Wharf Life, May 31-Jun 14, 2023

Image by Jon Massey

Where?

Crossrail Place Canary Wharf

SEE | Illusionaries

Canary Wharf is set to get what’s being billed as “the UK’s rst multisensory art experience” – a story -driven digital display across three galleries. Jun 22-Sept 24, times vary, £38, illusionaries.com

Where?

M Restaurant Canary Wharf

DINE | Ashes Preview With Michael Vaughan

Join the former England captain for a drinks reception and three-course lunch where he will be discussing the forthcoming series and his career. Jun 8, noon-4pm, £115, mrestaurants.co.uk

Where?

Crossrail Place Roof Garden Canary Wharf

HEAR | Pride Talks

In honour of Pride Month, four LGBTQIA+ speakers have been invited to talk about their experiences across corporate, creative and political settings. Jun 1, 8, 22, 28, 1pm, free, canarywharf.com

read our interview with Celine and to nd out more about what Randox o ers

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Welcome to the 89th issue of Wharf Life. In this paper, ‘P’ is for Padium’s padel tennis o ering, Platform’s console game venue, paddling a sea kayak from Shadwell Basin to 16 of the areas covered in the Shipping Forecast and produce from Italy, as Grappelli Food Hall opens at The Gantry in Stratford...

1324

Two

ways to buy at Consort Place on the Isle Of Dogs

Artists are invited to enter the Trinty Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize

How Alessandro Grappelli has opened an Italian grocery store and food hall in the lobby of a hotel in Stratford, o ering imported produce and freshly cooked dishes

Canary Wharf - West India Quay

on the radar

need to know

Canary Wharf is set to get a branch of Morrisons Daily – the convenience store version of the bigger brand. The mini supermarket is set to open its doors at Harbord Square on June 1 o ering a range of essential groceries morrisons.com

28

Canada Place is set to get a new menswear shop in the not too distant future, with Boggi Milano expected to open its doors in the coming months. Expect smart suits and relaxed casual wear from the Italian clothing giant as it approaches 200 stores boggi.com

Excel in Royal Docks opens the rst frictionless store at a UK event venue

INCREDIBLE VIEWS AND WARM SPACES

Whether it’s The Cabin Room, The Red Room or The River Room for indoor dining, the Riverside Terrace or the Garden Bar for time beside the Thames or simply the pub’s bar and dining room, The Gun – just 10 minutes’ walk from Canary Wharf –is the ideal venue for your next event

22

How

his extraordinary quest to sea kayak in all of the areas covered by the Met O ce’s Shipping Forecast

doing the deals

get more for less on and around the Wharf

£45

Head to Iberica on North Colonnade on June 16 for a ham carving experience for £45. Includes a welcome drink plus three types of Jamon Iberico with paired wines ibericarestaurants.com

26

Why a bite from Co ee And Olive is a box full of value in Rotherhithe

20%

Get 20% o selected facials at Weather And Palette in Jubilee Place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Redeem using code TW20. Contact salon for details weatherandpalette.com

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TO THE GUN...

Katie Carr took on the work of her late brother, chronicling

write me words you don’t know you need

prayge

verb, fake, from Norse

The act of listing page numbers in a publication to help readers nd the articles they are looking for without really bothering to check thoroughly that they are correct rst. Not the sort of thing that goes on at Wharf Life, ahem...

goetic

adjective, real, from Greek Relating or similar to the use of dark magic to summon angels and demons, stemming from the Greek word for charm. It must be stressed that no such practices are employed to de ne the page numbers in Wharf Life...

CHARITY PARTNERS

More on this in our next issue, but kudos to Canary Wharf Group for partnering with The Felix Project to help mitigate food waste and to feed those in need in the community. CWG is currently looking for volunteers to help support it in its scheme to collect surplus food from cafes, restaurants, o ces and supermarkets and to deliver it to Felix’s Poplar depot where it will be made into meals for the hungry or distributed through the charity’s network Go to canarywharf.com for more information or scan the QR code to the right

hot list

rumours tips and rankings

NEW STUFF

Whisper it softly, Mallow the plant-based o shoot of Soho stalwart Mildred’s is set to open a second branch at Wood Wharf on June 21 – nd out more at mallowlondon.com. In other news, Townhouse nail salon is expected to open its doors in Jubilee Place on June 23 – nd out more at townhouse.co.uk. More forthcoming arrivals include Acai Berry, Bloobloom, 640East’s Wood Wharf branch as well as branches of Grind and Subway. Yes, you read that right...

OUR PICKS

If you do nothing else in Canary Wharf this fortnight, consider indulging in the below:

1. Book in to see one of the shows at The Greenhouse Theatre, in place at Jubilee Park from June 19-Jul 14. Tickets cost £15 – thegreenhousetheatre.com

2. Visit the ever-changing Lunch Market at Montgomery Square on Thursdays from noon-2.30pm and sample food from a carousel of traders – canarywharf.com

3. Catch tennis action from the French Open on Canary Wharf’s big screens from June 1-11. Ideal for anyone who needs a break from their desk – canarywharf.com

diary dates, listings and ideas

GIG - Cutting Crew

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf, Cabot Square Jun 22, 9.30pm, from £29 (show only) boisdale.co.uk

Frontman of the mid-1980s Anglo-Canadian pop act – famed for international smash (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight – Nick Van Eede is back on the road with a fresh line-up and is set to promote his new material at Boisdale. It’s a fair bet he’ll sing his biggest hit too.

TRY - Open Water Swimming

Love Open Water, Middle Dock, Canary Wharf

Ongoing, £8.50 per swim plus £15 yearly NOWCA membership loveopenwater.co.uk

Just as the weather shows the faintest signs of turning into a scorching summer, Love Open Water has returned to Middle Dock o ering cooling dips in the eight-metre crystal clear waters. Entry to the deep is via a oating pontoon close to Amerigo Vespucci. Wear a bright cap!

to make your Canary Wharf life that bit sweeter in the coming weeks...

by Jon Massey

Just what are those vast metallic arches that have sprung up on the flat patch of ground between Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale? Well, the three-peaked structure is set to shelter Houman Ashrafzadeh’s latest dream.

The serial entrepreneur, together with two friends, already has a presence at 35 Bank Street, having launched new wave salad bar Urban Greens in September 2021. This summer he’s set to do something completely different with the launch of Padium, a little further west on the estate.

“I grew up in Sweden and I’ve lived in London for nearly 16 years but, whenever I’d go back to visit, I’d see this new sport emerging,” he said. “My brother and his friends played it and so I tried it and got completely hooked.”

That sport was padel tennis – popular across Europe and especially so in Houman’s old home town of Helsingborg with an unusually high number of courts for a place with a population a little over 100,000 people.

“When I discovered it, I felt it was something very different – so much fun, but with a social aspect,” he said. “You have four players on a smaller court, a lot of banter going on, and it’s intense, because you’re in a more confined space than on a tennis court.

“It’s relatively easy to pick up – after two or three sessions you get the basics and you can have a decent game even with someone who is better than you.

“I was fascinated, because it was so much fun, and I went back to London, super-excited to play a game with my friends – but there was nowhere to buy Padel rackets, except online.

“Eventually I managed to convince a few friends to play and tried to book a court, but there were hardly any. Back then, there was one in Regent’s Park and one in Hyde Park, but they were outdoors – when it rains, you can’t really play.

“The frustration grew because I wanted to play in London. I played every time I went back

a new audience

High ceilings will help players avoid hitting the roof when playing padel tennis at Padium

Padium’s Canary Wharf club is taking shape under three arches at 10 Bank Street next to Societe Generale

Padium founder Houman Ashrafzadeh, centre, with artists’ impressions of how the Canary Wharf club will look when completed

how Padium will place London’s biggest padel tennis club at Bank Street in Canary Wharf

to Sweden, but that was not frequently. I just couldn’t get over how strange it was that it hadn’t caught on in the UK. Squash was big, so why not padel?”

Initially Houman’s idea was to try to replicate the sorts of facilities he’d used in Sweden –unmanned courts in warehouses accessed by a code. However, a dinner with Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon – an investor in Houman’s successful Coffydoor venture – took things up a notch.

“One of the topics that came up was padel tennis,” said Houman. “Martin loves it and plays five or six times a week – it’s a passion for him and he’s very good at it.

“ I told him I was looking to start a Padel club in London as then there were none. At that time, Stockholm had hundreds of courts, but I only knew of two outdoor courts in the whole of London and he couldn’t believe it.

“So I showed him the Excel spreadsheet I’d been working on and he said he’d be interested in partnering up and investing.

“Having him on board gave me the ability to do something on a bigger scale than I’d been considering. My experience of Padel in the UK was that it was often very basic. It was embarrassing

to bring friends from Sweden to these places, because the facilities were poor. Courts would not be maintained properly, with broken plaster on the walls and would often be too close to one another, so balls would be flying in from other games, or there would be no changing facilities or showers.”

So Houman went back to the drawing board to create something he thought would be capable of “revolutionising” the game in the UK.

“I realised the club needed to be in a flagship location – a place that could attract a lot of people who had never played before,” he said.

“It should be an educator, to get a lot of people involved, including kids and schools so they too can

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enjoy this amazing game. I was told by some companies that I could just put up some courts and not spend much money because the demand was so high that they would be packed anyway.

“But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to create an experience and an environment where you could build a community.

“I want young people involved, corporate clients and really good players too – the full 360-degrees like I was used to in Sweden.

“With Martin involved, I didn’t want to replicate any of the experiences I’d had in the UK, I wanted to raise the bar and have something much better to revolutionise the sport here.”

The result is Houman’s plans for Padium. The facility will be home to seven indoor panoramic glass courts under a 10-metre high ceiling including a centre court. There will also be an outdoor court, a pro shop and a nutritional drinks bar.

The store will stock clothing from tennis legend Björn Borg and a selection of rackets from Babolat.

It will also have changing and shower facilities with a towel service and a club lounge on a continued on Page 8

NEW GROWTH

READY FOR SUMMER 2023

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I want young people involved, corporate clients and really good players too – the full 360-degrees like I was used to in Sweden

Houman Ashrafzadeh, Padium

Houman takes on Canary Wharf Group CEO Shobi Khan in an exhibition match to mark the o cial unveiling of Padium as a tenant on the estate

e anine oor where players can hang ou before and af er ga es.

“ igh now play a o her clubs bu have o devo e half a day for one hour of padel because have o ravel for an hour play re urn ho e o shower hen con inue y day said ou an. “ ha s a lo of i e o spend when he whole hing could us ake inu es.

“ wan he e phasis o be on good service a adiu wi h y s aff being really knowledgeable and friendly o crea e an environ en for everyone where i s welco ing and everybody feels included.

“ his goes back o y wedish roo s where padel is open o everyone. We don have fancy clubs over here where you have o be a e ber and i akes you years o ge on he lis . s possible o crea e a pre iu produc and o have ha inclusivi y where all are welco e. ensive work o s reng hen he founda ions under ank

ree have been under aken o suppor he concre e slab on which adiu will si . oca ed on he si e of a oo ed -s orey o ce block he club will bring fresh life o a pa ch of ground ha had beco e a popular sun rap before he winds of or unice ore up i s as ro urf. pen daily fro a - p cour s will be bookable in advance for four players wi h slo s of or inu es available wi h no e bership re uired o play.

“ ne of he seven indoor cour s is a cen re cour which will cos a bi ore bu we ll be incorpora ing cour ca era echnology on ha one which reads he ga e and gives you s a is ics said ou an.

“ ne is a recording ca era which records he ga e and he o her is -based o give you s a is ics abou your ga e which is really cool.

“ his will help people who wan o i prove heir ga e and so coaches can assess heir perfor ance. f i s popular hen we ll look a rolling i ou o o her cour s oo.

Indoor padel courts, including a centre court with video technology, and one outdoor court at Padium in Canary Wharf 7

Thursday 6 July

South Dock, Canary Wharf

Recruit your team and take to the water this summer for your chance to become champions – and unlock people’s potential with life-changing clean water.

Entry fee: £350 per team

Fundraising target: £1,500

Corporate entry includes a minimum of 11 and up to 17 people in a team.

For more information visit wateraid.org/dragon-boat-race

“For me, padel is the perfect combination of squash and tennis. It takes the best of both and combines them into one game.

“It’s easy to learn, but hard to master. Because the courts are smaller, the actual amount of time you spend playing is greater than tennis – rallies can often go on for minutes rather than being over quickly. Also, tennis can be a lonely sport. With padel you play with four people, so it’s super social. You have a ranking, sign up and play with players of a similar level you don’t know, so it’s a great way to meet people.

“One of our responsibilities will be to help nurture the grass roots of this amazing sport. We want schools and people from the local community to come and discover the game because they will be the players of the future.

“We need players to convince councils and other organisations that it’s worth approving these facilities – that the investment will be worth it – so we can grow the sport.

“Ultimately the aim is for it to become an Olympic Sport.

There’s a federation and there are professional players making a living from the game now, which is great. The Lawn Tennis Association is also involved now and we’re looking forward to working with them too.”

As for Houman, Urban Greens remains a strong focus and, come the opening of Padium there will certainly be some crossover between the two brands.

“Padel and salad go well together and Urban Greens will certainly be catering for events we put on,” he said.

“We’ll also be offering companies corporate sponsorships for the courts where businesses can have their name and logo on the booking app and on the courts themselves, with playing time for their staff and whole-club takeover events.”

Go to padium.com for details

Scan this code to nd out more about Padium at Canary Wharf

One of our responsibilities will be to help nurture the grass roots of this amazing sport

Houman Ashrafzadeh, Padium

Left, the club stands on reinforced foundations at 10 Bank Street

Below, artists’ impressions of the changing facilities and pro shop at Padium

another level

by Amy French

London Tech Week, which runs from June 12-16, is fast approaching. Now in its tenth year, the five-day conference expects to bring together 20,000 people to discuss the role of global technology in driving sustainable innovation.

It convenes founders, top business leaders, policymakers, investors and rising stars to highlight technologies and trends that will unlock new opportunities and transform the future.

This year, there’s also the inaugural Fintech Fringe – an official fringe event of London Tech Week, launched to help fintech scale-ups accelerate UK growth. Level39 is delighted to have joined forces with the Fintech Fringe – partnering to deliver day one of the conference in Canary Wharf.

With a strong fintech demographic amongst our community, I look forward to hosting speakers from the likes of the Centre For Finance, Innovation and Technology, OpenPayd and the Department For Business And Trade, along with networking and collaboration opportunities for likeminded entrepreneurs and businesses.

London Tech Week convenes founders, top business leaders, investors and rising stars to highlight technologies and trends

Amy French, Level39

On day one, we will be welcoming a line-up of industry leaders for keynote speeches and panel discussions focusing on three core themes – firstly the UK’s biggest growth opportunities, secondly the tech ecosystem and communities available to support growing teams and thirdly, lessons learned from those who have successfully scaled.

Who should attend? I expect that this four-day programme will benefit any fintech considering UK expansion and their go-to market strategy, as well as those already established in the UK with the aim of engaging with top tier content and fellow entrepreneurs. I hope to see you there.

For more information, go to level39.co/event/ fintech-fringe

Amy French is director at Level39 in Canary Wharf – follow @Level39CW on Insta and Twitter and @Level39CanaryWharf on LinkedIn

Go to level39.co for more information about the One Canada Square-based tech community Scan this code to find out more about Fintech Fringe at Level39 or to attend. Day passes cost £50 or festival passes cost £200

play pay and

by Jon Massey

KO your CEO” reads the zesty pink neon on the wall just inside Platform in Canary Wharf. Recently opened in Crossrail Place between Flying Tiger and Island Poke, at first glance it’s not immediately clear what this new arrival is.

There’s a little box office structure as you go in that has a distinct Wes Anderson vibe – a shelter, perhaps for a concierge. Then there are the glowing pink

and yellow lights on the ceiling and the unmistakable sugary aroma of popcorn being made.

The sensory effect is that of walking into some kind of timeless future cinema that’s scrambled all of the best bits of going out to see a movie and come up with something highly refined, a little like the sweetener on the snacks. But Platform isn’t a movie theatre or a place to physically beat on senior executives, it’s a place to play video games in comfort with snacks and drinks.

“I place us somewhere between continued on Page 12

Cost of a 90-minute gaming

£13.50

Canary Wharf - West India Quay

Day one of Fintech Fringe will take place at L39

Platform co-founder and CEO Tomaso Portunato recently opened a second branch in Canary Wharf

how Platform provides a subterranean haven for console gamers who want a comfy couch with refreshments on tap

virtual viewpoint

by Chris Ezekiel

from Page 10

competitive socialising operators, who are doing things like ping pong and darts, and a traditional cinema,” said Tomaso Portunato, co-founder and CEO of Platform.

“When you go and see a movie you’re consuming content with friends – having food and drinks and it’s much the same here. We have popcorn, a bar and we serve pizzas.

Humans are responsible for driving tech forward

It’s been a busy few months for us at Creative Virtual. We have always prided ourselves on the long-term relationships we have with our customers and partners, rooted in our ability to constantly innovate and continually add value to their businesses.

With the emergence of ChatGPT, like all companies in the Conversational AI space, we have had to ask ourselves some hard questions about how we can leverage this technology to continue to add value. For the past two and a half years, we have been researching and testing large language models.

Understanding that many businesses are grappling with the challenge that this new technology presents, we took the early decision to o er our customers free consultation and proof of concept projects using these models.

This approach was a learning opportunity for us and our customers to really understand the business bene ts and risks associated with deploying such models. At the same time, it really helped our clients understand the issues associated with implementing them. Several of the pilots are now turning into full commercial projects – delivering real business value for our customers and the results are shaping our product roadmap.

In only a few months we have developed native support for large language models and provide the functionality in our product that allows customers to implement them in a safe way, delivering all the bene ts these models o er, but without any of the risks.

Later this year we celebrate 20 years as a company, and I’m proud to say that our rst UK nancial services customer that came on board in 2004 is still with us today.

Customer-led innovation has driven our company for nearly two decades and has never been more important in a world where the rapid rise of AI is disrupting so many industries and business models.

Our recent new product release, Gluon, is testament to our amazing team and long-term customer relationships.

While machines are taking over many human tasks, and AI plays a signi cant part in our own technology, we must never forget that it’s humans that build those relationships and business models and, at the end of the day, it’s humans who design the algorithms that make the machines work.

Chris Ezekiel is founder and CEO of customer engagement solutions specialist Creative Virtual based at West India Quay’s Cannon Workshops

Scan this code for more information about Creative Virtual or follow @creativevirtual and @chrisezekiel on Twitter

“I’m originally from Geneva in Switzerland and I came here to study economics and politics about 10 years ago. Before starting Platform I was doing event management for game companies and helping student associations out, but I never really had a job after university.

“The idea was to start small and to make something out of it. We began as a pop-up – putting on events, selling tickets and generating funding for about a year.

“We had gaming sponsors from doing that and decided, with my co-founders Lucas Weintraub, Jo Highfield and my brother Nicolo, that if we could afford a commercial property, then we would go for it. When I was working in Old Street, I used to go to a pizzeria for lunch – count the customers and try to estimate how much they would spend.

“I was trying to build a business model. Then the pizzeria went bankrupt and we took it over for the first Platform. Shoreditch is now in a really good spot – we have a loyal customer base and we do a lot of gaming events there – but we were also testing the ground.

“It’s still our baby and it’s doing great, but the Canary Wharf branch is closer to our finished concept. Shoreditch was an opportunity to see what we could do with little capital and a vague understanding of what we were doing.

“We tried everything – racing simulators, retro gaming, console gaming and PC gaming. We learnt a lot about our operating model and the type of experience we wanted to be focusing on.

“That’s why Canary Wharf is based on next generation console gaming and how we create a really fun experience around that. It’s streamlined and it’s simpler to operate – you don’t have issues like customers changing the language and alphabet on a PC and then not changing it back.

“But most importantly, we also feel that console gaming offers the most social experience of the lot. It caters for the crowd who want to go out and enjoy themselves, to play, have some food and some cocktails. Plus operators like Nintendo have made it really fun even if you lose – and that’s

important. We want to make sure anyone coming to Platform, whether they are an experienced gamer or not, has a really good time. That means we’re careful about the games we select and how we present what we’re doing.”

While the pink glow and sweet aromas of the bar are ground level temptations, the business end of Platform is subterranean. Customers follow pulsating neon arrows downstairs to a surprisingly spacious bar area beyond which are located a series of semi-private booths of varying sizes.

These come equipped with Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5 consoles, a handy neon light to attract staff and plentiful sofa space.

“We have about 30 games to choose from including racing, continued on Page 21

The larger booths at Platform t up to eight people. The venue o ers a number of packages including a bottomless brunch deal for £35 per head

game review

Moving Out, published by Team17

from Page 12

and sports titles, with big names like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Call Of Duty and Fifa

“But we also have cooperative games like Overcooked and Moving Out, which I think are great. If you’re out on date night, you might want to play more cooperatively rather than competitively.

“Our larger booths can accommodate up to eight people but we can easily arrange tournaments for our guests and take corporate bookings for up to 60.

“Most of our customers pre-book online, but people can just walk in too and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate them.

>> Oh God. What’s going on?

I just threw a chair through a window, my head is a toaster and it’s just fired two charred pieces of bread into the air. Now a giant turtle is repeatedly slapping me. Worse still, I can barely move this fridge by myself...

These are just a few of the thoughts likely to run through your head as you and your friends take on Moving Out

Published by Team17 and developed by some clearly very disturbed Swedes and Australians, this 2020 “cooperative moving simulation game” pits players against that timeless foe –moving day.

While the real-life process of relocating from one home to another is generally said to be amongst the most stressful things a person can do, playing Moving Out is curiously liberating. Despite the oddness – you can play as a humanoid toaster, a unicorn or even a person – the simple act of frantically battling exaggerated physics against the clock to stuff a van with furniture and other ephemera is curiously relaxing.

Behold The Mario, one of the pizza options available at Platform. This doughy disc has clearly passed through the mushroom kingdom and come out all the better for it, complete with the stringy cheese you remember from your childhood. Ideal as a side order to a session of Super Smash Bros

True, you can be painstakingly careful (breakages are penalised to some extent) and go for a high score. But the game doesn’t seem to mind too much if you decide that tossing a sofa through a plate glass window is a better way to expedite its journey to a new home.

There’s a cooperative element too. Heavier items must be carried with a pal and there’s an obvious temptation to invoke the sacred mantra of the Chuckle Brothers. Failing that, keeping a selection of expletives handy is advised for the inevitable time your colleague is less than useful. There are plentiful obstacles to contend with – rakes, ghosts, fires, a giant turtle – that serve to make the experience of play richer and more bizarre. Fans of Overcooked (also on offer at Platform) will doubtless find this a silly, frantic blast with an unhealthy toaster obsession.

>> Wharf Life has teamed up with Platform to bring you a series of reviews of games playable on its consoles. Stay logged in for more of this kind of thing in our June 28 issue

“Typically people book 90 minutes (£13.50 per person) and can always top that up if they would like to stay longer. After that, they are welcome to hang out in the bar, of course.

“We also offer packages such as £28pp for two cocktails and gaming or bottomless brunch for £35pp, which includes a pizza or nachos for each person and bottomless beer, Prosecco or Mimosas for 90 minutes.

“A lot of people want to get together to play games and the traditional way of doing that would be to meet at someone’s house on a Friday.

“Platform allows a larger group to meet with all the latest games in a comfortable environment.

“For some it will be a pit-stop when they’re out in London. But equally it could be a place to go with mates from work or on a date.

“For businesses it’s a way for colleagues to have fun and we can offer whole-venue booking for corporate customers with drinks, food and unlimited gaming.”

Following the success of the Shoreditch branch, Tomaso and the team were already looking at Canary Wharf as a place to open in 2019.

“I initially thought it was interesting because of the corporate scene,” he said. “But since then Canary Wharf Group has done an amazing job of developing the area – picking the right operators to attract people.

“The deciding factor for us was the Elizabeth Line and the area is seeing massive footfall during the week and at weekends.”

Gaming at Platform starts at £5 for sessions off peak on Mondays. Go to experienceplatform.co.uk for more information

Scan this code for more about Platform in Canary Wharf

take a breath

by David Lefebvre Sell

The challenge is to escape thoroughly and then come back stronger to deal with reality

My first and greatest addiction is to escapism, now and forever. It is the tendency that I most struggle against and that I always revert to when I’m stressed and overwhelmed. My idea of escapism is a good sci-fi or fantasy book series – yours might be a rom-com, reading about celebrities or telling yourself that immigrants are somehow the cause of all the country’s problems.

My point is that the drive towards escapism can be both a positive and a negative in our lives. Escape is, obviously, a response to a perceived threat, but our modern experience of that is a bit different to our ancestors.

How do you escape from money troubles, health issues or that relentless bastard, time? The answer is through imagination. No, it didn’t die when you were a teenager, it just levelled up to begin its job of keeping you sane.

The urge to escape from these worries is very addictive. Modern life presents us with so many lovely ways of not thinking about the things that are actually troubling us.

This is the threat of escapism. It’s always easier to avoid than engage. The challenge is to dive back into the real world, and to engage with the things that frighten us and the parts of ourselves that may hold us back.

But there is more to fantasy and escapism than mere avoidance. We are also nourished by our favourite stories. Things make sense in our escapism – there is a clear right and wrong, heroism and villainy.

Benjamin Disraeli said, “Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic, makes heroes”. Children use their inner world of imagination in order to escape from – but also to make sense of – their outer world. So do adults.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but being an adult is frequently crap. The challenge is to escape thoroughly and then return stronger.

David Lefebvre Sell is a Greenwich-based psychotherapist and Yoga instructor who teaches at Third Space in Canary Wharf

Follow @davetheyogi on Twitter and Instagram and @DavidLefebvreSellYogaAndPsychotherapy on FB

Scan this code for information about David’s work as a transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist

Moving Out sees players collaborate to shift items into a van

how Moderate Becoming Good Later finds meaning and structure in the form of the Shipping Forecast

by Jon Massey

While Toby Carr’s story is one that stretches as far north as Iceland and south to Spain, it’s one that is steeped in the waters of Shadwell Basin and the Thames. It was in 2011 that the then Hackney residen and archi ec rs encountered the Tower Hamlets Canoe Club – a catalyst for his decision to later embark on a great adventure.

“We’d been to see our uncle and aunt in Jersey after our dad died in 2010,” said Toby’s sister, Katie. “The club had a connection with the island and they gave Toby a helmet to take back to east London that had been left behind.

“He’d had a bit of a try at kayaking in Jersey and had enjoyed it, so I think that when he walked into the club and the people were nice, then that was it.

“He got involved and would sweep out of London most weekends to go paddling in some really beautiful places with these wonderful people. The youngest members are around 20, and the oldest around 70. They all just get on with it – practising in London on Tuesday nights and then going all around the country.

“Before that, he was very land-based and had been on some cycling adventures through France and Norway but hadn’t spent a lot of time on the water since we were kids.

“Back then we’d had a boat. It certainly wasn’t a posh yacht – my dad called i a oa ing caravan and I remember it as being cold, wet and windy, sailing out of the River Orwell on the east coast.

“I remember having cold water thrown in my face and having to inch forward to change the sail because the sea was too rough, and coming back completely soaked. I also remember the Shipping Forecast was so important, with Radio 4 constantly on in the background.”

Toby wasn’t expecting to live much past 30. Born with Fanconi Anaemia – a rare genetic disorder ha affec s he i une sys e and increases an individual’s chance of getting cancer – doctors told him at the age of 12 that he would be unlikely to survive beyond three decades.

So when his brother, Marcus, who had the same condition, died in 2015, Toby decided to embark on a journey. Having

spent four years honing his skills on the water with the canoe club, he decided that he wanted to attempt to sea-kayak in all the areas mentioned by the Shipping Forecast. Armed with a grant from the Churchill Foundation and his kayak, he took a sabbatical from work and set out.

“ or he rs su er he wen to the northern parts of the shipping forecast – South-East Iceland and Faroes then to North Utsire, South Utsire, Fisher, German Bight and Humber.

“Then he did some during the winter in the UK and then the following summer he went down o iscay off rance and i roy and rafalgar off nor hern pain and Portugal.”

By the following summer, in oby was suffering fro

After Toby died, I was going through his stu and found all his notes. He’d really recorded his journey. I thought I could write the book for him

Katie Carr, Author

author and artist living and working in Barcelona – decided to step in and make good on his intentions.

Katie said: “After Toby died, I was going hough his s uff and found all his notes. He’d kept a blog and been very active on Instagram – he’d really recorded his journey and there was a lot that had never been published – details of what he saw, how he felt and how he’d set things up each day. I thought that I could write it for him, so I sat down and started.”

The result is Moderate Becoming Good Later by Toby Carr and Katie arr se for i s o cial launch on June 6 at Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre, the base of operations for Tower Hamlets Canoe lub. Wri en in he rs person in Toby’s voice, the book follows his journey to immerse himself in nature, to connect with countries around the UK across the seas and to deal with the death of his and Katie’s brother.

liver cancer but still managed to kayak around the coast of Cornwall having moved there to be closer to the sea and to lecture at Falmouth University. A formal diagnosis came in 2021 and Toby died in 2022. He was 40.

However, the story doesn’t end there. Toby had kept detailed notes and voice recordings as well as blogging, all chronicling the trips that had seen him kayak in 17 of the forecast’s 31 distinct areas. Before his death, he’d successfully pitched them as a book about his journey to publisher Summersdale in 2021 with a summary of the chapters and three that he’d written.

While unable o nish i himself, his sister Katie – an

Scan this code for more about Tower Hamlets Canoe Club

Sometimes the trips he makes are with friends and sometimes alone, taking in seas choppy and calm as he paddles the everpresent sea.

“I wrote the book, but the aim is that it doesn’t sound like that,” said Katie. “It was a hard thing to do. My brother had just passed away and I had to sort through his s uff.

“Opening his notebooks, there was the smell of his house and of him on the pages and that was pretty tough. Then I started to listen to all his voice recordings on his phone and on videos.

“But I just kept working on it and the story emerged. The Shipping Forecast was a framework so that he could do an adventure with something that was quite speci c. oby was really clear ha he wanted it to be a book with a story that people wouldn’t be able to put down. It’s not a kayaking manual, or list of things he did and places he went to.

“A lot of people come into it,

Areas covered by the Shipping Forecast that Toby managed to kayak in before his death in 2022

Toby Carr set out to kayak in all 31 areas covered by the Shipping Forecast, having honed his skills in east London

Following his death in 2022, his sister Katie has nished the book he started about his adventures on the sea

Wapping - Limehouse - Shadwell

completing the

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

Where?

Half Moon Theatre Limehouse

Little Seed Music presents a fairytale classic featuring all the usual magic bean and giant-based shenanigans. Fee e fo fum. Suitable for 5+. Jun 22-24, various times, £7, halfmoon.org.uk

Where?

Troxy Limehouse

Toby blogged about his activities as he went about the challenge as well as making notes, voice recordings and video footage, allowing Katie to write Moderate Becoming Good Later, which is set to o cially launch on June 6

there are new friends, and it’s really a story of the voyage and also the history of the place and the connection across the seas which he anaged o nd. e was very opposed to Brexit, for e a ple.

“It was a journey that he set out on with one reason, but came away with a lot of other nice things as people often do when hey ravel.

“There are several themes that co e up. ne is he love of na ure and the importance of getting outside, whether that’s in a kayak or just walking – taking time to connect with something that’s real no l ered hrough or wha ever.

“ no her is abou overco ing li i a ions. oby had li i a ions around how long his life was going to be, other illnesses associated with his condition, and this was a window of heal h for hi .

“ ne of he hings hope i conveys is that it might be more helpful to think of limitations as a design challenge. here s a lo ha might not be possible, but you should think of what is, and ask yourself Wha can do .

“The easiest chapter for me to write, although it doesn’t sound like it, is the chapter when Toby ge s ill. ha was because didn have all his notes and I’d lived ha a bi .

“It was hard in a way because i s a di cul sub ec o broach the decline and eventual death of so eone. u pleased wi h he way I’ve tackled it – he never had self-pity, and I think he would like he way ha i has co e ou .

While Toby made it to 17 areas in the forecast and even had plans to get to the non-coastal areas covered by the forecast, ultimately his health prevented him reaching all .

“ e didn nish he rip and there are nine areas that border land that he didn’t do, so I’m going o ry o nish hose said a ie. “ ha s a bi of a challenge because I wasn’t a sea kayaker, I live in Barcelona, I’ve got two small kids and I’m 10 years older than Toby was when he started his rip.

“But I’ve already sat down with y aun icky o ry and gure ou how igh i in and ve started to plan so let’s see how it goes.

Moderate Becoming Good Later is published by Summersdale and priced a . . Go to summersdale.com

Scan this code to nd out more about the book or to buy a copy

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala bring their singular, wailing punk masterpieces to Troxy. Expect virtuoso playing and loud sounds. Jun 18, 7pm, from £62, troxy.co.uk

Where?

Tower Of London

Tower Hill

Included in the price of general admission (£1 for Tower Hamlets residents) the moat has once again been carpeted with wild owers to enjoy. Until September, daily, £29.90 (adults), hrp.org.uk

ash back

Anne’s, which is spearheading a campaign to raise £7million to open up St Anne’s Limehouse for wider community use following the award of National Lottery funding careforstannes.org

Scan this to read our interview with Philip and to nd out more about the plans for the church

want more? @wharfwhispers

KIDS | Jack And The Beanstalk

SEE | The Tower Moat

GIG | The Mars Volta

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

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs

by Jon Massey

Head to the Westferry Road venue for a ve-act Ibsen extravaganza following a woman forced to make di cult decisions by the death of her husband. Jun 27-Jul 8, 7.30pm, £16, space.org.uk

Where?

Poplar Union Poplar

With members who met, grew and trained through the Grand Union Orchestra, this band will be in residence every fourth Friday. Jun 23, 7.30pm, free, poplarunion.com

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | Rachel

This raunchy, comic, one-woman monologue about Gen Y anxieties is written by Francois Lockhart and performed by LAMDA graduate Clara Courty-Zanca. May 13-Jun 3, 7.30pm, £15, space.org.uk

People have been drawing for a long time. Hand stencils have been found in caves dating back around 64,000 years but the act of making marks on a surface has perhaps never been as widely celebrated as it is today thanks to innumerable social media time lapse videos. hings were very differen in 1994, however, when artist and academic Anita Taylor set about founding a drawing competition.

“I founded it when I was working in higher education at an art school in Gloucestershire because it was hard to teach drawing without showing students contemporary examples,” said Anita, who today is professor at and dean of Duncan Of Jordanstone College Of Art And Design at the University Of Dundee.

“What was then the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition was one way of supporting artists who draw by giving them the opportunity to show their work. But it was also a great opportunity to give students the chance to see the work of artists who made drawings and were drawing now.

“Contemporary drawings were di cul o see o her han in museums up to the 1990s, so the exhibition has grown from there.

“It has become very popular and there has been a very big submission. Through that we’ve built a lovely community of artists who want to test their work through the format of an exhibition.

“It also works to further education in terms of being able to share drawings and discourse about them with schools, colleges, universities, researchers and the public, of course.”

The competition has been through several iterations since it was founded, including some 16 years as the Jerwood Drawing Prize with funding from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

Today the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize has been in east London for the past six years –supported by Eric Reynolds and the team at Urban Space Management in Leamouth.

Attracting more than 3,000 submissions, it culminates in an exhibition of some 65 works, which s ar s off in eas ondon before touring the country. A panel of selectors is responsible for choosing the shortlisted entries and awarding four pri es rs and second place for £8,000 and £5,000 respectively, a student award of £2,000 and the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award of £10,000, which is given every other year.

There is also a separate submission and selection process for working drawings with a prize of £2,000. All submissions from the UK need to reach the selectors by June 30.

“Drawing is hugely important to everybody as a vital means of communication and expression,” said Anita.

“It’s something that we all do, but it has become a very sophisticated language and something that enables us to see where we are in the world – to understand what it is to be human and to co unica e effec ively. covers

the whole range of languages, medium, purposes. We’re looking for drawings ha are differen in their form, intent, content and execution.

“It might be a performance drawing, a diagram, an expressive drawing we don de ne wha a drawing is, but we do ask people to consider what a drawing is. Then, it’s for the panel to decide wha a good drawing is and nd a good drawing they can agree on.

“ s a very broad eld and his is part of our discussion about what a drawing is today. That’s why we have a series of experts re ec ing on his.

“We’ve had works entirely found, works that have been performance drawings and works that are beautifully executed –more conventional drawings.

“We’ve had fantastic things and amazing artists in the show. We’ve had phenomenally well-established artists, either at the beginning of their career and also later in their career.

“It’s a great thing where people feel open to test their own drawings. We see works by students, by various published artists and people who draw but may not be artists – engineers, for example.

“It’s the panel’s decision whether to include digital work, but if it’s original work, then some argue it shouldn’t be reproducible – but it really depends what its purpose is.

“David Hockney’s digital drawings are really amazing, for example, so we think we will see drawings ha re ec ha in eres but it will be down to the selectors to see which ones they want to include in the exhibition.”

The 2023 panel making those decisions for the main prizes will be Laura Hoptman, executive director of The Drawing Center in New York, Dennis Scholl, collector, arts patron and president and CEO of Oolite Arts and British artist Barbara Walker.

It will be their deliberations, which result in the content of the exhibition, which is set to launch on September 27 at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

The Space arts centre on the Isle Of Dogs has successfully raised more than £30,000 for a new lift to improve accessibility at the building. The money was raised through a combination of grants and fundraising nights space.org.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about The Space’s campaign and what’s on at the venue

want more? @wharfwhispers

“I hope people who come and see it will be excited by drawing – that most humble of activities,” said Anita. “It’s something that appeals to everyone. I hope they will see that drawing is really inclusive.

“It’s an extraordinary space that e plores and re ec s all sor s of differen approaches o drawing to see marks on paper, on the ground on l on racing paper

STAGE | Lady Inger

GIG | Grand Union Re:Generation Band

how the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 is making a final call for entries to be submitted by June 30

Shortlisted works are displayed at Trintiy Buoy Wharf before going on tour

making the

– testaments about being alive in the world today.

“I should like visitors to take from it that everyone can draw, and we’ll include everybody.

“We’ll also have a fantastic education pack and we’ll be encouraging schools and colleges – everybody – to get involved.

“ he e hibi ion is se o nish on October 15 at Trinity Buoy Wharf before it goes on tour everywhere.

“It’s something people all over the country can really enjoy because drawing can help them deal with complex issues in a way that can engage others.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about it – it can take people on a journey without them feeling that it’s complicated. It’s perhaps less frightening and more inviting than other kinds of art.

“The space at Trinity Buoy Wharf is so welcoming, so open and so re ec ive.

“Anyone is welcome to submit work, but we would recommend that people are over 18.

“There’s no age limit as such – we don’t want anything that would stop work being submitted.

“So if you think it’s a drawing – a good one – and it’s a drawing you want to test in this kind of way, then it’s a fabulous opportunity to get your work seen by a really distinguished panel.”

Go to tbwdrawingprize.artopps.co.uk for details of how to submit entires

l Also coming up at Trinity Buoy Wharf is We Two Were Lovers – The Sea And I, a concert featuring singer Catherine Hooper and harpist Nicolette Chin. The programme will include works by Haydn, Wagner, Dvorak and Coleridge-Taylor as well as readings of poetry by Emily Dickinson and arol nn uffy.

The concert is set to take place on June 18 from 2pm-3.45pm with tickets costing £14.25.

Go to trinitybuoywharf.com for more information or to book

Plus submissions received for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize on an annual basis

Professor Anita Taylor created the Trinity Wharf Drawing Prize as a way for her students to see contemporary works in a setting other than a musuem

I hope people who come and see the exhibition will be excited by drawing –that most humble of activities

Professor Anita Taylor, Founding Director

Rotherhithe - Deptford - Bermondsey

£1.80

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

Where? The Master Shipwright’s House Deptford

EAT | Dirty Brunch

While Dirty Apron may have closed its doors at Deptford Market Yard, it’s popping up again for two dates in Deptford with food and a dash of Mozart. Jun 4, Jul 2, 11am-3pm, £35, theshipwright.co.uk

Where?

Deal Porter

Square Canada Water

VISIT

| Canada Water Market

The market is now open all weekend with plenty of street food stalls, crafts and produce straight from the farm. Plus live music and jollity. Sat-Sun, 10am-4pm, free to visit, squid.org.uk

Where? The Albany Deptford

making things

TRY | Rezon8 Free Recording

Local, youth-led record label Rezon8 is o ering free recording sessions at The Albany for people aged 14-25 with sound engineer Kieron Morris (KamZz). Weds, Thurs, Fri, free, thealbany.org.uk

try it

how Co ee And Olive is delivering really generous deals from its home in a crate outside Surrey Quays

by Jon Massey

Looking for a damn ne cup of co ee? Look no further than City Brew in Canada Water station. This friendly independent sells an excellent, chocolatey decaf with oat milk and is ideally placed for commuters citybrew.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about City Brew at Canada Water station

want more? @wharfwhispers

We love value at Wharf Life and so, by extension, we love Co ee And Olive at Surrey Quays. Operating out of a shipping container outside the shopping centre, this small cafe is a jaunty shade of green – pepped up even further with brightly painted chairs and tables outside.

What stands out even more, however is the prices on o er, with freshly made wraps starting at £6.95 for a tortilla stu ed full of falafel or halloumi.

Opt for a Falafel Box,

however and you’ll nd yourself with a generously lled container with ve deep-fried balls of goodness atop a mixed salad, hoummous and a stick of fried halloumi for £7.95. It’s a serious feed complete with black olives and a dressing that combines

a glint of vinegar with a zesty punch of lemon.

Best of all, it’s served up with a congenial smile from a family business that’s o ering its customers a really solid deal.

Oh, and before we forget, they do unctuous oblongs of baklava for a mere £1.80 per piece. In short, Co ee And Olive is a place that sweetens the deal even when no extra sugar is required to make it a winner.

Follow @co ee.and.olive on Instagram

Scan this code to nd out more Co ee And Olive

Price of a piece of syrup-drenched baklava at Co ee And Olive

Co ee And Olive is located outside Surrey Quays shopping centre in Rotherhithe

Falafel Box, £7.95

Minutes that Moonbase at the Peter Harrison Planetarium lasts with adult tickets costing £12

a home among the

Greenwich - Peninsula - Woolwich

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

Where? The O2 Arena Peninsula

GIG | The Black Keys + Spoon

The Ohio duo, a punchy 11 albums and six Grammy Awards into their career bring their Dropout Boogie tour to Greenwich Peninsula’s premier stage. Jun 21, 6.30pm, from £48, theo2.co.uk

Where? Greenwich Theatre Greenwich

STAGE | Piaf To Pop

Christine Bovill promises a sexy celebration of the golden age of French song and how the high art of chanson evolved during the Swinging Sixties. Jun 14, 7.30pm, £21, greenwichthreatre.org.uk

Where? Visitors’ Book Cafe Woolwich Works

COMEDY | Helen Bauer

The comedian, fresh from stints on Live At The Apollo and Late Night Mash, presents an hour of new material. Expect Disney Princesses and her mom. Jun 22, 6.30pm, £7, woolwich.works

ash back

SEE - Moonbase

Royal Observatory Greenwich, Peter Harrison Planetarium weekdays 3.45pm, weekends 12.30pm and 3.30pm, £12 (£8 kids) rmg.co.uk

From the moment Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, humans have been thinking about living there. But what would a moonbase 250,000miles from Earth actually look like and how might it work? This documentary, narrated by former astronaut, Nicole Scott, looks at the challenges of surviving the hostile, alien conditions and what scienti c achievements and technology might be required to make the dream a reality.

This is Imamuddin Khan, head chef at Kinaara, the principal restaurant at InterContinental London - The O2 on Greenwich Peninsula, serving up classic Indian cuisine with a modern twist iclondon-theo2.com

Scan this to read Wharf Life’s interview with Imamuddin on his mother’s in uence and his passion for spices

want more? @wharfwhispers

the arrival of Market Express at Excel is

the latest incremental improvement to make our lives easier

by Jon Massey

Almost imperceptibly things move on and sharpen up. The li abe h ine s nal timetable has arrived, meaning its full service is now available across the city. Already it’s the busiest railway in the UK, purple arteries pumping people through London. Areas that were once challenging to get to, have been pulled dramatically closer to others in ways that many in the capital are only just starting to explore.

Take Canary Wharf and Royal Docks, for example. The journey between them was once an awkward dog-leg.

A couple of stops on the Jubilee line followed by a couple on the DLR, or a change in trains on the latter, before a graceful meander over the River Lea.

Then, bang. The smoothest, quietest railway in TfL’s network takes that trip and drops it down to three minutes. All of that bothersome friction has been removed at a stroke.

The decision to attend a show at Excel via Custom House has been transformed into one purely of desire, not practicality.

Suddenly, the decision to move City Hall to Royal Victoria Dock looks inspired, with this rapid condui offering brea h akingly quick access to central London.

In short, it’s about speed – and that’s something that’s increasingly a focus inside Excel too. The vast exhibition and conference centre recently saw Market Express open its gates.

Fully kitted out with the system that makes Amazon Fresh work without checkouts, this new convenience store isn’t

just a carbon copy of the tech giant’s high street outlets, it’s an evolution.

ere here s no fa ng wi h an app to gain access, for example. Only a payment card or digital equivalent is needed.

Then it’s scan, grab anything you like off he shelves and leave. Just as the Elizabeth Line eases the journey to Excel, so Market Express makes shopping there ore effor less han ever.

It takes nearly all cards (even American Express was in the works when we visi ed offers so e differen produc s and is, in all likelihood, the future of shopping.

Created by a division of Levy UK + Ireland – the exhibition centre’s catering partner – it’s especially well placed given the na ure of ra c a cel.

“With about 400 events every year we host about 4million visitors and that’s a lot of mouths

to feed,” said Phil Wetz, commercial manager at Excel.

“Levy is one of the biggest caterers in the sports and entertainment industry and we’ve been working with them for more than 23 years. We recently signed another long-term contract with them to ensure they will continue to operate in Excel for many years to come.

“We share a passion for sustainability and also technology, which is why we’re delighted to open Market Express – a frictionless s ore ha is a rs for any event venue.

“You simply tap a card or payment method, take what you want from the shelves and walk out without any of the hassle of waiting for or using a checkout.

“We think it’s really important to our customers. We get a lot of feedback from our visitors and event organisers and they say they want to have access to really good quality food, but they don’t want to spend a long time queueing.

“The quicker we can make that process by using technology, the better.”

The store will be located more or less in the middle of the venue when its 25,000sq m extension to the east is complete.

On its shelves are cold and hot dishes, an extensive range of snacks, fruits, drinks and other essential groceries.

In addition, it also sells products such as shower gel, tampons, tissues and deodorants – anything an exhibitor or visitor might need to grab to ensure comfort during their day.

“The principle remains the same as an Amazon Fresh store – once you go through the gate, a number of cameras are tracking you and creating a virtual basket of the things you pick up,” said

Minutes an Elizabeth Line train takes to get from the station at Canary Wharf to Custom House for Excel

how

just

Built By Levy managing director Rak Kalidas

Excel commercial manager, Phil Wetz, at the opening

The store is the rst of its kind in a UK event venue

Royal Docks - Canning Town

out stepping fearlessly

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

Where? RA Fold Canning Town

Rak Kalidas, managing director of Built By Levy, which installed the store.

“It adds items and subtracts them if you put them back, no matter where that is in the store.

“We’ve done weeks of testing to ensure everything works. Digital receipts are then available by scanning a QR code on the way out if required.

“ s he rs s ore of i s kind that we’ve opened and it’s really exciting to have done that at Excel in such a pivotal location.

“ he s ores s ill need s aff o replenish the shelves and ensure customers are taken through the journey and that they are comfortable with the technology, because it’s not widespread in the UK at the moment.”

Market Express joins other technological innovations such as tablet ordering in restaurants and trials of automatic bars at selected events.

“The important thing is to make sure technology enhances a customer’s experience and doesn’t become a hindrance to service,” said Phil.

“Through this store we can provide a better, faster experience for visitors, allowing them more time to network, learn and trade at the event they are attending.”

This is, of course, the dream. That technology will step in and free humans up to engage in the kinds of activities they want to, whether that’s being more e cien in business or having more leisure time.

But as the incremental advances from Amazon Fresh to Market Express show, it’s a path that’s likely to be gradual as systems are tweaked and developed to better serve customers.

The store uses Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology to track customers’ purchases so they can simply leave when they have picked up what they want

Right now, the experience of walking in o a s ore lling a bag and leaving just got a fraction more frictionless than it was before. How long before there are no gates on the stores at all? Go to excel.london for more information

Scan this code for more information about Market Express at Excel

CLUB | Tech Couture

The night returns with sets from Ste , Rene Wise, Lea Occhi, Bessie-Mae and DJ OT. Expect sexy techno that honours its roots from this line-up. Jun 16, 11pm-6am, £20, ra.co

Where?

Good Hotel Royal Victoria Dock

FILM | Modern Times: The 1930s Cinema Experience

Celebrating the history of Sweetingham’s Cinema in Silvertown, which closed in 1938, watch this Chaplin classic as part of an immersive performance. Jun 17, 1pm-4pm, free, royaldocks.london

Where? Cafe Spice Namaste Royal Albert Wharf

DINE | Practical Action Dinner

Leyla Kazim and Cyrus Todiwala host a charity fundraiser at the Royal Docks restaurant in aid of Practical Action in its mission to ght poverty. Jun 15, 6.30pm, £70, royaldocks.london

crossing water

The Silvertown Partnership has unveiled plans for a new bridge over Royal Victoria Dock as part of its £5billion redevelopment of the Millennium Mills site – connecting it to Custom House for the Elizabeth Line silvertown.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the plans and the wider regeneration of Silvertown

want more? @wharfwhispers

You simply tap a card or payment method, take what you want from the shelves and walk out without any of the hassle of the checkout

Phil Wetz, Excel

by Jon Massey

British hotel lobbies are not known for their shopping options. Sure, in higher-end places there might be a gold and glass case of tasteless and astonishingly expensive jewellery. In Wales, at the mishmashed pile that is the Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport, I once saw MWs being ogged beside an unhappy looking installation of Penderyn whisky bottles.

But generally, all that is to be found in such establishments is a cheery concierge, a branded umbrella or two and sometimes a vending machine.

Not so at The Gantry in Stratford. While Grappelli Food all is cu off fro he ho el by a see-through foldaway wall, it’s very much part of the hotel building. Half Italian grocery and deli and half cafe, bar and restaurant, it’s incongruous as part of a hotel, but somehow right for Stratford.

Sitting on the imaginary border be ween Wes eld and as Village, this is a place that is very much for the locals as well as the visitors. After all, who comes to a hotel and buys fresh vegetables and meat?

“It is incongruous, but the people running the hotel came to us and said they had a space,” said Alessandro Grappelli, the man behind the new opening.

“The venue is incredible and it was a no-brainer. I look at it as a shop that happens to have a hotel above it. It’s in an area that’s been super developed, a new city built with all the experience of building the old city. For us it was an opportunity.”

Opportunities are very much Alessandro’s forte. Originally from Rome, he came to London to learn nglish for si on hs and that was 26 years ago.

“I found a job and, 25 years and six months later, I’m still here,” he said. “My family is here and I’ve spent most of my life in the UK.

“London has given me so much. There is so much meritocracy here. If you’re good at what you do, you have the chance to prove yourself – unfortunately in Italy it still doesn’t work this way, although I do miss the weather.

“I came to London with £150 in my pocket and I started out washing dishes. Then I was a salad chef, then pasta, starters and

the UK for three years, some

main courses. After I’d been in the UK for three years, some of my friends came over and decided to open a restaurant in Fulham.

I joined them and it was a great success.

“However, after a few months, they didn’t really want to live in London and so they told me to take the restaurant and pay the rent. That’s how I got started – I was 22. I was lucky, of course, but I also made the most of my chances because they don’t come that often in life.”

Today, Alessandro runs upmarket Roman restaurant Grappelli in Cobham, Surrey, as well as Taverna Trastevere and Pizzicheria Grappelli in Clapham.

The latter was very much the blueprint for his latest venture in ra ford offering ainly imported groceries from Italy but also making use of local produce.

Italy but also making use of

“We use Dingley Dell Pork, fro uffolk o ake our sausages fresh,” said Alessandro.

“We use Dingley Dell Pork, Alessandro

“ or us i s abou nding he right meat – the chicken and the pork – to make things fresh. The idea for he rs grocery and deli came after Covid, when we were selling produce to locals close to our restaurant in London.

“We didn’t want any other in uences us alian people loved it because it’s a beautiful experience. We have the produce people can buy and a kitchen, so customers can see how to turn the ingredients into a meal.

“Our chefs are highly skilled, but they also follow our philosophy – we make simple things but using amazing ingredients and the results are incredible.

“For me, the concept is to get as close to eating with my family at home as I can. It’s about selecting the right produce and suppliers.

“For example, we have our own brand tomato sauce that, when you look at the ingredients list, is just tomatoes and basil. There are no additives.

“When you try it you feel just like your are in Italy and that’s y passion he real avour of simple things.”

Something that will certainly appeal to hotel guests and locals

Years since Alessandro Grappelli came to the UK with just £150 in his pocket

how Grappelli Food Hall at The Gantry brings a full-flavoured and authentic taste of Italy to Stratford

Grappelli

alike is the dining side of Grappelli which offers an e ensive array of quick bites.

There’s a selection of pasta dishes starting at £9.50 with Gnocchi Ai Pomodoro, ranging up to a Lasagne Alla Bolognese for £11.50. Foccacia sandwiches come packed with the likes of mortadella, Parma ham and bresaola and range in price from £8.90 to £9.50.

There’s also a range of antipas i including brusche a veal ea balls and buffalo o arella alongside the canny inclusion of varia ions on a he e of avocado on toast, for the less traditionally inclined.

“ ven wi h hese dishes we make them with fantastic sourdough bread and an Italian twist,” said Alessandro. “I think people don really know wha o e pec from us yet.

“When we rs opened our doors, we had people who said ha hey couldn believe hey had just had our carbonara in Stratford. Some came back again and again.

“ ha gives e so uch satisfaction. We want people to try our food and then to go back o heir o ces heir friends and their families and say that they’d just had the best pasta.

“Across all of our restaurants we sell carbonara to thousands of customers and, according to them, it’s the best in the UK.

“That’s why the whole Grappelli ea and are really e ci ed to work alongside The Gantry on his new ven ure.

“We really pride ourselves on the research that goes into selecting our products and we hope ha his will be re ec ed in he cus o er e perience.

Grappelli Food Hall is located at The Gantry on Celebration venue and is open every day from 7.30am to 7pm. For more information go to lapizzicheria.co.uk or thegantrylondon.com

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

Where? London Stadium Stratford

GIG | Major League Baseball

Watch the St Louis Cardinals take on the Chicago Cubs in this two-game international series as Major League Baseball action comes to Stratford, England. Jun 25-25, 6pm, 3pm respectively, from £38, mlb.com

Where?

Sub Zero Fish Island

SEE | An Evening With Anna Toni

She’s tall, hairy and all out of shaving cream. Expect a limit-breaking performance as the cabaret drag act takes on the topic of Final Fantasy Jun 22, 7.30pm, £6 rulezero.co.uk

Where?

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford

STAGE | Tambo And Bones

This new play follows two performers stuck in a minstrel show as they journey through comedy and hip hop to activism in Black Lives Matter. Jun 16-Jul 15, 7.30pm, from £10, stratfordeast.com

ash back

This is Malcolm Grieve, founder of the Prost8 Challenge, an 8km run or walk to help ght prostate cancer, the third most lethal form of the disease. The next event takes place on July 9 at the Lee Valley VeloPark theprost8challenge.com

Scan this to read our interview with Malcolm and for more about the Prost8 Challenge in Stratford

want more? @wharfwhispers

The venue is incredible and it was a no-brainer to open here. I look at it as a shop that happens to have a hotel above it

Alessandro Grappelli, Grappelli Food Hall

Grappelli Food Hall features an extensive selection of groceries as well as a dining area

Sudoku

Take a break from that phone

How to play

To complete Sudoku, ll the board by entering numbers one to nine such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

More to play

You can nd more Sudoku puzzles and a wide selection of other brainteasers available to download for free at puzzles.ca

Notes

crossword

Cryptic Quick Down

Across

1. Shoes to express water with? (5)

4. Trade mark burnt in? (7)

8. Encroaches on the carriageways (7)

9. Confused stupid person stands apart (5)

10. Electricity feels painful for him (4)

11. Ship to serve the sherry in? (8)

13. Open space to leave the car (4)

14. Open space for one of four? (4)

16. Upturn Henry VIII’s ship in season (8)

17. Ms Moore is bisected, we hear (4)

20. Broken plate produces northern endearment? (5)

21. When the Magi called, it was wonderful, we nd

22. Dismiss the bank clerk (7)

23. Spread out the disrupted performances (5)

1. Philip, in short, is kind to people (13)

2. Town in Cambridgeshire on the move? (5)

3. Fix that ocean creature (4)

4. The bottom line to get back to? (6)

5. Lending for a fever, maybe; it’s similar (8)

6. Found the end word under water? (7)

. u off a friend round the National Theatre, we hear (13)

12. Dire supermarket for a clown? (8)

13. Mix up the PE seats using old Spanish cash? (7)

15. Use this paint to help you with grammar (6)

18. This venue is the best! (5)

19. Encourages these ovoids (4)

Across

1. Exercise (5)

4. Riding equipment (7)

8. Gather together (7)

9. Coin (5)

10. Roman emperor (4) . ell off

13. Windsor horse (4)

14. Big lump of ice (4)

16. Largest (8)

17. Cosy (4)

20. Provide food (5)

21. Stretchy (7)

22. In strata (7)

23. Foot control (5) Down

1. Using mechanics (13)

2. More skilful (5) 3. Close by (4) 4. Fast (6) 5. Collapses inwards (8) 6. Placing in order (6) 7. Relating to the mind (13) 12. Academic speaker (8) 13. Hugely (7) 15. Climb (6) 18. Remarked (5) 19. Fish (4)

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