2010 Festival of British Roots

All in all, things went pretty well. On Friday the weather wasn’t very cooperative (and neither were the guys who had been asked to set up Councillor Dent Coad’s stall in Golborne Road). Nevertheless, the folks from Fenmarc distributed free spuds to all our costers, and free samples of baked potatoes and carrot coriander soup to passersby. Ruth, Zeenat, Peter, and a couple of helpers from Sustain whipped up a few batches of winter root veg stew, every last bit of which was gobbled up by local shopkeepers, traders, and members of the public. As alluded to, the least successful part of the day (though hardly a flop by any means) was the Councillor's parsnip soup stall, which wound up being two folding tables borrowed from a nearby furniture shop. As there was no frame from which to suspend a tarp, the Councillor, her soup, and a pile of bumf were pelted with rain, sleet, hail, and snow during the course of her two-hour appearance. Fortunately, a vat of piping hot and extremely delicious homemade parsnip soup helped us ward off our chills. 

The weather was greatly improved on Saturday, with sun and reasonably mild temperatures lasting into the early afternoon. Once again, about 40 quarts of winter root veg stew were prepared and given away - this time by Ruth, Peter, and myself. The three of us also served as Aaron Craze’s sous chefs, prepping ingredients for his dishes. I also doubled as a runner, picking up ingredients from market stallholders and neighborhood shops (and supplies from home - like the stick blender we plugged in at Adam’s veg stall next door—to puree Aaron’s jerusalem artichoke soup).

Over the two days, we were visited by a journalist from the fruit & veg trade press, a couple of Councillors (including the cabinet member for my business group), a chef interested in helping out with future events, a television producer from Market Kitchen (who just stumbled upon us), and possibly by someone from the BBC’s food magazines (though if she came, she didn’t identify herself). The mood was generally positive among traders and the public, and everyone who took part seemed to feel that the event was a resounding success. Next time I’d love to get better advance publicity, some news coverage on the day/s, and at least one school group.

Local sources included:

The Spice Shop donated herbs, seasonings and chillies used in the winter root veg stew and Aaron's purple sprouting broccoli, jerusalem artichoke soup, and roasted parsnips.

Ceramica Blue lent us aprons.

Oddbins gave us a good discount on dry white wine that Aaron used for cooking his soup.

Mr. Christian’s, where I bought creme fraiche, truffle oil, and vegetable stock cubes.

Portobello Wholefoods, where I bought butter and almond flakes.

Market stalls, where I bought garlic, extra virgin olive oil and vegetarian feta cheese.

I was given lemons and fresh thyme by market stallholders.

I bought chickpeas at Garcia.

I bought tomato puree and chopped tomatoes at the original Cash & Carry in Golborne Road.

I bought chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, olive oil, and lowfat natural yogurt from Tesco.

Back to my roots

Zoiks! Tonight (after refreshing my food hygiene qualifications earlier this week) I’m helping my local ward Councillor prepare around 20 liters of parsnip soup (that’s a lot), and tomorrow the whole dog & pony show will either happen... or it won’t: two 3x3 meter marquees (that I have to set up - anybody know how?), a whole bunch of kitchen equipment (that gets delivered tomorrow morning - I have no idea whether it’s going to be what we actually need), a giant to-do list, and a whole posse of people to manage... Yup, that’s right: it’s the first-ever Festival of British Roots in Portobello and Golborne Road markets! And why make it simple by repeating everything on Saturday? Nooooooo, we’ll be hosting a semi-celebrity chef who will hopefully be doing cooking demos (still waiting to hear what he intends to prepare so that I can make sure ingredients are ready) and book signings. Did the book shop order enough stock? Is anyone going to come? Tune in next week to find out!

Winter wonderland

This Saturday, we decided to make the most of current winter conditions (a rarity in London for the past hundred years or so despite last year’s blizzard) and headed to Hampstead Heath for a chilly romp. This seemed a safer bet than relying on a train to take us further afield when apparently the entire archipelago is buried in snow (quite possibly the wrong kind). On account of my iPhone camera being so cruddy I took only one photo, but you can see plenty more here. The plan was for Matthew, Kath, Steven, Jackie (in town on business) and I to meet at Hampstead tube at 11.30, wander around a bit, and then duck into the Wells tavern for a late lunch. We started at Kurt Geiger because Jackie’s stylish Prada boots just weren’t going to cut it off piste. Once Miss Fashion-Plate was appropriately kitted out, we all made our way to Parliament Hill which, being exposed, was rather cold. Then we hoofed it up to Kenwood House for a cup of tea before meandering down to the pub and back up to the Holly Bush to bolster our resolve for the journey home.

Thinking of spring

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Don’t get me wrong - it’s definitely still winter. But we’re thinking of spring. Snowdrops and irises are blooming on our little terrace and in several window boxes. The first daffodils are poking through the ivy, and there's even a precocious crocus defiantly claiming its moment in the sun. The days are noticeably longer (for example it's 5pm as I write this, and the sky is illuminated). People are beginning to emerge into the clear light, and this past Saturday the Portobello Road market had a kind of downturn-be-damned brightness. A bit chilly, though I expect it’ll warm up soon enough.

London’s still a puzzle

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

A couple of months ago, Steven and I walked along the Grand Union and Regents Canal from our house to Islington. The canal passes right through this site, known as King’s Cross Central, which is the largest single regeneration site to be developed in London in about 150 years. For some reason, I imagined that the canal skirted the northern edge of the site. As we were walking along, my mind’s map put most of the site to the south, between the canal and King’s Cross Station. In fact the largest part of the site lies to the north of the canal (left 2/3 of the white section of this model). Funny how mental geography doesn't always match the true lay of the land...

Of course there is, darling!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

On our way home from a delightful Sunday lunch in Maida Vale, Steven and I passed this bit of landfill-bound Christmas ephemera (here they would call it tat) this afternoon... The hands really got to me. This particular box was sitting atop the wall of someone's front garden on Elgin Avenue. There were a few other cardboard boxes strewn about, and while I felt curiosity regarding their contents, I was also a little scared to look inside...

You know who you are!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This post has a target audience of exactly two people...

Frosty

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Things have warmed up a bit, though it looks like it might rain today...

New River Path

I’m doing a bit of research on some topics for my soon-to-be-unveiled professional blog, provisionally called spatialist. One thing I’ve been interested in for a while is the comparative design of council estate maps across London, and I wanted to broaden my sample size. Another potential subject (or series) would be a catalog of London’s “unsung” public realm. Not Southbank, the Royal Parks, Trafalgar Square, Broadgate Arena, and the like, but rather the uncelebrated publicly accessible spaces in their almost limitless variety of scales, typologies, and conditions. I combined these two areas of interest on a walk yesterday from Green Lanes Overground to Liverpool Street Station, including a stretch of the New River Path.

Figuring stuff out...

That slideshow thing on the right seems to show my 20 most recent pictures from Flickr, in reverse order. It could be a neat feature to use on my new “professional” blog, but I think I’ll have to set up another Flickr account so I can control the images that appear there... But that would mean 20 different pictures for every entry, a potential hurdle I don’t really need.

Culture alert: Anybody in or visiting London before August 25th should go see the Psycho Buildings exhibit at the Hayward Gallery! It’s great!

Look, Ma, no hands!

Wow! Check out the little Flickr slideshow thingie over there in the right-hand column. Now I don’t even have to choose photos and think of things to write about them. Instead, I guess I can just write. Maybe that will be easier. Also new in the right-hand column is a list of Blogs. It’s not like the list of Blogs I had before, which was just a plain old list of links, but now contains the titles of recent posts. Neat-o!

So now I guess I can just blab about stuff that’s going on over here. Like we went to Jane’s for Sunday roast last week. Um... It’s really hot in London right now (poor Olive is slinking around the house looking for breezes to flop in)... Last night we went to see The Dark Knight, which was beautiful and fun and Heath Ledger’s performance was fantastic. We’re not going to Lisbon this week/end. And stuff like that.

We’ll see how this goes. I’m also in the process of setting up another Blog. It will either be called “spatialist” or “social designer” and it’s going to be for writing about urban-type stuff. So stay tuned. I might even get the first installment, about London’s council estate maps, written today!

Stay tuned...

Ahhhh, London...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

... where there's someone ready to sell you any good or service you can imagine!

Flame on

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

There’s actual perpetual flame in this picture. At least I’m pretty sure there is...

Yesterday morning we went to see the Olympic torch get carried down Ladbroke Grove (just steps away from our front door).

In the snow!

We got to see the torch—even though we were tardy—because moments prior to our arrival on the scene, there were some shenanigans involving a bicycle and a fire extinguisher. The upside (for us) was that they hustled the torch away somewhere and then re-staged the run-by a few minutes later, this time surrounded by an inner ring of Olympic officials (blue jackets) and an outer ring of Metropolitan Police officers (fluorescent yellow jackets).

So there you have it.

Another moment in history...

A Sunday stroll

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

I know, I know... not enough blog posts... bla, bla, bla...

Here’s a bit of weather-talk (and yesterday’s news): it snowed on Easter! Well, Easter Monday (which is a “bank holiday” here - making Easter a four-day weekend). One possible reason is that Easter came early this year, although in general it has been a particularly cold spring. Last spring was very pleasant but wound up leading to an awful summer. I’m hoping that the chilliness so far is a harbinger of warmth to come. Keeping fingers crossed. Knocking on wood. And stuff.

The wetness gave way to a nice Sunday this past weekend. I had agreed to a last-minute shift swap at The Food Chain, so I was down by Hammersmith Bridge in the afternoon. Steven & Chris came to meet me and we strolled along the Thames. Instead of heading west towards Chiswick, we headed east towards Putney. This proved to be a culinary mistake, as there are few decent lunch options by the river in Fulham (if anybody has information to the contrary, please let me know!). While River Cafe make tasty grub, it comes at a very steep price. We wound up at a pub called the Crabtree Tavern, and although what food they had was fine, the whole experience was bad to the point of tragi-comedy.

Anyhow, after lunch we continued through Bishops Park and over Putney Bridge. The sky was very beautiful, reflecting in the river and all. Try looking at this picture upside down!

It’s my party...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Snapped this one outside the gym yesterday (my actual birthday)... 

Last night Steven & I went to dinner at Texture (everything was very textural). We thought of opening a whole series of restaurants: Flavor, Color, Temperature - the list could go on and on. The meal started out with some crispy skins (cod, potato, parmesan - I’m not sure whether parmesan has skin) and two dipping sauces: wasabi somethingorother and “Bali” yoghurt. It took a few minutes to figure out that “Bali” is antipodean for “barley,” thus explaining the lumpy chewy bits. Then there was some bacon popcorn - yum! Next came a tiny glass pot with parsnip and granny smith apple stuff. Steven had Scottish scallops and I had Cornish crab as a starter (ooh - more restaurant ideas: Name, Alliteration, Spelling). Our main courses were roast suckling pig with squid and other fishy things for Steven and Icelandic lamb with fregola and beetroot for me. Then came tiny glass pots again, this time filled with blood orange textures (fruit, jelly and granita). For dessert I had warm chocolate goop with olive oil, cardamom ice cream and a sculptural fennel sugar spike, and Steven had coconut textures (um, ice cream, something else, another thing, more stuff, and a mini metal toothpaste tube filled with coconut sauce for squirting everywhere).

Today I’m baking bread as prescribed by some old codger, going to the gym, waiting for a delivery of cupcakes from Cookie Girl, then heading over to The Fat Badger to eat one and stare at the rest, since everybody was busy this weekend, the weather’s crap, and the Hammersmith & City line is closed for track replacement.

Art ‘n stuff

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

We kicked off Saturday at Alfies, helping Neil pick out an occasional chair (very unusual round Scandinavian number with almost nautical details) for his living room. While he was getting the thing into his boot, Steven & I lunched on the best fish & chips we’ve eaten so far. After giving Neil our brutal assessment in situ (two thumbs up), we purchased a copy of Laura Owens’ gorgeous catalog (from a show we saw at the Camden Arts Centre a while ago) for half price at Sadie Coles HQ. On our way home, we took a little detour to look at some very pretty Rachel Howard paintings at Haunch of Venison. Once home, we popped downstairs to pick out our pan-parental Christmas gift, settling on an ink on paper piece (“Untitled 2”) by Tanya Ghosh (who happens to be William’s wife and a fabulous fashion illustrator).

London fog

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

After lunch with Suzette & Jeff at Le Cafe Anglais (do believe the hype) we walked down Queensway searching for sage (to no avail). Then we crossed Hyde Park and had a look at the Serpentine Gallery’s current misty exhibit by Anthony McCall. The park was stunningly beautiful. Despite London’s foggy reputation, we haven’t experienced anything like this in our three years here...

Wow!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Makes you want to get on a train... just to go... anyplace!
This was my first visit to the newly refurbished (and re-christened) St. Pancras International station, which has replaced Waterloo International as London’s Eurostar terminus. I must say it’s very impressive. See? The Brits really are good at stuff! I had to resist strong urges to buy a ticket and board the next train.
I was, however, disappointed that there isn’t any kind of Eurostar memorabilia (“tat” in local parlance) available for purchase. The platform-level WH Smith had one post card with a picture of a speeding train on it. But sans context, it looks like any not-so-old train. You’d want a picture of it pulling into this magnificent Victorian shed, whizzing past a country village church steeple, or passing something Parisian... I thought it a bit odd that they sell models and plush toys of BA & Virgin Atlantic planes, but nothing Eurostar-themed. Seems like they’re missing a major merchandising opportunity — kinda surprising in this day and age, don’t you think? Hello! Gimme an embroidered patch, a keychain or a fridge magnet at the very least! Is that too much to ask?

Car for anorexics...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Sorry. Bad joke. But seriously, this is pushing the whole motorized wheelchair thing a bit far, don’t you think? And while it’s so diminutive the driver could have pulled right up to the till at Tesco, they didn’t. Got out and walked into the store. To me it seems like something out of Wallace & Gromit. Or France...

A vague recollection

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

There are a couple of things on Portobello Road these days that aren’t real. Across the road from the HSBC ATMs, for example, is a strange and wondrous window display of vintage items with vintage price tags. When Steven and I first saw it, we thought it was some kind of art installation. Turns out, like this corner café (oops, I mean appliance store), it’s just a film set. Today there was a whole fake Portobello Market, and Steven says he saw hippies over the weekend (the movie, starring Sienna Miller, is called “Hippie Hippie Shake” and takes place in the 1960s).
It all reminds me of when they were shooting a movie in TriBeCa and they built something for it that everybody loved and thought should really be there. But I can’t remember the name of the movie, what the thing was, or if it ever made it into reality. Anybody care to offer this senile old man a little reminder?