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Issue 140 Spring 2016

FitzroviaNewsFitzrovia News is produced by residents and volunteers and distributed free to all businesses and residential addresses in Fitzrovia

What’s new?

Elvis Costello in TottenhamCourt Road2

60s pop spotpage 16

Chez Mamie Page 4

Charity launches appeal forfunds after rise in roughsleepers and food povertyA small charity serving freefood and handing out warmclothing for the homeless andthose living in poverty hasseen an increase in demandfor its service this winter butis struggling to cover its ownrunning costs.

The Soup Kitchen at the rearof the American InternationalChurch in Tottenham Court Roadis open for two hours, five days aweek serving hot food and drinkand providing clothing and awelcoming community for roughsleepers and others in difficulthousing circumstances.

“We are supporting more peo-ple than ever before,” saysMiranda Suit who spoke toFitzrovia News about the emer-gency appeal for funding theyhave launched to ensure they cancontinue to provide what theysay is a vital service.

About one third of the guestscoming to the kitchen sleep onthe streets, while another thirdare either in temporary accommo-dation or “sofa surfing”. The restof the people they help are insocial or private housing but arestruggling to feed themselvesbecause of cuts to, or delays ingetting, their welfare benefits.

“We see growing numbers ofpeople on the streets. We havehad some bitterly cold weather,and state benefits continue to becut back, making it a huge chal-lenge to survive on the streets oreven on a low income,” she says.

Statistics produced by theSoup Kitchen show a largeincrease in people using the serv-ice in December and Januarycompared with the same monthsa year ago.

But the Soup Kitchen is strug-gling to keep its doors open ascosts rise and the level of fundingcoming in is going down as moreand more charities compete witheach other for funding.

“We may have to cut back ourservice in April,” says Suit. “If wecan’t meet the funding shortfall

we may have to reduce the hourswe are open in order to keep theservice going every week.”

Having a regular service isimportant as it provides a com-munity for those who wouldoften be ignored and have noplace to go. “Many of our guests— whether they are sleeping onthe street or in housing — don’tget the chance to talk to peopleexcept when they come to theKitchen,” she says.

The Kitchen has a good sup-ply of donated food, clothing andvolunteers, but is very short ofcash to meet other running costs.

The Soup Kitchen urgently needsmore than £5,000 to meet its ini-tial £18,000 fundraising target —just the first stage of ongoing corecosts of £6,000 a month.

Support the Soup Kitchenemergency appeal.justgiving.com/miranda-suit3/

By cheque: Made out to the‘Soup Kitchen’, and sent to: SoupKitchen at the AmericanInternational Church, 79aTottenham Court Road, LondonW1T 4TD. Or by bank transfer:email Miranda Suit for details: [email protected]

London had 940 roughsleepers in autumn 2015, anincrease of 27 percent sincethe previous year, accord-ing to statistics publishedin February. WestminsterCouncil said there were 265people sleeping on thestreets on a “typical night”in the borough. Camdenclaims there were only 15living rough on any singlenight (see rough sleepersstory page 5).

Pensioners from the “Older Fitzrovia” group enjoy tea and cakes at Honey & Co Warren Street (see also page 5) Photo Etienne Gilfillan.

2 — Fitzrovia News issue 140 Spring 2016 facebook.com/FitzroviaNews :: twitter.com/FitzroviaNews

Issue 140 Spring 2016Published 1 March 2016

Editorial TeamMike Pentelow: editor and features editorLinus Rees: assistant editorPete Whyatt: news and production editorClive Jennings: arts editorBrian Jarman: writer and sub-editorBarb Jacobson: associate editorJennifer Kavanagh: associate editorJess Owensassociate editor

Contributors:Ann BasuSue BlundellJayne DavisJanet GauldEtienne GilfillanClifford HarperStephen HeathAngela LovelyRosie LunnJosé MendonçaSunita SoliarClifford SlapperAdam StonemanChris TylerKipper Williams

Printed by: Sharman & Co Ltd,Newark Road, Peterborough PE1 5TDsharmanandco.co.uk

Fitzrovia News is producedquarterly by the FitzroviaCommunity NewspaperGroup, ISSN: 0967-1404

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Feeling prayerful

Quest for Haggis

We write as members of a Residents’ Association, facing the chal-lenges of the proposed Housing Bill, which will affect all who live inproperties owned by borough councils in central London. We areconcerned that the effects of the Housing Bill are not widely known,and that, if passed in its present form, the Bill will have enormouslydamaging consequences for London’s long established residentialcommunities and for the city as a whole.

Our mansion block is owned by Camden Council, and occupiedby a mix of council tenants and leaseholders. We are a stable commu-nity, reflecting the local population, with a range of different incomeand ethnic groups and age profiles, and offer a good example ofsocial cohesion.

Three aspects of the Bill are of particular concern to our ResidentsAssociation:

1. Where the combined income of the two highest earners in atenanted flat is above £40,000, rents will be increased by an as yetunspecified amount up to local market rates.

2. When a tenant’s flat becomes vacant, the council will beobliged to sell it; only if the Council ‘pays’ the government its marketprice (from its already strapped budget?), can it remain as a tenantedcouncil property.

3. All new tenancies, including succession tenancies, will be for 2-5 years only; any new tenants will be unable to put down roots.

Given property values for central London, tenants could faceunmanageable rent increases; our residents would gradually becomeexclusively leaseholders, or those renting, short-term, from propertydevelopers. The community fragments and dies.

We urge all who care about London as a city to find out moreabout the Bill, to write to their MPs and councillors about its dubious

Cinema matinee isa most pleasantway to spend an afternoon

The Housing and PlanningBill will ‘damage London’slong established residentialcommunities’

The Regent Street Cinema closedto the public in 1980 and becamea lecture theatre as part of theUniversity of Westminster. It re-opened its doors as a cinema inMay 2015. Apart from having aregular programme of films oldand new, it now offers MatineeClassics every Wednesday after-noon at 2 p.m. For those over55, the price is just £1,75 insteadof the usual £11.The first time I went to a mati-nee I was amazed , not just bythe beauty of the cinema, butalso by what was on offer. Thebilling is usually for oldHollywood musicals and mostenjoyable they are too and beau-tiful. Also on offer is a free cof-fee and, after the film, free danc-ing lessons. A most pleasantway to spend an afternoon. Special little cards are availablefrom the box office advertisingthe films at these matinees, oryou can always check online atwww.regentstreetcinema.com ,but hurry for as word spreadsthese matinees are getting verypopularBeryl BurtonSee article on page 18

This is a true story. I am 90, andhave lived locally for 40 years.So I have always shopped dailyat Tesco. I know many of ourlong-serving kindly staff byname, and some have becomefriends.

On New Year’s Eve I wanteda Haggis. This traditonal Scottishseasonal treat is sadly unknownto some people. When I went tosearch the Tesco shelves, thestaff seemed puzzled, even themanager who tried to telephonetheir headquarters,

I decided to see if their com-petitors stocked the Haggis. So Istarted my usual slow walk upTottenham Court Road.

Suddenly I heard rushing foot-steps behind me. Was I beingmugged? Lo and behold! Arecent young Asian employee ofTesco waved a pretty parcel andsaid triumphantly: “It’s justcome in! It’s a PROMO! It’s aHaggis!”

Out of breath, he asked if Iwanted it. Of course I said “Yes!”He then escorted me back toTesco where I thanked him andall the staff for such wonderfulservice on the busiest day of theyear.

A happy new year to Tescoand you all.

Yvonne Craig

Sitting in the sunshine with mysandwich in Pearson Square, Ilooked forward to becoming 91,and enjoying all the activities forolder people in Fitzrovia. Ourwonderful community pro-gramme is organised by the ded-icated and devoted BarbJacobson, to whom we arealways grateful.

But I was also reading afunny book called “The FairyGodmother” by Daniel Pennac,full of odd stories about olderpeople, some of whom are sadlyneglected while “waiting forlove to arrive.” Yet many eldershave played powerful roles inprotest and resistance. Weremember their rising in theFrench and Russian revolutions,and as survivors of theHolocaust.

Sitting in the shadow of theamazing and awesome sculpture

of the square, I didn’t feel pow-erful, but perhaps prayerful.This was because the nearbyHospital Chapel, beautifully con-served by the developers,brought back memories of com-fort and encouragement giventhere by the doctors, nurses, andchaplains.

The sculpture also made mefeel prayerful as it has beencarved with words of wisdomand blessing from many faiths,and messages of peace and jus-tice in a world at war.

Then another old lady, alsowearing a headscarf, came andsat beside me, with the HolyQuran. Perhaps this is one of thecontributions we can still makein troubled times when our agedlimbs and minds need rest. Wecan sit and pray for peace.

Yvonne Craig

Autism and the homelessengagement with some veryhard to reach rough sleepers.This has resulted in two ofCamden’s most entrenchedrough sleepers accessing andmaintaining accommodation.

One man entered accommo-dation after 30 years on thestreet, another after four years ofrough sleeping and persistentnon-engagement with services.Both these men are still inaccommodation months afterleaving the streets and both saythey have no intention of return-ing to rough sleeping. One haseven begun a work placement.’

Rev Alan Carr, Rector of StGiles-in-the-Fields, TheRectory, Gower Street.

I was struck by the followingpiece received recently fromStreetsafe (SST), the Camden-based agency offering supportand guidance for the streethomeless community. This waswritten by Saul Freeman.

‘During the last couple ofyears [we] have worked closelytogether to raise awareness ofAutism Spectrum disorders(ASD) amongst the street home-less and hostel populations todevelop new ways of workingthat enable outreach workersand key workers to engage moreeffectively with this client group.

‘Resources for Autism hasdelivered eight training sessionsto professionals working in thehomeless sector. SST has used itsnew found knowledge to changeworking practises when autistictraits are identified in theirclients, which has enabled better

and unclear proposals, and todemonstrate to Parliament thelong term damaging effects ofthe proposed legislation.Amzad Hussain, Shafu Kanam,Mary McAuley, Prof. JohnO’Keefe, FRS, UCL EmeritusProf. Eileen O’Keefe, LondonMetropolitan University, Prof.Deborah Philips, University ofBrighton Dr. Garry Whannel,University of BedfordshireSandra Wheen

Customers of the Waitrose in Tottenham CourtRoad will miss the friendly and helpful staff aswell as the quality products if the plans to closethe shop go ahead this spring. Waitroseannounced its planned closure because of “diffi-cult” trading since it opened five years ago.Several customers contacted Fitzrovia News toexpress their concern at the loss of the shopwhich is popular with local people and whichthey says serves the residential population verywell.

Fitzrovia News understands that the last dayof trading will be 29 April 2016.

Residents living near the store are encourag-ing their neighbours to contact Waitrose to pre-vent the closure.

Email [email protected]

with “Tottenham Court Road store” in the subjectline and say how much you value the store andwhy it should stay open.

Fitzrovia News issue 140 Spring 2016 — 3facebook.com/FitzroviaNews :: twitter.com/FitzroviaNews

Fitzrovia News is offering a freepub lunch to anyone who deliversthe paper for an hour on SundayMarch 6... and again on June 12.

Why not bring a friend to helpdeliver the papers and then enjoy aSunday roast and a drink with therest of the team?

Assemble at the FitzroviaNeighbourhood Centre, 39Tottenham Street, between 12 and12.30pm. Bring a shopping buggy,trolley or bag if you have one.

Free pub lunch forFitzrovia Newsdeliverers

News in briefRegent’s Park could be closedto through traffic for most ofthe day under plans byTransport for London and TheRoyal Parks to improve condi-tions for pedestrians andcyclists.

Westminster City Counciland Transport for London hasproposed new cycle routes.westminster.gov.uk/cyclinghas more information.

The Westminster side ofFitzrovia needs more greenspace says the FitzWestNeighbourhood Forum whichhas won funding from Tescoto provide some pollution-busting planting and locationsfor wildlife to flourish.

There will be a chance tosee the inside of theMiddlesex Hospital Chapel ata special “drop-in day” from11am to 7pm on Wednesday 2March. The trustees of theGrade II* listed building willbe providing information on aforthcoming application for apremises licence to allowplays, films, dance, sale ofalcohol, and a licence for civilmarriages.

An application has beenmade for a memorial to vic-tims of the transatlantic slavetrade to be installed in HydePark. It will be the onlynational monument for themillions of deportees fromAfrica. Oku Ekpenyon, aFitzrovia resident and anorganiser of the memorial,said: "This memorial will bean educational resource."

The Daily Mirror reportedthat last year gamblers onTottenham Court Road blew£2.5million on fixed odds bet-ting terminals.

Navarro’s family-runSpanish restaurant celebrates30 years at 67 Charlotte Streetwith a special set menu avail-able from 14 to 19 March.

Capita plc is to take a 20year lease at £86 per squarefoot on all the office space atDerwent London’s yet-to-be-built Copyright Building inBerners Street.

Students at UCL wantrents at halls of residencereduced by 40 percent. Theysay rents have increased by 56percent since 2009 and the uni-versity is profiteering. AtRamsay Hall in Maple Streetthe weekly, single room rent is£209.79, and includes bills plusbreakfast and dinner eachweekday. But a single room ina shared house in the privatesector in Camden they couldbe worse off, paying around£157 a week, not includingbills or meals.

The Mayor of London &London Assembly electionsare on 5 May 2016. You canonly vote if you’re on the elec-toral register.

Two new commercial ten-ants have been confirmed atFitzroy Place — Lendinvest aproperty investment company,and lawyers Volterra Fietta.

Charity claims grassrootssupport for astroturf pitch

Waitrose to close its Tottenham Court Road store

Fitzrovia Youth in Action (FYA) has takenover the management of The Warren sportspitch under a licence from Camden Counciland has installed a state-of-the-art playingsurface which was officially opened on 26January.

Artificial grass has replaced tarmac atWhitfield Place which for most of the timewill be hired out to corporate users to gener-ate an income for the youth charity.

“This flood-lit pitch offers users a highquality, newest generation Astroturf playingsurface which is FIFA approved and ideal forplaying 5-a-side football,” says FYA whoorganise youth activities throughoutCamden.

But the move has been criticised by theFriends of Fitzrovia Parks, a group set up byCamden Council to liaise with residents overthe use and improvement of open spaces inthe neighbourhood.

The Friends group say that the new sur-face will exclude games such as basketballand netball and they criticise Camden forsigning an agreement which reduces theamount of time reserved for local children touse the pitch. The Warren is one of only threepublic open spaces in Fitzrovia and the onlymulti-use games area (known as a MUGA).

Previously the pitch was reserved for useby local children for at least 41 hours perweek. Now FYA will reserve the pitch foronly 22 hours per week for local children butmore hours will be set aside during schoolholidays. The rest of the time the pitch willbe hired out for between £45 and £85 perhour.

The Friends group also say the astro turfwill encourage a more intensive use of thepitch and a noisier game. They say thatCamden’s officers had agreed that a newplaying surface would be installed but notastro turf.

The perimeter of the pitch is less than sixmetres away from newly built affordablehousing at Suffolk House run by OriginHousing. Last year Camden Council put upnotices asking users of the pitch to limitnoise levels during the mornings andevenings after complaints about noise.

Local resident Wesley Skow has made aformal complaint against Camden Councilsays “The council has taken a multi-usegames area and turned it into a football-onlyfacility where local children have less right toplay. The Council have taken the decisionwithout following proper process and with-out public consultation.

“The council has effectively privatised

part of the public open space by signing sucha generous management agreement with theyouth charity.

“The FYA proposals shift the balanceaway from a shared recreational spacetoward a higher energy youth orientatedsports club focussed on corporate (albeitcharitable) aspirations of FYA rather thanlocal community needs.”

A Camden officer replied to Skow sayingthat young people could go elsewhere anduse facilities at the Regent’s Park Estate andKings Cross. Camden Council has so far dis-missed the complaint and has declined tocomment to Fitzrovia News.

Funding for the astro turf was providedby the property developer Derwent Londonwho also own the freehold of the neighbour-ing affordable housing at Suffolk House. Thehousing was built after Derwent convertedcommercial buildings into social-rented andshared ownership housing in agreementwith Camden Council as part of a controver-sial planning permission for redevelopingthe Saatchi block in Charlotte Street.

Andre Schott, director of Fitzrovia Youthin Action told Fitzrovia News:

“We are very excited to offer the commu-nity a top quality playing facility and a local-ly based management system which willbenefit both young people and residents liv-ing around the pitch. The artificial grass willprovide a more welcoming environment forpeople of all ages, both male and female. Itwill allow for any type of physical activitythat can be played on natural grass, not onlyfootball but also sports such as hockey, bad-minton, volleyball and rugby training.

“For those wanting to play basketball,they can still practice shooting hoops andthere are other basketball courts availablewithin a walking distance from the Warren.

“Over the years, we have witnessedmany injuries. The new playing surface willresult in many more young people using thefacility compared to before. They will do soin a safer and more supervised environmentand thanks to income generated throughpitch hire, they will do so for free, at dedicat-ed times every day of the week.”

Schott says the residents living next toThe Warren are in favour and support FYA’sredevelopment of the ground.

“The FYA will be able to offer a muchhigher level of supervision than the Councilcan provide. Employees will be on hand todeal with issues whenever the pitch is openand dedicated staff will engage with youngpeople at the Warren. Fitzrovia is an areawith a chronic lack of green space and wehave found that residents living around theWarren have warmly welcomed the visualenhancement of the artificial grass as well asthe improvements our new managementarrangements will be providing,” he said.

The Warren sports pitch is reserved forthe exclusive use by local children and youngpeople up to the age of 18 during the follow-ing times: weekdays from 4pm to 6pm (2pmto 6pm during school holidays) and week-ends from 2pm to 9pm. The pitch is availablefor hire: weekdays from 9am to 4pm (9am to2pm in school holidays) and from 6pm to9pm; and weekends from 10am to 2pm.

See fya.org.uk/warrenpitch.

By Linus Rees

The games court at The Warren public open space now has an artificial grass playing surface.Pictured in the background is the affordable housing at Suffolk House run by Origin Housing.

“I call this an ‘emotional café bistro.’Love is very important, family is veryimportant, deep emotion both happy andsad is a key ingredient of our dishes. Weare a family business with good and badtimes. Sometimes we have arguments orsharp words with each other but we makeup and there are always deep feelingsbetween us. I think that this ‘soul’ issomething our customers understand.People can see and feel the atmosphereand good vibes here. After working herepeople want to be part of our family.

“Behind all this is the love and encour-agement of my Mamie who taught me allthe culture sophistication and love of foodand cooking. Nelly Lenoble Raulier diedin 1995 aged 84 years. She wrote her recip-ies out in beautiful handwritten script.They are all collected in this book we havehad reprinted ‘Les recettes simples depomme maman’ which is the motivationand creative source of our cuisine Eachday my daughter Victoria makes pastriesfor us using her Grandmother’s recipes. Itis our reference and inspiration.”Chez Mamie, 22 Hanway Street W1T 1UQMon–Sat 9-9 closed Sunday Twitter @Chezmamielondon facebook chezmamielondon


Mum’s the word....“You only have tolook at the familybook of carefullyhandwritten menus toappreciate that this isa labour of love, notsome impersonalcommercial endeav-our.”

If you walk round Hanway Street at themoment, the medieval street is like a warzone. It’s difficult to pick your wayaround builders noise and disruption,writes Pete Whyatt.

On this once quiet side street there is atreasure that you could easily walk past ifyou were not aware of its existence. In thediscreet window is a mouth-watering dis-play of freshly made “Plaisir of the day”dishes. When you walk through the doorlighting is subdued, you can sense thequiet hum of people chatting laughingenjoying lovely homemade food.

At the centre of this establishment isMama, 71 years old Francoise Raulierwho has worked in the catering andrestaurant trade for over 40 years.Francoise was born in Belgium and livedthere for her first 30 years and then thenext 30 years in Spain (Ibiza and Madrid.)She then spent 8 years as the private cookfor an Iranian family.” In this job I trav-elled with the family and learnt a lotabout a different tradition and culturewhich widened my food perspective. Idiscovered new dishes and interestingIranian twists. The Persian people are oneof the oldest civilisations and they havean interesting and sophisticated cuisine.”

Francoise cooks by the seasons. Shebuys what is good fresh and abundantand likes to use Marylebone farmers mar-ket and Berwick Street market in Soho.The food also reflects her personal mood.If she feels happy or sad then it will affectwhat she cooks and the way she cooks it.All the food is freshly prepared. Themenus are hand written and presented ona board as “plaisir of the day.” It changesdaily around a soup, a chicken dish, ameat dish a fish dish and a vegetarianoffering.

I like Chez Mamie because it is some-thing once commonplace in Fitzrovia butnow a rarity: a family business wherethree generations live 'over the shop' thefood is simple, creative and very goodwrites Stephen Heath. I visit Chez Mamie atleast once a week. You only have to lookat the family book of carefully handwrit-ten menus to appreciate that this is alabour of love, not some impersonal com-mercial endeavour.

There are the regular staples on theprinted menu and the daily wonders ofthe plats de jour that depend on whateverFrancoise finds in the shops. It is all fresh-ly prepared from what is seasonal andgood that day. I would describe the cook-ing as inventive: healthy Belgian homecooking with an occasional Spanish twist.The two influences mix in the languagesspoken, on the wine list and in the food.

I would recommend Francoise’s fresh,home made tarte tatin. I have fond memo-ries of the rhubarb on creme fraiche on abed of pastry steeped in hot syrup...

Mmm. Then there was the octopus in awonderful, multi-coloured salad with somany ingredients I lost count.

The ambience has a slightly bohemianfeel similar to what might have beenfound in Quartier Latin fifty years ago.There are not many tables and when it isfull and everyone is chatting, as it is atlunchtime and quite often in the evening,it has a good buzz. When it is quiet,mindful of where it is located, it is bliss.

Our neighbour went every day whenhis family was away and we notice thatthere are several regulars who do just thesame. It is good to escape there and sit inthe green high-backed armchair with amocha, a slice of Victoria's chocolate cake,newspaper and laptop.

Service is warm and friendly. 'Staff' isnot an appropriate concept here. It is fam-ily. Francoise (Mamie), her daughters andthe other friends and relatives who pop into help.

Francoise Raulier outside Chez Mamie

Daughter Victoria serves some delicious mealsPortrait of Francoise as a childdisplayed in the restaurant.

Nelly Lenoble Raulier

“The simple recipes of an apple mother”cover of Nelly’s handwritten recipie book.


Rough sleepers Camden Council told the gov-ernment that there were only 15rough sleepers on a “typicalnight” in the whole of the bor-ough during the autumn of2015, far fewer than the numberpublished by the GLA.

Fitzrovia News compared the“typical night” figures collectedby the government and pub-lished in February with figuresderived from the CombinedHomelessness and InformationNetwork (CHAIN), a multi-agency database recording infor-mation about rough sleepersand the wider street populationin London.

The CHAIN report (Q3 2015-16) for October to December2015 published by the GLAstates that 58 people wereclassed as “living on the streets”.

Fitzrovia News also did asample count in a small area ofBloomsbury ward. We foundseven men and two women in45 minutes on a cold morning.

Camden has defended itscount and says our analysis isincorrect. Councillor JonathanSimpson said:

“From our work with ourspecialist services and local part-ners, we know that there arearound 60 people who meet theaccepted definition of ‘living onthe streets’ in the borough. Thisdoes not mean that all thisgroup sleep rough every night.The figure of 15 represents thosesleeping rough on one particularnight in November last year andwas calculated using specificmethodology set out by centralGovernment for their nationalreport.”

Business group sends cyclists the wrongway along one way streetsThe Fitzrovia Partnership Business ImprovementDistrict is to recall and scrap its guide to cycling inFitzrovia after realising that it was directingcyclists to ride the wrong way down one waystreets.

The local cycling guide, which was distributedto businesses in and around Tottenham CourtRoad and made available at Kings Cross andEuston train stations as well as tube stations andshops in Fitzrovia, was intended to promote jour-neys by bicycle and avoid busy streets.

“Presented in a handy z-card format, employ-ees and commuters can see the cleaner and greenerways to navigate around quieter and less traffickedroutes by using side streets to reach Fitzrovia fromKings Cross and Euston train stations. Helpingyou and your colleagues breathe a little easier onyour way to and from work,” said The FitzroviaPartnership which is trying to flaunt its green cre-dentials.

The guide also reminded cyclists of the law bystating they must not “cycle the wrong way up aone-way street, unless there’s a sign showing thatcyclists can do so”.

But the routes directed cyclists the wrong waydown Grafton Way and Goodge Street. No cyclingcontraflow exists on these streets. There are alsoother mistakes on the map.

The guide was published and distributed in theautumn of 2015 and Fitzrovia News understandsthat thousands of copies were made available.

Fitzrovia News contacted The FitzroviaPartnership to point out the errors and the dangersof directing cyclists into oncoming traffic.

In a response The Fitzrovia Partnership admit-ted the mistake and said the maps would be with-drawn.

“I have checked the map that we printed andclearly there is a mistake. I have taken steps tohave the stock recycled and the online version cor-rected. I appreciate you highlighting the error tous,” said Lee Lyons the BID manager.

However, The Fitzrovia Partnership need notbother to produce its own map because cyclists canmake use of the freely available maps produced byTransport for London in partnership with theLondon Cycling Campaign. There are 14 mapscovering Greater London. Map number 1 coverscentral London. The paper maps can be orderedfrom the TfL website.

The Fitzrovia BID intends to produced a cor-rected guide which will be available from nearbyrail stations, and local shops and cafes.

Basement hotel sunkDevelopers Criterion Capital lastyear applied to Camden Council toconvert a car park at basement lev-els -4 and -5 to a 166 bedroom win-dowless hotel below the St GilesHotel on the corner of GreatRussell Street and Adeline Place.The subterranean complex wasdescribed by Criterion Capital asfilling a gap in the market provid-ing economical rooms for businesstravellers and tourists looking forvery short term occupancy. Residents, businesses, landowners,local councillors, GLA membersand local MP all sent commentsobjecting to the proposals.On 14 January Camden Council’splanning committee rejected thecontroversial plans. Camden’splanning officers were recommend-ing approval of the plans to con-vert the underground car parkinto “pod” hotel. Roger Wilsonspoke on behalf of the Bloomsbury

Association. He emphasised thethe residential community in thevicinity of the proposed under-ground hotel was already understress from previous Council deci-sions to allow development, andthat the present situation wasalready bad, so don’t make it anyworse. Local Councillors arguedstrongly in support of a “communi-ty under stress” and made a pleafor residents whose amenity wasalready under threat from the noiseand disturbance from trucks con-gesting Bedford Avenue andAdeline Place.Councillors refused the applicationby five votes to three with oneabstention. Local resident ChrisGardiner said: “We are up against alarge company here with financialmuscle. The rejection on Thursdayis a victory for good sense and thesmall guys.”

Estate keeper lists its petty rulesPosh estate managers Jones Lang LaSalle have now put up a list ofpetty rules in the new public open space at Pearson Square (seeFN139).

A sign states “no consumption of alcohol” or “hot food” meremetres away from tables for al fresco diners at the on site licensedrestaurant. Meanwhile in the children’s play area there is to be no“ball games or similar” and no “cycling, skateboardsing or similar”allowed.

There must be no “animals on the grass”. (We hope the sparrows,blackbirds and pigeons can read.)

Local residents have reported that people have been told off forskipping with a rope and sitting near the public art.

Security guards patrol what they say is private land and thatthey are only following orders of “the management”.

It is a requirement of the planning permission for the develop-ment of Fitzroy Place to allow public access and space to relax. Themanagers of the estate are permitted to employ security and set out“reasonable” rules of behaviour. Yet Jones Lang LaSalle had to bedragged kicking and screaming by local residents to enforce deliveryrules in Cleveland Street and Riding House Street to prevent distur-bance from the various comings and goings.

UCLH Charity has appealed tothe government's planninginspectorate to overturn a deci-sion by Camden Council torefuse permission to convert aformer hospital building into amixed-use office building with asmall amount of housing.Camden refused permission forthe scheme at 40 TottenhamStreet after the Charlotte StreetAssociation community groupsuccessfully argued that theplans did not comply withCamden's planning policies andthe brief in the Fitzrovia AreaAction Plan. The CSA arguedthat Camden's policies priori-tised housing for the site includ-ing a significant amount ofsocial-rented and intermediatehomes. A planning inspectorwill now conduct an informalhearing and make a decisionafter hearing representations.

Charity appealsto planninginspector

Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co chatting with pensioners from the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association’s OlderFitzrovia group. Itamar and Sarit, Honey & Co proprietors, are inviting local people over 65 to sample their deli-cious teas and cakes for free on 27 March 2-4pm. Space is limited, so please give Barb Jacobson a call on 020 75804576 by 24 March to book your place. They look forward to welcoming you! Photo: Etienne Gilfillan.


Opening andclosing ClosedPuro Design bathrooms kitchens100 Great Portland StreetCleveland Hair stylists78 Cleveland StreetDelancey And Co New York styledeli 34 Goodge StreetYog frozen yogurt45 Charlotte StreetGoodge Street Espresso coffee31b Goodge StreetNewman Street Taverngastropub 48 Newman StreetJetlag Bar 125 Cleveland StreetLoaf 93 Tottenham Court RoadCaffe Nero187 Tottenham Court RoadEl Burrito Mexican cusisine 5 Charlotte Place Urgent cars minicabs27 Tottenham StreetBoopshi’s schnitzel’s31 Windmill Street

OpenedNationwide Building Society 220 Tottenham Court RoadDetox Kitchen10 Mortimer StreetOliver Bonas fashion, homewares63 Tottenham Court RoadHiba Lebanese street food 10 Tottenham StreetDickie Fitz Pacific cuisine48 Newman Street

Seoul Bakery Korean Cafe/K-pop merchandise 14 Great Russel StreetThe Larder cafe/deliPearson SquareVia Carluccio’s Italian fast food 93 Tottenham Court RoadPancafe Italian cafe52 Tottenham Court RoadMantovani Ice cream, gelato187 Tottenham Court Road

Opening soonYoob Japanese Food Market Place41 Great Castle StreetHonest Burgers117 Tottenham Court RoadDenny’s catering wear/equiptment62 Berners StreetBao Oriental cuisine31 Windmill StreetFoley’s Modern world food23 Foley Street

Spectacular return

Welcome back to Fitzrovia for Opera Opera opti-cians. They had the shop at 20 Percy Street on thecorner with Tottenham Court Road from 1985 to2002 then moved to Covent Garden and finally lastmonth the business has been consolidated backhere.

I was chatting with the owner of the businessArun Ahluwalia. He told me about the history andevolution of the Optical trade in the UK. In theearly part of the 20th century opticians were aJewish occupation based around Wigmore Street.Then in the 1960’s the trade became very popularwith the upwardly mobile Asian population. Inpost-war Britain, the new Labour government cre-ated NHS eyewear frames and subsidised manu-facturers to produce them. In the 1980s, MargaretThatcher deregulated the opticians’ trade and dis-mantled the NHS frame programme. Later in thedecade, foreign manufacturers entered the marketthrough lowered trade barriers and many Britishcompanies couldn’t compete and eventually fold-ed. Later on the global demand for high-endacetate frames declined. More recently the rise ofthe mass produced glasses, multiple chain opti-cians and people buying glasses on the internethas led to the decline of the British and Europeanglasses manufacturing industry. China now pro-duces quality frames and sunglasses at very lowcosts.

Arun is proud of the fact that Opera Opera isnow one of only three companies left in the UKthat actually manufacture spectacle frames. “Wecan proudly stamp on all our frames ‘Made in

England.’ We have a small factory in Perivale WestLondon and our manufacturing business morethan ever is determined to face up to today’s chal-lenges. Being a retailer helps our manufacturingside as we are close to changes in demand.

“Our retail and manufacturing opticians busi-ness was established in 1978. During the earlyyears we sold wholesale to other opticians as wellas through our own outlets. However, from themid 90s we exclusively sold our own products. Alleyewear is branded 'Harpers' or 'acid' which areour registered trademarks.

“Our interest is in traditional eyewear designand manufacture. We offer a unique personal serv-ice; we are not chasing footfall. We are able tomake a one off copy of any vintage frame style,colour or size. We can make both bespoke specta-cles and ready-to-wear ‘retro models’, includingthose that were in the original NHS programme.

“If you forward a photo to us or an internetlink we can make a reproduction handmade framehandcrafted and unique. We often have requestsfor Johnny Depp, John Lennon or Buddy Hollyglasses. We supply handcrafted to theatre, televi-sion and film production companies and evenstock pince-nez, monocles and lorgnettes. OperaOpera relies on word of mouth recommendationsand we do not generally like our styles in glossymagazines or newspaper product placements.”

NHS spectacles

Keeping his eye in at the age of 78 Ted Jones still works as an optical technician for Opera Opera in Fitzroviawhere he started in 1986.

shop interior

See article page 7 Fitzrovia News readers can get a £5 discount by quoting the passwordMANAGER when ordering it online through:http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=3655

By Pete Whyatt


Consultant publishes second book

What’s Missing fromFitzrovia’s Nostalgia Bars

By Adam StonemanLeather booth seating, lavatorial white tiles, pinkand orange art deco lamps. No, not a bar or restau-rant from the 1950s, but a ‘retro fitted’ establish-ment in Fitzrovia. Step into Love Die Late,Simmons or Riding House Café and History isannounced with a jumbled array of post-war para-phernalia. The current nostalgia for the 1940s and‘50s extends beyond kitsch ornamentation too; thenew development in Kings Cross, led byMaccreanor Lavington, has returned to the simplebrick-clad vernacular of post-war social housing.And of course there is the ubiquitous ‘Keep Calmand Carry On’ image, originally a poster, now apervasive viral meme, its clean, austere design andstoic message conjuring parallels with post-warBritain’s earlier period of privation and scarcity.

But why all this nostalgia for the ‘40s and ‘50s?This is the question Owen Hatherley asks in hisrecent book, Ministry for Nostalgia. At the sametime as the remnants of the welfare state are beingactively demolished by the present government,the British public have become transfixed in wist-ful remembrance of the age that produced it.

Cameron’s government have worked to conjureparallels between current austerity measures andthe austerity endured by the British public in theyears following the war; the Tories’ ideologicalproject of shrinking the welfare state is thusframed as an issue of moral fortitude and nationalresilience: ‘We are all in this together’, just like wesupposedly were during and after the war. Except,as Hatherley points out, the post-war period ofhardship was also marked by the incredible

achievements of social democracy in this country:the creation of free healthcare and a welfare systemand the widespread provision of genuinely afford-able council housing..

Unfortunately the fad for post war Britain is instyle not substance: the new Kings Cross develop-ment, like so many new developments here inFitzrovia, will primarily provide non-dom invest-ment opportunities, rather than homes for peoplewho desperately need them. .

Without becoming wistful and nostalgic aboutthe post-war era of our grandparents’ generation,Hatherley urges us to remember that a more justsociety was constructed after the war –it was possi-ble then, and can be possible now. Unless weremember this, all that will be left from that erawill be twee 1950s ornaments in overpriced bars.

Mayor candidates’ viewson Oxford Street changes

Old age andimmunologyUniversity College London ishosting an open day where localpeople will have the chance tohear about research, see postersand demonstrations, ask ques-tions about changes to theirhealth as they age, and find outwhat it means to take part inresearch. Food and drinks willbe provided.

Older people are invited toattend to learn about the latestresearch on aging, the immunesystem, and understand whyolder adults are more prone toinfection and illness.

The open day will take placeon 4 April, from 2pm till 4:30pm,at the Rayne Institute, 5University Street, London WC1E6JF.

If you would like to attend,please contact UCL by email,telephone or post:

Dr Natalie Riddell: [email protected]; Tel. 0203 1082177

Dr Natalie Riddel checks out someblood

Local government consultantAlexander Stevenson, who livesin Foley Street, has just had hissecond book published. It iscalled The Public Sector Fox,Twelve ways to become a brilliantPublic Sector Manager.

He started off working forFinancial Times, setting upFT.com, then set up his owncompany, RSeConsulting, whichworked for over 200 public sec-tor bodies. This was bought byTribal Group in 2008 when itwas based in Newman Street.

Now he is a trustee of theYoung Foundation which aimsto tackle structural inequality inthe belief that it undermines theeconomy and communities. Itwas set up by Michael Young(1915-2002) who helped draftLabour's manifesto for the 1945general election which intro-duced the National HealthService, and he helped found theOpen University.

Alexander is also chair ofCreate Streets, which campaignsagainst the rapid growth of sky-scrapers in London and othercities. "Most people prefer to livein streets rather than skyscrapersand the economic case for it isstrong," said Alexander.

He is also raising funding toset up a website which helpspeople over the age of 50 findwork.

His first book was entitledPublic Sector: Managing theunmanageable, which was pub-lished by Kogan Paul in 2013,

and did well and is still selling.His motivation for writing it,

he said, was twofold. First thereare few books about public sec-tor management and manage-ment comes under the businesssection in shops.

"The second is that we havegrown up to think of public sec-tor management as terrible, andthe private sector as efficient.

"Margaret Thatcher deliber-ately set about creating thatimpression, that public equalsbad and private equals good, 30or 40 years ago. This might havebeen to reverse the snooty viewthat commerce was to be lookeddown upon.

"But the public sector is justharder to do well than privatesector management. One is thatthere is no single success factorin the public sector, whetherevery decision is profitable ornot. Also the private sector doesnot have democratic accounta-bility.

"The private sector playsbackgammon, while the publicsector plays chess."

His new book, written withMarcial Boo, is based on a quoteby the philosopher Isaiah Berlin:"The fox knows many things butthe hedgehog knows one bigthing." Those like hedgehogsviewed the world through a sin-

gle defining thought, whilethose like foxes experienced theworld through a varied range ofideas.

The book contends there are12 skills that managers "need tothrive in the multi-faceted publicsector of the 21st century."

"It looks at the personal skillsneeded, what has changed in thelast few years," said Alexander,"and how you can improve yourchances of gaining those quali-ties and develop them. Among

them are resilience, commit-ment, willing to be experimen-tal, and having perspective."

He has worked a lot withCamden and "really rates localgovernment."

The book costs £14.99 butFitzrovia News readers can get a£5 discount by quoting the pass-word MANAGER when order-ing it online through:

http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=3655

What will the new Mayor ofLondon do about OxfordStreet? Last month Fitzrovia News wroteto all declared candidates in theLondon Mayoral Election (to beheld on May 5th) asking Are youin favour of the pedestrianisa-tion of Oxford Street? If so, whatare your proposals for the vehi-cles which would be displacedfrom Oxford Street? We receivedreplies from just two of them.

Zac Goldsmith, theConservative candidate, says:

I will introduce tougher ruleson HGVs, including use of con-solidation centres to reduce theirnumber. I will facilitate a rapidswitch to electric buses, cabs andcars, and I’ll introduce a Boris-bike equivalent for electric cars. Iwill continue the currentMayor’s emphasis on makingcycling safer and easier.

Oxford Street is the back-bone of the central London econ-omy, but it is also an air qualitydisaster for the people who liveand work here. I am determinedto find a way to pedestrianise itwithout harming businesses andwithout diverting heavy trafficto surrounding residential areas.

I want to make Oxford streetand the surrounding area green-

er, safer and more pleasant: aplace to spend a day out, ratherthan a somewhere you dreadvisiting at weekends.

And the Liberal Democratcandidate, Caroline Pidegeon,writes:

Over many years the streethas been pedestrianised for ‘VIPDays’. In 2011 this closure wasfor over two days.

However the impact ofCrossrail will also lead to manyjourneys between west and eastLondon changing. The route ofsome bus routes will inevitably need revising.

As should always be thecase, any changes to bus routesmust first see proper consulta-tion with both bus users andlocal residents.

I am also strongly in favourof a 1-hour bus ticket, allowingpeople to switch buses as part ofa single journey but for the priceof a single journey. As for nearbyresidents to Oxford Street it mustbe the case that the redirected buses should be fully electric,which are quiet, as well as creat-ing no exhaust pollution.

Making Oxford Street a morepleasant environment does bringchallenges, but the benefitswould be immense.

Alexander Stevenson with partner Roshinee Aloysius and daughter Zeni,who reads his new book.

Are you a foxor a hedgehog?


Charlotte Street

Word from the Streets

By CHARLOTTE STREET and her family

Illustration by Jayne Davis

Watch out for a BBC television drama called Apple Tree Yard on yourscreens in the near future. The crew recently filmed scenes in theMiddlesex Hospital chapel in Pearson Square.

This will be of particular interest to six ladies who recently cele-brated the 60th anniversary of the commencement of their training asnurses in the hospital (February 9, 1956).

They dined in Percy & Founders by the window which looks intothe chapel next door. "It was a very happy gathering with many fondmemories of the hospital," said one of them, Jill Hutchins (directorof the Curwen Gallery in Windmill Street). "The restaurant lookedafter us very well."

The ex-nurses came from as far as Cumbria and Winchester.Pictured clockwise (starting from the left) are: Sally Dale, JanMeryon, Lindy Sullivan, Pamela Bedwell, Jill Hutchins, Jean Dunbar,Tilly Van Rees, and Julianne Grobler.

An up and coming swimmer tokeep an eye out for future suc-cess is 14-year-old Alex Rowsonwho lives in the BricklayersArms, Gresse Street.

Last month he picked up noless than six medals at theMiddlesex County AmateurSwimming AssociationChampionships.

These were two golds(freestyle 100 and 200m), a silver(freestyle 1,500m), and threebronze (freestyle 400m, breaststroke 200m, and individualmedley 200m).

He has lived all his life inFitzrovian pubs (the YorkshireGrey, the Champion, and nowthe Bricklayers Arms) andattended All Souls primaryschool in Foley Street.

He started training at theYMCA pool off Tottenham CourtRoad and now swims with theChelsea Westminster SwimmingClub.

"He is really dedicated, get-ting up at 5 am three mornings aweek to train (twice beforeschool and once at the week-ends)," said his mother Juliette,who often takes him there onher motorbike.

"Now he is training for theLondon regional finals in May.But who knows, he could be atthe Commonwealth Games inAustralia in 2018 or even theOlympics in Tokyo in 2020."

Barry Cryer, the octogenariancomedian, was accosted in the toiletof the Yorkshire Grey in LanghamStreet, according to a recent RadioTimes.

Disc jockey Stuart Maconierevealed: "I was once in the gents'loo at the BBC pub the YorkshireGrey with him when a radio pro-ducer entered and began a heartfelteulogy to the great man extollinghis many talents.

"Barry smiled kindly, but raiseda hand and stopped the young chap:'My dear boy, thank you, but Idon't want reverence... I wantwork.'"

Barry is a stalwart of the radioshow "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue"in which he often mentionsCleveland Street in the MorningtonCrescent game. He was familiarwith the street when attendingMiddlesex Hospital and drinking inthe One Tun in Goodge Street.

In the Uxbridge EnglishDictionary game he recently defined"gladiator" as an unrepetent canni-bal.

The image of a flamingo (a largepink bird with long neck and legs)dancing in a Hanway Street clubcould have been raised in my lastcolumn. I wrote about flamingomusic and dancing in the CostaDorada Spanish club (recentlydemolished), when I of coursemeant flamenco (Spanish dancingto guitar music). Luckily our hawkeyed sub-editor, Janet Gauld, spot-ted the error and corrected it.Thanks for sparing my blushes,Janet.

Griff Rhys Jones, the comedianwho resides in Fitzrovia, hasrevealed how he once pretend-ed to be deaf to PrincessMargaret. Appearing on the tel-evision panel show "Would ILie to You?" he recalled that hewas presented to her at a func-tion.

She asked him a question,but in a mumbled posh voicethat he could not understand.After she repeated it twice butno more clearly he had to feigndeafness.

Griff failed to be made thebest liar on the show; that hon-our went to Hairy Biker, DaveMyers - even though both hisstories were true (being lockedin a bank and making an air-ship in a garden).

A pop star of the 1960s is seek-ing the help of our readers whoremember the Bread Basket cof-fee bar at 65 Cleveland Street inthe late 50s and early 60s.

John Allison, of the Allisonswho topped the charts, playedthere every Friday from April toJune in 1960. Then their hit, AreYou Sure, came second in theEurovision Song Contest in 1961and sold over a million copies.

But John is interested in thecharitable balls run by the coffeebar in the late 50s (see advertabove). "I wonder if any of yourFitzrovia members have anymemories of the balls held bythe Bread Basket in the EmpireRooms in Tottenham Court

Road from 1957," he asks. This isnow the Spearmint RhinoGentlemen's Club.

"They were run by DorisWestwood and were attendedby disc jockey Pete Murray,singer Matt Munro, script writerand comedian Bob Monkhouseand other stars.

"Does anyone have anymemories of this? If so I wouldlove to hear about them throughFitzrovia News."

Those who made their startin the coffee bar included JimmyJustice, Emile Ford, WallyWhyton, and most famouslyTommy Steele.

"In fact Tommy Steele waswalking home to Bermondseyfrom the Bread Basket when hefirst saw the 2 I's club in OldCompton Street where he madehis name," said John.

Frank Warner, the late sociologylecturer whose office was at 76-78 Mortimer Street, was fondlyremembered by newly electedLabour Party leader JeremyCorbyn just before Christmas.

Several Fitzrovian socialistswere at the Stop The WarCoalition party attended byJeremy. One of them asked himabout Frank who was Jeremy'sfriend and neighbour. Jeremy'sface lit up and he gave detailsof a potato growing competi-tion which Frank had organ-ised, ending in the productionof alcohol.

Frank was a regular in TheGeorge which was next to hisMortimer Street office whenworking for the Polytechnic ofCentral London. He onceespied radio chat show hostNed Sherrin in the bar thereand asked him if he was join-ing the march taking placeround the corner. Ned smiledand said he would have to gethis police uniform before join-ing it.

Good to see some live musiccoming back... everyWednesday in the Simmons barin Maple Street. It has changedname five times since 1991. Canyou list them? Answer nexttime.

I was interested to read the obit-uary to Brian Keats in the lastissue. My older brotherMortimer did some weeklyshopping for him in return for acup of tea. When Brian becamebedridden it fell to Mortimer tomake the tea. "That is the firsttime I have made tea for ages,"he told Brian. "It tastes like it,"snarled Brian scathingly.

Swimming champion Alex Rowson in action at butterfly (top) and freestyle

Comic actor Kenneth Williams,who lived near Great PortlandStreet for the last 16 years of hislife, has achieved literary recogni-tion 27 years after his 1988 death.

The British Library has paid£220,000 for his diaries and othercorrespondence. The library's cura-tor of theatrical archives, KathrynJohnson, described the diaries as atreasure trove "which we now hopeto scan and make available toresearchers from March."

Paul Richardson, the closefriend and neighbour of Williams inOsnaburgh Street, remarked: "Hisdaily existence bordered on themonastic, defined by routines whichmight be described today as obses-sive-compulsive. From the mid1950s he lived in Fitzrovia in aseries of one bedroom flats that werebare furnished and unwelcoming."

He had no television, books orpictures and very little furniture,just a radio and a pile of old theatremagazines, added Richardson. Hisdaily routine included shopping atTesco in Goodge Street or JohnLewis in Oxford Street, then diningin cheap local Italian restaurants.

Literary agent CarolineDawnay concluded: "In 20 years'time Kenneth Williams won't beremembered as a camp entertainerand Carry On star. Instead he willstand alongside Samuel Pepys andVirginia Woolf as the author of oneof the finest diaries in the Englishlanguage."

Making a splash

Comedy great

Royal lie

Star balls

Nurses visit chapel filmed for TV

Comic’s diariesfetch £220,000

Fun lecturer

Feather brain

Storm in teacup

Live music


Berners Street, Fitzrovia £995 per week

LETTINGS

Gosfield Street, Fitzrovia

RESIDENTIAL SALES

THE PORTLAND LOFTS

0207 637 0821 www.rib.co.uk [email protected] Margaret Street, London, W1W 8LF

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A music festival for FitzroviaFitzFest 2016 will take place at various venues from 8 to 11 June

A music festival celebrating themany musicians and composerswho have had a connection withFitzrovia will take place in earlyJune, the first of an annual eventsay the organisers.

The series of performanceswill take place at a variety ofyet-to-be-chosen venuesthroughout the neighbourhoodassisted by an Arts Council ofEngland grant. Local residentDan Bates, a classically-trainedoboist, is leading the series ofevents under the banner of“FitzFest: Fitzrovia’s annual

community music festival” andis desperately looking for “peo-ple with a passion for Fitzroviato help organize the many com-munity events, concerts, walks,talks, exhibitions and lecturesthat are planned for the area” hetold Fitzrovia News.

“FitzFest aims to be a mod-ern and welcoming annual com-munity music festival forFitzrovia — providing greatmusic but also promoting pridein the area, celebrating its diver-sity, generating a greater knowl-edge of local facilities and cham-

pioning our community.“Fitzrovia has hosted an

astounding number of greatmusicians, writers, thinkers andartists from many cultures overthe centuries — the festival willprogramme music entirely bymusicians and composers whohave lived or worked in thearea, and aims to highlight itscultural richness.”

“An example of this wouldbe a performance by internation-ally famous clarinettist JörgWidmann of the ClarinetQuintet by the early 19th centu-ry German composer Carl Mariavon Weber in the very room onGreat Portland Street in which(we think!) the composer died.”

The concerts and events willbe held in all kinds of unusualvenues and will range from

evening and lunchtime concertsto talks-with-music about specif-ic aspects of local culture, andunexpected “musical flash mob”events. Also planned is a concertof music composed by childrenat All Souls’ Primary School per-formed by professional musi-cians, and musical visits to thepaediatric ward at UCLH.

“At the core of FitzFest,”says Bates “is a new commissionby internationally famous elec-tronic music pioneer Scanner(aka Robin Rimbaud) who is amulti-talented, multi-awardwinning artist. The aim of thisexciting new work is to com-memorate the late lamentedMiddlesex Hospital and at thesame to celebrate the preserva-tion and restoration of theChapel.”

Scanner will create a per-formance from recordings ofinterviews of people’s experi-ences and memories of the hos-pital and of the neighbourhood,and use electronic music toweave these into a soundscapewhich will run for 24 hours aday throughout the festival,echoing the pattern of shiftworkers at the hospital.

If you have any experiences

or memories of the MiddlesexHospital — perhaps as a patient,visitor or worker there — andwould like to record a shortinterview for the project pleasecontact Dan Bates at [email protected]

www.fitzfest.co.uk

The February fundraising concertin Marylebone.

FitzFest launch concert at Westbourne House

14 - 16 Westbourne Grove W2 5RH

8th March 2016 doors open 7:00pm

concert 7:30pmfollowed by reception. £35 suggested donation

proceeds towards FitzFest andOlgarhythm music charity.

Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner

Dan Bates and colleague at All Souls Primary School


Beatrice: Independent womanwho sang with feeling

“As the people say, ifyou live happy youmust live with achurch, a pub and amarket. We haveeverything here, wehave Sainsbury’s,this church here onOgle Street and wehave two pubs on mystreet.”

Well known and loved resident Beatrice Malta died inDecember 2015. She had lived in Fitzrovia for over 50years and she always said how much she loved livinghere. She first lived for 20 years in York House in BernersStreet that at the time was staff accommodation for theMiddlesex Hospital. On retirement she moved toHaddon House in Hanson Street where she remaineduntil her death.

Beatrice was born in Portugal in 1925. At 18 sheworked as a waitress in France for two years, learningthe language fluently. She came to London in 1962 toescape an unhappy marriage (her husband was a gam-bler). At that time this was a very courageous andunusual thing to do for a woman to travel on her own.She was a kind of personal and political refugee. It isprobably unlikely that she would have been allowed toreturn as there was a dictatorship in place in Portugalthen and women did not usually have their own pass-port so usually had to travel as a wife.

“I came here on my own when I was 36, and I didn’thave a job or accommodation, and was without anyfriends but I knew English, so I slept on a little chair in

Victoria. At that time nobody stole anything so nobodybothered me. I had a few tears of course.”

Beatrice found a job looking after the children of aJewish family in Finchley. “They were lovely people. Iworked there for two years with them and they treatedme as one of their own. I learnt a lot of the Jewish faith,it was very interesting.”

Beatrice then got a job in the catering department atTooting Bec Hospital. She was not too happy there and afriend who worked at the Middlesex Hospital inMortimer Street encouraged Beatrice to join her there.

“I was the first Domestic Supervisor who couldspeak English and Portuguese. I spent a lot of the timeinterpreting as well. I never ever regretted a minute. Iworked in the Middlesex for 25 years. I loved the hospi-tal work, I never thought I would love it so much. “

For the final four years of her career Beatrice workedat the hospital for women in Soho, then retired at 62.

She continued working part time to supplement herpension at the Berners Hotel in Berners Street (now theLondon Edition hotel) as an evening house keeper, afreelance interpreter for Harley Street private doctorsand working for the Wedgewood China shop, off RegentStreet.

Beatrice was always very candid about talkingabout matters of a private nature. “I came here at 36 onmy own free as a bird.” As a young woman she metMalcolm, a widower from Cornwall. “He said to me: ‘Iwould like to take you for dinner.’ I said: ‘Thank youvery much.’ He was eight years older than me. When wewent to the restaurant I thought to myself ‘well he hasgot a Rover, he has got money.’ We sat and he said:‘what would you like to eat Beatrice and drink?’ I said:‘Champagne please Malcolm.’ I added: ‘Because youknow I wouldn’t have ordered it if I knew you couldn’tafford it but I’m sure you could afford it.’ He said: ‘Ohyes, my dear, no problem.’

“I am very independent. Also to me it’s respect. Yousee when you’re married you do everything and peopledon’t respect, you. With the second time everything wasmy way. I said to Malcolm: ‘I will not be used now towash pants, socks or make a breakfast, not anymore.’

“So I said to myself why not? We had a ten year

affair. He used to go to Africa for business. He said tome: ‘Beatrice, I will take you to Africa with me and wewill go together.’ I said to him: ‘Do you mind MalcolmI have lots of things to do here.’

“I liked him, but I didn’t love him. He said to me: ‘Ilike you, but I like you more because you know whatyou like in life.’ He died in an air crash. He was a love-ly man we had a a wonderful ten years together.”

Beatrice also gained a reputation and made regularappearances as a singer. As a young woman her fatherpaid for her to study Italian operatic technique. Shesung soprano, but over time her voice lowered tomezzo soprano. She enjoyed singing, especiallly Italianopera, but her reportoire included popular andPortuguese songs (she even made a record ofPortuguese songs).

She sang in restaurants and the Spanish clubs onTottenham Court Road and Edgware Road. In her lateryears singing became a hobby. She continued perform-ing for charity events at the Covent Garden ConcertArtists’ Association and the Salvation Army.

Beatrice in “I like things that are easy

“The neighbo you. This is a everyone I m very particul

“I find this a ionable. And

“Fitzrovia to your sons.”

“Oh I love da my exercise f

“I was danci “You don’t n

“As the peop church, a pub have Sainsbu have two pub

This obitua Fitzrovia N project in 20 able from F

José Mendonça adds:In 2010 one Sunday morning I was sitting in SaintCharles Borromeo Church on Ogle Street waiting forthe service to begin. From behind me I heard somechattering which disturbed me, so I turned around toask the person talking to please shut up. The persongave a frosty and aggressive response. After the servicewe met up and noticed each other’s accents. We wereboth from Portugal. This was my introduction toBeatrice. It was the start of a very strong and warmfriendship. We shared meals together in each other’sflats. She came along to some of my partner’s musicalevents and I accompanied her to some functions. Asher sight and mobility deteriorated in the last fewyears I took her out for walks. I still find it hard tocomprehend that she has passed away. She was such acharacter and positive force.

“Fitzrovia to me islike a mother orfather that lookafter your sons.”

Beatrice in 2010


her own words: s that have some difficulty. I don’t like things

to me; they are of no interest.”

ours are very nice; I feel that they care for a nice neighbourhood, but I cannot call

meet a friend or invite for a cup of coffee; I am lar.”

area very interesting; it is very old and fash- d it has got lots of history”

o me is like a mother or father that look after

ancing every morning; I put on a cassette for for my leg.”

ing, singing, eating, drinking and spending.” need to see to sing; you need to have feelings”

ple say, if you live happy you must live with a b and a market. We have everything here; we

ury’s, this church here on Ogle Street and we bs on my street.”

ry was prepared with interviews from the Neighbourhood Association’s oral history

010. “Ebb and Flow in Fitzrovia”, is avail- FNA, 39 Tottenham Street, W1T 4RX (£5)

Property developer HarryHyams died on 19th December2015.

His Centre Point tower sawhim become, for some, the unac-ceptable face of property devel-opment in the 1960s.

Already a successful entre-preneur, he took advantage ofcouncil proposals for a (neverbuilt) roundabout at the junctionof Oxford Street and TottenhamCourt Road to gain a lease onland there.

The 35-storey tower wascompleted in 1966 but remainedempty for the next 14 years,because Hyams wanted to rent itout to a single occupier. Even asan empty building, its initialvalue of £5m more than quadru-pled, but Centre Point became afocus for homeless charities,who claimed the London prop-erty boom encouraged ownersto keep buildings empty.

Hymans shunned publicity,and even held his company'sannual general meeting on NewYear's Day to discourage anyonefrom attending.

Enhanced images ofthe Fitzrovia Muraldisplayed

Fox of Fitzroy SquareBy Guy O’Connell

A wild animal again roamsFitzrovia. It is perhaps the largestuntamed mammal seen ’roundthese parts since building startedon the ancient hunting grounds weat Fitzrovia News call home. It hasso far eluded capture on camera,despite the best efforts of your cor-respondent, whose account fol-lows.

At around 10.30pm on NewYear’s Eve, as revellers headedto the many bars aroundFitzrovia, a small brown dog cir-cled Fitzroy Square. A largemoon hung in the last skies of2015. In the silvery glow, thedog’s companion spotted thedistinctive red brush of a fox. Itflicked slightly as the animal’stongue licked at a puddlebeneath the large road signmarked “Fitzroy Square” on thenorth east corner of the famousLondon landmark.

What a photo! The fox raisedits head; its own eyes meeting

the camera’s as its long sleekbody followed the line of thestreet sign. All was framed per-fectly — fox, and Fitzroy Square.

The animal stayed proud atits puddle for sixty seconds ormore, allowing multiple shotsperfect for the front page ofFitzrovia News and perhaps formany a year to come on thewalls of our many readershomes. But the wily animal per-haps knew what the human didnot … the camera failed torecord a single foxy frame. Thefox of Fitzroy Square had notbeen shot.

So your correspondent offersa pint in a Fitzrovian pub to thehuman who can capture the bestphoto of the carnivore in FitzroySquare before May 13. Send usyour picture [email protected] or tweetus @FitzroviaNews or post toour Facebook page.

The Fitzrovia Mural, painted in 1980 by London-based artists SimonBarber and Mick Jones, was commissioned by Camden Council andcreated in consultation with the local community. The mural coversthe entire side of a building on Tottenham Street and faces WhitfieldGardens, on Tottenham Court Road. It is one of the largest and mostpopular pieces of outdoor art in London.

The artwork, painted in the style of Mexican artist Diego Rivera,is a colourful depiction of people living and working in the neigh-bourhood and a playful satire poking fun at property developers,planners, and the drudgery of modern office work. But over theyears its bold colours have faded with the ravages of wind, rain andsunlight, while the lower part of the mural has been defaced withgraffiti.

Now Camden Council have committed the money to restore themural as part of the planned regeneration of the Tottenham CourtRoad area, know as the Camden West End Project, leading up to theopening of Crossrail in 2018.

The high-resolution photographs by Nigel Moore reveal themural’s full diversity, its artistic quality and intricate detail. TheFitzrovia Mural exhibition is at Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street untill 11 March2016. A booklet about the mural is available from Arup.

HarryHyams

Illustrations of mid-Victorian London

In 1869 the journalist Blanchard Jerrold and Frenchartist Gustave Doré produced an illustrated recordof the ‘shadows and sunlight’ of London. Theyspent many days and nights exploring, often pro-tected by plain-clothes policemen. The ambitiousproject, which took four years to complete, waseventually published as London: a pilgrimage with180 engravings.

Both were transfixed by the deprivation,squalor and wretchedness of the lives of the poor,

even though they realised that London was chang-ing and some of the worst social evils were begin-ning to be addressed. Doré’s work has become cel-ebrated for its dramatic use of light and shade, andthe power of his images to capture the atmosphereof mid-Victorian London.

See more at The British Library Websitewww.bl.uk/collection-items/london-illustrations-by-gustave-dor

The Workmen’s Train: Workers hurry to catch their morning train to work. Steam trains depicted by Gustave Doréat Gower Street station (now called Euston Square) on the Metropolitan underground line, which opened in 1863.


Poetry corner

Elvis Costello’s early daysin Tottenham Court Road

THE RAINBy Rosie Lunn, Holcroft Court, Clipstone Street

The rain; it came, it came, it came, it came.The wind it blew so strong.I put my wellies on my feet,And slowly ambled along.

Off to the shop at the corner of the street,A paper for to fetch,But as I turned the corner,I came upon a ketch.

The captain ordered me aboard,He said it was unsafe,To wander in my wellies,I looked like some drowned waif.

The rain; it came, it came, it came, it came,The wind; it blew so bold,We sailed right past the paper shop,The weather became so cold.

We came upon the "Victory",A lovely place to be,We didn't know, we couldn't tell,We were out upon the sea.

The dolphins came to play with us,They carried us along,We went right past the 'Isle of Wight',And heard the 'sirens song'.

The rain; it stopped, it stopped, it stopped,The wind became so fair,A gentle breeze upon the face,It ruffled up my hair.

The sun came out, the rainbow arced,A wondrous place to be,We were all alone for mile and mile,Upon the endless sea.

We turned around, around, around, around,And flew upon the foam,Right past the paper shop again,And landed safe back home.

The rain, the rain, the rain, the rain,A tale I could never tell,That day upon the high seas,When I heard the 'Lutine Bell'.

Before pop star Elvis Costellobecame famous he played atthe Fitzrovia Festival on June

1, 1974 in Rathbone Street - underhis real name of DeclanMacManus.

He was fronting a groupcalled Flip City, with Mitch Kenton bass guitar and vocals,Malcolm Dennis on drums,Steve Hazlehurst on guitar, andDickie Faulkner on congas andvocals.

Yet this was not his first per-formance in the area, as hereveals in his new autobiogra-phy "Unfaithful Music &Disappearing Ink" (Penguin,£25).

That took place a year earlierin "a good club up some stairson the Tottenham Court Road"which was hosted by a Jamaicansinger called Raggy Farmer wholet him "play a few tunes nowand then."

This in fact was the Granny'sFolk and Blues Club in theRising Sun at 46 TottenhamCourt Road, which had folk onFridays and Saturdays, blues onSundays, and poetry also onFridays (as listed in Tower, thepredecessor of Fitzrovia News).

"Eventually, I fell in with agang of like-minded fellers withwhom I formed a band that wecalled Flip City, after a few evenmore farcical attempts at findinga name," writes Costello.

They scraped togetherenough to rent a three-bed-roomed rat-infested semi-detached house where theylived on beans on toast. A spe-cial treat would be a recipe ofCostello's: "cheese on toast overa lick of blackberry jam, sprin-kled with paprika andWorcestershire sauce."

They played in pubs wearingoveralls and work shirts, and, inthe case of the conga player,clogs. One of their first bookingswas for a "captive audience" atWandsworth Prison for no fee(following in the footsteps ofHawkwind).

Eventually they got a gigopening for Dr Feelgood at theMarquee Club in Wardour Street- to a nearly empty floor becausethe Feelgood fans refused to payclub prices for beer.

Flip City’s drummer workedin a music showroom in SohoSquare, where they "borrowed"instruments for their weekendperformances.

A year after their FitzroviaFestival performance (halfwaybetween the Duke of York andthe Newman Arms) they playedat a basement club in CharingCross Road. During their breakDesmond Dekkar got up and

mimed his hit of seven yearsearlier, Israelites, to a much bet-ter audience reaction than theirs."We'd been completely upstagedby someone pretending to sing,"bemoaned Costello, but "itturned out to be a perfectapprenticeship for a life on Topof the Pops."

Just after playing at the 100Club in Oxford Street onDecember 9, 1975 the bandbroke up.

Five years after his early per-formances in the Rising Sun hereturned to Tottenham CourtRoad as an established star withhis group The Attractions -packing them in at theDominion Theatre for sevennights over Christmas 1978 (seepicture on front page).

There was a huge cardboardlikeness of him outside the the-atre. But the mood of the audi-ence was sometimes ugly. Hisfather Ross (a singer with the JoeLoss Orchestra) came backstageafter one performance to report:"They want to kill you."

They survived this and had asuccessful recording career,sometimes using the Air Studiosabove Oxford Circus (where TopShop is now) from 1981 to 1983.Here they met and befriendedother artists such as PaulMcCartney, Alice Cooper,

Michael Jackson, The Jam, andDuran Duran.

During breaks Costellowould nip out to "a mews puboff Portland Place" [probably theDover Castle in WeymouthMews] and flirt with an attrac-tive girl behind the bar.

He wrote a song called"Shipbuilding" in 1982 duringthe Falklands War about Britishshipyard workers buildingships, potentially taking theirown soldier sons to their deaths.It became a hit for Robert Wyatt,who discussed it with Costelloon television and radio pro-grammes.

Costello's favourite pictureof this was of Wyatt in the lobbyof Broadcasting House "sitting inhis wheelchair bathed in a shaftof sunlight, reading the MorningStar." The following yearCostello recorded it himself withthe Attractions in Air Studios,and it became their finale duringtheir live shows.

He appears at the LondonPalladium from May 10 to 14.

By MIKE PENTELOW

DECLAN MacMANUS at the Fitrovia Festival in 1974.

Fitzrovia News issue 140 Spring 2016 —13facebook.com/FitzroviaNews :: twitter.com/FitzroviaNews

Bloomsbury wardcouncillors’ surgeries

6:00 - 7:00pm first Friday of the month at

Fitzrovia Community Centre, Foley Street, W1W 6DN

6:00 - 7:00pm second and fourth Fridays of the month at

Marchmont Community Centre, 62 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AB

Third Friday of the month is a 'roving surgery'. Get in touch if you would

like us to conduct the surgery at your street or building.

Adam Harrison, Sabrina Francis, and Rishi Madlani

Contact 020 7974 3111 or [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

Iwas never as good-looking asyou. Everyone said it, or if theydidn’t say it, you could see it in

their eyes. How’d she get him? He’squite a catch, isn’t he? Of course,they’d never seen the pimples onyour bottom. Red, sucker-likeblotches with oozing white headsin the middle.

Even so, you were still beau-tiful. The high, curved arches ofyour feet, strong calf muscles, solittle hair on your chest andarms. I’ve never cared for hairylimbs. The hair on your head –pale, blond waves that lookedsilver in the afternoon sunlightas we walked through the fields,hiding under solitary trees. Notthat it matters. I’m not trying tobe Barbie to your Ken. Not afteryou ran off with a Sindy, so tospeak. Claire from the end of myroad. I can’t see what’s so muchbetter about her. She’s got rattyhair, split ends. Whenever shecame down the salon, Moirawho worked with me wouldremark: Ends like a featherduster. I had to take three inchesoff. I suppose she has big boobs.I never knew that was yourthing.

Anyway, I’m not changingfor you – because of you maybe,but – see, when I left Devon,after you, I realized for the firsttime that there were other ver-sions of me out there.Possibilities. I didn’t have towork in We’ll Dye for You until I– well, you know. Aunty Lindaworked there her whole life.And if I stayed, there’d be nogetting away from big-boobedClaire, would there? Where elseis she going to get her hair cut?Or I’d bump into you buying asavaloy down the chippie. No, Irealized that there were parts ofthe country where it was OK notto love clotted cream.

Truth is, I don’t really knowhow I broke my nose. I wasdrunk. Three months after youand still drinking. I don’t knowif I bashed myself on the wayhome or fell down the stairs, butI woke up in my hallway withmy nose on the wonk and eyesswollen. I was tempted to tellthe doctor you did it. But thatdidn’t seem fair – oh, I wasn’tworried about hurting your feel-ings – more about the womenthat have had their nosessmashed. Their boyfriends prob-ably cheated on them too. Icould do a lot worse to you thanlie. I’d like to singe your locksoff with curling irons.

The doctor said my nose wasbroken in a couple of places andwould hurt to put it back intoplace. I was going to tell him itwouldn’t hurt half as much aswalking in on you and Claire;then I thought, I don’t want toput it back. I don’t want to keep

Better looking

looking at the old me that youcheated on. I’ve always thoughtmy nose was a bit too wide atthe front, too stubby. All thetimes as a kid I’d stand in frontof the mirror of the school toi-lets, raising the tip of it high likea pig’s snout.

We talked about it, me andthe doctor. Of course he waskeen. You have to pay a lot morefor that. It must cost a lot too foran office with these plushleather chairs right here onHarley Street. That’s properposh. You’ve never been toLondon, have you? He wasn’tmuch to look at, the doctor. Hewas in his fifties, a bit jowly, buthe had perfect teeth and preciseeyebrows. Probably got themplucked. He said he’d get somesamples, pictures of noses Icould look at. Rhinoplasty. Ihaven’t really thought aboutthat word since you and I werein primary school and MichaelJackson’s collapsed beak was allover the papers.

It was then, while the doctorwas in the other room, I pickedup a brochure of the work hecovers. Botox. Boob jobs. You seeadverts for those all the time onthe tube. Make YourselfAmazing. And some of theseboobs are amazing. The onesthat stick up even when you’renot wearing a bra. You see them

on T.V. Real Housewives ofwherever. You don’t need make-up on with boobs that good.Who’s looking at your face?When he came back in, I toldhim perhaps I could do them aswell? Would that be feasible? Tosave on down time. He was veryaccommodating.

‘I want them to look natural,’I said. Maybe just go up a cupsize. He told me to stand and heexamined me side on, then fromthe front. He opened a cup-board and brought out a latexbra.

‘Try this on,’ he said andpulled the curtain around achanging area. They felt heavy,horrifying, but when I put themon, I was more than myself.When I looked in the mirror, Iwanted to wolf whistle. I didn’teven see my broken nose. It wasmuch more than a cup bigger.They spoke for themselves.

‘How do you like those?’ heasked.

I liked them. ‘Maybe wecould go bigger. Just anothercup?’ Already, it felt much easierto turn my back on you.

In the end, we resized mefrom a B to an E.

When I woke up, there weretubes like tampons stuffed upmy nose. My eyes were soswollen they hurt to blink. Thedoctor told me it would settle.

A short story bySUNITA SOLIAR

My chest felt heavy. It was hardto breathe. I had to stay in hos-pital for a few days. My flatmate, Andrea, came to visit andI was asleep when she arrived. Iwoke up to her crying. When Iopened my eyes, she said, ‘Youlooked like you were dead!’ Shelaughed. I would have laughedtoo, except I couldn’t move myface. With her help, I sat up,looked in a mirror. My eyeswere bruised purple, the tam-pons soaked red. My nose wasengorged. I did look dead, withmy static buoyant boobs, theonly perky part of me. I shiftedmy back to try to get comfort-able. I supposed that would set-tle, too.

Well, perhaps it was goodthat I looked dead. I was beingreborn. You wouldn’t recognizeme. And if you didn’t recognizeme, there was a chance that Iwouldn’t recognize you.

Illustration by Clifford Harper‘I realised for the first time that therewere other versions of me out there’

Barristerwho savedtwo livesFamous barrister EdwardMarshall Hall (1858-1927) wonan unusual bet with a GreatTitchfield Street silversmith nearhis Hallam Street home in 1920.

He told the silversmith thathe was representing a Welshsolicitor named HaroldGreenwood, who had received aparticularly hostile press beforehis trial for murdering his wifewith poison.

"I am surprised at you, SirEdward, for defending thatblackguard Greenwood," saidthe silversmith. "You must seehe's guilty yourself. However, Isuppose it's your job."

The barrister replied: "Guilty,indeed. The man's innocent, andI'll get him off - you'll see."

The silversmith then said ifhe could convince him the manwas innocent he would give himan 18th century silver tankard.

Against all the oddsMarshall Hall got a not guiltyverdict, and a few days later hereceived a parcel with thetankard inscribed: "I dared youto do it, and you did it."

Incredibly the tankard borethe name of Sir Edward's owngrandfather who had owned itearlier.

The information that the sil-versmith was in Great TitchfieldStreet was contained in a drama-tised account of the case onRadio 4Extra. Those listed inthat street in 1920 are RobertSutherland at number 5, andScrutton Engraving at number76.

Another person accused ofmurder whose life the barristersaved was Marie Herman wholived at 51 Grafton Way (calledStreet in those days) in 1894. Sheresorted to prostitution to sup-port her three children, one ofwhom was blind.

One client attacked her andended up dead, after which shemoved to lodgings round thecorner at 115 New CavendishStreet (56 Upper MaryleboneStreet at the time) and took thebody there in a trunk.

Marshall Hall pleaded hercase of self defence and thecharge was reduced tomanslaughter and she was jailedfor six years instead of beinghanged.


All Saints Church

Margaret StreetOur diverse and inclusive parish is grounded in the

rich catholic tradition of Anglicanism. We offer a

place of peace and beauty in busy central London

(open daily from 7 to 7). We maintain fine liturgical

traditions and excellence in music. The parish would

be delighted to welcome you to all or any of our

liturgies if you are able to join us in ‘one of the

ten buildings that have changed the face of Britain’

(English Heritage).

Main services on Sunday

11am High Mass

6pm Choral Evensong and Benediction

Times of Daily Prayer, Masses & opportunities

for confession & counselling are advertised at:

www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk

Parish office: 020 7636 1788

Please tell us if you came to All Saints

after seeing this advertisement.

The shabby history of the WarrenStreet second hand car market

Warren Street was one of themost important second-hand car markets in

London until well after the SecondWorld War, busily trading from the1920s. This used car market was aslightly shabby neighbour of theupmarket car showrooms clusteredin Great Portland Street, with theirdisplays of shining new models.

For many local residents likeMay Thomas, Warren Street, notGreat Portland Street, “was thecentre of all the cars … Youwould walk in one end and bythe time you come out the otherend you would have your car.”A Volvo car showroom on thecorner of Warren Street whichclosed down two years ago wasthe market’s last echo.

The used car market firstbegan in 1912 when Friswell’ssecond-hand car auction roomsopened in Euston Road. Trafficsoon grew on the main road,making it hard to park the stock.So, dealers started to use WarrenStreet, just behind Euston Road,to store their used cars. By 1930Cass’s Motor Mart and fiveother car dealers were located inWarren Street, and by 1950 therewere 15, including the specialistAmerican Autos Limited.

The second-hand car marketgreatly helped those not in the"respectable" salaried occupa-tions necessary to obtain a caron Hire Purchase. Working-classconsumers sometimes sharedthe purchase of a car with familyor friends. Lower-income carbuyers like these might alsowork in transport sectors orhave close connections who didand could help with buying andmaintaining a car.

The numerous registereddealerships on Warren Streetwere supplemented by casualstreet dealers who kept nopaperwork, sealing a deal withjust a handshake.

After the War, the marketattracted discharged servicemenwho couldn’t find a job. Withthese street dealers the buyerhad to beware. Some yearsbefore this, a columnist in theIllustrated London News hadwarned prospective buyersagainst so-called "crashes", or“attractive looking cars of aristo-cratic descent which have unfor-tunately met with disaster andbeen patched up … Be verycareful about these. Deal onlywith firms which have a reputa-tion to lose and never with those

which have one to make – of theproper sort, I mean.”Unsuspecting customers couldsometimes be sold a bad bargainlike this on the pavement inWarren Street.

The shadow car market inWarren Street was also quietly

selling new cars; a most unwel-come activity to the dealers inthe established market for newcars a stone’s throw away inGreat Portland Street. The estab-lished car trade was badly hit bythe war, and was in no conditionto take any form of competition,let alone rule-bending, from theWarren Street traders. And it hitback with court cases: the Timesfor 21 December 1948 reports acase brought against some pave-ment traders, “Salvadori andothers”, by the British MotorTrade Association, concerningbreaches of its motor carcovenants imposed to preventcar owners selling their new carswithin twelve months.

New cars were in very shortsupply just after the war andthis encouraged an illicit tradewhere Warren Street dealerswould pay above list price tothose prepared to sell to them,then sell them on to customerswilling to pay up to twice thelist price.

The dealers argued in courtthat they were legitimate compe-tition for the established carmarket, but the judge rejectedtheir claim, adding that he “hadsuffered from a spate of falseevidence” and that some of thedocuments in the case “weremelancholy touchstones of men-dacity.” He granted an injunc-tion restraining them from deal-ing in new cars in breach of

covenant and ordered them topay costs.

The market’s reputation alsosuffered by association with themurder of one of the street cardealers, Stanley Setty. Theaccused was Brian DonaldHume, known in the market as“the flying smuggler”. He was apilot, and had dropped Setty’sbody parts from a plane. Theheadless and legless body wasfound dumped on Tillinghammarshes in Essex on 21 October1949. Hume was actually clearedof the murder: after being givena retrial because the first jurycouldn’t agree a verdict. He wassentenced instead to 12 years inprison for being an accessoryafter the fact.

After Setty’s murder, theWarren Street market hadbecome a continuing focus ofpolice interest and media atten-tion, with a Picture Post articleof 19 November 1949 homing inon the market’s daily business inan article entitled “Car Dealersof Warren Street”. The illustra-tions present almost a gangsterimage of the street traders,showing unsmiling men inmackintoshes and Trilby hatsgathered in deep conversationnext to a car or lingering on thecorner of Warren Street andFitzroy Street.

The disdainful tone of thewhole piece was shown in thefinal paragraph:

"It is this constantly present-ed two-sided aspect of WarrenStreet, its trade and its people,which is rather confusing. Wefound a host of people whowere frank, open and honest.But we ran into strange silenceswhen we asked the standard ofcurrent prices. Or how a dealercould buy a car he had neverseen over the phone, and confi-dently see it at a profit by thenext telephone call."

The Picture Post article gaveits middle-class readers a strate-gically heightened view of an"exotic" corner of urban life thatcomes across as superciliouslynegative about the whole mar-ket. The suspicion that emanatesfrom the newspaper articlemight be connected with a prej-udice against the working-class,non-establishment traders, someof them immigrants, who wereundermining a bigger car tradethat clearly had its own pricecartel.

Whatever dubious dealingstook place in some parts ofWarren Street, its importance asa used-car market for 60 or moreyears tells us that manyLondoners, and non-Londonerstoo, trusted it to provide themwith private means of transportat a time when other sourceswere beyond their reach.

The spot where murdered Warren Street car dealer, Stanley Setty, used to park his car, pictured in 1949.

By ANN BASU

Despite dubiousdealings it wasan importantmarket for many


By the DINING DETECTIVE

A relaxed and comfortable ambiance

PICTURE PUZZLE ANSWER:The photograph on page19 is at

27 Great Portland Street.

Steak & Lobster restaurant,Raddisson BLU EdwardianGrafton Hotel, 130 TottenhamCourt Road.

The inside of a hotel in Fitzroviais not the Dining Detective’susual hunting ground but some-one recommended this place tome. Steak and Lobster is a chain:£20 per head for either a steak ora lobster and as much salad, andas many French fries, as you caneat. I went to see for myself: alarge restaurant inside the oldGrafton Hotel, with its elegantold Edwardian staircases, (nowthe Radisson BLU), near WarrenStreet tube station on the sameside of the road.

Restaurant reviewers oftentalk about ‘ambiance’ and Iknow what we mean but some-times I can't put my finger onwhy one place has it and onedoesn’t. A large restaurantinside an old hotel as opposedto a trendy new wine bar: you’dthink the wine bar would winhands down but I felt more wel-come and at ease, less rushed,and simply more comfortablehere on a busy, rainy, grey night,than in many another Fitzroviarestaurant.

When we arrived, there wasa smattering of people; when weleft it was full, but I couldalways hear my companion; and

the service was always there ifyou wanted no matter howcrowded it was – but neverintrusive if you didn’t. There areplenty of waiters, who are goodat their job (if you serve lobsterin London you have to be goodat your job and must often showinexperienced people how to eatit, which these waiters did withgreat charm and courtesy).

Choose how you’d like yoursteak cooked, choose if youwant your lobster grilled orsteamed, order something todrink if you want it: that’sit. The seats were so comfort-able, the lighting was so relax-

ing, you knew exactly what youwere spending, the service wasso good: it was just so pleasant.Which I suppose is partly atleast what ambiance is all about.

The food is served as simplyas it is described. The lobsterarrives cut in half to help youand with a (not too alarming-looking!) bone crusher to beused on certain parts. The lob-ster (from Canada at this time ofyear as are most lobsters we eatin the winter) was delicious butfairly small, so I think you mightstill feel a bit hungry after win-kling out all the flesh, but thechips keep arriving – and a par-ticularly good green salad isserved in small pots which, likethe pots holding the thin Frenchfries, are refilled as soon as theyare empty.

The steak was not huge, butgood, and served exactly asordered. A good bottle of Cotedu Rhone was £24. If you want asimple dessert like Banana Splitor Knickerbocker Glory you’llpay another fiver.

I know perfectly well thatthis is food you can get in plentyof other places. It might havebeen the rain outside, but in theSteak and Lobster inside theRadisson BLU I felt the mostabsolutely relaxed and comfort-able that I’ve felt in a localrestaurant for ages.

Agang of youths from FitzroyPlace was involved in amurder in 1888, according to

the book "Gangs of London, 100Years of Mob Warfare", by BrianMcDonald.

It was the climax of a longrunning series of fights stagedbetween the "Fitzroy Place Boys",and the Lisson Grove gang fromMarylebone, it states.

"Matters came to a head inMay, when Frank Cole of theFitzroy crowd was found with hisgirlfriend, Cissy Chapman, inrival territory outside MadameTussaud's Waxworks onMarylebone Road.

"Cole was challenged by twoLisson Grove boys: 'Do you knowany of the Fitzroy Place lads?' oneasked. 'Yes, and glad to knowthem too,' came Cole's not tooclever reply.

"Twenty more lads were whis-tled up to help punch and kickCole to the ground, and givingCissy a black eye when she askedwhy it took so many of them."

The following evening Colesought revenge so gathered adozen or so friends at "the Fair",described as a disused groundbetween Tottenham Court Roadand Whitfield Street. (This was

most probably what is nowknown as The Warren, and wasalso known in the 19th century asFitzroy Market where "boisterousbehaviour" was complained offrom "the nightly assemblage oflads and girls, who conductedthemselves in a disorderly man-ner" by pushing people off pave-ments and interfering with shop-keepers. This was described byJess Owen in the Spring 2010issue of Fitzrovia News.)

"Soon, they spotted a Lisson

lad in nearby Howland Street,knocked him down and kickedhim. Then they set off to searchthe Green Man public house inEuston Road and, finding noth-ing, moved on to Regent's Park, acollecting point for the LissonGrove gang."

Here they found Joe Rumboldwho was stabbed in the back andneck by George Galletly. The vic-tim staggered a few hundredyards before collapsing, and laterdied in a cab taking him to hospi-tal.

When Fitzroy Place washome to a criminal gang

DEATH SENTENCEEight of the gang of youths

were arrested and charged withmurder. Galletly was sentenced todeath (later commuted to lifeimprisonment because of his age),and the others got short terms ofimprisonment with hard labour.

At the time there was aFitzroy Place north of EustonRoad (see map top right), but thestreet disappeared when the areawas redeveloped in the 1960s.

Now, of course, Fitzroy Placeis the name of the residential andcommercial development on thesite of the old Middlesex Hospitalin Pearson Square, and run by anentirely different gang.

The above account from thebook (published by Milo books in2010) can be viewed on the web atlondonstreetgangs.blogspot.co.ukin the "before 1950s" section.

A street called Fitzroy Place used to exist just north of Euston Road until itwas redeveloped in the 1960s.

Cream song wasjotted down onclub servietteThe story of how a song byCream in 1967 was jotted downon a serviette in the SpeakeasyClub at 48 Margaret Street istold in a new book.

Australian pop artist MartinSharp (1942-2013) met his friendCharlotte Martin in the clubwhere she introduced him to hernew guitarist boyfriend. Sharptold him of a poem he had justwritten, and the guitarist said hewas looking for lyrics to a tunehe had composed.

So Sharp wrote the poem ona serviette and gave it to the gui-tarist - who turned out to be EricClapton.

This became "Tales of BraveUlysses" which was the flip sideof Cream's huge hit "StrangeBrew" and was also on their nextalbum "Disraeli Gears" - thecover of which was designed bySharp.

The book containing thisinformation is "Jumpin' JackFlash, David Litvinoff and theRock'n'Roll Underworld" byKeiron Pim (published byJonathan Cape, £16.99).

It is about Litvinoff whoredirected Eric Clapton's musicalcareer and mixed freely withpop stars and London gangsters.


Speakeasy, where The Whocould drink easy, pull easy From 1966 for the next decade

the coolest club in Londonwas the famous Speakeasy

located in the modest basement of48 Margaret Street. As the wateringhole of choice for the glitterati ofthe rock and pop music scene, itwas frequented by virtually everymusician of note, both British andAmerican, from the Beatles to theSex Pistols, many of whom playedthere.

It was immortalised on discby both The Who, in their songSpeakeasy, which includes thewonderful lyric: "Speakeasy,drink easy, pull easy", from thealbum The Who Sell Out (1967),and Elvis Costello, who men-tioned the club in his songLondon's Brilliant Parade fromthe album Brutal Youth (1994).

I met Pauline Cutler whoworked at the Speakeasy (or theSpeak, as everyone referred to it)from the very early days, andlater owned the club in the ‘80s,in its new incarnation asBootleggers. Originally fromBirmingham, Pauline was help-ing run a club there, theMidnight City Club under NewStreet Station, at the tender ageof 15, while also go-go dancingin a cage at the famous ElbowRoom club. At 16 she moved toLondon to study at the RoyalBallet School. Living in a dampflat in Maida Vale with threeother girls, and needing to makeends meet she discovered theSpeak, as she explains: “I wasthe hostess in reception, andalways getting chatted up.Working in a club was great, lotsof big tips. It was a music busi-ness club, favoured by recordindustry executives, and groupshad their promotions there. Thebands would come on late and itwas the first club to have a 3amlicence. The first group I remem-ber there were The Who, thencalled the High Numbers. Theirfirst contract was drafted on atablecloth at the club.”

The Speakeasy was ownedby David Shamoon, an Iraqi-born entrepreneur, who went onto open Revolution and Blaises,and the Shamoon family stillown half of Margaret Street. In1968, Shamoon very shrewdlyhired Laurie O’Leary to help runthe place, both because he was achildhood friend of the Kraytwins and their brother Charlie(about whom he wrote the bookRonnie Kray, who he cautiouslydescribed as “a marvellousfriend, but a very dangerousenemy”); and because he wasvery well known in the musicbusiness, having booked the actsfor the Krays’ KnightsbridgeClub, Esmeralda’s Barn (fea-tured in the recent film about

By CLIVE JENNINGS

the Krays, Legend, and popularwith the Beatles, the RollingStones and Frank Sinatra) andlater Sybylla’s, co-owned byGeorge Harrison. He hadworked with many big namesincluding: Chuck Berry, EricClapton, Mick Fleetwood,Marvin Gaye and SteveMarriott, putting together theoriginal Small Faces line up.Pauline, the beautiful youngdancer, and Laurie, the fixer,became an item and oversaw theclub – “Laurie was never agangster, but an observer”explains Pauline, “He was hiredbecause he was connected, andgood at what he did.”

The roll call of bands thatplayed there was impressive, tosay the least, including: TheBeatles, Bob Marley, CockneyRebel, Crazy World of ArthurBrown, Deep Purple, GingerBaker, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix,King Crimson, Mothers ofInvention, Pink Floyd and Yes.Eric Clapton was a regular – hisband Derek and the Dominoswas launched there. At a timewhen a popular graffiti sloganwas “Clapton is God” EricClapton’s simple and effectivechat up line was “My name’sEric Clapton, what’s yours?”Rod Stewart would sing forpints at the bar and KeithRichard would play with who-ever was around. Everyone fromMarc Bolan to Bob Dylan wasthere, not to mention all thebands that are now long forgot-ten – Glass Menagerie, VelvetOpera and Renaissance – andthe ones that never made it –Audience, Sampson, Spirit ofJohn Morgan – all six of thesegroups playing a night each dur-ing just one hot June week.

The psychedelically embel-lished Speakeasy was alwaysfull of rock’n’roll royalty, eitherperforming, watching otherbands, socialising or often just

getting involved in informal jamsessions. There were a lot ofrecreational drugs and crazyantics. Keith Moon was a fixture,and when he wasn’t trying tojoin the band on stage, letting offstink bombs or getting involvedin food fights (mushy peas beingthe ammunition of choice) hewould be getting up to mischiefwith his best pal actor OliverReed, also a regular, droppingtheir trousers, dancing on thebar and chucking chairs around.Pauline remembers catchingKeith in flagrante delicto on thefire escape with one of theSwedish waitresses! “Nobodyseemed to sleep, and we wouldoften all go on to theTroubadour in Earls Court,which was open all night.” Thefront door was often clutteredwith photographers and Paulinewould smuggle her famousclientele out via the fire escapewhich came out a couple ofdoors up the road; or by cannilycalling other clubs and tellingthem such and such rock starwas on their way over, whichthe paparazzi would get windof, and decamp.

David Bowie used to hangout there a lot from the late ‘60s,and performed there as ZiggyStardust. Pauline recalls a mem-

orable night: “After the hoohahad died down when Bowiefamously killed off Ziggy,onstage at HammersmithOdeon, we all went for dinnerwith David and several others inthe famous Grill Room at theCafé Royale. We all sat ratherdumbfounded at what had hap-pened, and Bowie took off allclothes and announced ‘Ziggy’sdead, he’s gone!’ as he stoodnext to the piano, totally stark-ers. Oscar Wilde (famous patronof this venue) would haveapproved - I think that that iswhy he did it.”

By the mid ‘70s it was start-ing to fizzle out and more fash-ion and film people were com-ing in and Pauline was pursuingher career as a dancer withDougie Squires YoungGeneration, supporting the likesof Tom Jones and EngelbertHumperdinck on prime time TV.The Sex Pistols were the lastband to play there in 1976 withqueues of spiky haired punks, afitting end to an era, as manyclaim that Punk was the deathknell for what was then calledprogressive rock.

Fast forward to the ‘80s andPauline was back in business at48 Margaret Street as co-ownerof the all new Bootleggers, after

the venue had failed under dif-ferent management. Tearing outthe tacky screening that hid theoriginal Speakeasy décor,Pauline discovered the originalSpeakeasy pinball table, whichshe promptly sold to the HardRock Café, where it still resides,and installed mirrors originallydesigned for the Biba shop.Encouraged by her old oppoLaurie O’Leary, Pauline took theclub back to its music businessroots, but for a different genera-tion and this time as customersrather than performers . The barwas the longest in London withan illuminated version of theManhattan skyline behind it,complete with figures jumpingfrom skyscrapers, and the wait-resses wore saucy satin cos-tumes with pill box hats, thathad first featured in Martiniadverts.

The new club was opened byactor Richard Harris, a closefriend of Laurie’s. BarbaraWindsor, Tony Curtis andCharlie Kray were also there.Boy George and Marilyn tried togatecrash the opening, and regu-lars included many of the oldfaces and a new generation ofmusicians, including Phil Lynott,Lemmy (who Pauline often hadto take home, when he was a bitfar gone) and Kid Creole and theCoconuts. Mel, of Mel & Kimfame, worked behind the barand Simon Cowell, then a recordplugger, could be seen receivingpiles of notes from hopefulrecording execs.

Pauline remembers being ina party that included RichardBurton in Richard Harris’s suiteat the Savoy. Talking aboutFrench films, she said herfavourite was La Cage auxFolles. Harris immediately wentinto the bedroom and emergeswearing only boxer shorts andvest, mincing around, and say-ing “I want to be the camp one”,while Richard Burton argued,“No, I want to be the campone”. Harris protested “No,you’ve already played a gayman in the film Staircase!” andthey continued to recite andimprovise whole scenes from thefilm, much to the entertainmentof the assembled company.

Sadly, Mark her businesspartner in Bootleggers died in1987, and Pauline lost heart andsold her share, the end of anoth-er era. An amazing and historicFitrovia venue that over twentyyears witnessed the greats ofone of the most influential peri-ods in twentieth century popu-lar music, from Beat to NewRomantics.

I think a blue plaque is longoverdue.

John Entwistle, Bill Wyman, Pauline Cutler (8 monthspregnant!) and Ringo Starr

The gorgeous waitresses at Bootleggers Club

Pauline Cutler today


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Anarchist found revolutionaryclub in the thick fog of 1895

Prime ministerspied on bySpecial Branch

Thick fog covered the areawhen a German anarchist inexile arrived at Cleveland

Street in 1895.He was Rudolf Rocker (1873-

1958) who was visiting the homeof his comrade Wilhelm Werner.

It was "a bleak, foggy morn-ing" with "a thick, clammy yel-low mist over everything"recalled Rocker in his memoirs(The London Years, republishedby Five Leaves Publications).

Werner found Rocker a smallroom to let in Carburton Street,and later lodgings in CharlotteStreet.

On his first night they wentto the Grafton Hall Club inGrafton Way (which was calledGrafton Street in those days).This was a spacious club whichhad over 500 paying membersand was also visited byGermans and others fromabroad.

It was the finest meetingplace that foreign revolutionar-ies ever had in London, wroteRocker. "There was a large roomon the ground floor, where thecomrades who lived in theneighbourhood came everyevening for company and fortheir evening meal.

"On Saturdays and Sundaysit was packed with comradesfrom other parts of the huge city,who could only come on thosedays.

"The big, bright, comfortablelibrary was at the back.

"The entire first floor wastaken up by a spacious hall,which easily seated 500 people,and was often hired for meet-ings by groups of French, Italian,and other foreign comrades. Theoffice rooms and committee

By MIKE PENTELOW

rooms were on the second floor."Because it was expensive to

run, however, it could not be tooselective over who it let in."Most of the revenue came fromthe bar, from selling beer, wineand other intoxicants," he stated,and "it was not always pleasant"as all sorts of bodies hired it.

Most people in it howeverwere radical sympathisers andcontributed to the funds.

It was here that Rocker metFrench anarchist Louise Michel(1830-1905) and Italian anarchistErrico Malatesta (1853-1932).

He met Michel, whom hesaid was living in WhitfieldStreet in 1896, several times inher small dark room, which sheshared with her friend CharlotteVauwelle. He described Michelas a heroine of the ParisCommune. By then "her hairwas grey and she was a littlebowed with age, but her mindwas astonishingly fresh, andthough she suffered much ill-ness her vitality never left hertill she died."

She was, he continued, "akindly, warm-hearted personwith a clear mind and a noblesoul... Her inborn fearlessness,which made her shrink from nodanger, risking her life and liber-ty for her beliefs, was not theresult of hardness of character,but came from her intense loveof humanity."

After the defeat of the ParisCommune in 1871 she was sen-tenced to ten years in a penalcolony in New Caledonia whereshe taught the native Kanaks.On her release a priest shot herin the throat, then the authoritiesplanned to lock her up in alunatic asylum, so she fled toLondon.

Malatesta was a member ofthe Bureau of the AnarchistInternational, who was an elec-

trical mechanic by trade and hada workshop in New OxfordStreet.

Rocker had been to Londonfor a brief visit in 1893 when hevisited the Autonomie anarchistgroup at 6 Windmill Street. "Itwas a very small place, just tworooms, which served the com-rades as a meeting centre," heobserved. After this group lostthese premises they joined theGrafton Hall Club.

"When I came to London thewhole district from OxfordStreet to Euston Road, and fromTottenham Court Road toCleveland Street was almostexclusively inhabited byGerman, French, Austrians andSwiss. The language spoken inthe streets was more oftenGerman or French than English."

Rocker was at the meeting ofthe International SocialistLabour Congress meeting in theQueen's Hall, at 4 LanghamPlace, in July 1896, when theanarchists were expelled. Alsopresent was playwright GeorgeBernard Shaw, as a delegatefrom the British Fabians.

A bookbinder by tradeRocker left Fitzrovia for StepneyGreen in the east end of Londonwhere a beer is now named afterhim. Here he became editor ofArbeter Fraint which was aYiddish anarchist journal (eventhough he was not Jewish).

In 1912 there was a strike ofthe skilled tailoring workers ofthe west end. When the employ-ers attempted to break the strikeby giving work to the mainlyJewish workers in the sweat-shops of the east end a success-ful appeal was made by Rockerfor them to join the strike in soli-darity.

The employers respondedwith a three weeks' lock-out tostarve the east enders back towork. After this time the westend workers reached a settle-ment. But the strike continued inthe east end until they wonhigher wages, shorter hours, andan end to the sweatshop system.

During the first world warmany German workers werearrested, including about 30 inGrafton Hall. Before thatGerman and French unem-ployed workers, includingcooks, got together to form acommunist kitchen to feed them."It was wonderful to seeGerman and French workersengaged together in this com-mon work of help, while over onthe continent millions ofGerman and French proletarianswere killing each other on theorders of their governments,"recounted Rocker.

He was also arrested and puton stone breaking duties. Afterthe war he returned to Germanyand fought against Nazi anti-Semitism until 1933, when hefled, barely escaping with hislife, to America, where he con-tinued writing and campaigningfor libertarian socialism.

Illustration by CLIFFORD HARPER

Special Branch intercepted themail at 99 Charlotte Street inthe 1950s and 60s of the dem-

ocratically elected premier of whatwas then British Guiana (nowGuyana).

Although Cheddi Jagan(1918-1997) had the support ofthe electorate as a democraticsocialist in his own country hewas disapproved of by theBritish and American govern-ments for being too left wingand they successfully planned tooust him.

Jagan had first visitedLondon in 1951 when calling forhis country's independence. Twoyears later he was elected itsprime minister and continued topress his case. He was electedpremier again from 1961 to 1964,during which time he visitedLondon again frequently topress more urgently for inde-pendence.

Under pressure from USpresident Kennedy the Britishgovernment agreed to conspirein the removal of Jagan. It didthis by calling an election a yearbefore Jagan's office had expired,and changing the rules so thatalthough his party (the People'sProgressive Party) got mostvotes the conservative opposi-tion was invited to form thegovernment.

During Jagan's visits toLondon at this time his mail atCharlotte Street was interceptedand passed on to Special Branch,as was revealed by a Royal Mailsorter to the Camden NewJournal earlier this year.

Because of the OfficialSecrets Act the sorter had toremain anonymous but particu-larly remembered letters arriv-ing for Jagan and handing themon to Special Branch.

RUDOLF ROCKER


Local artist’s picture chosen for display atKings Cross exhibitionA+: 100 years of visual communication by women at Central SaintMartins.

This showcases graphic communication by CSM’s female alumni(including Fitzrovian artist Prue Stevenson) and staff over the pastcentury as an accessible subject and an area of intellectual enquiry.

Gender representation in the historical and contemporary graphicarena does not reflect the large numbers of women studying the sub-ject who go on to enter the profession, or the contribution womenhave made to the discipline's history. This exhibition aims to be partof the growing movement to redress this.

The exhibition is at Window Gallery Central Saint Martins,Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, King's Cross N1C 4AA andruns until March 23.

Every Wednesday at 2pm,Matinee Classics bring some ofthe world’s favourite films backto the screen, tickets are just£1.75 for those over 55.Wherever possible the films willbe screened from 35mm prints.Films will have a live cinemaorgan prelude from 1:45pm.

Those inspired by GeneKelly’s or Fred’s moves are invit-ed to join us afterwards for freedance classes. This is on a strict-ly first come first served basisand starts at 4pm.

Future performances:

Daddy Long Legs - March 1The Harvey Girls - March 9Easter Parade - March 16State Fair - March 23The Pirate - March 30Brigadoon - April 6April in Paris - April 13Copacabana - April 20South Pacific - April 27

Regent Street Cinema 309Regent Street

"Its Your Duty to be Beautiful" by Prue Stevenson 1973 taken from jingleplayed by radio 1 DJ Jimmy Young

Harold Pinter’s 1965 play,The Homecoming, is amasterpiece of modern

drama every bit as pregnantwith meaning as any of the clas-sics. Jamie Lloyd’s 50th anniver-sary revival at Trafalgar Studiosdoes justice to the work, makingit accessible to a new generationby adopting some of the stylisticconventions and effects taken forgranted in twenty-first centuryfilm. This production also bringsout the dark comedy from whatwas always a wickedly funnytext.

The acting is impeccable andstage set minimalist, yetinspired. The large room inwhich most of the action takesplace is shown with red “per-spective” lines running alongthe corners and sharply away tothe back of the stage and theentrance door to the house,which both gives an impressionof great size and yet some claus-trophobia in this space. Thedirection is pacey, again possiblywith an eye on appealing to anonline generation with shorterattention spans, to the extentthat in the opening dialogue,Max’s lines even sound surpris-ingly rushed. Later, though, RonCook unfolds the full complexi-

ty of Max’s tormented andvicious soul.

Gary Kemp’s Ted is rathermore donnish than previousinterpretations and yet containsflashes of a harder interior andhints of occasional bullyingmenace more characteristic ofhis father. Earlier productionsmade the homecoming academicmore of an outsider to the fami-ly dynamic. His chilling resigna-tion to his own repression is atragic journey, which is caughtperfectly by Kemp. Somehowhis teacherly demeanour lendsgreater credibility to the unrav-elling of his relationship with hiswife.

Keith Allen plays put-uponuncle Sam, the chauffeur, with acamp flourish. There are hints inthe quips of his brother that Samis gay, but this is the first pro-duction I have seen in which hisportrayal gives this dimensionfull rein. His lack of convention-al masculinity is his escapevalve from the otherwise suffo-cating male insecurity andmisogyny which run rife in thisfamily, and are so well por-trayed by John Simm’s Lenny, a

real tour de force of urbane,sneering menace.

Gemma Chan, as Ruth, suc-ceeds in capturing a womanhaunted by her past. JohnMacmillan shows a powerfulfrustration as boxer Joey, lackingthe words to voice his hardexperience within this dysfunc-tional family.

The special lighting andsound effects by Richard Howelland George Dennis respectivelyare the seventh character. Theleads are periodically caught intheir own world of torment assounds and flashing lightsaccentuate their paroxysms ofpain. For an earlier generation,Pinter’s intense script sufficed toconvey this. It is debatablewhether this new underliningtechnique is necessary, but it isbrilliantly executed and acted.

I was fortunate to have thechance to meet Pinter in personnot long before his death. It wasat the 2007 premier for the filmremake of “Sleuth”, starringMichael Caine and Jude Law, forwhich Pinter had written thescreenplay (he also had a briefcameo on a television screenwithin the film). In the original1972 film Caine had played theyounger man to LaurenceOlivier’s older man so it was anice twist that in the remake,Caine reappeared, but this timeas the older man. Pinter wasalready quite frail then and in abizarre way, worthy of one of hisplays. He was sat alone in a cor-ner at the party afterwards, alone unsung hero of the night.Yet when I approached him hewas very happy to chat. His psy-chological insight and mordantwit shines on in this admirableand welcome revival.

The Homecoming was at theTrafalgar Studios from 15November 2015 to 13 February2016.

Jamie Lloyd brings HaroldPinter’s masterpiece to anew generation

Pot of gold in Fitzrovia for someone. A rainbow forms over BT Tower as viewed from Cleveland Street. If you have any scenic photos of the neighbourhood please send them to us — [email protected]

Please mentionFitzrovia News

when replying toadvertisers

The Homecoming, written byHarold Pinter, directed by JamieLloyd. Starring Keith Allen (Sam),Gemma Chan (Ruth), Ron Cook(Max), Gary Kemp (Teddy), JohnMacmillan (Joey) and John Simm(Lenny).

By Clifford Slapper

Matinee classics at the RegentStreet Cinema for £1.75

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40 years ago

The thin white duke in Fitzrovia‘The Piano

Man’ No 4

by

CLIFFORD

SLAPPER

10 years ago

January 10th was a very sad day,with the loss of a London boywho had become a musical and

artistic titan. David Bowie was anartist of enormous influence withinalmost every area of cultural life.His inspiration has alreadylaunched a hundred fashions, athousand bands and a millionsongs. He stood head and shoul-ders above his nearest competitorsin musical innovation, as well asedge or cool.

Aged 11, I bought my firstalbum: Aladdin Sane, and neverlooked back. I retained a lifelonglove of Bowie as well as hisextraordinary pianist, MikeGarson. I went on to become apianist myself and in recentyears was fortunate both towork with Bowie and to writethe first biography of MikeGarson, at his invitation.

In his early days, DavidBowie was no stranger to thestreets of Fitzrovia. When theUFO Club opened in December,1966 at 30 Tottenham CourtRoad, “freaks came out of thewoodwork from all over thecity”, in the words of Joe Boyd,one of the clubs founders. Bowiesaw Syd Barrett perform there

with Pink Floyd and it had aprofound effect on him, inform-ing his own work throughouthis life.

His first meeting with TonyVisconti, who would become theproducer of numerous albums ofhis, including “Blackstar”,released on Bowie’s birthdayjust two days before he died,was at the offices of a publishingcompany cheekily calling itselfEssex Music International (hence“EMI”!) in July 1967, at 68Oxford Street (on the Fitzroviaside). A few doors away was(and is) the 100 Club, whereBowie performed several timeswith the Lower Third, as earlyas 1965.

The Tiles Club, hosted by mygood friend Jeff Dexter, who alsoDJ’ed there, was not strictly inFitzrovia, being situated on the

Cartoon by Chris Tyler

Soho side of Oxford Street,roughly opposite Essex Music.Bowie played there on 13thApril 1967 with The Riot Squad(“The Complete MusicalEntertainers”) which saw one ofhis earliest ventures into usingtheatricality and make-up aspart of the show. During theirbrief existence, The Riot Squadrecorded a version of The VelvetUnderground’s “Waiting ForThe Man”, which remained amainstay of Bowie’s repertoirethrough the years.

One final, if tenuous, connec-tion between Bowie andFitzrovia is of special relevanceand interest to me. In the 1930s,his father, Haywood StentonJones, was a young jazz enthusi-ast new to London fromYorkshire, who had inherited£3,000, which he invested inhelping the career of his thenwife, Hilda Sullivan. She was asinger who was known as“Chérie – The VienneseNightingale” (she is said to havefled from the political situationin Austria at the time).

In his final years in the1960s, Jones also encouraged hisson’s nascent musical career. Inthe 1930s, his fortune was com-pletely lost through several ven-tures, each with Hilda as the fea-tured artist, the last of which

was a piano bar called the Boop-A-Doop, which was located inthe Swiss Club, TheSchweizerbund at 74 CharlotteStreet. In later years it wasCharlotte Street Blues, at whichin 2010 I ran my “Slapper’sClub” weekly “piano bar” nightin the basement – withoutknowing at the time about myesteemed predecessor there, orthe link to Bowie.

Sadly, the building has sincebeen demolished.

BT Tower on 11th January 2016.Photo: Clifford Slapper

Fitzrovia News, Spring 2006:A new BBC 4 television dramabased on the diaries of fomerFitzrovia resident KennethWilliams was due to be broad-cast, reported Katherine Hayes.

He lived opposite GreatPortland Street station until hisdeath in 1988 and often drankwith fellow comedians KennethHorne, Richard Murdoch, andTommy Cooper in the FitzroyTavern.

"Williams also frequentedOlivelli's restaurant in StoreStreet. The Middlesex Hospitalwas where he and Diana Dorswould visit friend and Carry Onco-star Andrew Ray who was

undergoing treatment at the hos-pital's psychiatric ward. Ray waseventually asked to leavebecause of his noisy visitors."

A raid on a 24-hour strip anddrinks club in Goodge Street inthe early 1960s was described inhis autobiography by retiredMetropolitan PoliceCommissioner, Sir John Stevens.

He won a commendation forbravery for his part in the raidas a raw recruit based atTottenham Court Road policestation. They tackled four armedmen who were part of a protec-tion racket who were carving upthe owner, a Greek Cypriotcalled Paphos. Blood was every-where and one person's arm wasnearly severed.

Stevens chased the Irishleader of the gang who wasbrandishing an axe. The young

policeman hit him over the headwith his truncheon so hard thatit broke (the truncheon). Withblood spurting from his headthe gangster was gouging theeyes of his assailant when rein-forments arrived.

Appeals were made to reno-vate the then 25-year-old muralin Whitfield Gardens nearGoodge Street station. Theartists Mike Jones (who did thetop half) and Simon Barber(who did the bottom half)described some of its features.

An architect with a key in hisback, to symbolise being amachine of the developers, isjust below the top left. A familysitting around a table in the topcentre include Dylan Thomas(who lived in Fitzrovia) and aman reading Tower (the prede-cessor of Fitzrovia News).

Tower, March and April 1976:The playground in WhitfieldStreet (the Warren) opened intime for the Easter holidays andproved an instant success withlocal children thanks to theefforts of local volunteers overseveral months.

Teams of students from thePolytechnic of Central London(now renamed University ofWestminster) had cleared awayall the stones and dirt from thesite. And Middlesex Hospitalstudents donated £300 from aChristmas revue which helpedfinance the fence, floodlightingand goal posts.

The doctors in MiddlesexHospital, however, were watch-ing television in the commonroom when "two men in whitecoats came in, switched the setoff and took it away 'for servic-ing'. Later that day, the samemen walked into the main hall,took the flowers off the hugecentre table and marched outwith it," reported Tower.

"You've got to hand it to thethieves for their brazen cheek,but it makes you wonder what

else people can get away with inhospital without being chal-lenged."

Tower, which was threeyears old, also reported theopening for use of the FitzroviaNeighbourhood Centre at 39Tottenham Street.

Two staff had over 100 years'service between them in L Ferncoffee suppliers at 27 RathbonePlace, which had been theresince 1903. Mr Van, a Belgian,joined as a shop assistant in 1919and got the job because he couldspeak four languages and theother applicant knew only three.Sidney Ringwood started in1926 as a tricycle rider, andthough now aged 65 was stillknown as "the boy'.

Residential parking wasintroduced by Camden in 11Fitzrovian streets (includingCharlotte, Cleveland andWhitfield Streets) - for a cost of£1.25 a week.

A series of eateries whereyou could get a decent meal forunder a pound was started. Thefirst was the Rambler Cafe at145 Cleveland Street, run bySam and Marje, where pricesranged from 30p for sausageand chips to 75p for steak andveg and they came in larger por-tions than others.

The second was Peter andAndrew's in Charlotte Placewhich provided Greek Cypriotand English meals ranging from30p for egg and chips to 90p forsteak and chips. Lamb casseroleor roast ribs of lamb were a spe-ciality.

The lower half includes awaiter from one of the area'smany restaurants, a Bangladeshifamily involved in the rag trade,and a border collie called Mickwho regularly visited the gar-dens.

Kenneth Williamsdiaries broadcast

Playground openingan instant success

Picture puzzle

How well do you knowFitzrovia?

Can you recognise thismural and identify where itis?

No prizes we are afraid.But for the answer look

under the Dining Detectivepicture on page 15.


WHAT’S ON AROUND FITZROVIAEmail [email protected] by May 19 for the June 2016 issue, and put “Listings” in the subject box.

ART GALLERIES

THEATRE

LIVE MUSIC

CINEMA/FILM

LIVE COMEDY

PUB QUIZZES

EXHIBITIONS TALKS

All Saints, 7 Margaret St: Organrecitals: Laurence Long, March20; David Graham, May 22. Bothat 7.15pm.

The Albany, 240 Great PortlandSt (thealbanyw1w.co.uk):Ukeleles on Wednesdays, 8pm.

Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way:Pedro Barboza jazz quartet,March 10, 7.30pm. Free but [email protected]. Nene Quintero PercussionMasterclass, Apr 12, 7pm, alsofree but book as above.

King & Queen, 1 Foley St : Folkonce a month on Fridays 8-11pm(visit web mustradclub.co.uk).Judy Cook, Laurel Swift, andBen Moss, March 18. JohnKirkpatrick, Apr 22. MichaelSheehy Band, May 13.Scaledown alternative live enter-tainments last Friday of themonth (theorchestrapit.com)

Simmons, 28 Maple St: Livemusic every Wednesdayevening.

UCL, Haldane Room, Gower St:Chamber concert of Baroquemusic, March 4, 1.10pm.Chamber music on revolution,March 17, 5.30pm.

The 100 Club, 100 Oxford St(the100club.co.uk): CompleteMadness, March 25. The DarlingBuds, April 2. Cockney Rejects,April 8, 9. Mods Mayday, May 6.Eddie and the Hotrods, May 20.

See London Palladium underTheatre for more live music.

All Saints, 7 Margaret St: OfGods and Men (XavierBeaauvois' film about Trappistmonks amid Islamist violence inAlgeria), March 10 after eveningmass.

Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way(cultura.embavenez-uk.org):London Socialist Film Co-opscreen films at 11am on the sec-ond Sunday of each month. TheWill of the People, and War isBeautiful (both about SpanishCivil War) March 13; Together(deaf people in East End docks),and Si. Se Peude, Seven Days atPah Barcelona (housing directaction), Apr 10; Jose Marti: TheEye of the Canary (Cuban exile),May 8.

Green Man, 36 Riding House St:London Animation Club, firstTuesday of month.Odeon, 30 Tottenham Court Rd:Weekly film details fromwww.odeon.co.uk or 08712244007.

UCL Petrie Museum, MaletPlace: Monstrous or misunder-stood: Furies, March 10, 6pm([email protected]).Monstrous or misunderstood:Sirens, March 23, 6pm (pre-bookas above).

Regent Street Cinema, 309Regent St: Double bill: The Ladyin the Van (4.25pm), and Dad'sArmy (6.30pm), Sat, March 5.Matinee classics everyWednesday at 2pm, £1.75. Seepage 18. For daily programmevisit regentstreetcinema.com/programme.

Bloomsbury Theatre Studio, 15Gordon St (thebloomsbury.com):Bright Club (UCL researchersnight of comedy), March 22,7.30pm ([email protected]).

Camden People's Theatre, 58-60Hampstead Rd(cptheatre.co.uk): Egg, March 5.The Paddock (experimentalcomedy), monthly on Sundaysfrom March 6. The Seagull, orwhy Masha always wears black,March 11. This is not an egg,March 17. Daughters of theCurry revolution, March 18-19.With Force and Noise (punk,protest and psychology), March23-24. The best of both worlds: abusker's opera, March 25.Calculating Kindness (the life ofGeorge Price), March 29-Apr 16.Dominion Theatre, 269Tottenham Court Rd (domin-iontheatre.com): The War of theWorlds, starring Jimmy Nail andDavid Essex, until July. TheBodyguard, starring BeverleyKnight, from July 15.

The Albany, 240 Great PortlandSt: Mondays at 8pm.

Wheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place:Improvisation on Thursdays,8.30pm, and stand-up onSaturdays, 7.30pm upstairs.

The Court, 108a TottenhamCourt Rd: Every Sunday, 8pm.

Prince of Wales Feathers, 8Warren St: Every Monday, 7pm.

WALKSLondon Literary Pub Crawl,every Saturday, 5pm. Start at theWheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place.LondonLiteraryPubCrawl.com.

London Walks (£10, Over 65 £8):Bohemian Fitzrovia, Goodge Ststation, March 12 , 7.15pm.Beatles Magical Mystery Tour,Tottenham Court Rd station,every Sunday 11am, and everyThursday, 11am, Wednesdays2pm from February.Rock'n'Roll London, TottenhamCourt Rd station, every Friday,2pm.

St Giles in the Fields Church,60 St Giles High St: Walk in thefields, Richard Cohen, circularwalk, May 8, 30pm

Sohemian Society, Wheatsheaf,25 Rathbone Place: QuentinCrisp, by Mark Farrelly, March16, 7.30pm.

UCL Darwin Lecture Theatre,Malet Place (events.ucl.ac.uk):Tuesdays and Thursdays (1.15-1.55pm) during term time.Reproduction without sex,March 8. Ovarian cancer screen-ing, March 10. On the origins oflife a chemist's perspective,March 15. Bones, mummies,tuberculosis and ancient DNA,March 17.

UCL Petrie Museum, MaletPlace: The women behind Petrieexcavations, March 5, 10.30am([email protected]). Inshadow: fragments of theAmarna Palace, March 8,1.15pm.

British Museum, Great RussellSt (britishmuseum.org): FREE:Life and sole footwear from theIslamic world, until May 15.Hoards: the hidden history ofancient Britain, until May 22.Light, time, legacy: FrancisTowne's watercolours of Rome,until Aug 14. Krishna in the gar-den of Assam: the cultural con-text of an Indian textile, untilAug 15. PAY FOR: Cicily: cul-ture and conquest, from Apr 21.Sunken cities: Egypt's lostworlds, from May 19.

UCL Art Museum, WilkinsBuilding, Gower St: Revolutionunder a king: French prints1789-92, afternoons until June10.

POETRYBloomsbury Theatre Studio, 15Gordon St (thebloomsbury.com):Bang Said the Gun, poetry forthose who don't like poetry,March 31, Apr 28. Keep up to date with the latest

Fitzrovia Newsfacebook.com/FitzroviaNews

twitter.com/FitzroviaNewsand

news.fitzrovia.org.UK

Full list of art galleries on ourwebsite: news.fitzrovia.org.uk

Pi Artworks, 55 Eastcastle St: To24 March: NancyAtakan/Sporting Chances.

Alison Jacques Gallery, 18Berners St: To 3 March: RyanMosley / Anatomy and the Wall(pictured above). 6 April – 14May: Maria Bartuszova.Edel

Evelyn Yard, Evelyn Yard: To 20March: Lucy Stein & France-LiseMcGurn/Neo-Pagan-Witch-Bitch.

Mark Farrelly playing Quentin Crisp: See Sohemian Society under Talks.

UCL Grant Museum ofZoology, 21 University St:Animal Showoff (jokes aboutanimals), March 9, 6.30pm (pre-book [email protected]).Dead, life drawing (artist super-vises drawing of dead animals),March 15, 6.30-9pm.

UCL Main Campus, Gower St:Festival of Astronomy, March10-12. Web: ucl.ac.uk/your universe

OTHER EVENTS

London Palladium, Argyll St(palladium.londontheatres.co.uk):Glen Hansard, March 16; BryanFerry, April 20, 22; Bellowhead,Apr 23; Roger Hodson, Apr 28;Elvis Costello, May 10, 11, 13, 14;

UCL Main Library, WilkinsBuilding, Gower St: Fair playand foul: connecting withShakespeare at UCL (picturedabove), until Dec 15.

UCL Octagon Gallery, WilkinsBuilding, Gower St: Cabinets ofconsequence (works of UCLgeographers, neurosscientists,archeologists, zoologists), Apr 4-Nov 11.

UCL Petrie Museum, MaletPlace(ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie):Akhenaten: heretic, visionaryand icon, afternoons until Aug27.

Wellcome Library, 183 EustonRd (wellcomecollection.org):States of Mind: Tracing theedges of consciousness, until Oct16. This is a Voice (the materialquality of the voice), Apr 14-July31. Permanent exhibitions:Medicine Now, and MedicineMan.

Curwen Gallery, 34 WindmillSt: March 3-31- RobinRichmond, Living Landscape(pictured above).

Assanti, 17A Newman St: 16Mar – 23 April: Ad Minoliti. 16Mar – 23 April: Dale Lewis (pic-tured above).

Grad Gallery, 3-4 Little PortlandSt: To 30 April: UnexpectedEisenstein.

Ibid Gallery, 47 Mortimer St: To2 April: Maria Taniguchi (pic-tured above).

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