Wharf Life Dec 4-18

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David Galman on the need for a crossparty housing policy Page 20

Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

inside issue 22

District 34 - TCRW - Glisten English National Ballet - Triple Two Coffee Dick Whittington - Arthur Smith Ravensbourne University - Puzzles The Gun - Thunderbird

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NEW VENUES TO INVESTIGATE

breed welcoming the new

celebrating the best of Canary Wharf, Docklands and the new east London people - events - treasure - property - nonsense

whether it’s the theatre of drinks at The Alchemist, firing pucks at Electric Shuffle or the wine machines of Vagabond, there are plenty of spots to try this December

Image by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

read

fortnightly find

this issue’s Tiger Treasure

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Museum Of London Docklands West India Quay

feast your eyes on these

The undisputed lord of the festive jungle at tiger, this scarlet beast is a potent, powerful symbol of, well... whatever you like really. The perfect prop for the creation of a preposterous Christmas myth, this moose blows poor old Rudolph out of the sky with an entirely bright red body. It’s simply up to his future owner to write the tale, sit back and let the seasonal royalties roll in Moose decoration, £6 Go to uk.flyingtiger.com

EVENT | Frost Fair Festival The museum invites families for a weekend of fun themed around recreating the magic of the days when the Thames froze over. Expect arts and crafts.

Dec 21-22, from noon, free, museumoflondon.org.uk

06 Sometimes a good solid

Cocktails with a twist hit Reuters Plaza as The Alchemist opens up

burger, slathered with dubious cheese is the thing to hit the spot

where?

Everyman Cinema Canary Wharf

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FILM | Jingle All The Way Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger attempt to get a Turbo Man toy for his kid with hilarious results. All proceeds go to Richard House Children’s Hospice.

Dec 18, 23, times vary, £2, canarywharf.com

Electric Shuffle stakes its claim as the bar that gives a puck

where?

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf Cabot Place

taste test NYE | One Night In Vegas If you can’t make it over to sin city, Boisdale is offering the next best thing, complete with Suspiciously Elvis recreating past glories. Uh-huh.

Dec 31, 6pm-3am, from £55 (no dinner), boisdale.co.uk

to do before December 18

Journey back to Victorian times at the Museum Of London Docklands A Docklands Christmas Carol and meet the Cratchits, Scrooge and some friendly ghosts. Immersive performances are free, times vary museumoflondon.org.uk

SmokeShack Burger, Shake Shack, Park Pavilion, £7.50 A pair of burgers and some cheesy, crinkle cut fries could easily set you back the lion’s share of £20 at Shake Shack.

And it’s easy to be disheartened when collecting a tray of food that looks stingy considering the financial outlay. The chain isn’t exotic street food or a sophisticated pop-up.

It fills that niche, well above the corporate trash of Burger King and McDonald’s but below dandier joints.

With paper Christmas decorations and well-worn tables, this is an establishment that’s functional rather than fancy.

Bite into one of its patties – the SmokeShack with bacon and cheese,

for example, though and it’s clear the food goes well beyond the comparative austerity of the interior.

It’s competently executed, perfectly sized and satisfying.

Nobody should go to Shake Shack for gourmet excitement. They should go to fill up on red meat drenched in relishes with no health benefits and to munch crispy fries slathered with indeterminate “American cheese”.

This is a guilty pleasure that surprises in being quite as filling as it is. I even found what appeared to be fresh peppers in my burger.

Shocking. I nearly took it back.

Go to shakeshack.co.uk Jon Massey

get in touch

correct us

Editorial email stories@wharf-life.com call 07765 076 300

we want to hear from you

42

A borderless ethos and machines that serve wine at Vagabond

the joy of six Every fortnight Wharf Life covers six areas surrounding Canary Wharf to bring you the best of what’s going on beyond the estate From Page 44

need something fixed?

Go plant-based with Veggie Pret in Canada Place, full flavoured and ethical pret.co.uk

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Our editorial team works hard to ensure all information printed in Wharf Life is truthful and accurate. Should you spot any errors that slip through the net or wish to raise any issues about the content of the publication, please get in touch and we will investigate.

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spot check one to try

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

3

Canary Wharf

on the radar

doing the deals

get more for less in and around the Wharf

need to know

£15

Just opening up in Cabot Square, Babylon is set to offer digital first GP services on the Wharf from the first week in December. Patients can see doctors face-to-face but also get access to 24/7 video consultations and tools to help manage their health babylonhealth.com

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Known more for its beer than its fizz, Brewdog atop Churchill Place offers £15 bottles of Prosecco every Friday for those who’d rather end the week with a pop brewdog.com

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Comedian Arthur Smith on his memoir of Bermondsey and beyond

Also coming to Cabot Square is Vashi - a jewellery service that aims to put its customers at the heart of the design and making process. With a workshop in every store, clients can participate in the creation of their pieces or design online vashi.com

Sat 14th Dec

Find a creative short course as university launches its programme

free 46

Following its move to London City Island, we catch up with English National Ballet to hear how it plans to engage with its new surroundings and what being a dancer there is like

Join Third Space in Canada Square in December and get membership free until January. A chance to get into the swing of that resolution a little early thirdspace.london

Annual Carol Singing & Hog Roast

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2019

£16.50/£10 concession More info and tickets via the website www.thegundocklands.com

27 Coldharbour, London, E14 9NS gun.events@fullers.co.uk 0207 519 0075

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

words you didn’t know you need

vrote

buy me

this fortnight’s must-have item

verb, fictional, from Old English The mechanical or habitual exercise of one’s democratic right by unthinkingly voting for the same political party at an election while expecting things to change.

See definition of madness for further explanation

bucket list

write me

While the Wharf isn’t short of new spots to try right now, No. 35 is certainly worth a visit ● Bar List Recently opened, No. 35 Mackenzie Walk, is located next to The Henry Addington and offers a slick selection of drinks in achingly chic surroundings. Better still is the food, including soft, juicy squid and rich sharing boards ideal for groups. Marry this with an unwavering focus on sustainability and it would be near criminal to leave this off your Christmas list no35mackenziewalk.co.uk

brabble

verb, real, from Middle Dutch To argue stubbornly or persistently about matters of little consequence as though your life depended upon the outcome of the slanging match. Applicable to kids or that person in the office who just can’t let things go

Heloise dress petite, £199 Waitrose, Canada Square ● Bah Humbug List Stroll to The Gun pub in Coldharbour after work on December 14 for an immersive performance of A Christmas Carol. Where better than a (possibly) haunted venue for a tale of ghosts?

Doors 7pm, tickets £16.50 or £21.50 with mulled wine thegundocklands.com

It’s party time and there’s no better excuse to purchase something sparkly. Shimmer in this number from Fenn Wright Manson and catch every light

● Book List A must read for all psychopaths engaged in business, Bret Easton Ellis’ chilling, impossibly violent and detailed portrait of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is ideal for all those with a passion for Talking Heads, sartorial elegance and anxiety over quite how tasteful one’s business cards are. An extraordinary distillation of the hollowness of corporate privilege. Yours for £8.99 waterstones.com

wear me

perfect for keeping time Dreamy, £38,950 Bremont, Cabot Place Known for its varied and creative collaborations, British watch brand Bremont has teamed up with Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood to create a series of 47 timepieces (a nod to 1947, the year of his birth) with dials hand-painted by the artist and musician while touring with the band. On sale now, each watch houses a Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier movement with moon phase complication. Ideal for counting out the beats of your life bremont.com

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

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RESOLUTIONS DON’T NEED T O S TA R T I N J A N U A R Y.

J O I N T H I R D S PAC E I N D E C E M B E R .

D O N ’ T P AY U N T I L J A N U A R Y. CANADA PL ACE, LONDON E14 5ER Ts & C s A P P LY

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T H I R D S PAC E . L O N D O N

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

by Jon Massey

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Years since Cherryduck was founded in Wapping. It’s since gone on to expand with The Nest

T

aking a snapshot of Wapping-based video production firm Cherryduck is tricky.

Despite the inherent calm in its studios and The Nest – the neighbouring creative workspace it runs – there’s a sense of constant evolution about the place.

Founded in 2009 by husband and wife team James Vellacott and Michelle Grant, the business has grown and developed in concert with the meteoric rise of video on the internet and social media.

It’s the constant pressures and demands of working in that medium that gives the company its sense of energy. It’s an ethos embodied in the clear-eyed dynamism of business development director Kim French.

“For Cherryduck, the most important thing to communicate is that our services are there for businesses,” she said. “If you need video of any kind for your online presence then this is where you can come – we also have facilities for podcasting and photography too.

“What you’ve got here is a team of people that are experienced in so many different kinds of video creation.”

With a client list including Ford, M&S, TUI, Cadbury, Lush, ASOS and Vodafone and a solid stream of business working with creative and PR agencies, it’s clearly doing something right. Cherryduck’s structure and flexibility means it’s equipped to offer packages to a very wide range of organisations, pitching itself in the gap between amateur shooters and standalone one-person video production outfits and the very top of the market – meaning it’s equally capable of generating a stream of content for social media in addition to longer pieces.

“That’s exactly where it fits,” said Kim. “ I think it’s so fantastic that you don’t have to have a lot of money to create film and that’s getting rid of the elitist culture in the industry where everyone can shoot on their phones.

“However, that doesn’t suffice for certain professional environments where you absolutely need the process, the ability to give feedback and clients are looked after properly.

That’s what we are very, very well versed in.

“In terms of engagement online, video is worlds apart from things like

how the team at Cherryduck are ready to service firms’ video needs

Business development director at Cherryduck, Kim French

pieces putting together all the

Images by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

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Wapping - Limehouse - Shadwell

Kim believes companies can get significant benefits from investing in video content in the digital age

businesses is its ability to organise live streaming from events, coordinating a crew to ensure content is relayed online or captured and then edited to create a record for posterity.

Kim said: “We film events of all sizes – one of our biggest involves a crew of 70 people covering multiple stages with live streaming and language translation.

“I’d be surprised at any company hosting a conference or an event that wouldn’t want to document it – if you put all of this effort into organising something, bringing in speakers, getting everyone together, you need it to have a long life afterwards and one way of doing that is through video.

“It might not necessarily be for the public but it is really important for organisations to have for future reference or for people who couldn’t be there.

“Depending on the content it may also be possible to monetise it online – panel discussions, for example, work really well, because people want to watch and listen to their peers and industry experts.”

Kim said video could also play a significant role in helping companies to recruit and retain staff.

“What is happening and what it is so important for companies to understand is that when it comes to recruitment in the past – certainly when I was growing up – as a worker you were being employed by someone,” she said. “You were interviewed by someone and if they liked you, they might offer you the job.

“Now, more than ever, the person that’s coming in for interview is interviewing the company.

“Younger people have an expectation that a company will be clear about what it stands for – what its purpose is. They want to know things like what its policies on sustainability and inclusion are – employees are demanding so much more information.

“I think that if you have a video or a series of videos that can communicate what your company is and what its culture is all about then that will have an impact on the people that work there and on those who are considering it as an employer. It’s not always

“

Good quality video really gives a brand or company personality – it does need to be shot well, but it doesn’t have to cost the Earth

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

Kim French, Cherryduck

easy and I think that sometimes the reality is that certain firms don’t retain or attract people because they’re not doing this stuff.

“It’s not about ticking boxes, it’s about doing the right thing and, if you are doing those things, then communicating them through video content can make your organisation really enticing to talented people.”

Cherryduck managing director James Vellacott said: “If there are stock images on websites. If you’ve any firms or marketing departments got a video with members of staff or considering using video to promote people who are actually talking and products or for any other purpose, engaging, you instantly get a sense of we would be happy to come in and the company and its culture. present to them or just talk them “It’s also about creating ongoing through the options. video content online whether that’s “The main thing is awareness for use on websites or over social – getting people to realise the impormedia. Typically, brands will look at tance of video and most people are creating new campaigns every quarter starting to get it. and video needs to be part of that, “Our customers want value and really in order for them to register any we understand that – we’ve been kind of success rate digitally. operating for the last 10 years during “To give an example, we recently a period where there hasn’t exactly worked with a brand of mouthwash been an amazing, bountiful economy and created a series of videos for and that has made us strong. social media.

“We’ve had to remain lean and the “Typically for that market we divide way we’ve done that is by bringing up into hero, hub and help content, film production in house – all which basically means there is a under one roof in Wapping, rather main film that delivers a sweeping than having a dozen companies statement – you might look at that to charging for camera hire, lighting be 90seconds – a longer-form video hire or bringing separate creative and that captures the overarching idea for production teams, then hiring a space the campaign. or a studio.

“From that you’ll create smaller “We don’t need to bring in a post pieces of content that educate and production team, pay for a grading inform people of different things suite or an audio suite – what we’ve about the product. It’s creating got here is a very fluid setup where ongoing video content that’s everyone is sat next to each other consistent and regular, not just one and the production goes through the film that goes on TV. The brand might various processes from concept all the post five days a week, way through to output. for example, so they “We can, of course will need new pieces of pick and mix any of content for each one. those services to suit our clients. aving grown “With ever faster to more than internet connections, the 20 members smart brands are looking of staff, with at creating helpful, a stable well-produced content of regular that’s of interest to their freelancers, Cherryduck target consumer.” is able to offer a Kim added: “Good completely tailor-made quality video really gives approach to each project, a brand or company whether that’s the personality – it does need full creative works or to be shot well, but it simply providing postdoesn’t have to cost the production facilities at Earth.”

The Nest. Another key Go to cherryduck.com for component in its offer to Some of the Cherryduck team at workspace The Nest more information

H

14 days later

GIG | Unashemedly Christmas The cabaret singer returns to Wilton’s for a festive feast of song, celebration and merriment along with her musical director Tom Foskett-Barnes.

Dec 20, 1.30pm, from £6, wiltons.org.uk where?

Troxy Limehouse

NYE | Sink The Pink Y2K Perhaps it’s because the naughteenies are rubbish, but here’s another opportunity to look back 20 years and party like it’s 1999. Lasers expected.

Dec 31, 9pm, from £16.23, troxy.co.uk where?

Jamboree Three Colt Street

NYE | The Antic Follies Live music and cabaret abound with the likes of Heavy Metal Pete, Eva Von Schnippisch, Crazy Pony and headliners The Bohemianauts. Plus burlesque.

Dec 31, 8pm, £25 (in advance), jamboreevenue.co.uk

to do before December 18

Hear and see Babesa Cubana at Jamboree on December 13 as they take the music of Greece back to its Latin roots, reflecting the origins of its members – from Cyprus, Greece, Brazil and Venezuela. Doors 7pm, tickets £10 jamboreevenue.co.uk

spot check worth a visit Visit the Fusilier Museum for free with entry to the Tower Of London fusiliermuseumlondon.org want more? @wharflifelive

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

by Jon Massey

A

potent

It might be uncharitable to say so, but at face value, The Alchemist has taken the base metal of the unit left by the departure of Smollensky’s and delivered a bright, golden grown-up bar next to the Tube station, seemingly tailormade to welcome Wharfers.

With fresh furniture, lush vegetation and heat lamps on its lower floor, a reinvigorated terrace above and an interior full of bustle and snugs, the venue was busy on its first day on November 29 and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

Open from 7am (complete with a grab and go bagel offering until midnight Monday-Thursday, 1am Friday and Saturday and 11pm on Sunday, it’s one of a fresh clutch of venues to open on the estate in recent weeks unafraid to experiment with what it means to have an evening out.

To find out more, I sat down with head of brand for The Alchemist Jenny McPhee, who abandoned the world of accountancy for hospitality in 20 and has never looked back. We started with a bit of background.

“We now have 18 branches,” said Jenny. “The Alchemist started off in anchester in 20 0 and that was predominantly as a late-night

elixirs

how cocktail bar The Alchemist wants to put a bit of theatre into Canary Wharf’s after-work drinks

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Branches of The Alchemist operating around the UK following the Wharf opening

lchemy is perhaps best known for its followers’ attempts to achieve the impossible through chemistry – the formulation of an elixir of life or the transformation of base metals into gold, for example.

While that most shiny of elements is much in evidence in the colour scheme of Canary Wharf’s newest bar, it would be optimistic to suggest that its cocktails in any way extend one’s years. That doesn’t mean, of course, that these elixirs aren’t improbable feats of visual drama, just that they’re unlikely to grant the drinker immortality.

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The Alchemist’s Jenny McPhee says the brand is always looking to give what it offers a twist and is investigating bringing a range of immersive experiences to Canary Wharf

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1 THE ALCHEMIST

Images by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

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Canary Wharf

cocktail bar with some really cool creative cocktails.

“Over the years the brand has developed that offering to provide a lot more dining options so we now have an all-day dining offering.

“We open from 7am for a great brunch menu and the bagel offering and then there’s lunch and dinner.

“I hate the word eclectic, but we have got something for everybody. We’ve got a great selection of burgers, including a oving ountains urger, which is a meat-feast and is really, really popular. We’ve also got steak and sandwich offerings.

“A little like our drinks, we take classic dishes and give them a twist, so we have fish and chips where the batter’s black.

“Our strapline for The Alchemist is Theatre erved’, so that’s what we try and do – we add a little bit of theatre wherever we can.

“Of course, that’s predominantly with the drinks. Our bartenders are so creative, coming up with different recipes and serves, influenced by their childhood memories or favourite flavours, whether that’s a visit to the ice cream van for a Solero or a version of a dip dab, which is a sherbet classic. We’re really playful. “ ll the bartenders get the chance to create cocktails of their own and it’s really collaborative, – that’s how we create innovative cocktails.”

W

ith branches in Liverpool, eeds, Cardiff, rimingham and three others in London, Jenny said opening in Canary Wharf had been on the brand’s wish list for a while.

“It’s been a long process to get to this point,” she said. “We first started looking in Canary Wharf about three years ago and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to get this incredible venue – location-wise we couldn’t have asked for anywhere better.

“This is our fourth London site – we’d always wanted to put our mark on the capital – and this is our flagship venue in the city, we’re so excited to be here.

“

We first started looking in Canary Wharf about three years ago and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to get this incredible venue Jenny McPhee, The Alchemist

Dry iced: The Mad Hatters serves two with Ketel One Vodka, St Germain, Cointreau and summer fruits for £22

Interior touches at The Alchemist

“I think it’s stunning – you walk through the doors and there’s a sense of lots of light coming through, lots of glass and beautiful pearlescent light features.

“We’ve got an amazing mural, that comes alive at night with lighting we’ve had put in, so it’s a bit of theatre as you walk through.

“The bars are always the key feature in any branch of The Alchemist because, obviously, that’s where the magic happens.

“We’ve got a huge gold bar downstairs and then upstairs we’ve got two really beautiful golden bars – one on the terrace and one in the restaurant area.

That’s where we have all of our paraphernalia for the cocktails.

“We worked with a great design agency called acaulay inclair, who we have worked with for the last four or five years.

“It is a collaborative approach.

The murals are from our design agency Vapour and they have a darker edge to them.

“We like to have something a bit more masculine in our illustrations and then feminine touches with the materials that are used – the gold and the brown, and some of the lighting that we’ve chosen.

“We look at the space first, and then we talk about how we want it to be. There have been a few changes along the way and the design has really evolved with the space and we’re all blown away with how it looks – we are all really pleased.

“It feels great now that it’s open. This has been the big one for us this year – we’ve all been so excited. When you come into Canary Wharf, the weight of people, there’s a kind of energy here.

“There’s lots going on and it just feels special, so we feel that, for us, it’s really putting us on the map.”

The undisputed main attraction at The Alchemist are the cocktails,

especially those on the pages in its menu entitled Chemistry And Theatre.

“The cocktails go through a rigorous development process,” said Jenny, whose personal preference is a vodka martini. “We have lots of ideas submitted and we have to sign them off to ensure they work operationally.

“ omething that might work for one venue, for example, has to work across the 18 sites that we have. We have bespoke serves for different times of the year, but we do have that core menu for people who like certain drinks.

“I would say that the most popular serve that we have is the ightbulb oment 9 in Canary

Wharf , which is served in a glass light bulb with lots and lots of dry ice. When the bartender gives it to a guest, they can’t put it down because it has a round bottom.

“There’s lots of fun and lots of different interactions. That’s why the drinks are so interesting. You get that kind of theatre as you Continued on Page 8

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

Canary Wharf

from Page 7 watch them being made, but you’re also interacting with other guests at the bar to see what they’re drinking – it’s a good talking point.

“We have a 50-strong cocktail menu, but all the bartenders are trained to make classic cocktails as well, even though they don’t appear on our core menu.

“That’s something that’s really important to us and people shouldn’t be afraid to order them.

“Personally, if I were to order a drink from The Alchemist menu I’d pick a caramelised rum punch – it’s a great drink and I love it, made with a Bunsen burner and with the fire and lots of smells that come with that.

“People need to come down and experience the venue – it’s a great place with an amazing vibe, and it really comes to life at night.

“Once the lights go down, it’s almost like a jewellery box effect – the bars and everything else come to life. It’s not just coming in for a drink, it’s coming in for an experience – the venue, the look and feel of it, the service you’re going to receive from the staff, the service from the knowledgeable bartenders and their creativity – it’s the whole package. That’s what sets us apart from our competitors.”

If that weren’t enough to convince Wharfers to give it a try, The lchemist is also offering augmented cocktails for those who just can’t put down their smartphones.

“We launched the menu in May in collaboration with William Grant and X Design in Edinburgh,” said Jenny. “Essentially customers download the Conjurer app, select their drink from a series of cocktails and then watch as its story comes to life around the drink. It’s another way of bringing theatre into our drinks.”

For those planning festive bashes, The lchemist offers a selection of areas to hire, not to mention seasonal cocktails in the form of the Alpine Spritz and the Trifle – both 9.2 , as well as a selection of Christmas nibbles.

Go to thealchemist.uk.com for more information

“

Once the lights go down, it’s almost like a jewellery box effect - the bars and everything else come to life Jenny McPhee, The Alchemist

50

Cocktails to be found on the menu at The Alchemist’s branches nationwide

One of The Alchemist’s bartenders hard at work creating a little theatre

The brand’s festive Alpine Spritz cocktail complete with singed rosemary, Chase mulberry and sloe gin and white port, £9.25

Runneth over: The Bubblebath, a blend of Tanqueray gin, Aperol, Chambord, lemon, apple and Fairy Liquid, apparently - yours for £8.75

Images by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

9

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10

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

why the constant evolution of Electric Shuffle is designed to keep Wharfers coming back

by Jon Massey

T

here’s a certain restlessness about Steve Moore. The founder and CEO of Red Engine Team, known for its reinvention of darts with the Flight Club chain of venues, has entered the Canary Wharf market with a fresh brand – a hi-tech take on tabletop shu eboard.

Located under the colonnade to the north of Cabot Square, recently opened lectric hu e brings something new to the estate.

Its slick interior is all bright neon, vintage Tesla prints, copper piping, buttons to push, spinning dials and sexy ceramics. With insulators and conductors everywhere, the aesthetic is a cartoon power station serving grown-up drinks at a steampunk bar.

But it’s the gleaming wooden tables that make the difference and the reason Wharfers will likely flock to the venue. illed as “the amphitheatre of joy” each silicone-lubricated lane allows groups of up to 16 to crowd round the action – a design inspired by craps tables in casinos.

The aim is to keep everyone involved in the action with players split into teams so they have someone to cheer on even when they’re not sliding the weighted metal pucks themselves. Play is rapid, involving and quickly picked up by beginners.

But like Flight Club, there’s a great deal of complexity in the foundations of the simple pleasure of the slide. And it all began with a trip round the world in a fire engine.

“Many moons ago I used to work in finance – at organ Stanley in Canary Wharf,” said Steve. “I used to wear a tie. It’s still a bit spooky being diagonally opposite to the youthful me on the other side of Cabot Square.

“Canary Wharf is a very, very different place now and I like that.

From finance, I went on to work as a trader from 2003-2011. Flight Club came about after I’d founded Follow That Fire Engine – a charity that saw me and a team complete a circumnavigation of the globe.”

The project was a response to the death of his firefighter father from

2

350

Maximum capacity for bookings at Electric Shuffle in Canary Wharf Red Engine Team founder and CEO Steve Moore has reinvented shuffleboard for the 21st century with Electric Shuffle, which opened in Canary Wharf towards the end of November

ELECTRIC SHUFFLE

bored never knowingly

Image by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

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Canary Wharf

lung cancer – a bid to raise cash for charity. It involved more than 200 people including 25 co-drivers who took turns along the way as well as organising fixers in the 2 countries visited.

“At the time it was the second one by road by any vehicle, never mind a fire engine, and it involved learning all kinds of skills in project management,” said Steve.

“It took two-and-a-half years to plan and a year to execute, raising £120,000.

“When we got back from that, we came up with the concept of Flight Club – social darts with automatic scoring – and, rather than being spooked by having no idea how to put it together, we thought: ‘Well, we’ve learnt those skills so maybe it is possible’. It was a helluva task, a gi-normous project but it’s been really successful. “ lectric hu e has been equally, spectacularly difficult to do. I always adored shu eboard, first in Texas and then in Northern urope, and New York, and I really liked the game, but it’s not very well known here.

“We saw the synergies with Flight Club – all your mates around a table – and we wondered whether the tech we’d built for that with the scoring and different games could translate into shu e and there were some similarities.

“Then we thought how we could lend all our experience from how people interact with gaming in that environment and apply it to a new brand. While the experience is similar, the brand is very different from Flight Club – there’s not one thing in lectric hu e that’s anywhere near it. It’s a sister brand but in two different worlds.”

A

t the heart of the experience are the games themselves.

Participants take turns to play in pairs, one representing pink, the other blue. lectric hu e currently offers three games. mplifier sees players attempt to place their pucks on specific sections of the board, with those closer to the end winning more points.

Eclipse is akin to bowls or curling, with players competing to

“

What you’ll get is super-immersive. You’ll forget about everything.

There’ll be no-one using their phones, time will disappear very quickly Steve Moore, Red Engine Team

finish the round with their puck closest to the centre of a circle on the board, while Territory is all about dominating the playing space with careful puck placement.

Boards cost £40 per hour – a cost that can be split equally between up to 16 players.

Steve said: “It’s been a slightly longer journey than Flight Club – three-and-a-half years – with Red Engine behind both. Our creative team and our tech team are all in-house including animators, coders, front-end and back-end developers.

“Everything we do is all based on focus groups – we do a focus group every single day in the evening or at the weekends.

We practise agile development, working in two-week sprints, so we get all this feedback from the focus groups and then we apply it to the software. You could never do that if you outsourced your tech operation.

“We live and breathe the technology and we send out a software update every day. That means on opening it’s already a very mature piece of software because we’ve been working on it for two and a half years.

“Even Flight Club probably gets a new release every 10 or 12 days.

The reason behind the success of Flight Club is that, no doubt, the gaming is designed by the customer and the focus groups.

“So we have an idea, and we set the framework, but we let the focus groups dictate what happens. That will be the same at lectric hu e.

“One of our goals is to remain spectacular. A lot of brands can get quite lazy, so we refresh the interior design quite a lot and we add to the food and drinks menus, but also on the gaming side. “ t Flight Club, for example, we rebranded the entire gaming suite after just months and we constantly evolve.

“There will be a new game for lectric hu e in the New Year – we’ll also be adding a tournament, all sorts of funky shit. But it will be driven by the customers, so when we test it, we will test it in the real venue with players.

“Then we’ll feed that into the feedback loop, tell the developers, and then off we go again. It’s absolutely exhausting but it makes a big difference. t ed ngine we re-invest all profits into the business.”

As a result of this constant attention to detail and reinvention, teve believes lectric hu e will offer a keenly honed experience capable of distracting Wharfers from their everyday cares.

“What you’ll get is super-immersive,” he said. “You’ll forget about everything. There’ll be no-one using their phones, time will Continued on Page 12

Electric Shuffle is all copper, neon and buttons to press

Sound Insulation Scheme The airport offers eligible properties located within its noise contours the opportunity to have works undertaken as part of its Sound Insulation Scheme. To be eligible, properties need to be in the contour and meet criteria relating to the date planning permission was granted for the construction of your property.

Our noise contours are re-assessed annually and newly eligible properties falling within the First, Second or Intermediate Tier are automatically contacted by the Airport.

No application to the Scheme is necessary.

London City Airport Second Tier Intermediate Tier First Tier For those already treated under the Sound Insulation Scheme 10-year check-ups are available for properties which have had either secondary glazing and/or mechanical acoustic ventilators installed.

For further information, or to view the latest noise contours, please visit the London City Airport website at https://www.londoncityairport.com/corporate/Environment/Sound-insulation.

Alternatively, you can contact the Sound Insulation Administrator on sound.insulation@londoncityairport.com

12

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

Canary Wharf

3

Different games can be played at Electric Shuffle - Eclipse, Territory and Amplifier

from Page 7

Billed as the amphitheatre of joy, teams line either side of the shuffle board to watch their team members’ efforts with the pucks

Above and below, players win the envy and admiration of their friends as an employee presents a fresh set of pucks

42

Find out all about Vagabond, the third opening on the Wharf

disappear very quickly and everything’s high energy. We have done just over 300 focus groups and what’s cool is you don’t have to worry because the food and drink keeps coming. You can call the hosts over any time and they’ll be there within 15 seconds on average.

“Then, after a game, we hope we’ve designed a very beautiful bar, where people can hang out before and afterwards, surrounded by all that noise and atmosphere, feeding off the energy of the players.

“We designed the games so that anybody can play them – we’ve made it super simple, so, if you’ve never played before, you could still beat somebody who has.”

With a high-speed camera monitoring the action and calculating the score, players are left to spectate and indulge in the venue’s food and drink options while waiting for their turn to come round again.

“We take that side of things so seriously here – you can’t be Mickey Mouse, especially in Canary Wharf,” said Steve. “It’s the same as Flight Club and we’re used to it because we launched that in Shoreditch where everyone’s a food critic and passionate about what they eat.

“We have a full cook kitchen, as big as a restaurant and we’ve been developing our offering for about 18 months so it’s exceptional, because it has to be.

“People can expect lots of sharing platters, really good pizzas and beautiful small bites.

“We have a significant lunch offer as well and that’s important as well as lots of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.” lectric hu e’s bar offers an extensive range of drinks as well as a range of cocktails, including £40 trophy drinks designed for four people to share, presumably after a victorious session on the board.

Party packages and private hire are also available, although with 8,000 bookings before launch, there’s likely to be a fair amount of competition.

Go to electricshuffle.com for more information

“

We designed the games so that anybody can play them – we’ve made it so if you’ve never played before you could still beat somebody who has

Images by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Steve Moore, Red Engine Team

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

13

DELICIOUS MEALS & FESTIVE COCKTAILS

Walk-ins welcome or book now

THEPEARSONROOM.CO.UK +44 (0)20 7970 0920 | events@thepearsonroom.co.uk 2nd Floor, 16-19 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5ER Opposite Third Space

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

by James Drury

A

former military analyst is going into battle to help first-time buyers in London get on the housing ladder.

John Lim’s District , based at Techhub in horeditch, uses big data to solve the city’s broken housing market.

It says by combining government schemes with its information points, it can enable people to get a starter home within easy commuting distance of the city centre for 200,000.

John started his career as a military terrain analyst for the ingaporean army, which involved using intelligence and data to advise on troop deployment. fter leaving the army and his native ingapore, he came to the UK, getting a job with Deloitte as a data scientist and working on public and private sector projects including some with Tf , the Department Of ducation, and Crossrail. ut, following a cancer scare during which he feared he might be given a terminal diagnosis, he quit his job to start his District journey.

It was while reflecting on his life during this very worrying time that the idea came to him.

“You think you’re doing well because you have a good job – but you have no assets, no house,” he said. “You think of the amount of rent you’re paying someone who’s sunning themselves in pain or wherever because they were lucky enough to buy their house 20 years ago for 0,000 – and it made me angry.

“The real estate market in ondon is totally broken, but it simply shouldn’t be.

“Home ownership in ingapore is 91% and it’s less than half the size of ondon. The K is massive by comparison and it has a huge amount of land that could be built on, but isn’t.

“That puts a disproportionate amount of power in the hands of landowners.” s a data obsessive, he got stuck into the problem. sing information such as 2 million house price transactions from the Land Registry, migration trends and commuting statistics, he has created a powerful tool.

“District 34 is a company working for first time buyers,” he said. “ ut we’re not a developer, an estate agent or a mortgage broker.”

Describing itself as a “hi-tech property matching service,” District uses John’s intricately detailed data analysis to identify areas that are within a 0-minute train journey from the central London rail termini, and where

£200k

The price John Lim says buyers can expect to pay for a home within 30 minutes of central London

John Lim, centre, with members of the District 34 team at Techhub in Shoreditch

how District 34’s founder is using facts and figures to tackle the problem of home ownership

data using

Image by James Perrin – find more of his work at jamesperrin.com or via @millerjamesperrin on Insta

the

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Innovation

house prices are at a level that a starter new-build flat could feasibly cost £200,000.

He said: “We see every year more and more graduates coming to London, but they’re being forced out earlier and earlier because they can’t afford to stay here.

“The average age of people leaving London has dropped from 30 to 27. This is why District 34 was set up.

“We want to help people who can’t afford to save for a deposit because they’re spending up to 61% of their salary on rent.

“They can survive for now, but what happens when they retire?

They’ll not have an asset and will struggle to afford a roof over their head.

We’ve got to get millennials on the housing ladder.”

When members join the scheme, they are shown how, by saving £11 a day, they can get together the £8,000 necessary for a deposit on a flat within two years, and are given information on all the options and free government schemes open to first-time buyers.

District 34 then uses its data set to target development projects that members can afford and are within easy commuting distance of their workplace.

It works with developers to design the buildings, which are then marketed exclusively to members.

It means housebuilders are connected with buyers without having to do any marketing, while the collective bargaining power of the group of buyers means they can benefit from the cost savings.

John describes it as “a win-win”.

“People often don’t consider areas such as Chelmsford, but when we take prospective buyers to these locations they are often surprised at how nice they are,” he said.

He shows me some of the elements the system uses to identify suitable locations, such as whether there’s a Waitrose or a branch of Marks And Spencer in the area – laughingly acknowledging that these are good indicators that an area is pleasant to live in.

“The air quality is much better in these places too – they’re

“

What is at stake is ensuring that our most ambitious, brilliant, resourceful people are able to take risks with the support of society John Lim, District 34

actually much nicer to live in than London,” he said.

As well as targeting developments that are currently being built, the company advises Home England – the public body that funds new affordable housing – and SME developers about where to target their efforts.

John said: “We tell them: ‘If you build in this location or that location, and target the price at this level, you will sell this block’ – and we have the buyers ready to go.”

District 34 makes its money by taking a slice of the discount housebuilders offer a group of buyers.

It doesn’t hold or take any money from homebuyers.

With this incredibly powerful toolkit at his disposal, why doesn’t John become a developer himself?

“To put it simply: I don’t know how to build houses,” he said.

“My hands were made for coding.

People should play to their strengths and mine is data.”

He is quite the evangelist – furious at the crazy prices of homes in London and the fact people are trapped renting.

He’s also a fierce critic of Help To Buy and what he believes is its distorting effect on the market.

John shows me a graph tracking

house prices in London, which suggests that the scheme has inflated the cost of new-builds out of proportion with normal house price rises.

Help To uy offers people equity loans of up to 40% of a new-build property in London, with the aim of enabling people living in the city to get on the housing ladder without having to save up large amounts of money for a deposit.

John says that over the last 10 years, new-build prices and the value of existing homes historically tracked very closely together.

But as soon as Help To Buy was launched in 2015, the cost of new-build flats rose much faster.

After the new 40% loan limit for homes in London introduced in February 2016, the property mark-up reached 37% in 2018.

“I want to be on the right side of this issue,” said John.

“My concern is that young people will end up trapped in new-build homes because no-one will want to spend £600,000 on a small flat when Help To y ends.

We’re on the side of first-time buyers.”

Battle has commenced.

Go to district34.com for more information about the company’s services for buyers

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Canary Wharf

20

Acres of parks and open spaces across the Canary Wharf estate

getting greener

Canary Wharf has a

by Martin Gettings

commitment to protect

C

anary Wharf is a busy and vibrant micro-city, with a daily population of 120,000 workers and over 40,000 visitors every day. But did you know that Canary Wharf is also home to a diverse array of wildlife?

We have 2,000sq m of tree cover, representing more than 30 different species of tree and 348,000sq m of open water habitat, home to a range of fish and other aquatic wildlife.

In 2004, Canary Wharf Group was the first UK developer to publish a Biodiversity Action Plan which we updated in 2018 to include new targets and three key objectives.

The first is to embed the biodiversity net gains principle across the estate. That means protecting the species that already live at Canary Wharf and providing opportunities for new species to arrive and thrive.

We currently have over 8,000sq m of living roofs, four beehives (currently in winter hibernation) and we’ve also installed a number of bat sanctuaries and insect hotels throughout the estate as a way to protect these species and provide them with a safe place to live and grow.

We have also identified a number of priority bird species at Canary Wharf, including black redstarts and kingfishers, and all of our site teams at Canary Wharf are aware of how to protect them if they are found on-site. We even installed a call system to help navigating swifts.

Our second objective is to develop and apply actions for climate change resilience. The science is clear that climate change is a real threat to our cities and communities, and Canary Wharf is no exception.

We already carry out climate change risk assessments on all our developments, but we also use this information to inform our planting choices, being sure to pick plant species that will be suitable for each location on a long-term basis.

These selections and other green infrastructure elements such as Crossrail Place reed beds contribute to overall climate resilience.

The third and final objective is to improve the health and wellbeing of the people who visit, live, and work at Canary Wharf.

Exposure to nature is a foundation of wellbeing, and we want to use our green spaces and biodiversity to provide a positive experience for people who live and work at Canary Wharf.

We have 20 acres of parks and open space at Canary Wharf and we want to encourage people to engage with the wildlife as much as possible.

We ran our fourth annual Wildlife Photography Competition in 2019, which received more than 1,400

species already living on the estate and to attract new ones

home creating a

for plants and animals

“

In 2004 Canary Wharf Group was the first UK developer to publish a Biodiversity Action Plan, which we updated in 2018 to include new targets and three key objectives Martin Gettings, Canary Wharf Group

entries compared with only 50 in its first year. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in December, so watch this space Canary Wharf Group released its updated Biodiversity Action Plan in 2018, but we continue to work behind the scenes to improve our biodiversity strategy and make Canary Wharf a better place for all our visitors – human or otherwise. If you have any suggestions, or you’d like to get in touch, please email sustainability@ canarywharf.com

Martin Gettings is group head of sustainability at Canary Wharf Group Go to canarywharf.com or breakingtheplastichabit.co.uk

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

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Creative Space

this space is yours

make your own election – have fun creating your own parties, manifestos and then voting on them. Share it with @wharflifelive or #keepittoyourself (joke expires 12/12)

BALLOT PAPER

NONE OF THE ABOVE

Small print: Not intended as an actual alternative to any real general elections that may be happening. Make sure you vote. No, seriously. We’ll give you a sticker

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Wharf Life Nov 20-Dec 4, 2019 wharf-life.com

3

175

The numner of wines directly imported into the UK by Vagabond to sell in its branches

how Vagabond has cut out the middle man between Wharfers and getting a glass of wine

VAGABOND

Vagabond co-founder Stephen Finch and head of marketing Annah McKendry at their new branch in Canary Wharf

by Jon Massey

T

rise

of the machines

Images by Holly Cant – find more of her images at hollycant.com or via @hollycantphoto on Insta

he temptation to write “you wait for ages and then three come along at once” is strong. But it’s incorrect in every respect. Firstly, Canary Wharf has seen the recent arrival of the likes of No 35 McKenzie Walk and Humble Grape. It’s also quite clear that Vagabond, which opened in the south-eastern corner of Cabot Square towards the end of November is something different to the rest.

It may not have the opulent decor and theatrical service of The lchemist or lectric hu e’s technologically driven fun. It has something all its own and founder and managing director Stephen Finch is the man who created it.

“I came over in 2003 from New York, expecting London to be great for wine with its proximity to all the producing regions in Europe – I was really surprised and disappointed at how bad it was over here then, there was just a lot of crap wine,” he said.

“If you didn’t really care what you were drinking and wanted something cheap, then you were fine with Tesco and all that stuff.

“If you wanted to get something really interesting, then you had to go to somewhere like Berry Bros And Rudd.

“If you liked wine but didn’t know too much about it, then you were out of luck. I’d say there was a gap in the market and it was a big one because there are a lot of people, like me, who like wine and don’t know much about it.

“Initially it was a fantasy idea: ‘Oh, wouldn’t that be neat to do a business like that’, and I found myself thinking about it on the weekends then writing a business plan. Then I went back to New York but trying to retrofit my idea for that market wasn’t quite right because it was really a response to London.

“So I quit my consulting job and came back over here, started raising funds. Then, of course, the financial crisis hit in 200 , but I still managed to raise the money and opened Vagabond’s first branch in Fulham Broadway in 2010.

“It was interesting, because in the beginning it was meant to be

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Canary Wharf

more of a wine shop, with a bit of an entree element, to sample 100 different wines in support of a retail transaction.

“What I quickly learnt was, that, while there was interest in that, most people were more interested in trying all these different wines. “ o I made some changes to the business, added some more comfortable chairs and some food.

“We embraced the opportunity of customers telling us that this is what they respond to. bout months in, I realised that we were onto something.

It took a while to get going, basically because it’s in a hidden corner of Fulham roadway, and also because it’s a visually different thing. eople would pop their heads in and ask: Is this a wine shop or a wine bar ’ Well, it’s both.

“It took a while to change customers’ behaviours and expectations.” second branch followed in Charlotte Street in 2013 and became profitable in its first four months despite a January launch. further five are now open at locations across ondon including Canary Wharf.

The Cabot quare unit features dark walls with multiple wine machines set into them that can be operated by customers with pre-paid cards and dispense three pre-set quantities. It’s also the first branch to offer beer on tap via a similar system. The shop also sells bottles to drink in or take away. tephen said: “We’ve got over 00 wines on tap, so you can get a sample glass of any wine at your own discretion. You can try all these different types to find out what you actually like.

“We have the full range of price points – anything from a 0 retail take-away bottle all the way up to a adeira from 02, which is going to retail at 7,000.”

Vagabond – named by tephen with the intention of expressing an approach to life without borders or constraints – also offers food in addition to its liquid stock. tephen said: “We do small plates, sharing platters, all pre-cut, small cheese-boards – high quality food and a variety of stuff that you can mix and match with different wines.

“We wanted it to be consistent and it’s social as well. It’s fun, it’s

“

We’ve got more than 100 wines on tap, so you can get a sample glass of any wine and find out what you actually like Stephen Finch, Vagabond

Located in Cabot Square, Vagabond offers views across the dock and seating on two levels an experience – that’s how wine should be. I can’t think of anything more joyful than enjoying wine and food with friends.” ecently arrived head of marketing nnah cKendry, who joined from e t One Cocktail ars, said a visit to Vagabond offered more than an evening out drinking.

“If you’re looking for somewhere where you can have a nice glass of wine, but you can also discover and try new things, have a new experience as well rather than just going to the pub, this is the place,” she said.

“You’re able to come to Vagabond and have your glass of wine or beer and it will be that elevated

Wines sit patiently in Vagabond’s vending machines awaiting the prepaid cards of Wharfers keen to try something fresh

experience. There’s a big opportunity in ondon – it’s what people are looking for these days – no-one wants to go to the pub any more.

“They want to learn and educate themselves during that experience and Vagabond does that so well.”

With machines taking on much of the pouring labour, the idea is that employees are freed up to spend more time talking to customers when they want advice.

“We’ve got rid of the gatekeeper, so you’re no longer beholden to this bartender or waiter, who may deign to give you the time of day, when there are so many other people scrambling for his attention,” said Stephen.

“If you want some wine right now, you can get some for as little as . s with most things, it’s the combination of the technology with the human interaction that brings the best experience, and we want to engage with customers as much as possible. “ 0-second bit of banter and you can absolutely exchange and deliver a wonderful experience – talking to someone about why they like malbec and maybe introducing them to a new wine, they can get a bit more excited and you’ve done a

great job – it’s all good fun. We are very fortunate to be in a business that is inherently likeable, so our job really is not to screw it up.” fter trading for nearly 0 years, it looks like Vagabond’s managed that so far, but what made tephen make the leap into business ownership in the first place “I had to deal with the fact that I was a consultant trying to tell other people that things were opportunities and how they should go about taking advantage of them,” he said. “Then I came across this idea of my own, but I wasn’t doing anything about it.

“If I was as clever as I thought I was, then there was an opportunity to do something. I wasn’t, of course, but I’ve never been really good about spending a lot of time trying to convince others to do something that is obvious to me – I’d much rather just get on and do it.

“That’s the appeal of entrepreneurship – if you have an idea then you can probably do it right away.

In the entrepreneur space, things move pretty quickly. If you have an opportunity to do something with wine, that’s a siren call.”

That level of control means tephen is free to organise his shops as he sees fit rather than sticking with convention – with Vagabond making wines itself or collaborating with others to do so where it feels there’s a gap to be filled.

“One of the big things from day one is that it’s about not categorising wines by grape or region, which has bad associations with snobbery,” he said.

“It’s a very complicated industry, but it’s our job to present the wine simply and more intuitively. For example, there’s our bold category.

“If you like an rgeninian malbec, you’ll find one right there, but there will also be some other wines that share similar characteristics.

“We’re helping people to make their own little world wine discoveries on their own terms – it’s fun.

“It’s about not forgetting that we’re here for our guests and delivering good wines, good stories, good value-for-money – that’s what we look for.”

Go to vagabondwines.co.uk

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

by Elisabeth Newfield

22

Years Chris has been leading Half Moon’s activities in Limehouse

C

hallenges are part of being a journalist – interviewing Shane Ritchie while he squirted water at me in an underground cave springs to mind. But discussing the value of theatre for babies with Half Moon CEO and director Chris Elwell while wrangling my own one-yearold took a new level of concentration.

In fact, it gave me a taste of what performers are faced with as they try to engage with the Limehouse theatre’s youngest audience members.

We had just watched the latest show for 0-18-month-olds, Glisten, in which an actor had to navigate not only a set made of unfurling shimmering materials but also grasping toddler hands, distracting squawks and one little girl who loudly declared ‘Mummy, I’m a bit scared’.

“Baby shows are a comparatively new thing,” said Chris. “This is only the third we have done as they have only become something in recent times that artists have wanted to make because it is quite a complex idea – bringing a baby along to a piece of performance.

“The essence is about structured narratives within a play concept. For example, this play is reflecting the nature of what a small child would feel when they start to discover objects and the light shining on them.

“It seems quite simple but every move and light change is done for a reason and it’s completely choreographed.”

Much more than just a theatre, Half Moon is a charity that specialises in using drama as a tool for learning with young people up to the age of 25.

It has more than 160 youth theatre members, around a quarter of whom are disabled, works with around 65 schools in Tower Hamlets, runs workshops for thousands of residents and produces and tours shows to venues across the UK. Baby shows are the latest string in its bow and a response to the way children are now growing up surrounded by technology.

“Research is showing in this digital age families are not necessarily playing in the same way they used to,” said Chris, as my daughter made a lunge for my mobile phone.

“Sometimes when children arrive at nursery or school and get given a book they try to swipe the pages.

“What we are doing is giving permission for the carer, the father, mother or whoever, to actually play creatively with their child using found objects.”

The theatre originally opened in a disused synagogue in Aldgate in 1972 with its opening production was Bertolt Brecht’s In The Jungle Of The Cities. After a stint in Mile End Road it partnered with Tower Hamlets council in the late 1980s and landed £1.3million of funding to refurbish the former Limehouse Board of Works on

Kim believes companies can get significant benefits from investing in video content in the digital age

Above, Daniel Naddafy dazzles babies with his performance of Glisten Left, Half Moon CEO and director Chris Elwell is at the helm of the operation

how Half Moon Theatre creates work for children and young adults from the moment they’re born up to age 25

young making theatre for the

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

45

Wapping - Limehouse - Shadwell

White Horse Road, moving in during 1994. Today, as its name would imply, it stands as a pale beacon amongst the grey cityscape around it and under Chris’ leadership over the last 22 years has transformed it from an introverted venue to one focused on reaching out to the communities around it.

“When I came to Half Moon it was in a very different place to where it is today,” said Chris, who started out as a drama teacher in Wanstead with a focus on special needs.

“I said to the trustees: ‘Look, the company is in difficulty but let’s see how we get on,’ and all these years later I’m still here.”

Today he oversees a team of 10 staff and works with around 00 freelancers every year, which includes running the theatre’s producing arm.

The charity runs eight Youth Theatre groups for five to -year-olds in east London interested in theatre and drama, works to encourage young people into careers in the arts and runs a wealth of outreach and community projects.

It previously worked with Richard House Children’s Hospice to provide sessions for families at the hospice and Southern Housing Group to deliver Early Years Creative Play projects for its residents.

“What we’ve done has been achieved through a very detailed community focus, which meant we were able to secure regular funding from Arts Council England to build the team, refurbish the space, buy the building and introduce our touring themes,” said Chris.

The Southwark resident makes it sound easy, but there is no doubt Half Moon has thrived thanks to his dedication and wealth of experience.

Each year it raises more than half of its turnover through donations and grants and Chris has recently overseen a successful bid for Lottery funding to refurbish the auditorium, reduce the building’s carbon footprint, make the toilets more gender neutral and install an adult bed-change for teenagers with profound needs.

His team has also launched Theatre Passport, which sees local businesses giving money so schoolchildren can visit the theatre for the first time.

Alongside this he manages the producing arm and has four plays going out in the new year. Paper Aeroplane – about bereavement, The House That Jackson Built – about recycling, a major co-production Dust with music

by Hugo White of The Maccabees, and Big Red Bath, which features music by Evergreen, an alternative indie-electro-pop trio.

“When we do something we do it a little bit differently and we owe that to the taxpayers who fund us,” said Chris. He previously worked at English National Ballet (which itself recently relocated to east London – see Page 46) to deliver mainly pre-school and early years outreach and then moved to the Royal Shakespeare Company as head of community in schools.

“In those days arts education as we now know it was quite new and small and we did outreach into London boroughs but also had remit for national touring,” he said. “Through that work I got to know this borough very well.”

After a spell as a senior lecturer in arts education delivery at the Central School For Speech And Drama he arrived at Half Moon in the late 1990s.

He never planned to stay for more than two decades, but fell in love with the work his team does.

“I kept saying: ‘I’ll stay until the building is bought, I’ll stay until it’s refurbished’,” said the father-of-one.

“But then I realised I love making plays, baby plays, teenage plays and I’m absolutely empowered by the community we work with, the young people and their families.

“I just feel very honoured to know that this space is democratically for the people that live here.”

The theatre makes about seven shows a year, all performed by adult actors and all disability friendly.

“All our shows are relaxed,” said Chris. “We don’t promote them as relaxed because we feel that any child can come into this space.

“We do touch tours prior to an experience and regularly have young people on the autistic spectrum who come in and get used to it before the lights go down and sit in a space where they can come in and out as they like. significant percentage of young people in our youth programme have special needs.”

L

ooking at how the theatre can expand its reach is also part of Chris’ role, which is how the baby shows came about.

“More people are starting to do them now but because we are a national portfolio company of Arts Council England, which is a long winded way of saying we are one of 600 theatres across the country that is regularly funded, part of our remit is to try to be ahead of trends,” said Chris. “So we started doing baby shows to see if they would work.

“Now when we put them out to sell across the country, venues are keen to book them because they know they will be of a quality and have been researched. The artist will have worked in a baby environment and looked at how they react to different materials. That’s how we create all our work.”

The idea to welcome babies into the auditorium also evolved out of its work with families in Tower Hamlets.

“We have a huge participatory program and do a lot in nurseries and children’s centres and have been for many years,” said Chris.

“We’re regularly doing sessions of creative play and parent and toddler play sessions where we are actively engaging with families to think about creativity and play.

“So we knew there was an audience out there but more importantly there is a need.

“

I kept saying: ‘I’ll stay until the building is bought’.

But then I realised I love making plays and I’m absolutely empowered by the community

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping

Chris Elwell, Half Moon Theatre

“It doesn’t matter what demographic you are from. It’s actually nothing to do, necessarily, with wealth of opportunity or whether you have 15 iPads.

“It’s to do with the fact we have become screen-orientated and parents will, for whatever reason, give their child a screen to watch. What we are trying to do is to give permission for audiences to be playful together.

“One show we did had cardboard boxes, another had playing in mud, another in sand. That ‘s why the play session afterwards is really key. It’s about being joyful together.”

One of his favourite moments was a project with teenage mothers in Leicester.

He said: “At the end of the play they were invited to come into the space and it was very moving because those young mothers who were really just children themselves played and we realised they had lost permission to play.

“But as a result of this experience, they and their child were playing together and they were playing in the same sort of way. You realise the impact it can have on people.

“It’s coming out of many years of research, which validates that instinctive human nature to share things.

You don’t need to buy an expensive plastic toy.”

The baby shows are low capacity with around 20 babies and their parent or carer invited to sit on the edge of the performance space. They often sell out.

“I like to think we have strong audience support because of the community outreach we have been doing for many years,” said Chris.

“The families know who we are and will come to our space to see plays because we have been to their space.”

This connection with families also means they grow with it and move on to supporting the theatre from the inside out.

“We have trustees who were in the youth theatre who represent the community they live in,” said Chris.

“My legacy is that we have moved from what was quite an inwardly looking organisation about making art for art’s sake to an outward looking organisation that responds to and is for the communities we serve.

“I think that’s why we have survived all these years.”

Go to halfmoon.org.uk for more information

GIG | Unashamedly Christmas The cabaret singer returns to Wilton’s for a festive feast of song, celebration and merriment along with her musical director Tom Foskett-Barnes.

Dec 20, 1.30pm, from £6, wiltons.org.uk where?

Troxy Limehouse

NYE | Sink The Pink Y2K Perhaps it’s because the naughteenies are rubbish, but here’s another opportunity to look back 20 years and party like it’s 1999. Lasers expected.

Dec 31, 9pm, from £16.23, troxy.co.uk where?

Jamboree Three Colt Street

NYE | The Antic Follies Live music and cabaret abound with the likes of Heavy Metal Pete, Eva Von Schnippisch, Crazy Pony and headliners The Bohemianauts. Plus burlesque.

Dec 31, 8pm, £25 (in advance), jamboreevenue.co.uk

to do before December 18

Hear and see Babesa Cubana at Jamboree on December 13 as they take the music of Greece back to its Latin roots, reflecting the origins of its members – from Cyprus, Greece, Brazil and Venezuela. Doors 7pm, tickets £10 jamboreevenue.co.uk

spot check worth a visit Visit the The Town Of Ramsgate for fine food and a tipple on the river fusiliermuseumlondon.org want more? @wharflifelive

46

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

riverside recipes

by Matt Colk

P

earl barley has come back into play in a lot of recipes due to its nutritional value and crunchy texture, if cooked properly. It is used in a wide range of dishes including soups, stocks or to replace risotto rice – it also helps as a thickening agent and makes dishes feel a bit creamier. As barley takes on the flavour of whatever you cook it in, make sure you use a good strong stock when making my lamb and pearl barley risotto

English National Ballet is up and running at City Island and it’s doors are wide open to the public

by Jon Massey

O Ingredients (for one portion) 200g lamb cannon 20ml vegetable oil 60g butter 200g pearl barley (soaked overnight) 150ml white wine 60g Parmesan 40g onion 5g garlic 10g parsley 500ml vegetable stock (or stock cube) 5g watercress Salt Pepper Method First dice the onion and garlic then sweat off in half the vegetable oil. Once the onions become translucent add the pearl barley and white wine and cook for five minutes then add the vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

Now season the lamb with the salt and pepper and seal off in the other half of the vegetable oil, getting plenty of colour on all sides. Cook for around five minutes in total depending on the size of each piece of meat and on how you like your meat cooked. Let the meat rest for at least five minutes after cooking.

Finish off the risotto by adding the butter seasoning, grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Mix well and then plate the risotto and then lay the sliced lamb over the top. Garnish with watercress, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

Matt Colk is head chef at The Gun in Coldharbour, Blackwall. Owned and operated by Fuller’s, it offers dining, drinking and relaxation by the Thames Go to thegundocklands.com or follow the @thegundocklands on Instagram and Twitter

pen is probably the best word for English National Ballet (ENB).

The company is in the vanguard of a wave of major cultural institutions relocating to or taking significant space in east ondon, having moved into its new home at London City Island earlier this year.

So by the time its near neighbour the London Film School arrives and Stratford welcomes the BBC, Sadler’s Wells, The Smithsonian and the V&A, ENB will already have been drawing people to Leamouth via Canning Town Tube for a while.

But in addition to attracting a steady stream of traffic that had hitherto been headed to west London, ENB is keen to welcome those living around its new home.

“This is not a closed building, where the company gets on with its business,” said director of engagement Fleur Derbyshire-Fox. “It should be a ‘bus-lane open’ building, where people come in. They might be doing work downstairs or just popping in for a coffee or walking around the public areas.

“It is about saying” ‘Come in, look around, find out what’s going on’. This is as much the community’s building as it is ours.”

While naturally geared to the needs of the company as it prepares its shows, ENB’s London City Island base also hosts a range of ballet and dance classes for all ages, from tasters to advanced sessions. It’s also an organisation used to looking outwards.

“We have a very established programme of engagement and we

“

This is not a closed building where the company gets on with its business. It’s about saying: ‘Come in, find out what’s going on’ Fleur Derbyshire-Fox, ENB

reach about 40,000 people every year,” said Fleur, who has been working at ENB for more than 12 years.

“If you look at the ethos of the company, when it first started there was always outreach, there was always an educational programme, so we’re very proud of that.

“What we do in our outreach, engagement and educational work is look at ballet as a multi-faceted art form – we may work with film, with poets or with photographers, for example.

“What we really want to do is open ballet up to expose those career opportunities that you don’t always see as a young person so you might never know if something’s going to be for you.

“The remit of the Company’s education is to be open access.

A lot of our programmes cater for young people, for those with special educational needs and also for older people.

“Dance For Parkinsons is one of our largest programmes, and, connected to that are very robust research partnerships. We’re also building up our Dance For Dementia offer.

“Now that we’re here in this

One of the studios at ENB amazing building, the scope is huge, and that’s why the GLA supported us with a Good Growth Fund award. It is about bridging neighbourhoods together, connecting more widely and developing the talent pipeline.

“If you start as a young person or as an older person in one of our classes, you’re going to be brushing shoulders with artists and developing. The whole aim of it is that ballet is your culture and it can make you feel good.”

While ENB is a national organisation and therefore works all over the country, a shift to east London will naturally involve a focus around its new home.

Fleur said: “We’ve always worked London-wide, and engaged with city as a whole including the outer boroughs.

“Of course, we’re restricted by capacity and our budget, but it’s fair to say that we’ve always had a wide spread.

“East London is really vibrant.

What we don’t want to be is a company that just parachutes in.

“For the last two-and-a-half years we’ve been doing a lot of

outreach work anyway, and really focusing on connections with key people – finding out what our relationship is and what it could be in the future. That’s the way that we like to work and, being at London City Island, there’s a really strong residents’ association and a lot of the people there are very keen to get involved with our volunteering programme, which is very strong and is, again, blossoming.

“Of course, we need to work with schools, which we are already doing, so young people who are interested in a career in ballet are exposed to it. That’s part of our process, and we do that through our youth programme.

“We have an established youth company – ENBYouthCo – which shares the same stage as the main company in a big project called Dance Journeys that brings together schools and the youth company with high production values.

“So we’re going to take that model on here and we’re going to be performing a piece in this building on April 4 with the aim of raising aspirations and we’ll then build on those.

“We’ve also been doing a big project with older people called Dancing East, where we linked up with all the Linkage Plus hubs in Tower Hamlets and offered free dance and music sessions for older people to reduce isolation and promote health and well being.

“It gives participants something to talk about that’s a little bit colourful, a little bit different – something to have strong opinions about.

“All of our programmes link in with watching a rehearsal or watching a performance or meeting the artists and there could be some really invaluable conversations. What’s lovely is sometimes when we bring our dancers in to meet people they get asked hilarious questions and it’s just wonderful to see that exchange.

“Our artists come back and say: ‘We’ve really had an amazing time’. So we’re able to do more of that, to see our audiences, young and old, new and established.

“I am very passionate about it.

Engagement is a small team and we have a big artistic output – the reason we do it is because we really believe in it.”

There’s a real sense that while ENB has been reaching out to east London for a while, its presence here is likely to be the catalyst for a great deal of activity and things are just getting going. While an independent organisation, the English National Ballet School is set to take up residence in January, presenting more opportunities for collaboration and there are plans for ENB to create a new

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

47

Isle Of Dogs - Poplar - Blackwall

2

Years since Rhys moved into London City Island

meet the dancer

Rhys Antoni Yeomans

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Poplar Union Poplar

enb how

Rhys says dancing with ENB is ‘very hard, but so rewarding’

A

reaches out

ENB director of engagement Fleur Derbyshire-Fox is keen to forge relationships in east London

ENB’s London City Island base

company for dancers aged 10-13 to supplement ENBYouthCo, which is made up of dancers aged 14-19.

Beyond that, it’s hoping to tap into Canary Wharf and the businesses around it with the possibility of corporate partnerships.

“In terms of health and well being for workers there is something we could provide,” said Fleur. “It’s an area we’ve been involved in via different projects over the years, with various companies and it’s really essential.

Come and knock on our door.

“There could be some valuable partnerships with organisations there or, of course, workers can come to classes.”

Go to ballet.org.uk

n indirect consequence of ENB’s move to London City Island is that the development now counts dancer Rhys Antoni Yeomans among its residents.

“I love it,” he said. “The community has grown since I moved here two years ago and it’s very exciting. I love east London.

“I chose to live here when I got the contract because I knew that we would eventually move. Having these facilities is completely different – it’s incredible – this new building is four times the size of our old premises in South Kensington.

“Being a dancer is very hard, but it’s so rewarding. We’re living our dream job and that’s incredible. There are lots of hours and never-ending training going into it.

“For those considering a career, I’d say keep believing in yourself, because it’s a really challenging and very critical world, and trust that, if you work hard and listen to the people around you, you’ll do amazingly well.

“In terms of outreach, it’s important because it gives younger people the opportunity to have a taster of ballet and to see what it’s like to work in a professional company. Then, when they go and watch the show, they can recognise the steps.”

EVENT | Aponghor LGBTQ+ Christmas Party Join the British Bangladeshi LGBTQ+ group for a festive celebration with food, dancing, music and live performaces. Call 07411 747 985 for tickets.

Dec 19, 6.30pm, £6, poplarunion.com where?

The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | A Christmas Carol Comedian and singer Mitch Benn performs Charles Dickens’ performance text of the seasonal classic with proceeds going to Mudchute Park And Farm.

Dec 18, 8pm, £15, space.org.uk where?

Capeesh Skybar Isle Of Dogs

NYE | Masquerade Party See in 2020 with the best views in London as a backdrop – expect DJs, live entertainment and plenty of food and drink. Masks provided.

Dec 31, 7pm-3am, from £75, capeesh.co.uk

to do before December 18

Head to The Space from December 5-7 for The Madness Of George III – a fresh take on Alan Bennett’s play from in-house company SpaceWorks. Performances start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £12.50 space.org.uk Rhys was a finalist in Emerging Dancer 2019 at ENB

spot check Get moving at Parkour Generations at Trinity Buoy Wharf parkourgenerations.com want more? @wharflifelive

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Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

65

The age Arthur Smith turned just before this interview

by Elisabeth Newfield

I

f you have only seen Arthur Smith on television you would be forgiven for thinking him simply a grumpy old man. But it turns out the Bermondsey-born comedian and writer is a bit of a softie. True he has a certain gruff directness to him and 20 minutes into our interview demands to know “how much longer I’ll be”.

But it also transpires it is his 65th birthday and not only is he performing that night – he has also taken the time to chat to me about new book 100 Things I Meant To Tell You. Despite featuring a particularly hangdog headshot of Arthur on the cover and an opening chapter entitled Grumpy Old Man, his book is not a rant at the world reminiscent of the BBC series that made him famous.

Instead it is a funny, sometimes sentimental stroll through his memories from the last six decades. It includes a charming encounter with a butterfly, his row with Billy Connolly and a rather touching chapter titled Happiness.

“I didn’t have much else to do last January and bumped into an editor,” said the gravel-toned stand-up who was born Brian Arthur Smith in 1954.

“There’s this old African saying: ‘When a person dies a library burns down’ and I thought I had lots of little stories and things I’d written in the past that I wanted to give another run out.

“I probably had 150 things so it was a question of choosing some, writing some, rewriting some and deciding what order to put them in. It was quite challenging but enjoyable.

“In the end, the idea was for people to dip in and out – it’s designed for a world with a very short attention span.”

Arthur, who said he had a “terrible memory” had to do some dipping of his own into his old diaries for the project and said it made him realise how much he had mellowed with age.

“I kept a diary up until I was 30 and on and off all through my life,” he said. “I went back and read them a bit for this book and sometimes thought ‘Jesus Christ what a wanker I was,’ or ‘that was an awful thing to have done,’ or ‘what a stupid remark’.

stories telling

from the past

“I can look back 40 years at the 25-year-old me and sometimes think: ‘Is that the same person? What’s my relationship with that guy?’.

“It is me – but on the other hand, it’s also someone with a different set of perspectives who is angrier and punching for survival. I was getting myself arrested at marches and wouldn’t even talk to anyone who voted for Thatcher. Politically I’m softer now.

“And I find more empathy, even with things. I feel very sorry for bottles of bleach when they are described as seriously thick. The punchline being: ‘That’s Domestos abuse’. I might use that one tonight.

“I’m less angry. I take a longer perspective. Young men are fucking awful, mostly.”

His book contains stories, poems and anecdotes from throughout his life including the three brushes with death, the time he was asked to leave a hotel and had to buy new trousers and why he no longer does April Fool’s pranks.

Unsurprisingly Arthur, who now lives in Balham and is the self-appointed ‘night mayor’, revealed he liked to make trouble from a young age.

“I remember one Guy Fawkes night pretending I was the Guy and getting adults to give us a penny,” he said recalling his childhood in Bermondsey.

“I was in the mischief gang

“

You are more attractive to women if you’ve been entertaining them on stage rather than sidling up to them from obscurity Arthur Smith, author and comedian

– we were a tough bunch and I won a fight. And I remember jumping off the shed and ending up in hospital, as I did quite often as a young boy.”

When he was 10 his family moved to Kidbrooke and he attended The Roan School for Boys in Blackheath and still has a “great affection” for Greenwich Park, which he walked across every day.

“I was lucky,” he said. “I had two brothers and a mum and dad who loved me and each other. I had a very good upbringing.

“I grew up the first nine years in a block of police flats that had a bomb site opposite and there were lots of other kids to jump around with and be dangerous with.

“I have always had a certain existential despair but that is part of being alive.”

After studying comparative literature at the University of East Anglia, Arthur said he went into comedy to impress women.

“That’s partly why I became an entertainer,” he said. “You are more attractive to women if you have been entertaining them on stage rather than just sidling up to them from obscurity.”

It worked and Arthur admits he spent a good deal of time partying in his 20s and 30s while making waves on the alternative comedy scene of the 1980s.

“Now the idea of going in a nightclub is awful but there was a time when I quite liked them,” he said. “I was quite a wild man around Soho in my early 30s.

I would go to Groucho and get home at 5am.

“To me I couldn’t see the point of going to a party unless you were going to get pissed and try to cop off with someone. To an extent I still feel that, which is why I don’t go to parties and I don’t drink anymore.”

He admits that by his 40th birthday he was “miserable as hell”.

“I had depression and was drinking too much,” he said.

“However, I’ve now given up the booze and I’m fine.”

The other very important reason why he is less wild and less grumpy these days is love.

He has been engaged to writer Beth Kilcoyne for years after meeting her shortly before being diagnosed with nearly fatal pancreatitis in 2001.

“I don’t know if we’ll get married as she doesn’t really want a big frock or to be the centre of attention,” said Arthur. “For me it would feel like an unpaid gig. I call her my wife sometimes.

“I’d be up for it but she can’t really be arsed. We’ll probably do that classic thing of marrying on my deathbed.”

He has, however, dedicated his book to her “Now and Forever” and like our conversation, it is peppered with references to her, although she doesn’t feature explicitly.

Arthur has included two extracts by his late father, Syd, who fought in the Second World War before being captured, then went on to be a policeman in London.

The first is his account of getting captured at El Alamein.

He wrote: “To me it seemed such a nonsense that I had no desire to kill anyone and that most of the hoi polloi on both sides felt the same.”

Arthur said: “He talked to me about what had happened to him and I took him to Coldtiz Castle where he was a prisoner.

He could talk about it, although he tended to stick to his standard stories.

“It was pretty traumatic what he went through. He never slept that well but he seemed not to have PTSD as you would expect now. He was never against the Germans and I had a German

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49

Rotherhithe - Bermondsey - Deptford

why comedian Arthur Smith has dipped into his memories to write a book

friend who came and stayed. He was very understanding and all for the European Union as well.”

The most difficult stories for Arthur to share were those about his mother Hazel, who he writes “gave me the taste for words that inspired my profession”. He shares her decline into dementia in three chapters, Eighty, Eighty-four and Nearly 90.

“They were hard to write,” he said. “Especially the one from her 80th birthday ,which was a horrible day when it became apparent to us the state she was in. Sometimes I was trying to find a punchline or twist at the end and failed.

“I decided to share them because there is a kind of redemption at the end and it was a gesture to other people who have partners or people with dementia –a way of suggesting that it needn’t be as terrible as you think it is.

“I wrestled with whether my mum would mind. I don’t think she would and I haven’t put anything disrespectful in, but I was slightly uncertain because she was never one for the limelight.

“I think she would have approved because I hope it has helped other people in the same situation.”

Arthur, who said he has “been old for a while and is now approaching elderly” said he is sure to have ruffled some feathers with his collection of stories.

“I sent some things to people and they didn’t like them so I took them out,” he said. “Even now I think I have offended a couple of people.”

But he hopes he has done the characters he chose to feature justice.

“I’m sure there are some bits I’ve misremembered,” he said.

“Memory plays tricks on us but it’s what we have.

“I don’t have a very good memory. I spend my life with people coming up to me saying: ‘Oh hello’ and I don’t know who the fuck they are.”

Tellingly, he does remember to wish me well for my upcoming birthday at the end of our conversation and it leaves me questioning whether his grouchy reputation is really deserved?

“I’m not actually that grumpy and never really was,” he said.

“Cheerio.”

100 Things I Meant To Tell You

by Arthur Smith is out now, priced £12.99.

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Canada Water Theatre Rotherhithe

STAGE | The Snow Queen Two live performers and a host of digital characters offer a festive adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale with British Sign Language and speech.

Dec 20-21, times vary, £12, thealbany.org.uk where?

Printworks Rotherhithe

CLUB | Defected Running until 11pm, mark New Year’s Day with the likes of Armand Van Helden, Sam Divine, Low Steppa, Ferreck Dawn and Roberto Surace.

Jan 1, noon, from £29.50, printworkslondon.co.uk where?

Deptford Cinema Deptford

FILM | 88:88 With Related Shorts A chance to see Winnipeg-based filmmaker Isiah Medina’s experimental 2015 work alongside a series of related pieces by Kelley Dong and others.

Dec 21, 7pm, £6, deptfordcinema.org

to do before December 18

Directed by BBC Slam’s Sophia Walker, poetic show Polaris arrives at Canada Water Theatre on December 5, following one woman’s trip around the world to find good food and a home. Doors 8pm, tickets £14 thealbany.org.uk

spot check worth a visit Sample delicious, wellpriced Italian food at Marcella in Deptford marcella.london want more? @wharflifelive

50

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

by Jon Massey

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Indigo At The O2 Peninsula

NYE | Kisstory A very simple description from the rap and r’n’b mainstay – this event promises the “Best Old Skool and Anthems” to see in 2020. Looking back...

Dec 31, 9pm, £46.15, theo2.co.uk where?

Cutty Sark Greenwich

COMEDY | Christmas Ceilidh Dance under the ship to more than a few Scottish reels to warm up for the big day. Novices welcome Expect whisky, mince pies and tasteless jumpers.

Dec 22, 7pm, £25, rmg.co.uk where?

Greenwich Theatre Greenwich

KIDS | Christmas Cracker Comedy Club 4 Kids delivers festive tomfoolery, Santa stand-up and seasonal show business intended to keep smaller people amused. Ages six and up.

Dec 21, 11am, £13.50, greenwichtheatre.org.uk

to do before December 18

Join the Bewilderbeast for Bill Bailey’s Cutty Sark Spectacular taking place beneath the hull on December 15 from 6.50pm in celebration of the ship’s 150th year. Expect special guests. Tickets £35 rmg.co.uk

spot check one to try Try Baj’s Blazin Hot Sauce from Sample market Dec 7-8 for a buzz on the tongue bajsblazin.com want more? @wharflifelive

W

ith 2020 edging closer, it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. As we’re in the final 12th of 2019, why not eschew the vague commitments to be healthier or abstain from alcohol indefinitely (typically a knee-jerk upon waking up on January 1) for more concrete plans.

Which brings us to Ravensbourne University. Based in a striking, round-windowed building on Greenwich Peninsula, the institution is a specialist in media and design, replete with TV studios, editing suites, materials libraries and the buzz of creativity.

It has also just announced a programme of short courses aimed at bringing more people through its doors to explore, experiment and learn skills beyond those they might pick up in the workplace.

Its crop of 10 covers fashion, visual arts, journalism and business with each aimed at giving participants a solid grounding in a particular field.

Short courses manager at Ravensbourne, Jack Brown, said: “We’re basically rejuvenating our programme, having run a week of tasters in October when we had a great number of new people coming though the door.

“We’ve tried to make our courses accessible with a really exciting portfolio that fits in line with avensbourne’s core offering and its undergraduate and post-graduate courses.

“A lot of the people participating in the taster sessions were in fulltime employment – they’re doing jobs nine-to-five – and are perhaps not getting as much creativity as perhaps they would like there.

“So with our short courses they can come after work, and try something a bit creative, something they’ve seen online, perhaps, or something they’ve wanted to do for years.”

Located one stop from Canary Wharf, about a minute’s walk from North Greenwich Tube, Ravensbourne has been resident on the Peninsula for nearly 10 years. With around 2,500 students, it offers a wealth of technical facilities spread over several levels with a multitude of open-plan spaces designed to serve as flexible classroom space.

Its short course programme is both an opportunity for those not enrolled as students to gain access to the facilities and for Ravensbourne to make use of its infrastructure outside its usual operating hours.

Jack, a former student at the university himself, said: “Our taster week really allowed us to

gauge what the public want to know and what they want to learn about.

“At Ravensbourne we focus on media and design and we wanted to relate that to our short courses.

“We’ve got some really exciting things coming up – for example, we’re doing a drone masterclass – it’s a big buzzword at the moment, and they’re more accessible than ever. They’re also cheaper than ever, so lots of people are getting their hands on them.

“Our class gives people a chance to fly a drone, if they’ve not had that opportunity before and if people are getting them for Christmas, the course will give them some basic flying techniques.

“Participants will also be taken through all the rules and regulations, because there are a lot of them out there. It will be very much indoors and is run by freelance drone photographer who flies day in and day out professionally. So if you’re really interested in

on offer

Ravensbourne’s short courses

Type II Denim Trucker Jacket Masterclass + Denim Theory Dec 16-18, 9am-6pm £65-£450, three sessions Introduction To Illustration Jan 6-Mar 9, Mon, 6.30pm-8pm £440, six sessions Pattern Cutting For Beginners Jan 15-Feb 5, Weds, 7pm-9pm £260, four sessions Two-Day Make Up Course Jan 18, 25, Sat, 10am-4pm £325, two sessions Mobile Phone Journalism Jan 22-Feb 19, Weds, 6pm-9pm £405, five sessions How To Launch Your Startup Jan 30-Feb 13, Thurs, 7pm-9pm £165, three sessions How To Drone Feb 3-24, Mon, 7pm-9pm £220, four sessions Graphic Design For Beginners Feb 6-Mar 12, Thurs, 6pm-9pm £540, six sessions Augmented Reality Taster Feb 26, Weds, 6pm-9pm £100, one session For most courses, there’s an option to pay a £50 deposit to secure a place with the balance paid two weeks before the start date. Everything necessary to complete the courses, including all materials, is provided

them for filming or photography, then he’ll also cover those kinds of areas as well, which is great.

“On a different tack, lots of people want to know how to launch their startups, especially in these kinds of creative industries.

“Graduates at Ravensbourne are all taught how important it is to set yourself up, whether you want to be a freelancer or you want to set up your own small business, and we’re going to run a short course on that, called how to launch a startup.

“It is really important, because in the media and creative industries there are very few full-time employment opportunities, so learning about invoicing, the taxation system, how to register at Companies House, and so on are all vital.

“There are lots of people out there, at any point in their lives, who may be looking to go freelance or set up their own company, so that course is definitely a highlight in the programme for us as well.

“We’re also doing something very exciting – mobile phone journalism. We know that people are increasingly setting up YouTube channels, video channels and Instagram TV, so this course is about using our smartphone devices, something we all have but may want to know a bit more about in terms of how best to film with them and to use add-ons, like clip-on microphones.

“From a design perspective, one of the most popular courses in our taster week was illustration.

“Meeting people on that course, I found that they were often doing very mundane things in their nineto-five and wanted to be a little bit creative.

“They had the chance to put together a brief book in our taster week and that’s something they’ll get to do more of on the longer course.

“We’re also doing a graphic design course for those who want to focus on that.

“What’s really nice about this offering is that they aren’t 0 or 2 weeks – our courses typically run between four and six sessions.

“Some people might be coming to us for the first time and some might be going on a short course for the first time.

“Signing up for 10 or 12 weeks can be quite scary and is quite a big commitment, so for us it’s getting people in for a shorter period of time to see if they like it.

“Then, hopefully we want to do progression sessions, to take things to the next level and then increase the learning journey for the students, hopefully creating a nice circle of people coming back to us.

“The plan is definitely to roll out the courses, so people do these as

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

51

Greenwich - Peninsula - Woolwich Ravensbourne moved to North Greenwich a little under 10 years ago

“

It’s a really nice way to learn. The university is a friendly environment and it’s a great way to meet people, to network and to have a bit of fun Jack Brown, Ravensbourne University

Jack Brown has been tasked with delivering a programme of short courses at Ravensbourne

how a short course at Ravensbourne University could invigorate that creativity

short and sweet

Image by James Perrin – find more of his work at jamesperrin.com or via @millerjamesperrin on Insta

an intro and then follow-up with an intermediate course. That’s absolutely in the pipeline.

“The cost of each course differs depending on what’s required – some sessions require more materials than others and we provide them on our courses.

“The idea is you don’t need to bring anything with you unless you want to.

“Typically our prices are around £27 per hour, and we’ve just introduced a deposit system where if people, particularly this side of

Christmas don’t want to pay the full amount immediately, they can pay a £50 deposit and then the balance two weeks before the course’s start date.

“We also think the courses make great gifts for Christmas.

They are premium products and we’re using tutors who are experts in their field, drawn both from Ravensbourne and beyond with participants using industry standard equipment.

“It’s a really nice way to learn.

The university is a friendly environment and our tutors are really lovely. It’s a great way to meet people, to network and to have a bit of fun.”

And which course would Jack pick if he were signing up?

“For me it would have to be How To Create Your Own Podcast,” he said. “It’s so accessible. I love radio.

“I get on the train every morning and listen to podcasts so that’s the one that excites me the most.”

Go to ravensbourne.ac.uk for more information

of course

How To Create Your Own Podcast, Mar 2-23, Mon, 6pm-8pm, £260

S

arah Cuddon is an audio producer and podcaster who has more than 20 years’ experience in the field working with the BBC, the Tate, Mumsnet and The Guardian amongst many other.

Set to lead Ravensbourne’s four-part How To Create Your Own Podcast course in March, I asked her what participants could expect.

She said: “One of the main things we’ll be doing is listening to a whole range of excellent podcasts. There are obviously lots out there, because we’re experiencing what people are calling the second podcast boom.

“Literally hundreds are being launched, but within those there is a great diversity in terms of quality of audio, so I’d really like to introduce the students to what sounds good – what makes great audio.

“We’ll also be learning a little bit about the technical side of how to make a podcast, so there will be some opportunity to experiment with gear.

“We will learn how to use a digital recording device, and how to use a microphone as well as some basic editing skills, so they’ll have had

the experience of recording material, cutting it and mixing it and they’ll be building a bit of a soundscape, to see how music and sound can underscore your voice recording.

“I’m hoping that people who sign up for this will be coming with an idea for a podcast – something that’s been sitting there simmering.

“So we’ll translate those ideas into a format and then look at how you build a podcast storyline, how to script something and how you find characters or voices that you want to use for it.”

Sarah believes a great podcast “is a delight to the ears and has a story or a conversation in it that makes you want more,” and cites Adam Buxton and Love + Radio as worth a listen.

She said: “If you’re an aspiring podcaster, come on the course.

“If you’ve got an idea but you don’t quite know how to make it happen, it’s a really good idea. The beautiful thing about podcasts is that you can make them on a shoestring. The gear is really quite inexpensive to get yourself set up with what you would need to make something that sounds really slick.”

52

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

how Triple Two Coffee aims to foster a sense of community as Royal Wharf continues to grow

by Jon Massey

W

hat I liked about it was that this place could be part of the community because of its location,” said David Singer. The co-owner of Triple Two Coffee’s oyal Wharf branch opened its doors earlier this year at the Ballymore and Oxley development’s clubhouse, alongside the residents’ gym and swimming pool.

More than just a venue to acquire caffeinated beverages and pastries, it boasts an extensive food offering as well as transforming into a bar later in the day with wine, beer and cocktails, notably a potent, chilled espresso martini.

For David, it’s also a move from corporate life in the finance sector to becoming a business owner as a franchisee of Triple Two. “I used to work in the City and, when you work there, you live on coffee,” he said.

“I’d decided I wanted my own business – it’s very different to working in finance.

“When you have your own business, it’s your baby and you can help it grow and I’d always wanted to jump into that area, so I looked up some franchises and met up with them.

“That included one of the founders of Triple Two – I got on well with him and I liked the way they were going as well as their

food pick

artisan cheese board, £18 Replete with Colston Basset Stilton, Bath Soft, Pecorino Nero, Delice De Bourgogne and something called Worcestershire Hop, this board might appear pricey.

But festooned with crackers, grapes, quince jelly, fresh apple and crackers it’s easily enough for three to get a serious calcium fix and a solid accompaniment to Triple Two’s extensive alcoholic offering.

passion for coffee. There are 2 stores in the UK at the moment and more to come, including other branches in ondon. It’s a fantastic brand and growing very fast – it’s amazing.

“This is my first site, but I definitely plan to have more. The great thing about this one is that this is the first one to offer cocktails and alcohol as well as a menu to accompany them.”

With regular footfall guaranteed by the gym and pool, the choice of location for David and his business partner to open their branch of Triple Two was clear.

“I wanted some place in London, and when you meet up with the franchise, they’re brilliant,” said David.

“They put you in touch with property agents and you look in different areas – this one was available and I just love the area.

“It’s a new development and it’s like an actual community, it’s so big. The people who live here are absolutely fabulous.

“We’re by the gym, we’ve got a lovely view and we’re also near the new pier for the Thames Clippers.”

Coffee is at the heart of the brand, with Triple Two promising a speciality product at high street prices.

“Our coffee is single origin, so that it tastes the same wherever you go,” said David, whose drink of choice is a black americano.

“When I went down and saw our coffee supplier, we had a masterclass on all the different types of coffee.

“We went through all the different beans and where they come from and I realised there’s a wealth of knowledge out there so I’m so glad that Triple Two are sharing that knowledge.

“We serve handmade coffee, made fresh – it’s a fantastic product.”

Beyond the core beverage, customers can expect a warm welcome, with David and his team working hard to foster a pleasant environment.

Dogs and book clubs are welcomed at Triple Two and the team also run events such as a table tennis tournament and a Christmas quiz earlier this month.

Next up is a festive wreath making workshop at 7.30pm on December 6.

“People can expect a friendly atmosphere, fresh coffee and fresh food,” said David.

“It’s a fabulous place to come, and we have regulars here all the time – we just want to be part of the family.

“I think a lot of creating that comes down to believing in what the founders want – great customer service – and you have to give that training back to the staff and make them understand what kind of service you’re providing.

12

The current number of Triple Two Coffee branches across the UK. More are planned

Triple Two Coffee is located in the same building as The Clubhouse at Royal Wharf

warm welcome

Images by Matt Grayson – find his work at graysonphotos.co.uk or @mattgrayson_photo on Insta

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

53

Canning Town - Royal Docks

Sweet treats and a cheese and ham toastie at Triple Two

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1 where?

Various Royal Docks

FILM | Dock The Halls Festive screen favourites are popping up all over the area with art, live music and slime making on the side. Registration required to attend Until Dec 21, times vary, free, royaldocks.london where?

Sunborn Yacht Hotel Royal Victoria Dock

David Singer went from a

EVENT | New Year’s Eve Available in early bird (price below) or full luxury, this Great Gatsby-themed event includes three courses, cocktails and live music as 2019 draws to a close.

Dec 31, from 5pm, from £95, sunbornhotels.com

career in finance to becoming a franchisee and is now co-owner of Triple Two Coffee in Royal Wharf

where?

RA Fold Canning Town

Triple Two offers tapas and sharing platters including a cheese board, pictured here with the brand’s espresso martini

“

We want people to leave with a smile, tell all their friends and be back tomorrow – we want them to relax and be part of the place David Singer, Triple Two Coffee

“You need to make the customers feel welcome. What we’re trying to do is to provide coffee that is higher quality, freshly made by hand.

“Our food is fresh and in the evening we do tapas as well – we’re the first branch in the franchise to do that and we’re looking to extend the menu.

“We do everything to order and we have a range of alcohol. Then again, if people just want to have a coffee during the day, they can.

“We want people to leave with a smile, tell all their friends and be back tomorrow – we want them to come along, relax and be part of the place.”

And how has going from the world of finance to owning a

branch of Triple Two been for David?

“People always have expectations of how things are going to turn out,” he said.

“I’m happy that it’s open, but I would say that you have to be prepared for a lot of hard work.

“Everything is going the way that I thought it would go, I wouldn’t change anything.

“I think that the best thing you can do is always be positive, and always make sure that your staff are happy and smiling and make sure that they feel like part of the team. Achieving that is really about the attitude you have with them and seeing them as team members, so giving them training, being positive and perhaps going out after work for a drink sometimes. It’s about fostering that relationship.

“The team at Triple Two have been fantastic and they’re always able to give advice and that gives me a lot of confidence.”

With residents moving into Royal Wharf on a daily basis and more buildings coming on-stream, it’s a fair bet David will soon be welcoming a stream of new customers.

For more information go to tri let oco ee.com ro al harf

CLUB | Trust NYD Saoirse, Shanti Celeste, Andrew James Gustav and more are all set to entertain over the course of 12 hours on New Year’s Day. Early rise, early finish.

Jan 1, 7am-7pm, £12.50, residentadvisor.net

to do before December 18

APB London’s RAD is set to host New Economy Meet New City at Altitude from December 5-7. The seminars and panel discussions will explore how the economy shapes urban environments. Free to attend rad-event.london

spot check worth a visit Sample the spiced delights of the supremely purple Nakhon Thai nakhonthai.co.uk want more? @wharflifelive

54

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

Advertising Directory - Acknowledgements

find our advertisers’ messages here Chase Evans print Pages 1, 26-27 online chaseevans.co.uk

Berkeley Homes print Pages 24-25 online berkeleygroup.co.uk

The Gun print Page 3 online thegundocklands.com

My London Home print Pages 28-29 online mylondonhome.com

Harley Street Fertility Clinic print Page 4 online hsfc.org.uk

Vantage Properties And Management print Page 30 online vantage-uk.com

Third Space print Page 5 online thirdspace.london

Southern Homes print Page 31 online bowrivervillage.co.uk

Kidd Rapinet print Pages 6, 9 online kiddrapinet.co.uk

Landmark Estates print Pages 32-33 online lmlondon.com

Greenwich Hospital print Page 7 online greenwichmarket.london

Redloft print Pages 34 online redloft.co.uk

London City Airport print Page 11 online londoncityairport.com

Folio London print Pages 35 online foliolondon.co.uk

The Pearson Room print Page 13 online thepearsonroom.co.uk

Galliard Homes print Page 40 online galliardhomes.com

Creative Virtual print Page 15 online creativevirtual.com Higgins Homes print Pages 22-23 online higginshomes.co.uk

be part of the Canary Wharf conversation To advertise in Wharf Life call 07944 000 144 or email advertising@wharf-life.com

Wharf Life is published by Massey Maddison Limited, printed by Iliffe Print Cambridge and distributed by Willis News Distribution. Copyright Massey Maddison Limited 2019

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

55

Stratford - Bow - Hackney Wick

why Dick Whittington is a dose of unalloyed seasonal fun Severine Howell-Meri as Dick with Harry Jardine

14 days later

plan your life from Dec 18-Jan 1

as Nathaniel, a sort of

where?

Stratford Picturehouse Stratford

hairy, rapping James Corden identity crisis

SCREEN | One Man, Two Guvnors James Corden stars in the National Theatre’s version of this farce, shot live on the South Bank. Expect mistaken identity and insatiable appetites.

Dec 18, 12.30pm, £17.50, picturehouses.com

played a panto

by Jon Massey

D

ive deep into David Watson and Robert Hyman’s surreal, joyous romp of a panto at Theatre Royal Stratford East and there’s just the hint of darkness to their wholesome tale of inclusion, acceptance and identity in London.

In a city plagued by rats, just stop to consider for a minute what it says that dame Lady Lush – an imperious Vedi Roy– has both mothered a child with the magical king of the incoming vermin while also running a business that churns out “ice cream” using their lifeless bodies as ingredients and hiding her offspring’s true identity for fear of reprisals?

But to wander down such avenues would be to get as lost and bamboozled as Dick Whittington himself as he walks from the turnip fields of Romford to his destiny in Stratford – sailing by the point of this perfectly pitched evening of entertainment. It’s simple, delightful fun.

While the overarching message

“

where?

Westfield Stratford City Stratford

SHOP | Christmas Market From jewellery to German sausage, this selection of stalls has all the festive gifts and flavours you’ll need to see you through until the big day.

Until Dec 24, daily, free to visit, uk.westfield.com where?

Copper Box Stratford

with gold

Ultimately the plot is unimportant (although a thinly-veiled caricature of Boris resigning is a timely touch) – this is anarchic silliness Jon Massey, Wharf Life

that anyone can be who they want to be isn’t exactly a revelation, the strength and charm of this show is in its absurdity, its good humour and most importantly the depth of talent in its cast. It’s a thickly woven winter blanket of amusement for the kids, innuendo for the adults and rousing audience participation for all, shot through with enough in-jokes to melt even the Leytonstoniest of hearts.

Unusually there’s no stand-out performer – the ensemble is unfailingly slick. Severine Howell-Meri gives a rich and perky turn in the titular role, Tom Giles is all tall tales and

charm as King Rat and Francesca Zoutewelle is nearly tear-jerking as Lush’s cheese-eating daughter and Dick’s love interest Alice.

Had Harry Jardine as the cat Nathaniel (who’d rather be a dog) been allowed a couple more stints on the mic with his self-penned raps, he might well have stolen the show.

But director John Haidar keeps everything in check, delivering a brightly coloured, flashing barrage of colour and cartoon that feels like a cross between Quentin Blake’s illustrations and the Rocky Horror Show.

Ultimately the plot is unimportant (although a thinly-veiled caricature of Boris resigning is a timely touch) – this is two and a half hours of anarchic silliness and it’s a pure pleasure.

Special mention must be made of musical director and band leader James Doughty, though – a man possessed by the performance of the music and having the time of his life.

Dick Whittington runs at Theatre Royal Stratford East until January 11, most days. Tickets start at £10 and it’s a blast.

Go to stratfordeast.com

SPORT | The Fight Before Christmas And all through the ring not a creature was stirring apart from Daniel Dubois and Kyotaro Fujimoto as their heavyweight clash approaches.

Dec 21, 3pm, from £44, queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk

to do before December 18

Watch Akeim Toussaint Buck blend dance, song and spoken word in Windows Of Displacement at Stratford Circus on December 11 and 12. Expect ancestral memories and politics. Tickets from £13 stratford-circus.com

spot check worth a visit Last chance to try Roof East in Stratford – open for food drinks and fun until Dec 21 stratfordeast.com want more? @wharflifelive

56

Wharf Life Dec 4-18, 2019 wharf-life.com

SUDOKU

Crossword - Sudoku

Very Hard

1 5 2 9 7 8 4 3 6 Sudoku 6 a9break 8 from 2 3 that 4 phone 1 5 7 Take 7 3 4 6 1 5 2 8 9 How 8 to6 play 1 4 5 9 3 7 2 To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 5 such 1 that 6 7each 9 row, 4 8column and 3x3 box one3to2nine contains every number uniquely.

9 4 7 8 2 3 5 6 1 8 find 3 strategies, 7 9 2 hints 6 1and5tips online You4can at sudokuwiki.org 2 7 6 5 4 1 8 9 3 5 to 1 play 9 3 8 6 7 2 4 More

4

5 4 4 7 3 9 1 8 9 1 7 2 9 4 8 3 5 6 2 1 3 1 4 5 9

You can find more Sudoku puzzles and a wide selection ofTo others available in apps and books at str8ts.com. This complete Sudoku, fill the board Sudoku is supplied by Syndicated Puzzles. by entering numbers 1 to 9 such

that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

Notes

© 2019 Syndicated Puzzles

9

Previous solution - Tough

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Sudoku you’ll really like ‘Str8ts’ and our other puzzles, Apps and books. Visit www.str8ts.com

crossword Down

1.

1.

A common fund for Catherine (5) 4. Where the gardener raises many a standard! (4-3) 8. & 9Ac. Neat apartments from which companies are run! (7-5) 10. The edge of the footpath provides some restriction, we hear (4) 11. One who tapes the instrument (8) 13. Dressed as a social outsider about fifty 14. See 15 Down 16. Cash received for making safety fasteners? (3-5) 17. One company with northern image (4) 20. Wants to sort out dense confusion (5) 21. Exit in the open air (7) 22. pecific number for a county division (7) 23. Mountains frequented by riflemen

Notes

A drink that leaves one lying on the floor - , 2. Late Perpendicular amalgam of Lancaster and York! (5) 3. Surely a paved area is longer than this! (4) 4. Though not featured in prose, they show sound correspondence (6) 5. Doris can become cynically contemptuous (8) 6. Gorily initiated (7) 7. Local tender! (8,5) 12. Tipsy reveller - but the motorist takes in nothing! (8) 13. Whole range of cutlery required for the dininghall (7) 15 & 14Ac. What one exerting himself needs after the first blow , 18. Coin used on state occasions (5) 9. From the first I resolved to use a spoon (4)

Quick Across 1.

4.

8.

9.

10.

11.

13.

14.

16.

17.

20.

21.

22.

23.

Mistake (5) Defer (7) Outline (7) Entrances (5) Rind (4) Be overbearing (8) Cupid (4) Leave (4) Repulsive (8) Chief (4) Well done! (5) Incorrect (7) Ingredient (7) Terror (5)

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

12.

13.

15.

18.

19.

Distasteful (13) Scope (5) Chamber (4) Religious address (6) Roomy (8) Clear (7) Noted differences Despair (4,4) Rival (7) Droll (6) Conscious (5) Peruse (4)

Across: 1 Error; 4 Suspend; 8 Contour; 9 Adits; 10 Peel; 11 Domineer; 13 Eros; 14 Quit; 16 Nauseous; 17 Main; 20 Bravo; 21 Inexact; 22 Element; 23 Dread.

Down: 1 Exceptionable; 2 Range; 3 Room; 4 Sermon; 5 Spacious; 6 Evident; 7 Discriminated; 12 Lose hope; 13 Emulate; 15 Quaint; 18 Aware; 19 Read.

Across

whether you’re cryptic sleuth or synonym solver in it for quick wins, this should satisfy

Cryptic Solution

Cryptic

beating the

Across: 1 Kitty; 4 Rose-bed; 8 Orderly; 9 Rooms; 10 Kerb; 11 Recorder; 13 Clad; 14 Wind; 16 Pin-money; 17 Icon; 20 Needs; 21 Outdoor; 22 Hundred; 23 Range.

Down: 1 Knock-out punch; 2 Tudor; 3 Yard; 4 Rhymes; 5 Sardonic; 6 Blooded; 7 District nurse; 12 Carouser; 13 Canteen; 15 Second; 18 Crown; 19 Stir.

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

Quick Solution

No. 834