In 1994, a small boy called Frankie started his school life in the reception class of Millfields primary school. It was was the start of a 20-year period during which at least one child of mine was at Millfields. After my youngest, now aged 15, completed Year Six it took a while to get used to not regularly visiting.
Continue reading "No cuts to Millfields school's funding, please Mrs May" »
This afternoon I went to fetch one of my daughters on her return from a school excursion. As is traditional, she arrived before I did and walked home a different way, which meant she got home at roughly the same time as I got to the school gates and wondered why there was no-one else around. Still, I did manage to take this photo of Hackney Downs looking lush and a bit summery.
I liked its predecessor, Candela, with its charming proprietors and endearing air of gentle chaos. But I also like the Clapton Table. It's contemporary but not too complicated. It's friendly and the food is reliably nice. I haven't photographed any of the food because everyone does that. So I've photographed the bar instead. See pictures of the food here.
The local Tesco Express has been damaged on a handful of occasions since its arrival just about exactly seven years ago, to the displeasure of the local liberal intelligentsia and others. Each time, the question in my mind has been, "Was this a political statement or something rather more materialistic?"
A spate of pavement improvements in this part of The Greatest Borough encompasses the spur of Lower Clapton Road that loops around the pond. It looks on course to enhance the pedestrian experience all the way round to where it meets the main road again, opposite Palm 2. See above the bit that is completed - basically a bicycle-parking apron, I suppose. See below for a long shot of the men from Volker Highways getting stuck into the next phase.
These highway works aren't only about walking and cycling, though. They are also about traffic-calming. The tighter bends and reduced road space should have the effect of slowing motorised vehicles down, which will be no bad thing given that crossing over to Palm 2 can be a bit of challenge at that rather complicated junction. I'm reliably informed - by a Hackney councillor, since you ask - that once Moore House is finished, a new, improved stretch of pavement will appear there too. Happy footsteps.
I took this photo nine days ago and wasn't sure whether to publish it or not. Some locals might recognise her even from this discreet view as one of the three or four people frequently encountered in the neighbourhood, asking for change.
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