tagged w/ le cool London
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By Max Leonard, le cool London
Short of using the Thames Barrier as giant stepping stones, setting up a zip-line from the top-floor atrium of the Gherkin, or indeed a TFL water-ski link, it’s difficult to know how the powers-that-be could make crossing the river any more exciting, following the London Mayor’s decision to put plans for a potential cable car out for consultation.
The cable car would rise 50m above the Thames and link the Greenwich peninsula to the Royal Docks. Completed in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it would, says Boris, be a major tourist attraction and a key way for pedestrians to get from the O2 to the disturbingly-capitalised ExCeL – both Olympic venues.
The more down-to-earth TFL, meanwhile, says that there could be a cable car every 30 seconds and that the scheme could carry 2,500 people an hour – the equivalent of 50 buses. It is unclear as yet whether there will be racks to put your skis in on the cars themselves, or chalets at either end serving vin chaud.
The scheme’s very existence is dependent on private finance – public money all being tied up with normal transport schemes such as Crossrail, or being given to bankers – but if it were to go ahead it would cement London’s east as the jazzier destination for river crossing. It certainly positions London’s east as the jazzier destination for river crossing. After all, what happens in the west? Twickenham. Yawn. Kew Bridge – forget it. And dinky little Albert Bridge is potentially closed to traffic until 2012.
East of Waterloo, on the other hand, there is Southwark Bridge, a Dickensian hidden gem, as well as the thrill-a-minute wobbly Millennium footbridge. Further along, there’s Tower Bridge, without a doubt London’s coolest bridge. Then there’s the creepy Greenwich foot tunnel, complete with antique wooden lifts and even more antique lift operators, and, to cap it all, there are the grimy road tunnels at Rotherhithe and Blackwall, as well as the Woolwich car and passenger ferry which is, surprisingly in this most mercenary of times, completely free.
Some would say that a cable car would be a surfeit of excitement upon an already extant embarrassment of riches. To which, I’d say, why not take the slowest crossing? It also happens to be the most cultural: 20 minutes from Tate Britain to Tate Modern on the Tate boat.
Others would say: ‘why even go south?’ But that’s another article entirely…
Pic credit: TFL.
By Max Leonard, le cool London
Short of using the Thames Barrier as giant... more
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By Delaina Haslam, le cool London
Mention East Dulwich to anyone who’s at all familiar with the neighbourhood and they’re most likely to rhyme the word ‘yummy’ with ‘mummy’ in their response. I’m not going to attempt to alter this perception because it’s true – I often feel like borrowing a small child and a big buggy before I go there so I’ll fit in.
It used to be a fair deal seedier, hence its backbone, Lordship Lane, being dubbed ‘Cocaine Lane’ in the 80s. Sadly, this is no more. The garage-based factory has long been disestablished and other money and gentry has swooped in.
But there is more to East Dulwich than pushchairs and has-been stimulants, let me prove it.
Vintage shopping: North Cross Road
The best time to visit East Dulwich is Saturday afternoon when market stalls pop up offering everything from hot roast to, hem, adorable broderie anglaise baby suits (there’s no denying it’s a good place to come if you are in search of baby presents) and the vintage shops bring out their funkiest finds to deck the street.
Coffee: Blue Mountain Cafe
Blue Mountain Cafe, 18 North Cross Road, SE22 9EU
Stop for a coffee at the Blue Mountain Cafe and marvel at its Gaudi-eat-your-heart out mosaic-ed terrace which incorporates whole plates.
Tea: Le Chandelier
Le Chandelier, 161 Lordship lane, SE22 8HX
At the southern end of Lordship Lane is this splendid tearoom hung with chandeliers and decked out with Moroccan fountains and flowers. Relax in one of the faded-decadence armchairs and enjoy a white peony tea with floating whole rosebuds.
Music shopping: Mind Charity Shop
Mind, 96 Grove Vale, SE22 8DT
This a tip-off just in from a drink I shared with le cool contributor and dj John Power (and big ED fan), apparently the neighbourhood is bordering on a retirement home for big-name hip hop djs. Said characters and their friends cast off their early dance cds and vinyl here.
Unique shopping: ED Warehouse
1 Zenoria Street, SE22 8HP
See through the name to what this really is: an indoor market. It’s one that offers an exciting range of independent clothes makers, jewellery designers and craftspeople.
Wine: Green & Blue
38 Lordship Lane, SE22 8HJ
Time to start on the drink. This is wine merchants Green & Blue’s original premises. Having opened in 2005 at no.36, it has spanned two sites with wine shop and deli one side and wine bar cum bistro the other since 2007 (the year much of East Dulwich’s mini-regeneration occurred). Check out their imaginative deals: I have a particularly fond memory of sharing a small bottle of fino accompanied by a dish of homemade salted almonds with a local who was introducing me to the neighbourhood when I first arrived.
French dining: Le Chardon
65 Lordship lane, SE22 8EP
This is a beautiful little curiosity. Near to Tandoori Nights, it also makes good use of its front terrace in true continental style, as well as its more British back garden. The interior decor is stunning, a snapshot of musty Parisian chique. The food is more standard than the restaurant’s appearance may suggest, but certainly makes an original choice for a meal out. Go on a week night or Sunday when you can choose from the two- or three-course set menu for £14.95 and £18.95 respectively.
Gastro dining: The Palmerston
91 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EP
I took a friend here on an evening when we had banked on eating at the Bishop pub, but found it far too boisterous for the deep catch-up discussion we were banking on, and so moved on. This was at about 8.30. They promised us a table at a quarter to 10. We drank away our time until then and so I’m not certain our judgement can be entirely trausted, but there are many recommendations to go on besides mine. My friend labelled it the ‘poshest’ meal she’d ever had. I think she was referring to the price, so be careful.
A pint: East Dulwich Tavern
1 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EW
On the corner of the Goose Green roundabout, ‘EDT’ stands out for its art nouveau tiles and furnishings. However, it’s a pub that suffers from trying to be a bit of everything. All sports fixtures are shown here, and I mean all, and it can get rowdy on weekend evenings.
Cocktail: Liquorish
123 Lordship Lane, SE22 8HU
Finish up at little stone-baked pizza joint and dj bar Liquorish. It can be a more casual dinner option, especially on a summer evening when you get a seat out front. And later on it has all the right attitude. One Dulwich Genie, check.
Photo credit: Delaina Haslam
By Delaina Haslam, le cool London
Mention East Dulwich to... more
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By Jasmine Phull, le cool London
Shoreditch, it’s the hub of the hipsters and Redchurch is quite fast become its street of shakers. It had a modest beginning housing the local watering holes but it wasn’t long before its mid-section was taken over by a string of galleries continuing on to boutique shops, chic cafes and most recently a multi-store venue Aubin & Wills, with a luxury cinema to boot! So veer left off the grit of Brick Lane because there’s something a little finer waiting down Redchurch way.
BARS:
The Owl and the Pussycat - 34 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP
Open Weekdays 12pm-11pm; Sat 5pm-11pm; Sun 12pm-10:30pm
With a charming layout and good sized beer garden there’s a reason The Owl and the Pussycat has practised such longevity. The barman is a true East-end gent who can offer a reasonably price pint to compliment the best lamb chops this side of London! Fly solo or with a bunch either way you’ll forget about the hipsters and learn some history while you’re at it.
The Redchurch Bar - 107 Redchurch Street, E2 7DL
Mon-Thu, Sun 13:00 - 1:30. Fri-Sat 13:00 - 3:30
This funky little bar is deceiving. Upon entering you realise its narrow shape allows for much greater space. This ‘70s styled bar is flooded in a bright red light with DJs on the weekend and a good selection of beers, wines and cocktails. Its late licence is a saving grace and very surprising considering its residential surroundings. Don’t be confused by the one bathroom, the toilets are unisex. You never know where you’ll meet your next date.
GALLERIES:
Maverik Showroom – 68-72 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP
The Gallery in Rechurch Street - 50 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP
Every East Londoner knows the best night of the week is a Thursday. From 6:30pm onwards the streets of the East fill with zestful art-goers in search of a gallery and only too happy to consume the complimentary beverages. Redchurch Street is fast becoming a key contender with Maverik Showroom and The Gallery in Redchurch Street. Each host contemporary art by local and international visionaries out to share their passion. The ambiance of this early evening cannot be matched.
SHOPS:
Caravan Style – 3 Redchurch Street, E2 7DJ
Tuesday - Friday 11:00 - 6:30, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 - 6:00
Speedies – 81 Redchurch Street, E2 7DJ
Open everyday from 11am to 7pm
Aubin & Wills - 64-66 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP
Mon - Sat 10 am – 7 pm. Sun 11am - 5pm
The Aubin Cinema - 64-66 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP
Mon, Sat & Sun 10 am – 9pm. Tues - Thurs 12am - 9pm Fri 9am - 9pm
Although small in number Redchurch Street offers much variety in the way of indulgent retail expenditures. There’s the independent and boutique-y Caravan Style, a girlie haven with ceramic dear lamps and knitted dogs, to the retro vintage kitsch of Speedies. From ‘70s record players to ‘80s Casio keyboards you’ll feel like you’ve taken a trip back in time.
Looking for something a little more ‘recent’? Try the newly established luxury retailer Aubin & Wills. After making your way through the Menswear, Womenswear and Homewear sections a movie screening will be just the ticket. The Aubin Cinema is a great, albeit pricey, place that shows a range of new films but be sure to book in advance!
Pub sign picture by Ewan Munro
By Jasmine Phull, le cool London
Shoreditch, it’s the hub of the hipsters... more
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By Max Leonard, le cool London
London’s “secret” tube station, West Ashfield, is not one of the several dozen abandoned tube stations, marking obscure branch lines or places (North End, York Road, Down Street) no longer important enough to merit their own stop. It is, instead, a fake tube station used for training, perched on the third floor of a London Underground building in West Kensington. As such, it is quintessentially London, which is a city characterised by strange inversions and returns, and things being where they should not be.
Sometimes it’s the subterranean erupting into the open, as with a property developer’s bid to restore one of London’s lost rivers to its original course. The Tyburn was buttressed and repressed into Victorian culverts and sewers, though where it does surface people fish for trout, and its restoration would create a newly riverine South Molton Street. A small impediment: Buckingham Palace also stands in its way.
But it’s when everyday life is forced underground that is most intriguing, as proved at Tate Britain’s Henry Moore exhibition, which is now entering its final weeks. Forget his familiar, doughy large-scale sculptures and focus instead on the small, ink, watercolour and wax crayon drawings he made during the Second World War. Moore’s studio was bombed in 1939, leaving him unable to create sculpture, so, as an official war artist, he would descend into the Tube system with London’s working classes, who did not have private air raid shelters, and recorded the pitiful, harrowing scenes he saw. At some, such as Clapham North Deep Shelter, up to 12,000 people would sleep nightly. At others, such as the Aldwych, people would sleep huddled together on the tracks. In Moore’s powerful, elemental images, a dark, troglodytic London emerges. As the original 1941 exhibition panel said, it is ‘a terrifying vista of recumbent shapes, pale as all underground life tends to be pale; regimented, as only fear can regiment; helpless yet tense, safe yet listening, uncouth, uprooted, waiting in the tunnel for the dawn to release them. This is not the descriptive journalism of art. It is imaginative poetry of a high order.’
Henry Moore is at Tate Britain, Millbank, until August 8.tate.org.ukPhoto credit: Children outside air raid shelter, Gresford.
By Max Leonard, le cool London
London’s “secret” tube... more
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By Josh Jones, Features Editor, le cool London
London, it appears, has quite the pocketful of museums kicking about on its streets. I once went to the British Museum, and to be honest, after the impressive ceiling you see when you walk in, I got really quite bored and went to the pub across the road to watch an impossibly beautiful Italian family eating some 'traditional' dirty looking food from under a heat lamp and pretending it was delicious tapas. When the mum started reading the HP Sauce bottle label like it was a very fine wine I had to go over and tell them some much better places to eat, and the gratefulness in their eyes was marvellous. That's my museum story. Here's five museums the capital boasts, which you really probably have no reason to go to… Canal Boat Museum My mate had his 30th birthday here. It was well funny - we chugged along in a canal boat (funnily enough) from Camden Lock until we got there and danced the night away. In the day time I think it's a little more sedate, but if you would like to know about London's watery heritage then you should go here, which incidentally is housed in a former ice warehouse built in the late 19th Century for Carlo Gatti, who as well you know was a famous ice cream maker. Garden Museum For a city where the average citizen's garden is the hair on their partners back, it's quite nice that a couple founded this place (originally called The Museum Of Garden History) when they found the tomb of some 17th century plant hunters (you could do anything you liked in the 17th century) in the churchyard of this place. It recently had a dramatic transformation and now it's got over 9,000 things about gardens for you to enjoy. Bank of England museum I'll admit - I only found this on Google when I was trying to bulk up this list. But this is free and it tells the story of the legendary building since it was founded in 1694, right through to today. And as it's been around for quite a while, most of the stuff it deals with is sparkly and expensive, so there's plenty of interesting things to look at, be it from really old money, to gold and, it proudly announces, cartoons. Which quite handily brings me on to… The Cartoon Museum
Just down the road from the British Museum on Little Russell Street, this has actually only been around since 2006. The Cartoon Museum says on its website that it exhibits the very finest examples of British cartoons, caricature and comic art from the 18th century to the present day. And who am I to argue? I've not been to it. Fan Museum One of the finer things about this city is the sheer barminess of the things you can find. Amsterdam has a museum chock full of cocks and whips, which to be honest is a massive cliche for the famous vice city, but we've got the worlds only place that's devoted to every aspect of fans and fan making. There's over 3,500 mainly antique fans from all over the globe dating as far back as the 11th century. It's situated in tow listed buildings and they've built an orangery out the back with a secret Japanese garden in it. Of course they did.
By Josh Jones, Features Editor, le cool London
London, it appears, has quite the... more
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By Jasmine Phull, le cool London
FRI 9 JULY
Snoop Dog 6:30pm/10:30pm
02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd's Bush Green, W12 8TT
£45 + Booking Fee
The Dogfather has landed in sunny London (how often do we get to say that?) and after playing a mind-blowing show at Wireless Festival, tonight he’ll be waxin’ lyrical down West-side. Prepare for tracks from his recent album ‘Malice in Wonderland’ and all the ol’ classics synonymous with the man who causes anarchy wherever he goes.
o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk/
SAT 10 JULY
Fabric ON 11:00pm
Fabric, 77a Charterhouse St, London, EC1M 3HN
Sun 5am-Sun 10am: £15/£10 students & fabric first
Ten years and still going strong tonight the mega club offers a refreshing palate of house, melodic techno mixed with a little bit o’ dub. The Fabric schedule’s jam packed with each room ready to ‘not-so quietly’ whisper sweet nothings in your ear. For a whole 15 hours from 11pm Sat night prepare for sets from Craig Richards, Tiefschwarz (live), New York’s duo Holy Ghost!, UK’s Terry Francis and Steve Rachmad!
fabriclondon.com
SUN 11 JULY
Maison Martin Margiela '20’ The Exhibition 10am – 6pm
Somerset House, The Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
£6, concs £5, under-12s free
You’d be hard pressed to find a fashion house that doesn’t work by complete anonymity. Until 5 September Parisian based fashion house Maison Martin Margiela will be celebrating 20 years of their conceptual approach with “Maison Martin Margiela '20’ The Exhibition” at London’s Somerset House. Radically innovative on all levels MMM was founded in 1988 and can lay claim to pioneering the frayed hem and wide legged trousers. At a time when the fashion industry was only interested in polished looks and high shoulder pads MMM completely transformed the ‘ready-to-wear’ perception.
somersethouse.org.uk/
By Jasmine Phull, le cool London
FRI 9 JULY
Snoop Dog 6:30pm/10:30pm
02... more
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Photo and story by Lara Kavanagh, le cool London
It may not be the prettiest stretch in town, but with its friendly local buzz and slightly grimy cool, Bethnal Green is a fine place to hang out, with Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Shoreditch just a short trot away. This list could have been really long, but here is a chiselled-down selection of the area’s top face-stuffing, shopping and prancing spots.
Breakfast: E. Pelicci32 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AG
Wonderful café with the best fry-up, chips, cannelloni and broccoli cheese around. Come for a giant feed and loads of cheeky grins.
Museum: V&A Museum of ChildhoodCambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA
Geared to kids but fun for everyone, the museum features a fun-filled exhibition of toys through the ages, from the most basic of dolls to hi-tech gizmos. Entry is free.
Coffee and antiques: Hurwundeki299 Railway Arches, Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9HA
A bizarre mix of coffee shop and bric-a-brac sale randomly topped off with an antique kids’ playground in the sandy forecourt. It’s an utterly brilliant arm of the oddball Hurwundeki brand, which also includes a boutique on Commercial Street and a salon on Brick Lane.
Market: Columbia Road flower marketColumbia Road, E2
Folks swarm here from all over to snap up cut flowers and plants from the famous Sunday market. It’s crowded, but great fun if you’re in the mood for a slow browse.
Pretty things: Jessie and Buddug's shop Columbia Road, E2 7RG
Buddug Humphreys and Jessie Chorley’s emporium of quirk, now in its spanking new ground-floor location, hosts a gorgeous mix of tea-cup candles, whimsical accessories and handmade notebooks and cards.
Boozers: The Florist and The CamelThe Florist Arms, 225 Globe Road, E2 0JDThe Camel, 277 Globe Road, E2 0JD
Bethnal Green is great for pubs, but two sure bets for a relaxed pint are Globe Road’s Florist and Camel. Both have had savvy refits in recent years, and each has a good range of beers and a specialised menu - pizzas in one, pies in the other.
Fine dining: Bistrotheque23-27 Wadeson Street, E2 9DR
Impeccable, largely British-inspired food served in a sleek converted warehouse. If you’re lucky you’ll get live piano accompaniment involving George Michael covers, and other such gems. Great for dinner or a lazy brunch.
Dancing: Bethnal Green Working Men's Club 42-44 Pollard Row, E2 6NB
A freakish amount of fun is always on the menu here, with many a bizarre but joyful themed party. Be sure to check what’s on, as you could be in for a surf pop, retro cinema, go-go dancing, and frisky burlesque or gay rockabilly night.
Sunday roast: The Royal Oak73 Columbia Road, E2 7RG
It’s worth paying a bit extra for the gob-smackingly good Sunday roast at this atmospheric market-side pub. Choose from fish, meat and vegetarian options, and enjoy them in the beautiful first-floor dining room.Photo and story by Lara Kavanagh, le cool London
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