Friday 16 December 2011

yam and bread fruit




l to r: yellow yam, puna yam
......depending on who you ask, there are 194 countries in the world today, (see link below).
in more than 90 of these, yams and bread fruit are grown and eaten.

in our neighbourhood, if you want to cook them up for dinner, you can't find them in the local supermarkets, (waitrose and morrisons). people come from all over west london to buy these and many other fruit and vegetables from the specialist shops in shepherds bush market catering to overseas cuisine......



bread fruit

a full list of commonly eaten vegetables 'exclusively' found in shepherds bush market to be published shortly......

http://www.nationsonline.org

Wednesday 14 December 2011

battles won


evening standard 12/12/11

last year burlington arcade, which runs from piccadilly through to burlington gardens, was bought by ‘property investors’. they commissioned ‘fashion’s favourite architect’, the american, peter marino to transform it.

here is what he has to say about his practice”

“a house is like a person. first you notice the overall size and scale, then the exterior and, finally the personality therein. if a design is schizophrenic and there’s a disconnect between the architecture and the interior, it’s usually unpleasant. If it’s harmonious, it’s a very pleasant place to be….my approach to a building, to an interior, to a piece of furniture, to a water glass, is always the same.”
http://www.architecturaldigest.com

despite such purity of working methods, mr. marino’s ideas fell foul of westminster council who demanded that there would not be “any changes that would ruin the character of the…arcade.”

film director michael winner, (whose family is rumoured to own/have owned shepherds bush market) called the plans a “disgraceful mutilation” and “typical of how beautiful areas of london are going to be vandalised.”

hear hear mr.winner

another of the councillors, glenys roberts said:

“it would be a terrible shame to sanitise such a site”

the arcade was opened in 1819, it is the forerunner of the modern shopping centre. It is certainly of more architectural interest than shepherds bush market, and being in the west end presumably benefits from the crowds of shoppers who grace it’s doors, but you can’t buy a yam or bread fruit in burlington arcade…….

Tuesday 6 December 2011

doing like the israelis

A few weeks ago I read an article in the Observer newspaper (see link below) about a market in Jerusalem that was ""in very bad shape, economically, socially. The market was vanishing, the malls and supermarkets were taking all the people". I felt a sense of dèja vu so strong, it was as if I had been slapped in the face by the one I love.


The story goes that In 2000 the chairman of the Mahane Yehuda Market Traders Association, Eli Mizrahi, opened an espresso bar in the market. The bar was a success and slowly there followed an influx of restaurants, cafes and designer shops. The area was slowly and partially gentrified........


"The new businesses are not more than 10% or 20%, but they were the trigger for people to come back to the market."


I ask myself, I ask everyone, if Shepherds Bush Market is ailing in much the same way that the Mahane Yehuda was, is the solution to demolish large parts of the existing area and build houses? 
Why can we not find a solution to gently introduce a few businesses to the market which will increase trade for everyone?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/13/jerusalem-dispatch-bar-reopens

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Friday 11 November 2011

a brief history of the development


logo used by osbl ltd
On the Hammersmith & Fulham Council website, the Council Leader, Steven Greenhalgh, declares that people have been saying for many years that Shepherds Bush Market is in decline. Since at least 2007, the Council has commissioned various consultations on proposals for re-development, but residents and market traders have repeatedly voiced their concerns.

The councillor has tried to reassure those voices by saying that a listening process is an integral part of any development: "The council wants to see a market that is flourishing, with more people visiting and market traders enjoying a more secure and prosperous future. We do not want to change the identity or character of the market but there is no doubt that the market needs to be regenerated if it is to maximise its undoubted potential. We all look forward to a time when the market is the exciting and vibrant venue that it deserves to be."
Additional comments refer to new homes and a new cultural quarter.

In 2010 Orion Shepherds Bush Ltd (OSBL), which is an alliance between Orion Land and Leisure and Development Securities PLC, entered into discussions to undertake the redevelopment.

Opinions to this differ amongst local residents : Tessa Maison of Pennard Road, on the east side of the market, was quoted as saying: "I think that it is vitally important that Shepherds Bush Market is regenerated. But is it also important that the new design fits in with the local area. I would like to see an improved quality and standard of goods on sale and a better ambience in the market. It would be good to see a farmers market and a craft section which would be a real contrast to the large commercial giant on our doorstep, Westfield."

On the other side of the market, a Lime Grove resident writes in the comments section: “Ghastly vision for Shepherd's Bush skyline- 9 storey tower, identikit market units, high street names and local traders priced out by property developers. Historic shops and businesses planned to be destroyed. Underground car park to increase local traffic. Widespread local objection. Displacement of vulnerable people from purpose built hostel. Orion has a history of past project failures. Not for the people, benefits only big business.” 


Additional links:


Planning Brief (October 2010) 
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/Shep-Bush-Market-REVISED-2010_V3_tcm21-151997.pdf

Tuesday 1 November 2011

a quote for the day:


"each man calls barbarism what is not his own practice; for indeed it seems that we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and patterns of opinions and customs of the country we live in." Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)


another quote, another day, same man,


"que sais-je.........?/"what do i know..............?"

we can't know everything, best to be sceptical............