First time at The Cock

Kilburn's Cock Theatre - fresh from its victory at the Olivier Awards - is currently staging back-to-back Tennessee Williams plays as part of the centenary celebrations of his birth. As a bit of a fan of TW (due in no small part to the smouldering tension between Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - one of the more inspiring A-Level English texts we did), I thought this was the perfect opportunity to visit this pub theatre for the first time to see I Never Get Dressed 'til After Dark on Sundays.

The play came to a close a couple of nights later, so I'm not planning to review it here (although if I was, I'd be saying it was a good production of one of Tennessee's weaker works (it was unpublished in his lifetime)). I'm more just saying that it's a great small theatre and its reputation is already so strong that you need to grab tickets fast when they come out. It seats only about 50 people (although some turned out to be cast members).

What at first amused me, and then slightly depressed me, was that as people arrived - many clearly not regulars in Kilburn - they rather huddled by the door looking a bit terrified of the locals rather than just heading over to the bar (which gives discounts once you wave your programme around) and saying hello. Perhaps the locals don't look that welcoming, but within... ooh... five seconds of ordering, my neighbour Seán had introduced himself, shaken my hand at least twice, and told me not to mind him, he was just a drunk Irishman. Which he was. But a very friendly and harmless one.

So if you do head down to the Cock Theatre, please try and spend some money in the Cock Tavern as well and don't create a rather frosty divide between "theatregoers" and "pub dwellers". From my experience of living in Dublin for a bit, some of the most unlikely looking people in pubs are far more fluent in Beckett and Joyce, than many so-called fans of the theatre are in Shakespeare or Pinter.

Imaginations run riot as Oddbins falls into administration

After alerting twitter followers to the possible demise of West End Lane's Oddbins, as the company faced receivership, the air was filled with "helpful" suggestions. They evolved something like this:

What have I missed since March 20th?

While people marched in London and we bombed Libya, what was happening in leafy NW6?

New arrivals on West End Lane included Rock Men's Salon and the almost-open West End Charcoal Grill.

New arrivals on Twitter included The Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate, Nail Suite and (after advertising it for months) LoveFood.

On April 13th, a steam train will chug into West Hampstead on a public service. Timetable here.

More info on the Fortune Green work.

Ricky Gervais spoke out about the planned closure of Netherwood Alzheimers Centre.

Sunday was the Friends of West Hampstead Library relaunch / "use your library" day.
Meanwhile there was a nice photo posted of John, who sells books by Thameslink.

In South Kilburn, some allotments were rediscovered, and details on the new masterplan published.

We reviewed Gung-Ho on West End Lane.

The Wanderers lost, sadly confirming their place at the foot of the table.

Photo of the Week
A bit early still, but this photo by Chris captures the most attractive shop window on West End Lane at the moment - Gustoso.

How Gung-Ho were we about long-standing local Chinese?

For the first #whampreview of 2011 we decided to check out West Hampstead's Gung-Ho. Despite having been in the area as long as most locals can remember, a surprising number of people had never heard of it.

Tucked up the forgotten bit of West End Lane, just before it joins the Finchley Road, Gung-Ho claims to serve Szechuan food although to the untrained eye, it's a reasonably standard menu. There is also a "fusion" section, which mercifully means other south-east Asian dishes and not some awful attempt to marry completely different cuisines.

We were shown through to a table at the back replete with the obligatory lazy Susan. I rather like Gung-Ho's decor. It's nicely lit, clean and although quite a large place, there are enough partitions that you never feel like you're in a large place.

The challenge of reviewing places with extensive menus is that you can only ever review a small selection of what's on offer. We ordered a wide range of starters having not done much damage to the two small bowls of pickled cabbage that we got as soon as we arrived. Har gau and beef dumplings were hits, Nicky said the tempura was light, while Chris surprised himself, "I consider myself a carnivore, but that tofu was good". We also had squid two ways and pretty quickly demolished the lot .

Main courses came promptly - portions are not overwhelming but the manager recommended we only needed four portions of rice between the eight of us. The Malaysian rendang (from the fusion menu) was tasty but Hazel and I agreed it lacked the depth of flavour of the best rendangs. Mark and Debbie said they were "big fans" of the prawn curry, while Nicky heaped praise on the seabass. SJ liked her sea-salt chicken. There was consistent support for the lamb in honey, which never seemed to move far from Simon's reach. Perhaps the only disappointing dish was the "uninspiring" mixed vegetables.

Amid some scepticism, we ordered three of the sweet bean paste pancakes, which I really like (but have had before there, so it wasn't quite such a shot in the dark). Together with three bottles of white wine, the bill came to £25 each including service. Talking of service, I rather like the waiters at Gung-Ho. They are very friendly and not too pushy. We were a bit tucked out of the way, so if we actually wanted something we were reliant on them coming to check, but I think our service mark is on the low side compared to other reviews.

So, overall, Gung-Ho probably won't blow your mind or your palate, but for reliable friendly Chinese food in a nice setting it's the best local offering. It also does take-out.

Ratings
Food 6.9
Service 7.1
Value 8.1
Overall 7.6
Good for: tofu sceptics
Bad for: i've got nothing
328-332 West End Lane
West Hampstead
NW6 1LN
T: 020 7794 1444
W: www.stir-fry.co.uk

Last minute goal thriller consigns Wanderers to last place

With three weeks left until the end of the season, the Wanderers needed a win and other results to go their way if they were not to be destined to finish bottom of the league. Thom reports

Match day 10. Monday 21st March. KO 6.30
West Hampstead Wanderers 9 – 10 Abacus Athletic

A solid start saw the Wanderers take the lead after pressure high up the pitch led to a penalty, which was  stuck away by Thom. Abacus scored two in return before another penalty made it 2-2. The hard work at the start of the half  began to take its toll and some clinical finishing by the opposition meant that the Wanderers went into the break 5-2 down.

Heads didn't drop though and the pressure was ramped right back up in the second half.

Some slick finishing and another penalty brought the score to 5-4 but the Wanderers' carefree attacking play led to them being caught on the break and although they scored several, they were conceding as well. With a minute to go before the final whistle, Abacus was leading 9-8 when they gave away yet another penalty. Thom stepped up to stick it away and the Wanderers were on the verge of drawing the match. Amazingly, all the hard work was undone with seconds to go as Abacus's Yemi released a belter from the halfway line, that even the lovechild of Jesus and Peter Schmeichel wouldn't have been able to stop. Final score 10-9 to Abacus.

It was a good fun game with some great performances, and with no subs to bring on the shape and movement of the team was a lot more controlled, which bodes well for next season.

Goals: @ThomHoffman x6, @SamWong1 x1, @MatthewMargot x1, @Talalb01 x1

League standings:

Kilburn Wizards          P10 W7 D1 L2 GD +25
The Gym Utd.             P10 W5 D2 L3 GD +17
Abacus Athletic          P10 W4 D2 L4 GD 0
West Hampstead Wanderers P10 W1 D1 L8 GD -42

At the end of this season, the league becomes 5-a-side and the Wanderers will split into two separate teams so more people get a chance to play.

What have I missed since March 13th?

Obviously a lot of very major international news this week, but I was in the US all week where the media seemed concerned largely with the potential radiation fallout in the Tri-State area. And St Patrick's Day. So what was happening closer to home?

After all the hullabaloo over Sainsbury's opening, you turned out to be disappointed with the range on offer and the bad stock levels. Meanwhile, Costcutter by the tube station has closed for a 2-week refit.

A consultation process began for cuts to childrens' centres, including Acol, while, the Netherwood Alzheimers centre received some heavyweight backing.

Caffé Nero confirmed it was looking to open in West Hampstead by May, and Cllr Keith Moffitt said that it would not need permission for a change-of-use to take over Atlanta Food & Wine.

A new graffiti fox popped up by Thameslink , while Mona Lisa appeared by Oddbins.

The troublesome Legacy nightclub on Finchley Road was given permission to open until midnight on Mondays but not on Sundays.

On Monday 21st, there's a meeting about the Kilburn Festival at 7.30pm in the Kingsgate Community Centre. If you're interested then go along.

At the Olivier Awards, La Bohème at the Cock Tavern was the surprise winner of best new opera production. 

The air ambulance was called to a car accident late Sunday afternoon on Finchley Road.

People struggled to get good photos of the supermoon, but the next day saw a classic sunset and yours truly snapped this pic.

It was another disappointing result for the Wanderers after a really strong performance.

No Tweet of the Week this week, instead it's time to "spot the mistake" on this photo of Mill Lane taken by Andrea.

Wanderers get caught on the break

The season is starting to draw to a close and, as in the Premiership as in the Hampstead 6-a-side league, teams beginning with W are struggling. Tal reports on the Wanderers' latest outing:

Match day 9. Monday 14th March. KO 7.20
West Hampstead Wanderers 3 – 10 The Gym Utd.

After a few disappointing defeats the Wanderers were looking for a win against a side they have had close and well fought battles with in the past. Unfortunately, we were missing our goalkeeper, but @Martin_Tse stepped up to the plate and took the gloves after others shied away from the responsibility. Martin put in an excellent performance early in the game and was helped massively by the energy and desire shown by the outfield players. The team seems to have addressed its problems of closing down early and the team defended as a single unit.

The Wanderers peppered the opposition's goal with shots throughout the first half and had the best chances throughout. The team did a great job of regaining lost posession and shooting when the opportunity arose. Lady Luck, however, wasn’t on the Wanderers' side and many of the shots were very close or were saved - on another day they'd have been in the back of the net.

The Gym Utd. got stronger as the game wore on and stole a few goals on the break giving them a healthy lead, The Wanderers pushed further upfield in search of goals, @ThomHoffman nabbed a brace through hard work and continual pressure, and @MatthewMargot used his strength and power on the ball to score another long range shot.

Of course, as the Wanderers pressed forward, The Gym Utd attacked on the break and pulled further ahead leaving the final score 10-3 to The Gym. This score doesn’t tell the tale of the game though. There were some positive signs from the Wanderers: a good defensive attitude, a willingness to shoot and slowly developing a knowledge of each other’s movement. This can only lead to good results in a  league which has proven to be very competitive in the Wanderers' debut season. As always, the next game will be a win!

Team: @nickhudgell, @NWSixDan, @ThomHoffman (x2) @Talalb01, @Martin_Tse, @SamWong1, @MatthewMargot (x1), @TimCheese

League standings:

Kilburn Wizards          P9 W7 D0 L2 GD +25
The Gym Utd.             P9 W5 D1 L3 GD +17
Abacus Athletic          P9 W3 D2 L4 GD -1
West Hampstead Wanderers P9 W1 D1 L7 GD -41

What have I missed since March 6th?

Although most of the world's attention was focused overseas this week, here in NW London Arsenal were losers and Spurs were winners. But what happened in West Hampstead?

There are still only fairly limited details being released about last weekend's sword attack (which came exactly a year after a man was arrested with swords on Finchley Road)

The Sainsbury's Local finally opened. You all had lots to say about it on Twitter.
Atlanta Food & Wine is closing however, with a strong rumour that Caffé Nero will take its place. How much pressure will that put on Sirous's daytime trade and Moment?

Lite (formerly known as Le Petit Coin) has closed its doors.

I blogged about library closures.

The Iverson Road pavement by the new Thameslink station is going to be really wide.

There's a new West Hamsptead Gardens residents association covering Hemstal, Hilltop, Kylemore, Gladys, Sherriff, Lowfield and bits of West End Lane.

The Swiss Cottage Odeon is closing for a refit on March 17th and reopening in the summer. Should you go to the New End Theatre to see 74 Georgia Avenue instead?

Kingsgate Communirty Centre is offering ballet classes over Easter  and is definitely not closing.

Explore Learning has opened a new tuition centre in West Hampstead.

West Hampstead women's centre needs a manager.

And the Wanderers lost to the Wizards.

Tweet of the Week
There can be only one contender in what was, frankly, a slow week. Up your game people!

Sainsbury's Local gets West Hampstead over excited

As everyone knows, because the sign is so brightly lit that aircraft are now using it as a navigation device, a new Sainsbury's Local opened on West End Lane on Friday where Best One used to be.

It's fair to say that this caused a fair amount of Twitter traffic. The story unfolds below



Congratulations to Richard, who took the first photo from inside the store

[let me know if you like this format of showing tweets/telling stories]

Library cuts - is West Hampstead immune?

So what exactly is going on with local libraries? Amid accusations that closures have been pre-determined, a consulation process that has triggered some fierce criticism, and the very raison d'être of libraries evolving, I thought it was time to try and make sense of it all.

First the facts. Camden, like every other council in the country, is facing a shortfall in the funding it receives from central government of £80-£100 million over the next four years. The final number is unclear because the budget gap for the fourth year of these restrictions has yet to be calculcated. Council tax accounts for less than 10% of Camden's spending, so even substantive rises there would make little difference overall.

Like every borough, there are services that Camden has to provide (statutory requirements) such as transport for adults to social care services, schooling etc. Everything else is discretionary and therefore could be cut. Discussion rages about where the balance should fall between cuts to frontline services and further efficiency savings at Town Hall.

Camden's contentious budget meeting last week set the level of cuts for each department. It has been decided that £2 million of the £8m library budget needs to be cut. (The Culture department's total budget is £14 million). At 25%, libraries are one of the more heavily affected services although almost no frontline discretionary services remain unaffected as we have seen with the proposed closure of children's centres such as the one on Acol Road and the Netherwood centre for Alzheimer's patients. 

One criticism, levelled by West Hampstead Lib Dem councillor Keith Moffitt among others, is that the £2m figure seems to be set in stone already even before deciding how it might be cut.

Some savings have already been made. Camden's cabinet member for Culture, Cllr Tulip Siddiq explained to me that she has already saved £400,000 in back-office efficiencies, but that still leaves a £1.6m shortfall over the four years. However, and much to her displeasure, it is front-loaded, so that £1.2m has to be found next year (2012/13).

Rumours circulated early on that Camden's officers (the term used for what is effectively the borough's civil service) had a plan in their back pocket to slash the library provision in one fell swoop, reducing the service from 13 libraries to just four "super-libraries". Cllr Siddiq told me she rejected this out of hand, although it is hard to see how it would ever have gone through anyway given the level of outcry it would have triggered. Although some level of library provision is statutory, the definition is open to enormous interpretation.

Cllr Siddiq hopes we don't have to close libraries

Are closures inevitable? And how safe is West Hampstead library? The consultation document – especially the online version – was roundly criticised for forcing people to agree with some form of closures or major reductions in service before other options were discussed. Of course, where library passions run high this hasn't stopped community groups getting together to discuss taking over the running of a couple of libraries. Cllr Siddiq wouldn't say which libraries, but it's fair to assume that such an initiative would be feasible only with the smaller libraries.

Taking over libraries – or a "community asset transfer" to use the big society parlance – could work in a number of ways. A group could be granted a long lease, say in excess of 20 years, to run the library and would take responsbility for all aspects of it. Or a shorter lease could be considered whereby Camden would retain a little more control, perhaps even providing one librarian to work alongside the volunteers, but the major running costs would come off the balance sheet without it being considered a closure.

West Hampstead, having recieved investment relatively recently would be an unlikley candidate for closure and is large enough to be daunting for a community takeover. However, it is probably wise to take nothing for granted – West Hampstead is the most expensive library in the borough in terms of cost-per-user.

The consultation process, which 3,000 people have so far engaged with, has thrown up all sorts of other ideas both for cutting costs and generating income across the board and Camden is also working on its own ideas. Some, such as charging for WiFi access, seem to go both against the grain of why libraries are there in the first place as well as surely offering a mere drop in the ocean in terms of extra revenue. Higher library fines may be marginally more popular, but for serious money-spinning ideas then ideas such as licencing coffee shops within libraries, or perhaps a post office would have a greater impact. There's even talk of turning some of the Swiss Cottage library space into an art gallery – with at least one artist offering to pay handsomely (and rather philanthropically) for the privelige of hanging work there.

Cutting hours at individual libraries is one option. The more costly the library is to run the bigger the absolute savings this generates. There is always a risk that reducing hours becomes a downward spiral as fewer and fewer people use the service, but at some of the mid-sized libraries it's hard to imagine that shaving some of the quietest hours off would make much difference to users.

This really leads to the bigger question of what exactly libraries are for today. Are they book lending services, are they places for quiet(ish) study, are they a depot for information about local services, or do they offer a place for people otherwise stuck at home – young parents, the less mobile – to have some access to the outside world? The answer of course is that they are all of these things – but different libraries serve different needs.

In thinking about issues such as opening hours, Camden has to make some judgement calls on priorities. Swiss Cottage library, for example, seems to be heavily used by schoolkids and ensuring it's open for them after school hours might be deemed more important than it being open early for young parents. These are tough choices and will almost certainly vary across the library network, but some smart thinking here could help get close to the savings required while keeping the negative impact as low as possible.

The notion of libraries as community spaces rather than just book depositories could also be taken a step further. This might mean making the library a shared services space. Imagine, for example, if West Hampstead library hosted a drop-in housing clinic at certain times of the week – especially now the housing office on West End Lane is closing. Such cross-departmental coordination is needed during these difficult times, and one hopes that council officers and cabinet members are not too caught up in their own departmental problems to peer over the fence to see what benefits could come from collaboration.

Consultation officially closes on April 4th. The findings should be made public in May and decisions ratified at the council meeting in June.

74 Georgia Avenue at New End Theatre

Academy-award nominated Murray Schisgal's play is something of an oddity. For a start it's only 40 minutes long. Daniel Dresner is Marty, a man returning to the home of his Brooklyn youth. Nathan Clough is Joseph, the current tenant of 74 Georgia Avenue and the son of the janitor of the neighbourhood's old synagogue that Marty's family used to attend. Over the course of one evening the two men find some common ground through Joseph's mysterious transformations.

The underlying idea of the play was interesting but the execution and its brevity made it hard to connect with the characters. Dresner, slightly overdoing the De Niro-esque hand wringing, was never entirely convincing until a lengthy speech towards the end. Clough was more believable but as he morphed into ghostly figures from Marty's past it was hard to suspend disbelief entirely. Some strange lighting changes didn't help the cause.

While the storyline may appeal to the Jewish community, it proved a little inaccessible for me and the narrative wasn't given time to evolve and compel me to care about the characters. It would probably work better as a short story but would always be a challenging play to stage.

74 Georgia Avenue is on at the New End Theatre until March 19th

*Disclaimer: I received a free ticket courtesy of the theatre

Wanderers fall under Wizards' spell once more

The third outing of the NW6 derby game saw league leaders Kilburn Wizards notch up another win although as in the previous encounters, the Wanderers weren't so far off the pace despite being without player/manager Nick. Matt reports:

Match day 8. Monday 7th March. KO 7.20
West Hampstead Wanderers 4 – 8 Kilburn Wizards

The Wanderers got off to a cracking start applying pressure all over the field. The Wizards struggled to keep the ball and gave away an early penalty which @thomhoffman casually put away, giving the Wanderers an early lead.

The Wanderers were missing some regular defenders and the Wizards were able to carve out a couple of chances against the patched up defence. Had it not been for the exploits of @domchristie in goal we would have gone in to half time with a larger deficit than 2-1.

The second half saw three amazing Wanderers goals. The first was the culmination of an excellent passage of play and a superb finish from @thomhoffman after a wonderpass for his second of the night. The second was a long hit into the bottom corner from @MatthewMargot as was the third by @Talalb01.

Unfortunately in the second half the Wizards scored 5. Very disappointing for the Wanderers, and due to a few lapses in concentration, superior opposition fitness and some dodgy refereeing decisions (including a disallowed Wanderers goal).

Team @DJVectra, @DomChristie, @NWSixDan, @SamWong1, @ThomHoffman (x2), @MatthewMargot (x1), @Talalb01 (x1)

Thom tops the Wanderers' goal scoring so far this season with 12 goals, followed by Matt on 10

League standings:

Kilburn Wizards          P8 W6 D0 L2 GD +19
The Gym Utd.             P8 W4 D1 L3 GD +10
Abacus Athletic          P8 W3 D2 L3 GD +5
West Hampstead Wanderers P8 W1 D1 L6 GD -34

Iverson Road pavement works

You'll have noticed that Network Rail's works on Iverson Road are progressing well. What you may not have yet realised is quite how big an impact the pavement widening is going to have.

I'd seen the plans and noticed the extra space, but if you walk a few yards along and peer over the fence you can see just how wide it will be. Everything right up to the far wall will be pavement. It's going to be 3-4 times as wide again as the existing pavement. This picture taken from up against the current fence line doesn't really do it justice.

This whole space - which will be owned by Network Rail - will (at least outside of rush hour) become a rather pleasant open area, almost like a mini town square. It should vastly improve the whole environment at the junction (good news for Ladudu opening across the road on West End Lane).

It is also now possible to see just how big the new cut corner is going to be - again hard to capture on camera, but worth noticing next time you walk past from the tube direction. All the space you see will be pavement. This section is owned by Camden, but hopefully the whole unified area can be used for hosting small events (Christmas market, carol singing, community stalls), and preferably not as a hangout for chuggers.

This should be a very positive change to West Hampstead's streetscape as well as improving the pedestrian flows between the stations. Hurrah.

Read more on the various roadworks on West End Lane.

What have I missed since February 27th?

While Charlie Sheen was "winning" and everyone gave books away (a bit like a library), what were the good folk of West Hampstead up to?

Charlotte Louis De Canonville was made Camden's PCSO of the year for her work in transforming West Hampstead's neighbourhood watch.

The West Hampstead safer neighbourhoods base is the most expensive in the borough.

There was high drama on Saturday night with armed police and the area around Sumatra Road/West End Lane closed to pedestrians. Still no confirmation as to the cause, but one report talks of a man on the loose with two swords.

There was good news and bad news for local services:
A West Hampstead nursery had its hopes for reprieval dashed.
The campaign to save Netherwood Alzheimers care centre got celebrity backing and even made it on to ITV's coverage of Camden's budget protests.
The Acol children's centre still looks set to close despite protests.

We've got two years (yes, years) of roadworks on Finchley Rd to look forward to.

TfL had updated its network upgrade webpages. Here's the Jubilee page and calendar of closures.

Karahi Master could be yours for £50,000.
Hampstead Food Mart has had a 24hr alcohol licence application refused.
Sainsbury's on West End Lane (with its insanely bright sign) opens at 7am on Friday.

Some 139 bus love with a time-lapse video and a blog.

The West Hampstead Wanderers struggled to get off the bottom of the table with another defeat.

Final reminder for #whampreview at Gung Ho on March 23rd. Names drawn from all those who want their name in the hat at midday on Monday 7th.

And advance notice that the next #whampgather (the big local get-together held every 3-4 months) will be on April 14th. Venue to be decided.

Tweet of the Week

Wanderers continue to prop up the table

Another week, another match. The Wanderers were facing Abacus Athletic once again in the league. Would the team be able to restore some pride after last week's drubbing. Dan reports.

Match day 7. Monday 28th February. KO 6.30
West Hampstead Wanderers 5 – 11 Abacus Athletic

After last week’s resounding defeat at the hands - and feet - of Gym United, the Wanderers were determined to get a positive result against Abacus Athletic. A positive opening period saw the Wanderers take the lead, with an early goal from @MatthewMargot.

For 10 whole minutes, the West Hampstead side looked genuinely good. The passing was slick, despite a wet and skiddy surface, the defense was strong and physical, and @Martin_Tse pulled off some spectacular diving saves in goal.

But then it all went down hill. Abacus scored an equaliser, and then took the lead. The Wanderers players’ heads went down, and three more Abacus goals followed. At half time, the Wanderers were 5-1 behind.

At this stage a comeback was still on the cards. The Wanderers were playing some good attacking football, and working hard off the ball. But for large periods, Abacus simply outplayed them.

Second half goals came from @ThomHoffman and @NWSixDan, and @MatthewMargot deservedly completed a hat trick, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap. Final score: West Hampstead 5, Abacus 11.

It was a fair result on the night - Abacus were definitely the better side - but there were plenty of positives to draw from the Wanderers’ performance. Next week, West Hampstead take on the table-topping Kilburn Wizards in what will be another tough game. But in this crazy old league, anything can happen.

League standings:

Kilburn Wizards          P7 W5 D0 L2 GD +15
The Gym Utd.             P7 W4 D0 L3 GD +10
Abacus Athletic          P7 W3 D1 L3 GD +5
West Hampstead Wanderers P7 W1 D1 L5 GD -30

Dan also interviewed Wanderers' player/manager @NickHudgell who dissects the team's performance and prospects for the rest of the season.



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