

Organisers prepare for Inaugural Islington Festival of Music and Art
A four-day Festival of Music and Art is coming to Islington this summer – offering 15 events from chamber music to traditional jazz! Organisers Joana Ly and Martin André were inspired to create the festival after the success of their smaller series of chamber music concerts in private gardens last year. This year’s event takes place between the 22nd and 25th of July. There’ll be lunchtime concerts in the South Arcade of the recently restored Islington Square, evening concerts


Kickstarter campaign for Stroud Green roof terrace
A new roof terrace restaurant could be on the cards for Stroud Green thanks to a Kickstarter campaign by Goods Office. The popular restaurant next to Parkland Walk has been running for three years and hopes to improve its offering. They’re hoping to raise £20,000 to help create a terrace with space for 42 people at tables around a fire pit. The Kickstarter states: “This space will be one of the very few opportunities to dine alfresco in our area – and the enormous retractable


Restaurants reopen but another cliff edge looms.
Diners can venture back into restaurants today but with almost 10% closed permanently since the pandemic began, there are gaping holes in our high streets. And with the moratorium on commercial evictions scheduled to end on June 30, some of the restaurants that have survived this long could also be on a cliff-edge. 22 restaurants per day closed their doors between March 2020 and April 2021, according to a new report by management consultants and business growth experts CGA an


DabbaDrop to launch zero waste store and ready meals
East London’s sustainable Indian takeaway DabbaDrop is poised for big things. They’re gearing up to deliver London-wide, are developing their own range of pickles and chutneys, make-your-own kits and ready meals and are about to launch a zero-waste shop to help people live plastic-free. The business is run by friends and neighbours Anshu Ahuja (a former TV producer) and Renee Williams (a former restaurant event producer). Juggling childcare, particularly mid-pandemic has made


Cooking up a social, healthy summer with Greenwich Pantry
Ever longed to learn how to use a knife like a professional chef, make sushi or amazing bread? A cookery school in London is counting down the days until May 17th when they throw open their doors (in a safe, socially distanced way) after the hardest year in living memory. For the team at Greenwich Pantry teaching cookery is about giving customers a skill, a legacy to pass on to future generations, it’s about mindfulness, sharing time with friends and making new friends and it


Crowdfunder secures a makeover for Hackney’s TopUp Truck
This trusty milk float struggles to get past 14 miles per hour yet for those looking to live more sustainably in Hackney, it’s something of a legend! The TopUp Truck was born in lockdown – a mobile zero waste shop selling dried goods, oils and vinegars, larder foods such as sauces and chutneys, household cleaning refills and beauty products. Local Buyers Club members save 10%. Following a successful Crowdfunder, the 21-year-old electric float is about to get a makeover. Local


All’s Well for Hackney restaurant born to keep staff going in lockdown
As lockdown devastated Central London’s hospitality industry, renowned chef Chantelle Nicholson was so determined to keep staff on that she launched a neighbourhood restaurant in Hackney. When other restaurants were losing staff, the founder of Tredwells in Covent Garden launched All’s Well, a pop-up restaurant on Mare Street. The initiative enabled them to maintain employment levels, learn new skills and bond over a shared new project. Manager Beth Morgan-Jones explained: “C


Born in lockdown – the story of Circla, London’s refill beauty business
Claudia Gwinnutt was on the brink of her first big contract supplying refillable beauty products to hotels, when Coronavirus sparked the UK’s first major lockdown. The deal was paused and, left with lots of stock, the 31-year-old decided to start selling direct to consumers instead. It turned out to be a very fortuitous pivot. A year on, her company Circla is going great guns – providing refillable, eco-friendly beauty products and household cleaning products to homes all ove