Experience vintage Bollywood at Rich Mix on Saturday night (photo by shuma.rani)
All weekend
Longing for warmer climes? Kew’s Tropical Extravaganza is in the Princess of Wales conservatory for the next month (general admission £13.90, under 17s free).
Treat your ‘Little Bookniks’ to a day of wordy fun with stories, film, music, puppetry, poetry, a mystery-object-discovery-tour and more at the Jewish Museum (some activities free).
Boris Johnson’s self-imposed target of 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) is looking on the lean side as only 588 have been registered in London in the three years since he made his pledge, giving EVs just 0.08% of the capital’s 3m cars.
The mayor was criticised last year by the Green party over the scaling-back of his original proposals and by April last year only 534 people had taken up the government’s £5,000 grant to buy EVs. Figures published by Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) suggest either a massive success or a slow take-up, depending on how you choose to spin the data — 2011 saw 1,082 total EVs registered against 138 in 2010. It’s certainly a big increase, but it’s nowhere near Boris’s projected 100K (although his disclaimer of ‘as soon as possible’ does allow for some wiggle room presumably).
Despite the £5,000 grant, the electric vehicle revolution is in its infancy; the choice of eligible cars is tiny, with just five being currently available but due to expand to nine by the end of 2012. Going electric is also costly — the Nissan Leaf starts at £25,990. Availability of charging points and the car’s travelling range are also concerns; no-one wants to run out of power on a busy roundabout. SourceLondon’s charging point map shows a growing network of around 400 but still far short of the 1,300 points promised by 2013. That’s next year, folks.
The motivation of car buyers is also questionable. £25K is a high price to pay to be a member of the environmentally-friendly motoring club and given a choice between spending £5K on a reasonable second-hand petrol or diesel car and £20K on an EV (with grant applied) you’d have to be pretty determined to prove your green credentials to want to part with that extra cash, especially in these times of austerity. And for inner-city driving, the whole raison d’être of the push to reduce pollution via the EV grant, a car is not always the most practical transport solution anyway. That leaves the occasional run out of town, away from all those lovely charging points. What’s that you say? A range of 110 miles? Oh.
With any technological innovation, early adopters pay the highest price. Within 10 years we could see a far more extensive range of attractive, cheap-to-buy electric cars with a greatly-extended battery life which would make them a viable option for those on lower incomes. We think that over-reliance on the electric vehicle revolution to significantly address carbon emissions in London may be a tiny bit premature.
The Guardian newspaper has announced an open weekend for 24 and 25 March, where you can visit their offices and Kings Place to take part in events that are mindboggling in the quantity, variety and quality of guests.
Let’s check off the big names first: Charlie Brooker, Matthew Fort, DBC Pierre, Steve McQueen (director, not Great Escape artist), Robert Harris, Mike Figgis, Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson, Zac Goldsmith, Jon Snow, Duwayne Brooks, Jon Ronson and Rachel Cusk. Then there’s the Guardian writers: Grace Dent, Marina Hyde, Martin Rowson, Simon Hattenstone, Steve Bell, Jonathan Freedland, Alan Rusbridger, Polly Toynbee and Laura Barton doing what might be the most ‘Guardian’ event ever ? an interview with Mumford and Sons. That’s just a tiny taster: check out the massive list of speakers yourself.
There’s a comedy gig with Colin Hoult, Sara Pascoe and Josh Widdicombe and a pop quiz hosted by John Harris. Anyone desperately trying to work out the identity of the Secret Footballer should head to a video link interview on the Sunday afternoon and if you have an interest in anything at all (politics? Education? Getting a new job? Technology? Crafts? Food?) there will be a panel discussion to attend.
Got kids? Take them to see authors Meg Rosoff, Sue Monroe, Judith Kerr, get writing tips from Lucy Mangan, drawing and storytelling sessions. And two under-16s go free with each paying adult.
The Guardian Open Weekend takes place 24 and 25 March at the Guardian offices and Kings Place, 90 York Way N1 and Hub King’s Cross, 34b York Way N1. A Saturday day pass costs £40, Sunday day pass costs £30 and a weekend pass costs £60. For more information see the Guardian website, and they’ve made a video as a quick introduction to the project.
Moules frites mega chain with humble Brussels roots and a massive presence in France (not quite to the extent of, say, Pizza Express here in the UK but that’s a pretty good analogy), Léon de Bruxelles takes a leap across La Manche to have a go at British (and presumably Euro tourist and expat) punters with a new Soho restaurant.
Adding to the nine Chez Léon eateries in Belgium and close to 70 Léon de Bruxelles sites in France,
Léon takes over the old Med Kitchen location at the nexus of Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. Set in the bustling heart of London with a cavernous space to fill, the restaurant seemed to be doing a pretty good job of placing bottoms in seats during our Friday evening visit with a steady stream of customers flowing in and for the most part appearing especially pleased when leaving. And if those customers were fans of moules frites and Belgian beer, it’s easy to see why they enjoyed Léon so much.
The restaurant does breakfast, lunch and dinner and features a ‘something for everyone’ kind of menu. But the best (only?) reason to visit this place is for the mussels ? which are excellent. Served in large cocottes with perfectly crisp frites on the side along with a basket of bread for sopping up all the savoury sauce, Léon’s moules frites are available in a range of ten different styles ? from classic Marinière to Ardennaise (with white wine, crème fraiche, smoked bacon and mushrooms) to mussels in a light Madras curry sauce ? and priced between £11 and £16. Londonist can vouch for the Ardennaise and the Madras options (we’ll be back!).
What better to accompany the famed Belgian duo than a Belgian beer? Léon’s own micro brewed house draft (6% ABV, £3.50 for a half pint) is commendably cloudy choice and goes well with a number of selections. Spirits, cocktails, wine, soft drinks and a Belgian-centric but international (you can get a Guinness or a Corona for example) beer list round out the drinks menu.
Room for dessert? Yep you guessed it, Léon’s got waffles from £3 (covered in icing sugar) to £8 (for a banana split extravaganza) along with an assortment of other sweet treats.
Service is especially friendly and keen to accommodate (if still getting the hang of things after a soft launch a week or so ago). The setting is comfortable and attractive. The location is about as convenient and central as they come.
Several years and £30m later, the conversion of Exhibition Road, Kensington into a shared-space thoroughfare, in which there are no pavements and traffic and pedestrians use the same surface, is complete. Yesterday saw the official launch ceremony.
Reaction to the project has been mixed. Guide Dogs for the Blind have repeatedly criticised the scheme, arguing that removing the kerb will put visually impaired pedestrians at risk. The Observer’s architecture critic Rowan Moore welcomed the redesign, while Simon Jenkins was also supportive in his Evening Standard column this week.
We took a walk along Exhibition Road last month, which is when the pictures above were taken. The overall effect is pleasing: the criss-cross grid pattern on the street creates the sense of a pedestrianised zone, and the absence of clutter and street furniture is welcome, as are the benches, though given the frigid air they weren’t much in use during our visit. There’s a relaxed pace, no doubt aided by the new 20mph speed limit along the road.
There were some awkward moments, particularly at the southern end, near South Kensington station, where vehicles and pedestrians got in the way of one another. At this end there’s been something of a compromise involving some raised sections in the middle of the street, which are a little out of place. A minor gripe, but overall the scheme is a promising one, at least when seen on a cold winter’s day. We’ll have to wait until the summer tourist season to really gauge how effective it is.
This whole Dickens 200th anniversary thing is starting to feel a little over-saturated — to the extent that every review of a new Dickensian adaptation, or book, or film, or exhibition or mobile app is obliged to observe how over-saturated this whole Dickens thing is. Step forward John Sutherland whose crackling little book is a surprise antidote to Dickens ennui.
Presented as an “A-Z of England’s greatest novelist”, the book is really one big excuse for Sutherland to share his favourite theories and facts about Dickens. That the book opens with an A for ‘Amuthement’ and ends with a Z for ‘Zoo Horrors’ will give you a good impression of the author’s eccentric approach. This is a book built to entertain, but underpinned by a long career of scholarship. Sutherland finds his subject an ‘inexhaustible fund of entertainment,’ and bends that spirit onto his own pages.
Just a few examples… Under ‘C’, we learn of Dickens’ attitude to cannibalism. ‘H’ for Hands paints Great Expectations as a ‘masturbator’s manual’. ‘B’ for Blind Spots discusses the mysterious lack of Irish people in Dickens’ novels, and the total absence of that other iconic figure of the age, Queen Victoria. Not many authors could confidently begin a chapter by saying “I believe I was the first to point out a teasing puzzle in Great Expectations…” (a hattery matter), or get away with comparing Dickens to Michael Jackson’s doctor.
Sutherland is clearly a man who knows his subject so well that he’s able to play games with it. The result is a joyful dance of a book that even the most jaded Dickens reader will relish.
The Dickens Dictionary by John Sutherland is out now from Icon Books. Buy here.
Bloc, the emerging heavyweight of UK electronic music festivals, has revealed the first acts for its debut event in the capital.
The festival, from 6-7 of July, announced its line-up late yesterday with a range of electronica?s great and good set to perform over two days. Scene veterans Orbital will be headlining, along with LA astral beat-boffin Flying Lotus and paid up AA member Gary Numan. Other highlights of the cooler-than-ice-cold line up include Chilean minimalist Ricardo Villalobos, enigmatic masked rapper DOOM and twitchy math rockers Battles.
A wave of disappointed sighs were heard when Bloc declared it was upping sticks from Butlins Resort in Minehead, its home of five years. However, the announcement of this year?s festival on the site of the former Royal Victoria Pleasure Gardens looks a perfect fit. Pleasure Gardens, the most famous of which was found in Vauxhall, were outdoor venues along the banks of the Thames which provided the capital’s wealthier denizens with evenings of “al fresco entertainment, socialising and romance”, and were referenced by Samuel Pepys as early as 1662. The gardens grew in extravagance, reaching their pomp in the 18th century, with tightrope walkers, Chinese pavilions, fountain displays and fireworks. Music careers were also launched here, with Thomas Arne and George Frideric Handel building their reputations with outdoor performances. And in surely one of those ?were you there?? moments, the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall held a 1,000 strong re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo in 1827. Records suggest the evening was a lot more fun than playing Risk.
As all good things must come to an end, the grounds fell into decline in the 19th century and much of the land was sold off piecemeal for development. While a park still exists on the site, much of the surrounding area has since declined to a state of industrial decay. This year’s festival is set to spearhead an Olympic development scheme seeking to return the area around the Royal Docks to a cultural hub. Other features of the development will include a guerilla-art hotel, wild gardens and a floating cinema. All of which sound like better ideas than a ruddy massive McDonalds.
Britain?s first PM Robert Walpole once described an evening at the Royal Victoria Gardens as ?by far the best understood and prettiest spectacle that I ever saw?nothing in a fairy tale ever surpassed it.? Whilst raving at 5AM to techno in the riverside surrounds, we’re sure others may reach a similar epiphany.
More information and tickets for the event can be found here. While entry to the Pleasure Gardens is no longer a guinea, there is a 6 tickets for 5 offer to entice early bookers.
Image used with permission from Bloc.2012
This article wrote that the festival was to be held at the Pleasure Gardens in Vauxhall. This has since been amended.
For years the battle against unnecessary plastic has focused on bags, but now the focus is switching to something humbler: the simple plastic straw.
A new initiative in Soho is trying to cut down on plastic waste by only giving customers a straw on request. Although the wee tubes make up just a small fraction of the total amount of plastic crap that ends up in landfill and (due to the ease with which they end up down drains) oceans, they’re an easy single-use item target that could make more of us stop and think whether we really need to use all this stuff.
So far, 18 restaurants have signed up, including Barrafina, Randall and Aubin, Wahaca and Ducksoup. And although it started in the heart of London, the message is already spreading as far as Shoreditch (Pizza East), Somerset and Berlin, where they take recycling very seriously.
Now the campaign needs to tackle a small stumbling block ? McDonald’s, with its 3.5m drinks-with-straws a day ? and they’ll really be onto something.
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