Girlfriends - Rose and Crown

The Rose and Crown on Hoe street ranks pretty highly among my favourite places in Walthamstow, now flourishing as a well established theatre pub. Their comedy nights have recently started to attract some bigger names, such as Richard Herring who will be appearing in July for a preview of his new Edinburgh Fringe show. The theatre-group-in-residence, All Star Productions, can also be relied upon to put on a great performance and I try and make it along to as many of their shows as possible.

On Friday, we went along to see the new musical offering, 'Girlfriends', originally a 1986 musical by Howard Goodall, following the lives of a group of female Airforce base workers during World War II. In this version we saw the story focus on two best friends involved in a love triangle with an RAF pilot 'Guy', in a mostly lighthearted show which also touched on the heartbreak of waving goodbye to someone each night, never knowing if they would return safely or not. of  The highlights for me were a masterful performance by Aaron Clingham on the piano and great all-round performances from the cast in creating a set of believable and engaging characters The lyrics, whilst cheesy, were deliberately so and laugh-out-loud funny at times.

You can read more about the theatre company All Star Productions and book tickets for their shows here: www.allstarproductions.co.uk  Girlfriends is on until 1st July 2011.

Walthamstow Book Club - 'The lost Books of the Odyssey'

As a child, i loved to read. My parents tell me stories of how I started reading at a very young age, at just under 3 years old I read my first 'book' called The Village with Three Corners (does anyone else remember these little books? The adventures of Roger Red Hat and the others, Billy Blue Hat was it?). I remember arriving at Infants school and having to read the books meant for older children, as all the ones on offer seemed like baby books to me. I remember the summer reading challenges at Braintree library, where you would go in and have to answer questions about the book to earn your reading badge. As an older child I discovered the sci-fi section and proceeded to read everything on offer, devouring contemporary works and the classics, working through the Hitchhikers guide series and the classic Asimov and Jules Verne tales.

As I moved into adulthood however, these simple pleasures drifted away from me as I found myself too concerned with studying for university exams or my social life to be able to devote the same amount of time to reading as I once did. A couple of years ago I thought that I would try and reignite this long-forgotten interest and I decided to join a local book club, which i have been going to ever since. We are a group of walthamstow book enthusiasts, from all kinds of backgrounds, brought together by our shared interest in reading. Over the couple of years that I have been going, I have seen many people come and go, along with a core of more regular members, and I have somehow ended up taking more of a leading role in organising our meetings. Each time we meet we will discuss the last book, then people will suggest their ideas for the next book to read, and we try to reach a democratic decision. One of the best things about the group is that we all have rather different tastes, which means I end up reading books that I would never have chosen myself, and often discover a few gems along the way! Which brings me neatly to the subject of this months book.

This month we are reading 'The lost Books of the Odyssey' by Zachary Mason. It appears to be a modern take on the classic Homer tale, retold from different characters perspectives and bringing new light to the old stories. I've never fully read the original 'Odyssey', but I hopefully know enough of the stories to get by. I'm looking forward to starting the book, I downloaded it last week only to turn on my Kindle and discover that the screen was quite badly broken! It looks as though someone has stood on it and fragmented the LCD screen, but the kindle has just been sat nicely on my bedside table in it's protective case. Thankfully AmazonUK have been great and have sent a new Kindle out in the post so I should be back up and running soon!

This months book

Le Delice

I often hear Walthamstow described as an up-and-coming area, and having lived here for five years now, am starting to see some evidence to support that assertion. The village is already arguably the centrepoint of the Walthamstow revolution, with its series of wonderfully middle-class shops and restaurants ( I mean, even the Spar has an in house Sicilian pizza chef!), but the effect is slowly beginning to spread outwards towards the more run down areas. Hoe street has always been a particularly low point of the area for me, with its endless sequence of fried chicken shops, off licences and a suspicious looking 24hr sauna with frosted windows.
It was with some excitement then, that on my usual walk to the station one day I noticed the old Copycats printing shop on the corner of Jewel Road had been taken over. A sign appeared above the front door in ornate lettering bearing the words: 'Le Delice'. 'A new Deli!' I thought to myself 'Or a patisserie! And just around the corner from my house!' From then, each time I walked to the station I would look with anticipation at the whitewashed windows hoping for some sign that the refurbishment was progressing and that the place might be ready to open. And I waited. After one year had passed I assumed the plans had fallen through, and I abandoned my thoughts of lazy Sunday mornings reading the newspapers whilst enjoying a croissant after a leisurely walk through the park. It was not until earlier this year, just when I had given up all hope on the place, that I started to suddenly see some signs of life. The paper screens had been taken down to reveal a lovely little cafe with deli counter, and then finally in April, Le Delice opened.
Walking through the doors the first time on opening day, I was surprised to see how spacious the place is. Floor to ceiling windows all along one side give a wonderful light feeling to the place, which extends all the way down into a snug and cosy Moroccan inspired room at the back. For food you can choose from a range of tasty sandwich fillings, served on normal bread/paninis or the delightful homemade savoury pancakes (see photo) which I would highly recommend. The freshly made crepes are also excellent, but I have yet to work my way any further down the food menu! You can also enjoy a selection of enticing looking cakes from the front counter, and an ice cream bar. The staff have all been very friendly each time I have been in, especially the owner, who seemed delighted with the reception he was getting from the local community. All in all, Le Delice is another very welcome additon to Walthamstow and a great step in the right direction for the neighbourhood.

Here are the contact details for Le Delice:

Save our cinema! Walthamstow EMD cinema protest

Last night marked an important milestone in the long-running quest to bring back Walthamstows beloved and neglected EMD cinema, as Waltham forest council met to decide whether or not to reject the UKCG's planning application to turn this historic venue into a church.

Shortly before 7pm the crowds started to gather on the steps of Walthamstow town hall, on one side local residents with placards and banners, and on the other side an equally large group of church supporters who were arriving in bus loads from other parts of east and north London. When the doors to the Assembly hall opened at around 7.15, the majority of the church supporters were able to rush inside, followed by as many cinema supporters as we could fit, leaving several hundred more cinema supporters including myself stuck outside!

And so began the agonising wait while the council meeting was called into session. Through twitter, facebook and texts we were kept informed of every detail of the proceedings inside. We glimpsed a photo of the Assembly hall interior, one side entirely full of UCKG supporters wearing matching neon yellow jackets. We were recounted tales from the pro-church speakers, describing how their lives had been turned around by the UKCG, we heard the rapturous applause and cheering from within when pastor Paul declared 'This cinema is OURS!'

Some enterprising individuals discovered an open window at the side of the hall, and we rushed round en masse, redoubling our efforts, chanting out our rallying cry 'Save our cinema!' as friends inside tweeted and texted encouragement: 'keep going! we can hear you singing!' I think it was around this point that we discovered that the social club bar was open, which only helped fuel our enthusiasm further. We heard statements from several councillors, who said that they had not heard a single word of support for the church from the many thousands of local residents that they represent.

At 9.15 we heard that proceedings were beginning to draw to a close, and we rushed back round to the assembly hall entrance, excitement spreading through the crowd as we waited for the crucial decision from the seven councillors. 'We've got the first 4 votes!' someone shouted, 'We just need one more to win!', as everyone stood frantically refreshing their phone screens for the latest update. And then: 'We've done it!'. A huge cheer erupted from the crowd as we heard how the councillors had unanimously voted to reject the UCKG's planning permission. Our supporters from the inside streamed back out to join the celebration as our chants (somewhat optimistically, I admit) turned into 'We saved our cinema!'.

So, what next? There is still a long way to go before we see a cinema open in Walthamstow, but last night really felt like a turning point. It was truly heartwarming to see so much community spirit on show last night with people of all ages coming out to support our cause. Here are a couple of clips to give you a flavour of the fantastic atmosphere.

The moment we heard the result:

More celebrations as people emerge from the hall! Now the crowd starts chanting 'We saved our cinema!'

To read the full story of the Walthamstow EMD cinema and find out more about how you can support the cause go to: http://www.mcguffin.org.uk/

Hoxton Salon Qype event

I was lucky enough to be invited along to Hoxton Salon in Shoreditch last night with about 12 or so other reviewers and bloggers for an evening of pampering organised by my favourite review site, Qype. The owner Paula and the staff were all so lovely and friendly and made us feel incredibly welcome.
First I went for a mini manicure where I was treated to a file, hand massage and polish in a rather funky mink colour whilst enjoying a girlie gossip with the lovely beauticians.
Next I went along for a styling session where my normally rather straight and boring hair was transformed into gorgeous voluminous curls in only 10 minutes or so - something I would never have managed to achieve for myself at home!
The hair and nails are still looking fab today - I can't believe how many nice comments and compliments I have had today from my coworkers. I would definitely like to come back some time for a cut or maybe try out the waxing that I am hearing so many good things about.
Thanks again to Paula, Sarah and everyone for organising a great evening!

Check out some more photos on the Qype does London blog here: http://london.blog.qype.com/2011/05/13/qype-event-hoxton-salons-pampering-event/

Mondragone, Orford Road, Walthamstow

It was a real loss to Walthamstow village when Mondragone closed it's doors a few months ago. The pizzas were always great, not to mention the fact that it was the only place you could get a table on a Friday or Saturday night without booking.

So when it re-opened recently , under new management I believe, I had to go along and see if anything had changed. The menu appears pretty much the same as I remember,
with slightly cheaper prices -most pizzas are aorund £1 cheaper than previously. Apart from that, it felt like a welcome return for an old favourite, with attentive service and familiar tasting pizzas.

Two pizzas and two small glasses of wine came to £21 in total, so a great place for a quick inexpensive meal.

In praise of Eat 17

Being something of a food enthusiast, I have always felt lucky to have so many great restaurants and cafes within walking distance of my home here in E17. Orford Road in Walthamstow village in particular has several such eateries clustered together along a short stretch of the village high street. When I ask my fellow Walthamstow'ers to name their favourite local restaurant, the most common reply I get back is 'Trattoria La Ruga' which is undoubtedly deserving of it's high reputation. In recent months however, I have found myself repeatedly returning to 'Eat 17', just across the road, which is rapidly establishing itself at the number one spot in my own personal estimations.

The past few years have been a rather turbulent time for this particular establishment; since I have been resident here I have seen it transform from Thai place to Waffle kitchen, then incorporating the East London sausage company in an adjoining deli, and finally into it's present incarnation where it hopefully seems to have stabilised. The present format seems to work well; the old deli next door has been opened up and converted into a beautiful bar area where customers can come for drinks or to wait for a table to become free. This modification has given so much more light and space to the restaurant and really changed the whole atmosphere and ambience of the place.

But the one thing that keeps me coming back here time and time again is the food! Every meal I've had here has been superbly cooked not to mention great value for money. I love all the quirky presentation details: the handcut chips come served in a mini chip-fryer basket (see photo), the bread rolls individually baked in little metal pots, starters elegantly arranged on black slates or wooden boards. The staff also have always been immaculately well presented, polite and knowledgeable. So, my advice, go to Eat 17 and enjoy! Just make sure to book a day in advance!

Eat 17 is located at 28-30 Orford Road, Walthamstow E17 9NJ

You can check them out here: www.eat17.co.uk