RETURN TO THE WICK

I had a week off from work recently, so I decided to go straight back to London, as I was missing it. The difference with this return visit to the capital was that I was staying in Highgate with my friend Kat. The flat was beautiful, the location great and the power shower was to die for. All that said I felt unsettled, tense and I didn't sleep well at all in my stay there. It was during this time I realised I never stayed anywhere else in London in the last 5 years other than Hackney Wick. No wonder everything feels weird, I thought to myself. It was like some strange cold turkey and I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms! I kept myself busy so I didn't have to think about it, filling my days with appointments with friends that I had not seen in so long. Luckily I received an invitation which gave me an excuse to go back to Hackney Wick and thus giving me my Wick fix. My friend Jon who is an artist, found out I was back and asked me to come and see him in his studio as I'd never seen it. Jon doesn't leave the Wick much and at the moment he doesn't seem to leave the studio that much either as he has a show coming up, thus has holed himself up in there, so I felt quite honoured that he came and met me at the station and walked me to the studio. As we walked along the canal, I saw it was a buzz with people taking pictures, a film crew and builders. In the back ground the nearly finished Olympic stadium loomed over us. Jon started on one of his rants in his thick northern accent (even though he is actually from the midlands, but sounds more northern than me)?:
"Honestly Carly, you got out of the Wick just in time! It's turned into some tourist attraction! Everyone is just taking f**king pictures all the time. There are cameras everywhere because of the Olympics. I hate f**king cameras! I hate having my f**king picture taken! I need to get out of the Wick, I'm thinking of going to Wales for a bit like you. I'm looking into places!"
He says all this, while throwing his hands around with a cigarette in them. I would of taken a picture a picture of this for you readers but as he hates his "f**king" picture being taken, this was not possible. He also doesn't like people much either. He is quite eccentric actually, if I think about it, but that's OK I like mad people.
I then sat on a sofa in Jon's studio for the next hour or more, while he fluttered around the place constantly moving (he can't keep still for more than two seconds!) and painting canvases, only stopping briefly to have cigarettes which he used the floor as an ash tray . He informed me of news in the Wick, which wasn't much he said as he hadn't seen many people as he was now in his hermit mode locked away in the studio. He complained about his neighbour in the studio, who was always moaning about any noise he made and he admitted to a new crush of a fellow artist in the studio downstairs, who doesn't like people very much either (a match made in heaven I say)! I told him of my new life in Wales, that I missed the Wick and how I was finding things very strange at the moment. I could of quite happily of stayed and been entertained by Jon for the rest of the day, but then I heard the sound of thunder in the distance and saw it as an Omen to leave. As I walked back to the station, I looked around and thought how much the Wick had changed over the years since I'd known it. Most people blame the Olympics for the changes and see the event as a bad thing. I don't see it as all bad. Change is never bad? Well that's what I keep telling myself right now. Anyway once the eyes of the world have finished looking at this place for 2 weeks, maybe the Wick will be forgotten again and it can go back to being its little enclave of misfits? As I got to the station I saw there had been a change since my last visit. The Huge wall painting that had been created by Coca Cola to advertise them and endorse the Olympics had been given a make over. The outraged local artists who had, had their work painted over by the brand, had taken their revenge. Now in its place, just stands the letters H W (Hackney Wick)! I guess it's our little communities rebellion to the games. Though I agree with what Jon said:
"It would of been a lot more witty and funnier if they had just f**king painted the word Pepsi over it instead!"
I slept a little easier that night after my Wick fix.

SUNSET

You know what? I've been away for 5 months travelling the exotic lands of south America, but nothing there came close to a Hackney Wick, London sunset. One word beautiful! Who said England is not beautiful?

SOFAR: SONGS FROM A ROOM

I've started a new job and its heavy going.  Its called The Hour, and is a 1950's drama for the BBC, starring Ben Whishaw (I love him!) and Dominic West.  Its going to look bloody amazing, but the hours (see what I did there) are a killer and after coming straight off the back of Diary of a Call Girl,
 I'm completely knackered.  All week I have been getting in from work and going to straight to bed, so that lights are off most nights at about 9.30pm.  Its ruining my party girl reputation!  So when I parked my car after work on Thursday after another heavy day, I was prepared to go straight to bed, but instead I bumped into my good Friend and neighbour Laura May.  She was all excited and started telling about the event they had organized in there unit that night.  Helen our friend and her flat mate had arranged for a night called Sofar: songs from a room, to be held in their house hold.  Sofar is a night which has different bands playing from some one's own front room.  Thursday there were four bands playing and probably a lot bigger audience than usual, as the warehouses can fit a lot more people in.  I got to sit in the VIP area at the top of warehouse looking down on everything, as I was in there with the crew.  It was a great evening with some great music ( my favourite band of the night was the third, Ex Libras).  Of course it being the wick, there is always something strange going to happen, and it did.  I had the best chat up line ever, or worst depending on which way you look at it.  So I was stood in the corridor having a drink when this guy waltzes up to me and said:
"You look rather nice and your breathing.  Fancy a fuck!"
Well what do you say to that?  "Piss off of course!"  Why do I always get them.  In fact another guy I know asked me if I wanted sex with him that night!  Whats going on?  I had to ask my house mates if they had written on my back "I want a shag!"  They laughed.  Apart from that it was worth staying up for, and was really nice to have a bit of a life for one night.  I paid for it the next day at work though.  You win some, you lose some.

SUNRISE

I beileve that you can see beauty in everything even the ugliest, even the Wick!  People are always saying that Hackney wick is an ugly place to live, and they are probably right.  It a grey old crumbling industrial estate, but the other day it showed me something beautiful.  I was walking to my car at 6.00am to go to work, and there it was; The most beautiful sunrise.  I have seen the sun rise over in exotic far off lands, and this one was up there with them, but even better, because it was on my own door step.  Even the Olympic building site looked nice for once.  I had to get out my camera and capture it, though no photo ever shows the true vision.  I stayed until it was risen.  Oh!  And yes I was late for work!  Worth it though.

LIFE IN THE WICK

While most people my age were beginning to settle down in life, with mortgages, marriage and children, I did the opposite and reverted back to my youth, by living in a kind of adult halls of residence. It name for you that don't know is Oslo House and two and half years later I'm still here, refusing to grow up. I left home when I was 19, never really to go back for any length of time and never really wanting to go back either. For 8 years I led a nomadic existence, moving a least once a year, filling in the gaps with sleeping on sofas, living out of bags, and traveling the world for months with only what I could carry on my back as my possessions. This life style suited me, I have not the reasons to answer, why. Sometimes there are no reasons, that's just the way it is, but I missed a place to call home.

Then I found it! Home! Home is in the middle of an ugly industrial estate in East London; in an old clothing factory; in an artists community; in a flat with four people just as crazy as me and living with two gay cats. My home is Hackney Wick, Oslo House and though it may not be every ones idea of home, I love it!

I wake in the morning to Thenasis, my Greek neighbour, singing songs of his native language or bad 80's pop. I fall asleep to pounding beats of house parties along the corridor or below my floor. I leave the house sometimes to find the alcoholic artist who lives a couple of doors down, passed out on the floor, amongst the garbage bags that the neighbours can't be arsed to take down stairs.

I leave the building to find the old crazy lady from OAP home down the road has escaped again, laughing to herself insanely in the middle of the road. The Tramp with the simmer frame is holding on with his last bit of conciseness with a bottle of Gin beside him. The man with one leg is pushing his children in the buggy, into the shop with the help of his false metal leg, fag in mouth sprinkling ash as he goes.

This is the local friendly neighbourhood. It works this strange neighbourhood, mixing, working class estates with the young hip creative generation all wanting to live like the common people even though, most probably never have had to experience poverty in there middle class up bringing.

I have put down as much roots as I can, for me. I brought a bed, a washing machine, and fridge freezer. Not big deals for most people, but very scary for a girl that would not buy anything that would not fit into a Nissan Micra!
It's funny where people find themselves in their comfort zones. If you told me I would be living here 10 years ago I would have told you to piss off, but to be fair I was never going to live some where normal. As ugly; as noisy and as mad it is, there is no place like home!

MY GUIDE TO HACKNEY WICK

Usually when I tell people where I live, the response is one of horror! "Hackney Wick! why the hell would you want to live there?" Not being London born and bred I seem to have missed the stories of Hackney's past that has some how built up in people's mines that it is some sort of ghetto hell hole, where you can't walk out your door without being robbed or murdered. Ok so Hackney Wick is not the most pleasing place on the eye, but I love it and would not want to live anywhere else right now. In fact in the june 2008 issue of Time Out, Hackney Wick was featured as the place to be right now. So this post is dedicated to the wick and its delights?

OSLO HOUSE



Well where better to begin than where I live. Looking at this old converted clothing factory you might not think of this a being a place in big demand for people wanting to live, but it is! Oslo over the years as become a bit of a Hackney Wick legend with it's wild parties, creative residents and unconventional ways of living. Its actually looking a lot better these days as it had a bit of a make over last summer (only because the coucil complained about the state of it!) and the whole building was painted. Unfortunatley it was painted in Lilac and Maroon (The landlords must of got it cheap or something!) Mustn't complain though, as its quite nice not to see "Your mother is a hoe" and "Shaznay is a fat slag!" written everywhere. The building also stands out, due to the big Hackney Wick letters on the roof ( Incase you forget where you are!), which Laura from the building put up as an art piece for the first hackney wicked festival in the summer. Unfortunately as Laura herself said, she should of made it out of wood instead of plaster board as its not doing to well with the British weather and now only saids HArKNF WICY.

THE OLYMPICS




Love it or hate it! The Olympics are coming, and it just so happens they are coming from down the street from us. Ok! so it doesn't look like much at the moment. All we can see at the moment is a load of cranes and tops of diggers, all surrounded by a blue fence with idealised pictures of the Olympic village which will look nothing like the real thing, for a start its sunny on them! The area is going to change so much over the next 4 years. It already is, with buildings being knocked down at the rate of knots and news ones rising in their place. I just hope it does not change to much and looses it character and becomes another of a long list of picture perfect souless suburbs of London.

THE LORD NAPIER



Those of you in the filming industry will probably know the Napier, as its used as a a location quite a lot. The Napier is also know as the squatters pub, as yes you have guessed it is also a squat. These are not just any squatters though! These are clever squatters, not only do they make good money from renting it out to film crews, but they also have now and again a big rave up here. I saw the aftermath of the last one as I was going to work at 6.30am on a Sunday morning (Sad I know!) and saw a mass of sprawled bodies on the floor outside. Another time before that I tried to go on a Saturday night but got told I was too old as it was underage night!

VICTORIA PARK



If you cross over the bridge that it is one of the few escape routes of the A12 that surrounds the Wick, you find another world on the other side. This world is called Victoria Park (Or Vicky park as us locals call it!) It is a green peaceful haven that it is a deep contrast to the industrial landscape of the wick. Sometimes you forget that you are in the middle of Hackney when your here. Not to say its all peaceful and quiet as in the summer its home to many events including the "Love Box" festival and was the location of Radio heads concerts last year. It is by far and away my favourite park in London and it seems its quite a few other peoples as well as it was voted favourite local park in summer of 2008 by the readers of "Time Out" magazine.

VICTORIA PARK VILLAGE



This seems to be the upper class area of the neighbourhood, with its "Yummy Mummies" pushing their designer buggies around and being catered for with its ever increasing over priced boutique shops and cafes. All that said the village is not without its charms and little gems.
The first of which is Namo. With its big Vietnamese community, Hackney is the place to get the best Vietnamese in London and along with the Huong-Viet in Dalston is my favourite . Namo is a a lot more visual pleasing on the eye than Huong _Viet, with its modern if not slighty kitsch decor. It even has a tiny a tiny out door patio complete with heaters. The staff are really friendly and the prices really good that you will never pay over the odds here. I love the summer rolls and the monk fish. My mouth is just watering writing this.
NAMO: 178 Victoria Park Rd. E9 7HD TEL: 0208533 0639



Namo also has a cool Bansky on the end of the building which the council tried to deface by trying to remove the penis. Fortunately, no matter how hard they tried to remove that penis it would not go.




Other good recommendations in the village are the Lauriston which makes really good home made pizza in its stone bake oven, and has a good old duke box. I Have got pissed in there a few times thanks to the bar man feeding me free shots. The Royal Inn In The Park also does decent food and the beer garden is great but busy in the summer. Worth a mention is Elbows Cafe which does a small and simple menu, but it means they stick to what they are good at. The Ginger Pig butcher next door does the best cuts of meat around. Its expensive but worth it for a treat.



The Lauriston: 162 Victoria Park Rd E9 7JN TEL: 02089 855404



The Royal Inn In The Park: 111 Lauriston Rd E9 7JH TEL: 02089 853321

HACKNEY CENTRAL

There is much more to hackney central than just Tesco, illegal DVD sellers and drunks. Though still very much dirty round the edges (Probably in the middle as well), central has seen a huge rise in its popularity in the last couple of years as people have learnt to embrace the rough and the dirt and this is seen no where better than the Dolphin pub. The Dolphin which is a good example of a grimy local in Hackney has over the last couple of years, gathered quite a following of "Hoxton Trendies" who are migrating more east in their search to live like the "Common people!" To be fair the dolphin is not the best place to be sober in, as you walk in and are scared by the last of the true locals, the dirt of a pub that has not been cleaned in a century and the smell being omitted from the toilets. Once under the influence though, one can feel right at home here having their little working class dirt fix. Waring though, don't lean over the fence in the pub garden as I got bit by the pub German Shephard and spent the rest of the night in Homerton Hospital in a drunken haze.



THE DOLPHIN: 165 Mare St Hackney TEL: 0208985 3727

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....

Is the Palm Tree Pub. One of the last true East end pubs. Set back from the road and along Regents Canal, going to this pub is like stepping back in time. The decor is so tacky and bad taste it becomes cool and the owners and the bar maids are all quite glum and sour faced like there on the set on Eastenders or something. The toilets are tiny and half way through the night a bunch of Chaz and Dave type geriatrics come on the tiny stage in cheap suits and start playing jazz. Maybe not everyones idea of heaven but I had a good time. The only let down are the drink prices that are not so old East End! Maybe they are saving up for a new till as the one they have now looks like its from the turn of the century.



THE PALM TREE: Haverfield Rd Mile End E3 5BH