A much better Bankside
21 July
Well, they certainly know how to throw a good bash down at Bankside. The enthusiastic bunch of new shops, restaurants and offices that have sprang up behind Tate Modern, decided it was time to officially tell the world that they are open for business on Friday 11 July.
Joy and O’Sulivans Hair and Beauty put on a fashion show, graffiti artist Sholto did his thing while party-goers left their mark on the Doodle Walls, and street dancers, the world’s largest Beat Box choir and street opera performers heated things up on a rainy eve.
Of course a party is nothing without nibbles, and Del’Aziz, Tsuru, Leon and Crussh were on hand to make sure folk were well fed.
If you haven't discovered this place yet - you're missing out.
See www.visitbankside.com
Cheers to Kennington
17 July
Exciting news! After wondering for an age what the pub at the fork of Kennington Park Road and Kennington Lane was shaping up to be, it turns out that its to be a new wine bar and brasserie – hurrah! I discovered the answer right under my nose on a flyer that has been riding around in my handbag for a ridiculously long time – if only I’d read it earlier!
Hervé Regent, chef proprietor of French restaurant the Lobster Pot, is the guy to thank. He’s snapped up the pub and handed over management to his sons Nolan and Florent. The scaffolding is down, the logo is up, and things are looking good.
Called Toulouse Lautrec, it will feature a brasserie downstairs (with two courses for £16 and three courses for £20) and a wine bar upstairs with snacks and regular live music.
Watch this space for news of the opening!
Victoria
Lions and tigers and bears...
16 July
Oh, I despair! Seems I missed a treat at Waterloo Carnival last Friday. After spending the last couple of weeks looking forward to it I fell prey to that “just a quick drink after work” trick. You know, the one that turns into a few pints and then you find yourself in an impossibly tiny house on Chancery Lane drinking sake?
Anywho, the theme was The Wizard of Oz and a colourful procession of monkeys, witches and even ruby slippers wound its way through the streets to the Millennium Green and in the evening, Lower Marsh became the Emerald City, with music and good old cabaret hosted by non other than the Emerald Queen.
Still, there’s always next year. For now I’ll just have to do with some pretty pictures.
Boris' Big Dance
4 July
"Big Dance is a chance for Londoner's to get down and strut their funky stuff," says Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Touché!
Boris looked a little out of his depth flanked by 50 dancers on the Millenium Bridge on Thursday, where he launched the London-wide festival of dance.
On Monday evening, keep an eye out for an army of rush hour Tango dancers, who will show off their skills on all te bridges between Westminster bridge and Tower Bridge. Those not lucky enough to cross the river on their way home, try lurking around London Bridge or Waterloo stations instead - they'll be there too (see www.tangocommute.com).
The Scoop (quite the hive of activity in summer) is hosting events daily until 10 July, such as Rock challenge on Tuesday and Sing it to the Rhythm Workshop on Thursday.
The week wraps up with Primary Bank Big Dance at the Siobhan Davies Studios on Saturday where the adorable year five pupils preset the friit of their labour of the last year with a live dance exhibition, dance games and art displays. See www.siobhandavies.com.
Watch Boris launch Big Dance 2008 and confess his love of getting down to the Rolling Stones
Musical musings
25 June
We don’t have much in the way of pop stars in our locale (please do correct me if I’m wrong!), but I recently came across a young lady who has spun our beloved Kennington into song. And what a song! Kennington, a soulful summer ballad, is the debut single from Natasha’s first album Yellow Flowers and is due for release 7 July. In the meantime, you can listen to this and other songs from the album at www.natashapanasmusic.com
And from one great discovery to another – this one at the other end of the musical spectrum – is Al Pillay’s latest offering A Life in Song. This double CD of big, brassy cabaret numbers recorded live at the Cafe De Paris takes you on a journey through Al’s life, from his upbringing in Grimsby Town to his forthcoming stint in Las Vegas, all strung together with songs ranging from David Bowie’s Space Oddity and Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, which, in a moment of weakness, almost brought a tear to my eye. Get your hands on a copy from the National Theatre Bookshop, South Bank SE1 9PX; 020 7452 3456. See www.alpillay.com
Victoria
Stones roll at Southwark Cathedral
23 June
I’ve just recovered from the shock of not being invited to the wedding of Ronnie Wood’s daughter Leah Wood at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday. Keith Richard, Cilla Black and Kate Moss were all there – perhaps my invite got lost in the post?
Ok, delusions of grandeur aside, the bride looked beautiful in a traditional white gown with a six foot train. Borough Market shoppers were treated to quite a spectacle, especially as Kate Moss dashed into the cathedral late with daughter Lila. The groom, Jack MacDonald, is the son of Shakespeare’s Globe’s Master of Movement Glynn MacDonald.
Glynn is also a champion of the Alexander Technique, a self-improvement method that encourages grace and poise, and low and behold, she teaches at the South Bank Alexander Centre (
www.alexandercentre.co.uk).
Isn’t it amazing what you can discover when you scratch the surface?
Victoria
Generation next
19 June
The City and Guilds of London Art School is holding their 2008 graduation show until 22 June.
Head over to Kennington Park Road to see the fruits of the latest crop of art students graduating in Fine Art Painting and Sculpture, Conservation, Stone and Wood Carving.
Thur 19 June 10am-7.30pm
Fri 20 June 10am-7.30pm
Sat 21 June 10am-5pm
Sun 22 June 10am-5pm
124 Kennington Park Road SE11 4DJ; 020 7735 2306 / 5210
www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk
Festival fever
14 June
Check out Rueda at Carnival de Cuba 2006 at Southwark Park...
Canival de Cuba takes place this year 28-29 June at Southwark Park.
Click here to find out more.
All that glitters...
12 June
London Jewellery Week brings shimmer and splendour to the Oxo Tower this weekend, with D’Argent Gallery, Studio Fusion Gallery and Alan Vallis coming together to form Jewellery 3 at Oxo.
The three independant galleries have created special exhibitions for the week, so take advantage of the warmer weather and stroll down the southbank to see elaborate displays from all three.
For more information contact Gudde Skyrme on 07713 294 947
Sat 14 June, 11am-6pm
Sun 15 June, 1pm-5pm
www.londonjewelleryweek.co.uk
Also not to be missed is Treasure at the Tower of London. Check out the Crown Jewels before feasting your eyes on sparkling collections by the finest emerging talent in jewellery design.
12-15 June, last entry to Tower 5pm
www.treasureatthetower.com
Have you seen it yet?
30 May
Strolling along the modern, sophisticated More London riverside, you wouldn't expect to see a giant drill head bursting through the surface. But that's what bemused passers-by saw last week when artist Paul St George finally finished "tunnelling" from Brooklyn, New York.
Wander past today and you'll see the Telectroscope attraction in full swing - say hello to NYC!
To read more about the Telectroscope click here and scroll down to "tunnel vision"
Boris, Banksy and Bank Holiday madness
19 May 08
Bank Holiday weekends, I’ve decided, are best spent in London. Not only are the roads, trains and buses out of the capital a nightmare, the chances of getting stranded by Network Rail’s overrunning engineering works are increasingly high. London itself is usually pretty peaceful.
Last Bank Holiday weekend, I went for a little Japanese food at Southwark’s Tsuru and a lot of beer at the George Inn, Borough, followed by utter debauchery at Shunt Vaults under London Bridge station (is it just me, or does that place double in size every time you go?). We staggered home in the wee small hours to news of Boris’ mayoral victory (which we had refused to believe until we’d seen it ourselves on the news).
The following day, which admittedly didn’t commence until a couple of strong coffees and the obligatory bacon sandwich had been sunk, some friends and I managed to walk over to see the Banksy action in the Leake Street tunnel.
No wonder the rest of the city was so tranquil – half London’s population had descended on Waterloo! The sight of hordes of people cramming themselves into a gloomy pedestrian tunnel under the rail tracks was really something.
And it seems voters weren’t the only ones who were quite taken with Blue Boris; Banksy had plastered his face around quite generously (the Queen, too, made a couple of less-than-flattering appearances).
We emerged, blinking into the sunlight at the other end, having probably only managed to take in about 40% of the madness around us. But we consoled ourselves with some posh bangers, courtesy of the Borough-market based guys who know how to season their sausages!
If you missed out on the Banksy bedlam, you can still catch the satire-laced stencil works, but the insane installations, namely crashed, smashed and buried cars, have gone. I’ve posted a few images for you below.
Have a great Bank Holiday!
Victoria
Banksy does Waterloo
...and welcome Boris
5 May 08
Out with the old and in with the new: Boris takes up the reigns as mayor from today.
Watch Boris' entertaining acceptance speech
It's farewell to Ken...
5 May 08
Being politically inept, I couldn't possibly attempt to qualify the election results qualify as good or bad news, but there’s something quite sad about our first London Mayor being shown the boot so decisively.
Red Ken, born and bred in Streatham, has had quite an impact on the capital. He's pushed through planning permission for some amazing feats of architecture, City Hall included (it must hurt to be emptying that desk), got to grips with public transport, instigated a number of anti-racism policies, and even tried to turn London green.
But enough of that. Ken’s eight-year reign of London is over, and in steps Boris, his bicycle and his hair. Let’s see what happens…
Ken Livingstone's speech after learning his second term as mayor was to be his last
Water, water everywhere
29 April 08
After a glorious Saturday spent strolling the South Bank with tourists and locals out on mass soaking up the rays, the heavens opened on Sunday and the flip-flops were relegated straight back to the depths of the wardrobe.
Local businesses on Tooley Street however, had a little more to worry about than the debut of their spring-summer wardrobe when a burst water main sent seven million litres of water gushing onto the road. The resulting power failure resulted in 21 operations being cancelled at St Guy’s Hospital, City Hall, Hilton Tower Bridge and the restaurants and cafes on the More London estates were affected, as were surrounding office buildings and, ironically, Southwark Council’s emergency call centre.
The kitchen at Magdalen restaurant was under eight inches of water on Sunday morning, but have reopened today. Owner Roger Faulks said: “The main burst occurred right outside our restaurant and flooded our basement kitchens and part of the ground floor. Damage was substantial but with a Herculean effort we have replaced and repaired damaged and dead equipment and cleaned and scrubbed with the result that after a mere two-days closure we are re-opening today.
“It’s a testament to what can be achieved by small organisations when everyone pulls together.”
City Hall remains closed, and with election day looming tomorrow it’s a headache Ken Livingstone could probably do without.
Victoria
Don’t forget to vote! www.londonelects.org.uk
See the chaos the flood brought to Tooley Street
The marathon aftermath
17 April 08
So, I caught up with my post-marathon, stiff-limbed friend two days after the race – she was tired, perma-hungry and finding stairs rather tricky! But the girl crossed the finishing line just over four-and-a-half hours and I’m so very proud of her.
Heavy showers and hail made for less-than-pleasant viewing conditions, though it’s hard to complain when you’re huddled under a brolly on the sidelines watching scores of people running through it!
We missed her on the approach to Tower Bridge (my friends had been right, it was incredibly busy with both runners and spectators), but we did see the Masai warriors walking past with duct-taped spears. So we moved on to Embankment and caught her at the 25-mile mark, tired and soggy but still running!
There were plenty of celebs to be spotted too, with the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Ronan Keating and Kate Lawler pounding the tarmac (the latter in skimpy Ann Summers undies), but non of us noticed – I guess nobody looks like a celeb when they’re sweaty and tired.
I was also keeping my eyes peeled for Buster Martin, the 101-year-old Lambeth resident with hopes of being the oldest man to complete a marathon (a record currently held by Greek runner Dimitrion Yordanidis, who finished the Athens marathon in 1976 aged 98). He finished in just over 10 hours, but it seems he’s now become the centre of a media storm in a tea cup after it emerged that he might be only 94. Buster is struggling to find conclusive proof of his age, and until he does, the Guinness World Records won’t accept his entry.
But still, he completed it, an achievement in itself, and he may find comfort in the fact that he wasn’t the only one who failed to break a record – four men attempting to break the world record for fastest marathon dressed as a superhero couldn’t better the record of three hours, four minutes and five seconds. Shame.
Victoria
Post-marathon aches and pains? Click here for recovery tips
Welcome to Reach online
9 April 08
Well hello there and welcome to Reach magazine online! We at the Reach team are very happy to bring our latest celebrity interviews, local features, food and beauty news et al straight to your computer.
Now you can check up on the must-see, must-do events in the area at the click of a button, or sit back and enjoy the best of past and present editions while at work (on your lunch hour, of course).
I’ll be popping up right here between editions to deliver the latest gossip from out and about and to alert you to must-read sections of the website. Right now, I’m gearing up for the London Marathon on Sunday – not to run it, I’m not that nuts – but to watch it. Pubs along the route are sure to be packed (especially as rain is forecast) and patience is sure to be tested by the crowds.
I’ve got my eye on the River Bar and Brasserie on Tower Bridge Road, but my friends doth protest, “Tower Bridge is one of the most crowded spots – we’ll be crushed!”
“That’s because it’s the best spot,” I retort, but I fear I’ll be outvoted on this one.
The reason we’re subjecting ourselves to what will effectively be an all-day rush hour on the intended day of rest? A dear friend of mine, Rebecca Davies, is running the thing. And so we must be there to spur her on and, perhaps more importantly, to pick her up and bestow upon her a celebratory beer and burger.
Good luck Bec!
Victoria
Reach editor
Click here for some last-minute marathon tips