Entries by Jonathan Turton

Whampcarol success despite the cold

Tuesday night was #whampcarol night. Clear skies meant a cold night and, with the bridge still closed due to the flooding, West End Lane was eerily quiet with minimal traffic and surprisingly few pedestrians. Undetterred, the band (the magnificent @eastlondonbrass) arrived and together with @helenstone, @gitfinger and my fellow mince-pie maker @SarahReardon, we set up […]

Tremendous turnout for Whampgather II

Anticipation for whampgather seemed to be building early Thursday evening as locals downed tools and began heading over to The Alice House on West End Lane. As people piled in, both the volume of the chat and the temperature began to rise. The complimentary bottles of wine soon vanished leaving people to deal with the […]

Review: Darker Shores at Hampstead Theatre

At several points during Darker Shores, the characters debate whether things are real because we perceive them, or whether they are real because we feel them. The 11-year-old boy next to me for last night’s performance both perceived and felt the reality of this Victorian Christmas ghost story all too vividly. Director Anthony Clark was […]

O2 centre struggles to deliver A-listers

Hampstead turned to Fiona Bruce and Raymond Blanc to switch on the Christmas lights. Lesley Garrett graced Highgate’s switch-on, and LoveCamden even got lucky “bumping into” a grinning Ricky Gervais to promote its Golden Ticket campaign. What early Christmas present does the O2 Centre come up with? X-Factor rejects. Thanks for that.

#whampforgood

I’m really excited to tell you about a new #whampventure that I hope lots of you are going to get involved with. Last night @SarahReardon and I met Paul Perkins, who is the director of The Winchester Project (aka The Winch). The Winch is a charity that focuses on kids and young people. It is […]

Supper Club at The Wet Fish Café

Thanks to Jane (@mayfield22) for this review of Monday’s first supper club at The Wet Fish Café. I’m already quite a fan of The Wet Fish Café so when I saw a Twitter invitation to buy tickets to a special ‘supper club’ I was intrigued. The Wet Fish brings a welcome dose of sophistication to […]

West Hampstead Digest No.5 Local news where you set the agenda

(for a one-page PDF version: click here) Whampagne Supernova Photo (c) Jerry Barnett. See more of Jerry’s work at http://www.blackandwhitebritain.com Ever since Camden council closed the Primrose Hill fireworks, locals have had to make more effort to go and see a decent organized display (although some people still just keep coming to Primrose Hill armed […]

Alfred Court

Some progress on finding out what is happening with the commercial space at Alfred Court on Fortune Green Road. I just spoke to one of the agents who couldn’t reveal details yet as deals have not been finalised. What he could tell me, however, is that there is planning permission for retail, restaurant, and gym […]

Whampevents

A quick recap of the various #whampevents and ideas coming up. Thursday Nov 5: an informal trip to Roundwood Park in Willesden to see the fireworks. By which I mean, I’m going and if anyone wants to come along – or meet in Willesden – then let me know. Fireworks start at 8pm. Wednesday Nov […]

Newcommers [sic] update: New Katz on the block

My anonymous commenter on the blog below mentioned that the Prime video rental site had permission to be changed from retail use to professional services use. A quick look at Camden’s planning website in fact revealed that Black Katz letting agents requested the change of use. The full application can be found here for those […]

Newcommers [sic]

A few new faces on West End Lane, and a continuing mystery in Fortune Green. Alexis the bakery up the north end of West End Lane has shut. To be replaced by… a bakery. But a bright orange bakery, if that makes any difference. There’s a Dylan’s already in Willesden (170 Church Rd), so presumably […]

Whampreview: Going Live

I’ve bleated on about whampreview for a week or so without saying what it is. So here we go. Whampreview combines the social side of whampgather with the frequent requests for “Where’s the best…” Once a month I’ll announce a date and venue, which will initially be local restaurants in the West Hampstead/Kilburn area. If […]

We have a winner

I have just made the draw for the winner of an item of clothing from I Love My Postcode. There was no independent ajudicator, and no equipment was checked or verified in advance. However, I promise I did it properly, and The Guardian is free to report it if it so wishes. First all your […]

The morning after the night before

Last night was the inaugural #whampgather. It was a terrific turnout, despite tube and bus delays doing their best to slow people down. But there’s no stopping an NW6er when there’s free alcohol to be had. Thanks to everyone who came. We missed those of you that couldn’t make it, but the good news is […]

West Hampstead Digest No.1 Local news where you set the agenda

(for a one-page PDF version: click here) Live coverage of Hemstal handgun drama Crime was the big story of the week, following Tuesday’s gun drama on the streets of West Hampstead. Tweeting from the scene were @medcabnath (whose photo is below) and @2muchcoffeekate. BBC Travel confirmed the road closure but, as the excitement wound down, […]

Calculating Criminals

If you live around West Hampstead, you’ll know that it feels fairly safe around here. Of course, we’re still in an inner-London borough and it’s not as if you’d leave you front door open but I never worry about personal attacks here any more than I would anywhere else. This is why the news earlier […]

Whampgather – Five days to go

Good #whampgather news. The Alice House has generously agreed to give a free cocktail to the first 15 er… Whampgatherers. So I hope this entices the alcoholic-minded among you to drop by (I know there are some followers who are partial to a drink or two). We have the sofa area reserved from 7.30pm on […]

Whampgather Oct 12 – Let the Countdown Commence

OK everyone, don’t say I do nothing for you. Apart from telling you every weekend that the Jubilee Line is down, I now have prizes!! Well, a prize. But hey. Lets not get greedy now If you make it to #whampgather (and I hope lots of you do because I think it would be great […]

Camden voting patterns

Thanks to Camden Council for sending me the % of votes for the recent European elections (so far they’ve only posted total votes). And also for sending the 2004 figures. Am posting the numbers for the key parties (>2% threshhold) below: BNP 04 1,103, 2.21%BNP 09 1,300 2.76% Conservatives 04 10,717, 21.43%Conservatives 09 10,400, 22.05% […]

Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Welcome to a new blog about all things West Hampstead. Don’t expect long entries, but there’ll be comments, reviews, and musings here from time to time about all things NW6. The blog complements the Twitter account (@WHampstead), so if you’re a fellow Tweep, follow me there too. For the moment this is my blog, but […]