What have I missed since April 27th?

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There were two unconnected fires – one in a flat in Greencroft Gardens on Thursday, and one above Hana on West End Lane/Cannon Hill on Saturday. No-one was injured in the first, no further details on the second, except that Hana will be closed for a few days.

The Netherwood Street clean-up is a great example of a community initiative.

Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss was at Hampstead Cricket Club on Sunday to unveil the 150th anniversary statue.

Fire crews put on breathing apparatus to go in to flat above Hana via Ian Cohen

Fire crews put on breathing apparatus to go in to flat above Hana via Ian Cohen

Election news

  • Camden is predicting the Hampstead & Kilburn result won’t be before 4am on Friday morning
    West Hampstead Life will be at the count – if you can stay awake, do keep me company via Twitter!
  • Justice secretary Chris Grayling MP, standing in for Grant Shapps at a JW3 event, caused some surprise by suggesting that Hampstead & Kilburn was no longer a target seat hence no billboards this year. Local Tories quickly leapt to respin this as a localised spending decision.
  • Hampstead & Kilburn candidates featured on BBC London News (not on iPlayer at the moment sadly).
  • The Guardian headed to Sumatra Road – possibly the most canvassed street in Britain (it claimed, tongue fairly firmly in cheek).
  • In the week of Ed Balls Day, the man himself was in Kilburn… and was line dancing.

Books, booze and bargains… WHampbooks is back this Wednesday. 20% off everything, free wine, and (apparently) witty repartee from 7.30pm.

In a glut of Wednesday socialising, Whampsocial returns on Wednesday too! This Wednesday it will be at The Alliance. Look out for more details on Monday.

The next Film on Fortune Green is June 13th. Vote for your favourite here.

Roadworks season continues, and brace yourself for more the week of May 26th as Thames Water hooks up West Hampstead Square to the mains.

You can vote for Mill Lane shop Passionate About Vintage in the National Vintage Awards should you so wish.

The latest opening date for The Railway is May 30th.

Time Out did a round-up of Kilburn’s best bits. It included Love & Liquor, which continues to insist that it’s actually in Maida Vale.

It was the sixth anniversary of the first @WHampstead tweet… it was on a topic still dear to many of our hearts even today.

Check out what’s for sale on the Forum this week.

No contenders for Tweet of the Week this week I’m afraid. Election fever must be getting to you all.

What have I missed since April 20th?

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The existing Liddell Road businesses have been given until the end of the month to quit the site before building work starts on the school/flats/commercial space.

WHL reviewed The Petite Corée – we agreed with everyone else!

Local marathon runners gritted their teeth on Sunday. Did anyone local best Mark Townsend’s 2h59? No doubt at all that no-one has run more marathons over the past year than Robert Young.

Only in @WHampstead! Another use for toilet rolls: Impromptu coffee table, much to surprise of Waitrose delivery men! via Nicolette Molnar

“Only in @WHampstead! Another use for toilet rolls: Impromptu coffee table, much to surprise of Waitrose delivery men!” via Nicolette Molnar

Got a great idea for a local public space? Enter this competition and win £300 to help make it happen.

Election news

  • The Guardian’s Dave Hill looked at H&K and wondered whether private renters might play a bigger role than the “mansion” dwellers in determining the outcome.
  • The FT meanwhile had a slightly different, though well-balanced, take on the constituency.
  • The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme spoke to undecided voters about Hampstead & Kilburn (ff to 32’04” if you nothing about the general election, and to 37’18” for the discussion. Bonus points for spotting the deliberate mistake at the very end).

Lebanese restaurant The Cedar revealed its new sign.

The application for the Farmers’ Market banner has been withdrawn.

There was a good turnout for the midweek NW6 Film Club screening of Force Majeure at The Tricycle.

Next Sunday, as part of the club’s 150th anniversary celebrations, former England captain Andrew Strauss will be at Hampstead Cricket Club unveiling a statue in honour of a a player who scored an incredible 485 runs… back in 1886. Excitement starts at noon (there’s music, and even a cricket match at 1pm).

Turns out there was traffic on West End Lane even before Tesco delivery lorries

Holistic Health Lab opened on Mill Lane

The closure of Mamacita has led to a temporary pause in Whampsocial; but fear not… plans are afoot for a new look whampsocial starting early May. Watch this space.

Matchbox Theatre is our Culture Hub pick of the week, see what else made the cut.

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The Petite Corée: Locals shouting about Korean twist

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I was an early sceptic. Korean French fusion? In West Hampstead? Really? It sounded pretty risky – the sort of thing that Kitchen Nightmares are made of. The reality, thank god, is astonishingly good. This is partly because The Petite Corée’s food isn’t really Korean-French fusion.

Jae, the deadpan chef, though Korean, has trained in European restaurants and his cooking is achingly classic Western European; but, and it’s a critical but, there’s a Korean twist to every dish that’s handled with both flair and subtlety. He even made me love kimchee (when I mentioned that I wasn’t normally a big fan of kimchee, he asked if I was being racist – see “deadpan” above). This is high class food presented in a pared-back casual restaurant (no jacket required) presided over by Yeon, who runs the front of house.

The restaurant launched very quietly at the start of the year, and took a few weeks to get going as word of mouth slowly spread. It may be the only restaurant in West Hampstead that hasn’t yet had a negative comment tweeted about it, which is impressive given the fickle nature of many local diners!

The menu is reassuringly short, and has already had one seasonal change, which is a promising start. The Petite Corée is not a cheap restaurant – it’s catapulted itself right up into the high price bracket for the area – but for food of this quality, that isn’t going to put too many people off (and it also does a more competitively priced lunch deal!). I loved the smoked swordfish starter and my guinea fowl main course – perhaps one of the least Korean dishes on the menu – was beautifully balanced. However, the slow-roast pork belly with “Korean BBQ” jus is already established as the restaurant’s signature dish and rightly survived the first menu change.

Now over to my fellow reviewers (apologies, our photos aren’t the best, we may have been enjoying the wine list too much – there are much better ones at this excellent review).

Jon
I’ve never raved so much about a radish. The humble root vegetable, garnished with a flavoursome black sesame and yoghurt dressing, was the unexpected star of the starters – although the smoked swordfish with wasabi and lime dressing deserves an honourable mention. For my main course I had the steak. This was served with galbi – a soy-based Korean sauce, expertly rendered, which distinguished the dish from the rest of the NW6 rib-eye pack. The dollop of mashed potato beside it was the evening’s biggest triumph, however. I just about had room for an ice cream at the end. This is a friendly little eaterie with idiosyncratic, well-prepared food at a fair price. I’ll be back, especially during radish season.

"I've never raved so much about a radish"

“I’ve never raved so much about a radish”

Nicky
The Petite Corée had a lot to live up to, having built up a steady stream of glowing reviews on Twitter and the WHL Forum. And it didn’t disappoint. We shared six starters between us, which was probably a good idea as we each got to taste everything without anyone suffering food envy. Highlights included mandu – pork dumplings drizzled with a deliciously sweet and sticky balsamic sauce, and a radish salad that was as good to look at as it was to eat. Each dish was a nicely-balanced combination of classic European and Korean cuisine, but without ever straying into gimmicky “fusion” territory. Special mention has to go to the mashed potato (I was gluttonous enough to steal a forkful from Tom), which in true French style tasted like it had been whipped with about 80% butter. Believe the hype: The Petite Corée is a great new neighbourhood restaurant.

Arancini with kimchee flavoured rice and mozzarella

Arancini with kimchee flavoured rice and mozzarella

James
In refreshingly minimalist decor, Petite Corée was a delightful dinner. Every dish was an inventive combination of simple ingredients that was great fun to try. I liked the simple uncluttered menu and as there were six of us we were all able to check out most of it. As a big Korean food fanatic, I was particularly pleased with the kimchee, although it was prepared and served in a less-traditional way: kimchee sauce on ‘un-kimcheed’ cabbage. Still, the result was gorgeous and gave me the satisfying kimchee kick that I’m addicted to. My pork belly main was sold as a korean BBQ dish. Whether it was Korean or not, it was lovely. What a gorgeous little restaurant, I couldn’t fault it to be honest and I can’t wait to go back.

Tom
I was impressed on my first visit to Petite Corée a few months ago, but this was on another level. Every single plate chef served up featured a collage of fascinating, powerful, yet nicely-nuanced flavours, with well-considered combinations and really delightful vegetables. And that mashed potato – divine! The starters were addictive and varied; my favourite was (predictably!) potato and rice gnocchi with wild garlic leaves, Parmesan and Korean chilli sauce. Balance was offered via a rather stunning radish salad, with enticing colours and a splendid bitter twist. My gurnard with rainbow chard and a spicy fish jus was delicious; clever use of spices adding waves of flavour whilst not overpowering the fish. Also served were eringi mushrooms, which I now know are also known as king trumpet or French horn mushrooms (among other things) – how marvellous! Great service and a very special chef – not surprised this restaurant is making a few local headlines.

Guinea fowl with asparagus

Guinea fowl with asparagus

Laura
I had walked past Le Petit Corée and glanced at the intriguing menu several times, so I was looking forward to giving it a try though not entirely sure what to expect. Would a French-Korean mash up work? In short, yes. All of the starters were excellent, particularly the pork dumplings and the swordfish, both of which had an invisible touch of Korea, providing a kick without overwhelming the delicate flavours. My sea bass main was beautifully cooked and the miso butter dressing worked really well. The only negative was a few small bones left in the fillet, which caught me by surprise. The sesame cream caramel to end was delicious, I’ll be goin’ back for more of that! Great service and a friendly atmosphere ensured a good time was had by all. I expect we’ll all be returning for at least one more night.

The Petite Corée
98 West End Lane
T: 020 7624 9209
E: thepetitecoree@hotmail.com

What have I missed since April 13th?

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TfL has shelved its plans to axe the 13 bus route and extend the 139 to Golders Green. Every party seems to be claiming it was their campaign wot done it; TfL simply says that the consultation overlapped with the election so it’s stopped it.

There was a tragic road accident on Thursday when a man apparently had a heart attack, crashed his car into a lamppost by the Priory Tavern on Belsize Road and died. His son, also in the car, escaped unhurt.

Matt Ogston started his 130 mile “journey to find acceptance“, in support of his partner Naz Mahmood who died last year.

Ballymore construction via @LondonPhoton

Ballymore construction via @LondonPhoton

The Petite Corée made the Evening Standard’s list of best Korean restaurants in London.

TfL has slightly revised its plans for the new Overground station. The roof has been lowered, and the sign moved. There’s also a better artist’s impression of the station in the context of West Hampstead Square.

Election news

  • Former Eurovision singer Ronnie Carroll remains on the Hampstead & Kilburn ballot sheet, despite dying last week.
  • The second large H&K hustings had a good turnout but the candidates weren’t able to get through too many audience questions One man was very angry about Foxtons.
  • According to the CNJ, the majority of the money being gambled on H&K is going on the Conservatives, though apparently there’s also been a £3,000 single bet on Labour to win.
  • This Monday is the last day you can register to vote!

NW6 Film Club is back this Wednesday (yes, Wednesday not Sunday) for Force Majeure. Check it out (and there’s an FAQ for Film Club newbies).

Camden Arts Centre’s latest exhibition is our Culture Hub Pick of the Week; but what else made the cut this week?

West Hampstead Life reviewed the Tricycle’s new play, After Electra.

The West Hampstead & Fortune Green Neigbourhood Development plan referendum takes place on July 9th. The NDF is getting its “Yes” campaign underway.

The former scooter showroom by Fortune Green is beng replaced by The Skiwear Service. Much was made on Twitter of its ability to kit out nannies for the slopes.

Property News asked for your view on the mansion tax, and discussed the state of the rental market in West Hampstead.

DJ and local resident Sara Cox gave Mill Lane’s Beauty Blossom a great plug in Saturday’s Daily Express.

The Turkish restaurant replacing La Smorfia will apparently be called N Fez, and will open in June.

Hampstead Cricket Club’s women’s team is recruiting, with two Tuesday taster sessions coming up.

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Show your support for The Naz & Matt Foundation Walk

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The death of Dr Naz Mahmood last year shocked the West Hampstead community, and as the details emerged around his death, that shock and sadness only grew deeper. On Saturday, Naz’s partner, Matthew Ogston, begins a 130 mile walk in his memory at the cemetery on Fortune Green Road and everyone in West Hampstead is invited to see him off. Matt’s aim is to raise awareness of the issues that ultimately led to Naz passing away, and to raise money to help set up the support networks that could help prevent the same situation happening again.

Naz died after he came out to his family, who rejected his sexuality. There is no better explanation of the story than the extremely moving article in The Guardian last month. It was a piece that took months to write as Matt, who still lives in West Hampstead, struggled to begin to come to terms with what happened. I urge you to read it.

Matt has now set up the Naz & Matt Foundation, a charity that aims to raise awareness of the devastating impact of homophobia within communities that are heavily influenced by religion; specifically he hopes that its work may prevent another young person feeling that the only way forward is to take their own life. Matt writes:

To raise awareness of these issues and to help fund a range of special projects and initiatives with the aim of changing attitudes and increasing acceptance of gay, lesbian and trans young people born into religious families, and to offer support to LGBTQI individuals affected by the issue, I will doing a 130 mile sponsored journey, mostly walked, from London to Birmingham.

“The Journey to Find Acceptance” will be spread over eight days, starting on the 18th of April. I will be joined by friends on the journey, and I am inviting members of the public to join with me to walk part of the route, to help me ‘carry a message of love and acceptance along the way’.

Many of you will have heard or read about Matt asking our parliamentary candidates what they would do to stop religiously-driven homophobia at the recent hustings. It was an emotional moment that cut through talk of mansion tax and public services and reminded us all of what it is to be human; to love and to be loved.

You can be a part of this, and show your support for Matt and this cause.

The walk starts at Hampstead Cemetery on Fortune Green Road, where a bench in memory of Naz was recently installed. Matt wants as many people as possible to turn up (“dress fabulous”). The throng will assemble from 10am and the walk itself begins at 11. By all means join in the walk, but even if you can just turn up to send Matt on his way that would be a huge boost for him.

Over the years that I’ve been running West Hampstead Life, I’m always amazed at how our community rallies around people who need us at the most challenging times of their lives, whoever they are and whatever they need. We saw it after the terrible accident on West End Lane a couple of years ago, lets see it again on Saturday.

Review: After Electra at the Tricycle Theatre

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It’s Virgie’s 81st birthday, and she gathers together her friends and family for a celebration, and an important announcement. Virgie intends to kill herself. The play follows the reaction to Virgie’s declaration and explores how the choices we make can change our lives forever.

Virgie is a woman who has always been torn between her art and motherhood, and it becomes apparent that her dedication as an artist has severely compromised her relationship with her children Haydn and Orin, who are, as adults, scarred by her neglect. Virgie’s sister Shirley, and friends Tom and Sonia, make up the rest of the party, all coming to terms with Virgie’s announcement, trying, and failing, not to give in to the absurdity of it all.

Marty Cruickshank as Virgie (Photo: Steve Tanner)

Marty Cruickshank as Virgie (Photo: Steve Tanner)

None of the characters are particularly likeable, they are all self-involved and thoughtless, but in that they are relatable and frequently very funny. Tom the actor, and his long suffering wife Sonia, provide a lot of the comic relief, as two people more or less tolerating each others’ eccentricities. It’s hard to tell if Virgie really wants to die, is succumbing to madness, or if this is all some play for attention, but ultimately it is the question of control over one’s own existence, and of dealing with loss, which the play forces us to address. While this is a comedy, and I frequently laughed out loud, it is also a moving tale of family and friendships, and the lengths we will go to in order to find a sense of normality in the chaos.

Rachel Bell, as Shirley, the officious younger sister, steals the show in a really well written part, just the right amount of self involvement, tempered with pathos and played with the perfect level of self awareness. She has some great lines and delivers them with total relish, you can’t help but warm to her despite her apparent cold heartedness, which, as the play develops, we learn is really just her mode of survival.

Haydn, Virgie’s daughter, is believable, real, less a caricature than the others, and genuinely seems somewhat lost. Veronica Roberts has a lovely subtlety in her performance, we see glimpses of the rage burning within, but this is someone who has learned to swallow her pain, leaving her unable to connect intimately with others. Her sense of daughterly duty is something many will relate to, doing the right thing no matter how much it costs her personally. Her interaction with Roy, the poor cabbie who finds himself inadvertently caught up in the drama, is a real highlight.

The one misstep is the character of Miranda, a former student of Virgie, who appears in the final scene, to provide a new perspective on the story we’ve been fed piece by piece throughout the play. Unfortunately her wide-eyed youthful exuberance jars with the ageing melancholia of the other characters, whom we have been investing in from the start. It’s an interesting proposition, that we would open up and confide in a relative stranger, while hiding truths from our nearest and dearest, but I found Miranda’s complete lack of tact and diplomacy wildly irritating and so in the end the message was somewhat lost on me. But perhaps that’s the point.

Set and Costume Designer Michael Taylor has done a fantastic job of bringing a flavour of the Essex coast to North West London, completely transforming the stage at the Tricycle, so the action is thrust into the horseshoe auditorium. Virgie’s home feels lived in but isolated, windswept, with autumn creeping around the door.

Given the uncomfortable and dark subject of suicide, it takes a while for the audience to really get into the comedy of the piece. But this is a well-directed ensemble, with several strong performances, finding the humour in tragedy, without playing for laughs unless it is appropriate. A few choice nods to the Electra myth work really well without being heavy handed and I found myself laughing in recognition at the pain and pathos of life and its inevitable end.

After Electra is at the Tricycle Theatre until 2 May 2015.

Read our interview with director Sam West.

What have I missed since April 7th?

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An operating pub in Maida Vale was demolished without warning, planning permission or the knowledge of the landlady.

A Mercedes crashed through the church gate of St Mary’s church on Abbey Road.

Samuel West, actor, and director of the Tricycle’s latest play After Electra, talked to West Hampstead Life about the play and his take on Kilburn.

Sunset over St. Mary's and West end lane tonight via @mauriceticulous

Sunset over St. Mary’s and West end lane tonight via ?@mauriceticulous

On Saturday join Matt and friends in Hampstead Cemetery at the start of his walk to end religious homophobia.

Election news

  • Tulip and her Labour supporters disrupted a BoJo walkabout with hilarious photo consequences… not least the complete lack of interest from the people sitting on the bench
  • Lib Dem candidate Maajid Nawaz took the heat after the Daily Mail ran video footage of his stag night, during which he received two private lap dances. Maajid has stressed his feminist credentials in the past.
  • There were two additions to the final slate of candidates for Hampstead & Kilburn: Carroll the Eurovisionary (Ind) and Robin Ellison (U Party).

Comedy legend Arthur Smith plays The Good Ship this Monday and is our Culture Hub pick of the week. See what else made the cut.

April’s Property of the Month is a 2-bed flat to let on Gladys Road.

On Thursday, hotly tipped new author Renée Knight has the launch party for her debut novel, Disclaimer.

Want to help combat food waste and have fun? Disco Soup could be for you?

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Interview: Sam West’s After Electra is “hotter and faster” at the Tricycle

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After Electra opened at the Tricycle Theatre last night. We sat down with the director (and acclaimed actor) Sam West to find out more about the play and his take on Kilburn.

The full cast of After Electra. (Photo: Steve Tanner)

The full cast of After Electra. (Photo: Steve Tanner)

The play is called After Electra, should we expect a Greek Tragedy?

No, you should expect a black comedy, inspired by a Greek Myth but certainly not one you need to know anything about Greek drama to enjoy. The play is about an 81 year old artist called Vergie, who calls together her daughter and best friends on her birthday and announces she’s going to kill herself and they argue and try and stop her. It is very funny! It’s mostly about the difficulty of balancing work and children. In the original story, the Electra Myth, Electra and her brother Orestes kill their mother Clytemnestra, that doesn’t happen in this play, it’s mostly a comedy about what to do when you want to kill your mum!

We’ve all been there…

We’ve all had those feelings! And the Greeks put on plays about it so you didn’t go out and kill your mum. April De Angelis, the writer, has very carefully and cleverly written it about a woman who is a very accomplished artist and feels a calling towards her art, more than she does towards her children. So it’s a lot about what you do when you feel like that really, because I think one of April’s points is that men, on the whole, don’t get pilloried when they go off and excel in business and neglect their children and women, if they do that, get put on the front pages. They’re expected to have this bottomless well of unselfish motherhood, and the play is about what happens if you find that you don’t have that.

The play features several strong female roles and a generally older cast…

Yes, it was written in response to a request from Plymouth Theatre Royal, where it started, as a way of improving the situation about the lack of decent roles for older women. Because we have a lot of very good older actors who aren’t getting the parts… there are fewer meaty roles. It’s a cast of eight, only one of whom is under 30, and although the leading character is 81, there are very good parts for people in their 60s and 70s.

After a successful run in Plymouth, you’re bringing the play to London. How did the transfer to the Tricycle Theatre come about?

Yes, it’s a Plymouth production and the Tricycle decided that they wanted to pay for it to come to London so, although we’ve been working in tandem with them, it’s not a co-production. We’re delighted that Plymouth work gets a chance to be seen in the capital because we’re all very proud of it and most of the company live in London. Because Plymouth is a local regional theatre, it’s important for it to go to a theatre which has a good feeling of constituency, a good feeling of localism, like the Tricycle does. Not all London theatres feel like the Tricycle, do they? Some of them feel like posh transfer houses, where you put on things for a small metropolitan audience. But the Tricycle, whenever I’ve been, has always felt like a theatre that is really in the heart of its community and I’m really pleased that we’re taking it there.

And has the transfer been a smooth one?

Yes, though we’ve had to cut a metre off the set! It fills the space quite well but the stage at the Tricycle is not quite as wide as the Drum in Plymouth. Because the Tricycle is a bit like an Elizabethan theatre, a sort of horseshoe, there are some really interesting angles from where to see the show, which I was very pleased about when we brought it in. It would have been boring to have to add a metre, that would have made everything take slightly longer, but in fact we’re sort of squeezing it like a box, so the pressure should get slightly bigger and the show should get slightly hotter and faster.

Have you performed at the Tricycle in the past? Are you familiar with Kilburn?

I’ve never performed there. I’ve rehearsed there and I’ve seen many things there. I rehearsed a Donmar production there about 6 years ago and was delighted to be going there every day for 5 weeks, but this is the first time I’ve put a show in. I live in North London and have friends in the area, so it’s a pretty easy journey for me. I’m very fond of Middle Eastern food, and we’ve been trying out the various Turkish and Lebanese restaurants in Kilburn, which has been really great.

So, why should locals come to the Tricycle and see the show?

Because it’s very funny and quite short! (Laughter) It’s a play for anyone who is a mother, or who has one. It can’t fail to teach you something about your mum, and if you’re a mum it can’t fail to teach you something about your children, and it is pretty funny, but will make you think a bit. It’s done by ten o’clock, so you can still go the pub afterwards!

After Electra is on at the Tricycle Theatre from 7 April to 2 May.

What have I missed since March 30th?

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The Evening Standard ran a lengthy propery-related feature on West Hampstead that focused heavily on the neighbourhood’s strong community spirit.

The restaurant replacing Mamacita is “Cedar“, a Lebanese place that has an award-winning outlet in W9.

Tom got his Easter eggs from El Rocio.

Just spotted the smartest dressed cat in West Hampstead via Lorna Russell

Just spotted the smartest dressed cat in West Hampstead via Lorna Russell

There’s a new bench in Hampstead cemetery in memory of Dr Nazim Mahmood who died last year. More importantly, you can support his partner Matt by coming to the cemetery on April 18th where a walk against religious intolerance of homosexuality kicks off.

Election news

  • There was a huge turnout for our hustings at The Sherriff Centre. All five candidates fielded a wide range of questions.
  • Two photographers launched a project to capture two Hampstead & Kilburn voters and their intentions every day of the campaign.
  • On April Fool’s Day, I announced my candidacy for Hampstead & Kilburn. At least a couple of people fell for it.
  • WHAT and the Friends of West Hampstead Library have a hustings on April 15th.

Is Greggs moving to West Hampstead? The baker says no.

What did we make of the Tricycle’s Takeover play, “The Dissidents”?

A man was arrested after a Gondar Gardens woman found him in her kitchen rifling through her handbag.

One NW6 restaurant might be best avoided for a while.

A former La Brocca employee made the FT this week…. for her musical ability.

Cult classic Blade Runner: The Final Cut is our Culture Hub pick of the week, but if replicants aren’t your thing, there’s plenty of other highlights.

Someone else tries to answer that perennial question: Where IS Kilburn?

Paddy Power is applying for change of use to turn the retail unit next to Boots on Kilburn High Road (formerly a Barratt’s shoe shop) into a bookmakers.

The Groom Room in Fortune Green is up for sale.

Can anyone beat Alex’s 5,530 score playing Google Maps pacman in West Hampstead?

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Listen: Candidates respond in hugely popular election hustings

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Hampstead & Kilburn hustings West Hampstead Life turnout_700

Fantastic turnout for the hustings

St James’s church filled up fast as locals poured in for the West Hampstead Life hustings at the Sherriff Centre. US social and political commentator PJ O’Rourke was in the front row for a BBC Radio 4 documentary; Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis was a couple of rows further back – off-duty, though still tweeting; and a journalist from the Independent tried to ask me what I thought of Tulip. Meanwhile, the rest of the nave was chockablock with locals eager to hear what the five Hampstead & Kilburn candidates had to say.

Tulip Siddiq Hampstead Kilburn West Hampstead Life hustings

Tulip Siddiq (Labour)

Simon Marcus Hampstead Kilburn West Hampstead Life hustings

Simon Marcus (Conservative)

Maajid Nawaz Hampstead Kilburn West Hampstead Life hustings

Maajid Nawaz (Liberal Democrat)

Rebecca Johnson Hampstead Kilburn West Hampstead Life hustings

Rebecca Johnson (Green)

Magnus Nielsen Hampstead Kilburn West Hampstead Life hustings

Magnus Nielsen (UKIP)

Then it was time for the questions. Most people were reasonably good about asking fairly succinct questions, though one or started to ramble. Why do people do that!? Topics ranged from the opening gotcha on TfL’s changes to the bus routes to housing to foreign policy and homophobia in religion. Listen to the whole glorious event below (apologies to Simon, we missed the opening couple of lines of his speech, but you can watch that on the video below – the audio quality on the video drops off later, so I’d recommend the audio version overall).

We’ll dive into more specific answers over the course of the week.

Photos courtesy of Eugene Regis (more photos here)

Tom gets his Easter Huevos in El Rocio

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El Rocio Huevos Rancheros
Huevos rancheros in El Rocio (formerly Sirous) seem to be proving very popular with locals at present, and it’s a breakfast dish I was all too pleased to sample myself the other week, after one too many the night before (note: “breakfast” for me at the weekend usually takes place between 1 and 2 o’clock).

This Spanish variant is described on the menu as pan-“fired” peppers, onions and coriander, simmered in tomato sauce and somehow “toped” with three eggs! Regardless, it was a merry plate of colourful, flavourful food, with the eggs just-cooked, and all served still sizzling in a pan – most satisfying.

The new layout inside features colourful red seating and pleasing decor, though I do miss the old leather sofas and the tasteful illustrations of root veggies which used to adorn one of the walls. Tapas are of course still on the menu, and a few weeks previous I particularly enjoyed the octopus.

A large vegetarian breakfast was also devoured (not by me I hasten to add, though I did eat a large Domino’s a few hours later), and certainly seemed a success, though perhaps fresh, home-made fritters and veggie sausos would add appeal? El Rocio is popular for breakfast, and I sense customers wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for a couple of high-quality tweaks.

El Rocio Veggie Breakfast

Writing a few notes here has given me a good idea (happens very occasionally) – I’m off to the forum to post a new question… best hangover food? Huevos rancheros are definitely right up there!

What have I missed since March 23rd?

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Social, Mamacita and La Smorfia all closed. The strip between Tesco and Sainsbury’s is changing particularly fast.

Should parking revenue from the area be spent on improving road safety around Fordwych Road?

The West Hampstead Life general election hustings are this Tuesday at The Sherriff Centre.

A bus stop on the Kilburn High Road got flattened by a lorry. No-one was hurt amazingly.

Err... Remember that bus stop on Kilburn High Road outside Tesco.... via Oliver Denton

Err… Remember that bus stop on Kilburn High Road outside Tesco…. via Oliver Denton

A ferret was found wandering around West Hampstead.

West End Lane was rated the 19th healthiest high street in London, according to some rather bizarre criteria.

Paya rebranded as Pak Choi. It’s not open yet.

Pizza Express on Finchley Road is moving into the O2 and Tortilla is taking over the former Pizza Express site.

French is West Hampstead’s second language.

Check out the Winch’s new social enterprise, “Wheel Make a Difference” (see what they’ve done there?)

Culture Hub has a couple of picks that are on tonight!

Hot on the Forum

The Railway now hopes to open mid-May (will it be in time for the ever-lucrative FA Cup Final?)

Local teenagers shaved their heads – for all the right reasons.

Tweet of the Week

Should parking revenue be spent on Fordwych road safety?

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The Fordwych Residents Association (FRA) has been calling for road safety improvements in our area for a number of years. Residents have raised a number of issues, and we’ve requested that Camden Council take action to:

  • Stop the rat-run through our area, which runs both ways along Westbere Road – Minster Road – Fordwych Road – Mill Lane
  • Stop HGVs – and especially skip lorries – using residential streets in our area as a short cut
  • Reduce the speed of traffic in our area and enforce the 20mph speed limit
  • Make road junctions and crossings safer – especially for children walking to and from Hampstead School and for the young children attending nurseries in our area.

One of things we’ve been told by the council is that money is tight and they may not be able to afford to act on our suggestions.

However, it’s been pointed out that the council receives large sums from the sale of parking permits. The money raised by the sale of permits is meant to be ring-fenced for transport and road safety spending.

The FRA thought it would be interesting to find out how much is raised in the zones in our area: CA-P (Kilburn) & CA-Q (Fortune Green).

You can see the PDF map of the council’s parking zones here

We asked for the figures since the permit scheme was introduced (around ten years ago) – but were told the figures were only available from 2010/11. The figures include funds raised from the sale of all permits – residents, visitor, e-visitor, parking permission, business & doctors.

  • 2010/11   £774,463
  • 2011/12   £754,083
  • 2012/13   £820,251
  • 2013/14   £870,466
  • 2014/15   £807,090 (to date)

These seem like significant sums to us. We also asked for a breakdown of how the money has been spent in our area. Unfortunately, we weren’t given this information – but instead were directed to the council’s annual parking reports, which can be seen here.

Although the reports give some useful information, there is no breakdown of how the money is spent. We think the council could be a lot more open and transparent about what these funds are used for so that those paying for the various charges and permits can see where their money is going.

James Earl
Chair, Fordwych Residents Association
www.fordwych.org.uk
@FordwychRA

Adios to businesses on one block of West End Lane

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The rapid rise of the West Hampstead Square towers is the most visible sign of change in the neighbourhood, but the retail landscape is changing fast too. Foxtons in, Mamacita and Social out, Holistic… no-one seems quite sure.

Most of the changes are happening on the strip of West End Lane bookended by Tesco and Sainsbury. Clothes shop Social closed its doors for the last time on Monday after 10 years.

P1000176

Next door to Social, hair salon Holistic has been told it may also have to close and find new premises. Hakki, the manager at Holistic, said that the landlord, who also owns Social’s premises, has a potential tenant interested in taking both units and turning them into one large double shop (the unconfirmed rumour is that this might be a chain bakery). However, Hakki hopes to hear in the next few weeks that the salon will be able to renew its lease and continue operating where it has been for 19 years, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Finally, Mamacita announced on Twitter that it was closing, after less than two years in West Hampstead. The owners have told West Hampstead Life that although they can’t reveal the identity of the new tenant, it should be another independent business.

P1000178

What would you like to see opening on West End Lane? Over to you in the comments below or on the forum.

What have I missed since March 16th?

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A year after the campaign started, Camden finally looks set to rid West End Lane of estate agents boards.

Matthew Ogston, partner of Nazeem Mahmood who died last year after falling from his balcony on Fawley Road, spoke to The Guardian in a moving must-read interview. Next week we’ll explain how you can show your support for Matt and his cause.

Foxtons opened its new brightly lit West End Lane branch.

It's alive... @WHampstead is complete. And they have a balloon window display. Appropriate re future house prices..?! via Simon Benson

It’s alive… @WHampstead is complete. And they have a balloon window display. Appropriate re future house prices..?!
via Simon Benson

£80 million worth of cannabis was smuggled out of premises on West End Lane.

Camden threatened to close Broomsleigh Street at the Mill Lane end during the Beckford school run hours. Locals weren’t happy and following two public meetings, it appears the council has gone back to the drawing board.

Hot on the Forum

It’s tough being a backbench councillor in Camnden – even if you are part of the majority party – as Fortune Green’s Lorna Russell has found.

Fortune Green footpath to the cemetery will be closed for 4-5 days from Thursday for resurfacing

Two men who helped Sabrina Moss’s killer were jailed.

What are this week’s top culture picks? Check out the Culture Hub to find out.

Election news

  • Not sure who to vote for? The West Hampstead Life hustings are on March 31st. Come along to the Sherriff Centre and grill the candidates.
  • Hampstead & Kilburn Green candidate Rebecca Johnson launched her camapaign with a video.
  • Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was in West Hampstead during the week for Conservative candidate Simon Marcus’s campaign. He looked at some cheese and some meat.

There were fewer blue margaritas at this week’s whampsocial as locals opted for more traditional cocktails!

If you’ve lost an Italian driving licence, it’s been handed in to Paramount on West End Lane.

A diamond ring’s been lost on Mill Lane.

One Sixty celebrated its first anniversary.

Monday’s WHAT meeting will still cover the Brent Cross redevelopment (which received a £97 million boost in the budget), after developers initially pulled out.

Bakeaboo made it into the Standard’s top 50 London bakeries.

The Tricycle’s Takeover festival got underway with the theatre’s young company taking over the venue for the week.

Tweet of the Week

West End Lane could soon be clear of agents’ boards

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Last February, we reported on local resident Alan Grogan’s campaign to rid West End Lane of the large number of estate agents’ boards that were attached to many properties along the road. Many agents responded swiftly to our article and, within a couple of weeks, had voluntarily removed their boards from buildings. However, quite a few of the signs still remain up more than a year later.

This week, just as Foxtons added to the glut of estate agents on West End Lane, Alan got the news he’d been hoping for. Camden Council has submitted the Regulation 7 Application to ban all estate agents’ boards for the stretch of West End Lane between the tube station north to David’s Deli. This means that barring any major objections, the proposal should pass in the next few months.

Alan said that he is hoping the ban will come into effect “in time for the summer and we’ll have a very, very nice looking high street”.

Two of the signs still on West End Lane that would have to come down if Camden’s proposal is passed

 

 

 

Grill the candidates: Election hustings March 31st

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Hampstead & Kilburn 2015 Candidates_cropped

As the May 7th election gets closer, and election literature starts to pour through you door, how best to know who to vote for?

Go to a hustings to hear the candidates answer questions – maybe your question. If you’ve never been to a hustings before, or aren’t sure if they’re really for you, why not come along to the Sherriff Centre on March 31st and give it a go? This will be an accessible way to meet the candidates, see what the issues are, and understand where the differences between the parties lie.

Hampstead & Kilburn was the closest three-way marginal in the country in 2010 and Labour held the seat by just 42 votes from the Conservatives (the Lib Dems were many people’s pre-election favourites, which tells you how tight it was). So, the idea that your vote doesn’t matter holds no water here, and when you consider the national situation that puts Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck in terms of numbers of seats they expect to win, every vote in a swing seat like this really can influence the make-up of the next government.

It’s important therefore to know who you’re voting for – not just the party or party leader, but the actual person who would be your MP. We’ve already briefly introduced the five candidates standing so far – Tulip Siddiq (Lab), Simon Marcus (Con), Maajid Nawaz (LibDem), Rebecca Johnson (Green), and Magnus Nielsen (UKIP).

On March 31st, you’ll have the chance to grill them in person at the West Hampstead Life hustings held at The Sherriff Centre in St James’s Church on West End Lane/Sherriff Road.

The event is a chance to hear from the candidates on why you should vote for them, but more importantly to ask them questions about the issues that matter to you.

Format
We’ll start at 7.30pm promptly, so please start arriving from 7pm. The doors will be open before that if you really want to get a good seat. We plan to wrap at 9.30pm.

The Sanctuary Café will serve coffee and tea (and possibly cake!) until 9pm, and there’ll be wine available for a donation (money going to St James’).

Each candidate will give a 3 minute opening pitch on why you should vote for them. As you’ll know if you were at the lively council election hustings, we will be strict on the timekeeping and an alarm will go off after 3 minutes.

The rest of the evening will be broken into three sections: Local, National, International. There are of course blurred lines between these, but hopefully it lends some structure to proceedings. Local will be for topics and issues directly related to London, and West Hampstead specifically. National will be for broader policy areas: e.g., the economy, immigration, the NHS. International will be for geopolitical issues as well as issues such as climate change.

Each section will start with a question from the chair, and then the floor will be open for questions from you. Please raise your hand only for a question that falls within the section we’re dealing with. Some questions of course could fall into a couple of sections, e.g., housing.

There’s no need to sign up beforehand or pre-submit questions, just stick your hand in the air. We do suggest that you have your questions ready though and please keep them short and succinct – we want questions not statements. We won’t have time to get to everyone’s questions, but we’ll get to as many as we can and encourage the candidate to give reasonably brief answers.

That’s it. We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible, so do come along!

Residents concerned over Beckford School road closure plan

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Camden Council has announced plans to implement a temporary road closure near a primary school in West Hampstead, angering many local residents. There are public meetings to discuss the proposals this Thursday.

The affected area is around Beckford School on Dornfell Street. Camden’s proposal is to close Broomsleigh Street at the Mill Lane end at the beginning and end of each school day, preventing traffic from entering Dornfell Street, Glastonbury Street and Ravenshaw Street from this direction. This would come into effect for a six-month period, after which a further decision would be made whether to make the scheme permanent.

The council’s rationale for the possible traffic changes, as outlined in a letter to residents last week, is to create “a safe and pleasant environment” around the school when children arrive, and to encourage families to walk or cycle to school as part of its “Healthy School Streets” initiative. Since the school year started in September, it points out, two school children have been struck by motor vehicles in the area immediately around the school.

However, people living in and around the affected roads are not happy with the street closures, which if approved would come into effect in early June. On the West Hampstead Life forum, many residents have commented that although well-meaning, the plans are misguided and do not take into account the needs of residents and businesses.

People are concerned that they will be unable to reach their homes by car at the restricted hours of 8.30-9.15am and 2.30-4.30pm, deliveries will not be made, and elderly residents will not be able to be picked up for appointments. Margaret McKillop, a forum commenter, queried  what would happen “if for instance we need a doctor or ambulance during the hours between 2.30 and 4.30”?

There is also scepticism that Camden’s scheme will do much to encourage parents to walk their children to and from school, and that instead Ravenshaw Street will become “an unspeakable nightmare” with traffic moving in both directions on an already narrow road. Avril, another forum member, wondered “how many parents will actually support their children cycling to Beckford School” – as this would inevitably mean cycling along busy Mill Lane.

There will be two meetings held at the school this Thursday, March 19th at 3.45pm and 6.30pm, to explain the reasons behind the plan and give parents and residents a chance to ask questions.

Do you live in the affected area, or are you a Beckford School parent? Join the discussion on the forum.

The busy junction of Broomsleigh Street and Mill Lane

The junction of Broomsleigh Street and Mill Lane under discussion

What have I missed since March 9th?

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If you had clothes at Delicate Dry Cleaners, next to Barclays, you can now pick them up from D&D Dry Cleaners, at 68 Fortune Green Road.

The timetable for the NDF referendum has been released.

A large bear caused consternation on West End Lane.

Daffs on Fortune Green via @Tetramesh

Daffs on Fortune Green via @Tetramesh

Spring continues springing on Fortune Green, but the commitee is chasing the miscreants who leave bread on the green, in contravention of signs!

Hot on the Forum this week

Foxtons has started its West Hampstead marketing push in advance of opening.

Look back at some of the most remarkable women of West Hampstead.

What did we make of JW3’s 2000 Year Old Man?

Property News: Is now the time to sell in West Hampstead?

NW6 Film Club is off to see Julianne Moore’s Oscar-winning performance in Still Alice at the Tricycle on Sunday evening. There’s even a discount for Film Club people.

Whampsocial is on Thursday – tacos, cocktails (and other drinks) and lovely locals. Come on down, it’s open to everyone.

Finchley Road roadworks led to Carmageddon at the O2 on Sunday.

The Brondesbury Group is having a night of poetry and music on March 18th at the North London Tavern.

Scavolini kitchens is moving into the corner unit at Alfred Court (aka the Sager building on Fortune Green Road)

Zoe Wanamaker in Stevie at Hampstead Theatre is our Culture Hub top pick, but check out the other carefully selected treats this week.

Kilburn’s newest bookshop (only bookshop?) had its official opening on Saturday.

Is THIS how Shoot Up Hill got its name?

We may never know if Tracy is still waiting for Alan.

Tweet of the Week

Review: The 2000 Year Old Man at JW3

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Taken from the famous 1960s recordings by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, this specially commissioned adaptation is a live re-creation of material from The 2000 Year Old Man sketches, in which an interviewer questions a man who claims to be 2000 years old and shares his memories and opinions on the history of civilisation, in a broad Yiddish accent.

BLAKE_EZRA_2000_YEAR_OLD_MAN012

The hour-long show is funny and engaging, and very much a celebration of a simpler time for comedy.  There are decent performances from both sides, with Chris Neill’s Interviewer nicely understated to balance the larger-than-life 2000 year old man, played by Kerry Shale, enthusiastically channeling Mel Brooks.

The energetic performances go some way to bringing a modern feel to the work, it is pacy and they have made the most of the opportunity to physicalise what is essentially a verbal exchange, but for the most part the material itself feels, unsurprisingly, dated. There is very little subtlety at play and I think modern audiences expect to find layers in comedy which are simply missing from the broad stereotyping and sex gags we are presented with here. It’s funny, sure, but all just a bit one-note.

In putting the piece together, Kerry Shale has selected moments from the original recordings to create a cohesive whole. I’m sure this was quite an undertaking, and the team have done a great job of constructing the show so you can very rarely see the ‘joins’. There are a few moments which are laced with satire and this is where the work felt fresh and relevant, and got the biggest laughs of the night.

I went into the show with no knowledge of the original sketches, and I’m sure fans of Brooks and Reiner would appreciate this homage in a way that I, in my ignorance, am unable to. At an hour, it’s the right length and is a fun, lighthearted show that entertains and does provide several laughs, just not side-splitting ones. It’s a show which works well in the JW3 hall, a fantastic performance space, and I hope it will find an appreciative audience who are looking for good, old-fashioned gags.

The 2000 Year Old Man runs at JW3 until March 22nd.

West Hampstead’s remarkable women

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West Hampstead women

The incomparable Edward Petherbridge has put together a wonderful short film about the women of West Hampstead, focusing on the early part of the 20th century.

It’s well worth watching and has some great old photos and some local history you may not have known… such as the West Hampstead building that was the first physical training college in England.

There’s also mention of Eustace Miles, who we wrote about last year.

Edward’s own website also refers to another West Hampstead woman, the “prominent socialist and feminist”, Dame Margaret Postgate Cole.

What have I missed since March 2nd?

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Camden councillors voted in favour of the Liddell Road scheme. Only two members of the planning committee voted against. You can watch the whole thing.

The meeting refers to some calculations by the NDF on the economics of the Liddell Road scheme, which were published on West Hampstead Life. And if, somehow, you’re new to all this, then do catch up with our Liddell Road refresher.

Cllr Lora Russell, who spoke out against the scheme, was described as having “misguided” views by fellow Labour councillors before the committee meeting.

Beautiful evening at West Hampstead streetfood market, via @MargoandRitas

Beautiful evening at West Hampstead streetfood market, via @MargoandRitas

The streetfood market returned to the Thameslink forecourt. It’s open 4-8pm Wednesday to Friday.

TfL is consulting on changes to bus services in the area. The 139 would continue on to Golders Green, and the 13 would disappear completely.

Delicate Dry Cleaners, next to Barclays, has gone bust. Customers can collect clothes stuck there between 12 and 2pm this Monday only!

Tom’s Diner went to Bengal Spice on West End Lane. Should have had the vindaloo though.

The farmers’ market sign is angering some locals again… but the Longhorn beef seems to be popular!

March’s Property of the Month is a Victorian house up near Hampstead School.

Lymington Road’s Hampstead Cricket Club celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. We looked back at the origins of the star-studded sports club.

Also on its 150th birthday was Sacred Heart church on Quex Road. It was all fields back then.

There was an exhibition of the latest scheme for Gondar Gardens. All the boards can be seen here [pdf].

Why not check out Another Utopia at Swiss Cottage Gallery this week? It’s one of our Culture Hub picks.

Hana is applying to extend the restaurant over the decking out front.

The quest to eat everywhere on Kilburn High Road reached Belvedere Traditional.

The Railway, covered in scaffolding, is unsurprisingly not going to make its planned March reopening date. Now looking at late April or early May.

Obituary: Jasper Woodcock, a major figure in work on drug dependency who was based in West Hampstead (good local anecdote at the end).

On the forum this week:

Election news

  • H is for Hampstead & Kilburn in the Guardian’s A-Z election guide
  • Labour’s Tulip Siddiq tweeted; “Dear local Lib Dem activist on the 328 bus last night. Loved your rant about me. I wsas sat right behind you FYI”.

Tweet of the Week

139 to… Golders Green? TfL plans to shake-up local buses

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139 bus

Surely we all get that flush of pride when you’re in central London and a 139 heading home sails into sight? Destination West Hampstead.

All that may be about to change according to plans by TfL, which are up for consultation.

Based on analysis of passenger flows, TfL is proposing that the 139 would continue up to Golders Green, following the route of the 328 (which is out of the scope of these plans). Many locals would be delighted if this meant that the 139 no longer trundled empty along Mill Lane on its way back to the depot.

The much bigger change proposed affects buses running from town up Finchley Road. TfL wants to scrap the 13 bus. Completely. Over on the Forum, this is already being discussed. Alex Gollner has delved into the details:

Currently there are 52 scheduled bus departures between Platt’s Lane on Finchley Road between 7am and 9am made up of buses on the 13, 82 and 113 routes. That’s 26 buses an hour.

The new plan mentions the frequency of the 113 increasing to 10 buses an hour during peak hours. The information given doesn’t say that the 82 will be increased to 16 buses an hour during the peaks in order to maintain current frequencies – “no changes to the day 82 service.” The 82 runs 10 buses an hour in the morning peaks at the moment so it looks like those on waiting for buses Finchley Road south of Frognal Lane in the morning rush hour will have their service cut by 20%.

TfL Bus consultation

Other notable changes are that the 189 would stop at Marble Arch rather than going on to Oxford Circus and a nightbus N189 would replace the 24h service, and the 82 would become a 24h service.

TfL’s full webpage on the consultation explains more of the detail and hints at the rationale, while not going into quite enough detail to satisfy those really keen to understand whether the proposals make sense. If they do come into effect, one thing is very clear… those top deck front seats are going to be a whole lot harder to get for West Hampstead residents.

Some locals have beef with market sign; others just like beef

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Last Saturday, Tori & Ben’s Farm was awarded this year’s prize for “Customers’ Favourite Stall” at the West Hampstead Farmers’ Market. The stall sells lamb and Longhorn beef from their farm on the Derbyshire / Leicestershire borders.

Abi at Tori & Ben's Farm's prize-winning stall

Abi at Tori & Ben’s Farm’s prize-winning stall

The runner-up was last year’s winner, Brinkworth Dairy, which sells milk and cream at its stall, as well as takeaway coffee, to a steady queue of customers each week.

It’s good news for the stallholders, but latest statistics show that customer numbers have dropped since the market opened on the Thameslink forecourt in 2012. In its first year, the average footfall at the market was 3,558, but by 2014 the average had fallen to 2,477.

In an effort to boost customer numbers and raise awareness, London Farmers’ Markets, the organisation behind West Hampstead’s Saturday market, has applied to Camden for planning permission for its promotional banner to be placed between the trees on the Thameslink forecourt for a period of six months. There have so far been nine objections to this proposal, with some residents criticising the “unsightly” proposed banner, but Camden has received many more messages in support of the banner, 56 in total, including one from the West Hampstead NDF committee.

Cheryl Cohen, of London Farmers’ Markets, explains the need for a banner in the covering letter to the application, stating that it is “necessary to draw the farmers’ market to the attention of those who may not know that it exists,” in an area with a high turnover of residents. Why this method of advertising? From a survey carried out at the market, “47% of people said that they had found out about the market via the banner.”

Abi, who was manning Tori and Ben’s stall on Saturday, said that they had noticed a slight “six-month slump” in customer numbers, but that things seemed to be picking up again. She said it was still very much worth the trip to West Hampstead each week, due to the stall’s many loyal customers who return to buy their meat each Saturday.

What could explain the drop in footfall at the market? The shopping landscape of West Hampstead has changed since 2012. In the past twelve months, West End Lane has had new shops open selling fresh, good-quality produce. West Hampstead Fruit & Vegetables is always busy, and open late every evening. The Hampstead Butcher & Providore has a wide range of good-quality meat, Cook! sells freshly-cooked convenience food, and how could we forget the new Waitrose opening?

What do you think – are you loyal to the farmers’ market, an occasional customer, or do you use other shops or supermarkets? And do you support the organisers’ proposal for a banner to help restore customer footfall? Comment below or join the discussion on the Forum.

Liddell Road scheme given green light

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Camden councillors voted tonight to give the go ahead to both the proposal to build the school and to build the housing and employment space that will help fund it.

The debate lasted just over an hour and a half and got rather tetchy at times. It brought home how complex the funding issues are and how hard it is to make decision, or criticize them when no figures are made public.

The first vote was whether or not to approve the school and all the committee voted in favour
The second vote was whether or not to approve the rest of the scheme. Cllr Flick Rea (LD) and Cllr Claire-Louise Leyland (Con) voted against, it looked from the webcast as if Jenny Headlam-Wells (Lab) abstained (WHL has contacted Cllr Headlam-Wells to clarify), and everyone else voted in favour so both applications were passed.

Liddell Road vote

We now get to see whether the numbers did indeed add up. There was some suggestion from the independent viability assessor that it was possible there would be more capital receipts from the scheme than originally anticipated. Should that happen, that money would go towards affordable housing, though this would not be on the Liddell Road site itself.

It was sad how little mention was made of the jobs and businesses that will have to leave the premises.

Decision time: The Liddell Road refresher

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It’s decision time tonight for Liddell Road, but what’s at stake and why has it been so controversial?

What’s the deal?

The council has an obligation to provide enough school places for local children and the projections are that some 400 places are needed in the West Hampstead area in the very near future.

Where to build this school?

The council decided that Liddell Road, a light industrial estate that it owns just off Maygrove Road, was the best site. The school would take up about half the site.

Rather than build a new school, which under government rules would have to be a free school, it decided to expand Kingsgate School in Kilburn, which is the best part of a mile away on foot. The youngest children would attend the Liddell Road site, the older children would be taught at the Kingsgate site. Astonishingly, even now, the admissions point for the new expanded school has not been settled.

How to pay for it?

Like many councils, Camden has been hit very hard by budget cuts, so to pay for the school it’s decided to sell off the other half of the Liddell Road site for housing and office space. By selling this land to a developer, it would get enough money to build the school and have some left over to fund improvements to other schools in the borough.

Why has it been so controversial?

Jobs
The problems started more than a year ago when there was a big discrepancy between the number of jobs Camden stated would be lost from existing Liddell Road businesses and the number that the traders themselves came up with. The traders’ number was treble Camden’s number (250 vs 80), and Camden never published the results of its employment survey despite promising to do so.

Some traders also claimed that Camden was less than helpful in assisting them finding new premises, which was next to impossible anyway for those who wanted to stay local. Camden disputes this.

Consultation process
In the first consultation about the scheme, the number of respondents who were residents AND parents was incredibly low – in fact it appeared to be just two people. There were three high-level questions, and just two responses to each from this segment: one person was in favour of expanding Kingsgate, one didn’t know; one was in favour of the split school site, one was against; one was in favour of the redevelopment overall and one against. Had this consultation reached the right audience?

The tower block
In the run-up to the council elections in May 2014, Labour campaigned on more school places, which was popular, and won five of the six local seats from the Liberal Democrats. At this stage, the early plans for Liddell Road looked like this:

LiddellRoadplan_before

After the election, the plans looked like this:

Revised Liddell Road plan with 14-storey tower block

Yep, a 14-storey tower block had appeared. Residents weren’t keen, and many pointed out that this site falls outside the designated Growth Area, where people have come to accept that higher density housing will be permitted (for example, West Hampstead Square, which has a 12-storey building at its heart).

Camden’s argument was that it needed all the housing to pay for the school, and all the office space to create jobs (more jobs than existed on the site before if you take their numbers, fewer if you take the traders’).

That £6.7 million grant
Camden received a grant from central government of £6.7 million specifically for new schools. First it wasn’t going to spend this at Liddell Road, then it was, then it was going to spend some of it. The detail has always been unclear. Camden has also said from the outset that it wanted to make an additional £3 million from the project to invest in schools elsewhere in the borough.

Many locals felt that money made from the site should be invested in West Hampstead. The council countered that West Hampstead schools have received a lot of money in recent years that has come from outside West Hampstead. That £3m has since come down to £1.9 million because the council underestimated the cost of clearing the land.

Affordable housing
Initially there was to be no affordable housing in the development. Camden would normally say that 50% of a large development should be affordable, though that’s rarely achieved in practice. Camden argued that the provision of a school completely offset the need for any affordable housing.

In its final revision of the plan, the tower block dropped to 11 storeys, and four of the 106 flats were to be affordable (initally, 1 social, 3 intermediate, but in the final report all four will be social housing). How the economics had changed to accommodate these changes was never made clear.

Opponents have argued that the surplus from the site could be used to increase the affordable housing, the council has said that it would add only a few extra units and it would rather spend the money elsewhere. Councillors also made much of the fact that the site at 156 West End Lane (Travis Perkins) would be developed with 50% affordable housing, but opponents have argued that is impossible to judge the merits of one scheme based on a promise that the council may not be able to keep on another that hasn’t even come close to a planning application yet.

Other issues
There have been a raft of other issues that have caused concern: the siting of the tower, the decision over access roads, the challenges facing parents with siblings at both sites, that admissions point problem, etc.. Camden has responded to all these, except the latter, though not of course always to the satisfaction of locals.

What are the alternatives?

Camden Labour councillors in favour of the scheme, which appears to be all of them except for Fortune Green’s Lorna Russell, have argued very forcefully that the school is essential and at a time of constrained budgets this is the best way of paying for it. They also point out that no-one who has opposed the scheme has come up with a viable costed alternative.

Proposing a costed alternative is difficult when Camden refuses to release any of the financial information associated with the scheme. Indeed it published a heavily redacted report in response to an FOI request. The NDF tried to work out the costs itself, and although it was forced to make a lot of assumptions, it calculated that the council could make an additional £10 million from the site.

Will it pass tonight?

Labour dominates the development control committee (the formal name for the planning committee), which will vote on the plans tonight. It is hard to imagine that the applications won’t be approved as this is one of the flagship schemes in Camden’s Community Investment Programme – its attempt to continue to deliver quality services in the face of swingeing budget cuts.

Complicating matters, the scheme is spread across two separate planning applications, for reasons that have never been clear given that one is entirely contingent on the other – i.e., Camden can’t realistically pass the school and reject the housing.

Many of the groups objecting to the scheme have tried to argue for a delay in order that the detail of the scheme can be discussed more thoroughly and perhaps improved. Very few are arguing that the whole idea should be thrown out wholesale, instead the questions are around the exact implementation. The council, however, is arguing that the school must get approval as soon as possible because it needs to open for the 2016/17 school year.

The upshot therefore is that to meet its statutory requirements on school places, the council has to press ahead with the school now and as the school will be paid for only by the flats and office space, they must be approved too. In other words, the planning committee is a hostage to time. This begs the question as to why this is all so last minute. To quote from a planning officer in one of the early consultation documents,

For a number of years families in the North West of the borough have struggled to find a local reception class place and Camden’s school place planning indicates that there will continue to be a pressing need in this area in the future.

Camden may point out that their predecessors did nothing to act on this when they were in power. It’s a fair point, but Labour has controlled the Town Hall since 2010. Perhaps if planners had had more time, a more equitable solution might have been found rather than forcing one through that has run into quite so many problems with locals who are not, by and large, against the underlying idea of the scheme.

 

The meeting starts tonight at 7pm. Liddell Road is the fourth planning application on the agenda so they should get to it. There are people going speaking against it and it’s likely to take some time to discuss. You can go to the Town Hall and watch in person, or you can watch the webcast here.

Guest post: NDF sums suggest £10 million missing from Liddell Road calculations

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As West Hampstead Life reported a few weeks ago, Camden Council refused to disclose the finances related to the Liddell Road development [its scheme to develop the existing industrial estate, which it owns, in order to build a primary school there funded by the sale of housing and offices on the same site]. The council claims these numbers would let private developers know how the council values land, which would undermine it in future negotiations.

Leaving aside the fact that developers can employ armies of surveyors who are well versed in development economics to work such things out, the fact is that the inputs for development models such as rents, comparable sales prices, ‘allowable profit’ levels and building costs are widely available. The NDF therefore decided that in the absence of disclosure from Camden it was worth trying to do the sums itself. The results suggest that the council may make an additional £10 million from the development.

To help with its calculations, the NDF had advice from someone working in the property industry. Development economics are complicated and it is hard to imagine that all the councillors who sit on the planning committee – and thus who will vote on the scheme – have a perfect understanding of them. The general public certainly do not. To help the councillors, and as part of its legal obligations, the council does refer the scheme to an independent assessor. Members of the planning committee will see the assessor’s report before the committee meeting, though even here some financial figures are also redacted.

We would argue that in cases such as Liddell Road, where the council is both developer and approver as part of its Community Investment Programme, it is even more important that numbers are clear and transparent.

Lets do some maths

The actual calculations are relatively simple, and although we have had to make some assumptions, we feel that broadly we should be on the right lines. If Camden would like to correct us on any of these numbers, we would very much welcome their input.

Camden has explained that the sale of the flats and the office space will pay for the building of the school, and deliver a surplus. That surplus was originally £3 million but, in the final report to councillors, it’s been reduced to £1.9 million as the costs of clearing the land appear to be higher than anticipated.

To calculate how much money the council might make we need to work out

a) the value, to a developer, of the land with full planning permission for flats/offices
b) the costs of building the development + various other associated costs (including the developer’s profit margin)

This leaves a residual land value, which is the amount Camden can sell the land for to a developer and is what they will use to pay for the building of the school.

How much is Liddell Road worth to a developer?

The planning application is for two residential blocks and one office block. Lets take each in turn.

Housing
The application is for 106 flats (40 in a tower block and 66 in a mansion block) of which 4 are affordable. In total this is 10,247 sq m of floorspace and 319 habitable rooms. But what are they worth?

A good comparison is to look next door.

Adjacent to Liddell Road is 65 Maygrove Road (formerly Handrail House, now ‘The Residence’) which is currently being turned into 91 flats. These flats are already on the market with asking prices starting at £650,000 for one-bedroom flats and £780,000 for two-bedroom flats.

At those prices, the price per square metre is ~£7,500.

10,247 sq m x £7,500 = £76.9 million. To take account of the four affordable housing units, we’re rounding this down to £76 million.

Therefore, the estimated total sales value of the housing is £76 million

Office space
The application also seeks to build 3,727 sq m of office space. Based on comparable spaces in Queen’s Park and Camden we estimate an expected rental of £295/sq m.

The expected annual rental income from the office building would therefore be £1,097,000. According to commercial property estate agent Cushman & Wakefield, an office building like this could be sold for £20.5 million (based on a standard yield of 5.25%).

Total
Add together the £76 million for the housing and the £20.5 million for the office block and we get a gross development value of the site once developed of £96.5 million.

Deduct the costs

Now we need to look at the costs, which include construction costs, the developer’s profit and other costs.

Build costs
According to the BCIS (Build Cost Indexation Service) of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, an inner-London mid-height housing and office development costs about £2,750/sq m (including fees), though our research suggests this is on the high side for a development like Liddell Road.

Nevertheless, using this guide, the build cost of the 10,247 sq m of residential buildings is £28.2 million and the cost of building the 3,727 sq m of office space is £10.2 million.

To assess other building costs, we have drawn on data from bank BNP Paribas’ introduction to development economics seminar. Landscaping would cost about £1 million, infrastructure costs (roads, pipes) £5 million and a 15% contingency of £6.5 million would be normal.

Total construction costs = £50.9 million

The developer also has to make money and is allowed a 20% profit margin. For a scheme like this, we understand the margin is likely to be based on costs not sales, which gives us a figure of £10 million, but this varies from development to development and is subject to negotiation.

Two other costs can be deducted: financing and marketing costs. Interest rates are very low at the moment but at a rough estimate these would total £5 million. There are also marketing costs to sell the development (those swanky ads in the Evening Standard) generously estimated about at 5% of gross sales, so a further £5 million. Giving total ‘other’ costs of £20 million.

Total construction costs of £50.9 million + other costs of £20 million gives a grand cost total of £70.9 million.

What does this leave?

If gross sales = £96.5 million and total costs = £70.9 million, this leaves a gross residual land value of £25.6 million. This is what the council might expect a developer to pay for the land and what will fund the school

Normally, councils try to capture some of this uplift and get developers to include extra affordable housing and section 106 agreements for community facilities. The situation here is slightly more complicated, but in simple terms, the equivalent payments as set out in the planning report seem to total less than £200,000 (not all are costed, so precision is difficult), which is extremely low for a development of this size. As of April, when the new Community Infrastructure Levy comes into play, a private developer would be expected to pay £2.6 million on a housing/office development like this.

This £25.6 million (£25.4 if you want to strip out £200,000 for section 106-type payments) is supposed to finance the new school on Liddell Road and leave a £1.9 million pound surplus to be invested in schools elsewhere.

What does it cost to build a school?

Camden has said it will cost £13.4 million to build the school and has acknowledged that some of that will come from the £6.7 million central government grant the council received, though have not publically said how much.

According to the BCIS, the cost of building a new primary school of more than 2,000 sq m in inner London is £1,866/sq m. This is in line with the National School delivery cost benchmarking report of June 2014, which gives a figure of £2,170/sq m.

Going with the more expensive figure would give a cost for the school, which is 2,392 sq m, of £5.2 million. It is not clear therefore, how Camden has come up with a cost of £13.4 million – more than 2.5 times the national average.

Money left over?

Even if the school does cost £13.4 million and the council decides not to use any of the £6.7 million allocated for new school places here, our calculations suggest that there would be a further £12 million left over. Deduct the £1.9 million surplus that the council states it wants to make to fund other improvements to schools in the boroughs, and there’s still £10.1 million unaccounted for.

The property expert we spoke too clarified that his view “is given as a personal opinion on the market but is not an official valuation. That said if a full valuation was commissioned from a valuation surveyor, I am sure the view would not differ and in fact they might even come up with a higher site price’.”

The NDF would very much welcome Camden pointing out anywhere where our assumptions are wrong. Clearly the build costs and the sales costs have the biggest impact on the overall numbers, so it would be very interesting to know if Camden’s figures differ significantly from the benchmarks that we have used.

What have I missed since February 23rd

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The planning application for Liddell Road will be decided on Tuesday when it goes in front of the planning committee. The session is open to the public (7pm Camden Town Hall)

Fordwych Road will be closed between Minster Road and Mill Lane Monday and Tuesday this week for resurfacing.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has moved out of his Parsifal Road home. The word on the street is that he will continue to use Mill Lane Barbers for his haircut, so he can’t be going far.

Kilburn tube station, post apocalypse. No, there was just no one else around at lunchtime, via @SteveWHamp

Kilburn tube station, post apocalypse. No, there was just no one else around at lunchtime, via @SteveWHamp

A man assaulted a police officer and crashed into The Alice House.

Greg Wise, presumably with his tongue stuffed far inside his cheek, claimed to live in the “poor bit” of West Hampstead. Few would call Crediton Hill “poor”, yet West Hampstead does contain one area – the Lithos estate – that falls in the bottom 20% in the country for deprivation.

We went to see The Tricycle Theatre’s new play, Multitudes. But was it any good and why did it get its premiere in Kilburn and not Bradford?

Ever wondered what a whampdinner was really like or whether it would be your kind of thing? Watch this fantastic video.

Best Foreign Film, Ida, tops our curated Culture Hub picks. What else should you make sure you see?

There was another fun evening at whampsocial on Thursday, where the £5 Blue Margaritas went down a storm.

Hot on the Forum

A Kilburn resident is attempting to eat (and write about) in every possible outlet on the High Road. Well worth reading the story so far.

A single doctor GP surgery on West End Lane is closing.

Election News

The streetfood market returns this Wednesday. It will run Wed-Fri 4pm-8pm, with 5-6 food stalls.

Tori & Ben’s Longhorn Beef stall was voted West Hampstead Farmers’ Market customers’ favourite stall this year.

The referendum on the local Neighbourhood Development Plan will be held on Thursday July 9th.

Kilburn Older Voices Exchange is holding a daylong debate on Tuesday to discuss living in the area in our later years.

There’s a Spring Homeware event coming up at the O2 centre March 5th-8th with discounts from various shops and some free food samples from O2 restaurants.

Local cllr Phil Rosenberg received an international Jewish leadership award.

The latest proposal for Gondar Gardens (79 units, of which 50% will be affordable) will be on display at Emmanuel Church on March 6th.

Tweet of the Week

Whampdinner: The Movie!

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Ever wondered what West Hampstead Life events are really like? Or maybe you’ve already been to a few and want to relive those heady evenings?

Either way, now’s your chance. We teamed up with talented amateur filmmaker – and West Hampstead local – Helen Carrie, who has put together this brilliant short film of the last whampdinner, held a couple of weeks ago at Mamako.

As you can see, mouthwatering food and scintillating chat with new local friends were the order of the day, as 25 of us took over the restaurant for a fun evening getting to know our West Hampstead neighbours. Helen’s really captured the friendly, relaxed vibe of the evening so if you’ve always wondered whether these events are for you, check it out for a good flavour of what to expect!

If you do fancy coming along to future events, get yourself on the mailing list, if you aren’t already, for advance notice of dinners and other one-off meetups.

What have I missed since February 16th?

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Police closed roads around the police station in West Hampstead on Saturday night after a suspect package was found. Thankfully the all clear was sounded fairly soon afterwards.

The fire in Snowman House the week before was caused by a tealight. The fire brigade tweeted a photo of both the offending candle and then the incredible damage it did.

Power cuts hit the area in the first part of the week – turning Vue cinema’s screening of Fifty Shades of Grey into one shade of black.

The good work of the Fordwych Road residents guerilla gardening project is so easily undone

The good work of the Fordwych Road residents guerilla gardening project is so easily undone, via @jscott110

Mill Lane Barbers made it into the Telegraph this weekend.

Watch a timelapse video of the big development on Maygrove Road.

Check out this week’s Culture Hub picks. They’ve got a sting in their tail.

Whampsocial is back this Thursday at Frida’s bar (downstairs at Mamacita). Add it to your calendars now! (iCal, Google, Outlook).

This week on the Forum.
As we passed 200 members, the hot topics this week were:

The troubled Secrets strip club on Finchley Road is to become… a “high quality nightclub“.

Fortune Green’s Pumpkin Café is for sale.

Tweet of the Week

What have I missed since February 9th?

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A fire on the 10th floor of Snowman House was swiftly brought under control, with only one person treated at the scene despite more than a hundred people being evacuated. The fire was caused by a tealight!

1980s’ popstar Steve Strange, who died this week, got his stage name from a West Hampstead postman.

The man arrested in last week’s police swoop on Mill Lane was sent back to jail – he was out on licence.

Even the rubbish trucks are snazzy around @WHampstead via @MillLaneNW6

Even the rubbish trucks are snazzy around @WHampstead via @MillLaneNW6

The new Overground station design has divided opinion. We’re conducting a poll on the Forum to find out what locals think.

Can you help trace Mr Glassup’s St Mary’s school class of 1962?

Hot topics on the WHL Forum (now up to 176 members):

Culture Hub picks this week include a play at the Tricycle (WIN tickets here), a film screening with Emma Thompson Q&A, a top-notch stand-up and not a single shade of grey.

Property News looked at how West Hampstead renters expect a lot for their money these days.

PC Robert Brown, the country’s longest serving police officer, retired this week but he began his 47 year career in West Hampstead.

Election news:

  • Tulip is still odds-on at 1/3 with Ladbrokes, which has the lowest odds for the Conservatives of any of the main bookmakers. It explained why.
  • The Crediton Hill Residents Association held a hustings with four of the five main parties present (UKIP was absent). All four performed reasonably well, with the mansion tax being the main area of difference.
  • Hustings are coming up thick and fast:
    March 11th, Federation of Small Businesses + Ham & High hustings at LDBS SCITT in Kilburn
    March 31st, West Hampstead Life + Sherriff Centre hustings at the Sherriff Centre in West Hampstead
    April 15th, Friends of West Hampstead Library + WHAT, Synagogue Hall, Dennington Pk Road
  • The three main candidates appeared on last week’s Sunday Politics show (ff to 43’33”)

The farmers’ market is seeking planning permission for its large banner. Footfall is down by a third since 2012 and it believes the extra signage is essential. .

The eyesore corner of Finchley Road and West End Lane may finally be developed as flats over a restaurant.

Whampdinner at Mamako was a big hit – one of our buzziest yet… and there’ll be a video of it very soon!

Minkies coffee shop at Kilburn Station has been “opening soon” for longer than most of us have been alive, but the moment of truth looks like it’s upon us.

Tweet of the Week

Help trace Mr Glassup’s class of 1962

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A few weeks ago the BBC ran a story about that first democratic camera, the Brownie. The article triggered some readers to send in their own Brownie photos and these included a couple of photos taken by Merryl See Tai in West Hampstead. Merryl’s on a quest to try and identify the people in one of the photos – the 1961/62 class at St Mary’s school on West End Lane taught by the astonishingly well loved Mr Glassup.

Merryl See Tai now lives in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, but at the start of the 1960s, Merryl and his family were in West Hampstead

Our family (parents, older brother and sister) left Trinidad and Tobago in 1959 and travelled to England by boat. I was eight years old at the time and entered primary school. My brother joined the RAF and my sister entered secondary school. The Brownie 127 Model 2, was a gift from my father shortly after we had arrived. I remember keeping it spotlessly clean, practising, without film, to hold it firmly and steadily and to gently squeeze the shutter button rather than pressing it. My mother and I returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1962.

Merryl See Tai in West Hampstead 1960/61

“I was 10 years old in this picture taken by my sister in 1960/61 in our back garden at 43 West End Lane, West Hampstead, London.”
Merryl See Tai

In 1962, aged 11, Merryl was a pupil at St Mary’s Church of England school. Today, the school is on the corner of Quex Road and West End Lane, but back then it was much further down West End Lane, almost as far as Kilburn High Road, where Teddy’s Nursery is now. The photo below was taken in mid-1962, just before Merryl and his mother returned to Trinidad & Tobago. Merryl is keen to trace as many people as possible in it. He has never seen any of them since.

“I’ve tried off and on over the years to search on the internet for some of the names that I remembered but without success. I did come across some references to Simon but thought that the USA was the wrong place. I would love to get in contact with some of the old classmates to see how they are doing now. The BBC articles have triggered some serious nostalgia.”

St Mary's School Kilburn 1962_labelled_700

Mr Glassup’s class of 1961/62 at St Mary’s Kilburn. Click to enlarge.

As you can see, Merryl has been able to put some names to faces and furnished a little more detail that might jog someone’s memory.

“Simon De Groot lived in the council flats at the corner of West End Lane and Kilburn Place. His friend Lawrence Harris lived in a flat there also. Peter Carter’s father had a greengrocer shop nearby on Belsize Road. Michael Schaeffer’s father was an American pastor and they lived close to the Abbey Road Studios. There was another Michael and his brother Gerald, I think? There were two girls named Louise and another girl whose surname was Turner. There was also Barry Carter and his sister June, and Andy Patel had a taller brother called David.”

The BBC article actually reached Simon de Groot, as well as Sarah “Betsy” McClain, who was two years ahead of Merryl at St Mary’s, and her brother Andrew who was a year younger than Sarah. Sarah recalled the class teacher Mr Glassup very fondly.

“It is very nice for me to share knowing Mr. Glassup with somebody. I wrote to him until he died in about 1980 or 1981. He used to talk in class about his experiences as a prisoner of war. I remember so much. I know that on the last day of school I was devastated that it was over.”

Mr Glassup, class teacher at St Mary's Kilburn in 1962

Mr Glassup, class teacher at St Mary’s Kilburn in 1962

Simon de Groot also extols the virtues of Mr Glassup.

“I look back on Mr. Glassup as the best teacher I ever had. He and his colleagues not only did a terrific job of giving us the basics of the “3 Rs” but they, especially Jim Glassup, somehow made school challenging and fun at the same time. Truly unsung heroes in a lot of ways.”

Can you help? Were you at St Mary’s School in the early 1960s? Do you know any of these people, or are you any of these people? Do please leave a comment below, or alternatively drop us an e-mail and we can pass your details on to Merryl, now 64, pictured below with his wife Margaret.

Merryl See Tai 2015

Property News: West Hampstead tenants’ extra expectations

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I’m worried that I’ve started to sound like a broken record. Every two months I write about the rental market for West Hampstead Life, and every two months I say the same thing: demand for rental property in West Hampstead is sky high.

I promise you that this isn’t laziness on my part. Demand for rental properties in West Hampstead continues to grow, especially for one and two bed flats. These flats are regularly on the market for just a matter of days before contracts are signed and a move-in date is set.

Although demand has been continuously high for many years, not everything remains the same though. One thing we have noticed over the past year is that our applicants now have an excellent knowledge of the local rental market. They do their research, they understand how the market operates and aspirational levels are rising too. They’re familiar with the property specifications found in new build developments and they expect this standard of presentation from all rental properties. We regularly feed this information back to our landlords and encourage them to treat their rental property as a business, by injecting regular investment into the property by way of new carpet or a new kitchen if needed.

Demand might be strong but applicants won’t accept a property if it doesn’t match their expectations. In order to let property as quickly as possible so we can avoid void periods, we advise landlords to present the flat to the best of their ability. Presentation is key when attracting tenants, and that includes communal areas as well as the property itself. The entrance of a residential building is equally important, and landlords who own flats in a period conversion should consider joining forces with other owners to smarten up communal areas if necessary.

Feedback from tenants in 2015 highlights that proximity to an underground station is high on most of their wish lists. Properties further than 10 minutes from the tube are slower to let and applicants would rather compromise on square footage if the location is good. It’s always been about an applicant’s lifestyle choices, and proximity to excellent transport links is more important than ever.

As I mentioned earlier, applicants have a better knowledge of the local property market than ever. The internet is key for sharing information and it’s great to see more and more people aware of what is happening in the local market. Perhaps because of this applicants are very sensitive to price, and they are prepared to negotiate to reach an agreement that is acceptable to them. Landlords who are also prepared to negotiate a bit will find their property lets more quickly.

In order to provide the very best service to applicants, tenants and landlords we’ve needed to expand our business. I’m thrilled to welcome two new Lettings Negotiators to the Paramount team, and I look forward to sharing their experience of working in West Hampstead with you over the coming months.

Spencer Lawrence
Lettings Director
Paramount Properties
150 West End Lane
West Hampstead
020 7644 2314

request a lettings valuation

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What have I missed since February 2nd?

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Camden came out fighting over the Liddell Road controversy, with a letter in the CNJ, a newsletter, and a lengthy blogpost by finance chief Theo Blackwell.

There was a major police incident on Mill Lane on Tuesday evening although quite what triggered it remains unclear.

We woke up to snow on Tuesday. Even if you didn’t draw back your curtains, Twitter and Instagram were there to save you getting out of bed!

lots of snow on Gondar gardens this morning via James Hodder

lots of snow on Gondar gardens this morning via James Hodder

This month’s Property of the Month is a 3-bed flat on West End Lane.

The first whampsocial of the year was a big hit with a great turnout. The next one is February 26th.

What’s hot on the Forum
More than 1,400 people have viewed the most popular discussion thread on the Forum and there are 35 threads going. Start your own or join in. The top topics this week were:

UCL academics came to St Augustine’s School in Kilburn to find out how students there would choose to represent their sense of the neighbourhood.

In restaurant news… The Petite Corée, which continues to get great feedback, is offering 30% off all month, while One Sixty is now on Deliveroo so you can eat smoked ribs in the comfort of your own home!

One of the world’s greatest magicians once lived on Belsize Road. We delved into the world of David Devant.

Nina Conti tops our Culture Hub recommendations for the week. See what else made the grade.

The nascent Kilburn Neighbourhood Development Forum has changed its proposed boundaries. It now excludes South Kilburn, but still remains an ambitiously large area spread across two boroughs.

If you thought naming the new South Kilburn apartments Kilburn Wells was some marketing hype, this 1806 map will make you think again.

Moody Blues’ frontman Justin Hayward recalled his first experience at the Decca recording studios in West Hampstead (now the ENO building).

Meanwhile, Neil Arthur revealed how West Hampstead provided a trigger of inspiration for his band Blancmange’s latest album.

Time Out published a list of London’s mythical street names, yet inexplicably missed out all of the Greek Streets in West Hampstead!

Tweet of the Week

Conjuring up the past of Belsize Road’s David Devant

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David Devant, one of the world’s greatest illusionists, lived at 2 Belsize Road from 1899 to 1911 although his blue plaque is at Number 1 Ornan Mansions on the corner of Haverstock Hill (now called Ornan Court).

David Devant pulling a rabbit from the hat

David Devant pulling a rabbit from the hat

He was born as David Edmonstone Wighton on 22 February 1868, at 4 Boston Terrace, opposite the Boston Arms pub in Junction Road, Holloway, the eldest of James Wighton’s seven children. James, a Scottish artist, painted for the Illustrated London News and other magazines, using the family as models, but he wasn’t well paid and the family struggled. They moved several times around north London. As a boy, David was entranced watching magicians perform and he decided this was what he wanted to do. But before he could realise his ambition, he had to earn a living.

After school David began work as a pageboy for a middle class family in Bartholomew Road, Kentish Town. Aged twelve, he polished shoes and cleaned the house. His next job was selling fruit and chocolate in Euston Station, but he was sacked when he was discovered practising conjuring tricks instead of working. Then he worked as telephone operator in the City and a gas lighting salesman.

All the time he practiced conjuring, spending any spare money on magic books and tricks. When he visited an art gallery and saw a French biblical painting called ‘David devant Goliath’ he thought this would be a good stage name, not realising that ‘devant’ meant ‘in front of’.

In 1883 David was very impressed when he saw the Maskelyne and Cooke’s magic shows at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly. He did not know that ten years later he would top the bill there.

He began giving shows at parties and his first public performance was at a bazaar held in a schoolroom in Kentish Town Road. Several professional magicians were in the audience and they were impressed by the young David Devant. Encouraged, he advertised his magic shows and hired a local hall.

One of his best tricks was the Vanishing Lady. He asked two women in the street if they would help him. Surprisingly, they agreed and became his assistants. The trick worked very well: one woman partnered Devant while the other concealed herself in the gallery. When Devant pulled a cloth off the women seated on the stage, she disappeared, only to miraculously ‘re-appear’ in the gallery. But one night it all went badly wrong. When he pulled the cloth away his assistant on stage refused to disappear, but the second woman did her part and appeared in the gallery! Quickly the curtain was brought down. Devant later discovered the two women had fallen out over a box of chocolates sent by an admirer!

David made his music hall debut at the Albert Palace near Battersea Park in 1886. His act went down well with audiences and he began to perform around the country. In his autobiography My Magic Life, he says that in about 1888, in Margate, he met Annie Marion Gosling who used the stage name Marion Melville, and they were married three weeks later. But it seems they just lived together as there’s no record of their marriage until 1904 when their daughter Vida was born. Marion worked as Devant’s assistant.

David Devant's Sylph trick

David Devant’s Sylph trick

In 1891, Devant made his first appearance at the London Palladium and the Oxford Theatre. But he was sacked from the Oxford when he dropped a rabbit during his act. The manager used the mistake as an excuse to get rid of Devant, as he had booked another conjuror. Devant lost six months of work.

In 1893 John Maskelyne asked Devant to appear at the Eygptian Hall. This was his big break and the men later became partners as Masklelyne and Devant. Devant took over the running of the hall and organised tours around the country. He was fascinated by cinematography and bought a projection machine from R.W. Paul, becoming the first independent operator in Britain with shows at the Egyptian Hall and three touring companies. In 1904 the hall closed and they moved to St George’s Hall, Oxford Circus.

Devant devised many original illusions. One of his favourite tricks was the Magic Kettle, which produced any drink the audience chose. In The Artists Dream (1893), a portrait of a young woman comes to life. The woman was his wife Marion Melville. The Sylph has a person floating in mid-air while Devant passes a hoop all the way round to show they’re not being held up by wires. In the Mascot Moth (1905), a woman dressed as a moth appears to dissolve and then disappear as he comes near her with a lighted candle.

Devant became the first President of the Magic Circle when it was formed in 1905. By 1912 he was a world famous illusionist and was chosen to represent magicians at the first Royal Command Performance before King George V in the Palace Theatre. He appeared with his young daughter Vida and Maskelyne’s grandson, Jasper. Devant borrowed a bowler hat from a member of the audience and began producing eggs from it. The eggs were passed to Vida and then to Jasper, but as Devant produced them faster and faster, Jasper started dropped them on the stage, proving they were real. The floor around him quickly became covered in broken eggs and the show was held up as the stage hands cleaned up the mess.

David Devant in 1913 with his daughter Vida and Jasper Maskelyne (from My Magic Life)

David Devant in 1913 with his daughter Vida and Jasper Maskelyne (from My Magic Life)

When he appeared in Manchester in 1919, Devant asked a boy from the audience to come on stage and copy everything that he did. He was puzzled when the boy started shaking a handkerchief he’d been given, until he looked down at his own hand and saw it was shaking. This was the first stage of a nervous palsy which got progressively worse and forced Devant to retire in 1920. He continued to write articles and magic books until 1937, when he was admitted to the Royal Hospital for Incurables in Putney. He was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and died in October 1941 aged 73. The Times obituary says he was the foremost magician of his time.

In Devant’s time, Belsize Road joined Finchley Road and Swiss Cottage Station was on the corner. Number 2 Belsize Road was a large house behind the station. It was destroyed by a German bomb on 12 November 1940, that killed one of the occupants. Other properties were also damaged. The area was rebuilt in 1956 as the Harben Estate and Belsize Road was slightly re-routed.

What have I missed since January 26th?

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The Alliance’s appeal to raise money to send the body of staffmember Natalia Czekaj back to her mother in Poland exceeded its target, allowing the pub to also pay for the funeral. Thank you to everyone who donated.

Flooding at Farringdon at the start of the week and planned engineering this weekend has meant chaos for Thameslink passengers, crowded tube platforms for everyone, and no farmers’ market. Predictably, there’s a petition about Govia’s performance.

Of the responses received so far, locals are overwhelmingly objecting to the council’s Liddell Road planning applications. Meanwhile, confusion reigns over the admissions point for the expanded Kingsgate/Liddell Road school with “any other options” being considered by the council some two years after first proposing the original idea.

A train of Ford vehicles rolling through West Hampstead Overground station via Mark Amies

A train of Ford vehicles rolling through West Hampstead Overground station via Mark Amies

The West Hampstead Life Forum launched – sign-ups have been very healthy all week and there’s been plenty of discussion. We now have more than 75 members, so why not join in. Thanks to Paramount for sponsoring it.
Hot topics this week:

Recent OBE Liz Bingham describes West Hampstead as Hampstead’s “funky relation“.

Whampsocial is back for 2015 – the first one is this Thursday (yes, Thursday not Wednesday) from 7.30pm at Frida’s bar at Mamacita. Here’s what some people said about it last year. Whether you’re a noob or a regular, come along and make some local friends.

Saturday was the 100th anniversary of the opening of Kilburn Park tube station.

Tom made a New Year’s Resolution – could he keep it throughout January?

The tallest West Hampstead Square block will reach its maximum height around the end of the month, the back two blocks are already at full height and the first crane will leave the site in 8-9 weeks.

Culture Hub: Hello/Goodbye at Hampstead Theatre is our top tip this week. Check out all the cultural highlights in and around West Hampstead this week.

This month’s NW6 Film Club screening is Selma, the Martin Luther King biopic, at the Tricycle on February 8th. Come and join us.

An appeal court reduced Geoffry Lederman’s sentence for the death of Desreen Brooks in 2012 from 18 months to 12. His lifetime driving ban stands.

West End Lane newcomer restaurant The Petite Corée and Kilburn’s newest Thai restaurant, Jasmine Thai (formerly Fin City) have both had plaudits heaped on them this week.

There’s now a wine called NW6. It’s made by Boris Johnson’s brother!

Fortune Green has been declared processionary oak moth free! I knew you’d be pleased.

City Swish is offering a 20% discount for West Hampstead Life readers on its at-home massage and beauty treatments.

The plan to trial rescheduled Tesco deliveries on West End Lane has been postponed (again) until February.

Tube station ticket offices start to close this week, however West Hampstead and Finchley Road are both in the last phase of this programme and won’t shut until at least October. Staff will still be present in the ticket hall after the counters are closed.

Police have renewed an appeal to find a missing Kilburn man after two years.

Tweet of the Week

Locals objecting in numbers to Liddell Road plans

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Camden has extended the deadline for comments on its Liddell Road redevelopment planning applications to February 12th. In practice, if you still want to comment, then submissions will be considered right up to the time of the vote, which is likely to be in early March.

Of the non-statutory responses Camden has published so far:

  • Objections: 32 (including two residents associations)
  • Sitting on the fence: 1 local organisation (WHAT)
  • In favour: 1 (a WHAT member)

The nature of the objections vary; many are about the scale of the development, but some are very specifically about the details of the school, including the admissions point problem.

The Neighbourhood Development Forum’s response is not online yet, but West Hampstead Life has a copy. It’s long but the key message is in the final paragraph.

“Overall, it is clear to us that this scheme – as reflected in the two planning applications – is in breach of a number of key policies in the NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework], the London Plan, Camden Council’s LDF [Local Development Framework], and in the Neighbourhood Plan. The two proposals must therefore both be refused as together neither are planning policy compliant. The NDF remains committed to working with Camden Council and local residents to bring forward a scheme that is compliant with adopted and emerging planning policy – and which reflects the wishes of our community.”

If you wish to read the whole submission, it’s embedded below.

The statutory responses from Thames Water and London Underground give the developers (that’s the council remember), no cause for concern. The response from TfL concludes, however, by saying:

“There are some question marks about how the mixed uses’ ‘shared’ needs will work in practice in a way that does not create extra activity at the kerbside especially in view of the increase in vulnerable road users associated with the Primary School and nursery.”

It also states,

“Unfortunately the applicant has not responded to pre-application advice that its blue-badge [disabled parking] space allocation is wholly inadequate and does not meet London Plan Standards (aminimum of one space per ten residential units).”

Read the full TfL response.

Whether the councillors on Camden’s planning committee, who include West Hampstead councillor Phil Rosenberg and Fortune Green councillor Richard Olszewski, will be swayed by the antipathy to the details of this proposal remains to be seen.

The one thing they should not be swayed by is the argument that the development of 156 West End Lane will deliver substantial affordable housing and that this mitigates the dire lack of it at Liddell Road. Whether this turns out to be the case or not, no scheme has yet been brought forward for 156, and thus a decision on one proposal cannot be made on the basis of a hopeful promise.

If you feel strongly about any aspect of the development – whether it’s for or against – do submit your comments to Camden and/or contact one of the West Hampstead or Fortune Green councillors: James Yarde, Phil Rosenberg, Angela Pober, Lorna Russell, Richard Olszewski and Flick Rea [firstname.lastname @ camden.gov.uk].

NDF Response to Liddell Road Consultation by WHampstead

Confusion over Liddell Road school admissions point

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The school due to open at Liddell Road in 2016 (assuming Camden councillors vote in favour of the council-led scheme), is an extension of Kingsgate School rather than a separate school. We’ve discussed the reasons for this before. But what does this mean for the admissions point of the new split-site school?

Over the past two years, council officers have consistently indicated, according to NDF Chair James Earl, that they would like an admissions point equidistant from the two school sites. Indeed, this is what the consultation document stated in 2013.

Kingsgate school admissions policy

Logical? Yes.

Possible? Possibly not.

The fact that this problem has come to light so late in the day is yet another cause for concern in a proposal that continues to vex many locals on the grounds of building height, lack of affordable housing, and intransparent costings.

Admissions points matter because it is from these that the calculations are made regarding applications for the school. There are no catchment areas as such but admissions are based, after criteria such as a sibling already at the school, on distance from the child’s home to the admissions point measured in a straight line.

Right now, the admissions point for Kingsgate School is Kingsgate School. So far so normal. But with the extension being so far away – the best part of a mile as the child walks if not as the crow files – is that still the right place for it?

LiddellRoadwalk

An alternative would be to move the admissions point to Liddell Road. This might seem just as strange as keeping it at Kingsgate. Splitting the admissions point by age is believed to be unworkable. The most obvious options would either be to have two admissions points – one at each school – or one point inbetween the two sites. Yet according to the council, both these options could be subject to legal challenge. It seems strange that this fundamental problem is coming to light now rather than when the consultation for the school was launched more than a year ago.

Where does this leave parents wondering whether they will or won’t have a good chance of geting their child into Kingsgate School? As part of a wider consultation on school admissions (that unfortunately seems to have dropped off Camden’s revamped website), the council is asking people for their views on three options:

a) Keep the admissions point at Kingsgate
b) Move the admissions point to Liddell Road
c) Any other options that local people would like to propose

The inclusion of c) suggests that the whole proposal has been ill thought through.

A split-site school in Greenwich operates with two admissions points, with the point nearest to the child’s home used as the determining distance-based factor. However unlike the Liddell Road scheme, both Greenwich sites operate as full primary schools rather than having younger children on one site and older children on the other. Again, given the admissions problem, perhaps this setup should have been given more consideration by Camden?

Locals dig deep to push Alliance fundraiser over target

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The organisers of the campaign to raise funds to send the body of Natalia Czekaj back to her mother in Poland would like to express their gratitude to locals for giving generously to the cause. In total, they raised £8,400, which means that they can also help Natalia’s mother cover the funeral costs as well.

Dear Friends of The Alliance, Mill Lane, West Hampstead,

The sudden and tragic loss of Natalia has revealed that we are blessed with a local community full of kindness and generosity. The fund, originally set up to repatriate Natalia’s body to her mother in Poland, has been swollen by your goodwill to such an extent that we can hopefully now cover the funeral expenses as well.

Of course, we cannot ease the emotional suffering that sudden bereavement brings, but we have shown a devastated family that we care about their loss, and that Natalia was a loved and appreciated member of our community.

The funeral has been arranged for Saturday 31st January so it is our intention to close the fund on Friday 30th January.

Please accept our sincere thanks for your generosity and kindness; on behalf of Natalia’s family and the staff of The Alliance.

Natalia

What have I missed since January 19th

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Thameslink services will not run between St Pancras and Farringdon Monday due to the flooding. Here’s a train going through the standing water.

Camden released its viability report on the controversial Liddell Road development. The NDF chairman called it “an insult to the local community“. There’s yet another (though probably final) chance to discuss the Liddell Road scheme with Camden officers 11am-1.30pm at Sidings Community Centre on Tuesday 27th.

A rather macabre incident on Hemstal Road involved criminal damge to a car involving a pig’s trotter and some hearts. The police are appealing for witnesses but do not suspect a religious motivation at the moment.

Frozen Angel at Hampstead Cemetery this morning via Natasha Back

Frozen Angel at Hampstead Cemetery this morning via Natasha Back

The Alliance is raising money to repatriate the body of staffmember Natalia Czekaj to Poland after she was found dead earlier this month at her home.

The West Hampstead Life Forum launched. Sign up, join in the conversation and start your own discussions. If you’re not sure how to start, here’s a how-to guide to get you going.

All five main parties have now announced their election candidates; we take a look at the candidates and the latest thinking on the outcome. Put March 31st in your diaries for the West Hampstead Life hustings in association with the Sherriff Centre.

The Benham & Reeves property of the month is a 1-bed in West Hampstead Square that’s come back on the market.

There will be no farmers’ market this coming Saturday Jan 31st due to major engineering works that mean southbound Thameslink trains will be terminating at West Hampstead.

Police are searching for a man in connection with West Hampstead burglaries

The Culture Hub pick of the week is Aisling Bea’s stand-up at the Good Ship this Monday. See our other top culture choices this week.

We reviewed Sonia Jalaly’s one-woman show at the Tricycle Theatre.

Clothing shop Social is up for sale, with a sign outside the shop saying it’s moving to a new location (though not where that location is!).

Geoffery Lederman, the driver convicted of causing the death of Desreen Brooks, is appealing his sentence (18 months custodial and lifetime driving ban).

Tweet of the Week

Blackout: Council redacts Liddell Road viability report

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Camden council claims that it cannot reveal the costings and valuations behind its proposal for Liddell Road “in accordance with the legal advice we have received.”

This led to a farcical response to a Freedom of Information request made by former Conservative council candidate Andrew Parkinson. Andrew had asked to see the Liddell Road viability report, which many locals are keen to look at in order to understand how the council has come up with a scheme that involves an 11-storey tower block, a mere 4% affordable housing and a sizeable surplus.

Copyright issues on FOI responses are a bit confusing, so to be on the safe side, I’ve only published the appendices of the report. Appendix A is the Financial Appraisal and Appendix B is the Cost Plan.

Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_20 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_21 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_22 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_23 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_24 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_25 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_26 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_27 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_28 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_29 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_30 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_31 Liddell Road - Financial Viability Report - Redacted COPY-2_Page_32

All the numbers in the report – both in the body and the appendices have been redacted.

Andrew Parkinson said, “I personally don’t think its acceptable for the Council to entirely redact the figures in the report.”

James Earl, chairman of the Neighbourhood Development Forum, said:

“We welcome the publication of the Viability Report, which we believe should have been published with all the other documents relating to the planning application. However, the decision to redact every figure in the report is ridiculous and is an insult to the local community. This is not a private development – it is a scheme proposed by Camden Council which involves public land and public money. Local residents have a right to know about the financial position on which the proposed development is based.”

From the outset, Camden has been reluctant to show its workings. Promises to publish its survey on Liddell Road employment numbers evaporated over time, despite the council’s figures differing substantially from those cited by the businesses on the estate who were being forced to relocate.

Stephen Nathan, QC, chairman of local residents’ association WHGARA, said of the redacted report “This is absurd. Camden keep on forgetting that they are acting as a statutory planning authority.”

This latest move will do little to persuade sceptical locals that West Hampstead is getting the best deal here. A recent survey by the Neighbourhood Development Forum revealed that the broad concept for the land is popular, but the details – specifically the tall tower block and the lack of affordable housing – are far more contentious.

Election 2015: Hampstead & Kilburn candidates line up

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The five big parties have now all announced their candidates for the Hampstead & Kilburn constituency in May’s general election. We take a look at the runners, the latest thinking on the outcome, and the critical role West Hampstead will play in the final vote count. Put March 31st in your diaries for the West Hampstead Life hustings at The Sherriff Centre.

The candidates

Tulip Siddiq Hampstead KilburnFor Labour, which holds a 42 vote majority, Tulip Siddiq will be aiming to replace the retiring (though never shy) Glenda Jackson. Jackson has held the seat since 1992 though her margin of victory in 2010 was a nailbiting 42 votes. Tulip, who, unlike Glenda, lives in the constituency, was a Camden councillor for Regents Park ward until she stepped down in 2014.

Simon Marcus Hampstead KilburnSimon Marcus is the Conservative candidate. He was selected in an unusual open primary way back in January 2013. He is a councillor for Hampstead Town ward and may be unique among modern day politicians for appearing to concede that this might not be his year as far back as January last year.

Maajid Nawaz Hampstead KilburnMaajid Nawaz will stand for the Liberal Democrats. He was the replacement after their original choice jumped ship for another job back in early 2013. Maajid has a relatively high profile and regularly appears on TV and radio talking about Islamic radicalism. He is a former Islamic extremist who now runs Quilliam, “the world’s first counter-extremism think tank”.

Rebecca Johnson Hampstead KilburnThe Greens are putting forward Rebecca Johnson. Rebecca is a well-known figure in the campaign for nuclear disarmament, and is a relative heavyweight. This is a high-profile area where Green Jenny Jones polled well in the mayoral election, so it’s understandable the party would want a credible candidate.

Magnus Nielsen Hampstead KilburnFinally, UKIP has turned once again to Magnus Nielsen. Magnus is the only candidate from 2010 contesting the seat again. He made the headlines most recently at the West Hampstead Life local election hustings where he suggested that perhaps universal suffrage hadn’t been such a great idea.

Who’s going to win?

Lets turn to the bookmakers first. Ladbrokes has Labour as comfortable odds-on favourites to hold the seat. Currently at 1/4 (slightly tighter than the 1/5 they were at last week). The Conservatives are second favourites at 5/1 (slightly out from 9/2), with the Lib Dems third at 10/1. The Greens are at 33/1, and Magnus isn’t given much of a chance as the 100/1 outsider.

Ladbrokes odds January 24th

Ladbrokes odds January 24th

Lord Ashcroft’s well-regarded polls also give Labour a comfortable lead, although the last poll was conducted back in August before the mansion tax issue came to a head. That put Labour ahead on 47% (+14 points from the 2010 result), Conservatives down 3 points at 30%, Lib Dems at 13% down from 31% in 2010, Greens at 6% and UKIP at 2%.

Lord Ashcroft poll August 2014

Lord Ashcroft poll August 2014

Conservative blogger Iain Dale raised a few eyebrows earlier this month when he called Hampstead & Kilburn as a seat that would change hands at the next election and be a Conservative gain. What leads Dale to the contrarian position? “A lot of new info”, though he doesn’t care to share what that might be.

What is the likely outcome? Few would predict a repeat of 2010, when the seat was the closest three-way seat in the country with just 841 votes separating Labour from the Lib Dems in third . The polls suggest that the Lib Dem vote will crumble (though not as much as it will nationally) and that more of those voters will go red than blue, bolstering Labour’s majority considerably.

The Conservatives are making much of the mansion tax issue – that is Labour’s proposal to raise an additional levy on homes worth more than £2 million. According to estate agent Knight Frank, this consitutency has 4,783 properties that fall into that category at the moment; though not everyone who lives in one is necessarily cash rich. The question is surely whether there are more traditional Labour voters who would defect over the issue than there are disillusioned Lib Dem voters who’ll go back to Labour. If the predictions for the collapse of the Lib Dem vote is accurate, then the answer is clearly no.

In Maajid Nawaz, the Lib Dems might have a candidate who will outperform the polls. Despite being hit hard in the local elections by Labour, the local Lib Dems’ came out ahead of the party nationally beating the Conservatives into third in West Hampstead, Fortune Green and Kilburn (though coming fourth behind the Greens in Conservative-held Swiss Cottage). This die-hard Lib Dem vote in at least part of Hampstead & Kilburn should ensure their third place; and Maajid’s unusual background might bring in some votes from those disillusioned with “normal” politicians. Nevertheless, it’s hard to see him springing the big surprise.

What of the other two? UKIP is not expected to do well here; it struggles in urban areas. The Greens might have wondered whether they had a shot at third, but Maajid is probably too strong a candidate for that. So they are likely to finish fourth, with UKIP in fifth.

The most marginal wards in the most marginal seat

Whichever way the seat goes this year, the result is unlikely to be as tight as that in 2010 although it is a relatively evenly split constituency: Hampstead, Belsize, Frognal and Swiss Cottage are reasonably secure Tory areas, Kilburn and the Brent side of the constituency are pretty dominantly Labour, which leaves West Hampstead and Fortune Green as the swing wards in a marginal seat. Voters might have evicted all but one of the Lib Dem councillors last year, and delivered a thumping Labour win, but with a higher turnout and the growing affluence of the area, it very much feels that the streets around West End Lane are where the battle for Hampstead & Kilburn could be won or lost.

Alliance fundraising appeal to help Natalia Czekaj’s mother

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On January 6th, Natalia Czekaj was found dead at her home in Harrow. Natalia worked behind the bar at The Alliance pub on Mill Lane where she was much loved. A 34-year-old man has been charged with her murder.

Natalia

Locals are raising funds to help Natalia’s mother repatriate her daughter’s body to Poland, which she otherwise cannot afford. In a tragic coincidence, Natalia’s father, who was a policeman, was apparently also killed when she was young.

Michael Keating, landlord at The Alliance, is collecting money behind the bar, but a bank account has also been set up so people can contribute directly:
Account name: Natalia Fund
Account no. 63772314
Sort code: 20-74-63

Donations can be made online, or in person at any Barclays Bank. Barclays will transfer the money to Poland free of charge, and any other admin costs will be covered by the campaign’s organisers.

West Hampstead Life understands that some £600 has been raised already, but the target is £3,000.

One of the campaign’s organisers said “Let’s show Natalia’s family that we, as a community, sympathise with their tragic loss and stand beside them in their time of need. She was brave enough to try to make a life in our city and we should be generous enough to send her home with dignity.”

It would take only small contributions from all our readers to reach this target, and I can’t begin to imagine the emotions Natalia’s mother is feeling right now having lost her daughter in such a manner, and being unable to bring her home.

If you feel able to help, please do make a donation.

What have I missed since January 12th

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What appears to have been an electrical fault caused the O2 centre to be evacuated early Sunday evening and it will reopen Monday. Cinema-goers, shoppers and gym members were all turfed out in the cold.

The Neighbourhood Forum passed its exam and got a £6,000 lottery grant. The referendum is likely to be in the summer. Monday night’s NDF meeting to discuss the Overground plans and the latest on Liddell Road was a bit fractious with TfL taking some stick for a poor consultation on the former, and frustration and anger over the Liddell Road school admissions point.

A barmaid who worked at The Alliance was found dead at her home in Edgware earlier in the month. A man has been charged with her murder.

Frosty leaves by Dilys Hoffman

Frosty leaves by Dilys Hoffman

We reviewed the Tricycle’s latest play, A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts; and you can WIN tickets to Thursday’s performance.

A revamp of our Culture Hub means we select the picks of the week for you across the arts. This week’s top tip is Le Passé, screening by the Belsize Park Film Society. See what else has made the list this week.

T.S. Eliot lived for a couple of years in Compayne Gardnes, during the time that Prufrock was published. Here’s a short film about Eliot’s West Hampstead stay.

In 1945, loitering in West Hampstead was a serious offence.

In the mid 19th century, there was a laundry school opposite where the Thameslink station is today. It struggled financially and soon folded.

Election news
Tory blogger Iain Dale surprised many by including Hampstead & Kilburn in his list of 100 seats that would change hands at the election. Ladbrokes currently have Labour at 2/9 and the Conservatives at 5/1 (lengthening slightly from 9/2 a week or so ago). Dale claimed to have “a lot of new info” on the seat, but declined to say what it was.

William Hague joined Conservative candidate Simon Marcus at JW3. Neither man looked especially excited despite the best efforts of JW3 boss Raymond Simonson.

Tweet of the Week

Review: A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts at The Tricycle

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Eight actors hang out on stage, warming up in their gym gear, chatting to the audience a little, as if waiting for a rehearsal to begin. The show has quietly started as we walk in, but gets going when one of the performers’ names is picked out of a hat by a member of the audience and they become the focus of the action. What follows is a series of vignettes; snapshots of a life lived so far, tales of love and loss, interspersed with lots of physical challenges and silliness.

Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts Tricycle

 

Our protagonist for the evening is Stevie (Steven Webb), who brings the audience into the action enough to make you feel involved, but not so much that you’re terrified you’ll be picked on for a bit of participation! His energetic, physical commitment to the performance is staggering and I found myself trying to catch my breath, after watching him writhe around the stage with gusto for an hour and a bit.

The cast are clearly having fun, and you can’t help warming to them and their antics, about which I will say as little as possible. For all its big energy, there are also several smaller, beautifully observed moments, which add depth and poignancy and raise the show to another level. Though admittedly there is something profoundly enjoyable about watching two people wrestle in a bid to remove each other’s shoes.

Inevitably, with an ensemble piece like this, you don’t get to see as much of some of the performers as you do others, and my guess is this varies depending on who is pulled out of the hat each night. It seemed a shame that not everyone was equally involved and I would have liked to see a few more scenes with the whole cast taking part. One stand out performance was that of Hammad Animashaun, whose deadpan comic delivery was perfectly judged.

For the most part the bare-chested honesty of the piece works but it’s not without its flaws. A couple of times the action feels self-consciously ‘edgy’ and wanders into cliché territory. One scene using very well known Shakespearian dialogue is, in my opinion, a misstep, and breaks the pacy, frenetic feel of the show.

With its stripped back set and simplistic lighting, the show often feels like a well polished student production, which some might see as a negative, but actually it’s the raw youthful energy of the performers, with their well-developed improvisational skills, that keeps the show fresh and engaging. It’s the sort of show that could work in all sorts of spaces, and at times I wanted them to burst forth from the proscenium arch and take over the whole auditorium. I felt they wanted that, too.

This young theatre company is definitely one to watch. This is exactly the sort of show that is perfect for the Edinburgh Fringe, where it ran to critical acclaim. I hope it can find the right audience in NW6, one that will embrace the non-narrative structure, admire the honesty and openness of the performances, go along for the energetic ride and be ready to laugh. A lot.

Win a pair of tickets to the show!

T.S.Eliot’s “gloomy” West Hampstead home

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T.S. Eliot – arguably the greatest poet of the 20th century – lived for two years in Compayne Gardens.

Local actor and writer Edward Petherbridge has put together a short film, While the Music Lasts, about Eliot’s time in West Hampstead, which is well worth six minutes of your time.

In 1915, Eliot married Vivienne Haigh-Wood in Hampstead Registry office and the couple moved in with Vivienne’s parents in Compayne Gardens. “A house Eliot found rather gloomy, with long dark corridors”.

It was during this time that The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was published, although Eliot had written it a few years earlier and – the video claims – the seeds of The Waste Land were sown during his time in West Hampstead.

Edward Petherbridge’s original article is here.

Only one hurdle left for Neighbourhood Plan

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The West Hampstead and Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Forum has had two good pieces of news in the past week. Yesterday it announced a £6,000 grant from the Lottery, which will help enormously in setting up a sustainable Forum that can last beyond the delivery of the plan. Secondly, and even more importantly, the draft plan was passed by an independent examiner – a critical step in the process.

The Neighbourhood Development Forum has been featured on these pages for so long that some readers must be wondering whether the plan it has been developing is ever going to come into force. However, last week’s decision by John Parmiter, an independent planning examiner, to pass the plan means that it’s now assured of going to a referendum later this year.

The independent examination, to which all Neighbourhood plans must be sumbmitted, tests whether or not the plan [latest version] meets certain basic conditions that are in line with planning law. It is not a test of the plan itself and whether it’s “good” or not; more whether it is viable. The examination of the West Hampstead plan, rather unusually, took the form of a public hearing. These are used only when the examiner feels there are issues that need to be discussed or specific views that need to be heard – generally from people who have submitted comments in the consultation phase.

That meeting took place in December and the findings were published last week. You can read the full report here. The tone of the examiner’s remarks is notably constructive and although there is some criticism of the lack of supporting evidence for some of the plan’s policy recommendations, the report talks positively about the level of community engagement and the attempt to reflect the community’s aspirations.

The examiner has recommended (which is code for “insisted on”) some wording changes, some of which inevitably water down NDP policies that simply won’t work as they stand because they are not in line with national or local planning policy. Both building height and the protection of views are affected by this though the spirit of the NDP’s proposals stands.

For most people, the most signifcant change the examiner made is to strike out completely the policy on basements. The plan said there should be “a presumption against basement development more than one storey deep or outside the footprint of the property (excluding lightwells)”. The examiner found “no, or insufficient, evidence to support the… policy”.

Overall, however, the examiner’s report is good news for the NDP. Once the changes are made and Camden gives final approval, the plan will go to a referendum of people in the area – that’s everyone living in West Hampstead and Fortune Green wards. A simple majority of the people who vote is all that is needed to pass the plan. Although it would seem to make sense to combine the referendum with the general election on May 7th, Camden apparently does not like this idea, so the vote may now be in early July.

West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Plan map

The boundary of the area covered by the plan, which is the same as the two wards of West Hampstead and Fortune Green

 

The struggles of West Hampstead’s 19th Century laundry school

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West End House was built in the mid-17th Century and was originally the home of the Beckford family. It stood approximately where Rowntree Close is today, opposite the Thameslink station, and has an interesting history, including a four year spell as a philanthropic laundry school.

Don’t confuse this West End House with another building of the same name, which was the home of the Miles family near West End Green. To help distinguish between the two, locals sometimes called the Beckford property Old West End House and the Miles’, New West End House.

West End House, 1865 OS map

West End House, 1865 OS map

The Beckford house was much modified by successive owners and stood on a low hill. In 1842, West End House was described as a three-storey building with nine rooms on the top floor and seven on the floor below, with a balcony. There was a drawing room and a study on the ground floor plus kitchen and servants’ hall – and a water closet. The house came with upwards of 20 acres but by the 1850s it was available to rent with just a small amount of land.

Daniel Whittle Harvey
In 1855 the last tenant to rent the mansion as a home moved in. Daniel Whittle Harvey had been a radical MP who founded The Sunday Times, and now held the prestigious post of Commissioner of the City of London Police. But the neighbourhood was changing and he stayed only a couple of years. After Whittle left, the property’s slow decline began and by June 1857 it stood empty.

The setting of West End House was irreparably damaged by railway building. What we now call the London Overground was originally promoted as the Hampstead Junction Railway in 1853. By 1856, the railway company had purchased five acres of land immediately south of West End House. The Act authorising the Midland Railway’s extension to St Pancras was passed in 1863 and its route lay in a cutting immediately opposite the old mansion. Railway building was very disruptive and unlikely to appeal to most tenants.

The philanthropic brewer

Under these circumstances, landlords looked for alternative rentals, maybe a school or similar concern.

Robert Culling Hanbury

Robert Culling Hanbury (1823-1867) was an extremely wealthy partner in the old brewing firm of Truman, Hanbury and Burton. At one time their brewery in Brick Lane was said to be one of the largest in the world. He helped set up the Reformatory & Refuge Union in 1856, and the following year the Union decided to create the Girls’ Laundry & Training Institution for Young Servants. Then as now, many households sent their laundry away to be done. The Institution was the idea of “some ladies who had considerable experience in the work of female reformation”, so this training was aimed at a specific group.

In November 1857, The Times published an appeal for £500, which was needed to set up the laundry “for the employment of females from the London refuges and reformatories, who are of sufficient age to leave these institutions, but require further training or protection from bad parents.”

The Institution was described as an “industrial home” – not a reformatory or a refuge – it would provide the trainees with “protection, employment and prepare them for future service”. Girls from poor and broken homes could look forward to, at best, marriage and children; and at worst, prostitution. The difficulty in “reclaiming” girls who had “left the path of virtue” was mentioned, as was the fact that there were few opportunities for any woman to earn a regular and living wage. If the girls could be trained, in this case for laundry work, they’d have a skill to offer, “as would enable them to undertake engagements either in families or in washing establishments, or as wives. It is proposed that the girls should be properly cared for, and receive necessary teaching of other descriptions”.

Needlework, housework and plain cooking were also on the curriculum. It was hoped the Institution would gain a reputation such that respectable working men would also send their girls for instruction. As was common for the time, religion and strong moral beliefs pervaded the running of the Institution.

There were regulations governing the selection of girls to be admitted. Nothing was free. A girl certainly couldn’t just turn up and ask to be trained. The Ladies Management Committee, which almost certainly included Mrs Hanbury among its members, vetted the entries. Admission was £10 for each girl, payable quarterly in advance, unless there were special circumstances or she had worked in a laundry before. The intention was for the girls to earn enough to cover their day to day expenses and make the business self-supporting. A few critics raised doubts – at least one recent attempt by another philanthropic organisation to train girls for laundry work had failed.

By January 1858, £268 had been raised and the committee searched for premises. This took some time. It decided West End House was the most suitable “on account of its airy situation, (good for laundry and inmates’ health), distance from surrounding buildings and capability of accommodation in the house”.

A lease was signed, but the rent was higher than the committee had intended paying, at £150 a year. Given the known proximity of the Hampstead Junction Railway and the dirt associated with steam engines, the committee’s decision to rent West End House was questionable, especially as more money had to be spent to create the girls’ accommodation. Then there were the further costs associated with providing laundry facilities and equipment, all this before the business could be launched.

Old West End House, Girls Laundry Training School

Old West End House, Girls Laundry Training School

The Training Institution took possession of West End House on 5th July 1858, and began building the wash house. The first three girls were admitted a week later on the 12th. In January 1859, an article in The Philanthropist described progress so far. The number of girls had risen to just seven, as it was decided not to admit more until all modifications had been completed. The plan had always been to open the enterprise with a few girls who already had laundry experience, get a few clients and then take in trainees. As regards their moral welfare, the girls sometimes attended services held at Christ Church in Hampstead; the Reformatory and Refuge Union had given books for a library and the Bible Society had likewise donated a number of bibles. But the article concluded with the ominous statement that “the sum which was generously contributed last year is entirely exhausted”, spent on fitting up the wash house and furnishing the Institution to receive 40 girls. And as yet, no laundry work had been done; for the past six months the girls had been doing needlework “necessary for the house and laundry”.

There were more appeals for pecuniary aid. In April 1859, Hanbury said he believed the enterprise would “realise very favourable results”. That September, when the laundry business had barely got underway, the entire estate, including the house, was put up for sale. But as the Institution’s lease still had an unexpired term of 28 years to run, it continued working while the land around it was slowly developed.

The greatest care had been taken in selecting a matron who would not only instruct the girls in laundry work but also be responsible for their moral training. Accordingly, the Union advertised for “a person of sound religious principles, influence and tact.” Miss Sarah Woodhams was the matron in January 1859 but by 1861, the laundry was being managed by Susan Beech, a 50-year-old widow born in Islington. Her live-in staff comprised two assistants and a porter. Mrs Beech was in charge of 25 girls, far fewer than the 40 originally intended. Of these, 21 were “under training for laundry services”, and the remainder, “under training for domestic services”. Their ages ranged from 14 to 17.

The laundry folds

A track off West End Lane became Iverson Road, and in 1862 three large houses were being built there. In March that year, the laundry was in trouble with the local authorities over a blocked drain, but the committee blamed the builder working on the land opposite, saying he had diverted the drain. In May, a bazaar was held to raise funds for the Institution but by September 1862 West End House stood empty once again. Matron Beech, her staff and the girls had gone. There is no record of the laundry relocating elsewhere, so almost certainly it had closed. Presumably the business had been unprofitable, which meant that unless expenses and salaries were covered by donations, it couldn’t keep going. Inadequate funding appears to have been a problem from the very start.

The Midland Railway Company bought West End House and the three large houses built opposite, and used them as temporary accommodation for its workers, the navvies who built the line to St Pancras. The mansion was demolished around 1873.

Today’s visitor to Iverson Road will find no trace of West End House or the three Victorian villas. It took 25 years for the site of the mansion and the land round it to be built on and the area has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years. Two of the villas were demolished around the turn of the 20th Century; the third was adapted for use as the first Midland Railway station and demolished after the station was relocated on West End Lane.

Back in East London, Robert Hanbury was well known for supporting good causes. He had donated £100 of his own money to help establish the West End Laundry. But his wealth couldn’t protect against personal tragedy. In September 1863, two of Robert’s sons, Francis (11), and Herbert (7) contracted scarlet fever and died while on holiday in Eastbourne. Robert’s wife Caroline died just a week later. Press reports of her death give no cause of her death other than to say that it was not scarlet fever and that it followed what one paper called her “unwearying nursing” of her sons. Robert Hanbury married again and died in 1867, after suffering from rheumatic fever for several weeks.

Truman Hanbury and Buxton Brewery in Brick Lane, 1842

Truman Hanbury and Buxton Brewery in Brick Lane, 1842

What have I missed since January 5th?

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The West Hampstead & Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Plan passed its independent examination and will now go to a referendum. More on this later in the week.

New Year means gym memberships sky rocket, but what’s the right deal for you? We crunched the numbers, weighed up the pros and cons, and cut through the spin to round-up all the local offerings.

The full responses to the West Hampstead NDF Liddell Road survey were released. The bottom line: plenty of support in principle from locals, but the details please very few.

photoweek214

#JeSuisCharlie support of sorts in @WHampstead via Simon Benson

Tweet of the Year was announced… and the winner was Freddie Gavita.

West Hampstead resident Liz Bingham was awarded an OBE for promoting equality in the workplace.

An initial visit to The Petite Corée suggests West Hampstead’s newest restaurant could do well.

To many people’s dismay, it seems that election season is already upon us. In this week’s news, Tulip Siddiq opened her office on the Kilburn High Road with Alan Davies in attendance, Simon Marcus took some stick on Twitter for a mansion tax flyer mocked up to look like an official council letter, and Maajid Nawaz was all over the media talking about Islam.

Thursday was the 70th anniversary of the V2 rocket landing on Iverson Road. Amazingly only three people died, but hundreds were affected by the attack, with many forced out of their homes.

We learned that actress Kristin Scott Thomas used to live above a fish & chip shop on West End Lane.

Gig of the Week is something very different – Vuong10 at JW3 is a contemporary dance piece, but if you don’t think that’s your thing… think again!

Foxcatcher is our Film of the Week, and there was a great turnout for the Film Club screening of Birdman.

For anyone who still doesn’t know.. your Christmas trees need to be recycle. Until the 15th, you can take them to Fortune Green or Kilburn Grange park. The council won’t collect them from the street.

(NB: the website is undergoing a bit of maintenance, apologies for any glitches you see over the next 24 hours or so)

Tweet of the Week

tweetweek216

The 2015 West Hampstead & Kilburn gym guide

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The 2017 version of the West Hampstead gym guide is now available.

New Year, new fitness regime? It may be a cliché, but the statistics bear out that January is the most popular time to join a gym. If you want to make sure you’re not part of the other cliché – giving up in February – then make sure you choose the right gym for your budget, lifestyle and fitness needs. Here’s the third annual West Hampstead Life gym guide to help you.

The biggest change from last year is that Gloves Boxing Club, on Broadhurst Gardens, closed in March. It’s been replaced by HIIT Gym, which took over the premises and opened in October.

Luxury (£££)

Virgin Active, O2 Centre Swiss Cottage

Virgin_ActiveO2

Spacious and well-equipped, with multiple fitness studios and a pool, this is more health club than gym, which is reflected in the membership cost. I can imagine just going for a dip in the pool followed by a spell in the sauna or steam room, and a rest in the café afterwards. Mmm. Not that I’m recommending this as a viable fitness regime, of course.

NB There’s also a Virgin Active in Cricklewood, for those based that side of West Hampstead.

Prices have gone up a little from last year’s rates, and this year there’s no “get the rest of January free” joining offer. Both memberships include access to the gym, classes in the studio, pool and sauna.

  • Full Flexi Monthly (rolling monthly contract): £102/mth + £30 joining fee
  • Minimum 12-month contract membership: £95/mth  + no joining fee

Movers and Shapers, 148 West End Lane, West Hampstead
Positioned as an alternative to a conventional gym, Movers and Shapers offers 30-minute intensive classes in small groups using Power Plate machines, and they have also recently added a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) studio with TRX suspension equipment. Free trials are available if you want to find out more. Read about my experience at Movers and Shapers here.

  • Course of 10 classes: £149 (limited offer; classes valid for 3 months)
  • Course of 20 classes: £259 (limited offer; classes valid for 6 months)
  • Full Monthly membership – £125/mth (access to unlimited classes at any time)
  • Off Peak Monthly membership – £99/mth (access to unlimited classes at off-peak hours: 12pm-5pm Mon-Fri, and all day Sat and Sun)

No joining or admin fees; includes initial and ongoing health consultations.

CrossFit Evolving, 50-52 Kilburn High Road (under HSBC bank)
CrossFit is a fitness philosophy that began in the US and has now spread to hundreds of CrossFit gyms (or “boxes”) across the world. It claims to help you work on all aspects of fitness through tailored workouts using a wide variety of different exercises. It’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for a serious training regimen, this may be the club for you. There are free taster sessions on Wednesday evenings if you want to see what you’re getting yourself into!

  • Full, peak-hours membership: £170/mth
  • Off-peak membership: £140/mth (Off-peak hours: 8am-6pm; after 8pm)
  • Single, off-peak WOD (workout of the day) session: £15

Mid-range (££)

Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage
A Camden-run sports centre with plenty of equipment – I visited on a Saturday afternoon and thought it was busy but didn’t notice queues for any machines. There are lots of classes too, though the popular ones get very booked up. The standard membership covers access to gym, classes and pool. There’s also a climbing wall, sports hall and squash courts, for all of which sessions can be paid for separately. See the full price list of memberships, concessionary rates and pay-as-you-go prices on the Better website.

  • Standard monthly membership, with access to gym, pool and classes: £54/mth (£55/mth from February)
  • Premium monthly membership, as above + access to sauna, steam room, and other gyms and spas in the network: £77.50/mth

There’s also a joining fee of £35, though it was unclear from my phone enquiry whether this could be waived or not: “Yesterday we charged it, today we didn’t”… so it’s probably best to drop in to the centre and negotiate in person.

Bannatyne’s, Marriot Maida Vale, 4 Greville Road (just off Kilburn High Road)
This is quite a good-value choice if you’re after a gym membership that includes extras like a sauna and swimming pool. There’s also a fitness studio, and classes are included in all memberships.

  • 12-month minimum contract – Off-peak (Mon-Fri 6.30am-4pm): £29.99/mth
  • 12-month minimum contract – Peak (valid any time): £39.99/mth
  • Flexible contract (on a rolling monthly basis, with 30 days to cancel) – Off-peak (Mon-Fri 6.30am-4pm): £36.99/mth
  • Flexible contract (on a rolling monthly basis, with 30 days to cancel) – Peak (valid any time): £47.99/mth

On top of this, there’s a £25 one-off joining fee (though apparently they’ll give you a goody bag and possibly some sessions with a personal trainer “to soften the blow”) and if you want to use the gym towels, add £6 to the monthly membership fee.

HIIT Gym, 198a Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead

Post by HIIT GYM.

The recently-opened HIIT Gym is located in Gloves’ old premises, a cool industrial-style building that was originally the ticket office of the Metropolitan Railway. The gym’s instructors lead small classes in HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts, mixing it up with a variety of different techniques and equipment. There’s also the option to monitor your progress with  a heart-rate monitor belt (available from the gym at £50). There are three levels of membership available, all on a rolling monthly basis with no contract. Free one-week trials are available if you want to try before you buy.

  • Primary: £39 for 4 sessions a month 
  • Standard: £49 for 8 sessions a month
  • Champion: £69 for unlimited sessions a month

My Fitness Boutique, West Heath Yard, 174 Mill Lane, West Hampstead
My Fitness Boutique, up by West End Green, offers some 50 classes a week including Zumba, spinning, yoga and circuits. All are pay-as-you-go, so if you like trying out different classes without having to commit to a contract, this is a good choice. Prices haven’t gone up since last year.

Example prices (from website):

  • Introductory 5-class package (intro offer only): £25
  • Single class: £12
  • 30-day pack (unlimited classes): £75
  • 90-day pack: (unlimited classes) £165

Budget (£)

The Gym Group, Unit D2, 41 Fortune Green Road, West Hampstead
No-frills budget gym open 24/7 with card entry. There’s no need to sign up to a minimum contract.

  • £20.99/mth (+ £20 joining fee)

Fit4Less, 34a-36 Kilburn High Road
Another gym with functional workout equipment and none of the luxury extras. As well as free weights and cardio machines, there’s TRX equipment and kettlebells. Personal training is available too.

  • Anytime gym membership: £22.99/mth + £29.99 admin fee
  • Anytime gym membership + locker hire: £32.99/mth + £29.99 admin fee

Outdoor gyms: Kilburn Grange Park, Swiss Cottage, Maygrove Peace Park

SwissCottageOutdoorGym
I must admit I haven’t tried these, but they look like a great idea. According to Camden’s website, they are “suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels”, so give them a go next time you’re out for a run! Best of all, they’re free!

What have I missed since December 22nd?

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Happy New Year!
It’s a bumper fortnight round-up this week

The plan was submitted for the major overhaul of the Overground station, enabling it to cope with the increasing number of passengers passing through.

More than 125 people responded to the NDF’s survey on Liddell Road and there is overwhelming opposition to the council’s scheme.

Recycle your Christmas tree. Camden will collect them from various points around the borough including Fortune Green (see photo below) and Kilburn Grange Park until January 15th. Do NOT leave them on the street, they will not be collected.

Fortune Green Christmas tree collection

Wow the tree grave got slightly inundated….! via @fleurchaffe

It was unusually “lively” on West End Lane on New Year’s Eve, with a fight breaking out in the street and enough unrest to bring the police helicopter out.

We looked back over 2014 month by month to see what were the biggest stories of the year in West Hampstead. They spanned the post office, new shops, and the appearance of Sachin Tendulkar.

We also collected the best sunset and sunrise photos of the year; and there are some stunners in this set of 16 photos.

Elsie, 13, reviewed the Tricycle’s Lionboy, which runs until January 10th

NW6 Film Club is off to see Hollywood satire Birdman on Sunday January 11th. Come and join us for the first Film Club of 2015.

The 85-year-old man found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving on West End Lane in late 2012 was given an 18 month jail sentence and banned from driving for life. Ben Brooks-Dutton, whose wife died in the incident, took the opportunity to encourage everyone to tell someone who should give up driving that now is the time to stop.

Londonist spoke to Ross, a West Hampstead firefighter, about working on Christmas Day

There’s yet another proposal for developing Gondar Gardens

Fortune Green’s resident blogger looked at canine fashion. With pictures.

It looks like Adam’s Grill is on the market already.

As of Monday January 5th, Thameslink trains from Bedford will no longer call at London Bridge due to the major works there.

Sodi Cookey is our Gig of the Week at The Good Ship as local live music cranks back into gear after the holidays.

Tweet of the Week

Only 13% of locals support Liddell Road tower

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The West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum has been running a survey since the start of November to gauge locals’ reactions to the council’s proposals for Liddell Road.

In total, there were 128 responses, and the full results will be published on Monday; however West Hampstead Life has been given an exclusive preview of some of the findings.

Do you support the 11-storey tower block? Yes 13% No 87%
 

is 4% affordable housing too little (80%,), too much (7%), about right (13%)
 

Overall do you support Camden's Liddell Road proposal Yes 27% No 73%
 

James Earl, chairman of the NDF, said “The NDF will submit the results of the survey to Camden Council as part of its response to the planning application”.

16 glorious West Hampstead sunrises and sunsets

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As the sun sets on 2014, we thought you might like a little reminder of some of the best sunrise and sunset photos taken and tweeted this year.

West Hampstead sunset

James Taylor, March

West Hampstead sunrise

Michael Sheehan, March

SteveWhamp_Apr26

@SteveWhamp, April

West Hampstead sunset

@RicksterLondon, May

West Hampstead sunset

Michael Hadwin, July

West Hampstead sunset

Joanna Miller Betts, July

West Hampstead sunset

Steven Tart, September

West Hampstead sunset

Daniel Walker, September

West Hampstead sunset

Morten Schultz, September

West Hampstead sunset

James Taylor, September

West Hampstead sunset

Matt Beveridge, September

West Hampstead sunset

Sean Patterson, October

West Hampstead sunset

@okeely, October

West Hampstead sunrise

Michael Sheehan, November

West Hampstead sunrise

Michael Sheehan, December

West Hampstead sunrise

@RicksterLondon, December

West Hampstead Life Review of the Year

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West Hampstead is changing fast (too fast perhaps for some). Lets take a look back at the stories that made the news in 2014 (click the images to go to the full story)

January
“The driver didn’t get out, but reversed half a metre and tried again, hitting the building again, and then did the same. It took three or four attempts to get through, doing more damage each time.”

12 months later, the building still hasn’t been repaired. The year began with a violent storm that ripped down the tube station sign and a brewing pharmacy war in Mill Lane.

February
Estate agents have to remove boards no more than 14 days after the advertised property has been let or sold. In reality they are often left for months or even years. In fact, some have been there so long they are rotting away with just the frame left attached to the buildings.

West Hampstead made the news over some pebbledash and some street “art”. We also featured on Location, Location, Location, though an important detail was omitted from the programme.

March
The trees were controversially felled in February, construction began in March, and the cranes went up in September. West Hampstead Square is due for completion mid-2015

Thankfully everyone got out of a Broadhurst Gardens house fire, though one woman jumped and broke her leg. Smokehouse One Sixty opened its doors, and we contrasted the sale of Stephen Fry’s former house with the cheapest flat for sale in the area.

April
Where possible, produce at West Hampstead Fruit & Veg is sourced from the UK, so expect to find apples from Kent and UK-grown mushrooms, as well as other local fruit and vegetable varieties in season.

There was a false security alarm at JW3 that closed the Finchley Road, West End Lane Books celebrated its 20th anniversary, and an eviction on Lymington Road drew protestors and police.

May
Labour managed the clean sweep in West Hampstead (something residents will hope they can do to the streets as well), with the shock being the removal of Keith Moffitt.

The elections dominated May’s news, as Labour won five of the six seats across West Hampstead and Fortune Green from the Lib Dems. At the pre-election hustings, it was UKIP who predictably stole the headlines after its candidate questioned whether women should have the vote.

June
As well as doing pieces to camera, Sachin Tendulkar also spent time with Hampstead Cricket Club’s colts batting and bowling with them. Although some of the younger players may not have been aware of Tendulkar’s prowess, their parents were suitably bowled over.

Local vicar Father Andrew Cain married his partner Steve Foreshew. The Church of England grumbled, but for many the surprise was less that the local vicar was gay and more that his new husband was an atheist.

July
Most of the early arrivals to the post office / café/ shop/ playarea / church seemed impressed. For many, it was their first sight of the transformed space. It is believed to be the first full-time post office located in a functioning church and certainly the first in London.

The first of two tetchy Liddell Road development meetings conveyed locals’ displeasure with the plans as they stood. Vintage jewellery shop Passionate About Vintage opened on Mill Lane.

August
The Tricycle, Kilburn’s highly regarded theatre and cinema, found itself embroiled in controversy after announcing that it would no longer be part of the UK Jewish Film Festival.

Three men were found guilty of murdering Sabrina Moss last year.

September Having been a West Hampstead commuter, Alexandra Gee noticed that “I’m always tired and hungry after a long day at work, and end up going to Tesco for the same old pasta. I thought it would be great to be able to pick up something different and tasty on the way home.”

It was a quiet month!

October
Local resident and early-riser Mandira Bhimjiyani was excited by the new store. “I love a good Waitrose,” she said. “Any supermarket that thinks tiramisu is essential is ok with me.”

The Railway closed until March 2015 as the upper floors are converted into self-contained flats. A spate of burglaries started with a break-in at Toomai. Foxtons got permission to open in the former post office building in West End Lane. Kilburn made it into the Financial Times and The Economist. Capital City motorbike shop failed to comply with an enforcement order (and has since been evicted from its Fortune Green premises). Oh, and the Hoff turned up to the Kilburn Nando’s.

November
Love & Liquor is so keen not to be in Kilburn - depsite the fact that Kilburn is surely edgier and more "street" than posh residential Maida Vale - that it gives its address as "34 High Road, Maida Vale". That would be 34 Kilburn High Road to the postman

After years of clamouring, a butcher finally opened in West Hampstead. A rail replacement bus caused some major damage to parked cars in Broadhurst Gardens, and a snake was spotted (and captured) in Parsifal Road. The portacabin classrooms were finally rmoved from Lymington Road ater two years.

December
Locals have objected to the height of the Liddell Road tower block and the lack of affordable housing (which was initially zero), when the council is expecting to make a £3m surplus from the development

Liddell Road wasn’t the only major planning application to go in over Christmas; the Overground station plans were also submitted. Posh frozen food shop Cook opened, and the air ambulance came twice to NW6 within an hour. The 85-year-old driver convicted of killing Desreen Brooks on West End Lane in November 2012 was given an 18 month jail sentence and was banned for driving for life.

Photos via West Hampstead Life, Mark Amies (Ballymore cranes), Richard Clegg (Waitrose), Dan Hiral (Travis Perkins lorry), John Mennis (Sachin Tendulkar), John Oris (Tricycle)

New Overground station should absorb growing passenger numbers

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West Hampstead Overground station

The planning application for the redevelopment of the Overground station has been submitted. The Overground network has seen an enormous increase in passenger numbers over recent years. West Hampstead’s position as a major interchange point means that 13 million people pass through each year, of whom 5.6 million used the Overground station (TfL, 2012 estimates), the new station has been designed to cope with even more passengers than pass through today.

The plan is for a modern station frontage just to the south of the existing station building that will lead to a wide walkway running broadly perpendicular to West End Lane that connects to stairs and lifts down to the platforms. The existing staircases will be retained but will be for emergency access only but the existing station building will be removed and turned into a retail unit.

West Hampstead Overground station plan looking north

West Hampstead Overground station plan looking north

West Hampstead Overground station looking south

West Hampstead Overground station looking south

The number of ticket barriers will rise from the three standard and one oversized gates today, to eight regular and two oversized gates, which should ease congestion at rush hour. In addition, the footbridge over the platforms is believed to be the widest on the Overground network, with enough room for multiple wheelchairs or pushchairs as well as pedestrians. There will also be a lift down to each platform.

Part of plan - click for larger version

Part of plan – click for larger version

Tree campaigners will be disappointed to read that the tree that they successfully lobbied to be given a tree preservation order in early 2014, will have to be removed if the station development goes ahead.

Comments are being accepted up until January 14th.

What have I missed since December 15th?

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Camden’s application to redevelop Liddell Road was finally submitted: a school (420 pupils), 106 flats (4 affordable), and a 5-storey workspace building. More details and pictures.

A new bar opened in Kilburn (no ambiguity over its location). It looks very promising.

Cook – the frozen ready meals business that cooks its meals on the premises – opened on Wednesday. One particular photo of it got more traction than others.

Tube train waits as sun sets via @WHampstead

The sun goes down on 2014 as 2015 is built before our eyes, via @WHampstead

The O2 centre and Camden have teamed up again to encourage shoppers to give a foster child an extra small gift this year.

Aldred Road once again turned on the style with the most coordinated Christmas lights in town.

Two estate agents did good: Paramount staff helped out at a kitchen for the homeless over two weeks, while Chelsea Square are the official “Housing for Heroes” partner locally.

What did we make of the menu and service at the revamped North London Tavern?

Has much changed in 27 years? Flick Rea is still campaigning and it’s still a pain walking between the stations at rush hour.

On Sunday, the Air Ambulance landed twice in NW6 within the hour.

The flagstones outside Little Waitrose are already being replaced, but as that’s where delivery lorries park it’s hard to see how it won’t keep on happpening.

Schnitzel wins Chanukah on West End Lane!

The streetfood market battled wind and cold temperatures in its last week of operation until March next year.

There was outspoken criticism of the defence team’s attempts to delay the trial of Geoffery Lederman, the driver convicted of killing Desreen Brooks in 2012.

We looked back at the Films of the Year – but what came out on top?

There’s not a tonne of live music on over Christmas week (though of course The Good Ship manages to pull out a gig on the 27th). Look out next week for our round-up of local New Year’s Eve events.

Finally, don’t forget our Christmas survival guide!

No Tweet of the Week this week – all the best ones are linked above – but look out for the illustrious Tweet of the Year competition over the holidays, along with a round-up of this year’s biggest stories, and a West Hampstead “census” kicking off before the New Year.

School, 106 flats and workspace: Liddell Road planning application is in

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Liddell Road from Maygrove Road

The Liddell Road mansion block from Maygrove Road

The council’s controversial plan to build a school, flats and employment space on the Liddell Road industrial estate took a step forward on Friday when the planning applications were submitted. Yes, applications plural.

Although all the documentation that accompanies the applications is presented as a coherent set of documents, the applications themselves are split into Phase 1 (the school) and Phase 2 (the residential and employment). Given that the school is contingent on the apartments being built and sold, this seems strange. One thought is that that council expects it might run into some problems with the residential part of the plan – which is what locals have objected to most – but doesn’t want to jeopardize the start date of the school.

The final applications are to build 106 residential units, of which four are designated “affordable“: three intermediate and one social housing for a wheelchair user. These will be split across an 11-storey tower block of 40 flats and a 5-storey “mansion block” fronting Maygrove Road of 66 flats. The school will be a two-storey infant school that is an extension of Kingsgate Primary School in Kilburn, and will house 420 pupils. The employment space is a 5-storey managed workspace falling under class B1.

B1 building use is use for all or any of the following purposes:
(a) as an office other than a use within class A2 (financial and professional services),
(b) for research and development of products or processes, or
(c) for any industrial process, being a use which can be carried out in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit.

Liddell Road mansion block

Liddell Road mansion block

There are a lot of documents to wade through if you want to get an overview of the scheme. As always, the Desgin & Access statement is the best place to start, but it runs to 246 pages. The appendix of views will be of particular interest to many locals. You can access all the documents from Camden’s planning website, but West Hampstead Life has merged all 246 pages together, which you can download here (large PDF file).

Locals have objected to the scale of the residential development, specifically the height of the tower block (which at an earlier consultation stage was going to be 14 storeys), and the lack of affordable housing (which was initially zero), when the council is expecting to make a £3m surplus from the development and has received a further £6.7m central government grant for schools.

There is one section of the document that many will find especially galling. After setting out a perfectly valid case for the low affordable housing quota (by Camden’s own standards, there should be ~50% affordable housing), the developers (remenber, that’s the council) then try to pass blame onto campaigners who wanted a lower tower block.

Splutter

The precise number of flats intended for the site has always been fluid. At one point it was 120, at another 100, at another, 105. We’ve now ended up with 106. Amid all the documentation, WHL has yet to unearth the viability calculations that explain precisely how the affordable housing quota has been determined. Apparently the housing market can be thanked for this sudden largesse although quite what role it has played is of course unclear. Many will also be irked by the implication above that the council would love to have had more affordable housing if it wasn’t for those pesky locals demanding a lower tower, given that the council’s original plans had no such units until locals started clamouring for them despite a bullish housing market at the time the plans were first drawn up. There are no doubt some who would like to know how many affordable units would be possible if 14-storeys had been retained in order that people could make an informed trade-off.

Liddell Road tower block from Maygrove Peace Park

Liddell Road tower block from Maygrove Peace Park

In response to the objection that such a low affordable housing quota runs contrary to Camden’s own policies on vibrant mixed communities, councillors are keen to say that the development of 156 West End Lane will deliver 50% affordable housing. It’s a bold promise they may find difficult to keep, and it is unclear how West Hampstead residents are expected to judge one application on the basis of another development, especially when the latter is not even on the drawing board after Camden “deselected” the developer last month.

Residents have also objected to the siting of the tower block at the eastern end of the site, where it most overshadows the Sidings Estate and Maygrove Peace Park. Newly-formed residents association MILAM has challenged this several times but the architects and the council have decided to retain it in the east. Their argument can be found in its extensive Q&A document. There will also be a new main access road into the development, although the existing access road will be retained.

Consultation on the applications has been extended to take account of the Christmas holidays, so anyone who wants to comment on the application has “at least” until January 30th to do so. The Neighbourhood Development Forum, whose draft plan is quoted many times in the application documents, is also running a survey to try and get as comprehensive a view as possible on locals’ thoughts. You can fill in the survey here.

Given Camden Labour’s overwhelming majority on the council, it is hard to see how this plan would be refused by the development control committee when it comes to a vote. There could still be some tweaks here and there of course, but it is a stark example of the problem in the planning system when councils are both developer and ajudicator of the same proposal.

Liddell Road tower and workspace looking east

Liddell Road tower and workspace looking east

Liddell Road mansion block from Maygrove Road artist impression

Artist’s impression of Liddell Road mansion block from Maygrove Road

Liddell Road development masterplan

Liddell Road development overview

Liddell Road colour scheme

The Liddell Road brickwork will be mostly red

View of Liddell Road from Black Path

View of Liddell Road development from the Black Path

Air ambulance lands in NW6 twice in an hour

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Thankfully we rarely see the London Air Ambulance hovering over West Hampstead, but this lunchtime the red helicopter landed first on Fortune Green, and then about an hour later in Kilburn Grange Park.

The red helicopter was back within the hour and looked as if it was trying to find a landing spot in Kilburn. It eventually set down in Kilburn Grange park and shortly afterwards a Kilburn resident tweeted a photo of ambulance crews.

Although one person had tweeted that there had been a stabbling, which was then picked up by a couple of other people, the cause of the commotion has not been confirmed. But here’s what Donks80 saw:

Later in the evening, the police were still in attendance:

North London Tavern misfires with new menu

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North London Tavern; a tavern, in North London (Kilburn to be precise) offering “traditional British meals.” It has recently been refurbished but I am glad that the ambience has not changed. It is still busy, friendly and noisy with intellectual conversation.

The brand new menu is certainly very British, with a whole section dedicated to chops, and mains consisting mainly of meat and poultry, two fish dishes and one vegetarian. It also features an interesting ‘Morsels’ section (meaning mouthfuls) including British favourites such as pig’s head croquettes, and old spot scratchings.

NLT_chop_300I ordered smoked mackerel pate to start. It was as I expected, tasty, most certainly plentiful and presented in a no frills manner. There were however suggestions that it was too smooth (perhaps mixed by machine rather than by hand) and that chunks of mackerel were not decipherable.

For main I had a Barnsley lamb chop, with mash and purple sprouting broccoli with almonds. Things got a little fine dining at this stage when the broccoli arrived in its own mini casserole dish. I really liked the pairing of broccoli and almonds. When it came to the meat, it was hearty and flavoursome but slightly over done and the amount of mash was overwhelming.

I was too full for dessert (see above re too much mash) but I did sample a fellow diner’s cheese, specifically Blue Murder with truffled honey and oatcakes. Cheese and honey – a surprising combination! But one that works, even if you don’t like truffles (like me) as the truffle is so subtle that you can’t even taste it.
I will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the extremely slow service is purely down to new menu teething problems.

If you are looking for inventive fine dining, this is not it, but for local, hearty, meat orientated British food at a reasonable price (we paid around £35 each including ample wine) NLT is a good option.

[Jo blogs at http://dinnerwithjo.com/]

Jonathan
Service was a bit of a shambles – friendly, but far from sharp and we had to ask for pretty much everything at least twice, and Tom… well… Tom can tell you about Tom. My food was ok, but too easy to find fault – the butter on my potted rabbit should surely have been set not completely melted (no doubt left on the pass under the lights), the Barnsley Chop was ok, but for a place that specialises in chops, I’d expect it cooked as requested (it was medium-well not medium-rare), and the proportion of mash to chop was wrong. Neither of the desserts I fancied were available and it’s not that big a dessert menu so in the end, even with them comping a main course and a bottle of wine, I was left feeling like I’d overpaid. Will be a while before I return for anything more than a pint.
NLT_potted_rabbit

Tom
NLT_salad_300I love the North London Tavern, but they had an off-night on this occasion. Water and wine (twice) failed to appear, and the spinach in my starter salad hadn’t been adequately washed. The goats cheese and pear worked well, though the dish was a little insubstantial even for a first course.

My main failed to appear, and the staff were very honest and apologetic in explaining it had indeed been missed; an error in the kitchen. They also informed me they’d be knocking it off the bill, which was much appreciated. When it arrived, I was a little nonplussed to find the plaice on the bone, having checked it was to be a fillet; however it was excellently and delicately cooked. The spinach this time was great; a large portion and not overdone. The potatoes, lentils and shrimps added further dimensions and made for a pleasingly hearty dinner, but there was a lack of seasoning, and I’m still not sure whether the ‘broth’ in the bowl was intentional or just cooking liquor. Not a bad plate, but lacking refinement.

My dessert of blue cheese with good quality oat biscuits and truffled honey was an enjoyable, decent portion, though I didn’t detect much truffle and, being British, I’d like a bit of butter on the side, ideally.

I’ve enjoyed the food in NLT very much in the past, so I will be back.

Nicky
The NLT has changed a bit since my last visit. It used to be a cosy, slightly chaotic Kilburn pub, good for meeting friends on a Friday night, with a straightforward gastropub menu in its restaurant. It seems to have morphed into a slightly spruced-up Kilburn pub and embraced its ‘Tavern’ roots with an ‘English chop house’-style restaurant concept. (Seriously, reading down the list of chops, stout, oysters and Eccles cakes I felt transported to Dickensian times, or perhaps present-day Shoreditch.)

All fine, if it could deliver hearty food and a warm ambience – but there were too many errors to overlook, mainly to do with the slow, disjointed service, that all added up to a less-than-relaxing experience. On the night of our visit, it felt like the restaurant had big ambitions that it couldn’t quite match. The food was fine, for the most part – my fish and chips were perfectly pleasant – but I’m not sure why I’d choose to dine at the NLT over many of the other excellent pubs in the area.

NLT_fish_chips

Philip
I’ve been to the North London Tavern a few times before and I’m aware of its reputation as a decent quality gastropub, so I was expecting a hearty good quality meal from an affordable traditional British menu; this is exactly what I got.

I started with the Chicken Liver Parfait – excellent rich flavour and gorgeous creamy texture, served with a nice amount of fresh leaves and onion jam, and very tasty artisan toast. A perfect portion size for a starter – enough to feel slightly sated, but still hungry.

NLT_pate

For the main, I went for the predictable old favourite – the ribeye steak and chips. It’s advertised as coming with either “stilton hollandaise or peppercorn”. I wasn’t sure if there was meant to be comma between the Stilton and hollandaise, or if the chef had found a way to combine these two (potentially conflicting) flavours into something edible. I guessed that the staff wouldn’t know either (they generally seemed very unsure of everything) so I ordered the steak rare and just said ‘Stilton’ for the accompaniment, expecting a creamy Stilton flavoured sauce, potentially with undertones of hollandaise. There was some amusement within the group when the steak arrived with a HUGE slab of Stilton atop. This slab melted into the hot steak, and the overall effect was extremely pleasing – though the flavour of the Stilton overwhelmed the steak to the degree that I could barely taste the meat (which was most certainly NOT rare) – yes, I could have removed some of the Stilton to prevent this, but I’m not that clever. The chips and green leaves combined with the steak to make a lovely meal, firmly within the ‘what I expected from this kind of place’ bracket.

For dessert, I had a chocolate brownie sundae – think Eton Mess but with chocolate brownie instead of berries. This was well executed, and perfect after two heavy and strong flavoured courses, with the merging of chocolate, cream and vanilla ice cream perfectly complimenting each other, and nicely light on the stomach. Overall, I was very satisfied with the food and wine for the price. The North London Tavern did exactly what is very clearly says on the tin; good quality hearty food and wine, traditional British menu, reasonable price.

What have I missed since December 8th?

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The 85-year-old driver who caused the death of Desreen Brooks on West End Lane in 2012 was found guilty of death by dangerous driving, but cleared of grievous bodily harm against US student Amy Werner, apparently due to a lack of concrete evidence. He will be sentenced before Christmas.

A lorry apparently drove into the traffic lights on West End Lane/Iverson Road on Saturday evening.

Got a question about West Hampstead at Christmas? We’ve probably answered it in our Survival Guide!

Caught my cutey back garden fox having a casual nose around the patio via @damawa42

Caught my cutey back garden fox having a casual nose around the patio via @damawa42

West Hampstead Life Christmas drinks is this Thursday, and there’s food and live music first at the West Hampstead Christmas Food Fest.

This is the last week of the streetfood market until March 2015, so why not drop by and give them a good send off.

Posh frozen food shop COOK opens on West End Lane on Wednesday.

West Hampstead councillor Angela Pober failed to secure the Labour nomination to replace Frank Dobson as the party’s candidate for Holborn & St Pancras. The seat will be contested by Sir Keir Starmer.

Contract publishers Ink Global moved its global headquarters to West Hampstead.

The final Film Club screening of the year was St Vincent with a great turnout. Film Club will return in 2015.

The Petite Corée, a Modern European/Korean fusion restaurant has opened where Elephant Walk was.

The lease for Mamacita is up for sale, though Mamacita claims that it’s merely considering relocation.

Here’s the view from the top of West Hampstead Square at the moment.

Leviathan is our Film of the Week. All the local listings here.

Alongside the carol concerts this week there’s also a Battle of the Tribute Bands this week. All the local music this week is here.

There are two more trains an hour from West Hampstead Thameslink starting this week.

Camden’s primary schools have been ranked. Of the local three, Emmanuel just comes ahead of Kingsgate, with Beckford a little further behind. All three are squarely in the middle of Camden’s primary schools overall.

Kilburn Ironworks, the bar that’s replacing Powers, finally opens officially on January 1st.

West Hampstead author Simon Inglis’s latest book Played in London topped the Londonist’s best London books of 2014 list.

Another estate agent (yes) is opening in West Hampstead – this one on Mill Lane (No. 84).

Tweet of the Week

West Hampstead Christmas survival guide

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With just two weeks to go, it’s beginning to look a LOT like Christmas in West Hampstead. Here’s our seasonal guide to what’s going on around the neighbourhood in the next couple of weeks, including December 25th.

SherriffCentre_trees

Christmas trees and wreaths outside St James’ Church

Still need to get a Christmas tree? They’re on sale outside The Sherriff Centre, on the corner of Sherriff Road and West End Lane, and if you’re at the other end of town, you can find a good selection of trees at The Mill Lane Garden Centre.

In other shopping news, there are many places locally to buy last-minute presents – see our gift guide for ideas. If you’re sad you missed last weekend’s Christmas Market, put a date in your diary to go to The Sherriff Centre this Saturday, December 13th – there will be several stalls selling crafts, scarves, bags, jewellery, and other ideal gifts. West Hampstead Food & Flea market is also open from 4pm-8pm Wednesday-Friday with craft stalls and edible treats.

The West Hampstead Life Christmas drinks will be on December 18th – we’ll be getting some dinner from the Christmas Food & Flea market before heading to The Gallery for drinks. More details coming up soon.

If you can’t imagine Christmas without a seasonal sing-song, check out our guide to local carol services and concerts.

Santa is taking time out of his busy schedule to make a couple of visits to West Hampstead. He’ll be putting in an appearance at Paramount’s grotto from December 16th-18th. He’s also finding time to drop in to The Village Haberdashery on the 22nd. Both of these events are free, but please book ahead.

Another fun activity for kids is The Village Haberdashery’s Christmas ornament making workshop on December 23rd. There is a materials fee of £5 per person.

The Community Association for West Hampstead (CAWH) is putting on some free activities for children at West Hampstead Library. There’s a storytelling session on Saturday 13th, a Christmas decoration making workshop on Friday 19th, and a gift-wrapping session on Saturday 20th. Check the calendar on CAWH’s website for details and times.

There’s no panto on in the area, but The Tricycle as usual has a family show, which this year is Lionboy. There’s more seasonal family entertainment at JW3 as part of their Chanukah programme, with Lemony Snicket’s The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming.

As for Christmas Day itself, is anywhere going to be open? There will of course be church services: St James’ and St Mary’s are both holding a Midnight Mass as well as services on the 25th. Emmanuel Church also has a guide to its Christmas services online. St Luke’s, on the Fortune Green side of West Hampstead, is holding a Midnight Communion from 11pm on Christmas Eve, and an 11am Christmas Day service for all the family.

What are the eating out options? Mill Lane Bistro and The Alice House are both open with special Christmas menus. Guglee and Toomai will also be open from 4pm to 10.30pm for dine-in, home delivery and collection.

The Christmas Day drinking scene is going to be pretty quiet I’m afraid – The Alliance, The Black Lion, The Gallery and La Brocca are all closed, so The Alice House looks like your only option.

Onto more prosaic, but just as essential things. Rubbish collections will be rescheduled if your normal collection day is Thursday or Friday – see Camden’s revised schedule here.

What about parking? Camden has confirmed that bank holiday enforcement will apply on the 25th and 26th – here’s a reminder of the parking restrictions that do not apply on public holidays.

The main supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose – are all closed on Christmas Day, and both Waitrose branches (West End Lane and Finchley Road) are also closed on Boxing Day. If you need an emergency item on the 25th, Nisa Local (on the corner of West End Lane and Broadhurst Gardens) will be open, as will Western Food & Wine opposite. Neither of these convenience stores stock whole turkeys though.

If it’s a pharmacy you need, the Christmas opening times rota for the area has not been fixed yet. Contact details for local pharmacies can be found here.

Local GP practices are closed on the 25th and 26th, but if you need urgent medical help you can dial the NHS 111 service, or of course 999 in an emergency.

If you need to travel during the festive period, be aware that tube and train services tend to wind down earlier than normal on Christmas Eve. There is no public transport on Christmas Day, and there will be a limited service and engineering works to contend with during the rest of the period – see here for TfL’s festive travel updates from December 21st to January 4th.

Thameslink services will also not run on the 25th or 26th, and engineering works will affect services between December 27th and January 2nd.

What have I missed since December 1st?

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A fight broke out on Maygrove Road on Wednesday; the police stopped some men all of whom denied involvement “even the one with minor injury”, according to Sgt Ian Hutton.

The trial began of the 83-year-old man charged with causing death by dangerous driving in the accident two years ago that killed Desreen Brooks and left American student Amy Werner in a critical condition in hospital.

An inquest into the death of Dr Nazim Mahmood, who fell from his balcony above Barclays Bank on Fawley Road in June this year, found that he took his own life after telling his mother that he was gay.

Acker Bilk evening at La Brocca via Tony Penfold

Acker Bilk evening at La Brocca via Tony Penfold

The West Hampstead Life 2014 Christmas Gift Guide is out – shop local for presents for all your loved ones.

We always get asked about carol concerts… so here’s the round-up of who’s decking which halls on what days (as well, of course, as the latest on all the other music offerings in the neighbourhood).

The West Hampstead Christmas Market enjoyed glorious winter sunshine on Saturday.

Several local businesses also embraced Small Business Saturday, and one even got to go to Downing Street as a result!

NW6 Film Club is off tonight (Monday) to see St Vincent at the Tricycle.

Citizenfour is Film of the Week, but I’m afraid you’ve already missed the two screenings; there’s still time for the second screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey though – well worth seeing this classic on the big screen. Check out that and all the local film news.

December’s Property of the Month is a 2-bedroom flat on Lyncroft Gardens.

Commuters rejoice: Bond Street station is now open again for entry, exit and interchange.

Tweet of the Week

Shop local: Twelve West Hampstead Christmas presents

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Finished your Christmas shopping yet? If panic is starting to set in, fear not. West Hampstead Life has scoured the shops in the area to bring you these twelve hand-picked local presents. Instead of getting into fist-fights at Westfield, why not have a leisurely shopping trip without leaving the neighbourhood. And if you’re out and about on Saturday, there’ll be more gifts – and mulled wine – available at the West Hampstead Christmas Market.

1. Build A Robot kit, £14.99
West End Lane Books, 277 West End Lane

WELBooks_robots

For inquisitive children – or adults for that matter – this cool kit contains all you need to build your own wind-up robots and learn about them in the process. It’s unclear whether the robots can cook or clean up after the Christmas lunch though.

2. Craft beer selection, £14.99
Brooksby Wines, 278 West End Lane

Brooksby_craftbeer700

This selection of craft beers is great value and includes two chalice glasses in case you’re feeling fancy. While you’re there, Brooksby also sells a good range of champagne, wine and spirits for all your Christmas drinking requirements.

3. Gourmet hamper, prices vary
Sherriff Centre, St James Church, Sherriff Road

SherriffCentre700

The Sherriff Centre has plenty of delicious treats for your foodie friends and relatives. Either pick a custom-made selection or create your own hamper of artisan goods – post boxes and bubble wrap are available at the attached post office if you need to post your gift. Also look out for Moleskine notebooks and other covetable stationery, as well as a good range of children’s gifts including pencil sets, friendship bracelet making kits, notebooks, bookends and cute cushions.

4. Vintage brooch, £95
Passionate About Vintage, 66 Mill Lane

PassionateAboutVintage700

Passionate About Vintage is a treasure trove of beautiful and unique gifts. This quirky gold-plated peas-in-a-pod brooch caught my eye. It’s a genuine Trifari piece from the 1960s and is bound to be a talking point. And on Small Business Saturday, the shop is offering a 10% discount.

5. Venison marrowbone cracker, £6.99
Nutts 4 Mutts, 108 Fortune Green Road

Nuts4Mutts_bone700

This cracker “for paws only” contains a satisfyingly chewy venison treat, as well as a silver hat and a joke (which your dog may or may not get). Nutts 4 Mutts, despite the name, also stocks a good range of treats for cats.

6. Silver strand bracelet, £79.95
North West 6, 122 West End Lane

NorthWest6_bracelet700

Delicate strands of silver beads catch the light in this pretty and fluid bracelet, made by Navajo craftspeople. North West 6, next to the tube station, has a big range of silver and amber jewellery and is well worth a browse.

7. Ms Marmite Lover’s Secret Tea Party book, £20
Order from West End Lane Books, or buy online from the publisher

MsMarmiteLover_book

Ms Marmite Lover‘s, (aka Kerstin Rodgers) legendary supperclubs at her house just down the road in Kilburn, have made her a star of the food world not just locally, but far beyond NW6. Who better to pick up tips from on hosting your own tea party? This would be a good gift for a baking or tea fan, with the bonus that you might get invited round in the new year…

8. Beanie hat, £16
Social, 184 West End Lane

Social_hats700

If there’s a hard to buy for, but fashion conscious man in your life, Social has some good ideas. There are wallets, scarves, shirts and jumpers, and these hats from Danish denim label Revolution.

9. Wine tasting vouchers, from £25
North London Wine School, Cotleigh Road

WineSchool

The North London Wine School is opening in West Hampstead in the new year, at the old library on Cotleigh Road. It will offer wine tasting courses for beginners or just for fun, as well as the more serious industry-recognised WSET qualifications. You can buy vouchers (with no expiry date) on the website.

10. Frog slipper socks, £10
JoJo Maman Bébé, 258 West End Lane

JoJoMamanBebe_socks

These slipper socks are perfect for keeping tiny feet warm and cosy – and with their anti-slip suede soles are perfect for first walkers. Available in sizes up to age 4-5 (Sadly, adult versions not available.)

11. Chocolate covered walnuts, £20
Cocoa Bijoux, Broadwell Parade, Broadhurst Gardens

CocoaBijoux

You can find all sorts of delights at Cocoa Bijoux, including these sophisticated French walnuts coated in chocolate. There are many less expensive items too. The shop carries a great range of chocolate, conserves and other gourmet products you won’t find in the supermarket.

12. Nutcracker, £27.99
James Nicholas, 166 West End Lane

Nutcracker

According to the shelf sticker, this is “the world’s best nutcracker”, and at that price you’d hope so. The shop staff kindly let me try it out, so I can vouch for its effectiveness at cracking an almond shell. It’s very solid and stylish, too.

Happy shopping! Let us know in the comments if you have any more local present-shopping tips.

What have I missed since November 24th?

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A man in his early 30s died on Sunday morning after collapsing outside the North London Tavern in Kilburn. There has been no official statement by the police, but it appears he had a heart attack.

A passer-by spotted a corn snake in Parsifal Road and helped it into a recycling box before alerting the homeowner.

West Hampstead ward councillor Angela Pober has made the shortlist for Labour’s candidate for Holborn & St Pancras. The CNJ published an interview with her that’s already ruffled a few feathers.

Happy Monday! Sunrise and condensed window via Mauro Murgia

Happy Monday! Sunrise and condensed window via Mauro Murgia

Australian batmsan Phil Hughes, who died earlier this week after having been hit by a cricket ball during a match, lived briefly in West Hampstead with his then Middlesex team mate Nick Compton.

The streetfood market is turning into a Christmas mini-market for December, opening Wed-Fri 4-8pm. Opening night is December 3rd and look out for a special event on December 18th, combining the market with West Hampstead Life Christmas Drinks.

Next Saturday is the West Hampstead Christmas Market (and Small Business Saturday), so there’s no excuse not to shop local.

The West Hampstead Business Association is holding its Christmas social on Tuesday evening at the Sherriff Centre. Come along and find out more about what the WHBA does.

Finchley Road has been added to a list of possible terrorist targets.

The Jubilee Line is stopping at Bond Street again, but it’s interchange and exit only still.

Burgh House’s World War I “Fellowship & Sacrifice” is our exhibition of the month – and ends in mid-December. Check out all the other local art exhibitions.

There’s an eclectic mix of local gigs this week, including a tribute to Acker Bilk and a laser harp!

Everyone’s starting to ask about Christmas trees! The Mill Lane Garden Centre is one option. They are also being sold by the Sherriff Centre, at Homebase, and on Kilburn High Road.

Our “Hot Ticket” is for Lemony Snicket’s The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming – a JW3 theatre production. There is an amazing array of plays out at the moment locally.

Paddington is our Film of the Week, but there’s plenty else on locally if the bear with the hard stare isn’t your marmalade sandwich.

The final NW6 Film Club of the year is on December 8th. Join the gang to watch Bill Murray in St Vincent at the Tricycle, with drinks and food at The Black Lion in Kilburn first.

Kilburn ward councillor Maryam Eslamdoust was punched in Bloomsbury as she walked her blind brother home.

It looks like the Pizza Express on Finchley Road is moving into the O2 centre. Direct competition for Rossopomodoro!

There will be a 24-hour post box outside the Sherriff Centre so locals won’t have to wait until the post office is open. There is no word as to whether a post box will return near the former post office, which would be convenient for more people.

This Tuesday there’s an exhibition on the proposals for the Overground station at the Synagogue Hall.

The Friends of Fortune Green have launched a Flickr group and are looking for submissions.

Hayes Camera shop on Mill Lane, which seems to have been there for ever, has closed. The rumour is that it’s being replaced by yet another hairdressers.

Tweet of the Week

Man dies by Kilburn High Road pub

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[updated]
Sometime around 1am Sunday morning, police closed Kilburn High Road between Dyne Road and Christchurch Avenue. Initial reports were that a man in his early 30s had died following an altercation at a pub, believed to be the North London Tavern. Subsequently, staff at the NLT told one customer that a man had had a heart attack and then collapsed. There has been talk on Twitter of another incident on Dyne Road.

Police are yet to release a statement on what happened last night.

Kilburn_map_Dyne Road

What have I missed since November 17?

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A rail replacement bus hit parked cars on Broadhurst Gardens on Sunday morning causing considerable damage and blocking the road for some time. This was the worst incident in a terrible weekend for local transport as both the Jubilee and Met lines were closed, there were two sets of roadworks on West End Lane, Belsize Road was partially closed to remove the Abbey estate bridge, and serious flooding at the Brent Cross end of Finchley Road all combined to cause gridlock.

A swathe of West Hampstead BT customers have been without a phone line for most of the week. If you’ve been affected, contact shabbyservice@ifgr.org.uk who is trying to put together a collective call for compensation.

Capital City Motorcycles (which we wrote about last month), was evicted from its premises by bailiffs.

I'm in love with this street via Katherine Penfold

I’m in love with this street via Katherine Penfold

Two years after the fatal West End Lane accident, an 84-year-old man pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving. The trial is due to start on December 1st.

Whampreview gave its verdict on Toomai.

Tube and bus fares go up again in January – what will this mean for most West Hampstead residents?

West Hampstead’s newest residents association is almost up and running.

There was a great turnout for NW6 Film Club on Monday for the Alan Turing film The Imitation Game. Meanwhile, Film of the Week is another biopic: Get on Up.

Posh frozen food retailer Cook is moving into the former Axminster store on West End Lane, due to open in a couple of weeks.

The council has replaced trees on Fortune Green that were either dying or were ripped up by St Jude’s storm.

A local is kickstarting a helmet for style-conscious cyclists.

The West Hampstead Business Association’s Christmas social is on December 2nd. All businesses – members and non-members welcome.

Check out all the local gigs and concerts in and around West Hampstead this week, including our Gig of the Week.

Camden apologised after a judge demanded the council repaired some West Hampstead flats in a terrible condition.

Saturday December 6th Small Business Saturday (and the local Christmas market). The WHBA explains how to get involved.

There was the usual mix of old faces and new friends at the last Whampsocial of 2014. Look out for news of the WHamp Christmas Drinks though!

In case you missed it a few weeks ago, Dr Rebecca Johnson is the Green Party candidate for Hampstead & Kilburn at next May’s election.

We’re on a mission to get Manuel and Renata together.

Tweet of the Week

Rail replacement bus hits parked cars, blocks road

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Broadhurst rail replacement bus crash

A rail replacement double-decker bus travelling down Broadhurst Gardens crashed into a series of parked cars just past the junction with Priory Road this morning causing significant damage to the vehicles though no passengers appear to have been injured. The bus became wedged against one of the cars and was unable to move. This led to the one-way Broadhurst Gardens becoming backed up with both replacement bus services and the C11.

Broadhurst rail replacement bus crash_4

The middle doors of the bus were also damaged in the incident.

Broadhurst rail replacement bus crash_5

A group of workers from TfL’s engineering works came off the track to see what they could do. It appeared that the owner of the Golf was able to nudge the car foward, freeing up the bus which was then able to drive off.

Broadhurst rail replacement bus crash_6

The incident will raise questions about the suitability of Broadhurst Gardens for rail replacement services, given that it’s narrow with a tight bend and parked cars either side and that while the C11 drivers navigate it daily it’s not a common task for the stand-in drivers. It also throws into relief the poor planning this weekend, which has seen two sets of West End Lane roadworks, and the closure of both the Jubilee and Metropolitan Lines, the closure today of part of Belsize Road. Not to mention the 50,000 fans heading to Wembley for the England women’s football match.

Are fares fair for West Hampstead travellers?

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Here it comes, as seasonal in its way as twinkling fairy lights and Christmas shopping: TfL’s annual announcement about ticket price rises.

How will the changes affect the average West Hampstead resident in January? If you commute by tube into central London each day, a weekly Zone 1-2 Travelcard will increase by 2.2%, meaning a 7-day pass will now cost £32.10 instead of this year’s £31.40. The Zone 1-2 one-day travelcard is abolished, and the minimum one-day card is now for zones 1-4, which comes in at £12, as TfL tries to get even more of us to use Oystercards.

The cost of a 1-2 monthly travelcard will be £123.30, up from the £120.60 it is today. Don’t forget that if you use travelcards, it’s cheaper to buy it to start before January 2nd!

TfL does attempt to sweeten the pill with a nod to flexible and part-time workers by cutting the pay-as-you-go daily fare caps from £8.40 (peak) and £7.00 (off-peak) to £6.40 for journeys within Zones 1 and 2. However, this will not make any difference if you simply travel to and from work each day and do not make any additional journeys, as a return journey will come in at £5.80, which is less than the daily cap anyway. There’s no great benefit for most people of opting to use only contactless by the way – it generally costs the same as Oyster fares apart from in some particular circumstances.

There’s an increase of 3.4% on bus fares, with a pay-as-you-go single fare on Oyster rising to £1.50. TfL is also reintroducing a one-day bus (and tram) pass for £5, but you can’t buy it on board.

For those who only take the occasional trip into town at weekends and off-peak times, the cost of a single Tube journey on Oyster will go up by 10p to £2.30.

The full table of new fares can be found here. For a broader analysis, The Diamond Geezer blog has an excellent and detailed overview of what these changes mean for Londoners generally.

Pan-Asian food definitely Toomai liking

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Toomai was a long time coming, with delays over both planning permission and building works (an entire wall had to be reclad). When it opened it was overwhelmed with customers and the service groaned under the weight of expectation. Now, several months in, and having finally formalised its menu, has it found its feet? It’s definitely popular; it’s busy every night with a youngish crowd taking advantage of the relatively low prices and the obligatory jam jar cocktails. But is it good?

The industrial pared back design works well in what is a surprisingly large space. As with sister restaurant Guglee, the kitchen is visible at the back, which is always a nice touch. The Moroccan tiles on the floor are very Instagrammable and a mix of individual tables and shared seating helps create a buzzy informal atmosphere.

Chicken satay

Chicken satay

Any attempts at reviewing incognito didn’t last long as Toomai kindly gave us a welcome drink on the house. I can confirm that they make a good vodka martini. We ended up trying pretty much all the starters between us, with the chicken satay and the paneer chilli being the stand-outs, though I have a soft spot for the pepper chilli lamb too. Service was prompt and friendly, even if some customers can be hard to reach depending how packed the restaurant is.

The main course options are reasonably limited, allowing for the fact that many come with the usual beef, chicken or prawn options. I went for chicken thai chilli kaprow, which had a kick but nothing overwhelming.

Toomai menu

Toomai likes to big up its streetfood credentials, which always implies fresh, hot and cheap. It is, whatever it claims, a restaurant not a food shack on the Khao San Road. Nevertheless, the food definitely has fresh flavours, the place is bustling and open enough to make it lively rather than staid, and with not a single dish over £7 it’s not going to break the bank. It’s a great addition to West Hampstead, and I’m glad to see that it doesn’t seem to have hurt Banana Tree either.

Nicky
Toomai combines all the essential ingredients for a good night out with a group of friends. There’s a list of good strong cocktails (and fresh fruit smoothies for the abstainers), a great selection of appetising and very shareable dishes, and a relaxed-but-buzzy ambience. Why take a group? That way, you get to sample as many of the tasty little morsels as possible. My highlights were the fresh papaya salad – crisp slivers of fruit anointed with a spicy dressing; fiery paneer chilli; and green curry with tofu and vegetables. Grab five of your best friends and go.

Green and red vegetable curries

Green and red vegetable curries

Debbie
This was only my second visit to Toomai and my first since they’ve expanded their menu so I was keen to find out if the quality of the food that made my first visit so enjoyable had suffered at all now that they have more dishes on offer.

Just to prove the point about the size of the new menu our first course was very much a shared dining experience as we managed to end up with every available starter on the table in front of us. A personal favourite was the Honey Chilli Veg, bite size vegetable patties with a wonderfully sweet and sticky coating – these were balanced out well by some suitably light and crispy vegetable spring rolls.

For a main I opted for the red curry with vegetables and, for the second time in as many visits, was suitably impressed. As a non-meat eater you often have to contend with vegetable curries that mostly rely on carrots and whatever tinned veg happen to be to hand. Happily this is not the case at Toomai – my curry was reasonably mild and jam-packed with both flavour and copious chunks of fresh veg. I counted at least six different types of veg in there – happy days indeed! If you want a bit more of a kick then a taste of Nicky’s green curry proved that to be the spicier of the two.

Our hosts were determined not to let us leave without sampling dessert which was just as well, the delicately battered apple and accompanying coconut sorbet was a very light and refreshing end to what had been another hugely enjoyable and flavoursome meal.

Emma
toomai_green_smoothie300Eschewing the selection of beer, wine and martinis I started my evening with a fresh green smoothie (I’m taking my reviewing seriously here!). It was served with the flourish and care usually reserved for a signature cocktail and the concoction is well balanced and delicious, a theme which continues throughout the evening. Since its opening weeks, Toomai now seems to have got into its stride and found a welcome niche in West Hampstead. My calamari starter is a beautiful bowl of crisp and succulent bites which I am enjoying until I discover the paneer chilli and realise that this is a real winner. I went for the Penang chicken curry for my main. A good sized portion with a lovely thick fragrant sauce, the crunch of the green beans makes a pleasing contrast and stops it feeling too heavy. The menu describes this dish as ‘hot’; mine was more on the mild side and could have been spicier, but it was still enjoyable. I will happily be making this a regular destination. Toomai offers a good selection of dishes with great flavours and an enjoyable atmosphere with professional and attentive service at a reasonable price.

Mark
You visit for the tiles but you stay for the food. Toomai has already established itself as a Whamp landmark due to the imported Moroccan tiles that decorate the floor. These colourful tiles contrast well against the stripped back walls and industrial (yet stylish) lighting.

Photo via Barry McGee

Photo via Barry McGee

A particular highlight for me was the paneer chilli starter. I’m a fan of paneer but had never tried it combined with chilli which is an interesting blend that works really well. I was also impressed that the calamari and chicken satay were both tender and each cooked “a su punto” as we say back home meaning, tender and cooked to their optimum point. Honourable mention goes to a rather moreish chilli lamb starter. I had a red curry main with equally tender chicken and vegetables. Portions were generous and the staff friendly and attentive. The fact its location is very convenient is not the only reason I’ll be going back.

Tom
First thing to comment on is the design inside Toomai; it is absolutely superb. The subtle lighting in the ‘bar’ area, the filament bulbs all over a maze of piping on the wall (brilliant!), the modernity offset by colourful floor tiles (which Mark learned were from Morocco)… all genuinely impressive.

Equally so, the starters; lots of variation, vibrant colours, satisfyingly unctuous textures, and a feeling that everything had been cooked with enthusiasm and panache (even though that’s “pan ache” if split into two words). My favourites: the paneer dish and the veggie fritter type things. Delicious.

Pad Thai was nice, with fresh, soft prawns. Flavours were subtle, and I’ll perhaps try something spicier next time. Enjoyed the house white, too; a South African Chenin Blanc which worked with everything. A clever dessert of lightly-battered apple and a soothing sorbet rounded things off very nicely.

What have I missed since November 10th?

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Camden “deselected” the developer for 156 West End Lane (the Travis Perkins building), but insists it’s still seeking 50% affordable housing there.

Talking of affordable housing, what will the West Hampstead property market look like next year?

The portacabin classrooms at Hampstead Cricket Club were being dismantled as the girls school returns to its permanent building.

Stunning sunrise over Mill Lane this morning. Feeling blessed, via @dalzette

Stunning sunrise over Mill Lane this morning. Feeling blessed, via @dalzette

Tom, long sceptical about Sarracino, finally went for a proper meal.

The site of Elephant Walk on West End Lane is becoming a new restaurant. It appears to be another pizza place.

The Acol Bridge Club raised £8,000 for a breast cancer campaign.

Film of the Week and Monday’s Film Club screening is The Imitation Game.

This Wednesday is the last Whampsocial of the year. See you there!

Whampdinner at One Sixty was a great success. There won’t be a December whampdinner, but look out for news of our informal Christmas Drinks.

Residents of a West Hampstead street bemoaned the loss of neighbourly love.

WHAT published the minutes of its meeting about the local rubbish problems.

A fourth polling station has been restored in West Hampstead ward – at Brondesbury Christian Centre, 9 Iverson Road.

It appears Jerry Sadowitz will be at the O2 on Finchley Road, though quite why is hard to decipher from this video.

A newsagent in Kilburn was forced to close after becoming infested with mice.

There’s a wide range of musical talent on show this week in the local area – our Gig of the Week is Judith Owen at the JW3 on Sunday.

West Hampstead councillor Angela Pober’s hat is officially in the ring for Labour’s Holborn & St Pancras parliamentary candidate. Here’s her personal statement. She was also the only councillor to abstain in a council vote regarding the mansion tax.

An update from Ballymore: the tallest West Hampstead Square tower block will reach its final height by the end of February.

Bake-a-boo, West End Lane Books, Little Bay, One Sixty, The Wet Fish Café, the North London Tavern and B&J Fisheries either won or were runners up in the Time Out Love London awards for NW6.

A woman was killed after being hit by a tube train at Swiss Cottage. Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

Tweet of the Week

Is affordable housing promise at risk as developer “deselected”?

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The minutes from the last Neighbourhood Development Forum meeting contain an interesting snippet towards the end.

156 West End Lane: Stuart (representing Travis Perkins) reported that the site was marketed last year and Mace was selected as preferred developers. Mace have now been ‘deselected’ by the Council and a shortlist of developers have been asked to submit new bids by 21 November… …It was pointed out that the Council’s promise of 50% affordable housing on the site (as made by Cllr Phil Jones at the Liddell Road meeting in September) may now be in doubt. James [Earl, NDF chairman] asked to be kept informed of developments. Local councillors should also be asked for information and greater clarity about the sale process.

This matters because one of Camden’s key arguments for having so little affordable housing in its Liddell Road proposal – just four units out of 100 – was that 156 West End Lane would deliver 50% affordable housing (note that this meets the quota for the site, it doesn’t actually compensate for the lack of affordable housing on Liddell Road). This has been “promised” several times, as noted in the minutes.

Camden’s extensive Liddell Road Q&A document says “At 156 West End Lane the Council is seeking 50% affordable housing from the sale of the site to a private developer.” Words like “promise” tend not to appear in print. Of course the only way that a planning decision on one site could be made contingent on what happens on another site, is for the two sites to be treated as one development and consulted on and voted on accordingly. That has never been on the cards.

Tom’s finally won over by Sarracino

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I seem to be experiencing a strange sequence of meals where the starter is the star performer. This trend continued happily at Sarracino the other day, via grilled smoked cheese and aubergine. What a delectable dish! Presentation managed to be both artistic and rustic, with little touches like peeled-back tomatoes making the plate look classy (in stark contrast to the diner), and a combination of flavours and textures that made for a really inspiring introduction.

A smokin' starter

A smokin’ starter

Spaghettini with cherry tomatoes, Parmesan and basil followed. I always consider it brave to serve such a simple dish, and perhaps it’s hard to see how a ton of garlic and some mushrooms wouldn’t have enhanced things, but I was nevertheless pleased with my choice. A decent sauce reminded me of my own efforts where the tomato base is enhanced with a dash of Marmite (try it, if you haven’t already) – though I imagine the recipe here was somewhat different! The basil wasn’t distributed throughout the perfectly al-dente pasta, which meant a couple of herb-intense mouthfuls, and the Parmesan was dried, which some might frown at. The latter wasn’t an issue for me personally, though I did confer with local Italian foodie (and wine buff) @Gio_Mosel, out of interest, and was assured that this doesn’t break any protocols. I’d prefer the whole dish of Parmesan being left at the table though (as happens at La Brocca), so I can greedily spoon in the whole lot as I go along.

Porcini - but no pork - pizza

Porcini – but no pork – pizza

A ‘white’ (no tomato base) pizza of porcini mushrooms, rocket, pecorino shavings and truffle oil was also a success, being pretty-much perfect (though inevitably customised by madam, who requested removal of Italian sausage) – in fact far better than a similar variant I tried earlier this year, which (very uncharacteristically, I gather) was rather flabby and lacking seasoning.

The side salad was also excellent with good quality and fresh ingredients.

Shockingly, I was off the booze on this occasion, so I’ll plan on returning to Sarracino soon to see what I can pair up with a pizza of my own.

What have I missed since November 3rd?

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The rash of commercial burglaries in the area continued unabated with Remix salon among the latest victims. The number of businesses hit over the past few weeks has hit double figures.

The Hampstead Butcher & Providore opened its West Hampstead branch on Saturday.

Govia, Thameslink’s new operator, has got off to a very shaky start. We looked at the statistics to see just how bad it has been.

Bloody cold but beautifully fresh morning in West Hampstead via Steve Lowy

Bloody cold but beautifully fresh morning in West Hampstead via Steve Lowy

Love & Liquor got into a Twitter debate over whether it was in Kilburn or Maida Vale. Par for the course… apart from the amazing coincidence of a relevant Wikipedia article being edited at the same time. We tracked the story.

WHAT’s public meeting about our local rubbish problem was well attended. No immediate solutions beyond the issues that need to be addressed when the waste collection contract with Veolia is renegotiated, and that Camden will be asking central government for the ability to spot fine fly tippers.

The Neighbourhood Development Forum wants your views on the controversial Liddell Road development. It is hoping as many people as possible contribute, so whether you’re fully in favour, totally against, or somewhere in the middle, do take two minutes to fill in the questionnaire. There’s also an NDF meeting on Tuesday evening. All welcome.

We delved into the history of the West End Lane school that’s now a teacher training college.

The JW3 ice rink opens for a month from December 7th. You can buy tickets already

When the Dallas Cowboys took on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley on Sunday, in the last of this season’s NFL games, one Cowboy was Kilburn’s very own Jack Crawford. He made the most of his trip home.

Property of the Month is a £2 million doer-upper in Pandora Road.

West Hampstead councillor Angela Pober has launched her campaign to be the Labour candidate to replace Frank Dobson in Holborn & St Pancras. This appears to be her fourth attempt to stand for parliament after failing to make the shortlist in Salford & Eccles or Hampstead & Kilburn, and making the shortlist but not getting the nomination in Reading East.

Whampbooks at West End Lane Books on Thursday night was another great event. There’ll be a pre-Christmas sale there too towards the end of the month.

TfL’s plans to make the Swiss Cottage gyratory system properly bike friendly were described as “radical” (in a good way) by local councillors.

Paramount is holding its annual collection for your unwanted winter coats, which go to a deserving home via charity Wrap Up London.

Interstellar is our Film of the Week and on the 17th, the film club is off to see Alan Turing film The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch.

A filmmaker is trying to crowdsource the finances for a film about Sabrina Moss, the young mother who was fatally shot in Kilburn last year.

F-IRE Collective Rhythm & Jews is our Gig of the Week at JW3 on Saturday. Check out all the local music listings.

Tweet of the Week

Butcher and deli opens on West End Lane

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Hampstead Butcher_meat

The Hampstead Butcher and Providore opened its doors this morning fulfilling the wishes of many people over the years who’ve demanded a butcher return to West End Lane. It’s the second bite of the cherry for owner Philip Matthews, who came close to opening in West End Lane a couple of years ago.

The business, which continues to operate its Rosslyn Hill branch in Hampstead, has taken over the greengrocer’s site next to The Wet Fish Café. Alongside the fresh meat, the shop also has a charcuterie and cheese section (which I suspect may outperform the meat), a selection of deli items both fresh and tinned, and a reasonable selection of wine and beer (predominantly from popular local brewery Camden Town).

Photo via Simon Whiteside

Photo via Simon Whiteside

There was a steady trickle of people investigating the shop on this drizzly morning though it was noticeable that the farmer’s market was positively busy, while owner Philip Matthews prowled around with his snagging list clipboard. The floor apparently isn’t right, and the original floor tiles need an additional treatment (though the casual observer would never know).

Hampstead Butcher_wine

The great challenge the Hampstead Butcher faces is whether enough West Hampstead residents are willing to pay frequently for the high quality traceable meat it sells. Matthews will be hoping that the clamour for a butcher over the years will marry with the tough economics of delivering high quality fresh meat. He also offers a home delivery service. For West Hampstead, it’s another sign that the area is increasingly seen as one of growing affluence.

Hampstead Butcher_sausages

Sensibly, the shop will stay open reasonably late in the evenings to capture the commuters returning from work. The opening hours are 10am-8pm weekdays, 9am-8pm Saturday and 9am-6pm Sunday. Due to a lack of space, the butcher’s popular tasting sessiona and events will be available only in its Hampstead branch for the time being.

Love & Liquor’s location: Made in Kilburn or Maida Vale?

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MaidaVale_annotate

In an interesting exchange this afternoon on Twitter, locals called out Love & Liquor (formerly The Westbury and before that The Red Lion) on Kilburn High Road for trying to perpetuate the idea that it was really in Maida Vale and not Kilburn.

In an astonishing coincidence, while this was happening someone made a small edit to the Wikipedia entry for Kilburn High Road Station, which placed the station in Maida Vale.

Read the exchange below (or go to Storify if you can’t see it).

Remix latest victim in West Hampstead burglary spree

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Remix’s new bar/salon on Broadhurst Gardens is the latest victim in a spate of break-ins to West Hampstead businesses that’s now reached double figures in the past few weeks.

Remix_bar

Remix’s new premises on the north side of Broadhurst Gardens was the latest target after its salon opposite had already been hit

After West End Lane Books and La Brocca suffered burglaries at the weekend, Remix’s new premises was burgled in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Intruders broke in at the back of the building and stole the till, a company laptop, alcohol from the salon’s new bar, and hairdressing equipment. Salon manager Nick Petkov said he was bemused by some of the items stolen, which included scissors, clippers and top-of-the-range shampoo.

Danny Van Emden from West End Lane books said it was “utterly inspiring how lovely everyone’s been”, adding that since the incident in which £140 was stolen but no books were touched, sympathetic customers had brought biscuits, croissants and flowers, and that the shop had received around 400 supportive tweets. “The response of our customers, both in person and on Twitter, mitigated the sadness we felt on Saturday morning.”

A couple of doors down, La Brocca was also broken into on Saturday night, and had bottles of alcohol stolen.

Other West End Lane businesses that have been targeted recently include Toomai, hairdresser Holistic, health food shop Health Town, Remix’s other Broadhurst Gardens premises, Pro Arte the violin shop, the Sherriff Centre, and a couple of businesses on Finchley Road.

Tim Khoshsima of Health Town said that his shop’s front window and glass shelves were smashed, and thieves made off with the till and items of stock including protein supplements and beauty products. He said “I love West Hampstead as an area to do business, but this has made me realise we need to be more careful”. He added that he planned to take more precautions agains burglaries, including fitting a shutter.

Sergeant Ian Hutton from the West Hampstead Safer Neighbourhood team believes the burglaries may be linked, and the burglary squad is investigating. CCTV footage exists of at least one of the break-ins, in another case, the CCTV unit itself was stolen.

Sgt Hutton advised businesses not to keep large amounts of cash on premises, as this is the main target for thieves. He also advised that if people see anything suspicious especially at the rear of shops that they call the police then, not leave it until the morning. If you are suspicious, 101 is appropriate, but if you believe a crime is taking place 999 is the correct call.

The police can also give free crime prevention advice to any business that requests it. Just call 101.

Can Govia get Thameslink service back on track?

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Regular commuters on the Thameslink line have faced frustrating delays and cancellations since Govia took over the running of the line from First Capital Connect on September 14th.

Govia has released its performance figures and they bear out the public perception that the service has got worse: the Thameslink Public Performance Measure (PPM) for Period 7 (the period since Govia took over) was just 81.10% against a target of 87.36%. Commuters who berated First Capital Connect might like to know that in the same period in both the last two years, the PPM exceeded 90%. PPM is the industry standard performance measure and refers to the percentage of services that reach their final destination on time.

Thameslink Performance

The blue bars show this year’s performance against target (orange)

In the train operator’s latest stakeholder newsletter, CEO Charles Horton apologises and admits that his company was to blame for some of the shaky service. “Some of this disruption has been caused by external events which are very difficult for us to control, such as several fatalities. But there have also been delays caused by things which we in the rail industry manage.”

How is Govia planning to address these issues and get the service back on track (and disgruntled West Hampstead commuters to work  on time)?

Horton adds that a summit was held last week with the management team to discuss recent poor performance and put in place a plan “to improve performance urgently”. You can see the whole of the chief executive’s letter below.

Will this be enough to convince regular users of the service? One local rush-hour commuter said that although he accepted “occasional delays are inevitable,” there had “hardly been an incident-free day since Govia took over” – citing problems such as overcrowding on four-carriage trains, more frequent delays, and the odd cancellation due to “staff shortages”. Looks like Govia has some work to do to win over increasingly frustrated passengers.

In touch CEO letter 2014

What have I missed since October 27th?

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Waitrose opened on West End Lane. Barely anyone noticed. It was all Twitter could talk about all day. But by the end of the week the backlash had begun.

Last Sunday night, Toomai was burgled – thieves took cash, alcohol and prawns! West End Lane Books was also burgled on Friday night and La Brocca was also broken into that night. Brocca also suffered a broken window earlier in the week allegedly caused by some people it had thrown out earlier. They were charged by the police.

This Tuesday WHAT is holding a public meeting in the library (7.30pm) to discuss the rubbish/litter situation with Cllr Sally Gimson. This is the place to come if you want to find out how Camden is (or isn’t) tackling the problem.

Photo via @WHampstead

Photo via @WHampstead

Organised public firework displays are in short supply around here. Roundwood Park and the Queens Park open space (not Queens Park itself) just north of the Harrow Road are your best options on the 5th.

The Sherriff Centre, not content with café, shop, post office, soft play area and, er, church, is hosting a silent disco on Nov 15th as well!

Cream guitarist and singer Jack Bruce, who died on October 25th, lived in and around West Hampstead in the 1960s and played Klooks Kleek.

Mamako on Broadhurst Gardens is on the market.

This Thursday is #whampbooks at West End Lane Books. 20% off everything, free wine, and loads of lovely locals. It’s a surefire winner (and a great way to cheer them up after the burglary).

Thursday is also the scheduled opening date for Hammpstead Butcher & Providore on West End Lane (next to the Wet Fish Café).

Kilburn’s art installation You Are Here, ran all week. The Kilburn Literary Festival also started and runs through to Tuesday.

The Diamond Age and The Episodes at The Good Ship on Friday is our Gig of the Week. Check out all the other local music listings.

WHalloween Food Fest at the streetfood market took advantage of the balmy temperatures as well over 100 people came for some food, some music and some chat.

Mill Lane Bistro has reopened after a refurb, with a new chef and a new menu.

More people around here are native French speakers than any other non-English language.

Nightcrawler is the Film of the Week. Check out NxNW6’s thoughts on other local offerings.

TimeOut made it to the Sanctuary Café in the church, and liked what it saw.

Tweet of the Week

Kilburn gets bookish with week of events

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If you thought that literary festivals mainly happened in fields on the outskirts of small Welsh towns, think again.

The first-ever Kilburn Literary Festival starts today and runs until 4th November, with events in various local venues including West Hampstead’s very own Sherriff Centre. The eclectic programme includes talks by authors, workshops for budding writers (including “How to Publish and Sell your Erotic Fiction”!), quizzes and a “flash fiction competition”. Two highlights are local history buff Ed Fordham’s talk on the history of Kilburn authors, at the Tricycle on Saturday morning, and the (esoteric perhaps) History of Fighting Fantasy and Adventure Game Books talk on Sunday afternoon, which will appeal to boys and girls who are now of a certain age!

Most events are ticketed, with prices ranging between £4 and £10, but there’s also a free “Festival of Books” at the Sherriff Centre at St James’ Church on Saturday. As well as readings, there will be activities for children, such as the chance to make their own book, and would-be authors will be able to talk to publishing professionals for advice on how to develop their writing.

You can find a full programme of events, and buy tickets, at the festival’s website.

Jack Bruce: the Cream of West Hampstead’s musical talent

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Jack Bruce in Hamburg, 1972. Photo Heinrich Klaffs

Jack Bruce in Hamburg, 1972. Photo Heinrich Klaffs

The great singer, songwriter and bass player, Jack Bruce died age 71 on Saturday 25 October. Jack was best known as a member of the supergroup Cream. He lived in and around West Hampstead in the 1960s.

Born in in Bishopsbriggs, north of Glasgow, Jack was the son of Charlie and Betty Bruce, who were working-class parents with strong left-wing convictions.

My mother sang Scottish folk songs and my father was a huge traditional jazz fan of people like Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong. But my older brother loved modern jazz. There’d be literally, physical fights in my house between my father and brother arguing about the role of the saxophone in jazz or something, real punch-ups.

As a teenager, Jack sang in a church choir, and won a scholarship to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music to study the piano and cello. Classically trained, Jack also played jazz and blues. To earn money he played in the Jim McHarg’s Scotsville Jazzband, but The Academy disapproved. Jack said; ‘They found out, and said you either stop playing jazz, or leave college. So I left college.’

In 1962, soon after he arrived in London, he shared a flat with trombonist John Mumford on the top floor of Alexandra Mansions on West End Green. Jack joined Alexis Korner’s ‘Blues Incorporated’, which included Graham Bond on organ, Ginger Baker on drums and Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax. In 1963, Jack and Ginger joined Graham Bond, with John McLaughlin (guitar), to form the ‘Graham Bond Organisation’ (GBO). They were very popular and played numerous times at Klooks Kleek in the Railway Hotel, West Hampstead. A session at Klooks was recorded by Decca next door and released as ‘One Night at Klooks Kleek’.

On 26 September 1964 Jack married Janet Godfrey, who was the secretary of the Graham Bond fan club. They moved to a flat at 25 Bracknell Gardens, just off the Finchley Road, and not far from Jack’s old home in Alexandra Mansions. The phone books show they were still there in 1968. Later, with the success of Cream, they bought a house in Chalk Farm.

During their time in GBO, Jack and Ginger had a very fiery relationship both on and off stage, and in 1965 Bruce left the band. He briefly joined John Mayall’s ‘Bluesbreakers’ with Eric Clapton on guitar. In 1966 Bruce was with Manfred Mann’s band when they had a Number 1 hit with ‘Pretty Flamingo’.

In May 1966 Ginger Baker had approached Eric Clapton about forming a band. Eric suggested Jack should join them, not fully understanding how difficult they had found it to work together in the Graham Bond Organisation. However, Ginger agreed to try it out and the three of them rehearsed at his Neasden home, 154 Braemar Avenue.

#3166524 / gettyimages.com 20th August 1967: (from left) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton

Cream was formed and they played their first gig at Manchester’s Twisted Wheel on 29 July 1966. Then on Sunday 31 July they played at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival and although it poured with rain, the band caused a sensation. Their manager Robert Stigwood thought Cream would have a similar appeal as the GBO and had already booked them into a number of clubs on the Blues circuit. So two days after their success at Windsor they played their first London gig – again at Klooks Kleek in West Hampstead on 2 August 1966.

Geoff Williams who ran Klooks Kleek with Dick Jordan, remembers Ginger asking him how much they would get for the evening. He expected a grumpy response to the reply “£89”, instead, Ginger expressed surprise and thanks, as the bands he played with previously at Klooks had usually been on about £50. Maybe Ginger felt good because Cream were about to embark on their first US tour playing stadia for five-figure dollar sums each night. Cream’s popularity grew very quickly and the only other time they played at Klooks was on the 15 November. This gig was recorded next door at the Decca Studios. Planned as an EP it was not released, as the band saw LPs as the future.

After great success, Cream spit up in July 1968, with a farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 November 1968. In 1993, Cream were inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ and they reunited to play four sellout shows at the Albert Hall in May 2005, and three in New York in October.

After Cream split up Jack began recording solo albums such as, ‘Things We Like’ in 1968 and ‘Songs for a Tailor’ in 1969. He played in several bands but struggled with his heroin addiction. In 2003, Jack was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent a liver transplant. Although his immune system initially rejected the organ, he recovered and kept playing. But his poor health finally caught up with him in 2014 and he died at his Suffolk home.

Harry Shapiro has produced a very good biography, Jack Bruce: Composing Himself (2010). For more about Klooks Kleek, see our book, Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek.

The waiting is over. Waitrose is here

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You’d think it was the second coming. Excitement levels on Twitter – where usually everyone is so level-headed and calm, right? – have been reaching fever pitch. But even yesterday it looked as if the fitters had their work cut out to get West Hampstead’s newest supermarket ready in time for this morning’s 7am opening. The mad dash to get the place finished has been disruptive for local residents, who have complained about lorries blocking access to the mews to the side of the building during the works.

Photo courtesy of Richard Clegg

Photo courtesy of Richard Clegg

Waitrose_window

Spit & polish…

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Hoovering up the crumbs

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The store manager is now open

Jennifer Brown, Chair of the West Hampstead Women’s Centre, and Geoff Berridge of the West Hampstead Community Centre were there for the ribbon cutting. Waitrose West Hampstead will share £6,000 and 100 staff working hours a year between these two organisations and the C4WS Homeless Project.

Store manager Nicky Clifford-Goss, flanked by Jane Brown and Geoff Berridge and assorted staff (sorry, partners)

Store manager Nicky Clifford-Goss, flanked by Jane Brown and Geoff Berridge and assorted staff (sorry, partners)

The new store, which has taken over from Pizza Express (causing the buggy brigade to both fret and rejoice simultaneously), does not, unsurprisingly, have a fresh meat or fish counter. So, the Hampstead Butcher & Providores should manage to cling on to that business when it opens across the road in a week or so’s time. There is coffee though, out of a machine and free to myWaitrose card holders, and some seating outside at the front, which may not please West Hampstead’s café owners, despite Waitrose’s development director Nigel Keen stating that he welcomes the chance to “play our part in ensuring [West Hampstead] remains a vibrant village”.

Local resident and early-riser Mandira Bhimjiyani was excited by the new store. “I love a good Waitrose,” she said. “Any supermarket that thinks tiramisu is essential is ok with me.”

Inside, one quickly realised how rarely you see a fully-stocked supermarket. The shop seemed to have a reasonable range of products, including a few things for the anti-Waitrose brigade to mock, such as milk alternatives and the world’s pricest mac & cheese.

Full fat also available

An oddly precise price

An oddly precise price

Little Waitrose, as the retail chain’s convenience store format is branded, has been some time in the offing. It’s never entirely clear why the levels of reverence Waitrose elicits are directly proportional to the dislike heaped on its rivals – especially Tesco. Yes, it probably sells slightly better quality food but perhaps people are genuinely impressed that even though it’s a chain, it’s a chain owned by its employees. We wrote about the original John Lewis, whose son lived in Kilburn, back in May.

The store’s opening hours are 7am to 10pm daily. Deliveries – always a bane for local motorists – have been planned to cause less disruption than Tesco’s, though will be early for local residents.

Waitrose_lorry

Is it a posh hotel? A boutique? No, it's a Little Waitrose. Photo via @bubela

Is it a posh hotel? A boutique? No, it’s a Little Waitrose. Photo via @bubela

What have I missed since October 20th?

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A fire at the Brondesbury Medical Centre on Kilburn High Road on Tuesday night caused the Tricycle Cinema to be evacuated. Although some damage was done to the upper floor of the GP practice, no-one was hurt and the surgery reopened on the Thursday.

Camden granted estate agent Foxtons the change of use permission it needed to open in the former post office on West End Lane. This prompted a flurry of interest in a 2013 piece that sought to find the collective noun for estate agents.

The Area Action Group meeting (the first public meeting since the council election) was suitably lively, with the usual complaints about council services and mixed reactions to the proposed Overground station. WHL live tweeted proceedings.

Pimp my bins via @HandyAndyNW6

Pimp my bins via @HandyAndyNW6

This Thursday we’re hosting WHalloween Food Fest at the streetfood market. Find all the sign-up details here.

A date was set for the start of the 24hr tube service on Fridays/Saturdays. But what about the noise for people living near stations?

Waitrose opens on Tuesday – having caused considerable excitement among (almost) everyone. The ribbon will be cut at 7am(!) by the chair of trustees of the West Hampstead womens’ centre. The bench outside Waitrose that has been removed during the works is to be replaced.

A former England cricketer cut the ribbon at the official opening of Aqua Pharmacy’s new premises on Mill Lane.

The Gallery’s refit started. And Mill Lane Bistro is closed until Wednesday for a refit.

Kilburn chippy Fin City tweeted a plea for more customers.

Some curiously possessive stickers appeared around the area.

There’s always a petition to sign – the latest one is for a pedestrian crossing on Shoot Up Hill.

The London Review of Breakfasts tried Café Bon.

Police were alerted to a man who exposed himself just off Lymington Road.

A local Labour faction have lambasted the (Labour-dominated) council’s plans for Liddell Road. Much of what they say resonates with some residents’ comments, though completely ignoring the school being built rather weakens their argument.

Meanwhile, a Nora Connell has been writing the same letter to all the local papers (a hard-to-decipher ramble about UKIP). She claims to be a parliamentary candidate for Hampstead & Kilburn representing the “Connell Canto Party”.

Apparently, Hampstead & Kilburn is the 8th most pro-immigrant constituency in the UK and the 12th most pro the EU. Doesn’t bode well for UKIP’s chances here next year. [paywall]

The Wet Fish Café’s wall-mounted guitars are all made my a local luthier. A relaxed gig earlier in the week showcased the instrument.

An inquest heard that a former Broadmoor patient died after slitting his wrist at his Maygrove Road flat in a supported housing block.

It was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles second ever performance at the Kilburn State. They were paid £850.

A new teacher training institution opened at the Kilburn end of West End Lane.

After The Economist looked at Aldi in Kilburn last week, this week the Financial Times covered the High Road’s Afghan restaurant Ariana II.

Fury is our Film of the Week. Read our take on all the local film offerings this week.

REHAB Halloween at Love & Liquor is our Gig of the Week.

Lots of local businesses are in the running for Time Out’s favourite places awards. Click on NW6 (Kilburn) to see the categories and contenders. Monday’s the last day of voting.

The premises that used to be Helena’s Hair Care at 78 Fortune Green Road is apparently destined to be… another salon.

Tweet of the Week

Wall of sound: Art guitars on display at local restaurant

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The Wet Fish Café on West End Lane often showcases artists’ work on its tiled walls but, for another week, there’s a different kind of artwork on display.

West Hampstead resident Steven Marlow, builds professional-quality guitars for musicians, celebrity clients and collectors from all over the world, working closely with each customer to create bespoke instruments to their specifications. His guitars are in many celebrity collections, including those of Queen’s legendary guitarist Brian May and The Kooks’ frontman Luke Pritchard.

For his ongoing Art Guitars project, he collaborates with established and up-and-coming artists, most notably leading British artist Stuart Semple, to create these unique and striking works.

Steven said the Wet Fish Café was the logical place for his latest exhibition as “I’ve been going to the Wet Fish for years”.

For anyone interested in seeing Steven’s work, you have until 30th October to go and check out these beauties over brunch…

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Steven Marlow, guitar maker, with Wet Fish Café owner André Millodot

Steven Marlow, guitar maker, with Wet Fish Café owner André Millodot

24-hour tube: Mind the gap between PR and reality

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From September 12th 2015, the tube will run all night on Fridays and Saturdays on the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines. Around six trains will run every hour on the “night tube”.

Map from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

Map showing where the 24-hour service will run (image from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/)

No doubt many West Hampstead and Kilburn residents will rejoice at the arrival of a more convenient way to get home from town after a night out, but what about the noise disruption to those who live near to the station or tube line?

Gareth Powell, London Underground’s Director of Strategy and Service Development, told us: “We will of course work with residents to help resolve any problems. However, as our services already run for up to 20 hours each day and we carry out engineering work overnight, the potential for disturbance from night time services at weekends is expected to be limited.”

This rather assumes that those late night/early morning services, and the engineering work aren’t already disturbing the sleep of those who live right alongside the railways or by stations. Indeed, it’s unclear how much TfL has considered the possible impact to people living in areas such as West Hampstead, which is relatively unusual with both station and tracks located above ground and very close to a densely-populated residential area (tube-facing apartment in West Hampstead Square anyone?).

As well as the (admittedly relatively quiet) noise from trains running along the line, will there be irregular bursts of sound coming from platform announcements and raucous passengers disembarking in the early hours.

Of course, for central London businesses, there is little downside. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers said: “This move will give more customers the chance to enjoy a drink or meal out in the city centre with the peace of mind that they will be able to get home safely and quickly.” and also makes the point that “a later-running London Underground will offer more chance for the gradual dispersal of customers from the busy city centre.”

How do West Hampstead locals feel about this? Nervous about the potential for disrupted sleep, or looking forward to late nights out in town without the exorbitant taxi fares? Over to you in the comments below.

Tricycle escapes damage from Kilburn fire

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A fire broke out in a kitchen on the upper level of the Brondesbury Medical Centre on Kilburn High Road last night, meaning customers at the neighbouring Tricycle Cinema had to be evacuated.

Last night's scene on Kilburn High Road - photo from Twitter by @bartnowak79

Last night’s scene on Kilburn High Road – photo from Twitter by @bartnowak79

The theatre performance had ended for the evening; however around 400 cinemagoers were in the building for a screening of Gone Girl when fire crews arrived at around 9.40pm. London Fire Brigade confirmed on their website that the fire was under control by 11.10pm. They managed to contain it to the kitchen where it started, so the only damage to the public area was to one TV screen, and some smoke damage to the adjoining areas.

Staff at the Tricycle box office today confirmed that the theatre and cinema complex was unaffected by the fire, with no smoke or water damage.

However, the doctors’ surgery was closed, with notices on the door advising patients of alternative medical services.

The door to the Brondesbury Medical Centre this morning

The door to the Brondesbury Medical Centre this morning

What have I missed since October 13th?

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Stained glass windows were broken, but nothing was taken in a “bungled break-in” of St James’ church and post office.

After looking at Kentish Town a few weeks ago, this week’s Economist suggests that the success of Aldi in Kilburn should have the big supermarket chains worried.

Staff at South Hampstead’s Tesco committed a howler, and threw out a blind customer because they didn’t realise her dog was a guide dog. The company has since apologised and offered to make a £5,000 donation to a charity of the customer’s choice.

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The Railway pub closed on Wednesday for five months as work is done to convert the upper floors of the building. The Gallery closed Sunday night for two weeks for some less drastic work to take place – it reopens for a Halloween Party.

The tiny Christmas trees went up on West End Lane (a little early thought some), after Camden found external sponsors to cover the costs of Christmas decorations across the borough.

A new delivery service is bringing West Hampstead restaurants’ food to your door.

Keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of days – there’s a new event coming up on October 30th that I’m sure you’ll want to come along to! In the meantime, the next whampsocial is this Wednesday at Frida’s bar in Mamacita from 7.30pm.

Are we heading for an oversupply of rental properties in West Hampstead?

Tom checked out the gnocchi at The Salt House on Abbey Road. Did it meet his exacting standards?

Sirous has a new name and a new chef. El Rocio, as it’s now to be called, will apparently be 100% tapas.

Cyclists should pedal over to Sidings on Monday evening to learn more about proposals for cycling in the area, and London more broadly.

Tuesday’s Area Action Group meeting will be the first since May’s council elections. Come along and catch up on the local news.

Parts of Cholmley Gardens were evacuated on Tuesday after a gas leak.

The Little Waitrose is due to open on October 28th.

A residents association for Maygrove, Iverson, Loveridge, Ariel and Medley Roads came a step nearer to forming after a midweek meeeting.

There’s a petition to install a lift at West Hampstead tube station. Not sure how much good such things do, but it’s free to sign so…

Although a slightly odd petition to get people to stop spitting on the Kilburn High Road has at least encouraged some businesses to start putting signs up.

Kilburn station now has a well-established herb garden.

The Judge is Film of the Week, check out all the latest film news locally.

Lost a Beckford School PE bag? George the greengrocer on Mill Lane has it!

Loud sirens around the Thameslink station once again disrupted residents’ weekends. The noises are believed to be safety sirens alerting crews working on the Midland Main Line when other trains are coming through.

Swedish folk band Thisell is our Gig of the Week (Thursday at the Earl Derby). Check out all the local music listings.

Tweet of the Week

Tom’s knocked out by Salt House gnocchi

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I was pleased to find The Salt House on Abbey Road still a characterful pub after its recent refurbishment; it requires a subtle balance when a boozer aims for seriously good food but in a relaxing, pint & paper environment.

Equally pleasing was the quality of the cooking. Starters of smoked fishcakes, creamed leeks, mustard and chives, and goats’ curd with honeycomb and brioche, were delicately made and presented, with lively flavour combinations. £7.50 each, but the kitchen skills were evident.

Sides of tomato and red onion, and garden salads were decent, if basic, whilst a Chilean Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley was absolutely brilliant. That’s my main course sorted for next time then…

Was this taken after he'd already eaten half?

Was this taken after he’d already eaten half?

Side salads

Side salads

My star dish (and that of madam – who was in uncharacteristically unfussy mood) was a refined gnocchi of sweet potato, with roasted garlic and herbs. Delicate, light, and rounded off very nicely with Parmesan shavings. A simply lovely dish, so why not put a little more of it on the plate? Yes, the style here was most definitely upper-level pub grub, but for £12+ I felt it could have been a touch more generous – and I hope chef will take this as a compliment, as it was most definitely a delicious plate.

I’ve had some decidedly odd eating experiences recently; stroppy staff, missing items, and having to request being moved to the basement dining room due to the… errmm… ‘personal issues’ of another diner. So it’s reassuring to know there are establishments getting the basics right, even if my greedy appetite wasn’t completely satiated on this occasion.

Tom's wine pick

Tom’s wine pick

What have I missed since October 6th?

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Capital City motorbikes on Fortune Green has failed to comply with Camden enforcement notices regarding parking.

Camden cuts mean no Christmas trees this year in West Hampstead but there’s already a campaign going to raise the money to at least put one on West End Green.

The Railway closes on the 15th, and isn’t due to reopen until March while work goes on to convert the upper floors into self-contained flats.

Burt Reynolds in West Hampstead via Simon Borkin

Burt Reynolds in West Hampstead via Simon Borkin

Tesco’s trial of changing delivery times for its West End Lane branch to help ease traffic flow has been postponed until the New Year.

October’s Property of the Month is a 2-bed flat for rent in Hilltop Road.

David Hasselhoff turned up in Nando’s in Kilburn, much to everyone’s suprise.

Amid much speculation over its opening date, Waitrose put an “opens here soon” sign outside the old Pizza Express building that its currently refitting.

Rouge Lounge appears to be up for sale.

’71 is our Film of the Week. Check out our verdict on that and other new releases in the area. It’s also next Sunday’s NW6 Film Club screening at The Tricycle, it’s on at 5.30pm so plenty of time for a drink later.

A West Hampstead filmmaker has uncovered more details about The Great Train Robbery.

Remote View is at The Good Ship on Friday is our Gig of the Week. Check out all the local music listings.

The West Hampstead Christmas market is on December 6th; there are still some stalls available (£45), visit the website for contact details.

West End Lane Acts dodged the showers and held events for kids and adults on West End Green on Sunday.

There’s a proposal for a snazzy looking new café on the corner of Belsize Road and Kilburn High Road.

On Twitter, @exies posted a photo of her grandparents’ shop on Hemstal Road from the 1950s. Here it is today.

Tweet of the Week

Scooter showroom fails to comply in bike parking row

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Residents in Fortune Green have become increasingly unhappy with motorcycle showroom Capital City on Fortune Green Road, and have persuaded Camden to take action. Capital City has, however, failed to comply.

According to locals, who are reluctant to be named after what they claim have been some altercations with the showroom owners, the business continues to break numerous rules: parking motorcycles for sale on the pavement and road and thereby making it hard for pedestrians to pass (especially those with pushchairs or in wheelchairs), trading at unauthorised times, and causing noise disturbance.

The business is, they point out, also unauthorised to place vehicles on its own forecourt, as the premises is classified for A1 retail use, not a motorcycle showroom. Nearby neighbours complain that the parked vehicles can at times occupy up to five parking spaces in an area where parking is already limited, and that they are being disturbed by the noise and fumes of cycle repairs being carried out.

Camden’s planning department has issued two enforcement notices, the first of which was issued in March and concerns a timber structure erected to the rear of the building used as a garage, for which Capital City has no planning permission. Elizabeth Beaumont, Appeals and Enforcement Team Manager at Camden, confirmed in an email that “The enforcement notice for the rear extension was not complied with and prosecution procedures have begun.”

The second enforcement notice deals with the various breaches of planning controls. Capital City was given the choice to either cease using the unit as a motorcycle showroom, or to cease storing bikes on the forecourt, cease causing disturbance with repairs and only open for trading during designated hours and days. It had to either appeal or comply with the notice by October 4th, but Elizabeth Beaumont confirmed that this, too, had received no reaction: “A visit yesterday [Oct 7th] confirmed the notice had not been complied with and we are now commencing with prosecution procedures for this matter as well.”

This was also verified by a local resident who photographed the shop the day compliance was required. It clearly shows bikes parked outside.

Motorcycles on the forecourt and road

Motorcycles on the forecourt and road

Open for Sunday trading against regulations

Open for Sunday trading against regulations – note the ‘OPEN 7 DAYS’ sign

The same resident also alleges that Capital City has been using the road outside its premises and that of its neighbour, Nautilus, to park its motorcycles for sale, contravening the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 which prevents more than two motor vehicles from being sold outside on a public highway within 500m of each other.

West Hampstead Life spoke to Capital City about these alleged breaches of the planning regulations and asked if it planned to comply. Nick, one of the business’s owners, claimed not to have received the enforcement notice concerning the planning breaches, but said that he was in discussions with Camden’s planning department about making alterations to the wooden garage structure. He was unhappy to have received “abusive letters from people” and been “shouted at” whilst “trying to adhere to the rules”.

He said he was aware of the rule preventing vehicles to be advertised for sale on the road, but that motorcycles parked on the street were in fact “customers’ bikes brought in for repair”, and were legally parked on a stretch of the road which is available for public parking after 12pm, not residents’ parking bays.

This is countered by a photograph taken by another neighbour, who also claims Capital City had two cars for sale outside its showroom.

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It now seems that the only end to this situation is if Camden successfully manage to prosecute the business. Residents meanwhile are increasingly frustrated by Capital City’s unwillingness to change its behaviour, and by the slow-moving processes of the planning department – the issue was first flagged to Camden at least 12 months ago.

Local filmmaker sheds light on Great Train Robbery mystery

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Simon Howley, a West Hampstead film maker, has spent two years producing a new documentary about the Great Train Robbery.

A Tale of Two Thieves features interview footage with one of the last surviving gang members, Douglas Gordon Goody, now 85 years old and living in Spain. He reminisces about the notorious 1963 robbery that shocked the nation. More than £2.6 million was stolen (the equivalent of almost £50 million today), and the train driver was badly beaten.

Simon, who has lived in West Hampstead for 20 years, travelled regularly to Spain during the production of the film to meet Goody and gradually built up a relationship with him. It wasn’t the original plan. “We set out to make a TV series about a rock legend, which never happened, but through our meeting with his management team we were introduced to Gordon Goody.”

Film producer Simon Howley (right) with Douglas Gordon Goody

Film producer Simon Howley (right) with Douglas Gordon Goody

Through meetings with Goody, the truth behind another kind of legend was uncovered – the identity of the man known only as “The Ulsterman”, the insider who passed vital information to the rest of the gang that enabled them to carry out the robbery. Goody broke a 50-year silence to name The Ulsterman as postal worker Patrick McKenna. The film production team hired a private detective to track down and identify the man in an attempt to piece together the missing elements of the story. It turned out McKenna had died some years earlier.

Simon says he and his team were not initially drawn to the project, thinking that the Great Train Robbery had been covered so many times that it was “old hat”; but upon meeting Goody “we realised that there was actually lots of life left in the story and a very strong new angle – first naming and then finding the mysterious insider.”

The film’s UK release was last Friday. No local screenings are slated as yet, but the documentary is available to buy on DVD from Amazon, or look out for it when it airs on TV in the new year.

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What have I missed since September 29th?

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The West Hampstead free school campaign did not receive approval from the Department for Education.

The CNJ reported on the revised plans for Liddell Road (and locals’ discontent) with them.

Whampbooks is back – Books, bargains and booze on November 6th at West End Lane Books.

Sunset at Finchley Road Homebase. Late Turner anyone? via Sean Patterson

Sunset at Finchley Road Homebase. Late Turner anyone? via Sean Patterson

Maygrove Road residents are looking to set up a residents assocation, also including Iverson, Ariel and Loveridge Road. There’s a meeting on October 15th about it if you’re interested in being part of it.

The planning application for the Iverson Tyres site finally went in. (As always, the Design & Access statements are the best documents to start with).

Tom was cheesed off with a £10 sandwich at The Black Lion in Kilburn.

The overnight Overground work has resumed and will continue for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the sirens that accompanied the points work on the fast lines by Thameslink were driving many of you crazy.

You’ve certainly passed it on the 328 bus, but do you know the history of Kilburn’s Animal War Memorial Dispensary?

Gone Girl is our Film of the Week. Rather than full listings, we’re trialling a brief round-up of what else is on in the area. Feedback welcome.

Pressure continues to build on the council (and local councillors) to do something about the rubbish problems on the streets of West Hampstead.

Gig of the Week is the Silencio Sessions at Heath Street Church on Tuesday.

The Kilburn Literary Festival announced its programme (from Oct 30th-Nov 4th), including a talk by local historian and former parliamentary candidate Ed Fordham on the history of Kilburn’s authors.

We had another great whampsocial; the next one is Oct 22nd.

JW3 celebrated its first anniversary (and has a stellar season of talks lined up for the rest of the year).

A Sangiovese from Vini Vivi was September’s Wine of the Month.

Sidings Community Centre’s Heritage Fair was a big hit.

Toomai is now operating its full menu.

A combination of transport woes on Wednesday led to some impressive crowds building up at St Pancras station as people tried to get home.

Boris Johnson decided to leave the decision on the Swiss Cottage tower block to Camden, which has already refused it. Campaigners were delighted.

Next Sunday a new event takes place on and around West End Green.

Dominos on Finchley Road has closed. I have it on good authority that the West Hampstead one just isn’t as good…

Some news we missed from earlier in the month, The Garden Friends of NW2 group – responsible for the tree pit gardens on Fordwych Road among other things, was awarded 2nd prize in Camden in Bloom’s Best
Community Project category.

Urban Leisure Group, which owns The Gallery and The Alice House among others, won Caterer.com’s Best Employer in Hospitality 2014 award.

If you think Fortune Green is the bestest Green ever, you can vote for it here (doesn’t work from phones I’m afraid and is a wee bit faffy, but would mean a lot to the Friends of Fortune Green).

Apparently, shisha bar Monte Cristo will be appealing Camden’s decision to refuse it planning permission.

Police are trying to find this man, after a woman was flashed at in Kilburn.

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“They had no choice”: Kilburn’s Animal War Memorial Dispensary

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The recent commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War has focused many people’s thoughts on the service men and women who fought, died and survived the conflict. Ten years ago, attention centered on the millions of animals and birds that served alongside British, Commonwealth and Allied troops in all conflicts during the twentieth century. The memorial to Animals in War in Park Lane was unveiled on 24 November 2004. An inscription reads, ‘They had no choice.’ But Kilburn is home to a much earlier – and more active – memorial to the nation’s service animals.

RSPCA Cambridge Ave NW6

Horses, dogs and donkeys were the most commonly used animals – mainly for transport and haulage, but camels, elephants, pigeons, bullocks, dogs and goats were all pressed into service. They suffered from exposure, lack of food and disease, dying alongside their human companions.

The Park Lane memorial was the fulfilment of an idea that dates as far back as the early 1920s when the RSPCA proposed a memorial for animals that had served in WWI. A committee was set up, funds were raised and the site chosen was Hyde Park corner. In 1925 photographs of the proposed memorial were submitted to Westminster City Council but there the project appears to have stalled.

Instead the RSPCA decided on a more practical commemoration, in the form of the Animal War Memorial Dispensary in Kilburn, where, in the words of a contemporary report, ‘the sick, injured or unwanted animals of poor people could receive, free of charge, the best possible veterinary attention, or a painless death.’

It took many years to find a site for the Animal War Memorial Dispensary. The RSPCA acquired 10 Cambridge Avenue in March 1931 and that May, the freeholders allowed a change of use from a private house to a ‘free dispensary for sick and injured animals.’

The memorial inscription on the Kilburn building is echoed by that in Hyde Park: ‘To all animals who suffered and perished in the Great War knowing nothing of the cause, looking forward to no final victory, filled only with love, faith and loyalty, they endured much and died for us.’

Thirty one sculptors entered the competition for a memorial design for the main facade of the building. Frederick Brook Hitch of Hertford was the winner. The panel over the entrance had to be removable, as the RSPCA only held a lease, not the freehold of Number 10 Cambridge Avenue.

RSPCA plaque on the outside of the Dispensary in Kilburn

RSPCA plaque on the outside of the Dispensary in Kilburn

A local paper recorded the official opening on 10 November 1932, by the Countess of Warwick. But the dispensary had been at work for over a year, during which time 6,000 animals had been treated. The ceremony was preceded by a meeting at St Augustine’s School in Kilburn Park Road, presided over by the Chairman of the RSPCA, Sir Robert Gower.

By the mid 1930s, more than 50,000 animals and birds had received attention at the Dispensary. At the rear of the well-equipped premises were glass fronted kennels and catteries with a loose box for horses. There was accommodation on site for vet and an assistant, providing 24 hour care. In 1936 alone, 9,756 animals passed through the doors.

Plaque side 1 RSPCAThe RSPCA clinic at Cambridge Road is still open. The main door is flanked by two marble memorial panels. They record that 484,143 animals were killed by enemy action, disease or accident and that 725,216 animals were treated by the RSPCA during WW1. We now know the overall mortality figures were far higher, with an estimated 8 million horses dying in WW1.

Plaque side RSPCAThe horse is the animal most often associated with the European conflict. In 1914, the British and German armies had a cavalry force of some 100,000 men, but the development of trench warfare rendered cavalry charges unviable as a military tactic. But horses and mules were still needed to transport materials and supplies and to pull guns and ambulances. The animals also had to be fed, watered and tended. Strong ties developed between horse and rider. The Daily Mail on 31st December 1914, carried an article by a Welsh soldier serving in the Royal Field Artillery. He’d been with his horses for several years before war broke out. He said;

I could talk to them just as I am talking to you. There was not a word I said that they did not understand. And they could answer me – I was never once at a loss to know what they meant. Early in the retreat from Mons, a shell crashed right into the midst of the section with which I was moving. My gun was wrecked. I was ordered to help with another. As I mounted the fresh horse to continue the retreat, I saw my two horses struggling and kicking on the ground to free themselves. I could not go back to them, I tell you it hurt me. Suddenly a French chasseur dashed up to them, cut the traces, and set them at liberty. I was a good way ahead by then, but kept looking at them, and I could tell they saw me. Those horses followed me for four days. We stopped for hardly five minutes and I could not get back to them. There was no work for them but they kept their places in the line liked trained soldiers. They were following me to the very end. Whenever I looked, there they were in the line, watching me so anxiously and sorrowfully as to make me feel guilty of deserting them. Whether they got anything to eat, I do not know. I wonder if they dropped out from sheer exhaustion – I hope to Heaven it was not that. At any rate, one morning when the retreat was all but over, I missed them. I suppose I shall never see them again. That’s the sort of thing that hurts a soldier in war.

During the Gallipoli campaign, horses became so weak they collapsed and died in the mud and shell holes. When the New Zealand Forces were sent home, their horses were divided into three classes. Some mares were kept for breeding purposes; other horses were transferred to the British Army. Of the final group, many were destined to be butchered for meat.

Dead horses in 1918 (image copyright free via the Imperial War Museum)

Dead horses in 1918 (image copyright free via the Imperial War Museum)

Dogs accompanied sentries on patrol, carried messages and worked as scouts, ‘sniffing’ out the enemy ahead. Others acted as medics, sent onto the battlefield equipped with basic supplies that allowed a wounded man to tend to his own injuries. They might also stay with a fatally injured soldier until he died.

Pigeons were very reliable when it came to sending messages. It has been calculated that they had an astonishing 95% success rate getting through to their destination. The Government even issued a special ‘Defence of the Realm Regulation’ to prohibit the shooting of homing pigeons. Offenders were warned they faced six months imprisonment or a £100 fine.

A pigeon named ‘Cher Ami’ was awarded the Croix de Guerre for work in the American sector around Verdun in 1918. On her last mission, Cher Ami was shot but delivered a message that gave the co-ordinates of 194 soldiers cut off behind enemy lines. The men were rescued. Cher Ami recovered and was sent back to the USA where she died in 1919. Her body was put on display at the Smithsonian museum, Washington D.C.

There is newsreel footage of animals in service during WW1; but be warned many of them make for unpleasant viewing.

http://www.britishpathe.com/gallery/war-animals
http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/wwianimals

What have I missed since September 15th?

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A double-edition this week covering the past fortnight.

There was a second public meeting about the Liddell Road development. Camden has knocked three floors off the height of the tower, bringing it down to 11 storeys, and added (from a base of zero), four affordable units out of the 100 now proposed. Residents at the meeting remained underwhelmed.

The Hampstead Cricket Club celebrity cricket match was another star-studded occasion, and a suitably fun close to the season before next season’s 150th anniversary year kicks off

La Smorfia is up for rent – could be a prime spot given its proximity to the new Waitrose.

Urban ornithology via Morten Schultz

Urban ornithology via Morten Schultz

Did Jack the Ripper live in West Hampstead? Obviously depends on who you think the Rippper was!

The campaign to get a lift installed at West Hampstead tube station intensified.

Property News looked at the impending arrival of Foxtons – how bad could it be?….

Remix opened its new salon/saloon on Broadhurst Gardens – a bar in a hairdressers… what will they think of next!

The weekday market continues to impress – and now even local restaurants are getting in on the act as Ladudu set up stall.

After a bit of dithering about, the new local councillors have decided to continue to hold a joint West Hampstead/Fortune Green wards meeting every few months. The next one will be October 21st – it’s a good chance to meet your new councillors and find out what’s been happening since May.

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What have I missed since September 8th?

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Three men on trial for the murder of Sabrina Moss in Kilburn just over a year ago each received a life sentence.

There’s a second public meeting on Wednesday about the plans for Liddell Road, at which the council is expected to present a revised proposal.

The Railway will be closing for six months on October 16th and reopening in March while the upper floors are converted into flats.

Dynham Sunset via @damawa42

Dynham Sunset via @damawa42

Camden councillors rejected the plan for a 24-storey tower block at Swiss Cottage despite council planners recommending it for approval. Expect the developer to appeal or submit revised plans.

Tom’s Diner roadtested the menu (most of the menu) at Wagamama’s new Finchley Road restaurant

Some local cooks knocked up a delicious tart from ingredients at the farmers’ market.

More cranes arrived at West Hampstead Square.

We reviewed True West at the Tricycle Theatre

Another week, another whampsocial… If you haven’t come along to one yet, why on earth not? The next one is October 1st.

It looks like a new residents association is forming for Maygrove Road, probably including Iverson, Ariel and Loveridge Roads.

A West Hampstead teenager has won a national volunteering award.

The annual celebrity cricket match takes place this coming Sunday. Well worth going along to.

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You say tomato, I say delicious

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We’re bang in the middle of tomato season, and what better way to make the most of them than in a Summer Tomato Tart. Local residents and enthusiastic foodies Emily and Sophie Cook from the Cooks Cook website have kindly shared this great recipe – they popped down to the West Hampstead Farmers’ market on Saturday to get a fantastic selection of fresh tomatoes from the organic fruit and veg stall, before preparing this delicious dish.

Sophie chooses tomatoes at the farmers' market

Sophie chooses tomatoes at the farmers’ market

Over to Sophie for the recipe!

The tomatoes really speak for themselves in this tart, and are just divine against the caramelised onion and the pastry case. If time is short, simply use a pre-rolled sheet instead of making your own – this way it becomes super easy to prepare. Otherwise follow our recipe below. I’ve used wholemeal flour which I find doesn’t “puff” as much as plain flour but I don’t find that matters for this. Plus it’s healthier and tastes great against the sweet filling.

Ingredients

Puff pastry:
1 puff pastry sheet OR the below if you are making your own:
300g wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
250g butter, softened
150ml ice cold water

Tart filling:
2 tbsp butter
5 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
2 red onions, sliced
1 pound tomatoes, cherry, grape or vine
Large handful fresh basil leaves
Salad flowers for garnish, optional

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Make the puff pastry. (If you are using a pre-made roll, skip to step 5). Whisk together 200g flour with 1 tsp salt, slowly adding and whisking in 100ml of water followed by 100g of butter. If too sticky, add more flour, too dry, more water.
3. On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It should become more elastic and smoother in appearance. Bring back to a ball and slice through the top with a sharp knife. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes. Next is the second step to the pastry.
4. Whisk together the remaining pastry ingredients then knead until a smooth-ish ball is formed. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes. Now you can get on with the rest of the tart.
5. Heat 1 tbsp butter over a medium heat. Add onions, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp water and stir occasionally until the onions have caramelised. This could take up to 15 minutes. Once you get there, transfer them to a bowl.
6. In an oven-proof frying pan heat the remaining sugar and water until it starts to turn brown. Now add the tomatoes, scattering the cooked onions around. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
7. By now the pastry should be ready to construct (if using a pre-rolled sheet, skip this step). Take the pastry with the slit down the middle and roll until flat. Place the buttery dough ball in the middle and completely wrap up with the pastry sheet. With a rolling pin, batter the pastry until flat, then roll out to a flat rectangle. Fold the pastry from each side into the centre and roll out again – repeating this step a few times.
8. Roll the pastry to about half a cm in thickness, then cut a circle as big as the largest width of your frying pan. Place this over the tart filling, ensuing the pastry edges are tucked in and completely cover everything. Slit the top several times with a knife.
9. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. The top should become golden in colour.
10. To remove the tart, simply turn the pan upside down over a serving dish. Now wedge the basil leaves between the tomatoes, scatter with the edible flowers if using, and you are ready to serve.

The finished tart, ready to serve!

The finished tart, ready to serve!

Tom gets fresh at Wagamama

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Enjoyed a bit of a feast at Wagamama in the O2 Centre recently, partly due to the generous vouchers sent to Diner HQ, and partly due to sheer greed. With enthusiasm to give the menu a decent examination, three of us settled in with a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio to see whether this popular chain restaurant could compete with local independent noodly favourites.

Whilst Nicky wasn’t a huge fan of the pork ribs, finding these types of things generically greasy, Jonathan happily got stuck in, whilst I devoured some wonderful, garlic-laced, wok-fried greens – a simple dish we all enjoyed. Also scoring points for healthiness and taste was goma wakame salad; Nicky describes this as “a Japanese-style ‘coleslaw’ of seaweed, with crunchy carrot and sesame seeds”. I concur, and with its subtle dressing, this was a delicious and fresh plate that I’d have as a side rather than a starter.

Ebi gyoza, little dumplings of prawn and vegetables, slightly divided opinion with their deep-fried, less-soft form. I really liked them, and they somehow reminded me of those wholewheat versions of pasties you buy at the larger railway stations (yes, I’m so dull I actually choose wholewheat pasties!)

Chilli squid proved pleasant enough, as did Jonathan’s main of beef teriyaki with soba noodles. The yasai chilli men (sounds like Lego people running their own noodle bar!) was a winner – Nicky described it as being “like a fusion of an Italian pasta dish with Asian flavours and noodles”, and indeed it was a fine dish, colourful and zingy with a very pleasing chargrilled flavour to the chunky veg.

maincourses700

Beef teriyaki and yasai chilli men

I tried a new summer special offering, the coconut seafood broth and, as with last time I had a soup-based dish in Wagamama, I was surprised and actually quite enthralled by the depth of flavour – absolutely brilliant and perfectly balanced in that hot, salty, sweet and sour way. The seafood within was fine, but that broth, I’d have gone through gallons of it. It even seemed to work with the Pinot Grigio (second bottle by then!) quite well.

Coconut seafood broth, just before Tom (literally?) dived in

Coconut seafood broth, just before Tom (literally?) dived in

Desserts were a bit of fun; I had some miniature cheesecakes and things, while Nicky gorged on black sesame ice cream mochi, which Jonathan and I snobbed-out at due to their rather odd, gelatinous coating.

Easy to sum up this one – enjoyable, satisfying food, nice and fresh, and strong on pungent, spicy flavours. Decent portions, with more character in the dishes than one might imagine from a chain eatery of this type. I also consider this might be very good hangover food… so I expect we’ll find reason to pop in again soon!

What have I missed since September 1st?

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The Hampstead Butcher & Providore is set to open next month in the unit previously occupied by the greengrocer next to The Wet Fish Café. As owner Philip Matthews said, you asked for it – now use it! Here’s what it’ll look like.

The new daily streetfood market aimed at the evening rush hour opened to acclaim.

The final draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan has been submitted to Camden. We’ll get the chance to vote on it early next year.

Thameslink sunset by @StevenTart

Thameslink sunset by @StevenTart

Camden’s planning officers are recommending the planning committee votes in favour of the large tower block development at 100 Avenue Road in Swiss Cottage. Protestors are planning a large presence at the Town Hall for the vote on Thursday evening.

Debate continues over whether closing Billy Fury Way makes sense

NW6 Film Club is back from the summer break with Pride on September 14th at The Tricycle.

September’s Property of the Month is a doer-upper in Gondar Gardens.

A professional tennis tournament took place this week at the Cumberland Club. Top seed Dan Evans sadly withdrew during his opening round match.

The Fortune Green Choir’s autumn season starts on September 16th. “Wide-ranging repertoire and no auditions”. All welcome.

Wet Fish Café owner André appeared on London Live answering some deep philosophical questions.

Local author and historian Simon Inglis gave an entertaining talk on his new book Played in London at West End Lane Books. If you’re interested in London history then it’s well worth a read.

The Film on Fortune Green was another success. Well done to all who pedalled their way through it!

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West Hampstead’s Neighbourhood Plan enters final phase

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After two and half years work, the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum has produced the final draft of the Neighbourhood Plan for our area – which has been formally submitted to Camden Council.

The Plan is based on extensive consultation, engagement and research – as well as the previous seven drafts of the Plan drawn up before this version.

The final document has been amended to reflect the comments submitted during the consultation period on the “pre-submission (7th) draft” during January and February, help from Camden Council planning officers and advice from independent planning consultants.

The Neighbourhood Plan – and supporting documents – can be seen in full on our website: www.ndpwesthampstead.org.uk

The Plan covers the two Camden Council wards of Fortune Green and West Hampstead (see Map 1 in the Plan). The main focus of the Plan is set out in the Vision and Objectives (see page 10). The objectives cover six areas: housing, design & character, transport, public & community facilities, economy, and natural environment.

The Plan contains 18 policies (in blue boxes) on a range of issues from housing to business, from cycling to trees. If the Plan is adopted, these policies will be used in deciding planning applications in area – so could have a direct impact on your street, as well as the wider area.

What happens next?

  • Camden Council will carry out a six week consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan from 18 September to 31 October – when further comments can be submitted.
  • The Plan, and comments received, will then be submitted to an independent examiner – who will write a report and decide if the Plan can proceed to a referendum.
  • If all goes well, the referendum on the Plan will take place in early 2015 – everyone on the electoral register in the area will get a vote.

The NDF will keep people posted as to how things progress over the coming months:

We’re also looking for people who can help with the referendum campaign – if you’re interested, please let us know.

Finally – a big thank you to everyone who’s played a part in helping the NDF and the Plan reach this important stage.

James Earl
(Chair, Fortune Green & West Hampstead NDF)

Neighbourhood Plan_final draft cover

A butcher arrives in West End Lane – finally

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It’s a cry that has reverberated round the streets and social media networks of the area for years: “Why can’t West Hampstead have a butcher?” Now the (non-vegetarian, at least) residents of West Hampstead have reason to celebrate.

Beef ribs will be aged and matured on the premises (Photo: http://www.hampsteadbutcher.com/)

Beef ribs will be aged and matured on the premises (Photo: http://www.hampsteadbutcher.com/)

The Hampstead Butcher and Providore, a well-known fixture on Rosslyn Hill in Hampstead, has announced that it will open a second branch on West End Lane in October. The shop will be situated at the site next door to the Wet Fish Café, which is currently a greengrocer’s.

Like its Hampstead shop, the West End Lane branch will stock fresh cuts of meat as well as a range of prepared terrines, pies, pâtés and convenient “oven-ready choices”. Those who place importance on the provenance of the meat they buy will be pleased to hear about the company’s ethos, which promises “British, fresh, traceable, ethically-reared meat”. It will also sell wine, which may soften the blow of nearby Brooksby Wines closure.

Philip Matthews, owner of the business, said that West Hampstead was the logical choice of area to open a second shop: “It’s always been number one on our shortlist of London villages – many of our customers travel over from West Hampstead anyway, so the demand for quality meat is clearly there”. The business had investigated opening here a couple of years ago, but the deal fell through, much to the anguish of many locals.

Philip is keen for the business to engage with and become a part of the local community, with plans for wine and food tasting events in the future. He commented “Now it’s time for West Hampstead residents to uphold their end of the bargain and come in and shop with us”.

Let’s hope the carnivorous locals cries for a butcher translate into support for the new venture. The meat stalls at the farmers’ market are always busy, and with Waitrose soon to open just across from the new butcher as well, the demand for good quality meat may just about be sated soon.

 

 

Streetfood market opens to praise

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Yesterday was the first day of a new West Hampstead venture. A daily streetfood market by the Thameslink station, aimed at the evening commuter crowd.

Up to eight stalls will be on site, and the selection will change slightly each week. This week, commuters can choose from Jamaican specialities, gourmet burgers, Indian curries, falafel wraps, sweet and savoury crepes, and roast meat sandwiches. Fresh bread from Tomi Bakery is also on sale.

Feedback yesterday was positive, and the Mumbai Mix stall tweeted proudly that they’d sold out of chicken curry before 8pm when the market closes.

Amelias crepes

Alison and Max at their crepe stall (Amelia not pictured)

Falafel

Falafel fresh from the fryer

Mumbai Mix

The chicken curry was a hit at Mumbai Mix

Sticky Beaks

Sticky Beaks setting up

Streetfood market

Some early customers to the market

The market is on every weekday from 4pm-8pm. It will be interesting to see if it can sustain momentum after the novelty wears off, especially earlier in the week – but with a good selection of stalls and customers willing to support an innovative idea, it could become a West Hampstead institution.