The Save Light campaign has been creating many a wave in the capital and in the press of late. Londoners are up in arms over its proposed its demolition to make way for a 53 story tower block.

The Light, which is currently a very popular and thriving bar -restaurant is the first building that you see when you approach Hackney from the City, it separates the two very different areas of London - and therefore is considered very important. Locals are not simply fired up over the loss of an important historical building, but also over the loss of a community hub to a building that is not an appropriate replacement - and doesn’t fit in with the scene of the street.

The campaign has had a helping hand in form of support from a number of local celebrities including Tracey Emin and Suggs. However, usual forms of protest are being abandoned and opposing residents are going ‘independent’ on this one. The idea is that Shoreditch was once considered outside of the City walls of London and therefore escaped its jurisdiction. Shoreditch was considered to have a small extra parochial ‘liberty’ providing it with a separate status from the city. This liberty was thought to have been abolished around 1900 – turns out that might not have been the case and the independence liberty could still apply – making the re-developments impossible.

Let’s hope this is another victory for independence.

Check out the Save the Light official site if you want to find out more, or show your support.

Photo by munksynz over on Flickr

That’s right people; this week is British Sandwich Week 2008! One of the country’s favourite foods is being celebrated for a whole week. With the weather being so freakishly warm of late we need no persuasion here to swap our daily soup intake for a refreshingly cool sandwich.

The British Sandwich Association is running Sandwich Week from May 11th-17th and are encouraging small/independent and larger sandwich bars to use this week to reward their most loyal sandwich eating customers and just generally get very excited about sandwiches.

The British Sandwich Association has recently had a website re-vamp and it is looking pretty swish and some of the new features are rather cool. They have a whole host of sandwich recipes to inspire you if you are feeling bored of your existing ones. They have broken them down into helpful ingredient based categories, making it easier for you to get to a good recipe, fast.

They also have sandwich of the month - this month’s is an alternative take on the ‘classic’ smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. April’s sandwich is salmon, sour cream and chive dip bagel – yum! If you fancy getting the scoop on what the celebrities munch on at the moment then check out the ‘Celebrity Sandwiches’ section. With offerings from Anthea Turner and Tamzin Outhwaite you can’t go far wrong.

Anyway, I hope this inspiration enough for you all to swap your salads for a sarnie this week to show your respect the nation’s favourite lunch food.

Photo taken by Jimbrickett over on Flickr

It seems that finally the English are waking up and noticing that every other surrounding country celebrates their national day, and we just seem to let it slip by unnoticed. Well not this year! The English flag is flying over Buckingham palace for the first time in years. Number 10 is also proudly flying the flag of St George, something that has not been done since the 2006 world cup! It seems that the overall message this year is to celebrate our Englishness – responsibly and in style of course.

Historic food store Fortnum and Mason have a lavish special St Georges day menu on, Borough Market is moving from London Bridge into central London to celebrate English food and Carnaby Street has been decorated with England football shirt bunting. However, on a more local note, none seem more eager than the residents of Morley in West Yorkshire who started their celebrations weeks ago. The market town dedicated a whole weekend to festivities and their list of events taking place stretches over three pages long. The English flag is flying in the local park and, coloured flowers have been planted, not to mention the St George parade and long bow competitions. The town made the conscious decision to aim for the most elaborate celebrations and it has certainly paid off, they have experienced record numbers of visitors and lots of press attention for being the most patriotic town in England!

Fear not, if you are feeling a little detached from the festivities, and in need of some inspiration then English Heritage is on hand to rectify the situation. They have created a guide all about how to celebrate the national day including fact, recipes and a breakdown of all events taking place ordered by regions.

Enjoy!

Photo by rbrwr over on Flickr

I hate to be the bringer of bad news, and recently I feel as if I am but, if it wasn’t bad enough news that the English breakfast was looking shaky now it is the turn of the British pub! It’s hard to believe this is the case, as we receive so many enthusiastic pub reviews everyday on the site – often implying that a great deal of your spend a lot of time and cash in our pubs - but it looks like your efforts are not enough.

The British Beer & Pub Association has released dismal estimates that claim that four British pubs are shutting every day! The rate of closure is fourteen times faster now than it was in 2005, and with only 57,000 pubs left in Britain compared to the 69,000 we had in 1980 the situation could be getting pretty worrying.

The problem doesn’t seem to be so much with the city pubs; it’s the decline in the trusty village pub, which is seeing a downturn in popularity due to tougher drink-driving laws and the cheap availability of beer and alcohol in super- markets. The result is pub beer sales are at an all time low - they haven’t been as low since the depression of the 1930’s.

You have to stop and ponder the loss of British identity if we lose our pubs. This isn’t a simply case of loss of a national pastime (drinking) but also another great hit to our already flimsy community. Pubs are often breeding ground for good local communities and local identities.

So, more people are swapping their twice weekly trips to the local pub in favour of a trip to the supermarket for cheap discounted beers to take home a watch alone in front of the TV, why? Come on people let’s get out a little more, keep our local boozers open – give them your money, or we will lose them for good. You never know you might even meet some local peeps!

If you’re in need of inspiration try searching pubs in your local area here, see what you get. Remember to be specific, the most popular pub name in Britain is The Red Lion, closely followed by The Royal Oak!

Photo by JL2003, over on Flickr.

Just when you thought it was safe, and somewhat trendy to eat a fry up again Giles Coren of The Times has come along to throw a giant spanner in the works – and this time the spanner is razor sharp!

It is no secret that there has been a big revival in the nations love of breakfast of late, especially the English breakfast. Here on welovelocal.com one of our most popular and thriving groups is ‘For the Love of Breakfast’ where reviewers happily share their glorious, and not so glorious breakfast experiences with each other. Every foodie review or culture capturing piece of literature that you pick up is filled with guides to the best breakfasts and brunches around - most of which are pivotal around the fried English breakfast. So what do we do now we are being told that only the uneducated (or those with a degree below a 2:1) would dare consume an English Breakfast?

There are two sides to every coin and although this particular article entices arguments around the encroachment of the draconian nanny sate on our free will, I think the issue is more one of balance. Who realistically has the time to eat a big boy breakfast everyday? The truth is we don’t - and that is just it, we’re not all truckers who’s only convenient source of food is on a roadside, and we do have a clue what we’re doing (even those of us without a 2:1). It’s all about moderation and quality and if ‘trendy’ has its way then we will continue to spend our Saturday mornings queuing up in the doorway of some painfully trendy cafe haunt for our free range, totally organic, hand reared and home grown £8 English Breakfast – and enjoy every minute of it too.

News just in from Twitter – Our very own PM, Gordon Brown is still up for a good old full English! - Go Gordon!

So on that note, I thought I would include some top places for breakfast as recommended by you:

If you’re in London why not try The Cock Tavern or the ever popular Breakfast Club. Plymouth has its own breakfast hot spot in the shape of Elviras Cafe. Brighton’s fave is Billie’s Cafe for a traditional ‘breakfast hash’. Birmingham has the Victoria Square Cafe or the crazy Mr Egg to re-fuel.

Photo by robby-T over on Flickr

I was over on the Wedge blog and Diana Bird’s post ‘Local Lives in New York’ was really interesting. She was talking about a new documentary film that is out called, ‘Twilight Becomes Night’. It’s a documentary about local shops and their closure in New York. Virginie-Alvine Perrette ( the filmmaker) follows the lives and stories of five Neighbourhood stores in NYC watching them in their struggle for survival against larger competitors.

It is amazing the way the short clip cuts straight to the point of shopping locally. It is also refreshing to see the way the community actively want to prevent their towns from becoming homogenized. The shop owners talk openly about ‘character of place’ being constructed by people and businesses - the idea these two things help to make an area unique and different from other geographical places. The documentary focuses on what neighbourhood shops means to local people and the larger community that they serve - when a local business is lost a part of the social fabric of the area is lost with it.

It is really moving, and although based on American neighbourhoods it’s still extremely applicable to the UK. We mirror what is happening in the US in the respect that we too, are losing local neighbourhood shops fast. I think it is a great piece of filmmaking, and anything that can help raise awareness about shopping local is all good.

We have a wealth of fantastic recommendations on welovelocal.com and with it being the hottest day of the year so far (and all I can think about is outside) I thought I’d pull out some of the recommendations that we have for great places for the weekend.

Kicking off with Komedia in Brighton, this little south coast gem has had some cracking reviews, and as a once resident of Brighton I tend to agree. Saturday is kids’ comedy day so this place really is a family affair. Don’t worry the comedy gets ramped back up to adult level by the evening and with an upstairs and down you are bound to find something you enjoy to make your evening pass.

Or if you fancy something a bit more outdoors and less related to alcohol then you could try Bristol Zoo, another attraction that has pulled in some pretty good reviews. Every weekend throughout April they have free puppet shows and entertainment – fun for all the family!

Now, Tropical World Leeds is another one that has some very nice words written about it. This place sounds quite exciting and according to Ruth H cost only a measly £3 for adults to get in! Tropical World is an indoor rain forest with tropical plants, animals and fish to go with it – what more could you want for £3?

Going up the country further, Gibside in Newcastle has made its self a good name on welovelocal.com. This is another good one if you fancy getting outside in the good weather (though Sunday is meant to snow, so best to go Saturday). This National Trust spot is pretty stunning and you could do a lot worse than to take the air here.

Don’t fear if you are staying in the capital this weekend, if you want to try something different then Friday Night Ride Cycle is looking good. Join group of cyclists and beginners as they cruise around London for fun. There is some drinking involved, so if you’re not steady on a bike without a drink probably not your best option.

We are off for an office curry now!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Photo supplied by Zenera over on Flickr

Could this be the end for the 108- year- old red bible of gastronomy? That’s right people, Michelin is being hailed as ‘out-dated’ and ‘too commercial’. The recent restaurant guide backlash is lead by world-renowned chef Marco Pierre White. His criticisms stem from the argument that the restaurant reviews are ‘inconsistent’ and ‘overly commercial’ in focus.

It would appear that what people really want is real ‘proper food’, away from the overly fussy food that makes it into the pages of Michelin guides. The idea is that trends are changing and Michelin is simply not keeping pace. People no longer naturally look to the experts for recommendations, as we well know here on welovelocal.com that word of mouth is one of the most trusted resources we have. The growth of online community resources has been massive, and most sites like welovelocal.com which are authored by like- minded people of similar age and interests, are making for a more accurate dining recommendation.

So where does our trust and interest really lie? Are we really over Michelin? Everyone listens to word of mouth when deciding which gastro pub to sample at the weekend, but when it comes to fine dining masses still flock to the latest Michelin stared establishments, wait on table waiting lists that rival those for an NHS dentist in London, and fork out hundreds of pounds for the privilege. Why? Well I think it is something that will struggle to fade away as quickly as popularity for purchasing the Michelin guide. It’s grounded in our culture, we want to say we have been, sampled and conquered something that is converted and considered precious – basically we still want to tell everyone we have been to a Michelin Starred restaurant! Michelin still has its place but, it is a bit of one sided conversation – so for now, we’re just going to have to have our say online - review away!

Thoughts?

Check out the full Times article here

I came across this story today and thought it was well worth sharing as it is nice to see the royal family keeping it real – and keeping it local! Price Charles is now the proud owner of one of the poshest greengrocers in Britain. The store that has just opened in Tetbury is named Highgrove and will sell fresh local produce from Charles’ nearby estate, and Camilla’s Wiltshire orchards. The seasonal produce will be amongst an array of other handmade offerings sold in the shop including; jams, chocolates, jellies, biscuits and honeys. There is also a bizarre mix of souvenirs on sale, with celebratory vases and luxury gardening items?

The bit that really interested me about Charles new shop was that, despite the novelty factor that the produce comes from (and often is still covered in) royal soil the prices charged remain competitive, and if anything cheaper than some of the larger retailers in the area. A bunch of Charles’ organic leeks came in at £1.35, only 25p more than the local supermarkets price.

The Tetbury area previously had no dedicated greengrocers; needless to say locals are excited at the chance to snap up some local royal veg! The town is also pretty stoked about all the extra tourists and visitors the shop will hopefully bring to the area.

Keep up the good work guys!

If anyone knows of fruit and veg shop in Britain that can rival the posh-ness of this one I would love to hear about it?

Photo supplied by digiyesica over on flickr

Weekend! 

If you are looking for something a little different to do in the capital this weekend then it is well worth checking out the East festival which is running from 6th-11th of March. The six day festival is all about celebrating the wondrous food, history, film and fashion that East London has to offer. Our friends over at Wedge Card are partnering the event and have some great offers running, including free temporary Wedge cards when you grab a copy of the East festival programme guide (or you can download the PDF version here).

The festival opened last night with some impressive bell ringing from over 20 London churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral. There is so much going on over the six days, I am not sure what to pick to talk about, I will attempt to select some of the most interesting and intriguing. Tonight sees some fine female comedy at Rich Mix, Bethnal Green, however if you fancy some live tunes then head to Fabriclive and catch the awesome line up of DJ’s. Or for something completely different you could chill out and sample an evening of Bengali music at St Ethelburga’s Centre.

Saturday is filled with cultural treats throughout the day catch the much hyped Vortex Tour East when it swings by Wilton’s Music Hall in the afternoon, grab a history lesson at the Museum of London with their ‘Before Eastenders’ guests. Come evening, dine at the Wapping Project (the spectacular converted hydraulic power station), experience Big Martian Night Out at the Barbican Art Gallery (a couple of hours of space hits delivered by selected DJ’s).

Sunday follows a similar round up of excitement with; Skills and Sofas at Creative Spitalfields and Shoreditch or have a listen to a good old London ‘Ukulele Extravaganza’ at The Horse and Groom. There is so much more I haven’t even started to mention - the events fill a whole 30 page booklet!

All I can say is check it out, it all sounds completely unique, and fabulously East!