West End Lane's changing streetscape

Ten days or so ago, it was brought to my attention that Best One - the mini-market on the corner of Fawley Road and West End Lane - was covered in memos from Sainsbury's regarding an impending licence application.

I posted this on Twitter and got a few tweeted groans in reply, along with a more interesting response from local councillor @KeithMoffitt who said "Understand Sainsbury's interested in Best One site but nothing finalised yet, so licensing notice odd."

Yesterday, I noticed that the licence application had now been registered at Camden and is online.

Posting this elicited far more reaction, with the usual comments about the destruction of the character of West End Lane, the replacement of independent shops with chains, and the swamping of the neighbourhood with supermarkets. I think it is debatable whether replacing a franchised mini-market with a large-brand mini-market is particularly a bad thing, although it does serve to homogenise further the high street.

A broader issue is whether large chains can (and do) pay over market rates for rents and leases, thereby raising the market level and squeezing out existing independents as well as making it almost impossible for start-ups. I also think it's worth looking at what we do have in West Hampstead.

I am building a directory of all the shops, restaurants, consumer services in the area and was astonished that I could tally more than 50 places that served food without venturing beyond the traditional borders of West Hampstead into Swiss Cottage or Kilburn. Yes, some of these are national chains (only four restaurants: GBK, Nandos, Pizza Express and Strada), especially in the take-away market, where some are franchises just like Best One) but the vast majority are independent.

We also - as everyone knows - have an amazing number of estate agents and a lot of charity shops. We don't have very many ordinary independent shops - but we do have some, such as the electrical shop, the bookshop, the greengrocers and others, especially those tucked away along Mill Lane.

I'm not in the militant camp that thinks we should boycott chains, or who won't shop in Tescos. When possible, yes, I do try and support local businesses but like most people I am also beholden to cost and convenience.

My request from this blog is simple: by all means berate the homogenisation of West End Lane, and by all means let your local councillors know your views on the matter (although remember that at the most basic level there's little they can do to prevent individual shops from moving into existing retail units), but above all if you do believe in maintaining some independent shops in West Hampstead then please use them from time to time.

I know some of you don't see the problem and are quite happy to see more chains move in as long as they're selling things you want to buy. I also know that a lot of you do already make efforts to shop at independents where possible. But if you're someone who always buys books from Amazon, why not - once in a while - buy or order a book from West End Lane Books; forsake Homebase for the electrical shop, the Iverson Road nursery or The Kitchener; or escape the congested fruit & veg aisle in Tescos and walk a minute up the road to the greengrocers. Not necessarily every day, but some days. Even if costs you a few pence more (and stop press folks: the chains in fact are not always cheaper), think of it as a small investment back into your community.

Comments welcome of course

Baroque and Roll (and discounts)

Stuck for something to do on the August Bank Holiday Monday? The aftermath of the carnival not your thing? How about something slightly different - The Great Summer Frolick?

The website flyer promises "an evening of songs from 18th-century London - a London not unlike our own: love, lust, recession, melancholy, drinking and riotous fun."

Early music group The Frolick thinks it has found a solution to the recession for Londoners tired of tightening their belts in these troubled times. The group started back in 2005 when it discovered a 1739 songbook filled with songs from Georgian London. This was a time of hardship and recession, when people were imprisioned for debt, possessions were pawned and political leaders lined their own pockets. You see where this is going right?

Composers in 18th-century London are the equivalent of today's pop singers, and the life preserved in the pop music of Georgian London is not so different from London today. The Frolick has even adapted the words of some songs to make them even more relevant - such as the Social Media song (you'll need to turn your volume up):

The Frolick - The Social Media Song, apologies to Mr. Arne (subtitled) from Emma Curtis & The Frolick on Vimeo.

The excitement takes place at the Rosslyn Hill Chapel (a couple of doors up from Giraffe in Hampstead). Doors open at 6.30pm, concert starts at 7pm. West Hampstead Life readers can save £2 on the ticket price by clicking here (£8 rather than £10). What's not to like. See you there

Whampgather IV: The Picnic

Once again, whampers proved they are a heroic lot as more people than expected braved the extremely dubious weather on Saturday afternoon and came to the picnic on Hampstead Heath.

The clouds looked ominous and we did have to endure a few spells of drizzle, but in the best British tradition we stood firm.

Rugs were spread on the grass and inquisitive dogs fended away from the various picnic delights everyone had brought. Yes, a few umbrellas went up as well, but thankfully the rain never amounted to much. Whampstalwart, @gitfinger turned up with a case of beer and more importantly his baby son, who became officially the youngest whampgatherer.

Alongside the familiar faces, such as @blakeconnolly @Cyburn and @mayfield22 who, like @gitfinger haven't missed a whampgather it was great to welcome some international newcomers such as @DC_Londonista and @ECinLondon, @garymc and @hsheeran, and @annfenech, as well as a healthy dose of other first-timers and enthusiastic regulars.

 

After handing out the eco kits from @greentomatoNRG, we decided that we'd been stoic long enough and the pub was calling. While some people headed off, we picked up a few more back in West Hampstead including several new faces, and the drinking continued well into the evening.

Overall, with a turnout of 26, summer whampgather had been a success despite the weather and it was great to be able to say hello to lots of new faces and demonstrate that the whamp community really is as friendly and welcoming as it should be.

The next whampgather will be in early December. Keep an eye out on Twitter and the blog for updates. Look forward to seeing you all then.

(photos via @gitfinger and @DC_Londonista)

Summertime and the whamping is easy

It's the summer. At least legally. And it's been a while since the excitement of Whampgather III. So, I thought that for the next installment of hyperlocal get togethers we should have a picnic. If you're relatively new to the whole #whamp thing, whampgather is the local tweet-up (although non-tweeters are welcome). We've had around 50 people at the last couple.

I know that Saturdays in August can be booked up months if not years in advance, so not sure that there'll be 50 people this time round, but I wanted a daytime event that those of you with kids (young and old) could bring the whole family to if you wanted.

To that end, this coming Saturday - August 21st - will see Whampgather IV: The Picnic taking place on Hampstead Heath from 3pm. Specifically it will be on Parliament Hill, just down towards Highgate No.1 Pond - as shown by the flower on this map (click for larger version).

This is going to be a very casual affair. I'm going to bring along a small amount of food/drink, but please do feel free to contribute something (especially beverages!) - even if just for yourselves. I also have five Green Tomato Kits to give away. These are worth £7.99 and contain various things to help you kickstart a greener lifestyle.

"But hang on Mr WHampstead," you're thinking, "what if it rains?".

If the forecast looks dismal on Friday then I'll kill the picnic idea and we'll do a very informal meet-up at The Lion on West End Lane. Please please follow the #whampgather hashtag for the latest news. If the weather is mixed we'll try and have the picnic, but if rain stops play then we'll retreat to the Freemasons Arms on Downshire Hill as the nearest pub (that's the wineglass on the map).

Any questions, drop me a mail or a tweet. And if you're definitely coming, please let me know so I have some idea of numbers. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Hidden Treasure - so is it?

Had we been rumbled? An enormous cake appeared that looked at first glance to be made almost entirely of cream. We hadn't ordered this. It wasn't anyone's birthday. Yet here was a cake and our lively Italian waiter who seemed to be managing the whole place by himself told us it was on the house.

That saved us ordering dessert I guess. Not that any of us were especially hungry. Hidden Treasure's seemingly infinite combinations of seafood and carbohydrate (mostly in pasta form) had satisfied our appetites. There are other things on the menu, although it's hard to be sure that you've actually seen everything on offer - it was only when I was having coffee that someone mentioned the specials that were written on a tiny chalkboard above and behind me.

Navigating the main menu and its various inserts had taken us all long enough and with so much to choose from, the decision to share various antipasti along with a vitello tonnato was met with relief.

The Grande Antipasto of meats, olives, cheeses was certainly made for sharing, the bruschette looked good but for some reason never made it to my end of the table. The grilled mixed vegetables seemed like they'd been grilled some time ago and then marinated almost to the point of pickling. This is not to say that they didn't taste good, but I don't think it was what we were expecting. The vitello tonnato was disappointing, the sauce lacked flavour and was an odd consistency. I certainly didn't want more than one mouthful of this dish that is sublime at its best.

Maybe we should have expected that for a place built around seafood the standout starter would be the clams. They were excellent - a very generous portion of sizeable juicy clams and the garlic and parsley sauce was perfect. Frankly a bowl of those and a glass of wine would have left me very happy. They were so good that Jess boldly tried her first ever clam and emerged unscathed.

We were drip-fed main courses which came out more or less one at a time, although feeding a party of 8 from what must be a small kitchen in a small restaurant is not easy. Indeed although the service was not the quickest, it was probably the most engaging and friendly we've had at any of the restaurant reviews.

Seafood was the theme of the day for most people. Simon bucked the trend with his chicken saltimbocca, while Matt pushed the boat out with the half-lobster special - a cunning dish that looked spectacular but wasn't actually as big as it seemed at first glance.

All the dishes were served on oversized fish and crustacea shaped plates, which adds to the slightly kitsch décor (there was talk of deducting points for the (fake) zebra skin that hangs on one wall). The plates were a talking point, but would have been more impressive if they'd been hot - mine at least was stone cold.

The wine (a white Pinot Grigio and a red Cabernet Franc) flowed, spaghetti, tagliatelle and linguine was twirled, gnocchi was.. er... forked and the shells of various molluscs were discarded. The visual impact of the dishes was great, and overall everyone was agreed that the taste was good too. There were of course minor quibbles: Andrea's risotto wasn't quite unctuous enough, Sarah's seafood/spaghetti combo was on the oily side, and Matt's garlic sauce "lacked zip". But Tom's gnocchi dish had an unexpected depth of flavour and my own bowl of tagliatelle and seafood was only an extra squeeze of lemon, scattering of parsley, and perhaps sprinkle of chopped chilli away from perfection.

Jess's variation on penne all'arrabbiata was "superb" but it was Sue who was by far the happiest. She confessed to having grown too accustomed to proper Italian home cooking while living there to always enjoy Italian restaurants here, but then proceeded to rave about her classic linguine alla vongole, praising its authenticity and simplicity, "and I loved the atmosphere and the owners" she added.

Hidden Treasure has had some mixed reviews, and some locals have vowed never to go there again. Maybe we got lucky, but none of the eight of us were disappointed and I think we would all add it to the list of places to frequent. It's not the cheapest restaurant around, and the final bill was high partly thanks to the wine consumption (think we might need to be a bit more frugal at future reviews!). However, sitting out front on what the restaurant calls a garden (but the rest of us would call a terrace) with a £10 bowl of pasta and seafood would seem to be a very agreeable way to spend a warm summer evening on West End Lane.

Ratings
Food 7.5
Service 8.1
Value 6.7
Overall 7.9
Good for: seafood lovers
Bad for: interior designers
Hidden Treasure
311 West End Lane
West Hampstead
London NW6 1RD
T: 020 7435 5040
W: http://www.hiddentreasure.it/