Wharf Life Jul 17-31

+

David Galman on the pace of change in east London Page 18

Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

inside

Martin Gettings Royal Arsenal Riverside White + Green Yurt Cafe Survivor My AFK Puzzles The V&A Radio Alice Strong Island Cycling Show Breaking Convention Grand Union Orchestra

how Alice Scutchey created the Canary Wharf PA Club to make assistants’ working lives better

together bringing people

celebrating the best of Canary Wharf, Docklands and the new east London people - events - treasure - property - nonsense

Image by Holly Cant – find more of her work at hollycant.com or via @hollycantphoto on Insta

2

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

read

fortnightly find

this issue’s Tiger Treasure

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 7 where?

Crossrail Place Roof Garden Canary Wharf

feast your eyes on these

Is a profound fear of heights preventing you from getting on board the London Eye? Recreate the experience in miniature at your desk with this low-rise alternative.

Measuring less than a foot high (which may be an advertising issue), we’re sure this product has so many real-world uses Big Wheel, £5 Go to uk.flyingtiger.com

04

MOVE | Dance Fever Get grooving with four dance workshops offering Wharfers the chance to try (in order of date) Bollywood, Swing, Quick Step and Paso Doble.

Aug 2, 9, 16, 23, 2pm, 5.30pm, 7pm, free, canarywharf.com

My AFK volleyball courts are back in Montgomery Square

where?

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf Cabot Place

GIG | The Stones About as close as you can get to Keef, Mick and Charlie without having to go to a stadium to see them. Gig ends just around midnight (probably).

Aug 6-8, 9.15pm, from £15, boisdale.co.uk where?

Canada Square Park Canary Wharf

GIG | Candy Apple Blue From rock’n’roll to pop, this five-piece party band are all set to take the main stage in Canary Wharf for an upbeat, energetic performance. We dig.

Aug 6, 7pm, free, canarywharf.com

06

Strong Island is back in Canary Wharf

fit forward

Strong Island 2.0 - Canary Wharf Following its successful launch in January, Strong Island has returned to Canary Wharf with a series of special classes intended to boost fitness and wellbeing on the estate.

Curated by Paleo Supply co-founder Carli Wheatley, the wellness and fitness festival runs until August 24.

Key dates this month are July 23 and 30, House Of Voga takes over Crossrail Place Roof Garden for hour-long workouts that fuse dance

and Yoga from 6.45pm. For a little more vigour, straight after at the same venue, inclusive dance fitness brand At Your Beat will be hosting 60 minutes of music, movement and individuality.

Tickets are likely to sell out fast, but more events are expected in August, so keep checking online for details.

Go to canarywharf.com Jon Massey

to do before July 31 no filter

ZeroWater did exactly what it promised. It took our office tap water from 500 parts per milllion to zero (according to the handy tester it came with). We can’t fault it on performance, but couldn’t be bothered to replace (or pay for) a new filter.

ZeroWater 10 Cup, £34.99 (additional filters from £11.24 each) Go to zerowater.co.uk

get in touch

correct us

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

we want to hear from you

12

Radio Alice delivers a different kind of pizza to hungry Wharfers

the joy of six

random PR freebie of the fortnight

Head down to Canada Square Park on July 23 for a concert by Cowboys And Angels – George Michael’s 25-strong live touring band – performing the hits they sang alongside the much-loved pop star. Starts 7pm, free to watch canarywharf.com

Why Citi EA Alice Scutchey started a club for her peers

Every fortnight Wharf Life covers six areas surrounding Canary Wharf to bring you the best of what’s going on beyond the estate From Page 36

need something fixed?

Grab treats and coffee at Crosstown Doughnuts in Jubilee Place crosstowndoughnuts.com

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

Our editorial team works hard to ensure all information printed in Wharf Life is truthful and accurate. Should you spot any errors that slip through the net or wish to raise any issues about the content of the publication, please get in touch and we will investigate.

want more? @wharflifelive

Go to wharf-life.com for more information

Email info@wharf-life.com

spot check something sweet

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

3

Canary Wharf

on the radar

doing the deals

hit the Wharf’s malls and restaurants for less

need to know

free

Care to bend? Need some clobber in which to do it? Fitness clothing brand Lululemon has opened a store in Jubilee Place and is hosting free sand salutations on July 17, 24 and 31 at 8am on My AFK’s beach volleyball courts. Book early canarywharf.com

Well, not completely, but Chop’d in Canada Place is offering free additional toppings to standard bases on Fridays. Keep going until the bowl is full chopd.co.uk

36 Thinking caps on, Cabot Quizzing is back on August 12 and 19 in Cabot Square from 6pm-9pm. Teams (max six) can enter free for the chance to win Canary Wharf gift cards. Expect new tech and a deep test of your general knowledge canarywharf.com

38

Breakfast outside the tent as we review Yurt Cafe in Limehouse

Grand Union Orchestra’s founder talks music and culture

20% 42

Dr David Luke talks psychedelic substances as Greenwich gears up to host Breaking Convention – a conference on their effects and applications

Hit Nicolas in One Canada Square this summer for up to 20% off on the pink stuff this summer. Drink through a rose-tinted glass for less nicolas.co.uk

O OYSTERS & ENGLISH E SPARKLING WINE

Tokens £10 each or 2 for £15 when purchased in advance online

Saturday 27th July 2019 3-8pm www.thegundocklands.com

27 Coldharbour, Coldharb rrbour, rr, London, E14 9NS gun.events@fullers.co.uk gun.eve vvents tts@ @ffu fulll ers r .co.uk rs 0207 519 0075 7 75

Each token gets you 2 oysters and a glass of Chapel Down English Sparkling Wine

4

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

the My AFK volleyball courts are back in Montgomery Square and there’s still plenty of time to get involved

by Elisabeth Newfield

S

ummer in Canary Wharf just wouldn’t be complete without business men and women faceplanting into piles of sand. Charity event My AFK Beach Volleyball has returned to Montgomery Square, giving office workers the chance to experience some fastpaced play amid the skyscrapers.

It’s suits off and shorts on for a programme of tournaments and activities that runs until August 2.

Anyone can unleash their competitive side on two custom-built inflatable courts or just spend some free time watching others leap and dive for the ball from the sidelines.

All the money raised from the four-week event goes towards the work of children’s and young people’s disability charity My AFK (Previously Action For Kids) based

in Hornsey. But who exactly came up with the idea of dumping 200 tonnes of sand on top of a working railway tunnel?

That would be Lyn Prodger, the charity’s corporate partnerships manager who bubbles over with enough energy to take on the Olympic team single-handedly and win.

“There hasn’t been a year where I haven’t dreamt the ground has opened up and it’s all fallen through to the Jubilee Line,” she said. “But it’s all worked out. The civil engineers at Canary Wharf know the weight loads and we don’t just rock up with the sand.”

Disaster has only hit once when the sand was incorrectly positioned during a previous stint in Wood Wharf.

“The digger had left and we had to move one of the courts by hand,” recalls Lyn. “It was boiling hot and we were there shovelling and shovelling.”

Today most of the heavy lifting

is done by mechanical engineers and a haulage company that creates the two courts between the water of the West India Docks complex and bar 640East. They are a generous 12cm deep so players can dive without risk of hitting the concrete below.

“You see other people saying they’re doing beach volleyball but they don’t have the depth of sand, which can be really dangerous because it moves all the time,” said Lyn.” Around 6,000 people are expected to use the courts during their run on the Wharf including some of the world’s best players who battled it out in an Elites Exhibition match on July 12.

Another highlight is the Corporate Championship, which is set to take place on Friday, July 19 with teams from Fitch Ratings, Marshall Wace, EY-Parthenon, Accenture, Barclays, Canary Wharf Group and last year’s winners JLL. “It does get very competitive,” said Lyn whose job it is to wrangle the adrenaline-pumped players into place alongside the charity’s community and events fundraising manager Caroline Crang.

“It’s a fun sport but, if you get two banks or legals up against each other, you do need the profes-

Help your loved ones to help you kiddrapinet.co.uk/understandinganlpa

You can’t control what the future holds, but you can control who makes decisions on your behalf.

Download our FREE guide to MAKING A LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA) Book a consultation with Gemma Hughes today on 020 7205 2896 or email ghughes@kiddrapinet.co.uk

200

Tonnes of sand used to create My AFK’s two beach volleyball courts

court we’ll see you on

sional referees who have worked on the Olympics and won’t let anything phase them,” said Lyn who works with Leyton-based beach volleyball club SideOut to run the event. Its staff put up the nets, organise the elite players’ involvement and manage all the refereeing and coaching.

“It means we get a good quality event,” said Lyn, who dreamt up the concept 11 years ago in 2009 after being challenged to come up with a fundraiser that would turn heads.

“A supporter said he would sponsor the cost of an event if we came up with something different.

I had just been in Covent Garden that weekend and they had a sprinkling of sand, you could still see the cobbles, with people knocking a ball over a net.

“I said to my boss that we should do beach volleyball in the city. He said I’d never be able to do it and that was like a red rag to a bull.”

The Canning Town native, herself descended from dockers, dug her heels in and a few months later the first event was held at Broadgate near Liverpool Street.

The event continued there until 2012 when they were joined by some of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes – a “career highlight” for Lyn. As development moved across the area My AFK transferred to Wood Wharf. But after two years, the start of building work saw the event move again to Montgomery Square in 2015.

Four years later it has grown into a £20,000 high-action sporting spectacle that includes an Agencies Cup on Friday, July 26, several bespoke tournaments for individual companies and a new open tournament on August 2.

Also new are free yoga classes on Wednesdays from 8-9am run by sports clothing brand Lululemon, which has just opened a store at

Jubilee Place in Canary Wharf. The charity is also using the event to launch its Working With Disability Week.

“We do a lot of work around raising aspirations and skills for young people to get into work if they have a disability or special needs,” said Lyn. “The stats around it are horrendous so it is a big part of our mission and we’re trying to raise awareness.

“Canary Wharf have given some work placements to young people during the week and so have 640East and Hilton.”

Lyn said being in the heart of Canary Wharf with such a diverse mix of people was what she loved about the event and what made it such a success.

“We have elite athletes and schools and corporates and special needs and on Monday I was watching Tower Hamlets schools get coaching and it made me so happy. There were children there that had never even been on sand.

It’s great to give something back to the community.”

Since its inception, the event has raised £600,000, which has been used to buy equipment and provide training and support to get people into work. Earlier this year it won Most Innovative Event at the 2019 Charity Event Awards.

“They said they loved the idea of a small charity being really bold and engaging with the community,” said Lyn. “And they liked the selflessness of spending some of the money on schools that never get to play beach volleyball.”

The Rickmansworth resident added: “You can’t go backwards.

You have to keep moving forward.

What’s so nice about being in Canary Wharf every year is people look forward to us coming.

“It used to be that no matter how many flyers we put out nobody would book for the first few days.

They had to see it to believe it.

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

5

Canary Wharf

The beach volleyball is free to watch with courts available to hire from £40 for four players

“

Sometimes I do think: ‘I should have just done a boring old golf day like everyone else’. But that’s not us. We like to be bold Lyn Prodger, My AFK

“But now they know, people are booking in as soon as we open the booking line.”

Plans to re-model Montgomery Square linking Wood Wharf with the existing estate mean the event will certainly change for 2020.

“We will get through this year and in September we will have to sit down and find out what’s going on,” said Lyn. “Canary Wharf Group is pretty sure it can let us have one court there still and we don’t want to go smaller, so

depending on cost we might have one there and one somewhere else.

“We have such good friends in Canary Wharf, so even though this could be our last year with the full event there, I definitely want to try and stay in some way.”

So is it worth all the sweat, potential tears and nightmares?

“Sometimes I do think: ‘I should have just done a boring old golf day like everyone else because it’s so simple’,” said Lyn. “But that’s not us. We like to be bold. It’s physically e hausting. It’s a lot of hours and work but when you are down there it’s all worth it.

“My favourite part is seeing the people who come back year after year. It means we must be doing something right.”

There are still spaces available for the Corporate Championship.

Wharfers can enter a team for £500 and the commitment to raise a minimum of £1,500 for My AFK. Registration is by email to beach@my-afk.org Pay-to-Play slots are available 8am-9pm weekdays and 11am 5pm weekends. It costs £40 for a court with four players and £10 for each additional player.

Go to my-afk.org/my-afk-beach or call 020 8347 8111 for more information or to make a booking

Lyn Prodger, left, and Caroline Crang of My AFK want your support on court

SPECIAL LUNCH OFFERS AACHOICEAOFAPASTAAAFILLEDAPASTAAA PIZZAAORAPANINIAWITHAAASOFTADRINKAFORARRRRA WITHAAAPINTAOFAFOSTERSAORA RRRMLAHOUSEAWINEARRRRR

At Capeesh we do things differently. We are one of the finest restaurants in Canary Wharf and we serve fresh and authentic Italian food. The freshest ingredients go into every dish in our Italian restaurant to compliment the exquisite setting in which our establishment is situated. Unwind in our adjoining Lounge in absolute luxury with friends and family; the perfect spot for drinks to finish the working day.

Every Wednesday the only place in Canary Wharf with live music from 8pm at Capeesh Skybar.

WWW.CAPEESH.CO.UK 020 7538 1111 - events@capeesh.co.uk instagram/facebook @capeeshlondon

EADAYSAAAWEEK

BREAKFAST EVERYAWEEKEND FROMARRMMMAMA--PM

CAPEESH SKYBAR

LIVE JAZZ BLUES & SOUL

EVERY WEDNESDAY FROM PM INCLUDING SOME OF LONDONS FINEST MUSICIANS COUPLED WITH SPECIAL ‘SURPRISE’ GUESTS TO COMPLETE WHAT IS GUARANTEED TO BE AN AMAZING EVENING WITH A MIX OF GREAT MUSIC AND FUN

WWW CAPEESH CO UK

6

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

Canary Wharf

by Jon Massey

A

lice Scutchey spotted a niche. A senior executive assistant at Citi for the past six years, she launched the Canary Wharf PA Club in February and has seen it swell to almost 1,000 members in less than five months.

“I didn’t expect it to get this big so soon,” said Alice. “When I launched it, I thought: ‘If I can get 1,000 members by 2020, I’ll be really happy,’ and now we’re at 970. Now I’m thinking I’ll aim for 2,000 by the end of the year and hopefully it will continue to grow, but I don’t know where it’s going to end up.”

Billed as a social platform for admin professionals working in and around Canary Wharf, the club allows members access to e clusive offers and discounts, regular training sessions and an opportunity to network – all for free.

Alice said: “My dad always said you should create things that you want to exist, and that’s basically what I’ve done.

“I wanted a club I could go to, that was local, not over in central London, where I could meet likeminded people, get some training, network, have some drinks and then go home. It was created by a PA for PAs. “Because I run the PA network within Citi, it was just a natural progression to expand, and I already had a lot of friends that worked in the banks around Canary Wharf, who didn’t have their own network to join.

“So I just put it out there as a one-page website within the first week there were something like 250 sign-ups, so I knew there was a gap in the market.

“The idea was to promote the PA profession, because we’re the unsung heroes – we make the office ball roll and I don’t think we get enough recognition.

“It was partly to give the PAs something back. For example, we plan conferences for our bosses, but we rarely get to go to them ourselves. We book things, but seldom get to experience them.

“It was half to do with that – giving something back to the PAs – but also to do with training, because there can be a lack of that in the role. It’s sometimes seen as a job that doesn’t need upskilling, so another key drive for me was to put training sessions on for our members.

“After all, our bosses attend conferences and training sessions, where they learn leadership and interpersonal skills and we shouldn’t miss out. The club puts on weekly training sessions Continued on Page 8

free

The cost of signing up for membership of the Canary Wharf PA Club Alice has worked as a senior executive assistant at Citi in Canary Wharf for more than six years

The Canary Wharf PA Club has attracted nearly 1,000 members since launching in February this year

club creating the

why Alice Scutchey decided to create a place to help the PAs of Canary Wharf to network and develop their careers

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

7

OFFICIAL WORLDCLASS EXPERIENCES AT THE HOME OF ENGLAND RUGBY T W I C KE NH AM STADIUM

IRELAND 7 MAR WALES 23 FEB

From £699pp +VAT Visit keithprowse.co.uk/wharflife Or call +44 (0)20 8003 0884

Wharf Life Advert No.2.indd 2

16/07/2019 14:18

8

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

from Page 6 that cover areas from personal branding to the art of storytelling, career skills and technology, such as the rise of AI and how that’s changing the role. The job of PA is not disappearing but it is evolving with automatic systems now used to process things like expenses.”

Alice also hopes the club will help foster greater interaction between people employed in or near Canary Wharf.

“I wanted to do something for the community,” she said. “I love working in Canary Wharf and I wouldn’t work anywhere else now.

“I’ve got to know the businesses and their managers here through my job and this is one way of giving them some exposure.

“It’s nearly all for free – it doesn’t cost the managers anything, and it doesn’t cost the PAs anything, so everyone’s getting something out of it. I’m trying to build a community.

“Canary Wharf can feel separated with people sticking to the companies they work for. The MDs might go to networking events, but there wasn’t much for the admin professionals, so the club is a way of bringing people together and growing them.

“The first reason to join is to build up your network, which is so important.

“I was never a fan of it – I used to keep work and my personal life completely separate and it’s only in the last few years when I’ve been doing more PA networking that I’ve realised just how important it is.

“It might be future job opportunities or just finding out what’s going on in the other companies, how the other PAs are approaching their role. We usually host weekly drinks and canape parties – it’s an opportunity on people’s doorstep to get out and meet their peers.”

Events coming up include a private breakfast at Novotel London Canary Wharf, a session on how to level up at work from American Express Global Business Travel EA Kelsea Lindsey and an end of summer party at Boisdale Of Canary Wharf.

As gatekeepers to some of the most powerful people in Canary Wharf, PAs are an understandably attractive group for local businesses to court.

“We’d love companies to reach out on the website or via Instagram,” said Alice. “I’m a face-toface person though, so I’ve been going to bars and saying: ‘This is what I’m doing – would you like to come on board?’ Everyone’s been very interested, and I haven’t had to work too hard.

“People can see the value in it.

It’s been very pleasing and it saves me a lot of work. I wouldn’t have started it if I didn’t believe in it.

“I’ve been in Canary Wharf since 2013 and I don’t want to work anywhere else. I’ve always been at Citi and I definitely think this is my home, hence starting the club.

“Barclays recently invited me to come and tell their PAs about the club – it’s changing the way I see things, and I’m learning every day as well. As well as teaching people, I’m growing myself.

“Being a PA is a great profession to get into because it just opens so many doors.

“You don’t have to have a degree or a specific skillset, because most of what you do is learnt on the job – being approachable, being organised, thinking outside the box and developing communication skills – it’s a job you can go straight into but you often have to make your own way.

“There isn’t really a clearly defined path for career progression, which is another thing I’m trying to crack with the club.

“If I can take the big companies round here and instil in them that PAs need a path of progression then I’ll be satisfied.

“At present, one of the most common ways to progress is, if you follow your boss, so that, when they get promoted, you go with them, and get more money.

“The path will depend on the set-up of course – you’ve got PAs that look after more than one person.

“I would like to think that, in the future, with AI coming in to take more of the workload and the role evolving, that a natural progression for some could be towards project management route that PAs could take. We often do manage projects and we’re also used to dealing with lots of data so that could be another direction.

“It’s not really about having a defined path industry-wide, but I think there could be levels, so you come in as a team assistant, for example then become PA to the manager – the more senior the person, the more senior the PA. “I would like to see that businesses invest more in training of As. We’re invaluable staff to a company.

“PAs tend to be very loyal and the more you invest in them, the more they’re likely to stick around.

“I think you will always get a

“

People can see the value. I wouldn’t have started it if I didn’t believe in it. It’s changing the way I see things - I’m learning every day Alice Scutchey, Canary Wharf PA Club

Images by Holly Cant – find more of her work at hollycant.com or via @hollycantphoto on Insta

Canary Wharf

The PA Club will host its first annual conference on November 25 at London Marriott Canary Wharf

return on your investment. We’re also a great resource.

“The people we look after do ask for advice – a former boss quite often came to me and he was the CEO of a multi-million pound company. It’s not that we know more than them, but we’re in the middle – a sounding board because we’re typically unbiased – consequently PAs have a lot of power.”

Such access comes with a requisite amount of pressure and dealing with that can be tough.

Alice said another function of the club would be to provide support to those who were having a difficult time in their role.

“I’d like to create a buddy system,” she said. “That’s definitely something we could roll out.

“The website’s quite basic at the moment, but I might introduce an area where members can message each other to ask for advice and support.

“It’s definitely something that’s needed because it’s quite a high pressure role, especially if you’ve got a boss you don’t particularly like – maybe because you’ve been shouted at or had things thrown at you. It doesn’t happen so much any more, but it does go on.

“Another area I’d like to look at is the career progression, so people can find job opportunities.

“That’s definitely an angle I’m looking at for the future. I dabbled a little bit when I first started, because I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to take the club in, but a few members have already come up and asked if I’ve heard of any roles.

“It’s almost as though I’ve become the PAs’ PA –you hear all sorts of different things and it’s been a learning experience. I can’t wait to see how it develops.”

One area Alice is especially excited about is that the club will hold its first conference on November 25.

Billed as an annual event, the event will run from 10am-6pm at the London Marriot Canary Wharf on West India Quay.

Alice said: “I’m so excited – this is one of the things I really wanted to do with the club.

“There will be a range of speakers including Lucy Chamberlain, Bob Ferguson and Jamil Queshi delivering presentations and training sessions as well as a chance to network. I can’t wait to see as many members as possible there, so please secure a place and book annual leave now.”

Places at the conference are limited with tickets available now from £49 (if booked before July 31).

Refreshments and lunch are included and there will be a closing drinks reception.

For more information go to cwpaclub.com or follow the club on Insta @cwpaclub

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

NEXT STEPS: THE BOARDING OPTION A discussion and Q&A with Heads of leading girls’, boys’ and prep boarding schools

A chance to discover how modern independent schools prepare young people for the careers of tomorrow

Thursday 12 September, 6.30pm Sarasin & Partners, 100 St. Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8BU Info and booking: www.benenden.school/next

9

10

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

how Radio Alice brings a taste of the anarchic to Canary Wharf as its pizza scene keeps on rising

by Jon Massey

C

anary Wharf isn’t exactly short of pizza. In recent years, long-term Cabot Place resident Pizza Express has had to battle the likes of Pizza Pilgrims on West India Quay, Capeesh on South Quay and Franco Manca in Crossrail Place, as the rise of the Naples-style base has swept in to replace the deep pans of the big delivery chains, slicing into the heels of the old guard.

Cardboard bo es filled with this fresh, sourdough commodity can be seen all over the area, often being stuffed into the bags of Deliveroo and Uber Eats operatives as they gig on the desires of those too lazy to schlep to a table and order from a human being.

Into this mix, enter Radio Alice, another micro chain that’s migrated east following success in Hoxton and Clapham. Its latest branch has just opened, filling the unit left vacant in Jubilee Place by the departure of Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

Those like me, who assumed the brand’s arrival was broadly bringing more thin, Neapolitan pizza to the Wharf’s most southerly mall are in for a shock.

Like the pirate radio station their British branches are named after, brothers Matteo and Salvatore Aloe aren’t afraid to go their own way.

“We were both students in Bologna, but were born in the south of Italy and we were passionate about food – I wanted to be a chef, this was my dream,” said Matteo.

“So, when we had an opportunity to open a restaurant in a small mall close to Bologna, we decided to open a pizzeria, because we didn’t know where to find a good pizza. We started to study the flour, the yeast and the fermentation process, and the ingredients for the pizza.

“After one year of trials, we opened our first restaurant and it became successful.

“The idea was to focus on quality, because pizzerias are where people meet to have joy and fun.”

In similar fashion to the 24-hours the brothers let their dough rise, growth of their Berberè Pizza business has been comparatively slow and natural. They now have branches in Milan, Rome, Verona, Florence and, of course, Bologna, among others.

But they always had an ambition to bring the brand to London as veterans of frequent field trips to Britain to gather ideas for their burgeoning business. But it wasn’t until they were sought out by Australian-born Emma King – co-founder of Gail’s bakery – that their dream was to become a reality.

“I did Gail’s for about 10 years and got quite kinky about sourdough,” “I studied as an illustrator, then I met two guys who had left consulting firm c insey and were looking to start a bakery business. We took over the running of what was then The Bread Factory, a little wholesale outlet in north London. We just made it work. It was a good product but the business needed a little bit of love and support.

So we got it up and running, and it was selling to restaurants, delis and airlines.

“When I started eating British pizza, it got me thinking – why doesn’t someone approach pizza in a similar way?

“When I was speaking to a friend who worked in the restaurant trade, he said: ‘You should meet Matteo and Salvatore, so I went to Bologna, met them, ate some pizza and decided that it was what I was looking for.

“The guys had always wanted to come to London, so we did a joint venture with some investors and in 2016 we got our first site in o ton.

A year later we opened in Clapham and now we’ve opened in Canary Wharf.

“It’s a similar progression to Berberè in Italy – we’d like to grow a little bit more, but it’s got be sustainable and it’s got to put quality first, at the heart of the business.”

“We love London and used to come often to look around, and then to import ideas from Italy,” added Matteo. “Before we first opened here, we used to come maybe once or twice

24

Hours each batch of dough is left to rise before use at Radio Alice. It’s made twice a day so batches are always fresh

From left, Salvatore, Emma and Matteo have opened their third branch in London

live at Canary Wharf

pizza goes

Pizzas at Radio Alice are cut and topped to share in eight, ensuring a fair distribution of ingredients Images by James Perrin – find more of his work at jamesperrin.com or via @millerjamesperrin on Insta

a year, just to look for new concepts, new ideas.”

The result is Radio Alice.

Wharfers visiting the restaurant can expect pizzas with deeper bases than many of the other chains, with each sliced into eight pieces to promote sharing. Some of the toppings aren’t exactly orthodox either.

“What surprised me, when I ate their pi a for the first time was that I could see it was grounded in tradition, but almost baking rather than taking a school of pizza making, and trying to recreate that,” said Emma.

“What I’ve learnt about pizza, having gone to Italy so many times with the guys, is that there is a whole world of it. We’ve got very much

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

11

Canary Wharf

taste test

pork sausage, tomato, Parmigiano Reggiano, fennel seeds, £9.50

N

“

You can find a Margherita and a four-cheese pizza at Radio Alice, but we also like to play around Salvatore Aloe, Radio Alice

the American style and the Neapolitan style in the UK, but in Italy there are so many genres. Ours is traditional but it’s also quite modern. It takes a good baking tradition, good ingredients and it results in a tasty product.

“The sourcing of the ingredients is key,” added Matteo.

“We know every supplier, and finding out about meat and cheese production is important. Then we have to transfer this knowledge to the staff and the customers, but without being boring.

“Contemporary pizza means attention to the quality of the ingredients, but also the technique, the process.

“It’s similar to bread and the bakery. We use the sourdough for the taste but also because it’s easier to digest, and you feel light, even after a whole pizza. So we pay attention to all these elements, even the wine, the drinks and the beers – it’s 360-degree attention to every little detail.

Pizza is a simple dish, but it’s difficult to be consistent and, in the meantime, accessible in terms of price.”

Salvatore said: “Simplicity doesn’t mean it’s easy. A tomato is a tomato, true, but the way to grow them causes big discussions. Maybe you can save some money, but what is the cost? Simplicity is a very hard thing to achieve.”

While the trio do have

kitchen classic flavours on the menu, they’re also happy to change things up.

“You can find a argherita and a four-cheese pizza, but we also play around,” said Salvatore. “For example, we collaborated with Bubbledogs and put chicken on pizza.

“It seemed strange, but, when we tasted it, it was good. So we were happy with this collaboration.”

Emma added: “Physically there is a limit to the toppings, because with the dough we go to so much effort to make it rise with slow fermentation, and, if you put too many ingredients on, it kind of collapses. I think that one of our stand-out pizzas is the prosciutto, with burrata and a home-made orange zest oil, and people are, like: ‘Wow. Never seen that before’.”

As ever, there’s interplay between the London and Italian businesses.

“We like to be involved with the country we’re in,” said Salvatore. “So our four-cheese pizza in London has smoked Cheddar, and I would like to import that into Italy now.

“Something else that connects them is the music.

We’ve got our own web radio, which broadcasts to all our pizzerias in London and in Italy, so all of our restaurants have the same soundtrack at the same time.

“Radio Alice was a pirate radio station during the 1970s in Bologna one of the first in Europe to have no rules for its broadcasting. You were free to call the radio and say what you were thinking.

One of our uncles was in the student movement at the time that was associated with the station.”

And in Matteo, Salvatore, and Emma, that anarchic spirit lives on.

Go to radioalicepizzeria.co.uk

Pork sausage pizza at Radio Alice in the 1970s – the redistribution of toppings for the people.

I grew up with deep pan, American pizza. It was all e-numbers, identikit processed ingredients and crusts stuffed with unspeakable cheese. But it was uniform and consistent in the mouth. Radio Alice takes the best of the new and delivers just a pinch of the old, replacing stringiness with quality.

Jon Massey

Sato Hisao Papercraft Toys

SaRossi Studio Jewellery

Lilika’s Treats

ARTS&CRAFTS MARKET ANTIQUES&COLLECTABLES

MARKET

Prep in the

o trip to Radio Alice would be complete without tasting its pizza. In the end I eschew Salvatore’s preference for aubergine with fior di latte, smoked ricotta and walnut pesto (£9.50) in favour of Matteo’s choice.

My first reaction on opening the box is simply that the pizza looks small. With more than an occasional Franco Manca habit, I’m used to width not depth.

Then there’s the apparent lack of cheese. Having made my choice quickly, I’d failed to notice the absence of mozzarella and had imagined a dish carpeted with neat circles of sausage, not the lumpen mass of meat dusted with a grating of cheese.

Still, it smells wonderful. And the first bite is beyond good. It’s moist, all rich tomato, hearty pork tied together with the sweetness of the fennel. And the uniformity of the slices delivers an evenness that outdoes the haphazard dumping of toppings on an irregularly shaped stretch of dough.

This is a carefully put together lesson in fairness and delivery, perhaps inspired by the left wing bent of that old pirate radio station

Nearest Station DLR Cutty Sark

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays & Weekends Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays

#greenwichmarket www.greenwichmarket.london

12

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

2

Capsules every four drinks plus two at the end of the evening is the recommended dose for Survivor

could the red capsules of Survivor help reduce some of alcohol’s damaging effects on drinkers?

by Jon Massey

L

aurence-Maximilian Cardwell isn’t looking bad on 20 minutes sleep. aving just flown in from Spain for our interview in Canary Wharf, he uses the night before as the perfect e ample of the stresses and strains 21st century life puts on the individual.

“Right now is a very good case in point,” he said. “I just flew in from adrid, and yesterday I attended a birthday party for one of my best friends there.

“Things dragged on – you start eating at 10pm and then, at midnight, people decide to have a pudding or a little coffee or something and then by 1am someone’s suggesting a drink, so the night ended at am I had to catch a flight at am so I had to wake up at 5am.

“The rational person would have turned down this dinner, said: Sorry, guys, you might be one of my best friends, but work comes first,’ and made that sacrifice, that compromise.

“Instead I did the irrational thing and tried to do everything – not sleeping at all apart from 20 minutes on the plane that’s not something you should do every day.

“Those are the exceptional cases where you really need something to help you perform when you’re between a rock and a hard place.” odern life is rubbish, as Blur accurately pointed out in 199 , and things have only got worse since. The digital age means constant pressure. Connectivity means work is often all hours rather than bo ed into manageable chunks. Social lives, sleep, career advancement and networking all jostle for attention in a cocktail of British culture that frequently assumes alcohol will be consumed during most, if not all of these activities , perhaps not sleep . nwilling to compromise or abstain, Laurence decided to pursue mitigation.

And, having e perienced crippling hang-

overs that sapped his productivity, he set about finding a way to dull the sharp edge of alcohol’s effects.

Leaving tech startup Everdine and Rocket Internet behind, his efforts eventually crystalised into Survivor a food supplement intended to be taken while and just after drinking that claims to “reduce the likelihood” of a hangover and to offer “greater protection to health for those that choose to consume alcohol”. The product is backed by professor Dr ertrude ubiena a former vice president of the Red Cross and has been formulated by food scientist and utraceuticals roup director Simon Williams.

Its key ingredients (both used extensively in Chinese medicine are dihydromyricetin and puerariae lobatae flos due to their claimed ability to speed up the breakdown of acetaldehyde, a to ic substance made in the body from alcohol it has consumed. n top of that, the bright red pills with Swiss Army branding, contain a slew of vitamins intended to help the body recover.

Laurence is at pains to stress, however, that Survivor makes no clinical claims, nor is it intended to promote drinking to excess.

“We are appealing to responsibility and there is a certain level of credibility behind the product,” he said.

“There are lots of products on the market but we are the only one with this kind of medical and scientific backing. We have all sorts of e citing plans for the future in terms of testing in a pharmaceutical direction.

“The sweet spot is to remain a food supplement with the credibility of a pharmaceutical product. Fundamentally, when you think of a pharmaceutical product, you think something to suppress symptoms, but this is not a medicine, this is something based on natural ingredients.

“It is almost a condensed, functional food. eople can be terrified by capsules but they are just a very efficient way of packaging ingredients.”

Those using Survivor take two pills for

pills take the

Laurence created Survivor in response to the pressures felt by working professionals

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

13

Innovation - Technology

drug trial

Survivor, £13.99 (10 capsules)

“

The rational person would have turned down dinner and said: ‘Sorry guys, work comes first’ Laurence-Maximilian Cardwell, Survivor

every four drinks consumed and a further two before bed. The company recommends taking the product whenever alcohol is consumed, no matter what quantity.

Laurence said Canary Wharf workers were exactly the kind of people who might benefit from Survivor.

“It’s not just for extreme circumstances, it’s for the everyday,” he said. “This set of people is fairly extreme by nature. They don’t work five day, nine-to-five jobs.

“Everything they do is literally trying to squee e every last bit of output, productivity and fun in. They want to maximise everything.

“They are extremely ambitious people who want to perform in all aspects of their lives. Anything that can help there will be of interest as alcohol can have a serious effect.

“These people are so busy the ability to meet a friend on a Wednesday for a pint or two is a luxury and one that is often ruined by the fact that even those drinks will affect performance the ne t day. So people don’t drink and don’t socialise at all because they’re afraid it will affect their productivity.”

With Dr ubiena suggesting Survivor might have a significant impact on mitigating damage done by alcohol worldwide, its branding – created originally as a reflection on managing to make it through a night of heavy consumption – has taken on a new meaning.

Laurence said: “The name really came when I first envisioned the product, and people were saying: ‘Did you survive last night ’ At that point it was a different idea of a product, where you’d be the last man standing when everyone else was just a cadaver. Now it’s much more about being a modern survivor – you’re being assaulted from every side with work, demands, expectations, pressure and the idea is that you’re someone who can balance all of those things with health, well being, happiness and performance.

“I see it in the words of our doctors, that a product like this doesn’t have to be for a survivor as such, but something that will change the way people approach drinking – a product they will take to mitigate damage while consuming alcohol as well.

“We could all stop drinking, which is the healthiest option, but it’s also one I would not want to do. I think we’re incredibly lucky in the west to have such a rich culture and good wine, great beer and spirits are fundamental rocks behind that.

“The question is, how do we balance questions of health, well being and happiness with drinking?”

Go to survivorlife.com for more details Image by Holly Cant – find more of her work at hollycant.com or via @hollycantphoto on Insta

A

cai berries, baobab, milk thistle, evening primrose oil. I can feel the sceptical muscles, greased with the lubricant of a rendered snake, waiting to take down this preposterous product promising the Holy Grail – a chance to mitigate a serious hangover.

Trial one came in the form of a specially created drinks party at L’Escargot. A bunch of journalists, foodies and bloggers were invited to sample six highly alcoholic drinks, matched with some light bites before, inevitably going off piste and making a night of it.

We dutifully ingested the red capsules when prompted and I took two before turning in. While not completely clear-headed, the results were significant. I felt notably fresher than expected but remained suspicious. Perhaps the drinks had been watered down to skew the results?

So I tried again, this time celebrating the 705th anniversary of the Battle Of Bannockburn at Boisdale Of Bishopsgate in the company of various descendants of those who’d fought, watered with decent quantities of Ardberg’s single malts.

If anything, the results were even better than the first time round.

A pack similar to the one Jon tried Work the following day held little challenge and it’s hard to imagine what, if not the red pills, could have been responsible.

While it’s impossible for me to verify any medical effect they may have had, this column is proud to serve as anecdotal evidence of this product’s efficacy. Of course, the only way to be sure is to order more and keep testing.

Jon Massey

Are you struggling with a failing chatbot?

We’re coming to rescue you!

Contact us today for a no cost consultation workshop & initial chatbot upgrade to our award-winning V-PersonTM platform. info@creativevirtual.com 020 7719 8332

@creativevirtual

www.creativevirtual.com

14

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

Canary Wharf

50.9%

Improvement One And Five Bank Street achieves when compared to the typical environmental footprint of a central London office building over its life cycle

getting greener

by Martin Gettings

L

ast month we were delighted to announce that the Canary Wharf Estate became the world’s first plastic-free commercial centre, as recognised by leading environmental charity, Surfers Against Sewage.

As we all know, irresponsible plastic use is a big issue globally and it’s not going away anytime soon, so it will remain as an area of focus for us. But moving forwards, we want to highlight some of the other work Canary Wharf Group is doing across the estate to make sustainability real.

On World Environment Day, we asked our population what were the big issues we should tackle next.

Climate action was clearly a high priority.

About 40% of London’s greenhouse emissions come from business premises, and we very much understand the role we can play in helping contribute to a net zero carbon economy in our ongoing fight against the consequences of global warming.

That’s why we have powered the Estate on purchased renewable electricity since 2012 and we are members of RE100, an initiative by The Climate Group to encourage big business to make the switch to renewable electricity. It actually inspired me to make the switch to renewable electricity at home.

To meet our climate goals it’s important our new infrastructure meets the very highest standards.

Our latest building One And Five Bank Street is no exception.

Even before it is complete, in design stage it has already achieved BREEAM Outstanding rating making it one of the largest projects in the world to do this.

BREEAM is one of the world’s leading sustainability assessment methods for projects infrastructure and buildings.

It recognises and reflects the value in higher performing buildings across the built environment life cycle, from new construction to in-use, across a range of sustainability requirements including climate action, resources and waste, health and wellbeing and responsible purchasing.

This project encompasses a wide variety of sustainability features including an array of photovoltaic solar panels, 173sq m of tree landscaping, shrubs and wildflower plants, the creation of an incredible 170sq m living green wall on the southern facade of the building, 458sq m of landscaped terrace on the fourth floor and more than 700sq m of brown and green roofs including habitat creation at roof level and in the docks for birds, invertebrates and fish.

Overall, One And Five Bank Street achieves a 50.9% improvement on the whole life cycle footprint when

Canary Wharf Group’s Canary Wharf Group’s One And Five Andscheme Five Bank has BankOne Street hasStreet already already achieved arating BREEAM won an outstanding Outstanding from BREEAMrating

compared to a typical office building in central London.

Regular readers of my column will also know my belief that collaboration truly results in action – a key part of the reason Canary Wharf Group signed the London Landlords Pledge during the capital’s first London Climate Action Week this month.

As the landlords and tenants of commercial and residential properties, we have the potential to help London become a global beacon of climate action and clean growth.

So, alongside companies like RBS, Schroders Land Securities and Derwent London, we have committed to work together to achieve a cleaner, healthier city and call upon all of the capital’s big businesses to make the switch to renewable energy, electric vehicles and being more energy efficient in general.

I hope this helps to illustrate that just because Canary Wharf Group has attained this great accreditation in reaching Plastic Free Community status, we haven’t stopped working towards our wider sustainability goals.

As you may be aware, we are constantly tracking our progress

“

To meet our climate goals it’s important our new infrastructure meets the very highest standards. Our latest building One And Five Bank Street is no exception

– our latest sustainability report is available to read at sustainability. canarywharf.com.

If you have any questions about our recent activity, or you’d like to contribute towards helping us achieve our long term sustainability goals, please get in touch via sustainability@canarywharf.com.

Martin Gettings, Canary Wharf Group

Martin Gettings is group head of sustainability at Canary Wharf Group Go to canarywharf.com or breakingtheplastichabit.co.uk

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

35

Out Of Office

10am

Time the very limited number of tickets go on sale for the exhibition on a daily basis at the V&A The V&A’s major retrospective features a dazzling array of garments from Christian

The show includes pieces by controversial designer John Galliano

Dior himself and the house’s other artistic directors

dior j’adore

we get off patch for a dose of high fashion with Christian Dior at the V&A

by Natasha Maddison

D

eep in the heart slumbers a dream, and the couturier knows it – every woman is a princess.” So said French couturier Christian Dior – and with access granted to a fashion retrospective of his work at the V&A, I’m ready to unleash my inner royal. Christian Dior: Designer Of Dreams intends to take visitors on a journey and each room draws me deeper into the fashion house’s story as home to the creator of the New Look.

The exhibition begins with Dior’s entrance into the fashion world in the 1940s before offering insight into his design process and the many colourful cultures he used as sources of inspiration including the bohemian lifestyle he loved – who knew he enjoyed frequent trips to Ibiza, for example?

The designer’s cosmetics and fragrances are also celebrated and it’s testament to his enduring influence that the masses are still buying perfumes bearing his name, with J’adore and Sauvage frequently topping the bestseller lists.

“

Christian Dior: Designer Of Dreams intends to take visitors on a journey and each room draws me deeper Natasha Maddison, Wharf Life

Then come rooms dedicated to the work of the six artistic directors to take the helm following Christian Dior’s death in 1957.

Stealing this part of the show, are the unmistakable creations of the controversial John Galliano.

His genius is conveyed through some of the most memorable and outlandish Paris catwalk creations of the late 1990s and 2000s, taking me back to my teenage years spent engrossed in copies of Vogue.

A sensory delight throughout, the exhibition saves the best for last, ending with a stunning, expansive ballroom. Here pieces worn by Dior’s biggest royal fan – Princess Margaret – as well as dresses made famous by the likes of actors Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong’o and Emma Watson are displayed on a central revolving platform with golden glitter rain projected as a backdrop – the ultimate room for a princess.

While tickets, even for the extended run, are scarce, those lucky enough to get them are in for a real treat. Although you might need the sort of determination displayed by the main character in the film Mrs ’Arris Goes To Paris – the story of a Cockney housemaid (Angela Lansbury) so enchanted by her employer’s wardrobe that she resolves to travel to the French capital in pursuit of acquiring her dream evening gown from Dior.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid me eyes on and I mean to ’ave it,” she says. I’ll keep dreaming for now.

Christian Dior: Designer Of Dreams is at the V&A until September 1. Tickets are mostly sold out, although very limited numbers are available daily at 10am at the museum’s Grand Entrance.

Go to vam.ac.uk

The designs on show range from the classic New Look pieces of the 1940s to more contemporary gowns from the noughties

36

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

£16.70

fast For two to enjoy an ample brunch just within sight of Canary Wharf’s towers

breaking the

head to the Yurt Café for fresh tastes and a warm, welcoming atmosphere advance guard to our meal.

They come with a completely unnecessary apology from our here’s something waiter, who seems much more splendidly snug concerned by the wait than about the Yurt Café we are, blaming short staffing in Limehouse. It’s in before bustling off to grab some the smiles of the staff, overlooked milk. the welcoming quip In barely 20 of the forecast 30 and the happy murmurs from its minutes’ wait, our food arrives – customers.

I knew it.

It’s an atmosphere that A generous serving of avocado extends out beyond the fabric of on toast bejewelled with a its walls into the lushly planted generous sprinkling of pomegardens of St Katharine’s granate and pumpkin seeds Precinct. and a full veggie English are I’m sitting outside with my presented. companion having ordered The latter is a generously brunch despite a polite appointed collection warning that there’s of breakfast staples a half-hour wait and includes what for food. It’s not taste like locally that I think the engineered staff are being baked beans in disingenuous, the customary porcelain pot. it’s just that the sun is shining, None of your tinned rubbish the flowers are swaying in the here. It’s all well breeze of optimism cooked and hearty. and it’s simply The eggs are A veggie take on impossible to believe plump with golden, such tidings. liquid yolks and the the full English Unsurprisingly it’s bubble and squeak busy but, with table patty is a glorious, secured, we hardly notice the smooth delight on the tongue. bustle – time drifts by rapidly.

Everything slips down in Before long, tea and coffee double quick time, not because arrive in bright crockery as the we’re being table-turned, but because of its quality.

It’s little wonder the Yurt Café enjoys such popularity with a diverse group of residents and relative tourists such as myself.

It delivers calm, unpretentious It’s little wonder food and drink at an extremely the Yurt Café enjoys reasonable price – £16.70 for two including drinks. The such popularity with difficulty is in not giving up on a diverse group of the alternatives and making this a regular haunt. It’s a battle I’m residents and relative now facing every weekend. tourists such as myself For more information go to precinct.rfsk.org Jon Massey, Wharf Life

by Jon Massey

T

“

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

37

Wapping - Limehouse - Shadwell

While the café was busy when we went, it still felt welcoming and pleasant due in no small part to

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 17-31

the lush planting of its

where?

Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

flower-filled gardens

EVENT | Heartworn Highways London’s alternative songwriters pay tribute to their heroes. Players include The Magic Numbers, Zak Hobbs, Josh Flowers and Naomi Larsson.

Aug 2, 7pm, from £10, wiltons.org.uk where?

Troxy Limehouse

GIG | Supercat And Marcia Griffiths Coming to London in celebration of Jamica’s 57th independence celebrations the acts will be playing hits like Ghetto Red Hot, Boops and I Shall Sing.

Aug 11, 7pm, £38.50, troxy.co.uk where?

St Katharine’s Precinct Limehouse

READ | Book Club Meet kindred spirits, read a book, discuss it, laugh, share stories and meet up on a monthly basis. Call 0300 111 147 to check further details.

Aug 3, 10.30am, free, precinct.rfsk.org

to do before July 31

Tricity Vogue’s All Girl Swing Band are set to take over Wilton’s Music Hall on July 24 from 7.30pm. Expect fresh takes on 1980s pop classics and mischievous vintage tunes from the cabaret star. Tickets start at £16 wiltons.org.uk

spot check worth a visit Visit Dickens Inn at St Katharine Docks for a true taste of Docklands dickensinn.co.uk want more? @wharflifelive

38

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

by Jon Massey

O

ne of my problems is that my youthful enthusiasm and activism is as strong as it ever was,” said Tony Haynes during our interview at Trinity Buoy Wharf. The warm purr of the Grand Union Orchestra’s artistic director and co-founder is predominantly upbeat warmth but, like his music, there are hidden depths and an urgency to create, untrammelled by decades of composing, touring and performing.

The location for our chat is appropriate. Trinity is where the waters of the Lea finally mi with the Thames, having rolled around the Leamouth and Limmo peninsulas.

In many ways, it’s a geographical allegory for the work Grand Union has been doing since the 1980s – blending and combining the sounds and skills of players from all over the world in what Tony considers the true spirit of jazz.

On August 7, the group’s All Stars iteration is set for a second gig at Trinity having recently played the launch of the venue’s live music evenings. Aimed at drawing people to the area after-hours, these consist of drinks by the river followed by a subterranean performance.

“We were absolutely delighted about the first gig in every way,” said Tony. “Not just by the music and the atmosphere, but by the audience – it’s what you might call a cabaret atmosphere.

“That intimacy particularly suits the combination of instruments, because you’re using cello and violin – albeit electric – and a Chinese harp, so you’ve got e traordinary te tures alongside the likes of trumpet and sa ophone that don’t really need any amplification, so it’s a very good sound.

“Inspired by the first performance, we thought we’d do something very similar, mostly with the same musicians, so it will be a similar mi ture – not necessarily the same repertoire, because there are actually quite a lot of different pieces that e plore south Asian and Chinese music in different ways. Very little of it is purist – we might play a Bengali folk song with a reggae bass line, or take a Chinese ballad and delight in harmonising it with rich, chromatic Broadway lines.”

This willingness to bring together and mi music from different places gives Grand Union its identity while delivering a singular e pression of the many cultures and influences felt in the United Kingdom.

Tony said: “For me, jazz is a spirit with a history of a hundred years, and it comes about from the port city of New Orleans, which was colonised at different times by the British, the Spanish and the French.

“Then you have the slaves and the freed slaves and the Creole population. It’s an e traordinary racial mi ture to start with, so it wouldn’t

37

Years since Tony co-founded the Grand Union Orchestra

Tony says Trinity Buoy Wharf is his Mississippi Delta, where the rivers Lea and Thames meet before flowing out into the estuary

meets where music

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

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

39

Isle Of Dogs - Poplar - Blackwall

be surprising if there was a cultural mixture and then astonishing, natural musicians can come out.

“Louis Armstrong was the archetypal one – how does a boy from a poor background such as his pick up a trumpet and play quite complex harmonies and extraordinarily complex solos, only matched by Charlie Parker and John Coltrane a generation later? My particular hero is Jelly Roll Morton for his arrogance and bravado. The main thing about ja , first of all, is to be able to absorb whatever instruments or styles of music you have available. Of course, it didn’t only happen in New Orleans, it happened in other places, but jazz is specific to there.

“Secondly, it’s the creative importance of the individual musician.

Duke Ellington, for example, wrote the music, but he couldn’t have written it without having those musicians to express it.

“So you get trumpeter Cootie Williams or alto player Johnny Hodges and he writes the sort of music where they shine.

“It’s completely different from the classical tradition, where you have musicians who are required to play, with extraordinary virtuosity, music that’s written by somebody else.

“There’s no sort of engagement or ownership between the composer and the performer. And that is the essence of jazz. It’s not whether it sounds like Charlie Parker or Bix Beiderbecke, it’s the attitude behind the music.

“What I say, fancifully is that Grand Union brings the same spirit here.

It’s no different in London a hundred years later, where you have musicians from every conceivable background, first and second generation immigrants, so you’re able to learn a whole range of musics or approaches to music from them that you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

“I always think jazz is the most liberated of musics, because it was both a reaction to slavery and also a creative liberation and it can’t exist without that. Grand Union exemplifies that principle, although many people say: ‘You’re not really playing jazz, are you?’ Actually, we are the only ones who are – well, not quite, but you’ve got to have that attitude and very few musicians qualify for that.”

Started in 1982 as a group of actors and musicians, formed to create and tour theatre pieces, Grand Union has always sought to include people with connections to the topics its work is inspired by or responds to. “ ne of our first pieces was called Strange Migration,” said Tony. “I wanted to do something about exile and migration, so I thought it would be dishonest if I assembled a company

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 14 where?

Poplar Union Poplar

Come to the cabaret: The Grand Union Orchestra at Trinity Buoy Wharf

“

People go on and on about English or British identity, but this is it, really. It’s an amalgam of different things, a blend Tony Haynes, Grand Union Orchestra

of people who hadn’t experienced that. So we had a drummer from Ghana, and a Chilean who had been in prison for 10 years under Pinochet, and played all the folk instruments and Tenuqua, a photographer for the civil rights movement, and they formed the core.”

A commission from the GLC followed two years of touring and its result – an anti-apartheid work celebrating the mixing of cultures in cities called The Song Of Many Tongues, set the tone for further compositions and the direction of Grand Union.

While Tony continues to compose the majority of the orchestra’s music, he’s at pains to point out that the players he works with are an essential ingredient.

“People often have a rather naive idea about what composers are,” he said. “A lot of the writing is that you are creating material for performers – it can’t exist without the performers and then you’ve got to imagine their personality or characteristics. That’s how it works and it’s very much a two-way process.

“We have singers from many musical cultures performing in a wide range of languages and there is an historical and moral purpose to that.

We live in a society that is shaped by migration, and this is very much a political issue at the moment, which you can’t not get involved in.

composer and musician Tony Haynes on music, culture and Trinity Buoy Wharf

“The positive thing is that it gives us such richness. Those musics and musicians are there – why not explore them and bring them together?

“People go on and on about English or British identity, but this is it, really, it’s an amalgam of different things, a blend. I find it e citing, because I am a creative artist whose main skill happens to be as composer.

“I can’t imagine doing it without having people who represent the society in which we live.

“Of course, it creates tremendous opposition, because you’re accused of cultural appropriation, of dumbing down other musical cultures – but it’s quite obvious that audiences are responding enthusiastically to it.”

With a burgeoning youth counterpart and performances across east London, Tony said almost as important as who was playing and listening was where Grand Union pitched up.

“That’s absolutely critical,” he said.

“We have been very lucky in east London and we don’t tour very much any more, which is a shame, because I really miss it but we have different venues to do different things.

“Hackney Empire is where you do your large-scale participatory shows, St John’s in Bethnal Green is where you can do the small community projects, Rich Mix has the Bengali stuff and the youth orchestra, Shoreditch Town Hall is an ideal venue for the old Orchestra proper, Poplar Union is great as a spotlight for experimental things and Trinity Buoy Wharf is for the cabaret.

“We’re sitting at the junction of the Lea and the Thames, which is my Mississippi Delta.

“In the future, we would like to do a show at Trinity about climate change, which could be called Rising Tides with workshops leading up to it and the involvement of the whole community – you could imagine the whole site animated. It would really come alive.”

But, funding pending, that’s for the future. Until then there’s the August 7 show to look forward to. Tickets cost £12.50, doors at 6pm.

Go to trinitybuoywharf.com for more information or to make a booking

GIG | Carnival Warmer Miss Trendee teams up with DJ Hope to curate an evening of sweet afrobeats and summer anthems.

The Paris-born rapper promises irresistible music.

Aug 3, 7.30pm, £7, poplarunion.com where?

The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | Tropez!

A failed cat burglar and a gentle gigolo team up for a jewel heist in Saint-Tropez. Expect fast-paced over the Trop comedy with a glittering backdrop.

Aug 8-17, times vary, £15, space.org.uk where?

The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | ScriptSpace 2019 Hear prepared readings of early drafts of new work and offer feedback to their creators. Readings are open to all comers, the more the merrier.

Aug 1, 2, 18, 25, times vary, free, space.org.uk

to do before July 31

Run to The Gun on July 27 from 3pm-8pm for an oysters and English fizz pop-up (£10 for two and a glass) by Chapel Down and Direct Sea Foods. Soft lounge will be spun by DJ Retension. Purchase tokens in advance thegundocklands.com

spot check A hidden gem the King Of Punjab is tucked above the Ferry House pub - @TheFerryHouseE14 want more? @wharflifelive

40

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

Creative Space

this space is yours

is it a doorway? a portal? a number? you decide – share your doodles with @wharflifelive or #keepittoyourself – don’t like, subscribe or comment, please

WORKING TITLE

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

41

Rotherhithe - Bermondsey - Deptford

do yourself a favour and stop off at Canada Water Café before the Tube

by Jon Massey

T

here’s a special charm about a place that goes to the trouble of making a small sign and screwing it to a malfunctioning door rather than fixing the problem.

We all need small triumphs in our lives and managing to lock oneself in the toilet at Canada Water Café qualifies.

The sign makes the venue’s staff complicit. It delivers a sense of camaraderie – that solutions are possible if we all work together and also that perfection in all things isn’t necessary.

Instead the café concentrates on making its customers’ experiences as pleasant as possible.

It’s strongly Italian in flavour – check out the solid parallelograms of white and brown marble that carpet its floor and form the bar, the olive trees marking its outdoor boundary and the miniature Roman pines in pots creating a wall between its tranquil garden and the steady flow of commuters heading to the nearby Jubilee line station.

The service is slick. I sit for about 60 seconds before a menu is presented and tap water is poured unbidden. I order the vegan breakfast that looks well balanced and fairly priced at £8.

Coffee arrives swiftly and then the food on a brightly coloured plate, glistening in the morning sunshine. Looking down I see health looking back. There’s crisp cucumber, fresh tomatoes, the inevitable avocado and the unusual inclusion of tofu lying beneath small mounds of fried red onions.

The whole thing is dusted with dried herbs. I can’t resist dousing it in the chilli oil I’m offered. The taste is everything the visuals promise – clean, crunchy, juicy.

Even the tofu, so often a bland, benign presence, underscores the more interesting ingredients and doubtless provides a daily ration of muscle-building protein on sourdough.

It’s hard not to like this place.

Its brightly coloured outdoor tables and chairs, its collection of battered, mismatched used wooden furniture within and its cacophonous blend of light

£8

What visitors can expect to pay for a vegan breakfast here, excluding service

bright early

and

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 14 where?

The Albany Deptford

GIG | SE8 Sound Collective Combining the talents of young artists with the likes of Abimnaro, Sam Beste and Alex Reeve, this is a live performance of original tracks.

Aug 10, 8pm, £5, thealbany.org.uk where?

Deptford Cinema Deptford

SCREEN | Something Must Break Part of the cinema’s Framing Queers season, this personal, intelligent and bruised romance was made by and stars trans and non-binary people.

Aug 4, 4pm, £6, deptfordcinema.org

The vegan breakfast at Canada Water Café

where?

Brunel Museum Rotherhithe

DO | Midnight Apothecary The outdoor pop-up, complete with firepit runs with two sittings during the summer months offering cocktails and street food.

Fri-Sat, 5.30pm, 7pm, from £4, brunel-museum.org.uk fittings are all comforting and homely.

Even the music is soothing, featuring the likes of Simon And Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair and Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly’s Moonlight Shadow. Small wonder then that a significant portion of the footfall hurrying past is

“

The taste is everything the visuals promise – clean, crunchy juicy. Even the tofu underscores the more interesting ingredients Jon Massey, Wharf Life

willing to divert inside to grab a takeaway brew and exchange a pleasant word with the staff crewing the coffee machine.

The bill comes all too soon (including a sensible tip of 10% instead of 12.5% – I’m never sure why all restaurants don’t do this for the hard of maths like myself) and I’m on my way, resolving to return at the earliest opportunity to try out the venue’s other options. For lunch and dinner it’s a pizzeria.

The café is open weekdays 7.30am-10.30pm and from 8.30am on weekends. Check the website for details of which menu is available at specific times. Happy hour (two-for-one on cocktails is 4pm-6pm Monday-Thursday) Go to canadawatercafe.com for more information

to do before July 31

Get your skates on – Deptford Cinema is crowdfunding to put the finishing touches to the building, make it more accessible and to bring live streaming events to the venue at an affordable price. Deadline is July 19 deptfordcinema.org

spot check worth a visit Get up close with the animals at Surrey Docks Farm in Rotherhithe surreydocksfarm.org.uk want more? @wharflifelive

42

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 14 where?

The O2 Arena Peninsula

ESPORT | FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 You’ve seen the mens and women’s teams compete internationally. Now watch people play digital versions of players in the big tent. Fastest finger.

Aug 2-4, times vary,£15, theo2.co.uk where?

Indigo At The O2 Peninsula

where?

National Maritime Musuem Greenwich

EXHIBITION | The Moon Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to land the first men on the Moon with this major retrospective featuring 180 objects.

Until Jan 2020, 10am-5pm, £9, rmg.co.uk

to do before July 31

Greenwich Theatre hosts The Burning on July 28 – an epic tale of history, time, capitalism, women and their witch-hunters.

Catch it for £15 at 4pm before its stars head up to Edinburgh greenwichtheatre.org.uk Vinotech Compass have made it to Peninsula proper with Ardoa – check it ardoabyvinotheccompass.com want more? @wharflifelive

from the norm

as international conference on the psychedelic consciousness Breaking Convention appears on the horizon we take a look

by Jon Massey

GIG | Salt-N-Pepa Best known for their 1980s hits Push It, Whatta Man and Let’s Talk About Sex the duo come to the big tent’s smaller venue for a celebration of their music.

Au 9, 7pm, £34.85, theo2.co.u

spot check one to try

break hosting a

T

here’s something of a flurry of activity around psychedelics in Docklands of late. E cel recently played host to Europe CBD E po an event featuring those concerned with CBD, cannaboids and the medicinal cannabis industry with thousands flocking to hear about its benefits.

While that was a first, reenwich has long been an important centre in the for thought and science related to the use of psychedelic substances.

From August 1 -18, the niversity f reenwich is set to host the fifth Breaking Convention conference, its fourth time as a base for the event.

Taking place every two years, it has grown quickly since its creation. We caught up with co-founder and senior lecturer in psychology Dr David Luke to find out a bit more. what’s the point of the convention?

“We are in e periencing a renaissance of interest in the psychedelic, and Breaking Convention is the largest European conference addressing this new era of work,” he said.

“The point is to bring researchers together to discuss all the latest research with a network of academic clinicians, and others interested in cutting edge research, so it’s educational as much as anything, but it also has an academic purpose.

“It covers a broad spectrum the arts, culture, humanities, law, music, psychiatry, psychology, chemistry and so on.” what can people expect?

“It’s everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cutting edge research on psychedelics from a multi-disciplinary angle,” said Dr Luke.

“We have something like 200 presenters talking about research from all around the world there are also

workshops, art, installations, lots of virtual reality and alternative altered states.

“There are also entertainments, audio-visual performances, even parties and lots of information bookstalls and things like that.

“There are some interesting characters. n my own particular panel, which is about psychedelics, consciousness and ecological crisis, I have E tinction Rebellion co-founder ail Bradbrook and filmmaker Bruce arry, e ploring some of the e otic locations he’s been to and the weird and wonderful things he’s done.

“There s also a really good science contingent former government drugs c ar professor David utt, for e ample.” what’s your background?

“I’m a psychologist, and I’ve been interested in psychedelics since the beginning of my career, and I have been studying psychedelic e periences ever since then,” said Dr Luke.

“A couple of decades later I’m still trying to work it out. There are more questions than answers, but it’s an ever-e panding area of intrigue.

“The study of psychedelics covers many fields in psychology, it can help us to understand the nature of consciousness and how the brain functions. They can be used as a treatment for an iety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder but

“

On the clinical side, it’s fascinating to see these substances in the process of becoming licensed as treatments for mental health issues Dr David Luke, Breaking Convention

they also seem to have physiological effects as well. They have a vast array of potential uses, not least in helping us to understand what it is to be a human being who has consciousness.” what excites you in the field at present?

Dr Luke said: “ n the clinical side, it’s fascinating to see these substances in the process of becoming licensed as treatments for mental health issues, but I’m also interested in how they might help people become more ecologically orientated. “ eople who have taken psychedelics are more ecologically conscious, concerned about the environment and are more likely to have ecologically orientated behaviours perhaps even to the point of changing their career. “ sychedelics have a potential role in helping people to become more aware and to become problem solvers. what are you working on now?

“What I’m currently working on is dimethyltryptamine D T , which naturally occurs in the human body as well as most animals and plants,” said Dr Luke. “It is widely distributed in nature, but it is an e tremely potent psychedelic too and we don’t really understand its role and function in the body, but it has very profound effects.

“I’m also currently looking at the e periences of blind people on psychedelics.” how would you like Breaking Convention to develop?

“I’d like to see it branching out, and having more of a role in education,” said Dr Luke. “I’d like us to open a charity shop in the area we could have a psychedelic research shop on the high street for outreach and educational purposes. ur aims are primarily educational, so it would be great if such programmes could be organised.”

Tickets range from 8 .0 - 2 .1 and should be purchased online.

Go to breakingconvention.co.uk

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

43

Greenwich - Peninsula - Woolwich

3

Times Greenwich has hosted the conference, which takes place every two years Dr Luke is senior lecturer in psychology at the University Of Greenwich and a co-founder of Breaking Convention

The event welcomes around 200 speakers from a diverse range of fields to discuss psychedelics and their uses

Image by James Perrin – find more of his work at jamesperrin.com or via @millerjamesperrin on Insta

44

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

review from the ground

Cristal Palace at RAW by ABP London

ride at the Royal Docks

the free Cycle Show runs August 1-3 at Excel, with a wealth of attractions Cristal Palace created an anarchic, crazed ballroom for all to enjoy despite the rain

by Jon Massey

C

ristal Palace, which served as the closing ceremony to this year’s Greenwich And Docklands International Festival this month, had nothing whatsoever to do with the Louis Roederer Champagne, beloved of rappers.

But had any bottles been popped, the effervescence of the prized liquid would have been as old dishwater to the extraordinary spectacle of Transe Express’ anarchic outdoor ballroom.

A giant chandelier swung alarmingly on its crane, populated by musicians blasting out tunes. Acrobats climbed it on silks and swung from it on a pole before, with death defying drama, a lady on a trapeze did her best to provoke heart attacks in the crowd far below.

And that’s before we even talk about A giant chandelier the funky dancing, the stage-rush swung alarmingly audience participaon its crane. Acrobats tion, a guitar solo that exploded in climbed it on silks fireworks from the and swung from it instrument’s neck.

It was all delivon a pole ered as though Jon Massey, Wharf Life the rain that battered audience and performers alike hadn’t even left the clouds.

Nobody knows what it meant. Everyone who was there did exactly as instructed and engaged in the wild, French revels, punctuated only by an equally frenetic burst from local dance group Avant Garde whose aggressive, confrontational style offered a fine counterpoint to the glossy Gallic hedonism.

But for the incredible slowness of the bar, it’s hard to see how GDIF could possibly improve on this.

But therein lies the challenge and, with enthusiastic (and welcome) backing from ABP London and a fresh Royal Docks stage to dominate, who’d bet against them?

Go to festival.org

“

by Jon Massey

P

rudential RideLondon events will be taking place across the capital and beyond at the beginning of August.

For the pros, there’s the Classique, which sees competitors take on a 3.4km circuit in central London.

No less keenly fought, there’s the Brompton World Championship, with participants in business dress taking on 16km on their foldable mounts. Both take place on August 3.

Then there’s Freecycle on the same day, which allows participants simply to have a pedal on traffic-free streets, the 19 and (miles) for those who’d like to venture a little further and the epic Surrey 100 (also miles) from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford to The Mall via, well, Surrey.

Perhaps the unsung hero of the whole event however is the free-to-visit Cycling Show at Excel in Royal Docks.

Running from August 1-3, it promises a slew of big cycling brands including Evans Cycles, Trek, Garmin and Cannondale plus e hibitors offering show-specific deals on a wide range of nutrition and hydration products as well as clothing, tech, bike accessories and holidays.

Prudential RideLondon head of exhibitions Dani Nimmock said: “Now in its sixth year, the Cycling Show has become a firm favourite with leading brands and cycling fans alike and the 2019 event is set to be bigger and better than ever.

“We are excited to welcome over 45,000 visitors into our free-toenter event over the three days.

“So whether you’re an experienced rider or thinking about spending more time in the saddle there will be something

at the show for everyone to get inspired about cycling.”

TV presenter Rebecca Charlton will host the show’s main stage, which will host a series of interviews with celebrity guests and elite cyclists.

Former pro-rider turned cycling coach, Matt Rowe, will be sharing his tips for new and experienced riders and sports nutritionist Anita Bean will be offering advice on eating right for the ride.

Other interviews will be with famous people taking part in the Surrey 100 including former England rugby captain Martin Johnson, badminton World Champion Gail Emms and Olympic swimming silver medallist Jazz Carlin.

Other entertainment will include stunt acts, pro-races and free rides for visitors from Street Velodrome, which will also host a bike party on August 2 from 5pm-8pm with a live DJ set and a “high adrenaline racing spectacle”.

There will also be the opportunity to try out virtual cycling trainer Zwift at the show, should London’s terrain not be a big enough challenge.

Advice from the organiser states it is better to attend the show on the Thursday or Friday as the Saturday is likely to be extremely busy.

For more information go to prudentialridelondon.co.uk

“

The Cycling Show has become a firm favourite with leading brands and cycling fans alike and the 2019 event is set to be bigger and better Dani Nimmock, Prudential RideLondon

An extensive list of exhibitors will be offering show specific discounts at the free-to-visit three-day event

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

45

Canning Town - Royal Docks

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 14 where?

Excel Royal Victoria Dock

EVENT | Summer In The City The online video and podcast show returns with an impressive crop of YouTubers, Tik Tokkers and others broadcasting digitally.

Aug 9-11, 7pm, from £30, excel.london where?

Excel Royal Victoria Dock

EVENT | IFAA 2019 About 1,500 anatomists hit town for an international conference. This could explain travellers on the DLR looking your body up and down more than normal.

Aug 9-11, 8.30am daily, £500, excel.london where?

RA Fold Canning Town

CLUB | Adriana Lopez Semantica Records arrives with Adriana headlining on a night that also features Blazej Malinowski, Claudio PRC and Svreca.

Aug 3, 11pm, from £10 online, residentadvisor.net

to do before July 31

Try a wide range of watersports for free (booking required) with the National Park City Splash event in Royal Docks from July 27-28. Outdoor swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking will all be on offer royaldocks.london Whether it’s nutrition, hydration, kit, tech, clothing or virtual training, the Prudential RideLondon Cycling Show at Excel has it in abundance, apparently

spot check worth a visit Looking for late night? LA Lounge beside the Silver Building could be for you lalounge.co.uk want more? @wharflifelive

46

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

Advertising Directory - Acknowledgements

find our advertisers’ messages here Chase Evans print Pages 1, 30-31 online chaseevans.co.uk

Vantage Properties And Management print Page 20 online vantage-uk.com

The Gun print Page 3 online thegundocklands.com

Higgins Homes print Page 21 online higginshomes.co.uk

Kidd Rapinet print Pages 4, 15, 26 online kiddrapinet.co.uk

Ballymore print Page 23 online goodluckhope.com

Capeesh print Page 5 online capeesh.co.uk

Berkeley Homes print Pages 24-25 online berkeleygroup.co.uk

Keith Prowse print Page 7 online keithprowse.co.uk

Telford Homes print Page 27 online telfordhomes.london

Benenden School print Page 9 online benenden.school

Southern Homes print Page 29 online bowrivervillage.co.uk

Greenwich Market print Page 11 online greenwichmarket.london

Galliard Homes print Page 34 online galliardhomes.com

Creative Virtual print Page 13 online creativevirtual.com

be part of the Canary Wharf conversation To advertise in Wharf Life call 07944 000 144 or email advertising@wharf-life.com

without these people, Wharf Life would not have been possible Graeme Bellenger, John Garwood, Jon Dyer, David Galman, Natasha Maddison, David Campbell, Matt Grayson, Kerry Hill, Stephanie Massey, Sarah Leaman, Steve Grieg, Phil Wetz, Camille Waxer, Lucy Merritt, James Vellacott, Lyndon Nunn, Camilla Maddison, Philip Wild, Michelle Vellacott, Andy Shaw, Andrew Scott, Paula Voong, Nadia Maddison, Gary Pring, Edwin Chiu, Annamaria Maddison, Mike Televantou, Chris Ezekiel, Steve Askari, Michael Massey, Andy Shrimplin, Gooch Heer, Rudy Wong, Nick Preston, Steven Herd, David Massey, Ian Li, Andrew Brown, Jean Paul Toerien, Mark May, Ranald Macdonald, Mustafa Topkaya, Simon Spann, Enza Capodici, Mathew Heaton, Kim Wiper, Sophie Watt, Louise Howell, Victor Huang, Phillip Maddison, Spencer Fortag, Dan Smith, Richard Carroll, Randeep Thethy, Toby Wilson, Joel Rayney, Lana Marshall, Olivia Curle, Laura Warren, Rebecca Wood, Maria Tognarelli

thank you Jess Maddison co-founder and commercial director Jon Massey co-founder and editorial director

@wharflifelive

Wharf Life is published by Massey Maddison Limited, printed by Iliffe Print Cambridge and distributed by Willis News Distribution. Copyright Massey Maddison Limited 2019

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

47

Stratford - Bow

£15

The price of an M Martini at The Stratford – not that you’ll find this on the menu

The hotel is at the base of this striking

bars tower in Stratford

14 days later

plan your life from Jul 31-Aug 14 where?

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford

called to the

why the Mezzanine Bar at The Stratford isn’t quite there yet when it comes to entertaining customers

by Jon Massey

The parts of the

T

M Martini, which

he Mezzanine Bar at The Stratford Hotel, which has been open for business in East Village for about a fortnight is still finding its feet. I attend on a Monday and, while it’s not completely empty, there’s a point in the evening when I’m the only customer.

As I’m a great believer in alliteration, I order an M Martini in honour of the day for £15 although am forced to ask the price as they’ve been left off the menu.

Then it’s time to relax into my seat and await my drink. Except I can’t. There’s a bar and restaurant on the ground floor, both with a smattering of customers.

Perhaps to try and transfer a little of that atmosphere aloft, the doors to the mezzanine’s balcony have been left open.

But the two bars are playing competing soundtracks.

It’s like deliberately listening to two different songs, a noise-cancelling headphone stuffed in each ear.

My drink arrives. It’s a take on the vodka classic with Chardonnay bitters and a spritz of something lemony and is rather good. The alcohol comes in a little acid bottle in its own ice bucket.

But the music is an irritant. I raise this with the staff. At first they attempt to solve the problem by closing the door, which is stiff and half shut when I wonder if it’s possible to either sync the songs or turn one off.

As I’m alone, they agree to mute the offending music but warn that if anyone else comes in they’ll have to turn it back on. For it is a truth universally acknowledged that a customer when visiting a bar must be in want of some sounds, especially

RUN | August 10k The series of 10k races continues with this event where entrants run a route between the London Stadium and the Aquatics Centre. Enter by Aug 1.

Aug 3, 9.30am, £18, queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk where?

Roof East Stratford

STRETCH | Rooftop Yoga Running Thursday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes, this class offers east Londoners the chance to stretch out atop the shopping centre.

Various dates and times, from £13, floweast.yoga

includes nibbles

where?

Bow Arts Bow

TOUR | Gallery Tour And River Lea Boat Cruise Head to the Nunnery Gallery for a tour of its Raw Materials: Plastics exhibition and then board a boat for a trip up the river that inspired the project.

Aug 11, 12.30pm-3.30pm, £10, bowarts.org

if they conflict with the desires of another.

Three gentlemen walk in as I’m finishing my drink, making the decision to leave for me as the promised aural onslaught arrives. They leave before me but the music continues.

In all fairness barman Enrico apologises profusely and hopes to see me again. It’s a curious kink in an otherwise pleasant place.

When the teething problems are ironed out, the luxurious surroundings – all parquet floor, gigantic minimal fireplaces and velvety upholstery – will be a fine if pricey place for a drink or two.

With that in mind I spend the next half hour at the bar downstairs whose music I’d been enjoying. Its Stratford Pilsner is actually brewed in Harlow, but it’s a great spot for people watching. This is one to watch, rather than discount.

Go to thestratford.com

to do before July 31

You’ll need to be quick, but head to International Quarter London’s Summer Screen in Endeavour Square for a screening of Fantastic Beasts: Crimes Of Grindelwald on July 18 at 6.30pm. Free to view internationalquarter.london

spot check try this place out Find a bit of quirk at Balans Soho Society in Westfield Stratford City balans.co.uk want more? @wharflifelive

48

Wharf Life Jul 17-31, 2019 wharf-life.com

SUDOKU

Crossword - Sudoku

Very Hard

7 1 8

5 1 2

1 5 3 9

5 4 2 9 3 7 6 8 1 Sudoku 8 a3break 9 from 2 1 that 6 phone 5 7 4 Take 1 7 6 5 4 8 3 2 9 How 6 to1 play 5 3 7 9 2 4 8 To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 4 such 8 that 5 1each 7 row, 6 3column and 3x3 box one2to9nine contains every number uniquely.

3 8 7 6 2 4 1 9 5 6 find 1 strategies, 7 8 3 hints 9 5and2tips online You4can at sudokuwiki.org 9 5 8 1 6 2 4 3 7 7 to 2 play 3 4 9 5 8 1 6 More

6 3 1 2

8

You can find more Sudoku puzzles and a wide selection ofTo others available in apps and books at str8ts.com. This complete Sudoku, fill the board Sudoku is supplied by Syndicated Puzzles. by entering numbers 1 to 9 such

9 6 9 8

2 7 5

that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

Notes

8

© 2019 Syndicated Puzzles

2

2

Previous solution - Tough

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Sudoku you’ll really like ‘Str8ts’ and our other puzzles, Apps and books. Visit www.str8ts.com

crossword Down

6.

7.

9.

10.

1.

12.

1 .

18.

19.

21.

22.

No inner sanctuary (4-3) Cried out for a drink (5) Match label (5) Get together - for getting in the harvest (7) Having no saving graces? (11) ot a difficult thing to eat? (5,2,4) His money may be wellearned (7) Taking an excessive interest (5) Drinks and a sandwich (5) Succeed in losing one’s balance? (4,3)

2.

3.

4.

5.

8.

11.

13.

15.

16.

17.

20.

Notes

The Italian man about town (5) Such action will be involuntary (6) It has a strong pull in the port trade (3) Gear case? (3-3) It’s beastly being a long time in one occupation (7) He’s not free, yet may have time (7) Soldier on a horse, or ship (7) Acid criticism (7) Stop a letter giving settlement (6) Lot of Arabs (6) Don’t have any main course? (5) Assume a name (3)

Quick Across 6.

7.

9.

10.

12.

14.

18.

19.

21.

22.

Fault (7) Rate (5) Corn (5) Lull (7) Show (11) Bar (11) Free (7) Guide (5) Egg-shaped figure Have right to (7)

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

8.

11.

13.

15.

16.

17.

20.

Gay (5) Live (6) Hint (3) Seem (6) Under (7) Beat (7) Arch (7) See (7) Essay (6) Start (6) Quit (5) Chop (3)

Across: 6 Demerit; 7 Speed; 9 Grain; 10 Quieten; 12 Demonstrate; 14 Obstruction; 18 Release; 19 Steer; 21 Ovoid; 22 Deserve.

Down: 1 Merry; 2 Reside; 3 Tip; 4 Appear; 5 Beneath; 8 Pulsate; 11 Roguish; 13 Observe; 15 Thesis; 16 Outset; 17 Leave; 20 Hew.

Across

whether you’re cryptic sleuth or synonym solver in it for quick wins, this should satisfy

Cryptic Solution

Cryptic

beating the

Across: 6 Hide-out; 7 Cider; 9 Tally; 10 Combine; 12 Extravagant; 14 Piece of cake; 18 Driller; 19 Usury; 21 Round; 22 Come off.

Down: 1 Milan; 2 Reflex; 3 Tug; 4 Kit-bag; 5 Leonine; 8 Convict; 11 Trooper; 13 Vitriol; 15 Colony; 16 Kismet; 17 Drift; 20 Don.

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

Quick Solution

No. 422