Weekend roundup for 31 July
Includes walking boats, men's make up, spicy tripe and deep fried Mars Bars
đ The mayor has ordered a new review into the capitalâs vulnerabilities to terror attacks and how the Covid-19 pandemic might have impacted the cityâs resilience. Part of the review will involve scrutinising âpotential âlearning pointsâ from recent terror attacks in the capital including the stabbing attack in Fishmongersâs Hallâ.
đ Boris Johnson appeared on Nick Ferrariâs LBC show this week and took the opportunity to take a shot at Sadiq, saying he hoped to speak âquite soonâ with Khan about fighting knife crime, adding âthere is more that could be done... and I would urge the mayor to do it.â Johnson stopped short of talking up his own mayoral record on knife crime, possibly because last time he did that people called him out on it.
â The mayor has been busy addressing the other big threat to Londoners: rain. On Tuesday Khan met with TfL, the Fire Brigade, London councils and the Environment Agency to discuss a plan for preventing future floods. He also put pressure on the upcoming COP26, saying that the meeting should be an opportunity for the Government to âgive us the powers and resources we need to take even bolder action on climate change.â N.B. This isnât a new thing. The Romford Recorder has taken a look back at the floods âwhich have devastated east London since 2016â.
đ¨ New Home Office figures have revealed some depressing statistics around rape investigations in London. In the year to March the Met concluded 7,482 rape investigations where the alleged victim was female, but only 4% of those resulted in a charge or summons. The Met âdropped 6,405 investigations due to difficulties gathering evidence and 685 cases because a suspect could not be identified.â
đŽ Meanwhile eight Met officers are being investigated after they allegedly shared âinappropriate materialâ about Katie Price's disabled son Harvey in a WhatsApp group.
đ° At the start of the week TfL revealed a revised 2021/22 budget that has been reduced to ÂŁ1.9bn (down from the ÂŁ2.7bn it estimated back in March). But that still leaves them âfacing a ÂŁ500m funding gap for this financial year,â and if thereâs no longterm agreement agreed before December 11 then thereâll be zero money.
đş One of the details in the new TfL budget was ânew Bakerloo line trains to replace the oldest fleet in the UKâ. According to the plans the trains will be ordered in the financial year 2023/2024⌠Assuming that they get the required investment from the government.
đ London is the best at something! Apparently, âan international ranking of higher education centresâ has declared London the best city in the world to be a university student, âdespite low marks for affordabilityâ.
â It looks like the four day tube strike will go ahead next month, after the RMT said there had been âa solid vote for actionâ from its members and subsequent talks âfailed to resolveâ the issue.
đ Final bit of travel news for this week: At last weekendâs London Labour Conference 74% of Londonâs Labour MPs backed a motion calling for Sadiq Khan to cancel the controversial Silvertown Tunnel project on environmental grounds. The motion read, âIf Labour are truly committed to clean air and tackling climate change there is no justification for the tunnel.â
đˇ Plans, for the redevelopment of the Stag brewery (âone of Britainâs oldest breweriesâ) in Mortlake have been rejected by Sadiq Khan because the public benefits offered would ânot clearly outweigh the harmâ. Apparently there was particular concerns âabout the amount of affordable housingâ.
đď¸ Property developers Soho Estates are looking for âa high-profile leisure occupierâ to co-design a ÂŁ100m development in Leicester Square, next door to the Odeon Cinema. Apparently they are seeking âto secure a long-term partnership with a global brand and build a bespoke new property to suit their needsâ.
đ The worldâs first menâs make-up store has opened on Carnaby Street. War Paint for Men (above) is a British brand that âoffers men the chance to learn about make-up options and trial productsâ including âtinted moisturisers, concealer, beard and brow gelsâ.
đšď¸ Hamleys have realised that kids these days are looking for more than a Furby or a Rubikâs Cube and have opened their first video games department. It could be seen as a bit of a token gesture given that the UKâs largest gaming arena is just down the road.
Art and culture bits
đď¸ Do we need to tell you the opening of the Marble Arch Mound has been a complete disaster? This was always going to happen, but the scale of derision has been greater than even we might have expected. The Guardian dubbed it âa slippery slope to nowhereâ, and the Telegraph agreed with The Guardian (!) with the headline âBehold the ÂŁ2m hill of rubbleâ. The scorn even made it to the other side of the Atlantic, with CNN calling the project âlittle more than a mound of earthâ and even the venerable NY Times got in on the act, calling it âa pile of blocky scaffolding covered in patches of vegetation that look in danger of slipping offâ. The views on social media were even more harsh, and included âTeletubby Hillâ, âslag heapâ, âscaffolding covered in B&Q turfâ, and âthe worst thing I've ever done in Londonâ. The Mound closed after two days and will stay closed âuntil further noticeâ.
â Thereâs a 14.5 tonne boat walking up and down the banks of the Thames on hydraulic jacks at the moment. The Mudskipper is part of an art commission by Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms on the Southbank and Royal Docks, and is the creation of artist James Capper who apparently wanted to find out what would happen if a lorry and a boat have sex with each other. If you can get down there this afternoon, James and his cool/terrifying invention will be doing a demonstration at midday. After that it will be âwalkingâ down to the Royal Docks for more unnerving demonstrations. All the dates and details are on the website.
đˇ West End Live is the free âannual musical theatre event held by the Society of London Theatreâ and itâs just been announced that it will definitely be going ahead this year. Over the weekend of 18-19 September, dozens of West End productions will be performing 15 minute slots in Trafalgar Square. Keep an eye on their site for more details.
đĽ Bit of a weird one: The former UK headquarters of the Jehovahâs Witness organisation in Mill Hill is going to be converted into a film studio to meet the massive demand from studios looking to film in London.
đ§ North Fest 10 is a new âmini-festivalâ that aims to celebrate âLondon club culture at itâs finestâ. On Saturday August 14 at Loft Studios NW10 thereâll be four stages (one each for funk, house, reggae and disco) hosting live performances and DJ sets. Tickets are twenty quid and you can pick them up here.
đ The Ryoji Ikeda exhibition (above) at 180 The Strand has been extended until 18 September. The mind-melting âmulti-sensory exploration of light and soundâ has been getting rave reviews for the past few months, so this is good news for anyone looking to have their senses overloaded.
đ´ We had to link to Tatlerâs list of the âmost fabulous activities you should book for all the family this summerâ because the last activity on the list is âvisiting Teddy the Shetland ponyâ in his âbeautifully constructed stableâ at The Goring hotel in Belgravia. That is peak Tatler.
Food and drink bits
đ Pippa Middlehurst (better known as âPippy Eatsâ) is a former cancer research scientist turned cook who specialises in East and South-East Asian cookery (she also won the first series of Best Home Cook). Earlier this week Pippy took to Instagram to talk about the issues she has with The Ivy Asia (screenshots reproduced above with Pippaâs permission), primarily the way the chain lumps â48 countries, 4.5 billion people and countless cultures and ethnicities into one homogenous THEMEâ, and the way their marketing material presents âwomen as exotic objects and commodities for the consumption and pleasure of non-Asian/white malesâ.
đ The Foodies Festival is coming back to Syon Park in Brentford next month for a three day pig out. They seem to have roped in every Bake Off and Masterchef winner from the past few years as well as around 200 exhibitors from across Londonâs food scene. The music headliner is Sophie Ellis Bextor, and they obviously blew the budget there, because sheâs playing alongside a Coldplay cover band and a Killers cover band.
đ Russell Norman has revealed that his new restaurant and bar, will be opening in September. Trattoria Brutto will be on the former site of the Hix Oyster and Chop House in Smithfield and will open in the mornings for âcoffee, pastries, sandwiches and breakfast Prosecco,â while in the evening there will be âdishes such as pappardelle with wild boar; chicken liver toasts; peposo (a beef stew); and lampredotto (spicy tripe in a sandwich)â. You had us at âbreakfast Proseccoâ.
đĽ Meanwhile Brindisa is heading out of central London to Richmond, for its largest location yet. Tapas Brindisa Richmond is due to open in October on the banks of the river, and theyâre adding a âBodega Room' to this one for those nights when you want to tuck into âcurated Spanish cheeses, IbĂŠrico hams and rare winesâ in private.
đŽđł  The Drummond Streatery project in Euston is hosting a free summer street party next Thursday. From 6:30-9:30pm theyâll be shutting the road so you can enjoy the ârich and culturally diverse businesses spanning from South Asian to Turkishâ as well as music âfrom internationally renowned DJ and BBC Asian Network presenter, AJD, rising contemporary crossover artist RIKA and Bhangra star H Dhamiâ.
đ Slice by Pizza Pilgrims has been delivering perfect partial pizzas from their pop-up along the South Bank. But from August 11 theyâll be moving into a permanent site in Finsbury Park, that apparently takes its âinspiration from their sights of the slice joints and dive bars of New York City.â Itâs about time London got a decent slice spot, and if anyone can do it, this lot can.
đ if youâre going anywhere near Stratford today then you might want to pop in to the E20 Street Food Market in East Village for a free french fry milkshake. Inspired by the joy of âdipping hot, salty McDonaldâs French fries into cold milkshakesâ this âconcoctionâ is made from âvanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, cream, a dash of salt and potatoesâ plus you get âchocolate-coated French fries for dippingâ. If that sounds good to you then there are 250 of them up for grabs throughout the day.
𼪠The notorious Arcade Food Hall at Centre Point is getting a full makeover, which includes âeight new kitchens, a new independent Thai restaurant on the mezzanine level, a counter dining experience, and a standalone bar and outdoor dining terraceâ. The original opening was scuppered by the now infamous ÂŁ14 ham sandwich not to mention its âexpensively sterileâ atmosphere. Oh and the food wasnât great either. Weâll find out in November if Arcade 2.0 fares any better,
đ Le Bab are giving away free food again. This time itâs Babs for Jabs, or in other words: if you are vaccinated in August and can send proof to them via Instagram DM then theyâll book you in for a free kebab of your choice. More details on their IG.
đŤ Six By Nicoâs new Canary Wharf spotâs just opened, and their first âconceptualâ offering is The Chippie, a six-course tasting menu that âfeatures reimagined and elevated chip shop classics from Chips and Cheese to Scampi to Steak Pie to the Scottish delicacy of the Deep Fried Mars Bar.â Thereâs an equally ambitious/daft video to accompany the launch:
â Salt Baeâs London restaurant hasnât opened yet, but as of earlier this week it had already garnered 38 Google reviews with completely made up hot takes such as âOverpriced below average steaks, great for Instagram but that's where it ends,â and âfood is so good i love it but giving one star because he salt in my mouth.â It looks as though the reviews have been cleaned up now. Unfortunately that image will stay with us for a long time.
đŁ In case you needed reminding, the Olympics is happening in Tokyo right now. So The Spectator has paid someone called Joe Rogers (who weâre pretty sure isnât Japanese) to write an article on how you can âdine like an Olympianâ in London. Thereâs only five restaurants on the list and the majority of them opened in the last few months. If you want a more informed take on Japanese food in London then weâd suggest following the brilliant Yuki Gomi of Yukiâs Kitchen. That woman is a genius.
Long read of the week
Adam Almeida, the gentrification researcher who we interviewed back in June, has written an article for the socialist magazine Tribune on how the city might be de-gentrified.
