Clapton Pond Blog

A Clapton Pond Christmas

Among the many neglected lessons of history is that Christmas traditions change all the time. I grew up with the one that involves families gathered cheerfully around enormous meals and blazing hearths. It goes back to the days of Charles Dickens, yet if you read his 1836 sketch A Christmas Dinnner (written under his pen name of Boz) many traditional Christmassy things are either mentioned only in passing or completely absent. The sketch pre-dates the popularity of Christmas cards, crackers and trees, while in those days seasonal gifts were usually exchanged on New Year's Day. Father Christmas in his modern form wasn't invented until 1931. He's a transatlantic import, by the way.

The Clapton Festival: A Musical Highlight

My Clapton Festival experience was mostly concentrated in the area around the pond on the (sunny) Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed these strolling minstrels very much.

 

Farewell Kidsmania

One of my smallest daughter's favourite things is pressing her nose against the glass of the Kidsmania shop opposite the Round Chapel and dreaming. All those fabulous posh frocks! Every so often, usually just before Christmas she's actually got through the door and tried things on. Then, miraculously, a few days later one of those fabulous posh frocks would emerge from a parcel and my smallest daughter would be transformed into a glamorous princess, radiating style and grace.

You might have noticed that those days are soon to end. For the past few weeks Kidsmania has been holding a closing down sale and expects to shut its doors to customers for the final time at the end of this week. It will be a sad occasion for Neeta and Ashok Daryanani, who opened the shop in 1976 when Neeta was pregnant with their son Neil - who's grown up to be part of the family firm too - and the bottom end of Lower Clapton Road was very different. Only Harris Electrical and Danny's Motor Shop survive from that time.

Tesco In Clapton: Palm 2 Prepares

I bumped into an old friend in the fruit and veg section the other day. He was swooning at the mushrooms - six different kinds, all attractively displayed. "I think we'll all be winners," he said.

That's the first person I've heard describe the imminent arrival of Tesco in such terms, and I can see what means. No recent visitor to Palm 2 can fail to have noticed that Abdullah and his team have been sharpening up what I imagine retail gurus would term their "customer offer". The delicatessen has broadened its range and the fresh produce is looking fresher. Home made soup has been available since (I think) before Christmas and the front of the shop has been reorganised to be more spacious. Now they're offering to refill your Ecover bottles and even to look after parcels delivered to your home when you are out. They've also revived the home delivery service they tried out a while back (text your orders to 07889935310. Must be for £15 or more).

Tesco Trouble

 With the next edition of the Hackney Gazette expected to report on local opposition to a Tesco Express taking up residence at 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, this might be a good moment to fortify emotion with cold-eyed realism. Like all the fellow residents in the photograph above (taken yesterday), I love the friendliness and individuality of Palm 2 and many of our other local shops. The prospect of any of them being driven out of the business thanks to a branch of the ravenous Tesco giant having the mass buying power to undercut them on price is distressing.

Sound And Fury At The Hackney Empire

Last Thursday's public meeting at and about our handsome local theatre had much in common with its famous pantomimes. The cast of villains was familiar to anyone even loosely acquainted with Hackney political aggro down the years, as were the characters hissing and booing from the stalls. Even a regular member of the panto cast was in attendance, the popular and talented Kat B. So too was Susie McKenna, the Empire's associate director and the creative force behind those pantomimes, which are widely considered London's best. Her role in the evening's presentation stood out because it straddled the good-evil divide that clearly existed in the minds of the more militant members of the audience. Her track record at the Empire made her a goodie, but her backing for the present Board of Directors and its decisions in tandem with interim chief executive Clarie Middleton meant she was half lumped in with the baddies too.

Hackney Empire Campaign

Tonight the Council's planning sub-committee meets to decide if the sale of the theatre's offices and rehearsal space will go ahead. Those running the now "grey" Empire want the sale to proceed in the hope that the profits can help clear the theatre's debts and deliver financial security. Those opposed the current management board consider this a dreadful plan. Roland Muldoon, for so long the great force behind the Empire's revival and refurbishment, has joined the campaign against the board and its strategy. His alternative is to demand better financial support from the Council and from Arts Council England. A public meeting, rescheduled with tonight's decision in mind, will take place at the theatre tomorrow at 6.30. Entry will be free and you don't need a ticket. Be there or be square. More on this from the Hackney Gazette.  

Francesca Panetta Everywhere

From The Guardian: 

Francesca Panetta, the senior audio producer with Guardian News & Media's multimedia team, has won two awards at the inaugural Radio Production Awards. Panetta, who produces guardian.co.uk's Politics Weekly and Hay Festival podcasts, was the only nominee to take home two prizes, picking up the best online producer and creative awards. The judges said: "The winner's work takes ordinary noises and events and makes them into a soundscape which is strange and far from everyday, making us listen more intently: the aim of all good radio. The range of work represented in this entry suggests that the winner will avoid repetition or formula."

She also produces the Hackney Podcast. Here's what the Hackney Citizen said:

Hackney resident Francesca Panetta has won two highly prestigious Radio Production Awards for her local online audio programme, the Hackney Podcast.

Now recognised as being among the best of British radio talent, the presenter and producer of the Hackney Podcast was named the best online producer and took the creative award at last Thursday’s event, organised by the principal body in the industry, the Radio Academy.

“I’m delighted to have won these two awards – it’s not just recognition for Hackney, but a real boost for innovative online journalists everywhere,” Francesca said.

I know her, actually. Quite well, you know. Oh yes, I'm practically her friend. Why, I was talking to her only the other day about...(reflected glory grab ends here).

Lack Of Broadband

From the latest excellent edition of Hackney Citizen:

Hackney runs a serious risk of getting left behind as the rest of London goes digital. The borough may be undergoing the biggest regeneration project of any London borough in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics, but it is standing on the sidelines of the digital revolution.

Read the whole article and indeed all the others.

Hackney Empire: What Next?

It's sad that the Hackney Empire is to "go dark" for nine months after this year's panto in order to reflect on its future, though I suppose I'm not enormously surprised. I've had a slightly gloomy feeling about the Empire's fortunes since going there last spring to see James Sherman's Jewish comedy Beau Jest. The play was charming and funny, but the audience numbers were uncomfortably small. I was used to packed houses for the panto and for the annual show by the Anna Fiorentini drama school. Was business the rest of the time normally this slow?

There's plenty of speculation about the reasons for the Empire's forthcoming break, including that Arts Council England - which provides some subsidy - is effectively demanding a change of business strategy. This might mean rethinking the types of show the theatre puts on. Simon Thomsett, who stepped down as artistic director and chief executive last month, said that 2008 has been the theatre's most successful year since it reopened in 2004, but it seems even that wasn't enough. So how should the Empire change if it is to thrive in the future? Mark Shenton at the Guardian has some thoughts on that. Maybe you do too.