Have you helped your loved ones to help you?

Health conditions can change your future and your capacity to make decisions but creating a Lasting Power of Attorney ensures you control who makes decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so. Download our FREE Guide

‘problems’. You’ll need to rest and assess each climb before tackling it, which is when conversations with those around you typically strike up. Usually you’ll end up working out the problem together.”

To help foster that community Canary Wall, which opened its doors in August 2020, o ers a calendar packed with social climbs, induction sessions and friendly competitions.

“For work colleagues and businesses, the centre also o ers social events, team building and corporate membership deals.

Sara said: “We’re always thrilled to introduce climbing to those who’ve never tried it before.

“It’s always so exciting to watch someone discover their new favourite sport during their rst ever climb and know that we’ve helped grow the community just that little bit more.”

Standard adult day passes at Canary Wall cost £15 at peak times, £11 for o -peak and £6 for super o -peak (9am-11am on Sundays).

First-time climbers receive a discount card that can be used to claim 50% o a second visit and half price shoe hire, a veentry pass for £47 including shoe hire and 10% o climbing shoes at LCC shops.

Monthly memberships cover access to all walls run by LCC with prices for o -peak deals starting at £55.

Punch card packs are also available with £240 for 20 climbs, bringing the price down to £12 per session.

Canary Wall, which is located on Trinidad Street in Poplar, is open weekdays 6am-11pm and 9am-9pm at weekends. For more information go to londonclimbingcentres.co.uk or call 020 3026 4964

Scan this code to nd out more about climbing at Canary Wall

Minimum size of team that can compete in The Battle Of The Wharf at Barry’s – the bigger the team, the more chance you have of winning

by Jon Massey

what’s all this?

Barry’s in Crossrail Place is hosting a competition for businesses based in and around Canary Wharf.

tell me more how does it work? what’s involved? what will happen? is the Battle Of The Wharf for anyone? who wins? are there terms and conditions?

It’s called The Battle Of The Wharf and takes place over two weeks in February.

Teams of three or more people from a business or organisation take part in as many classes as possible at Barry’s Canary Wharf between February 14-28.

For those who don’t know, Barry’s is home to 50 or 60-minute exercise classes billed as “The Best Workout In The World”. These take place in a crimson-lit studio called The Red Room and are based around high intensity interval training using treadmills, dumbbells and bodyweight.

Participants can expect to burn up to 1,000 calories per session under the guidance of instructors, who curate potent playlists of uplifting beats to spur people on.

First timers or Barry’s regulars are all welcome to sign up for the contest.

The team with the most classes taken wins both glory and two weeks of complimentary walk-in classes. That means the bigger your team, the more chance of winning.

Participants must be signed up for classes to count. All classes must be taken at Barry’s Canary Wharf, using the registered email address for the contest. Scan the code above to register

Teams of three or more can enter

by Jon Massey

We hold the food to our lips for two minutes to see how much our mouths water,” said Kul Acharya. “That’s how we find out how tasty the dishes are. We cook everything fresh – meat, vegetables every day – and you have to taste it to know whether you’ve made something delicious.”

Kul should know. Born and raised in the small village of Dhairing in Nepal, he worked first as a primary school teacher before travelling to the UK on a tourist visa.

“I wanted to be a chef,” he said. “I came as a visitor and then started to work washing dishes at the Bombay Bicycle Club. Then I started cooking, learnt very quickly and eventually became head chef helping with the opening of new branches.”

Lauded by Fay Maschler in the Evening Standard, he decided to set up his own business in 2005, launching his first takeaway in Battersea.

“I wanted it to be something different, something new – I wanted it to have a good name,” said Kul. “I was at a party and I told a friend I wanted to open a restaurant and that I was looking for a name and they said: ‘Holy Cow’. So we opened and I worked for a year to establish the company without a single day off.

“I’d be in the kitchen cooking and customers would come in and say they had never had this kind of food and that made me really proud.”

Holy Cow has now grown to nine locations, opening its first

I wanted to be a chef. I came to the UK as a visitor and then started to work washing dishes. Then I started cooking and learnt very quickly

Kul Acharya, Holy Cow

Find dine-in restaurant in Putney in December 2019. It recently opened its second, taking over a corner space at Narrow Street’s Mosaic development in Limehouse – less than 15 minutes’ walk from the Canary Wharf estate.

Here he hopes to tap into both the east London dining and takeaway markets as the business grows.

“I have been engaged in different things in recent years, said Kul, who is the current president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association for the UK. “But my focus is now on the business. I would like to have 20 locations in the Greater London area by 2025.

“We opened one in Portugal last year but had to close due to the pandemic, so I would also like to grow elsewhere in urope.

For now though, it’s the food in London that’s very much on Kul’s mind. A dish of Murg Masala arrives along with some spinach and rice during our interview and he’s much more concerned that I eat it while it’s hot rather than aff with photography. It’s a measure of the warmth diners can expect at the new venue.

“What we serve is a fusion of Nepali, Indian and European ood, said ul. “The first ues tion I always ask myself is: ‘Am I comfortable eating what I cook?’. If the answer is yes, then we can sell it. If not, then we don’t sell it.

“I’m always checking to see if there’s the right amount of chilli or salt in our dishes. The way our food looks is also very important.

“We work with a lot of vegetables and they have to be appetising and fresh. It’s very important to understand our customers when deciding which dishes to serve. Nepali food is generally less heavy – our tomato sauces, for example are lighter, not oily at all and the dahl we serve is more delicate.

“People like what we do – it’s great to get so many good reviews. Hopefully we can continue that success in Canary Wharf.

“For me, coming to this country was a golden opportunity. My ambition was to be a chef but before I came here I wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of having even one restaurant. Really I just wanted to be head chef. I certainly never thought that one day I would have more than people working or me.

Holy Cow is open daily from noon for dining and takeaway orders.

Go to holycowonline.com

Scan this code to nd out more about Holy Cow

Where? Troxy Limehouse

GIG | Epik High

Alternative hip hop trio Tablo, Mihra Jin and DJ Tukutz – 11 albums into their career – bring fresh sounds to London from Seoul. Get ready to burn. Feb 12, from 5pm, from £42.20, troxy.org.uk

Where? Half Moon Theatre Limehouse

KIDS | Pinocchio

Performing four shows across two days, this production promises puppetry, visual humour and plenty of verbal wit for ages 4+. Tons of heart.

Feb 10-11, various times, £7, halfmoon.org.uk

Where? Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping times vary, from £8.50, wiltons.org.uk ash back

4pm, of course, what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see want more? @whar ifelive what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs