earlier in London

sa 8 Feb 2020	The big hats and nipped in waists of suffragettes at the 1909 Women's Exhibition in the Princes Rink Knightsbridge. Princes was the second largest rectangular rink in Britain making it a venue for ice hockey.
we 1 Jan 2020	Happy New Year. The bit of Suffolk that is near the coast tends to go into hibernation during January but we'll forage for any stirrings. In the meantime here's the pic we meant to use about bank track roller derby in that there London and the 50s.
we 27 Nov 2019	In our childhood we read from the public library an autobiography of a Canadian sports promoter working in 1950s London. Not surprisingly he promoted ice hockey but perhaps more surprising also bank track roller derby, The long term result of our reading was when ... more here
th 14 Nov 2019	Saturday in Norwich was women's flag american football Opal series round four. Hosted by the Iceni Spears we were very pleased to see their numbers have grown to offence and defence plus players over but not GB defensive end Victoria Ware as she'd injured her ankle playing netball. In contrast the Hyde Park Renegades (in white) had the just the minimal five and were devastating.
sa 19 Oct 2019	Sunday we arrived at Hogtoberfest on the outskirts of London in time for the presentations but there was freeriding afterwards. Hogg Hill continues to develop with new to us dance and street luge. We were particularly impressed with a very young woman who despite a dressing on her right leg and struggling to slow in the first right hander was still buckboarding.
tu 18 Dec 2018	The London Rollergirls are recruiting coaches for next year, applications close 28 December. It used to be the law at roller derby bouts that if the announcer mentioned ex-LRG coach Ballistic Whistle there had to be an official time out.
su 19 Aug 2018	Aldeburgh Carnival tomorrow, when we saw it earlier this century with Lady KRJ who grew up in Hackney she asked Why's it so quiet and where are all the black people?
we 8 Aug 2018	We've made several tries to have a ride on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London's East End but so far have failed. Here's an attractive day out to achieve it, for a month or so there are non-stop specials ending with a 30 minute guided walk around Greenwich, and there are some lovely bits of Greenwich by the river BTW.
we 6 Dec 2017	Yesterday morning in the east of London (a large town near Chelmsford) we saw a takeaway offering Vegan Italian Street Food and a woman bin person.
sa 21 Oct 2017	Very much approve of this, today the London Rockin' Rollers celebrate 10 years with an old school roller derby; two whistle starts, minors (remember taking a cougar?) plus tutus and fishnets. Our memory may be gilded but we recall the two whistle start did make for more variety in play ...
mo 22 May 2017	It was the London Warriors' high completion passing game that did for the Bury Saints yesterday in Thetford ... we had a sweet jerk sauce on our chicken wings.
su 21 May 2017 Hogg Hill	Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the Redbridge Cycling Centre's The Crackling with just two hours left and as heavy rain stopped. The cafe was full but as the track dried out longboarders, buckboarders and sliders appeared but regrettably no slalom. Finished visit with and bread pudding in the cafe ... nice.
mo 13 Feb 2017	A large town near Chelmsford in 2014 and 2013.
we 25 Jan 2017	The Norfolk and Suffolk photographs of Justin Partyka's were a feature of Mary Chamberlain's book Fenwomen when republished by Full Circle. The London gallery Osbourne Samuel are curating an online selling show Close to Home of his East Anglian works and running until 24th February.
tu 24 May 2016	Maxine Roper ran the London Marathon in memory of two lost friends including our chum Fish and has raised over £2,000 for the mental health charity Mind. You can still donate (if only just) as today's your last chance.
th 12 May 2016	Sunday Framlingham soapboxes return to tarmac and on the Market Hill. There are three classes including 5-11 year olds ... assuming they can find a responsible adult to be with. In a similar vein the following weekend The Crackling returns to Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycling Centre) for skateboard longboarding and slalom plus new to us a flatland freestyle slide.
su 24 Apr 2016	Our very best wishes to Maxine Roper running the London Marathon today in support of the mental health charity Mind and in memory of two lost friends including the still very much missed here Fish.
tu 1 Mar 2016	Life Skills 9: Supermarkets that have a world food section (the Norwich Hartford Bridge Tesco has Nigerian 6% Guinness!) may have those large cellophane bags of ground spices at a pro rata one fifth the price of Schwartz refills. We decant them into large one time gherkin jars and even then the jars aren't big enough. Couldn't see any large bags in the Martlesham Tesco today but not surprisingly the Hackney Tesco does stock them.
sa 23 Jan 2016	The London Rockin' Rollers (not to be confused with the London Roller Girls) are recruiting a head coach ... #rollerderby eh?
su 15 Nov 2015	The mobile box office outside the Olympic Velodrome was brilliant at sorting the ticket up cock of our own making. Inside the velodrome the Revolution Sprint Series was providing entertaining racing from all sizes and gender. Our last visit with its non-starting Derny was reprised when the meeting ended a little prematurely because a three man pile up on the banking had damaged the track.
we 21 Oct 2015	Monday night we went to the Olympic Velodrome on comps for the first six day bike race in a large town since 1982 ... we went to that one too. We could moan about the poor signposting, poor lighting on the obligatory walk through the park, five pounds for a pint of Heineken and far too loud music but the velodrome is very impressive inside, the racing was brilliant and there was all the fun of a Derny that refused to start for the final keirin.
we 27 May 2015	Bit of a busy bank holiday weekend. At Hainault the first Hog Hill of the year was full of longboarding, some buckboards, slalom and an impressive slide though this jammer must have hurt himself when he came down even faster the next time to repeat this stunt. A BMX track has been built in the track centre and was being used by tinys being coached by a not tiny. Monday's Framlingham Gayla had it seemed to us more spectators than usual and coped with surprisingly busy roads for a Sunday morning. The parade included from Dennington school a Jack and the Beanstalk float dispensing sweeties.
fr 20 mr 15	Before High Ongar in Essex was bypassed we used to pass the newsagents and sub-post office at seven in the morning. Though they were open to get to the papers delivered they'd sell you papers, sweets and cigarettes but they couldn't conduct post office business until nine because it would be unfair competition for the main post office in Chipping Ongar. So we were very impressed to find that not only is the Stradbroke library open on a Sunday but so is their post office counter. But big organisations like the Royal Mail have a genetic need to cock it up and in Yoxford are insisting that the shop can only have a post office counter if it opens on a Sunday.
we 18 Mar 2015	Nice to see there will be more Hog Hill's this year at Redbridge which is almost Essex but in fact still a large town.
we 7 Jan 2015	Klaudia Sokolowska has been found safe and well in Bethnal Green.

London 2014-2013 • email us • advertise