Clapton Pond Blog

Michael Rosen's Hackney Streets

I wasn't too impressed by one of his recent comments here but that doesn't make Michael Rosen a bad person or, indeed, a bad writer or creator of, "Soundscapes of poetry and prose," which "conjure up the streets of Hackney past and present." His "play for voices," entitled Hackney Streets was first performed last year by students from Brooke House and tonight is rendered by professionals for the first time. Producers Maya Productions describe it as follows:

"An auditory extravaganza where four choruses surround the audience in a live quadraphonic experience, taking them on a journey though time and Hackney. The cast of characters includes: Shakespeare, James Burbage, Parkes – the inventor of plastic, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Anna Swell, Morris Beckman and the street cries of Ridley Road market. Poetry highlights are: 'Evening falls between the trees', The Turkish Baber and the much loved 'Number 38 Bus'."

So there you have it. Hackney Streets is on at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2 Shepperton Road London N1 3DT up to and including Saturday. Tickets £6.50 (£5 concessions), 24-hour Box Office 020 7704 6665. I can't be there, but if you go let me know what you thought of it.  

I spent a little time - a very little time, I'm afraid - at the This Is Not A Gateway festival on Saturday, accompanied by my six year-old. We went into Cafe Oto where she had a hot chocolate and I had a coffee while eavesdropping on a discussion among the group of people pictured here. I took one other photo but it was even dingier than this one. Moreover, its foreground was not enlivened by one of my new brogues, which means it stands no chance of being considered art.

 

The discussion was intense, earnest and difficult to get to grips with, partly due to the slurping of the coffee machine, partly because some of it went over my head. Maybe it will help if I quote from a leaflet I picked up:

"We formally established This Is Not A Gateway in late 2007 with the aim of addressing the urgent and identified needs confronting current and future cities - namely the need to generate and elevate knowledge about cities 'from the ground up', from emerging practitioners and those often outside 'urban circuits'. It was clear that an inter-disciplinary approach was needed - one that encouraged and supported complexity."

I hope that's clear. Yes, I'm being facetious. But, look, I donated a tenner to help them to publish their book, so I'm allowed. What else? Well, there was some discussion of the Iain Sinclair affair and the extent to which it should be seen as an act of censorship by neurotic control freaks in the Town Hall. Was it emblematic of the cultural dimension of the 2012 Games being defined by corporate interests imposing their agenda from above? 

My six year-old and I left before the end, so I cannot reveal what conclusions were reached, However, I can report that news of the Sinclair cancellation has continued to do good business on the blogosphere, including here and here and here. Nobody is terribly impressed.

Boris, Ken & The Crunch

Both the London Mayor and his predecessor have published action plans for London's economy. And, yes, I think it probably is coincidence rather than conspiracy. Now read on.  

Hackney Council Versus Iain Sinclair

You will have already read about the Council's foolish decision to prevent Iain Sinclair, local author, documenter of Hackney goings-on and critic of the Olympics, from launching his forthcoming memoir about the borough in Stoke Newington library next February. It was foolish for a number of reasons. 

One, it has proved wholly counterproductive. Outrage has been expressed in the Independent, the Standard, the Times and, by Sinclair himself, in the Guardian. This means that Sinclair's poor opinion of the 2012 Games and the Council's regeneration strategy in general will now become familiar to an impassioned army of new readers.

Two, it has made the Council look petty, insecure and vindictive, even if it isn't really any of those things. See above.

Three, it has mobilised local bloggers around the unifying, catnip blogosphere issues of free speech and over-mighty politicians. Miss Baroque, Stoke Newington Kris and Open Dalston have all pitched in. I've examined the Council's policy in some detail at my London blog, concluding - in the fair and measured manner for which I am so deeply loved - that the very fact that Sinclair is known not to share the Council's enthusiasm for the 2012 Games means that his appearing at Stoke Newington couldn't have fallen foul of said policy. There remain nearly four years for anti-Games sentiment to spread and grow. The blogosphere never forgets.

I suppose at this point I should call on the Council to do something. You won't be surprised that I believe it should reverse its decision. At least that way it stands a fighting chance of looking contrite and generous instead of touchy and daft.   

                       

Hackney Podcast 4

How about I quote the press release?

Francesca Panetta reports from the first Hackney Wicked, a festival showcasing emerging artists and galleries in Hackney Wick.  We join Hashley Brown of the London Review of Breakfasts for some Turkish menemen at Cafe Alizza on Kingsland High Street.  The council's Cabinet Member for Environmental Sustainability Sophie Linden is questioned on green issues by our dedicated Environmental Advisor, Duncan Clark. Finally, with all eyes on the US presidential race, Jane Howe of theBroadway Bookshop recommends some American literature, from John Updike and Philip Roth to Jonathan Safran Foer and Don DeLillo

Now listen on. 

Clapton Cookbook

So I bought my copy of the Clapton Cookbook from Pages Of Hackney and did nothing with it for a week. Then, yesterday evening, I turned to page 85, where there's a recipe for Swedish or Hungarian Cucumber Salad. I made the Hungarian one, which involves paprika (which I had) rather than dill (which I didn't. It also involves cucumber, soured cream and salt. And eating. Nearly forgot the eating. Very nice, too. The Clapton Cookbook is also available from Palm 2, price £4.99. I am not on a commission. Thank you.

Boff, Boris & Browne

Local Tory Andrew Boff is, of course, a member of the London Assembly and an energetic defender of Hackney's heritage and grassroots enterprise. Elected from the Londonwide list, he doesn't formally represent the borough - we fall into Assembly chair Jennette Arnold's constituency - but several of the questions he's put to Boris Johnson at Mayor's Question Time so far have related to Hackney issues. On Wednesday, he'll be putting a couple more. One is:

The Nutritious Food Galley on Broadway Market has serviced the day-to-day needs of the Caribbean community by way of fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and West Indian produce for 15 years. Along with other commercial properties Hackney Council sold the property to an offshore company for less than its tenant had offered and despite its promises and Standing Orders requiring it to give small business tenants a genuine first option. Spirit, the proprietor, is now being evicted by the landlords who are, no doubt, looking to maximise their rental income with a chain store. That one act of Hackney Council has resulted in a small businessman losing his income and home and the local community a vital resource.

Can the Mayor give an assurance that when disposing of any commercial property within the GLA group the GLA will consider the effect of sales on the local economy and community and give first option to buy to its existing tenants?

And the other:

Author Michael Rosen, when commenting on the regeneration of Dalston, was accused by Hackney's Mayor of having a "Keep Hackney Crap" mentality. Does London's Mayor agree with Jules Pipe that Hackney is crap?

I have a particular interest in the latter, firstly because Mayor Pipe's "Keep Hackney Crap" jibe was made in a guest post he wrote here, and secondly because if we are right to assume that Mayor Johnson will decline Boff's mischievous invitation to agree that Hackney is crap, he will be odds with his recently-appointed director of policy, Anthony Browne - a man who has some explaining to do. 

End Of An Era On Well Street

From the Standard:

The last fruit and vegetable stall in the market where Jack Cohen founded the Tesco empire 80 years ago has shut and traders blame competition from the supermarket for its demise. Martin Wiles, whose family have been trading in Well Street Market, Hackney, for 50 years, held a party for customers and friends before packing up. His was the last daily stall in a once-bustling market. Now there is one weekend clothes stall left in the whole street.

Mr Wiles, 53, from Romford, said: "It's pointless trying to trade around here at the moment. It's just so quiet. When I started 35 years ago there were 50 stalls on a Saturday. "Just like high streets across the country, a supermarket has killed it for independent traders like me. It rips the heart out of a community. The difference here is that this market is where it all began for Tesco."

Discuss.

Discovering Stoke Newington

An interesting newcomer writes:

"we moved in last friday, to stoke newington, which has the cutest street in the world. filled with queers and well dressed babies and families. turns out this street also has an all organic farmers market every saturday through the entire year." 

Continues here.  

Crunch Goes The Media Centre?

From the Press Association:

Cashflow problems fuelled by the credit crisis have triggered fears that only a fifth of the planned Olympic media centre may be permanent after the 2012 Games. Now is the time for the Treasury, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the London Development Agency to "get creative" on funding, according to Hackney mayor Jules Pipe during a business conference in Central London on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics. Mr Pipe is mayor of one of the inner-city boroughs in east London banking on a regeneration boom through staging the Olympics in 2012.

Only a fifth? Boris! Help us! Now!