Clapton Pond Blog

This Is Not A Village

I have nothing at all against Village Estates and I fully recognise that the parts of London the company operates in - Walthamstow, Hackney and round about - really did used to be places made up of "villages" in the sense that most people understand the word - very small, self-contained human settlements surrounded by fields, sheep, trees and babbling brooks, and populated by people who all knew each other, as well as each other's family histories, past indiscretions, embarrasing medical conditions and so on.

Invasion Of The Cafes Continues

Another cafe stressing its local-ness and independence is soon to open, next to Danny's, on what some have, according to one Hackney tweeter, renamed "Muesli Mile." Would Latte Lane say it better? Cappucino Corridor? Flat White Way?     

Chatsworth Road: How Can Gentrification Benefit All?

The re-birth of Chatsworth Road Sunday market has been the most conspicous example of our neighbourhood's so-suddenly visible gentrification over the past couple of years, and typifies its pros and cons. On the one hand, the market has brought new energy and variety to the area. On the other, its posh breads and fancy cheeses are too expensive for many local people, while its retro clothes and artefacts reflect very particular tastes. The big problem with gentrification is that the improvements it brings can be of little use to many residents of the area affected, and even do them real harm as rents and prices rise on the incoming tide of affluence.   

The Murals And The Man Behind Them

Back in November I wrote about the plethora of people you see on the streets these days pointing cameras at neighbourhood goings-on. The example I photographed - perhaps I'm one of those people myself - showed a young woman filming the creation of this mural in Clapton Passage on the side of Danny's. I didn't go close enough at the time to see what the man up the ladder was doing, and I only noticed the result quite recently. I had, though, already noticed and photographed two other creations by the same artist in the same style. One is a (still unfinished?) effort also in Clapton Passage on a builder's fence there, the other can be found on a wall in Linscott Road. See them here and here. To learn more about the artist and the young woman filming him that day in November, see the comment here and this website. Give it space.   

Should We Care That Our Police Station Might Close?

Spending cuts proposed under London mayor Boris Johnson's (draft) police and crime plan mean that the Hackney police station in Lower Clapton Road, opposite Clapton Square, is earmarked for closure. Diane Abbott is quoted in the Gazette criticising the decision. She points her finger at Westminster rather than City Hall, claiming the decision shows Hackney is "one of the victims of the way this government is ripping into frontline policing."

Have Your Say On Boris Johnson's Police & Crime Plan

London's mayor has published his draft police and crime plan, a document that sets out his priorities for the Met across the capital and how he thinks he's going to achieve them. As part of the public consultation process his office for policing and crime - MOPAC - is holding a public meeting in each borough. The roadshow comes to Hackney Town Hall tomorrow (Thursday 24 January). You can register for a place at the meeting here.