Wharf Life, Jul 29-Aug 12, 2026

SCREEN | Film Club

Where? Summer Screens Canada Square Park

August is the nal month of free lm screenings in Canada Square with highlights including Wall-E, Babe, Grease, Superman, I Swear and Mamma Mia Aug 4-30, times vary, free, canarywharf.com

Where?

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf Cabot Place

GIG | Arrested Development

Tickets are going fast for the Grammy Award-winning hip hop pioneers as they bring the likes of Tennessee, People Everyday and Mr Wendal to east London. Aug 27, doors 6pm, from £112 (inc dinner), boisdale.co.uk

Where?

Jubilee Park Canary Wharf

KIDS | Alice In Wonderland Workshop

Suitable for ages 5-11, this drop-in craft session allows budding artists to make models or puppets of characters from the classic story. Aug 15, 11am-3pm, free, canarywharf.com

Welcome to issue 167 of Wharf Life. This issue is all about new experiences whether that’s learning the ri to Rebel Rebel in honour of Bowie’s Isle Of Dogs gigs, getting dates in the diary for the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, trying out technical theatre or discovering local history

We’re back at Cody Dock with Remiiya Badru, an artist exploring the history of calico and Prussian Blue through her Common Threads project, set to go on show at the Boat House in September

GDIF is back for the 31st time and we’re looking forward to all of it

founder Apinash Sivagumaaran

How The Space’s Tech Academy o ers a taster of backstage careers

on the radar

need to know

In a rapid turnaround, Vagabond Canary Wharf is set to open its doors on August 3 in Wood Wharf’s Water Street.

The self-pour bar brand is returning to the estate following its acquisition by retailer Majestic and is o ering 50% o on August 5 in celebration vagabondwines.co.uk

13

77 Marsh Wall gets the green light as a new tower is set to rise on the Island

Those seeking sweet scents from the Middle East can nd a host of products on o er at DXB Perfume in Jubilee Place. Founded in 2015, the company o ers a wide selection of brands with a core philosophy that smell is a “powerful form of self-expression” dxbperfume.co.uk

A burst of uttering colour. Catch Saroj Patel’s artwork in Union Square featuring ags made from saris donated by friends and family and bamboo poles cut by her dad 10

TRIED + TESTED Pad Thai Chicken I Thai @ithai.o cial

Just look at this. While there are some decent avours lurking in the noodles, they’re let down by tough, dry, funky chicken.

The portion is relatively plentiful, but this punnet feels careless and somewhat unloved.

The meat’s not great, the peanuts all dumped in a corner and the garnish woefully unenthusiastic.

The dream of street food is that you’re getting something cooked by a small business that’s passionate about what it’s doing and is committed to its customers’ satisfaction.

The Pad Thai Chicken costs £13.50 but is a disappointment in the mouth

I Thai operates three locations – Old Spital elds Market, Canary Wharf and Selfridges. Perhaps the challenge of preserving quality across multiple sites is responsible for this substandard o ering, but in the end it doesn’t matter. This Pad Thai tastes and looks as though it’s been put together by people who don’t care too much for the nal product and by extension the customer. A sad slice of lime, two slivers of chilli – a disappointment. In short, there are far better dishes to spend your £13.50 locally.

Jon Massey

doing the deals

get more for less on and around the Wharf

15%

Head down under Cabot Place to K1 Speed this summer and get 15% o packages of 1-3 races on the electric karting track all day, every day until September 1 k1speed.com

25%

31 subscribe to our Wharf Whispers newsletter and get our content in your inbox fortnightly

How Queer Frequencies is bringing free, cutting edge music to East Bank

Get a quarter o the price of food at Kricket in Frobisher Passage from Sunday to Wednesday for tables up to six. Mention CANARYWHARFAPP when booking kricketrestaurants.com

MADE TO PLAY GUITAR

Guitar lessons rooted in musical connection and community.

Ear wax removal & specialist advice

£85 for the complete service

Specialists in Ear Microsuction

earlab.co.uk | 020 3951 1888

eMed, Cabot Place, Canary Wharf, E14 4QT

scan this code to book an appointment with EarLab

Immigration Solicitors

dates, listings and ideas to make life in Canary Wharf sweeter..

TOP BEATS

Paisley Jensen

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf boisdale.co.uk

Continuing Boisdale’s run of curated DJ nights in its rst oor Hine Bar, Paisley Jensen is all set to o er up a blend of house, disco and classic club grooves on August 20. Born in Coventry, she’s known for seamless mixing and has a reputation for uplifting, highimpact sets that have seen her share the stage with the likes of Fisher and Groove Armada. DJs 7pm-1am, free entry.

Our

020 7205 2896 kiddrapinet.co.uk

London Museum Docklands will host a festival in celebration of the capital’s Caribbean communities from August 21-22

DIARY DATES

Family Festival Of Caribbean Culture

London Museum Docklands londonmuseum.org.uk

London Museum Docklands on West India Quay is set to host a series of events in celebration of the capital’s diverse Caribbean culture. Running from August 21-22, the programme includes performances, interactive storytelling, crafting sessions and the chance to get dancing with DJ Melvina Moves. Timed in the run-up to the Notting Hill Carnival, all activities are free, although some are ticketed and need to be pre-booked to avoid disappointment. Find the full programme online. With you from the start

The best way to get around London.

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how the arrival of The Tallyman promises a fresh take on the classic pub in Canary Wharf

by Jon Massey

It’s going to be called The Tallyman,” said Anthony Pender, founder of Our Yummy Collection, as the business prepares to open a pub in Canary Wharf. “Before the towers this was all docks, loading and unloading cargo.

“At the heart of that operation there was a person whose job it was to keep track of the stock going onto and coming off the boats. It’s a role that goes back hundreds of years.

“The captains of the ships, the customs officers and the workers all trusted the tallyman. The dockers got paid by how much they’d loaded or unloaded so it was his job to make sure they received fair wages.

“His role was to be an honest person in a noisy world. Although that job no longer exits here, it felt like an appropriate name for a proper pub, which should have that kind of honesty and authenticity about it.”

Set to open on September 10, The Tallyman is currently being fitted out to serve customers.

Located in Chancellor Passage it will fill the spaces left by the relocation of the Post Office and the closure of Grateful Kitchen – transforming the long low structure beneath the DLR with its southern tip overlooking Eden Dock.

Canary Wharf hasn’t been without pubs over the years – The Henry Addington just around the corner from the new venue continues to do a brisk trade, as does The Gun, a little way off the estate to the west.

However, traditional venues have closed locally without being

This should be a place for local residents, students, teachers, people working in the o ces and visitors to the area

Years since Anthony founded a company to open food-led pubs. Our Yummy Collection is set to launch

An artist’s impression of how the new pub will look

replaced – notably The Cat And Canary and it’s craft beer-focused successor The Merchant. A little further south on the Isle Of Dogs, The North Pole and The City Pride were also lost to property development, although the former may well make a comeback.

None of this, however, has deterred Anthony. After a spell working for Carlsberg, he went into business with two friends and spent 15 years running pubs as they successfully strived to establish food-led venues in the wake of the smoking ban.

After taking sole charge, Anthony turned Yummy’s focus to London and currently operates The Somers Town Coffee House near Euston, The Victoria near Mile End and a seafood restaurant called Faber in Hammersmith.

“We wanted to go for it a bit more, to be daring,” he said. “We thought there were areas of London that needed pubs again.

“The costs are challenging, but there’s demand – our venues are busy and each one is fiercely independent.

“We’re not a chain, just a collection of autonomous people working together. We don’t have a mission statement or anything like that – our one mantra is to be authentic in what we’re doing.

“I started working in hospitality while I was at university – pot washing, bar tending, it was a real mixture. Then I started organising events in some of the nightclubs in Bristol and absolutely loved it.

“I saw the opportunity to offer good food in pubs and that’s what led us to open that first venue near Lingfield Racecourse. The reason we’re here is that Canary Wharf Group approached us as they were looking to introduce another pub on the estate. I saw the space next to the dock and loved it.

“CWG has been phenomenally supportive. If I come here and see a really eclectic mix of people in here then we’ll have done our job. This should be a place for local residents, students, teachers, people working in the offices and visitors to the area.

“I’d love it to be a diverse crowd all getting on with each other – for us it’s about longevity, not being a flash in the pan.”

Visitors to The Tallyman will find themselves in an environment that whole-heartedly embraces a classic pub aesthetic, albeit with all the modern touches you’d expect. There will be much wooden panelling, low cast lighting, a grand fireplace and even a piano.

“Firstly, we’re a pub, so there won’t be a concierge desk,” said Anthony. “People will go to the bar, buy their drinks and then choose their seats.

“Of course, if you want to be

served at the table then we’ll look after you all night, but we also want people standing at the bar and meeting each other.

“It should be a little oasis, somewhere you can come to forget about politics, the world and work and just relax. There won’t be clocks on the walls to remind you that you should be back at work.

“We’ll have a fantastic outside area that’s a sun trap during the day. That will, like all good east London pubs, have a seafood shack, although we’ll be serving lobster rolls, oysters and affordable caviar rather than crab sticks and jellied eels.

“We’ll have a dining room in the back of the venue where we’ll serve an a la carte menu with classics such as burgers, pies, fish and chips and game.

“We’re even toying with the idea of pork scratchings topped with caviar – it really works. We’ll have specials and snacks in the bar too, always aiming to serve constantly evolving British fare.”

The Tallyman won’t have screens, as Anthony said Yummy’s pubs were primarily “about conversation and having a good time”. There will, however be occasional live music as well as quiz nights when things are fully up and running.

“All of our pubs have their own identities and the people running them have the power to make their own decisions,” said Anthony. “For example, we do stock some drinks in all locations but others are particular to the local market.

“One of the things I think is ready to make a come-back is cask ale. Everyone’s talking about Guinness at the moment, which is a great product, but interest will probably wane and ale will be there to take its place.

“I saw recently that they’re bringing Boddington’s back, but only on cask and we’re going to give that a go. The reason some of these brands have survived 300 years is because they’re really good products but in recent years the beer hasn’t been stored or distributed well so we’ll really be focusing on that. You have to look after those casks every day.”

key details

The Tallyman is set to open to the public on September 10 at Chancellor Passage in Canary Wharf. A ballot is currently in operation online for tickets to the launch event.

Go to thetallyman.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about The Tallyman

how a five-metre mural at Feels Like June aims to bring comfort and joy to guests and visitors

by Jon Massey

Tribe London Canary Wharf is rapidly becoming a feast for the senses. Earlier this year, the hotel launched its Vinyl Club – a listening station for guests and visitors to enjoy the bump of needle in groove via a curated selection of records and even a specially released album entitled New Grounds

Now its California-themed ground floor restaurant and bar –Feels Like June – is delivering on sight, unveiling a mural by artist in residence Lois O’Hara alongside specially designed drinks coasters.

“What we want to do is to show our hotels are not just a place to sleep,” said Filipe Avillez, general manager at Tribe London Canary Wharf. “We want people who are staying with us or visiting to come down and use our social spaces.

“To encourage guests to do that, we try and activate these areas in different ways. That’s why I’ve always wanted to work with an artist in residence.

“Lois worked with us on the launch of Vinyl Club and then we invited her to come and create this piece.

“She stayed with us for a week and painted this mural and it looks fabulous. I love the finished piece. We’d seen some of her other works and I’m really proud that we now have one on our wall.

“We’re really happy with it and it deserves to stay in its place forever.”

Lois’ work at the Water Street venue is about five metres high and acts as a backdrop to Feels Like June’s bar area.

She said: “It was quite chal-

To encourage guests to use our social spaces we try and activate these areas in different ways. I’ve always wanted to work with an artist

Filipe Avillez,

London

lenging to get the crisp lines right because you’re painting on an uneven surface. It was physically demanding and I was working on a cherry picker to get to the higher areas. It took me a few months to design the piece because although I wanted to bring joy to the hotel and the restaurant area, I also wanted it to fit in with the existing interior.

“It’s a piece in my typical style, which is fluid, organic and joyful. I’ve used some of the colours, from Feels Like June’s interior here, but I also wanted the mural to feel like an explosion of drinks over the wall coming together in a really beautiful way.

“There are colours that I really like and often use in my pieces –pink, for example. But this is also a collaboration.

“I really hope people who are looking at this piece feel joyful –for me that’s represented in the orange circles, which are a perfect expression of joy. The whole work is intended as a journey towards that. But it’s also important that guests here feel comfortable. There are lots of pieces out there that make use of colour but they can be a bit too much, a little off-putting.”

Lois is based in Brighton and studied illustration before embarking on a career in art.

She said: “It’s really been in me since I was little – drawing and

painting the

painting. It’s always something I wanted to do. But going to uni only pushed me further because I didn’t get much support there.

“The people running the course I did didn’t really understand how I could make money painting walls. But I thought there was definitely a way – I had an idea.

“I decided to give it a go and started doing small walls in local cafés and places like that.

“I’ve always been quite rebellious, I guess and I’m the kind of person who wants to get things done. If someone tells me I can’t do something, it just makes me want to do it more.”

It’s an approach that’s led to significant success with her work gracing the likes of W London, Wembley Park, Grand Designs Live and Magazine London. Her work is also available to buy via loisohara.co.uk.

key details

Lois O’Hara’s mural can be seen at Feels Like June on the ground floor of Tribe London Canary Wharf. The restaurant and bar is open daily from 7am to 10pm. Go to tribelondon-canarywharf.com

by Jon Massey

harfers have two weeks to catch Dancers In The Wind by Saroj Patel, an art installation in Wood Wharf’s Union Square.

The piece, which is free to visit, features more than 100 sari panels suspended from a frame so that the colourful fabrics catch even the faintest breeze.

The installation is inspired by Navrati, a Gujarati festival where women wear vibrant hues and dance through the night. In addition to the textile panels, the piece

features temple bells in a nod to Indian ritual and tradition.

The piece is also intended as an invitation to those living, working or visiting the Wharf to walk under its fabrics and so become part of the dance themselves.

Saroj, the artist who created the installation, collected around 50 saris from her mother, aunties and her mum’s friends around Preston.

Her mother also helped sew the sari flags ready for the artwork and her father cut more than 100 bamboo sticks and smoothed them down for use in the piece. In this way, Saroj’s work transcends her own practice and becomes a work by the wider community.

Dancers In The Wind by Saroj Patel will be in Wood Wharf’s Union Square until August 16

After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2019, Saroj has been commissioned by various organisations including Clifford Chance and Women Of The World Rotherham.

She currently has a solo show running at New Art Exchange in Nottingham and is a participant in Troublemakers and Prophets: Elizabeth Allen And Other Visionary Artists at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.

key details

Dancers In The Wind will be on display at Wood Wharf’s Union Square until August 16. The installation is free to visit. Go to canarywharf.com for more information

In the rst of a series of regular collaborations with Canary Wharf’s guitar school, Kitchen Jam, we take a look at the history of a track with a local link and deliver some tips on how to play it

why David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel is the perfect riff to learn as we look back to the Isle Of (Diamond) Dogs hard

by Zainab Hassan

Picture this – it’s early 1990, and David Bowie has just announced the Sound+Vision tour, a series of gigs where he’d play his biggest hits live for the very last time.

Rather than choose the setlist himself, he handed the decision to his global fanbase through telephone voting. Dial 1-900-2BOWIE-90 on your landline, and you were taking your chances at getting your favourite track onto the bill.

As calls ooded in from every corner of the globe, Bowie built the setlist from a mix of UK votes, American votes, and requests from everywhere else in between. It was a truly global selection, curated to re ect what the world wanted to hear.

echoing on the Island

For three nights that March, the tour landed in the capital at the London Arena, an indoor venue on the Isle Of Dogs that held up to 15,000 fans.

Demolished in 2006, the landscape is markedly di erent to when Bowie’s genre-shifting hits were last played, but the echoes of his ri s still resound in the hands of guitarists to this day.

glam rock swagger

The Sound+Vision tour setlist was shaped with deep cuts

standing shoulder to shoulder with Bowie’s biggest hits.

One such song, Rebel Rebel, came early in the setlist. Salvaged from a scrapped Ziggy Stardust musical, it was the lead single for 1974 album Diamond Dogs and was the last of Bowie’s singles to swagger with true glam rock bravado.

Deceptively simple, yet roaring with a Rolling Stonesesque ferocity, the main ri loops around three chords – D, A and E – and an unrelenting descending melody that’s as instantly singable as it is impossible to shake.

the end of two eras

As a swan song to glam rock, Rebel Rebel was the end of an era for Bowie.

The Sound+Vision tour was the end of another, as he retired the hits from his live sets for good.

Two farewells, made decades apart, overlapped for three nights at the London Arena.

But all these memories remain in music. Just listen to that rebellious opening ri – it all comes ooding back.

● For those who’d like to know more, east London is also now home to the David Bowie Centre in Stratford.

Based at the V&A East Storehouse, the collection includes more than 90,000 items from the artist’s archive and is free to visit.

Kitchen Jam o ers guitar lessons rooted in musical connection and community from its studios in Canary Wharf and Stratford. Scan this code to nd out how to book a free trial session

Kitchen Jam o ers lessons for guitarists at all levels, from complete beginners to those seeking to re ne their technique. Programmes are available to cater for musicians of all ages

learn it

>> Kitchen Jam founder Darryl Powis has created a video tutorial to help Wharfers get their ngers around the ri that drives Rebel Rebel. Simply scan the QR code to watch on Insta...

>> To play the whole track you’ll need the chords to the right:

scan this code to listen to

Starting price of a ticket to see The Producers at the Garrick Theatre

production

how The Producers provides a glorious transportation from the everyday grind of reality

by Jon Massey

What do we go to a West End theatres for? To be transported, to enjoy entertainment at its nest, to revel in the sheer, unabashed delight of seeing performers at the height of their powers. When it works, it’s unforgettable. But it’s also a high bar.

Those attending the latest production of The Producers at the Garrick Theatre can rest easy. They’re in for a show that blazes through its scenes to hit every mark on the stage.

This musical version of Mel Brooks’ 1967 satirical lm, might have been written by a man who turned 100 last month, but this latest revival, staged a quarter of a century after the original Broadway production, has more than enough to razzle dazzle even the most reluctant audience.

Part love letter to the stage, part a ectionate pastiche of his own movie, one minute it’s poking fun at Fiddler On The Roof and the next delighting in the cartoony smut of raising cash from sex-starved widows to invest in shows.

The plot is simple enough. After producer Max Bialystock (Andy Nyman) su ers another op, anxious accountant Leopold Bloom (Marc Antolin) points out such a production could, in certain circumstances, make

more money if it fails. After brie y agonising, the pair agree to team up for some hefty embezzlement and set about nding a script that has no hope of success.

Alighting on Springtime For Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf And Eva At Berchtesgaden, written by ex-soldier, enthusiastic Nazi and pigeon fancier Franz Liebkind (Harry Morrison), the dodgy duo attempt to cement its woeful prospects by engaging amboyant transvestite Roger DeBris (Trevor Ashley) as director.

He, along with domestic partner Carmen Ghia (Raj Ghatak), initially refuse the gig but relent when they’re allowed to rewrite the piece to make it “more gay” and give it happier ending, with Germany winning the Second World War.

The performance of the show within a show can only be described as a blitzkrieg of glitter, swastikas and ticker tape. There’s dance, a massive wurst and an unforgettable pair of U-Boats. Unsurprisingly, this camped-up, goose-stepping hoot proves as much a hit with the audience as it does in the plot.

Directed by Patrick Marber, this latest revival is a rich, funny, overblown assault on the senses – exactly as it should be.

Antolin proves himself both a ne physical comedian and a great dancer, especially in partnership with o ce assistant and aspiring Broadway star Ulla (Joanna Wood-

Leo and Max attempt to convince Franz Liebkind (Harry Morrison) that he should let them put on his musical – Springtime For Hitler

Scan this code to nd out more about The Producers

ward, channelling Marylin Monroe on a trip to Ikea). Nyman is also sleazily great, a study in messy, venal ambition, who carries much of the show on his sympathetic back. Morrison too deserves a special mention for his unhinged, camp fanaticism.

The humour, for the most part, remains on point. This is a stage stu ed with caricatures and grotesques, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

However, after 25 years there’s certainly a case for a few tweaks here and there. Perhaps be tting a musical that’s completely obsessed by probing the absurdity of a gay Nazi romp, it’s a relentless sausage-fest. There are only two named female characters, Hold-Me-Touch-Me (Kelsie Rae-Marshall) and Ulla, one for Max to debase himself by pleasuring for cash and the other for the straight leading men to drool over. While overall the whole thing is an expertly executed blast, perhaps the producers could have been a little braver with the sauce material.

key details

The Producers is set to run at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road until September 19. Tickets start at £25. The venue is a short walk from Tottenham Court Road station, which is 10 minutes from Canary Wharf via the Elizabeth Line. Go to theproducersmusical.com

£39.95

Starting price for a ticket to see Kurt Vile And The Violators at Troxy on their tour

Kurt released his 10th studio album in May and is set to play in London in September

making the

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

GIG | Dexta Daps

The Jamaican dancehall and reggae act returns to the UK with his Champagne Tour following the release of Trilogy in 2024. Expect Shabba Madda Pot. Aug 22, 7pm, from £66.05, troxy.co.uk

St Katharine Docks Wapping

GIG | The Sessions Lounge

The pop-up bar on a oating pontoon returns for two dates in August with music, comfy seating and shade in case the rays get too much. Aug 13, 20, 3pm-9.30pm, free, skdocks.co.uk

EVENT | Imagining Animals

Extraordinary creatures are set to be brought to life through puppetry, music and dance at the Tower inspired by the Royal Menagerie. Under 5s go free. Aug 19-31, 11am-4pm, £37 (adults), hrp.org.uk

how Kurt Vile And

The Violators

are set to

bring the

singer songwriter’s latest album to life in Limehouse

by Jon Massey

Not to be confused with the German composer or one of Alan Moore’s less inventive pseudonyms, Kurt Vile is set to bring his Tom Petty-lite music to east London. Performing alongside regular backing band The Violators, the singer songwriter, who cites Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen among his in uences, is set to

play a gig at Troxy in Limehouse this September.

Audiences can expect much material from his latest album, Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me, which was released in May.

Described as a love letter to the city he never left, this 12-song record is his first release following the death of long-time collaborator and band mate Rob Laakso from cancer in 2023.

Kurt said his latest work was “bringing it all back to Philly” and that he had treated the process of recording over the past three

years as though he was working on a final album.

key details

Kurt Vile And The Violators are set to play Troxy in Limehouse on September 9. Doors open at 7pm and tickets start at £39.95. Go to troxy.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the event

You’ll need to move fast, but there’s still time to encounter Dunkirks At The Docks as some of the little ships that rescued soldiers from the beaches convene at St Katharine Docks on August 1 for viewings from 11am-5pm skdocks.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about the event, which is free to visit with no booking required

2Days each Tech Academy session at The Space lasts, providing a range of technical theatre experiences to participants

Above, the theatre’s artistic director Matthew Jameson

Left, Tech Academy takes place at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs

Below, the course allows participants to get handson with every technical aspect of a production

how Tech Academy at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs delivers a crash course in the skills needed to pull o a show

by Jon Massey

The aim of Tech Academy is to give people a crash course in the technical aspects of theatre production – hopefully to act as a springboard that will get them into long-term careers,” said Matthew Jameson, artistic director at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs.

The Westferry Road theatre and arts centre is running a two-day session for up to 15 people who are not currently in education, employment or training. It’s intended as a gateway to working in the sector.

The pilot scheme, which is supported by the East End Community Foundation, aims to give participants a solid grounding in the key technical elements needed for a fringe theatre show – lighting, sound and stage management.

“Across two intensive days we’ll deliver an introduction to all things technical,” said Matthew.

“The sta here, including our executive director Sarah Reed, have a wealth of experience in the industry to pass on – we want to provide an environment where people can learn safely and fail safely so they get a real understanding of what it’s like to work in this environment.

“We cover vocabulary and terminology because it can be terrifying for people to feel out of their depth if they don’t know the right words to use. There’s a lot of jargon and we’re here to demystify and clarify what’s happening.

“We’ll also be showing people all the equipment, how to set it up, treat it with respect and use it in a safe and responsible manner.

“The course covers things like manual handling, working with ladders, hanging, focussing and programming lights.

“The idea is to cover everything to see a show through from setting it up, pressing the buttons to make it go and then clearing up at the end. It’s every single step you need to be aware of to work behind the scenes on shows at venues like ours or in bigger theatres.”

While the course doesn’t lead to a formal qualification, The Space hopes it will result in opportunities both within its own programming and at other venues.

“We’d like this pilot scheme will develop into a longer-term

programme at The Space in the future,” said Matthew. “The uptake has been fantastic so far and there’s clearly potential to take it further, which is what we’d like to do in the future.

“There is an identifiable need here and we want to help people explore careers in this sector.

“We really hope these Tech Academy sessions are the springboard for participants to find a discipline they love and identify with.

“While the course covers a range of skills, for longer term opportunities people tend to gravitate to a particular area. They might prefer working with lighting to sound, for example.

“We hope these sessions will help participants discover those pathways. That might be more on the stage management side – learning how to mark up the props table and how to run a show safely and e ciently back stage.

“It can also be very important for theatre-makers, directors, writers and actors to understand how it all works – what’s possible and what roles everyone is playing when they’re doing the u er side of creating performances.

“In the end, all the departments have to work together to make something far greater than any of them are capable of individually.

“This is something I’ll always love about live theatre – that the planning and talents of a group of people can come together to create something extraordinary.

“That’s when performance is at its peak – a well-oiled slick machine, where actors are not bumping into the furniture, everything is exactly where it should be, the sound and lighting are perfectly in sync and the audience are responding to it. It’s just wonderful to see.”

While the Tech Academy sessions are intended to deliver a good grounding, they’ve also been designed to test participants.

“We set up what we call obstacle courses up as part of what we’re doing and an element of one of those is where Sarah and I perform a short, two-page scene,” said Matthew.

“We’re going to be asking the participants to operate a series of sound and lighting e ects based on the scene as though we were doing a real performance.

“But actors can be fallible. What happens if one of us makes

Isle Of Dogs - Poplar - Blackwall - Leamouth

trying the

Theatre relies on the imagination – the incredible acts of trickery by the people audiences don’t see that set their pulses racing

Matthew Jameson, The Space

a mistake? Maybe some things will go wrong. That’s just show business.

“One of the lessons we aim to pass on is that live theatre is unpredictable and anything can happen. We have to be prepared as theatre-makers to find a way through, to keep that audience there and engaged.

“It’s really important to recognise the power that technicians have and their responsibility.

“Theatre relies on the power of the imagination – the incredible acts of trickery by the people audiences don’t see so that sounds, music and light can help transport them and set their pulses racing.

“That making all of those happen at the right time for what’s happening on stage is also a performance and takes real skill.

“I hope that the people who participate in Tech Academy will feel that technical theatre is demystified and is a real and plausible career that they can consider.

“People should know that it’s not highly specialised, that you can learn the buttons to press and see the routes through to get gigs.

“Hopefully, this time next year, they’ll be preparing to go up to the Edinburgh Festival, and a couple of years down the line, they may be touring internationally.”

key details

The Space on the Isle Of Dogs is currently recruiting participants for its next two-day session –set to take place in August or September.

Applicants should be Tower Hamlets residents who are not in education, employment or training.

The course is free to attend and includes lunch and snacks. The application form can be found in the “participate” section of its website.

Go to space.org.uk for full details

Scan this code to nd out more about Tech Academy

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where?

Theatreship Isle Of Dogs

GIG | Glass Eel, Ropeburn + Mabel Clark

Expect folk adjacent dislocation and fragility from Alice Western’s solo project and post-folk emo jams as this mixed bill arrives on board Aug 28, 7.30pm, from £6.79, theatreship.co.uk

Where? The Space Isle Of Dogs

STAGE | White Nights

This staged adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella deals with themes of love, loneliness, hope and human connection to life. Aug 13-16, 7pm, £15, space.org.uk

Poplar Picnic - Festival Of Britain is set to take place on August 8 at Poplar Union and in Bartlett Park from 11am-5pm. The free event takes inspiration for a time when the world came to the Lansbury Estate to marvel poplarunion.com Scan this code to read our interview with

take a breath by

David Lefebvre Sell

Where the time goes: As we go through life certain events will encourage us to grow up...

Very soon my eldest child is going to be 18 and an adult in the eyes of the law. How crazy is that? I’m not referring to the passage of time, but that is totally bonkers, I’m referring to the idea that an 18-year-old is an adult. Were you an adult at that age? I sure as hell wasn’t and I’m Gen X. My parents only provided meals on special occasions. I think most people would agree that the fundamental quality of adulthood is responsibility, or at least it should be. How can we bear the weight of that?

Many times life will tap you on the shoulder to tell you that it’s time to grow up a little more, this is rarely a welcome message.

Some people try to grow up as little as possible, and they will seek someone who will look after them.

Lord don’t they play the victim when they are asked to take on more responsibility?

If you’re a woman, you’ve probably dated that guy. I think the problem is that sometimes people see their limitations as their identity and self acceptance becomes an excuse to not strive for a better self.

Many times life will tap you on the shoulder to tell you that it’s time to grow up a little more. This is rarely welcome

We are all a product of our environment – socially, economically and genetically. None of that is your fault, but it is your responsibility.

It’s a terrifying thought, but also empowering. I am responsible for myself, for my thoughts and actions. I’m not saying you have to abandon the passions of youth. The best part about being an adult is that you get to become the truest version of yourself.

Lean right into your hobbies and passions, but don’t start thinking that gaming is some kind of protected characteristic that means you can’t do the laundry or clean the kitchen when it needs it.

Growing up is hard. Be kind to yourself, but that’s not an excuse to be awful to other people. It’s not your fault, but what you do now is your responsibility. Take it seriously.

David Lefebvre Sell is a Greenwich-based psychotherapist and Yoga instructor who teaches at Third Space in Canary Wharf

Follow @davetheyogi on X and Instagram and @DavidLefebvreSellYogaAndPsychotherapy on FB

Scan this code for information about David’s work as a transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist

how

the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival is preparing a

programme filled with movement

by Jon Massey

Ifeel it’s needed more than ever,” said Bradley Hemmings, artistic director and founder of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival. Set to return to east and south-east London and beyond, this year’s programme of free outdoor performances will run from August 21 until September 6.

Having given nearly a third of a century to curating and producing the annual event, Bradley’s enthusiasm is undimmed as he and his Greenwich Peninsula-based team prepare for its 31st edition.

“The theme this year is ‘We Move’ – we wanted to respond to what the festival does best, which is to give everyone a bit of a lift,” he said. “Those wondrous moments in public spaces that are created as part of our programme are exactly that and it’s important that they are free and accessible to everyone.

“For the theme, we took inspiration from a common expression used by young Londoners to indicate when they’ve put an issue to one side so they can get on with their lives. We want to embody that spirit of resilience you see in this city – the way people make things happen and get on in di cult times.

“All our events are open to everyone, but we’re especially thinking about how we engage with young Londoners in 2026.”

This year’s programme kicks o , as is traditional, in Woolwich’s General Gordon Square with a 55-minute performance of 360 at 7pm on August, 21.

“It’s an amazing dance theatre spectacle, that’s getting its London première,” said Bradley. “The performance takes place on a multi-tiered stage with energising music and a real sense of connection with the challenges that young people face – but it’s also full of hope and possibility.

“The audience will get drawn in until the line between who’s watching and who’s performing is blurred. It’s been created by an incredible French choreographer called Mehdi Kerkouche of CCN De Créteil Et Du Val-De-Marne and we’re really excited to be bringing it here.”

Next up, running over August 22-23, is Greenwich Fair. Returning to Greenwich Park it boasts an extensive schedule of events.

“This is another festival

institution and the new location was hugely successful last year,” said Bradley. “It’s a setting that audiences really appreciate – it’s relaxed and the tree cover is quite useful at this time of year.

“There are incredible views and the programme we’ve put together is great. There will be children’s games, dance performances and installations.

“Do Birds Dream Of Flying? by Fabla Collective from Slovenia will be one of the highlights and I’m also really looking forward to Inertie by the French company Underclouds CIE, who perform using a circular frame that’s very reminiscent of a sundial. In the context of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, it will be a nice thing to see alongside.

“Then there’s ElevateHer by Daughters Of The Wire, which has a feminist perspective and a joyous soundtrack that celebrates the heritage of women as circus performers. Regular visitors to our events may remember that one of the directors of the company performed on the high wire back in 2018 at the Old Royal Naval College in a piece created to mark the anniversary of women’s su rage.”

Romford Market will be the setting for a pop-up son et lumière show on August 28 and 29 as the festival reaches out to Essex with Meet Me By The Fountain. Variable Matter’s presentation takes inspiration from a lost water feature, using video projections and sound to span nearly 800 years of history and take audiences through into an imagined future.

Similarly transformational, Efectos Especiales (Special Effects) is an Argentinian show by Luciana Acuña and Alejo Moguillansky that casts the audience as part of a live film shoot as they follow a dancer past a truck with blaring music before the elements erupt, thunder rolls and snow falls.

“This will be staged over August 29 and 30 on Greenwich Peninsula, which is another of the festival’s long-standing destinations,” said Bradley. “We’ve worked there since 2017 and we try to do new things each year. Our o ces are based there and we’re very much a part of the creative district.

“I saw the show in Paris and it’s beautifully staged – a very beautiful piece with wind, rain,

Efectos Especiales (Special E ects) is set to be performed on Greenwich Peninsula on August 29 and 30

I Have No Name forms part of Nature Speaks in Thamesmead

Greenwich Fair is a festival institution and the new location in Greenwich Park was hugely successful last year

Bradley Hemmings, GDIF

smoke and fire. It’s one of the pieces we’re able to bring to the festival through support from Without Walls, which works with events nationwide and allows productions to tour across the country.”

Other diary dates for readers to note are September 3 and 4 in Queen’s Market Square in Green Street for Chair! and Kismat Walla and September 4 and 5 for Nature Speaks in Thamesmead. The latter is a two-part immersive storytelling experience in the Tump53 Nature Reserve featuring imagery, music, sound and voice.

The penultimate major pop-up event in GDIF’s programme is then set to take place on September 5 when Dancing City returns to Stratford.

Bradley said: “We’ve packed the schedule with shows, having established a really strong relationship with Sadler’s Wells East and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

“This includes the UK première of Benched by a Danish company called Uppercut Dance Theatre. It’s a very high energy piece featuring five dancers.

“There’s also a specially commissioned production from Fuse Theatre called Man Down, which explores issues around toxic masculinity.”

GDIF is set to conclude back in Woolwich’s General Gordon Square with a performance of (In)visible Dancing on September 6.

Bradley said: “This is by the fabulous Protein, a phenomenal company based in Woolwich, and audiences are in for a real treat as the choreography builds throughout the town.”

key details

The Greenwich + Docklands International Festival is set to run from August 21 until September 6 across a variety of locations. Performances are free, outdoors and accessible. Full listings and timings are available online. Go to festival.org for more details

Scan this code to nd out more about GDIF 2026

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

WORKSHOP | Africana Somatic Movement

Led by Isaac Ouro-Gnao, this session for adults focuses on Africana practices that unlock and connect the body-mind-spirit. Aug 23, 11am-4pm,£49.50, acostadancecentre.com

STAGE | The Little Mermaid: Song Of The Sea From the pen of panto maestro Anthony Spargo, this retelling of the classic tale is an all-musical take on what it means to trade your voice for some legs. Ages 5+ Jul 31-Aug 23, times vary, from £11.50, greenwichtheatre.org.uk

The singer and producer brings his Solaris Tour to south-east London with a set sure to feature Glimpse Of Us and Slow Dancing In The Dark Aug 13, 6.30pm, from £49, theo2.co.uk

Woolwich Works is hosting Circus Works from August 10-16 with a series of performances and workshops for all those who’d like to try out their own skills. Full listings and prices can be found online woolwich.works

Scan this code to nd out about all the events taking place as part of Circus Works in Woolwich

how Common Threads, a year-long exploration of calico and Prussian Blue at Cody Dock merges art and history

by Jon Massey

The areas that line the banks of the Lea are rich in history, the silt of time that’s built up around the waterway. Watch the river’s tides rise and fall and it’s easy to imagine the currents connecting to the Thames and from there the oceans beyond. One’s head can easily start spinning from the complexity and variety of those links.

Sometimes what’s needed is a way of fixing things, a sca old to support the ow of ideas, themes and events.

To an extent, this is what artist and walker, Remiiya Badru’s, year-long collaboration with Cody Dock is all about.

Common Threads has seen her take up the position of artist-in-residence at the ecological regeneration project, to research, investigate and respond to two interrelated commodities and their history in the area. The first is the woven cotton cloth, calico, and the second the synthetic pigment Prussian Blue, once made at the site.

“I’m an artist, but I’m also a walker and an educator and both of those things inform my practice,” said Remiiya. “I also have a connection with rivers and bodies of water as well as maps with the work I create.

“Common Threads is about how we capture stories around the textile trade across the docks in east London. I see the threads as stories coming together, so I wanted to bring the community in and give people in this area the opportunity to share their tales.

“In this way these Common Threads are global narratives – they all come from somewhere and I wanted to look at how we could represent that visually in the context of the history.”

When it comes to both the textile and the pigment, that past is a complex weave di erent countries, creations and locations. For Remiiya – an artist whose practice is characterised by curiosity and serendipity – it’s an irresistible jumping o point.

Having trained as an illustrator and then as a teacher – a useful skill that enabled her to take her art “out of the classroom and into museums and galleries” – she worked for a while in Bristol.

“That was at the Arnolfini Gallery with community groups and facilitating social engagement

1Detail from one of the calico printed cloths Remiiya has made in collaboration during her Common Threads project

and I thought it was a very important part of my practice. That remains the case today, but I’m also very interested in the heritage of places.

“I hated history at school but I found a way of seeing the subject as an archive of real people’s stories. Geography is also a love of mine – how people and place connect and how cities shift and shape themselves. I really love maps and what they represent.

“These things come together when I’m walking. My practice is often intuitive – if something jumps out at me, I’ll go and research it.

“I’ve done many walks along the Thames and the Lea – I’m a bit of a nomad. I would say the river is the aorta of the city – it pulls in all those tributaries and the stories ow into it.”

In recent years, Remiiya has collaborated with the National Maritime Museum, making art and researching its collections to find women and people from diverse backgrounds. She’s made a “living map” entitled Rhumblines, displayed at the Making Space in Aberfeldy Street. She’s featured in Thames-focused documentary Time And Tide. She’s led workshops, walks and meet-ups.

But perhaps most revealingly she’s built a model boat, the Timehri, named for the “art and craft of man” which she’s taken for walks along the river as a conversation starter and because the journey forms part of the artwork.

It’s been placed in Canary Wharf, on a beach on the Isle Of Dogs and on the plinth that once supported the statue of slaver, merchant and ship-owner Robert Milligan, who was the driving force behing the construction of West India Docks. Such activities are indicative of Remiiya’s intuitive approach to the subjects she investigates – one that she’s carried over into Common Threads

“Calico is a global cloth with a complicated narrative,” she said.

“It’s a strong cotton fabric that’s thicker than muslin, but not as thick as denim – today it’s often used to make tote bags.

“It was at the centre of an attempt to protect the British textile industry when importing it was banned.

“The fabric was often printed and Bromley Hall (which sits just across the Lea from Cody Dock on the A12) – a building with multi-layered narratives that go back to Henry VIII and beyond

working the

Discover more Cody Dock history as we dig into the story of the Frederick Kitchen, the lifeboat that’s become the Boat House’s roof - Page 28

calico jackets,

Over the months I’ve been here, I’ve felt such freedom and autonomy to work on this project and there’s been so much support

Remiiya Badru, artist-in-residence

– was a major producer, using copper plates to create intricate designs.”

These stories, coupled with extensive research in partnership with the V&A have all fed into a project that will be fully realised in September. That includes making use of Prussian Blue, which was once manufactured on site at Cody Dock and was shipped worldwide from there by the Imperial Chemical Company.

“When people come to see Common Threads on September 19, I want them to appreciate all the elements of the history of this area,” said Remiiya.

“I’ve worked with di erent community groups and schools to get them to think about what’s important to them and we’ve created a series of cloths.

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

CLUB | Until We Meet Again

German producer Christian Lö er brings his latest album to the Royal Docks venue following a sold-out show at the Barbican Aug 23, 1pm-10pm, from 37.66, supportthecause.co.uk

EVENT | For The Love Of Fantasy

Expect to see guests from the likes of Lord Of The Rings, Supernatural, Stranger Things, Grimm, Game Of Thrones and so many more at this con. Aug 22-23, 9am-6pm, £53.90, excel.london

“We’ve also made jackets in calico based on the high-vis ones worn at Cody Dock – again based on people’s personal connections to this area. We’re now working on a plan to display all this material across the site. I want people to discover ody Dock it’s o the beaten track, but it’s an oasis and there’s something here for everyone.

“I really like that the people here love and care for the spaces and that it’s a place where artists can hold up a mirror to history.

“Over the months I’ve been here, I’ve felt such freedom and autonomy to work on this project and there’s been so much support.

| Signal Festival 2026

This rich celebration of drum’n’bass runs for 17 hours at The Silver Building venue that’s been “getting away with it since 2018”. Aug 22, noon-5am, from £35, supportthecause.co.uk

last chance

“It’s growing and expanding and that’s really exciting – let’s see where the threads take us.”

key details

Common Threads will be unveiled at Cody Dock on September 19 at the ecological regeneration project’s Lighting Up The Lea event – part of the Totally Thames Festival. The open day, runs from 11am-6pm, and includes a mix of workshops, live performances, walks, talks and a chance to see the work produced for the project. Entry is free. Go to codydock.org.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about Cody Dock

Catch the nal Formula E London E-Prix at Excel in Royal Docks when the double bill of indoor-outdoor races takes place on August 15 and 16. Grandstand tickets start at £65 to see the drivers do battle on the track aformulae.com

Scan this code to nd out more about the event or to book tickets to catch this spectacle in the capital

Years since the Frederick Kitchen entered service with the RNLI as the Beaumaris lifeboat in Anglesey

how the Frederick Kitchen connects Cody Dock to more than a century of history as the roof of its Boat House

by Jon Massey

Avisit to the Boat House at Cody Dock isn’t just a chance to experience what’s on show within. The structure’s roof is itself an exhibit – the Frederick Kitchen is a former lifeboat that’s been extensively restored and ipped over to protect the heritage pavilion below from the elements. It has an extraordinary story to tell.

The last boat to be commissioned at the Thames Ironworks, just down the River Lea from Cody Dock, it’s carried royalty, saved lives in Wales, been refitted for fishing, turned into a houseboat, sunk and has now returned to east London. Thanks to research by Julia Briscoe and David Scott at Cody Dock, we can relay some of its journey here.

the history

a generous gift Frederick Kitchen, the man the boat was named for, played an important part in its story. Born in Liverpool in 1852 – the son of a cabinet maker and joiner – he initially worked as a painter before going into business and becoming a corn merchant, eventually rising to the post of chairman of Pelling, Stanley And ompany. The firm was an importer of John West Salmon and one of the founding businesses of Unilever.

His success led him to accrue significant wealth in iverpool before moving to the small village of Trefriw in 1901 on the river Crafnant, living there with two servants and becoming chairman of the parish council in 1904, before his death a year later.

A lifelong bachelor, his closest relative was his brother, Captain James Kitchen. In his will, he left more than £2million in today’s money to various bodies including the RN I, specifically to fund “the purchase of a motor-lifeboat to be placed on the west coast of England”.

The institution, having received £2,400 – the bulk of the cash – by 1908, duly commissioned the Thames Ironworks in east London to build a 43-foot Watson Lifeboat, fitted with a 6 horsepower petrol engine, capable of seven knots when motoring but also able to of use sails. It was designed by Glaswegian George Lennox

Watson, who was born in 1851 and was attracted to yachts as a boy during holidays on the Clyde.

Apprenticed as a shipwright, he became interested in the role hydrodynamics played in their design and had established his own company by the age of 22, going on to design hundreds of successful racing vessels.

In 1887 he became the RNLI’s chief naval architect and, while he died in 1904, the lifeboats he designed continued to be used into the 1950s.

built on the Lea Founded in 1837, the Thames Ironworks And Shipbuilding Company had its main yards at Leamouth and Canning Town, with operations on both sides of Bow Creek.

It was a titan of Victorian industry, building warships and liners as well as marine engines, cranes, parts for massive engineering projects and even motor cars.

Notably, HMS Warrior was built by the company as the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warship, leading to a slew of orders from governments around the world.

In the 1 s, the firm came under the control of managing director Arnold Hills, a philanthropist, footballer, vegetarian and champion of eight-hour days at a time when industrial workers were more commonly expected to work 10 or 12-hour shifts. He was also involved in establishing Thames Ironworks FC, which would later become West Ham United.

However all did not remain well. Orders from the Royal Navy dried up by 1911 and the business closed in 1912. The Frederick Kitchen was the last vessel to be commissioned and built by the company in Canning Town.

Constructed primarily from mahogany, with a heavy cast iron keel for stability in stormy seas, its design and fabrication represented the absolute zenith of skilled wooden boat building on the Thames. Its completion also marked the end of an era.

a royal encounter

Following sea trials o arwich with the RNLI, the Frederick Kitchen made an appearance at the 1913 Cowes Regatta. Attendees included most of the Royal Family

the

Frederick Kitchen was built at the Thames Ironworks in Canning Town just before is closed down

as well as Prince Henry of Prussia – brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II – one year before the outbreak of the First World War. During the festival, the royal yacht Britannia beat Prince Henry in the Kaiser’s yacht.

King George V also took an interest in the Frederick Kitchen, which had stopped at Cowes on its way to Beaumaris in Wales to serve as the town’s lifeboat. He, along with senior members of the RNLI, took a trip in the vessel “during which every detail of the boat’s construction was explained” including its celebrated Gardner No. 4 reverse gear, according to the November 1913 edition of The Lifeboat magazine. Causing quite a stir, the same article lists a succession of dignitaries who then went on to visit the boat.

saving lives

The Frederick Kitchen travelled from Cowes to begin its intended role as the Beaumaris lifeboat, protecting mariners from the small town at the mouth of the Menai Strait on Anglesey.

The completion of a new lifeboat station in 1914 allowed the vessel to enter service and she was duly dedicated with prayers from the Bishop Of Bangor and the smashing of a bottle of wine by Mrs James Kitchen – wife of her namesake’s brother, who was also

present to formally hand over the boat to the RNLI. Crewed by eight volunteer sailors, the vessel served from 1914 until 1945 and was then held in reserve until 1948. During the First World War and into the 1920s, the RNLI only made brief information about its lifeboats’ activities public.

However, we do know the Frederick Kitchen was launched 35 times on rescue missions –equating to about once per year with five leading to lives and boats being saved. Over 31 years of service, 46 people were rescued and two vessels were recovered.

One notable mission in 1920 was when the schooner Jane And Ann of Carnarvon, carrying a cargo of mining pit props, broke anchor at Llandudno and drifted. The Beaumaris lifeboat was launched and initially rescued the crew, although the captain (described in the log as “an old man”), refused to leave.

He was later removed and the schooner anchored, but strong winds saw the ship break away a second time and drift across the Mersey estuary, eventually becoming a wreck.

● A year later, the Frederick Kitchen was in action again, dispatched to answer distress signals from another schooner, the Pandora of Fraserburgh, loaded with coal.

Caught in a heavy north-west gale o Anglesey, the ship had broken away from its anchor and was drifting towards the Dutchman Bank when the lifeboat caught up and rescued its crew of four before it too was wrecked.

● In March 1931 the Beaumaris lifeboat saved three young men and their yacht, the Bluebell, in fierce rain squalls and blinding snow after they lost their sails.

Led by 21-year-old JT Chitty, the son of a master at Eton College, there was much worry locally about the three inexperienced sailors with the Llandudno lifeboat also launched, although it’s help wasn’t needed as the crew of the Frederick Kitchen were able to rescue both the young men and their vessel.

Incidentally, three months later Mr Chitty again had to be rescued from Bluebell after it broke free from its moorings and its motor failed on the River Mersea. He and a 16-year-old friend were pulled from the upturned yacht by police and harbour sta .

● In 1936, the Beaumaris lifeboat once more saw significant action when called to rescue the seven

crew members of the schooner Flying Foam. The 200-ton vessel had dragged her anchor having stopped to make repairs to a sail and was drifting when the Frederick Kitchen came alongside to take Captain Roy Jackson, Lorna his wife and their two cats to safety along with the rest of the people on board.

Abandoned, the Flying Foam ran aground on the west shore of Llandudno with much of its cargo of coal later salvaged via horse and cart. It was the last sailing schooner to be wrecked in Conwy Bay, with its remains, visible for many years at low tide, becoming a tourist attraction.

returning to London

According to National Historic Ships, the Frederick Kitchen continued to lead a colourful life after being sold to a succession of boating enthusiasts.

A cabin was added to the vessel, which was renamed the Lady Pat in 1950 and then later the Jackie Maxwell. In 1997 the boat was restored in Blyth with the aim of using it for fishing under the new name Herring Queen.

In 2004 it became the Ballyheo Dream with an extended cabin to allow it to act as a houseboat, but sank at its moorings before being rapidly raised and returned to Blyth. A spell at the Fish And Duck Marina in Ely followed before the Frederick Kitchen was acquired in 2013 by the Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust, which returned the vessel to east London.

Ownership passed to Cody Dock, which embarked on an extensive restoration project to bring this piece of living maritime history back into public use. Everyone visiting the newly created Boat House will be sheltered by timbers that were worked by some of London’s finest craftspeople, helped save lives o the coast of Wales, were trodden by King George V and will now be in service protecting and showcasing local history for many years to come.

key details

The Boat House is located at Cody Dock on the River Lea and is free to visit. ou can find out more about the boat house and the programme for the structure via the ecological regeneration project’s website

Go to codydock.org.uk for more information

Scan this code to nd out more about Cody Dock

Rotherhithe - Deptford - Bermondsey

what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

EVENT | SE8 Summer Fete

Where?

The Albany Garden Deptford

You’ll need to get there early for this event as pre-booked tickets have now sold out, but the programme of performers looks fab. Aug 15, 1pm-6pm, walk-ups, thealbany.org.uk

Where?

The Albany Deptford

EVENT | Bingo Saturdays

This all ages event promises laughter, songs and drag with host Just May (the self-proclaimed “world’s premier Geri Halliwell Impersonator) calling the balls. Aug 15, 1pm, free, thealbany.org.uk

Where?

The Pen Theatre South Bermondsey

COMEDY | They Are Not About Love

Comics Levi Meltzer and Ozzy Algar take 30 minutes each to present new concepts, ideas and whispers that might grow into future shows. Aug 15, 7.30pm, £11.55, thepentheatre.com

be quick

You’ll need to move super fast, but there’s just time to catch Mouthful at The Pen Theatre in South Bermondsey. Pickle Jar kicks o its comedy nights with a show on July 31 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £11.55 thepentheatre.com

Scan this code to nd out more about Mouthful or to book tickets to see the show

Pop-up markets in the latter half of August to put in your diary

hosting the

how the Round The Dock festival is creating a platform for traders and makers to sell their wares in Canada Water

by Jon Massey

Visitors to Canada

Water over weekends in August can expect a singular shopping experience in line with the area’s Round The Dock festival programme.

In addition to free music, spoken word performances, talks and DJs taking place over the summer, we’ve picked out four diary dates that stand out.

First up on August 15 and 16, the Solo Craft Fair is set to pop-up in south-east London with independent makers selling their wares.

Those making the journey can expect a range of handmade jewellery, ceramics, illustrations, textiles, homeware, artwork and one-of-a-kind gifts. Many of the makers will be on hand to meet customers.

Then, on August 29 and 30, the Independent Label X N4 Makers Market is set to arrive. This gathering brings together record labels, artists, designer-makers and creative businesses for a celebration of independent culture.

Shoppers can expect to meet musicians, producers and collectors as they browse the vinyl, ceramics, jewellery, illustrations, prints, slow fashion and handmade homewares on o er.

Full listings for events included in Round The Dock can be found online.

key details

The Solo Craft Fair is set to take place on August 15 and 16 from 11am-5pm. The Independent Label X N4 Makers Market will come to Canada Water on August 29 and 30 from noon-6pm. Go to canadawater.co.uk for more information

Scan this code to nd out more about the markets

Venues hosting performances on both days at East Bank for the free festival

Queer Frequencies takes place on August 22 and 23

how Queer Frequencies is set for a weekend of music, dance, poetry and art at East Bank festival

by Jon Massey

The full programme for the third weekend of free performances as part of The Music Is Black Festival at East Bank has been released. Queer Frequencies is set to take place on August 22 and 23, providing a free weekend of music and dance.

Part of a wider response to the V&A East Museum’s The Music Is Black: A British Story exhibition, the festival brings together all the East Bank institutions in a single creative e ort, with contributions from Sadler’s Wells East, BBC Music, UCL East and the London College of Fashion. Queer Frequencies runs from noon-midnight on the Saturday and from noon-6pm

on the Sunday. Live music on both days nishes at 7pm and 5pm respectively.

The event is billed as a takeover by London’s queer collectives “rede ning music, culture and community”.

The rst day features The Waterfront Stage curated by Shy One and the Mid Terrace curated by Donnie Sunshine.

Acts on the bill include the likes of SisterMatic, Private Joy, Alizé, DJ Biggy C and Jugu.

From 7pm-midnight

Sadler’s Wells East will host The Dance Floor Is Black featuring music, dance, poetry and sound art inspired by queer night life.

The following day features curation from Mark-Ashley Dupé on The Waterfront Stage and Joel Mignott on the Mid Terrace with acts such as Jungle Kitty, Ivicore,

Stratford - Mile End - Bow - Hackney Wick what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Expect a “panic attack happening in slow motion on another dimensional plane” from the headliners with support from Amneziak and Pyrogarlic. Aug 22, 8pm,from £13.70, cartandhorses.london

Where?

Barge East Hackney Wick

EVENT | Sketch And Sip Club Workshop Sit beside the canal in the venue’s gardens and take inspiration for your drawings during this two-hour session. Guidance and materials provided. Aug 18, 7pm-9pm, £38, bargeeast.com

Natalie Sandi and Shaun Ross performing.

From noon-6pm, Sadler’s Wells East will be hosting the Fagamu n Bloc Party with plenty of pre-carnival DJs, MCs and dancers.

key details

Queer Frequencies, part of The Music Is Black Festival, is set to take place on August 22 and 23 at East Bank at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. All performances are free to watch and attend with no pre-booking necessary

For more information go to queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about Queer Frequencies

GIG | Aunty Asbo Forest Gate activist, artist and DJ is set to play funk, house, reggae and dance hall at a bar-based block party that promises to be as spicy as you like. Aug 21, 9pm-midnight, free, stratfordeast.com

be quick

Yes, that’s a real monster. Discover Children’s Story Centre has reopened its doors on Stratford High Street following a £3million renovation. Entry costs £11 for adults and children and there’s a new cafe to explore discover.org.uk

Scan this code to read Wharf Life’s interview with Discover CEO Rebakah Polding about all the changes still to come...

Sudoku

Take a break from that phone

How to play

To complete Sudoku, ll the board by entering numbers one to nine such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

More to play

You can nd more Sudoku puzzles and a wide selection of other brainteasers available to download for free at puzzles.ca

Notes

crossword

Cryptic

Leave behind a group currently appearing (7)

Orchestra section where the money is? (5)

Very cold way to decorate a cake (3)

Cyclist’s upper lip appendage (9)

Those who raise retail outlets illegally (11) 15. Carrying a TV to travel far instantly (11) 17. Aims often broken (9) 19. An attempt now past? (3)

21. Confused Tosca may go here for the horse racing (5) 22. Intended beer is a medical condition, we hear (7)

Down

1. Take it that the surprise is behind you (5)

2. Triumphant-sounding numeral? (3)

3. Greek letter to care least about? (4)

4. Looks like a team not to cry for me (9)

5. Sounds like a look? Dancer on the way up! (7)

8. Promote a breakup – all at sea! (6)

11. Whose decision is always final 3,6

13. False communication device? (6)

14. Reason for existence, for this reason (7)

16. Polite man to represent you (5)

18. It takes only three to create a riot (4)

20. Electric current makes guitar louder, in short (3)

beating the whether you’re cryptic sleuth or synonym solver in it for quick wins, this should satisfy

Quick