It has been a record year for a Winter Toy Appeal that delivers gifts to children experiencing extreme poverty in North and East London. This year the appeal, which is run by the Local Buyers Club in partnership with Location Location, has collected enough toys for around 4,500 children and a massive amount of food for Hackney Foodbank. Vicky Bibiris, who helps to run the appeal, said: “It was touch and go there for a while – with just a week to go we didn’t have enough toys to meet the demand! But the public was quick to respond to our calls for more donations and, in the end, we had more toys than ever. As a result, we’ve been able to expand our reach and take referrals from agencies we ha

Has the dip in temperature set your mood to blue? Research into the health benefits of singing shows it could be just the think to perk you up! Did you know singing improves your sense of wellbeing, reduces pain, improves breathing, speech and posture? Since the dawn of time singing has been a way of marking community life – celebrating births, deaths and work. In many less technological societies it’s a central way of bringing people together. As a famous Zimbabwean proverb goes: ‘if you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing.’ But are we losing site of the value of singing? Are we turning into passive listeners as we encourage only the best singers to perform? At the Local Bu

If you thought gaming was the pursuit of geeky teenagers in dark and dingy bedrooms – think again! A new venue in East London is drastically changing perceptions; offering a place to play video games that’s light, open, focused on food and drink and designed for social interaction. Platform was set up in Shoreditch six months ago by brothers Tomaso and Niccolò Portunato, Lucas Weintraub, Jo Highfield, and Guilllame Borkhataria. The friends have all have been playing video games since they were old enough to hold a gamepad. They are one of the latest businesses to join the Local Buyers Club, offering members 20% off game bookings and drinks (info here). Guillaume said: “All too often gaming

The perfect antidote to Black Friday and Cyber Monday takes place this weekend and it looks set to be super lovely. Prepare yourself for Small Business Saturday on December 7! We’ve been genning up on what’s on and have put together suggestions for three brilliant ways to spend Small Business Saturday that offer the best local makers and sellers, the most festive vibe and fabulous food! 1. HEAD TO OLD SPITALFIELDS MARKET where members of the East End Trades Guild will be selling their wares. They include Tatty Devine, Pylon Ceramics, Hopeful Traders, K:ss Creations and many more. (10am till 6pm). When you’ve shopped till you drop, pop into Sood Kitchen at Bottles and enjoy wonderful Italian