpler redress is a complaint to your local planning department. In most areas, no boundary can be higher than two metres, including trellis, without planning permission.

One thing is for sure, disputes about bound aries are best avoided. If you cannot reach an agreement with your neighbour, it may be better to count to 10, and then build your own new fence.

020 7205 4191

Scan this code to find out about the services offered by Kidd Rapinet including helping with property sales and purchases

on the lash

My main worry for getting eyelash extensions at Jon Hala in Canary Wharf was that I would quickly sweat them out in the gym or that they would look huge – which would be fun but not a look I’d want all the time. Following a consultation with Violeta Hala where she asks me questions about what type of look I want - more jazzed up natural than over the top glamour, she decides on the Cashmere Classic.

They take around 90 minutes to glue to my real lashes. I thought it would be weird having my eyes closed for that long but Violeta’s voice is soothing as she explains what she is doing.

At the end of the procedure, my eyelashes look very full but strangely don’t feel heavy in contrast to standard fakes.

Initially I think they look really thick and that it’s obvious I have extensions. But later when I ask friends, it turns out they think I’m just rocking my natural lashes.

Honestly? I’m sold. From a practical point of view, it’s nice that it saves time in the make up routine and that I don’t have to worry about mascara smudges. From an impractical point of view, it’s really fun to have full lashes first thing when you wake up and look in the mirror. They look amazing with a full face of makeup, make my eyes look wider and the compliments have flowed.

They stay in place during showers, sweaty gym classes and cleansing. Yes, individual lashes do begin to fall out and the first few times it is heartbreaking. But this is due to the cycle of your natural eyelashes falling out, which is apparently one-to-five every day. At the time of writing I have had the extensions for three weeks and, while not as full as they were on day one, they still look pretty great.

Go to jonhala.com for more information Jess Maddison

AFTER

BEFORE

GIG Burns Night

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf, Jan 24-28, 9.15pm, from £49 boisdale.co.uk

Why have one Burns Night when you can have five?

Canary Wharf’s most Scottish venue is all set to host a piper, haggis and a hootenanny featuring the songs of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin as styled by Stephen Triffit and Mark Adams. Diners can expect four courses and several renditions of Address To A Haggis

CELEBRATE Lunar New Year Museum Of London Docklands, Jan 21-22, 11am, free museumoflondon.org.uk

Enjoy free arts and crafts, workshops and performances at the museum on West India Quay and discover its historical connection to this annual celebration. A range of activities will take place between 11am and 4pm each day. The majority will be drop-in, although some workshops will be ticketed in advance

Charlotte Miller is a property law specialist at Kidd Rapinet Solicitors, based at Harbour Exchange on the Isle Of Dogs. She’s available on

Cashmere Classic Eyelash Extensions, Jon Hala, Jubilee Place, £130

The countdown to Christmas is on (or over if you’re reading this from December 25 onwards). Advent calendars are nothing new, but there has been a huge rise in demand for them over the last decade – this year more than ever. Price comparison website PriceRunner UK reported that searches for luxury advent calendars are up 400% on 2021.

That might seem surprising given the cost of living crisis but it may be that we are witnessing a phenomenon called the Lipstick E ect – a term coined by beauty giant Estee Lauder’s Leonard Lauder.

This suggests customers tend to splurge on a ordable luxuries during times of economic di culty. If you can’t a ord designer leather boots, for example, you buy a lipstick instead. Opening the door of an advent calender each day to reveal a little bit of joy is exactly that pick-me-up people are looking for, so here are a few of my favourites.

>> When we think of Advent calendars, we immediately think of chocolate, right? Hotel Chocolat in Canada Place has several options ranging from £8.50 for it’s Up To Snow Good Children’s Advent Calendar, to £75 for The Grand Advent Calendar, which contains decadent chocolate slabs, batons and tru es, but also an array of tipples, a lip balm, and hot chocolate sachets - indulgence at its nest.

>> Waitrose Food And Home in Canada Square, stocks over 60 di erent calendars. For a throwback to simpler times, £4.99 will get you the Woodmansterne Penguins Shopping Advent Calendar Card, which features adorable hand-drawn illustrations. But how could I resist the Fizz Advent Calendar, exclusive to John Lewis? Priced at £140, it features a super selection of sparkling wine, Prosecco and Champagne. Not one for rst thing in the morning.

>> Also stocked at Waitrose is the Clarins 12 Days of Christmas Calendar. There is a men’s version available for £65, and the women’s version for £75. Both are packed with the beauty brand’s favourite products, including body lotions, foaming cleansers, and face scrubs.

>> Head to the Marks & Spencer at West eld Stratford City to snap up the L’Occitane Classic Beauty Advent Calendar now priced at £44, or the Bene t Sincerely Yours Beauty Advent Calendar for £59.50. However, if chocolate, alcohol or beauty products aren’t your thing, go for the Personalised Wall Hanging Advent Calendar, reduced to £13.65. Ideal for fussy kids and adults alike, the pockets can be lled with small toys, sweets, gift cards, or even handwritten sentimental poems.

>> Since Advent has already begun, you may nd some discounts now applied to the products listed here. If you still need to watch the pennies, Google “ free self care advent calendar”. You’ll nd there’s lots of free downloadable options with lovely tasks suggested to do each day, such as singing along to songs you love, saying nice things about yourself and smiling at people you meet. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Natasha Maddison @pazzanatasha on Insta

shop it

write me words you don’t know you need

noun, not fake, from Old Norse

This was going to be a made up word for a mistake few readers spot, based on the misspelling of a headline on Page 16 – but it turns out it’s actually an archaic term for a quarter of an acre, so go forth and use it as such

stong sirimiri

noun, real, from Basque

This word, which has its root in the fertile lands of the Basque country is an alternative for drizzle or light rain – the kind of misty precipitation that doesn’t so much fall as hang around in the air with nothing better to do

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Left, Hotel Chocolat’s Up To Snow Good Advent Calendar

Above, Clarins’ 12 Days Of Christmas Advent Calendar

dock and

by Jon Massey

We know the game is the thing that captures you and why you want to come, but once you’re there we want people to feel that they don’t want to leave,” said Jon Calabrese, operations director at Clays.

The virtual shooting venue is set to open its second branch in Canary Wharf in December, following the success of its debut in Moorgate.

The new bar will be located overlooking West India North Dock on the ground of One Cabot

Square – a building it shares with Credit Suisse – and is set for an official launch in January.

It will offer 90-minute digital clay target shooting for groups of up to 22 people in semi-private or completely private pegs.

With five games to choose from, it’s the latest in a succession of hospitality businesses in Canary Wharf to put competitive socialising at the heart of their operation.

First Electric Shuffle opened with a 21st century take on shuffleboard and then the vast Fairgame joined it this year, with its nine funfair-themed games.

It’s a trend that’s here to stay as people look for venues that offer

other attractions besides food and drink.

“The foundation of what we’re doing is the target shooting game and the quality of that experience is really important to us,” said Jon. “We wanted to make it as authentic as possible and it’s incredible.

“Clay target shooting is great and I would encourage anyone to go and try it. What we wanted to do was to create something immersive in the heart of London that would reflect that experience.

“Players use real guns that have been decommissioned with all of our technology that tracks them and delivers accuracy to within less than a millimetre.

“The clays within the game are subject to wind, aerodynamics and gravity and players stand in front of a three by four-metre screen. It’s honestly as though you’re standing in the English countryside and we control the sound and images so we can adapt to the weather outside.

“In autumn, for example, you’ll see leaves falling. We’ll keep working on the experience to make it even better.”

Clays, which was founded by CEO Tom Snellock in 2019, is expanding its operation following the warm reception customers have given its Moorgate branch.

Jon said coming to Canary Wharf was an obvious decision for the business.

on Page 8

how virtual target shooting venue Clays is set to offer Wharfers another new place to socialise competitively

Pegs in total at the Canary Wharf branch of clays. A Peg is the place shooters stand to take aim at targets when wielding their shotguns

Above, Clays operations director Jon Calabrese can’t wait for its Canary Wharf branch to open overlooking West India Quay

Clay

target

shooting is great. We wanted to create something immersive that reflected that experience

Jon Calabrese, Clays

Jon and his team have created a list of 10 cocktails for the launch of Clays

“I grew up in north-east London and I’ve been coming to the estate for about 20 years,” he said. “Even then on a sunny day it was abso lutely alive. I think there’s this perception with Canary Wharf that’s it’s very much a business district, and at the weekend it’s dead, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“There are incredible residential hubs locally, shopping areas, amazing hospitality operators here and the Elizabeth Line has just come in.

“I think it’s one of the fastest moving parts of London and with the density of people here it’s a no-brainer. It’s almost better to ask: ‘Why wouldn’t you want to be here?’.”

While the game is central to Clays’ appeal, there’s more to the venue than blasting away at virtual targets. As the son of celebrated bartender Salvatore Calabrese, Jon has a pretty robust background in hospitality but initially spent time pursuing a different path.

Having embarked on a career in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, he joined the Met after a former girlfriend’s father – who happened to be on the murder squad – turned Jon’s head with stories of his work.

But, having worked as a police officer in Newham for three years, the world of restaurants, bars and hotels proved irresistible and quite a contrast to his time wearing a uniform.

“When I came to hospitality in 2009, it was anarchy – chaos,” he said. “People would work hard and be rewarded with manage ment roles – then they’d have to work out how to do them.

“That meant often you’d either get people with authoritarian approaches or micro managers because they’d have imposter syndrome, which was weird.

“At Clays we have a career tree approach that means we will give people the skills and knowledge they need to be a departmental expert and to hone your craft.

“We won’t hinder you if you want to move between depart ments and try different things either. Ultimately we want to grow a business with culture, consistency and expertise so we can deliver on customers’ expectations at a very high level of quality.

“We want people to come to Clays for the game, but then to stay for the food and drink they’ve enjoyed alongside that experience.

“On the drinks side we use techniques such as clarification to produce crystal clear liquids we can pour like a coke but that have

Left, an artist’s impression of how Clays’ Canary Wharf branch will look when finished

Right, one of the pegs at the brand’s Moorgate establishment

Minutes play is the typical length of a game for between six and 22 people at Clays

an amazing taste and mouth feel. That means we can maintain our rapid speed of service without sacrificing quality. These are the kinds of things you only see in small artisan bars.

“Our cocktails are signatures and what is important for us is the quality of ingredients and that our drinks reflect the British country side using produce grown and created in this country wherever possible”

Wharfers can expect tipples such as Clay Burst, a sweet and sour pink gin creation, Jack’s Orchard, combining the taste of toffee apples with a whisky kick, and the Precision Punch, a banana spiced rum cocktail.

Food-wise, Clays will serve a menu created by culinary director Roger Olsson formerly of The Dorchester, The Ritz and Pied A Terre. Dishes include Sweetcorn Ribs with paprika salt and a lemon and chilli dip, Cobble Lane Charcuterie and “KFC” tempura cauliflower as well as Loaded Breads topped with Middle Eastern, Indian and Italian flavours.

Jon said where possible Clays would use produce for the UK with a focus on sustainability, quality and provenance.

“We know the farms where our vegetables are grown and our meat is produced and the boats that catch our fish,” he said. “You’ll find old favourites like scotch eggs and the calamari is melt-in your mouth.

“Everything is made in-house –it’s about elevating the calibre of the experience.

“Next year we’ll be installing an outdoor terrace so guests will walk in through green foliage, an outdoor bar and past heated tables. Then the venue itself is on several levels. There will be a tree house where a DJ will play, a reception desk with living moss under a glass top, a bar with a 3D scene that plays on the English countryside and the pegs themselves.

“The main bar is at the far end of the venue and looks over to West India Quay. There are also three pegs that can be closed off privately with bi-fold doors for private parties when needed.”

Clays is taking bookings from December 13 online. The Canary Wharf branch has eight pegs with off-peak bookings for small groups starting at £30 for an hour’s play. Peak rates for groups of six to 22 cost £70 for 90 minutes of play.

Go to clays.bar for more information

Scan this code for more information about Clays

Players at Clays use real decommissioned shotguns to aim at virtual targets

Clays is located at One Cabot Square and will eventually have an outdoor terrace overlooking West India Quay

Some of Clays’ cocktails use clarification for batch production to speed up service

A peg at Moorgate ready to welcome shooters

by Jon Massey

Health and fitness clubs are, at their root, about maintenance and change. Nobody joins a gym to see their body deteriorate or their performance decline. We want to stay in condition and see steady progress towards our goals.

Similarly, people expect their clubs to provide that – they have the right equipment, classes, facilities and staff to help them get to where they want to be.

Members at Third Space in Canary Wharf will pay £220 per month from January 2023 for

access to Europe’s largest luxury health club. The task of ensuring the Canada Square facility consistently meets their expectations falls to general manager David Burrow.

“We are constantly upgrading – there are always new things coming onto the market, so it’s about asking how we can use them and whether it’s right to have them,” he said.

“We get loads of feedback from our members and we use that to

consider what to do next so we can offer an even broader range than what’s already here.”

The club is currently in the midst of a major update that’s seen it refresh the decor and equipment in its free weights and weights machines areas.

It’s halfway through upgrading its vast cardiovascular training areas and is already looking forward to the crowning glory of the project, which will be the

a passion for

remodelling of its changing areas, saunas and steam rooms.

David said: “We started with free weights, which we have completely refurbished with new flooring and lighting.

“We have all-new equipment from a company called Eleiko, who are the best in the industry and a firm we’d already been working with in our Olympic weightlifting areas.

“As part of this project we took the opportunity to review what equipment we had, what was best in class and what we wanted to acquire. So for our pin-loaded machines we have replaced our offering with products from a company called Pulse.

“It’s an English firm who have been brilliant where we’ve wanted modifications. Their machines continued on Page 12

An artist’s impression of how new showers at Third Space Canary Wharf will look when its project is completed next year

why Canary Wharf’s Third Space is currently undergoing a major update

from Page 10

feature a digital read-out, which gives users a guide to their range of motion alongside feedback.

“That’s what most people are looking for – members can see how they’re performing, how they can do better and get reassurance that they’re using the machine correctly.

“Of course our staff are always on hand to help people with any of the equipment on the gym floor.

“We think Pulse’s machines are great for people at all levels – you can sit on one even if you’re brand new to fitness and be confident that what you’re doing is correct.

“Many people who join a health and fitness club will be slightly nervous, but having the ability to know that they can just plug the pin in, push or pull the equip ment and see that their range of movement is correct, is very comforting.

“Our aim is to make everything as simple as possible for advanced athletes or complete beginners. The idea is that people can use it without needing to speak to someone or to watch dozens of YouTube videos, so the focus is always on the exercise.”

This philosophy underpins everything David and the team at Third Space do. While the update will see major changes and improvements to the club, many will be barely perceived directly by members – designed instead to create an overall sense of well being in the gym and its facilities.

“Next year we’ll be upgrading the changing rooms, which is pretty much the biggest thing you can do with the club still open,” said David.

“We’re changing the lighting completely, which is one of the things members probably won’t notice. It will be linked to the circadian rhythm – it will change throughout the day so the amount of illumination will feel right to people in a way they can’t quite quantify. With a club like this there’s a great amount of work that goes on in the background to create the correct atmosphere.

“The carpet is also being ripped out and we’re having a beautiful

Members join this club because it has all the toys, but they stay because of the people – the atmosphere is amazing

Burrow, Third Space

new floor. Again, it’s something people will walk over, but we’ve spent six months testing products to ensure people won’t slip and that it can be cleaned effectively. We’ve gone to enormous lengths to find the right flooring because once it’s down it’s impossible to replace.

“There’s been a huge amount of cooperation between our designers, architects and opera tions people to make sure it’s fit for purpose.

“It may look beautiful on day one, but we’re interested in day two, day 200, day 2,000 – can it cope with the footfall and trolleys with towels rolling over it every single day. That’s why we test and test and test until we’re certain.”

David has been working in the fitness industry for nearly a quarter of a century which has included building his own busi ness in the Netherlands and stints at director level for big chains. He came to Third Space six years ago, attracted by the opportunity to do the job he loves.

“For me it’s about the day-to-day interaction and operation,” he said. “When this job came up it was quite an easy choice. The challenge of a club this big is unique – there’s nothing else that’s the same. I’ve worked in incredible clubs for incredible companies, but there’s no club like this – the range of products, the range of offerings and the challenges that creates.

“I love that I have the opportu nity to build and grow this club and I’m extremely lucky to work with the most incredible group of colleagues I’ve ever worked with.

“Members join this club because it has all the toys, but they stay because of the people – the atmosphere really is amazing.”

The upgrade should make it even easier for Third Space to foster that atmosphere with lighting that can be controlled via Bluetooth across the club.

The new cardio area features top of the range Technogym equipment and an updated layout with a more open-plan design. The project also features new Woodway treadmills and an upgraded Wattbike studio.

“Personally I’ve reached an age where I like to mix my exercise sessions up,” said David. “I do a static cardio day, a strength stability day – something like TRX – and some kind of Hiit-based session. Those three will be locked in and then I will do something I feel I need.

“That might be something strength-based, followed by a steam room or sauna. Sometimes it’s about that balance between physical and mental health –asking what is right for me at that moment?

“As you mature, you learn to

Months of testing to identify the right flooring for the changing rooms at Third Space Canary Wharf

David

Third Space’s new pin-loaded machines

The club’s renovated free weights area with Eleiko equipment

Above, an artist’s impression of how the new saunas will look at Third Space Canary Wharf

Left, the club’s general manager, David Burrow, is overseeing the project to upgrade its facilities

listen to your body more and I’ve definitely got better at that.”

In addition to the remodelling of the floors in the changing rooms, the upgrade also includes new showers, steam rooms and saunas to help members relax and refresh themselves after their workouts.

“It’s the ultimate part of the whole project and it will come in at the beginning of next year,” said David.

“We’ve got high budgets and a high number of members who all, quite rightly, have high expectations. That means we have to deliver an experience to them while the work is going on that is acceptable, while totally renovating the facility.

“That is a challenge but one I am confident we can meet – a lot of research and preparation goes into getting things right here

– everything should feel great without people knowing exactly why or realising how much work there is behind it. It’s not just about chucking new equipment in – we’d never do things that way.

“Then, after everything is finished, and with Wood Wharf opening in due course, it will be about asking how the two Canary Wharf sites complement each other to offer even more.

“There’s always something that needs considering, updating or improving – but I love it.”

Standard membership works out at £7.23 per day.

Go to thirdspace.london for more

An artist’s impression of how Third Space’s changing rooms will look when work is complete

not always so

I tried to copy and paste the number to make a call and the phone couldn’t deal with the missing leading zero

Chris Ezekiel, Creative Virtual

0The digit Chris’ phone couldn’t cope with when copying and pasting someone’s number from an email

along the

Shaftesbury Theatre is a four-minute walk from Tottenham Court Road station, itself a mere 12 minutes from Canary Wharf’s Elizabeth Line station. It recently opened a new bar and event space called 1911 – named for the year it opened its doors – a space created by excavating the ground around the Grade II listed building. This addition means theatre goers can dine on sharing platters before performances without fretting about getting to the venue if service is slow in a restaurant.

Commercial director Gary England said: “It’s revolutionised the experience, but also it can be hired for daytime events like business breakfasts, networking, lectures or exhibitions.”

It has a standing capacity of 250 or 120 seated, can be booked by firms for employee nights out where the team can be fed, watered and see a performance.

“That’s becoming really popular now,” said Gary. “Because we have a kitchen facility we can offer better value than theatres that bring in external caterers with all of the infrastructure and transport that involves”.

After a tour of the new facility, my evening started with a

sharing platter, which was both filling and delicious for £25 with half a bottle of wine. As I was there to see &Juliet I also tried the themed Pink Cosmopolitan for £12, which proved the perfect aperitif for the show.

The musical asks what would have happened if Juliet didn’t die at the end of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. It opens with the Bard’s wife, Anne Hathaway, persuading him to alter the bleak ending of the original story and come up with a version where Juliet lives.

Our heroine and her entourage flee parental pressure to join a nunnery and seek out life’s adventures instead. It’s a mesmerising, comic spectacle with fantastic updated period costumes and makes great use of songs by pop heavyweight Max Martin including Oops I did It Again, (Everybody) Backstreet’s Back and Since U Been Gone that had the audience singing along. Is it usual to cry over a Britney Spears song? Asking for a friend.

l Performances of &Juliet run Monday-Saturday at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets start at £25 excluding a £2 booking fee. Go to shaftesburytheatre.com

Jess Maddison

in the first of a series of regular features exploring the delights found at the Elizabeth Line’s stations, Jess Maddison pops to Soho for a show and a tour...

&Juliet runs at the Shaftesbury Theatre until March 25

The recent refurbishment of the Shaftesbury Theatre has seen a new events space, 1911, open its doors at the Soho venue

1911 under construction as excavations are made beside the theatre

Shaftesbury Theatre commercial director Gary England

Scan this for more about &Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre

We’relookingtopartnerwithlocalbusinesses tohelpusreplacethepassengerliftthat takesthosewithaccessneedsintoourcafé-bar.Ourfutureplansincludeusdeliveringdaytime creativeactivities,soitisvitalforustomaketheseaccessibletoall.

Donatenow,oremailadam@space.org.uktodiscusssponsorshipoptionsandrewards.

The Theatre Of Widdershins presents a classic fairy tale full of twists, tangles, split ends and frizz as Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom arrives in Limehouse.

Set to run for two performances at Half Moon Theatre on January 14, the show o ers just under an hour of entertainment for those aged four and up.

Putting plenty of volume and body into the story, the puppet- lled play nds Rapunzel trapped in a tower with her locks in use as a step ladder for a wicked old witch.

Marvel as tangles are teased out, strands un-twisted and frizz tamed in what’s billed as a charming, enchanting show that’s at once wonderfully grotesque and meticulous in its design.

Oh, and expect the construction of a three-metre tower. Nothing that unusual for this part of London.

Tickets for both the 11am and 2pm performances cost £7 for adults and children.

Go to halfmoon.org.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the show

letting her hair

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

STAGE | Charlie And Stan

Told By An Idiot present a riotous account of the time Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel crossed the Atlantic and how the stars drifted apart at sea.

Jan 18-Feb 4, times vary, from £14.50, wiltons.org.uk

Where? Half Moon Theatre Limehouse

KIDS | Family Folk Show

Musical duo Megson present a concert of songs selected for those aged up to eight drawn from their albums When I Was A Lad and Little Bird Jan 21, 11am, 2pm, £7, halfmoon.org.uk

Where? Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

STAGE | Bu y – Revamped

Brendan Murphy takes on the mantle of unhappy British vampire, Spike, to deliver all seven seasons of the cult teen classic in only 70 minutes.

Jan 9-13, times vary, from £13.50, wiltons.org.uk

try this

Find fantastic Italian food at Da Nonna in Wapping – a gem of an eatery that delivers simple but exactingly cooked bowls of pasta to hungry passers-by. It’s as warm and welcoming as it looks from the outside danonna.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about Da Nonna in Wapping’s Garnet Street and its excellent pasta

want more? @whar ifelive

Price of a ticket for either of the two performances of Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom at Half Moon Theatre on January 14

how Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom takes the tale back to its roots and straightens out the strands

by Jon Massey

Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom is presented by The Theatre Of Widdershins

how Dots And Dashes delivers a musical twist to the work of the codebreakers at Bletchley Park

by Jon Massey

The work of the Second World War codebreakers at Bletchely Park has been fertile ground for writers and dramatists. The story of Alan Turing and the e ort to crack the Nazis’ Enigma code has inspired books, plays and lms.

But here’s something fresh – Dots And Dashes: A Bletchley Park Musical by ChopLogic Productions aims to tell the stories of the unsung heroes of the huts.

Billed as a story of love, loss, secrets and sacri ces, it follows six young women

as they work to crack the German codes and aid allied operations in 1944.

Entirely written and composed by the cast, it aims to challenge the male dominated narrative of the war by telling its stories from a female perspective – empowering women both then and now.

Starring Amber May-Hutton, Charlotte Fenning, Martha Morris,

Scan this code for more about Dots And Dashes

cracking the

Tabitha Radcli e, Lisa Hazel White and Katie Damer, the show is set to run at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs from January 3-14, following a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe earlier this year. ChopLogic is a newly established theatre company that aims to make dynamic and progressive work for audiences – celebrating the lives and contributions of women to society.

All of the songs and music in the production have been written specially for the musical. Tickets cost £15 for the shows, which start at 8pm.

Go to space.org.uk

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | Six Plays In One Day

This festival, presented by Threedumb Theatre, gives six works a showcase. Audience members can book all shows, multiple slots or just one.

Jan 21, time TBC, £30 (all day), space.org.uk

Where? Poplar Union Poplar

DO | Clothes Repair Cafe

Social enterprise Sunny Jar Eco Hub hosts this interactive clothes mending and upcycling workshop to help participants x those holes and re-use items. Jan 18, 6.30pm, FREE, poplarunion.com

Where? Poplar Union Poplar

STAGE | The Wedding Speech

Cheryl May Coward-Walker’s new play is billed as a “wildly relatable” comedy about a glamorous mother and a long-su ering daughter. Ab Fab. Jan 25-26, times vary, £3-£12, poplarunion.com

pizza place

Dots And Dashes

is set to run at The Space from January 3-14

Recently opened, Zia Lucia at South Quay Plaza o ers a warm, light escape from the Isle Of Dogs, especially on a wet, wintry day. Expect plenty of red tiles, 48-hour dough and punchy pizzas from £7.95 zialucia.com

Scan this code to nd out more about Zia Lucia, which also o ers very generous starters on its menu

want more? @whar ifelive

is the minimum price for The Christmas Wife tickets which are all pay-what-you-can

by Laura En eld

Declarations that it is “The most wonderful time of the year” are being blasted at us from all angles. That perfectly trimmed TV turkey, the handmade centrepiece online, families decorating in matching Christmas jumpers.

Fomo is more rampant than ever, but with the shadow of Covid just over our shoulders and the cost of living crisis in our faces, do we really need to embrace it?

Phil Willmott from Rotherhithe Playhouse knows no-one wants to be Scrooge, but thinks it’s impor tant to highlight that we don’t have to be Stacey Solomon either.

The theatre, which launched in summer 2020, is marking its second festive season with The Christmas Wife – a dark comedy offering couples the chance to pause and reflect. Showing from December 15-30 at the theatre’s new home in The Hithe, it is an adaptation of Ibsen’s The Doll’s House, which tells the story of a wife whose perfect Christmas starts to unravel due to one bad decision.

It will be tempered against family favourite The Wizard Of Oz, also showing December 15-30, which launches a new scheme offering up to four free childrens’ tickets with a paying adult.

I sat down with Phil to find out more about the plays and the theatre’s plans for 2023.

why this play for Christmas? We’re all about getting people to go to the theatre who haven’t been much. There’s a great tradition in this country of doing theatre for families and children at Christmas and I wondered if it might be possible to present slightly intelligent plays that could be a Christmas night out for adults.

I looked for something that would be thrilling and enter taining and The Doll’s House is one everyone has heard of, but not many people have seen.

why rename it?

The original is set during Christmas and I have upped the ante slightly on the angle of providing the perfect Christmas and how the pressure makes the wife start to buckle. Often men don’t take responsibility for the perfect Christmas, they just expect it to be there and don’t see the hard work.

I had seen The Doll’s House and liked it, but when I read it again, I realised there was so much more to it. It’s extraordinary how this was written about a Victorian couple but we could so easily be eavesdropping on any modern

house. There are the same kind of money worries, the same stresses and strains that come about when a family is thrown together so intensely in the festive period.

what’s the aim?

It shows that the struggle to get through Christmas is a sort of universal thing. It pulls on your heartstrings and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Perhaps if we opened up the discussion a bit more there wouldn’t be the pressure to recreate the mystique of the perfect family Christmas with an elaborate dinner and a beautifully decorated house. If it was more collaborative, there would be a shared responsibility for it.

what happens in the play?

The character is the perfect housewife, during the perfect Christmas. She’s got the perfect husband – he’s just been promoted – and perfect children.

They are having a party and the house looks gorgeous, but to pay for it, she gets the equivalent of a payday loan.

She didn’t quite make the payments back and due to a series of coincidences, the guy who organised the loan ends up at their house. She becomes terrified her husband will find out and about the repercussions. Will he stand by her and be sympathetic?

We see what she decides to do and what that says about their marriage.

is that a common scenario today? I did some research and the main reason people divorce is money.

The main time the cracks begin to show is at Christmas. So there’s a sort of double whammy of creating this amazing time, not spending too much, but also not being a Scrooge.

is it more stressful this year?

Yes. We are in the middle of an economic downturn and there

Scan

exploring the

dark side

of Christmas

why Rotherhithe Playhouse is embracing new traditions to help ease the stress on families

Phil is directing the same cast of six in both performances, which run consecutively for 16 days over the festive season

Image by Matt Grayson – nd more of his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

this code to nd out more about The Christmas Wife

Perhaps if we opened up the discussion a bit more, there wouldn’t be the pressure to recreate the mystique of the perfect family Christmas

Phil Willmott, Rotherhithe Playhouse

is still the pressure to create the perfect Christmas. You’re also worried about whether you’ve had the heating on too long.

My elderly parents are certainly thinking twice about it. The pressure has doubled down and ou find ourself thin ing hat if it isn’t a great hristmas or hat’s wrong with me h aren’t I happy like the rest of the world?’. In fact, the rest of the world is thinking the same.

The festive season is very strange like that. Coming in, you should be happy and making a fresh start. Also, 10 years ago who knew we all had a credit rating? Suddenly it’s something you have to worr about. e are confined by something that’s almost entirel artificial and has been sort of forced on us.

what are you like at Christmas? I’m a gay man in a relationship, so we don’t really have those same pressures, and we’ve often ust ta en oursel es off for a nice weekend or something.

But I remember seeing it in my parents when I was growing up and looking back, I see things I didn’t understand as a kid.

My grandma had quite severe, MS and my granddad was her main carer, but somehow on Christmas Day, he produced dinner for 12. That must have created a great amount of stress. As kids we took it for granted.

what causes the stress? Everyone wants their children to have the most magical Christmas.

Then there’s the pressure for the extended family to come together and siblings might not get on, but because its Christmas, you have to. Very few people are motivated by just pleasing themselves at Christmas.

how has the Playhouse evolved? After last Christmas, we took a break to think about how to do things better. e used to set up a theatre in a different enue for each production, but decided it would be good to have a home, so people know where we are.

This is the second production in our new home at The Hithe. It’s a hub for startup businesses and we’ve got one of the biggest studios upstairs. e wouldn’t normall be able to afford it but I approached them and made the case – because the owners are tuned into our philosophy of lifelong learning and trying to keep theatre alive, they have let us have it for just under market rent.

why did you want a home?

e used to mo e around because as Covid lost its grip, there were lots of institutions and buildings, which needed to show the public they had opened again – a play was a good way of getting people through the doors. That’s become less useful now and it’s more useful for the community to know there’s a place where every school holiday, there’ll be something for kids for free. If people choose, they can come back and see some of the greatest plays ever written with tic ets ou can afford.

does the future feel more secure?

I thin so. e’re er reliant on people’s goodwill and it’s taken a little while to build that up. e had a good momentum but then disappeared for six months so we need to build up the audience members again.

This project is not entirely make-or-break, but if we can’t turn the corner with a production of The Wizard of Oz, then we are doing something wrong. e’ll sit down at the end of this and look

er carefull at the bo o ce figures and hopefull the boo s will tell us people are enjoying coming and we should continue.

I suspect we will carry on. There’s enough interest in the project that we can keep building it. The ultimate goal is to get everyone paid properly and make it sustainable.

is The Christmas Wife a gamble? es. ill people e hausted from work want to see it? I don’t know. The other reason I decided on The Wizard of Oz is that’s such a wellknown title and hopefully, the 50 seats will fill themsel es.

It will be an added bonus if people come back for the drama, which will have 30 seats.

is it still a minimalist set? Yes. I don’t want to do those great, long lumbering, stodgy productions with bits of scenery cranking about. At its heart, this is about an audience sat around in a semicircle, with very good actors telling a story very clearly and carrying people along with it.

is it hard to nd actors these days? The arts are still decimated after Covid, so many people have left the profession because there was no work and a lot of them have stayed in permanent jobs.

There’s a shortage of actors who want to give up long-term stable employment to take a short-term contract. e tr to eep rehearsals and performances outside of o ce hours so it’s possible to maintain your survival job and also practice your craft.

do you still have a day job? Yes, I’m still also a professional journalist, but this has become more my main job, although it doesn’t pay like it. It wouldn’t operate without a high level of focus on my part.

I’d like to delegate more, but you need a certain calibre of person that you are happy to leave things to.

e are so open to an one getting involved. Even if you don’t have any experience and would like to volunteer, we will teach you.

plans for 2023?

It is quite dependent on how people react to these plays.

The only thing I’m absolutely sure of is that every holiday and half-term I want to do a piece of kids theatre where the tickets are free for kids so that they don’t just go to the theatre a couple of times during their childhood.

I want it to be something they can do regularly so that it demystifies the process and it ma es it feel natural and comfortable. Go to myplayhouse.uk for more information

Rotherhithe - Deptford - Bermondsey

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? Brunel Museum Rotherhithe

EVENT | Community open Day

Hear updates on the Brunel Reinvented Project from sta , volunteers and architects, ask questions, see the plans and visit the museum’s existing exhibtions. Jan 15, 10.30am-3.30pm, free, thebrunelmuseum.com

Where? Deptford Lounge Deptford

Event | Lego Club

Did you get some new sets from Santa? Bitten by the bug? Come along and have fun building, creating and meeting enthusiasts of the tiny blocks. Every Monday, 4pm-5pm, deptfordlounge.org.uk

Where? Little Nan’s Deptford Market Yard

Keep the celebrations going with two hours of sweet and savoury treats, Bucks Fizz, cocktails, Prosecco and Bloody Marys, dancing and props. Fri-Sun, from noon, £35, littlenans.co.uk

ash back

British Land is currently engaged in an enormous project to transform Canada Water with 53 acres of development including a whole new town centre. You can nd out more about the masterplan via this website canadawater.co.uk

Scan this code to read our interview with joint head of the project Roger Madelin at wharf-life.com

want more? @whar ifelive

FOOD | Bottomless Boozy Brunch

The Playhouses’s new home is at The Hithe in Rotherhithe

Dishoom print Wrap online dishoom.com

Kidd Rapinet Solicitors print Pages 1, 5, 15, 26 online kiddrapinet.co.uk

Randox print Page 7 online randoxhealth.com

Canary

The

Perfect

Rooms

PUBLIC NOTICES

LONDON BOROUGH OF TOWER HAMLETS LICENCES FOR SPECIAL TREATMENT NEWSPAPER PUBLIC NOTICE

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Licence(s) for the premises: Liarna Jessica London Limited, Unit 3 Merchant Court, 61 Wapping Wall, Ground Floor, London E1W 3SJ.

Anyone wishing to oppose the application must give notice in writing to David Tolley, Head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Trading Standards, Place Directorate, 2nd Floor, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG, Within Three Weeks specifying the grounds of opposition. Persons objecting to the grant of a licence must be prepared to attend in person at a hearing before a Committee of the Council.

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Starting price of the remaining tickets to see The 1975 at The O2 arena in January

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? National Maritime Museum Greenwich

TALK | James Webb Space Telescope: One Year On This lecture, for members of Royal Museums Greenwich, by Royal Observatory astronomer, Dr Greg Brown, asks what we can learn from its images. Jan 18, 6.30pm, members only, rmg.co.uk

Where? Greenwich Theatre Greenwich

The 1975 formed in Cheshire in 2002 and are set to play The O2 arena on January 12 and 13

those seventies

by Jon Massey

It’s sometimes possible to forget that the most successful events venue in the world (by ticket sales) sits on Greenwich Peninsula. So when it turns pale cerise in honour of K-pop phenomenon Blackpink’s gigs, it’s a timely reminder that the serene exterior of the dome hides a relentless programme of gigs and shows.

There are plenty of hot tickets to be had in 2023 – Peter Kay’s monthly residence which runs into 2025, Ryan Reynolds chatting business on March 4, Lizzo

on March 15 and 16 and even Shania Twain on September 16 and 17.

But our head has been turned earlier in the year by The 1975 on a tour titled At Their Very Best. The melodramatic pop-rock out t have sold out the rst of their two shows on January 12, but there are still tickets left for January 13 – a date added due to demand.

Prices start at £63 to see

Scan

the four members playing at the height of their powers with the set list certain to include numbers from their latest album Being Funny In A Foreign Language. Released this year, the record became their fth consecutive number one, following hot on the heels of Notes On A Conditional Form, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships and the titanic I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It. They might even play a few from their eponymous rst album – a bona de rocker Go to theo2.co.uk for more information

STAGE | Howerd’s End

Titter ye not, this two-hander examines the hidden relationship between comedian Frankie Howerd and his long term partner Dennis Heymer. Jan 14, 7.30pm, £17.50, greenwichtheatre.org.uk

Where? Old Royal Naval College Greenwich

SEE | Museum Of The Moon Artist Luke Jerram

to the Painted Hall with massive installation depicting the moon in all its glory. Expect day beds for visitors to recline on. Dec 13-Feb 5, daily, from £12.50, ornc.org

ash back

Oh yes it is – Robin Hood is this year’s Greenwich Theatre panto, penned by longtime theatrical villain and rst time festive show scribe Anthony Spargo. It runs until January 8 with tickets costing £31 greenwichtheatre.org.uk

Scan this code to read our interview with Anthony at wharf-life.com as he talks eyebrows and disguises

want more? @whar ifelive

returns

how The 1975 are gearing up to be At Their Very Best over two nights under the tent’s giant roof

by Jon Massey

Thamesmead and Abbey Wood aren’t far from Newham. The Elizabeth Line connection via Custom House brings the areas to within a few minutes of each other. So the fatal stabbings there of Charlie Bartolo and Kearne Solanke –both 16, both killed in linked attacks on November 26 – are an especially potent reminder to those in east and south-east London of the ever present threat and brutality of knife crime.

At the time of writing, three teenagers had been arrested in connection with the murders and two charged fi e oung lives either ended or changed forever.

It’s a story Anthony Okere afor knows only too well. Two of his friends were killed in unrelated knife attacks in 2008.

“I was 17 and out playing basketball and my phone was ringing – but I ignored it and continued with the game,” he said. “Later I followed up on the missed call to find m friend had been stabbed.

“For me, it wasn’t just that my friend had passed away, but that it had happened so close to where I was playing. If I hadn’t ignored my phone, it could have been me – to some degree basketball saved me from being involved in that incident and in that environment. But, at the same time, I had the trauma of having lost a friend.

“At the time I was quite young and studious. I had a younger brother and sister and I thought, that if this was what had helped keep me out of trouble, what could we do to help other people?”

Anthony is the son of Natasha Hart, who in 2005

sowed the seeds of what would become Newham All Star Sports Academy (NASSA) by giving her sons an impromptu basketball session in a local par . She offered to ma e it a weekly treat and soon friends were joining in, with the group rapidly growing in size. ear later she o ciall launched the organisation as a charity to provide competitive basketball coaching for children and young people in the borough – a safe place to play sport away from the lure of anti-social behaviour, alcohol, drugs and crime.

So it was to Natasha that nthon went first in with his idea for a campaign to tackle knife crime. Working through NASSA, it will be 15 years since his Carry A Basket ball Not A Blade (CABNAB) campaign started.

“Basketball has always been the sport I enjoyed playing most, so we have used that as a tool to get young people engaged with our message,” he said. “It’s an educational tool we employ to let them know how dangerous carrying a knife can be, not just for the victim but for the carrier.

“CABNAB empowers young people to do productive things and uses the power of sport to bring people together and

forget about the things they face on a day-to-day basis, like postcode wars, racism and poverty.”

Today CABNAB delivers talks and workshops in primary and secondary schools, starting with children as young as nine and 10 – carefully tailoring its approach to the age of its audience.

“The age will determine how graphic the sessions are,” said Anthony. “With the younger ones, we’ll talk about how easy it is to be asked to hold some thing, for example – these are very young kids, but grooming by criminal gangs starts at a young age. Drug dealers and gang members will use younger people because they are less likely to be stopped by the police even if they’re carrying a knife.

“We talk about the physical dangers and issues if you do get attacked, which people have to live with – trauma, scars and physical impairments. Alongside that, we also talk about what happens if you are the perpetrator – what time are you looking at in jail and how your family would be affected.

“Personally I believe a lot of the time when these crimes are committed and people die, that it’s not the intention of the perpetrator to kill.

“A lot of young people I’ve encountered carry knives for fashion and protection. When you ask them: ‘From what?’ they’ll say it’s being in certain areas and doing certain things.

“Sport is one way to tackle that. When people see a person in a kit or sporting uniform, that’s a young man or woman on a mission – they’re more likely to respect it and leave

them alone. Growing up in Newham and going to certain parks to play basketball, I saw it happen. The gang leaders and those a liated with drugs allowed me to play in the park, possibly because they could see that I wouldn’t want to be involved as I potentially had a future.

“As much as they might do bad things, a lot of them do have moral compasses and think that if a kid is involved in basketball or football they’d just let it go.

“That kind of respect does exist in our communities, and CABNAB can use it to help young people to stay engaged in sport, after school, through extra-curricular activities and, on top of that, in school as well.”

Pre pandemic, CABNAB was

Years CABNAB has been working to tackle knife crime in east London

Scan this code to nd out more about CABNAB

how CABNAB continues to fight knife crime in Newham and beyond by engaging with young people through sport, fitness and education

it starts with one

We can never completely eradicate knife crime, but we can get the numbers low. Funding is the biggest help in that

Anthony Okereafor, CABNAB

NASSA is supported by Excel and many other Newham institutions

reaching up to 3,000 young people a year and is now building back up as well as looking for funding to grow further. The campaign also works in partnership with the et and former o cers it hosts a basketball match each year where police take on a team of NASSA members to help break down barriers.

“We can never completely eradicate knife crime, but we can get the numbers very low,” said Anthony, who was named a Point Of Light in 2015 by then Prime Minister David

in Newham.

“Funding is the biggest help for us in this, although we’re also so grateful to businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who help us out in any other way they can or those who volunteer.

“In another 15 years the dream would be that knife crime will have faded away to the point where we can almost forget about it.

“We need to get away from blame and open up a conversation about why young people are doing these things. I want carrying a knife to be seen as taboo, not cool, not fashionable, not worthy of respect ust something that leads to a waste of life.

“We need to look at peer pressure and poverty and get this issue away from being gang and drugs related to reduce it on the street.

“CABNAB started in a sense with trying to save my own life. The court was my safe haven and basketball kept my mind off other things. o now we’ve changed many lives is incredible but even though we work with thousands of young people e er ear if ust one person puts down a knife or never picks one up, that’s good enough for me.

“You can see the reduction in crime in the areas where we work and there are so many other benefits when ids get in ol ed with SS the physical health, the education and the mental health that comes with those.

“With the cost of living crisis, it’s getting harder to do what we do, but I’m optimistic. othing is impossible ou ust ha e to face the di culties and overcome them.”

Go to nassasports.org.uk for more information or to donate

Scan this code to nd out more about NASSA

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

SEE | Queens’ Roar Exhibition

This exhibition of work by Newham

Sylvie Belbouab celebrates women and girls’ football in a project inspired by England’s victory at Euro ’22. Until Apr 2023, daily, free, royaldocks.london

Where?

drag up

Scan this code for more information about the event or to book tickets, which start at £60

want more? @whar ifelive

Royal Docks - Canning Town

RuPaul’s Drag Con is set to arrive at Excel with three days of fabulousness exploding into Royal Docks from January 6-8. Expect appearances from the likes of Ella Vaday, Cheddar Gorgeous and Heidi N Closet rupaulsdragcon.com

photographer

CLUB | Âme X Trikk All Night Long Labyrinth presents Just Lauren and Nick Castle as they take over the Steam Room for a mammoth evening of eclectic dance music. Feel it. Jan 21, 11pm-6am, from £28.50, ra.co

Where? Good Hotel Royal Victoria Dock

RA Fold Canning Town

FILM | The Witch Settle in for a screening of Robert Eggers’ 2015 ick that tells the dark story of a 1630 farming family contending with the disappearance of a boy. Dec 2, 4pm-9pm, free entry, bowarts.org

Where? Social Convention Canning Town

Cameron for his work tackling knife crime

Anthony Okereafor founded CABNAB through NASSA following the violent deaths of two of his friends in 2008 to help tackle knife crime in Newham

Images by Jon Massey

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where?

Stratford Picturehouse Stratford

SCREEN | Met Opera Live: Fedora

This preview of Marie Kreutzer’s new lm follows Empress Elisabeth Of Austria as she is thrown into turmoil as her 40th birthday approaches.

Jan 14, 5.55pm, £22, picturehouses.com

Where? The Yard Theatre Hackney Wick

STAGE | Woof

This cabaret showcase promises artists with bodies and acts outside the norm hosted by drag king Chiyo. Expect your preconceptions to be dismantled.

Dec 13, 8pm, from £8, theyardtheatre.co.uk

As is invariably the case, a trip to Cody Dock yields an excess of optimism, promise and excitement. What was once a rubbish tip piled high with industrial toxic waste has already become home to businesses, a plethora of wildlife, art and vegetation.

In the 14 years since Simon Myers co-founded the Gasworks Dock Partnership, an eyesore has been transformed into a community asset on the River Lea that’s tantalisingly on the threshold of the next stage in its evolution.

Where? Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford

As CEO he’s presided over a passionate team and the efforts of countless volunteers in that time, who have all contributed to turning the wooden model of the project’s masterplan into full scale reality.

“To go alongside our rolling bridge across the dock mouth –which we installed earlier this ear we’ e finall finished our toilet and wash block,” said Simon. “That means that after more than a decade of visitors using our very glamorous Portaloos we’ve now got proper facilities with showers, changing rooms and running water.

Jan 17-19, 7pm, free, stratfordeast.com

ash back

“What that really does for Cody Dock is to make it accessible for people to come down, especially for school visits.

“We’re probably about half way through the construction of the first phase of our isitor centre which will include an exhibition and event space.

“The hard work is done – the foundations are in, the frame is up, the walls are being built and we’ll be doing the roof over the next couple of weeks.

hen we can start fitting it with 100 400-watt solar panels and batteries that will give us our own electricity supply with an output that is more than the total present power consumption for the site.

“Obviously that’s only when the sun shines, but we have every intention of looking at ways of storing energy on site and – given that we have a tidal dock with a lot of water going up and down, we want to investigate how we

can use that to generate electricity too.”

Like every aspect of Cody Dock, a great deal of thought has been put in to the execution of its projects and how what is created can do multiple jobs. In addition to generating power, the visitor centre will become the focal point of the site.

“We have a little pop-up gallery space on site where we’ve tried lots of things and that has provided proof of concept,” said Simon. “We also already have weekly visits from schools who come and do cross-curricular field studies in areas such as local history and river ecology

“We’ve also had an interesting arts and cultural programme at Cody Dock over the years.

“But pretty much everything has been outside – the visitor centre gives us a venue where we can put on significant e hibitions put on shows, accommodate school visits, host music nights

The Trampery Fish Island Village has o cially opened its doors, providing 50,000sq ft of space over 10 buildings for creative fashionfocused businesses and facilities to help the community thrive and grow thetrampery.com

Scan this code to read our interview with The Trampery’s founder and CEO Charles Armstrong

STAGE | LMA Innovative Performance Performers in their third year at the Here East-based arts education institution co-owned by Robbie Williams take the stage for a three-night showcase.

Years since the Gasworks Dock Partnership began transforming Cody Dock on the River Lea

by Jon Massey

how Cody Dock is on the threshold of a fresh chapter in its ongoing evolution

co-founder Simon Myers

Scan this code to nd out more about Cody Dock

The visitor centre at Cody Dock takes shape with the roof set to go on next

rise on the

and film screenings. he first part of the enue has a fo er and a separate main area but the can be combined into one big space if re uired.

It’s er much multi functional and we’ll be e uipped to host theatre performances with a fold awa stage a green room and a proper lighting rig.

hat happens within that space will be er much a collab oration with the communit and arts organisations. he first thing we did when we cleared the doc was host an opera on a floating stage in the middle of the water.

hese inds of performances are er much in our we use arts as an engagement tool and this enue will enable us to do that on a scale matching the number of people who are now coming to od oc on a regular basis we’re reall e cited.

ompletion of the isitor centre’s first phase is e pected b late spring ne t ear to coincide

with ewham eritage onth in une. lso in the pipeline is a new theraputic gardening training and horticultural space that will pro ide a place for learning and propagation to pro ide all the plants for the site.

hat’s a collaboration with fifth ear architecture students from estminster and should be complete b arch said Simon.

It will be a space that feels li e ou’re outdoors but is actuall indoors filled with plants thin Scandina ian conser ator . hat will be opposite our rolling bridge and our plan is to finish the final landscaping of the area between the crossing and our isitor centre.

hen we’ e got a ear of plan ning preparation and finalising the designs for what we ha e been calling until now our eritage Pa ilion. e actuall want to run a bit of a competition and with public consultation to come up with a better name for it.

It will be a new space some

where that celebrates the histor of the waterwa s in this area.

Its roof will be the eel of a full restored hames Ironwor s lifeboat which we alread ha e on site at the end of the doc .

It’s made from onduran mahogan is ust o er ears old and belongs to the first gener ation of self righting lifeboats.

It has an enormous iron eel and we’ll be restoring it for about a ear before flipping it upside down to form the roof.

hat’s a nod to the fact that the i er ea was once the anelaw boundar and we’re on the i ing side.

So there are lots of things to get in ol ed with if people would li e to come down and olunteer.

od oc has also recentl appointed new members of its team to loo after ecolog and education at the site who will be running pro ects o er the coming ear as wor continues towards the ultimate goal of re flooding the doc .

fter that happens the site will become home to residential moorings a berth for a heritage ship and dr doc facilities to ser ice boats sailing up and down the ea.

I thin we’re about months awa from doing that said Simon. e’ e done most of the necessar wor at the end of the doc and we’re definitel o er the hill with the restoration wor on the doc walls.

e can see the light at the end of the tunnel. hen it will be about connecting us up with anning own ia that last elusi e bit of footpath along the ri er.

Go to codydock.org.uk

he ne t e ent at od oc is Liguan Flows a promenade perfor mance b second ear arts and drama students at presented outdoors along the i er ea on ecember at pm. ic ets are free but boo ing is essential ia the code below. arm clothing and sensible footwear are ad ised.

Scan this code to nd out more about Liguan Flows

Images by Jon Massey

Simon hopes to re- ood Cody Dock within the next 18 months as work on its restoration continues

What the visitor centre really does for Cody Dock is to make it accessible for people to come down, especially for school visits

Simon Myers, Gasworks Dock Partnership

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Notes

Cryptic Quick

Sudoku Take a break from that phone Across

See 10 acc.

Search among the la ender to find corruption (5) 9. Debt can change your woe (3) . liff longed for a French digit and booze (9,3,4) . his faction at wor supports fun at Xmas (6,5) . onfused cretin deepl interfered 17, 20. Pugilist presents a seasonal gift . eer which ma es ou ill, we hear? (3) 21. Complains amidships causing problems (5) . emo ed the fish to solve the cipher, sort of

Down 1. What the Yuletide almost never is (5)

Sounds li e alternati e reverence (3)

I’m against words li e ‘ain’t’ (4)

era loses herself in the drin s

augh at the alue of the Brontes’ village? (7)

Don’t pester Meryl? (6)

ifts of fringes get confused

Sounds li e ou can see the urge (6)

Moving slowly messes up the chin with gin (7)

The navy certainly gets a move on (5)

onfuse the wise man for a long time

Thursday 12 th April –1973, BOMBAY

It is almost light outside. It must be about six. He’s been awake half the night trying to figure out what to do. Lying on his bed, he stares through the rotating blades of the ceiling fan which only serve to stir the close warm air of his room. He needs to think – he’s running out of time. But his eyes feel salted and his head throbs. He gets up and his legs are shaky. He’s panicking. He can’t fix what he’s done. He’s tried to reason it all in his head, to tell himself that there was no other way, that either all was lost, or he had to try to do something. But he knows he did the wrong thing. He was so so embarrassed – his shame was so deep and his pain so great that he couldn’t face anyone. He certainly couldn’t face the truth. And now when he faces the mirror, he doesn’t recognise the man looking back at him. A chill black dread is compressing his heart and making it hard for him to breathe. It’s surely only a matter of time before everyone finds out. His life will be over – worthless. And his mother, what will she think? He has to tell her, before it’s too late, but a wave of fear washes over him. He should have stopped at the first whiff of trouble. After all, he’s not a criminal. He just got in over his head and now he needs a solution. He needs to finish it.

The phone rings. And rings and rings and rings. * * *

he picks up The Economic Times and Financial Express from the newsstand on his way to the café and tries to read all he can before the opening bell rings. Several others are already in his café when he arrives. Businessmen, bankers and brokers – wealthy and wily –talking of business, as they always do. The goldsmith from next door eating his usual Bun Maska, with extra butter and all.

“Where have you been, beta?” His mother, Rumina, stops him. Thin and stooped, she was leaning over the counter reading the matrimonial columns in the newspaper. Nauzer assumes the stories of marital bliss remind her of his late father. A gentle man, adored by everyone and taken too soon. He died when Nauzer was barely ten and he remembers attending the funeral and thinking his mother looked sad-eyed but beautiful in her white sari. He was too young then to appreciate the burden she was about to carry. His father’s work ethic had been legendary and led to his Irani café becoming a hub for the community, catering to hundreds of residents and locals every day.

He looks at her and smiles with pride. The early days were tough, but she worked hard and kept life in the café because she loved it. Every plate she had served had been served with love. For her, joy and success were bound up in rustling up delicious Akuri, watching young love blossom over Chai, old friends gathering and gossiping over Biryani, all while fortunes were made and lost in the Bombay Stock Exchange across the road.

And her dedication to Nauzer was unfaltering. She encouraged him to read widely, be curious, move in any direction he chose. For Nauzer, that direction was the Bombay Stock Exchange.

the mornings he’d be in the exchange, diligently recording trades in musty old ledgers, before returning to the café to help his mother in the afternoon-evenings.

After a while, he opened an account with a jobber-turned-broker and made his first winning investment with a tip he had overheard in the café. It wasn’t a huge fortune, low-risk low-return, but to Nauzer it was everything. He had tasted success. He hatched grand plans to do-up the café – make it the swishest in town, modern and different. At once embodying his father’s spirit while becoming a hub for glamorous and moneyed people. But above all - his Ami would want for nothing.

36 hours EARLIER...

Invitations were for eight but no one arrived before ten. There are handshakes and air kisses, musky perfume, laughing and singing, platters of delicious food. Glittering, rising film stars call each other darling and sway in silk and chiffon to the music; business barons cheerfully argue amongst themselves; local gangsters chat with tainted police detectives while socialites with butterfly eyes work the room.

The party is in full swing and in the middle of it all, is Nauzer. He can’t quite believe it. His café is the talk of the town, full of bonhomie and a dazzling cosmopolitan mix of talent, ambition, money, beauty brought together by business deals, clean and shady. He looks around and feels content, complete, happily intoxicated on a faint but very pleasant feeling of belonging.

He spots Prashad, who raises a glass and nods to him across the room. Nauzer gives an acknowledging smile. He still feels nervous whenever their paths cross – which is more and more these days. Sometimes he wonders whether he should ever have gotten involved with someone like him… but he couldn’t ignore the potential profits. He lets the thought drift away on a coil of cigarette smoke.

Whisky and cigarettes, late evening turns to night. Glancing at his Rado, two in the morning, he decides to walk home smiling, drunk. In his heady state, the dance of streetlights makes the city seem to glitter. “Everything will be fine”. He bites down on his own lie. The following morning, Nauzer is lying in bed feeling jaded, heavy and hazy. He rubs his face, eases out of bed, stretches and walks to the window to open the wooden slatted blinds. The room fills with light and he takes in the mess of clothes amidst the ornate cut-glass vases and beautiful rosewood furniture. Turning on his transistor radio, the All India news bulletin blares out.

10 minutes later he is completely ready. Washed, shaven, dressed in Charagh Din shirt, slacks and cream socks. A day like any other,

His dream of reaching the bull ring was sparked one close and balmy Bombay afternoon. He was helping his mother in the café when he spotted a young, well-built, moustachioed gentleman in tinted glasses drive up in a Mercedes-Benz and stop outside the Bombay Stock Exchange. He eased out of the car, suited and booted, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and glided purposefully to the café. Admiration dripped from Nauzer’s eyes. Swaggering through the scattering of marble-topped tables, the man found a vacant seat and sat down. Nauzer walked over, nervously, to take his order and he still remembers the fragrance of expensive cologne assailing his nostrils as he approached.

“Chai, extra hot,” ordered the man decisively and he waved Nauzer away. Retreating to the kitchen, Nauzer assumed this was one of the new generation of business barons – quick, decisive, professional –bent on expansion and achievement. Nauzer watched him and saw satisfaction, contentment. He made an emphatic promise to himself – I will be a success! Shortly after, he met with a distant relative who had climbed the ranks in the Bombay Stock Exchange and who, after much pleading, employed Nauzer as a clerk. From then on in

A couple of years on and rumours of Nauzer’s ‘financial acumen’ had spread amongst his community and he had fashioned an image for himself as the bachelor stockbrocker of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Aunties and Uncles were giving him money and asking him to invest it in “such-and-such shares” and “soandso stocks”. Life savings were handed over without hesitation – because why would they hesitate? Nauzer was his parents’ son and he was meticulous, driven and charming – someone to trust.

“Get your head out of the clouds beta” his mother stirs him. He looks above her head at the photograph of his father. He smiles inwardly thinking about how proud his father would be of him, surely. Seemingly impossible dreams were coming true with hard work and determination – virtues he’d learnt from his father. He’s refreshed the café with exquisitely made modern-style furniture and his newfound taste in art; he’s enriched the community with his investing skills; and the moneyed crowd have started to welcome him into their folds. Right then, in that very moment, Nauzer felt life was good.

Meanwhile, Devia Patel of the Free Press Journal is making her way steadily towards him. A respected journalist, she’s exposed multiple scams and swindlers in the Bombay financial world and now she has a new target in her sights. One of her band of tipsters gave her a nudge in Nauzer’s direction a few weeks ago and she’s been researching his dealings diligently since.

She arrives at the café, walks in and spots Nauzer standing near the counter. Crossing the terrazzo tiles to join him, she wastes no time… “Mr Irani, Devia Patel from the Free Journal Press. Can you spare a moment? My readers and I would love to know more about your lucrative investing strategies.”

Continue reading at dishoom.com/meet-nauzer.

MALAI LOBSTER

The city by the sea – Bombay has a sweetness for seafood and a love for lobster. This esteemed crustacean, sustainably caught in British waters and coming fresh (each morning) via Billingsgate, is fuss-less deliciousness. Marinated in creamy malai comfort, tail meat is grilled and finished with a generous pat-down of butter, lime and chilli. Rip, tear, crunch the claws for buttery goodness. Lobsters are of varying size and delivered in limited numbers.