Art along the river

Hackney's graffiti artists keeping the walk down the river Lea vibrant and dynamic. Here's a gallery from my walk from Clapton to Fish Island earlier in the week.

Green and Pleasant Hackney

February... not long to go now before the beautiful green expanse of the football pitches is lost to the olympic (car) park. In June, the now peaceful marshes will host the Radio One Hackney Weekend, a star-studded musical extravaganza. Paths have been manicured, resurfaced and bridges updated and painted.

Looking across the football pitches

The River Lea, Springfield 

The River Lea, Hackney

This February Sunday it feels as if spring is near and the sunshine has enticed local people out of hibernation, cycling, walking, playing, rowing... making the most of Hackney's gem.

Sunny Sunday Mornings

Another beautiful Sunday morning... London Fields Lido for a swim, then on to Columbia Road market for breakfast. This colourful street, brimming with flowers and plants, is lined with a wonderful mix of shops selling everything from homewares, vintage fabrics and fashion, jewellery, garden accessories, art and food.

Jessie Chorley and Buddug Humphreys' shop J&B is a beutifully styled collection of handmade jewellery, journals, cards and home ornaments.

Hackney Wicked

The completed olympic stadium across the river from Hackney Wick

With just a year to go until the 2012 Olympics, the walk along the river Lea is changing... new surfacing on the footpaths and reinforced banks, the beginnings of the inevitable manicure of Hackney Marshes. This weekend the usually peaceful path from Millfields to the Olympic site was unusually busy and our leisurely walk was spent constantly sidestepping to avoid being mown down by the stream of cyclists who were, as we, heading for the 4th Hackney Wicked arts festival. The streets of Fish Island on the opposite side from the 2012 site were crowded with people enjoying a hot, sunny weekend of cultural offerings. This weekend, the area, which hosts the highest concentration of artists' studios in the country, was buzzing with a creative celebration of art, craft, music and moving image.
Local artists opened their studios and exhibited work in pop-up spaces. There was a feast of multicultural food and drink stalls and craft market stalls lined the curbs. Live music filled the air and booze-happy revelers partied into the balmy night.
The river, coated in green algae, provided cool respite for some daring swimmers and played host to a Coracle Regatta. Courageous volunteers raced across the river in the tiny bowl-shaped vessels, many capsizing into the water, drawing a crowd of cheering spectators on both banks.

The Coracle Regatta on the River Lea

Folly for a Flyover under the A12 in Hackney Wick

As we wandered back towards home we stopped for some shade and refreshments at Folly For A Flyover, a temporary building (café) hand-built using reclaimed wood from the area underneath the graffiti-adorned east and westbound flyover of the A12. The folly was constructed in June and will soon be dismantled, so it's worth a visit to a catch film, workshop, boat trip or a snack before it disappears!

Continuing homeward we reflected on our enjoyment of a sunny, hot and truly Hackney weekend!

Hackney Rocks

Make some noise for Sherlock's Dead! Post punk newcomers Sherlock's Dead played their debut gig at the Bridgehouse 2 on February 13th. The talented young quartet rocked the venue along with the Fifty Fours and will be performing at the venue again on March 5th! This Hackney band are on the way up!

Let it Snow!

December: Hackney was covered in crisp white snow! We went straight out with the sledges headed for Springfield Park! Freezing fun was being had by lots of local families with skis, sledges, trays, baking tins, wheel-free skateboards...anything that would slide downhill at speed.

Zebras Crossing

A number of zebras have been artfully stenciled on the road at the dangerous junction at Clapton Pond and Downs Road highlighting an urgent need for a safer crossing at this busy section of Lower Clapton Road. Local residents have been calling for TfL to make changes for some time to make it easier for pedestrians, especially the many local school children, to cross without running a daily, hazardous gauntlet of multi-directional traffic and processional buses. TfL have recently said (not promised) that, following their consultation period of 24 months, work will start in early 2011. Hoorah! Fingers are firmly crossed!