BTLondonLive At Victoria Park
I did pop in briefly to the free BTLondonLive event in Victoria Park.
The only gluten-free food I could find was the paella, which wasn’t labelled as such, but as far as I could tell didn’t contain any gluten-containing ingredients. Note that they don’t let you take in food and drink. So for a coeliac, it’s paella or nothing.
I left fairly soon after I got there, as they weren’t showing the cycling, which of course, I could view at home. But as it was only a short bus ride from the end of my road, I wasn’t really bothered.
The New Little Waitrose at Highbury and Islington
It opened yesterday and I was impressed.
The only thing I couldn’t find of my staple purchases was the Waitrose goat’s milk. But surprisingly they had the Genius bread and the Genius fruit bread, which is rather difficult to get elsewhere. There was also gluten-free biscuits and cakes.
It will be a great help for me, as often I come out of Highbury and Islington station after coming home on the Victoria line. So at least I won’t starve.
I was impressed, and the average coeliac could do a lot worse round here. If anybody is going to the Olympics on the London Overground, it will be a good place to pick up a picnic. You could even go round the corner and eat it in Highbury Fields, which is rather a smart little park.
Praise For Hackney, Wooden Spoon for Wandsworth
I know I missed the torch at the end of my road, but that was mainly because I took too long for a pit stop, but I did know where it was going to go, as the maps were good. But that is not what can be said for Wandsworth yesterday, where I tried to see the torch about 17:00. When I asked around, people seemed to be very anti-Olympics and it seemed mainly because of the Olympic Route Network, that made driving difficult. But then I always remember that driving is difficult south of the river.
Wandsworth or at least the centre is perhaps best summed up by the old Ram Brewery site. There’s even an old steam engine in there somewhere, that worked until the 1980s.
It used to produce one of the best real ales, but look at it now.
Chemical lager manufacturers have a lot to answer for. ADanish friend of mine once said that in Denmark, Carlsberg bought up every brewer and meant the only beer you could get is their product. He advised all in the UK, to not let it happen here.
It doesn’t matter to me now, as I can’t drink beer, but I know many feel that the destruction of the traditional British drinking culture has been one of the disasters of the last few decades. As a policeman once told me in all seriousness, you never get trouble in a real ale pub.
Are Carluccio’s Putting In Extra Seats For The Torch Relay?
Carluccio’s in Upper Street in Islington is covered in scaffolding, as this picture shows.
Are Carluccio’s Putting In Extra Seats For The Torch Relay?
As the Olympic Torch Relay passes their restaurant on the 26th of July at around 08:20, are they putting in extra seats to take advantage of the expected crowds?
One of the Only Gluten-Free Snacks At Eastfield
As I’ve said before Eastfield, or Westfield Stratford City as the developers prefer, is a place where gluten-free food for lunch or dinner is difficult to find.
This is all I could find, other than loaves in Waitrose and Marks and Spencer.
One of the Only Gluten-Free Snacks At Eastfield
Even Starbucks only had the usual excellent brownie and a cheese and coleslaw sandwich. And I just think coleslaw is food for German rabbits.
Returning to the Marks sandwich, what do you do if you’re Jewish or Muslim and fancy something substantial?
I suppose we could always live on Starbucks brownies for a few hours, but the lack of choice does really put me off going to Eastfield.
A Morning Trip In The Rain
I’ve been there many times in my past, both as a child and as a parent.
It’s raining, cats, dogs and hippopotami and all of the things to do indoors have been done to death. So this morning, I decided to see what the new Emirates Air-Line is like in the heavy rain.
I took my usual route to the Northern terminal at Royal Victoria DLR station, by taking a bus and a tube to Bank station and then getting the faithful Docklands Light Railway. Is there a railway anywhere in the world, that was built as on-the-cheap as the DLR, that has morphed so successfully from an ugly duckling into a swan? Or possibly in the DLR’s case to a whole game of swans.
Even on the short trip from Bank to Royal Victoria, there is much to see, like the expensive yachts, housing and offices, the many spires of the East End and mud flats, factories and construction of the River Lea. It is a trip that delights most children.
I took these pictures on the way to Royal Victoria, during the crossing and then at North Greenwich.
Afterwards, I took the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf for a late Full Italian breakfast at Carluccio’s.
So was it a worthwhile trip? And would it be with young children?
- I only got wet walking between Royal Victoria DLR station and the cable-car and between the cable-car and North Greenwich tube station.
- The queues were less than last Sunday and marginally worse at North Greenwich. Is that because there’s parking on the South bank of the river.
- The view from the gondola wasn’t too bad at all. Is the glass treated with a water repellant?
So on balance, a trip in the rain, may even have an advantage in that the crowds are smaller and you don’t have to wait.
A Good Idea For A Restaurant
This window display took my eye in Upper Street today.
A Good Idea For A Restaurant
Especially as the restaurant is closed on Monday.
Equation Dining Room, Islington
I shall try it for lunch one Sunday. Especially, as it looks like they can do gluten-free.
The Best Chicken Tikka Dupiaza In The East
When we lived near Woodbridge, C & I usually went every Monday evening for supper in The Royal Bengal.
I usually had chicken tikka dupiaza and this picture shows why.
Chicken Tikka Dupiaza
Being in the area, I couldn’t resist popping in for lunch.
It was just as good as I remembered it and served by the same staff as when it opened in 1982.
Nutritional Pizzas
This article about Nutritional Pizzas, caught my eye on the BBC’s web site, as I like a nice pizza and haven’t had a good gluten-free one since Naples, a few years ago.
The company behind the new pizzas is called, Eat Balanced, from Glasgow. I spoke to them today and their marketing person is actually a coeliac and she told me that gluten-free pizzas are in their company’s development plan.
So here’s hoping!
EggsMilkButter
EggsMilkButter is the name of a new cafe close to my house. The name comes from the tiling.
It will be nice to pop across the road to get a cappuccino.
The Anonymous Widower 