For those house hunting in 2025, a development in Royal Docks is offering a potent incentive to swap renting for a foot on the ladder.
Prospective buyers reserving a shared ownership home at East River Wharf before midnight on March 20, 2025, can get a boost to their deposit of up to £8,000.
The 5% contribution comes in the form of a one-off deduction when the purchaser completes on the deal and is only available on deals to buy 25% of a property at the scheme.
For example, a quarter of an apartment with a full market value of £500,000 would be £125,000, making the available boost to the buyer £6,250 – potentially equivalent to the deposit necessary to secure a 95% mortgage on that property.
Legal And General Affordable Homes, which is marketing the properties at East River Wharf, is set to host an open day on January 18, 2025, for those interested in accessing the incentive.
Prices for a one-bedroom home at East River Wharf start at £96,875 for a 25% share and come with a wide range of facilities and benefits.
The properties form part of Riverscape – essentially an extension of Ballymore and Oxley’s extensive Royal Wharf development on the banks of the Thames at Silvertown – meaning East River Wharf residents are able to access those schemes’ amenities.
These include a health club, the Sky Lounge with views over the Thames to Greenwich Peninsula and Canary Wharf, a concierge service, 24-hour security and a high street with shops, cafés and restaurants.
Shared ownership buyers also get a three-year ZipCar membership with £50 of driving credit when they move in.
Each apartment at East River Wharf has private outdoor space
a wealth of amenities
A spokesperson for Legal And General Affordable Homes said: “The amenities at East River Wharf are best in class, with a state-of-the-art residents’ gym, pool and spa.
“Plus, concierge services and 24-hour security ensure our residents always feel at home.
“There is also a primary school located on the development, which is perfect for growing families.
“Whatever your stage in life, East River Wharf is a modern and secure place to call home with shared ownership.”
The apartments themselves are located on the edge of Lyle Park, which recently celebrated its centenary with a spruce up and the installation of a commemorative mosaic.
They feature open-plan design, fully fitted kitchens with integrated Siemens appliances, tiled bathrooms, free standing Beko washer-dryers and private balconies.
The entry-level one-bed extends to some 538sq ft with a full market value of £387,500.
At the other end of the scale, a three-bed worth £650,000 stretches to 934sq ft on the tenth floor, with a 25% share costing £162,500.
Homes at East River Wharf start at £96,875 for a 25% share
connected up: East River Wharf
Transport connections nearby are excellent with the DLR offering rapid links to Canary Wharf, London City Airport and beyond.
Shared ownership allows buyers to get on the ladder with a smaller deposit than if they were buying a home outright by allowing them to purchase typically 25% of a home.
For the entry level property at East River Wharf, for instance, a deposit of £4,844 could be enough to secure a 95% mortgage on the £96,875 price.
Buyers then pay rent on the unowned portion of the property, the mortgage on their portion of it and the service charge.
This usually works out cheaper than renting a comparable home in the same area.
Those who own a share can also choose to increase their stake in a property over time – a process known as staircasing – until they own the whole thing, or can sell their portion should they wish to move.
The view from the Sky Lounge at Riverscape
key details: East River Wharf
The open day at East River Wharf is set to take place on January 18, 2025, from 10am to 4pm at the development’s Sky Lounge.
“I’m still so passionate about it, 20 years after we started,” said Natasha Hart. “NASSA is one big family – once you set foot in there, you don’t want to come out.
“We have volunteers who started with us when their children were small – they’ve grown up and left, but their parents are still helping out.
“The young people who have been through our hands stay in touch, even two decades later.”
This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the day Natasha took her two sons to Balaam Park in east London to teach them basketball, offering to make it a weekly treat.
They invited their friends, word got round and soon she was coaching groups of more than 30 kids.
The demand was there.
With £20 in the bank she registered Newham All Start Sports Academy (NASSA) as a charity and never looked back.
In 2008, her son, Anthony Okereafor, launched NASSA’s Carry A Basketball Not A Blade campaign in response to the fatal stabbings of two of his friends within weeks of each other.
Its work, tackling knife crime and gang culture, while breaking down barriers between youngsters and the Metropolitan Police, has seen more than 100,000 young people aged 10-18 attend its sessions.
In that time NASSA’s teams have also won league titles, its initiatives have been recognised with a multitude of awards and Natasha has received an MBE as its CEO.
But the demand for the charity’s blend of sports and education is unrelenting.
The pandemic and cost of living crisis have taken their toll and its work is sorely needed because it’s ultimately about more than a child learning the discipline of sport – it’s in the business of creating community.
NASSA is celebrating 20 years of work in Newham in 2025
addressing a need
“NASSA is always attracting young people,” said Natasha.
“Some want to meet new friends, some want to play sports, some want to be away from something and others want to progress and develop.
“We are always learning from them because it’s not only about the child.
“They’re a brother, a sister, a son or a daughter.
“Once the young person trusts us we find the whole family joins in.
“From a single session they get involved and the ball starts rolling – we’ll be asking how are they doing in school, what life is like – then after a few weeks you build that trust.”
Those relationships allow the charity to help address a wide range of issues facing those living locally.
It works to tackle domestic violence, addiction and unhealthy peer pressure and knife crime through a blend of mentoring, coaching, support and education.
“If we can find a solution to a problem then we will, or we can refer people on to specialists who can help,” said Natasha.
“We always want to be growing as a charity, to reach more people and embrace new ideas. For example, when we first started our workshops with the police, the relationship with young people was poor.
“Now each year we play a friendly game with serving officers and that builds trust – the young people can see they are human and that they play basketball, which is so important because they are the people you need to call when you’re in trouble.”
The charity addresses a wide range of issues through its programmes
NASSA: creating community
Over its first two decades NASSA has been successful in securing support from the likes of Excel, Tate And Lyle, UEL, Sport England, L&Q, London City Airport, the Mayor Of London, Newham Council, the Royal Docks Team and Basketball England.
“We’ve been very lucky with the supporters we have, the volunteers, the coaches and the sponsors who all enable us to deliver,” said Natasha.
“We have a rich history with what we’ve done in this community and a great track record in helping change and save the lives of people in this part of London.
“That we are able to do this is very satisfying for all those involved with the charity whether it’s our sponsors, our staff or me.”
To mark its 20th year, NASSA is planning a renewed focus on generating funds for its activities, with an ambition to roll out its mission to other parts of the capital.
A fundraising event is set to be held in June at Brick Lane Music Hall in Royal Docks as a celebration of the charity’s anniversary to help spread the word about the work its doing and offer businesses and individuals new ways to get involved in its activities.
“We want the event to help us reach new supporters and a new audience and for them to be able to come together with our existing sponsors,” said Natasha.
“It’s an opportunity for us to showcase what we have done over the past 20 years and what we are going to do in the future.
“We know we have expertise and I would love us to be able to roll that out to the surrounding boroughs.
“With knife crime the way it is in London, our work is needed more and more and I believe this is a model that could work across the city, helping to save more young people’s lives.”
Aspirational: NASSA uses the discipline of sport to effect change in young lives
key details: NASSA
NASSA, based in Royal Docks, is always looking for support from volunteers, businesses and organisations to help deliver its sport and education programmes.
Full details of NASSA’s fundraising event in June will be published in due course.
If you or your company think you could help in any way by providing resources or funding, you can contact the charity here
His son Matthew, three, is already a proficient builder, while younger brother Harry (one) is quickly learning the ropes with Duplo.
For Chris – CEO of Canary Wharf-based conversational AI firm Creative Virtual – the inspiring thing in their play is the way the boys use whatever materials are available to build exactly what they want.
“It’s now my kids who are giving me direct analogies for our approach,” said Chris, who founded the business on the Isle Of Dogs 21 years ago to provide customer service chatbot facilities for companies.
The firm has grown over more than two decades into a global operation serving customers around the world across multiple sectors in 23 countries and 40 languages but remains based in Canary Wharf close to where Chris grew up.
In that time, perhaps the biggest change in the marketplace it inhabits came in 2022 with the emergence of large language model AI technology, typified by the arrival of ChatGPT.
With the whole world seemingly abuzz and eager to get the most from the promise of this new tech, Creative Virtual stepped up, offering customers free proofs of concept showing how it might be deployed.
“It’s one of the best moves we’ve ever made,” said Chris.
“It was costly, of course, but in those two years companies were becoming very excited about generative AI and needed help to navigate the capabilities – advice on deploying them in a way that’s safe and can be trusted.”
With competitors in the field simply bolting on AI facilities to existing customer relationship management systems, Creative Virtual saw an opportunity.
“They were doing that almost as an afterthought,” said Chris.
“We’ve seen a real kick-back against it, with customers saying they don’t want to be tied into a single vendor.
“With the technology continuing to develop, we wanted a system where we could take the best conversational AI or best customer service system and plug them into each other – combining components.
“That’s where we’re having our biggest successes.
“It’s like building those Lego models, you pick the pieces you want and make something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
“You want to be able to select the best of the breed.”
Creative Virtual’s platform allows firms to select what products they want and put them together like lego bricks
putting the pieces together
This idea of the “composable enterprise” is at the heart of the company’s approach, with its V-Person products and V-Studio platform allowing customers to choose and control the services they want.
It’s a strategy that also gives Creative Virtual an advantage because the firm can quickly adapt its offering to meet its clients’ needs and the changing landscape of the sector.
This flexibility is a strength in terms of allowing businesses to stand out too.
“Since OpenAI released ChatGPT, larger companies have set up teams to handle their ethical response to the technology,” said Chris.
“So, while a business might be ready to go live with a project, the brakes might be applied to ensure compliance.
“The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act has also come in, which affects how organisations operating in Europe can use the technology and so must be taken into account.
“What we’ve done is to put appropriate safeguards – a really key word – in place around the AI systems to control what they can do.
“This means that no matter what changes occur and where a company is going to deploy the technology, there’s support there.
“Organisations want to provide information that’s accurate and consistent in a trusted way.
“They’re all trying to improve the customer experience and increase brand loyalty and this is the interesting part.
“Although price is very important today, what we still see with most organisations is that the number one thing that differentiates companies from their competitors is customer experience.
“There’s a real danger here with AI, because businesses have been sold off-the-shelf solutions.
“When you go to a website or use a mobile app to contact a company, the experience is often very vanilla – some firms are not really thinking about the brand they should be delivering.
“What we’ve done with ours is to make it very easy to create a blend between human and AI-generated content – this is the cornerstone of our product.
“This enables organisations to do what my boys do with their Lego bricks – to build bespoke customer experience offerings that align perfectly with their brands.”
Coming on: This picture was created using Adobe’s AI image generator. While its attempt at “Lego bricks jumbled up” isn’t bad, there’s still a little way to go…
a tailored approach with Creative Virtual
Being able to embed that distinctive character in communications is an essential selling point for Creative Virtual as it continues to diversify into new sectors, whether its chatbots or voicebots are speaking to its clients’ customers or employees.
“We’re able to create a rich, brand-aware experience for users,” said Chris.
“We’re increasingly seeing marketing, digital and the customer contact centre come together in more forward-thinking organisations.
“One of our big growth areas is in retail to help companies offer sales advice and customer contact.
“Employee experiences are just as important and we’re also delivering solutions for HR departments and IT service desks, for example, whether that’s to access information on a self-service basis or to connect with a human.
“That’s one of the pieces that can get lost when considering AI – the human aspect is still key so when the computer isn’t answering the question, then there’s a human at the end of the line to pick things up.
“All in all, we’ve got some really interesting projects happening in financial services, retail, travel, hospitality and government in different parts of the world.”
As for the future, Chris is excited by the rapid development of the technology and the benefits it can bring.
He said: “One especially interesting thing for me with AI is its ability to summarise information because we’re all overwhelmed at present.
“It’s one of the less risky ways of deploying the technology and it’s interesting that only now Apple, the biggest company in the world is starting to explore this.
“One of the things we’ve done as a company working with the technology is to put guardrails in place to constrain the large language models we work with and ensure they are only ingesting and answering questions on the correct material.
“We have a good solution for that, where when the AI is giving a generative answer, it gives a reference for the information.
“While everybody working in this space is interested in the development of general intelligence, for us there are two other areas that are particularly relevant.
“The first is voicebots.
“For years we’ve been able to talk to our devices and dictate messages – people are getting more used to that and it’s improved over the years but some of the technology we’re seeing now is able to have much more natural conversations with people.
“You can pause and interrupt, as though you’re talking to a person.
“We’re doing some beta testing of this for one of our customers around that. It looks promising, but it’s got a way to go.
“The other aspect is about bringing in other media to interactions.
“We’re already seeing AI systems that generate images and video, but soon they will be able to make sense of them, answer questions about them and adapt them.
“All this stuff exists today, but it’s going to accelerate quite quickly, and that’s going to be part of the mix.
“The model’s going to be about much more than text – serving customers and employees with all sorts of other media to help people have very natural conversations.
“We are starting to work with customers on augmented reality, where they’ll create a customer experience in a virtual world.
“Augmented reality will plug into what we do, so that’s why it’s important to be working with customers now – we have to take a long-term view.
“As a company with no investment we’ve been able to do that over the past 21 years.
“Our team is incredible, many of them have been with me on the whole journey – you don’t get many chances in life to create a new sector in business and be a global success.”
In one important sense, or lack of it, In The Dark is a tough sell.
That’s because, despite positively fizzing with enthusiasm for the project, founder and director Andrea Cockerton can’t talk much about the actual content of its forthcoming performances in anything other than general terms.
To do so, would be to shatter the secrecy and ruin the experience.
What she can tell me is the basics.
In The Dark aims to do for music, what celebrated pitch black dining experience Dans Le Noir has been doing for food since the early noughties in Clerkenwell.
“In a way, watching people performing is a distraction,” said Andrea.
“You’re looking at them, at the other audience members, perhaps checking the time.
“I wondered what would happen if you took that away?
“When you can see, you’re processing a great deal of visual information.
“But, with sound surrounding you in the dark, your brain does all kinds of different things.”
Performers play in the dark, with audience members wearing eye masks to minimise distraction
the origins of In The Dark
Andrea, a pianist, composer, and arts entrepreneur, developed the idea initially for large-scale musical collective
We Are Sound, a group she founded in Cambridge that puts on “gloriously chaotic” gigs featuring more than 120 amateur performers.
“We’d done quite a few shows in London at Scala, Union Chapel, Bush Hall and loads in Cambridge,” she said.
“It was with that group that I was trying to think about what else we could do.
“So I told them we were going to do some shows in darkness.
“The idea was that it would be a really great experience both for learning music and for performing.
“I put the tickets on sale and they sold out within half an hour. We added extra shows and they just kept selling.
“Each performance was about 30 minutes and the feedback was phenomenal. Normally, with music you don’t get much but it came flowing back to us.
“People were saying it was the most extraordinary experience, that they would never forget it.
“Audiences found it profoundly moving.”
In The Dark’s 2025 season includes dates under the hull of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich
pushing forward In The Dark
Just as Andrea, who studied music at Cambridge before spending time in the world of business, and the project was getting into its stride, the pandemic arrived and upset things.
“I knew by our final performance that I wanted to try In The Dark with professional musicians because I thought it had the potential for a wider run, perhaps in the West End,” she said.
“It’s taken five years for two reasons.
“Firstly, I was very sick with Covid and Long Covid and secondly I was diagnosed with cancer.
“I’m OK now and I’m back up to full speed – I felt this needed to happen and I’ve never been someone who doesn’t follow my dreams.
“So then it was a case of finding some venues and a group of musicians.”
In The Dark, featuring Andrea’s Hush Collective, is set for a run of performances at St Bartholomew The Great in Smithfield, Trinity Buoy Wharf in Leamouth and a couple of shows under the hull of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich in celebration of Burns Night.
But why seek out characterful venues at all, if audiences can’t even see them?
“While the shows differ slightly in format depending on the venue, what’s common to all of them is that they are in beautiful buildings, beautiful settings,” said Andrea.
“People have a little bit of time to enjoy that before sitting down.
“It’s a calm, slightly visceral atmosphere.
“People are given masks and they put them on before the show begins.
“The acoustics are an important factor in the choice of venue too – it’s 99% unplugged so you need some kind of resonance.
“While the audience don’t see the performers, there’s quite a lot of movement too, which changes the sound and the experience for the listeners, so we need space for that to happen.
“There are no monitors, no metronome clicks for the musicians, no conductor – nothing – and that’s both risky and extraordinary for the performers.
“It’s all done through rehearsal – the players have to know the material well enough so they know exactly what’s going to happen and when.
“As an audience member you’re not seeing how you respond, and as a performer you’re not seeing how you perform – there’s this fantastic freedom and that’s why people have responded to it so well.
“It really is magical, I’d listen to a performance like this every night if I could.”
Audiences cannot see the musicians who are playing for them at an In The Dark performance
revealed at the end
Audiences only see members of the Hush Collective at the end of the performance, when details of the programme are also revealed.
Without endangering those precious secrets, we can at least say there might be elements of ambient, Scandi, nu-folk and experimental music with hints of electronic and classical thrown in for good measure.
Beyond the music itself, there’s another dimension to In The Dark, which Andrea hopes to develop and grow beyond this run of performances.
“If this goes well in London, the aim is to take it into Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries,” she said.
“Part of our ethos is to pay our musicians fairly – we want to do things right for people working on the project.
“Some years ago I set up The Dosoco Foundation to support music related projects and we’ve given out about £20,000 over the years to a variety of initiatives.
“We’ll be giving 5% of the profits from In The Dark to that organisation to help fund it.”
key details: In The Dark
In The Dark performances in east London are set to take place at St Bartholomew The Great in Smithfield on various dates and times from January 16, 2025, and at The Chain Store at Trinity Buoy Wharf in Leamouth from March 20.
Tickets start at £35.
The Cutty Sark will host two shows on January 25, 2025, at 7.15pm and 9.15pm.
Those visiting the 19 artworks, spread across Canary Wharf for this year’s Winter Lights festival will also have the opportunity to discover the area’s extensive food and drink offering – we all need refreshment, especially if there’s a wintry nip in the air.
Due to the event’s popularity, we’re encouraging visitors to secure their tables early to ensure the best experience possible.
With more than 80 cafés, bars and restaurants – including many tempting openings since last year’s festival – warmth and welcome await across the neighbourhood.
Here we’ve selected venues catering for a range of options during the festival, with places close to all of the installations, so those planning a route can find a place to relax, refresh and reflect on the experience with family or friends.
After a spell touring the installations, what better way to dazzle a date than with a table at one of the neighbourhood’s many romantic spots. Here are a few suggestions, but get in early as bookings will be going fast…
Tucked away on Mackenzie Walk beside permanent artwork The Clew, Humble Grape offers a fully stocked wine menu and a broad selection of small plates and larger dishes that are ideal for sharing.
Also off the beaten path is Kricket, a recent opening on the estate but one that certainly has the wow-factor. Minimal but warm, this restaurant serves up Indian cuisine. Our top tip is to book seats at the counter to watch the chefs work and get service straight from the bartenders.
Also on our list is No. 35 Mackenzie Walk, a restaurant and bar overlooking Eden Dock that has a relaxed, chic vibe. This one’s perfect after gazing down into Illusion Hole in the dark waters.
For a showstopper option, why not book a table at Roe at Wood Wharf. Located by the waterside at the base of One Park Drive, the restaurant offers a rich selection of small plates, skewers, flatbreads, larger dishes and more featuring ingredients such as snails, venison and cuttlefish. An adventure on the plate to rival the journey through the festival.
Wharf Kitchen is located in Jubilee Place
for families
Winter Lights has something for everyone in the family to enjoy and there are plenty of venues in Canary Wharf that cater for kids and adults alike.
Wahaca at Park Pavilion, for example, enjoyed a complete interior refit in 2024 and offers a kids menu with a range of dishes, puzzles and games to keep little ones entertained while they’re waiting to build their own tacos.
Pizza is a tried and tested crowd-pleaser and Franco Manca’s sourdough offerings come in adult and kids sizes. The Canary Wharf restaurant is located at Crossrail Place beside two of the estate’s permanent light installations.
Those heading down into Jubilee Place can stop off at Wharf Kitchen, a market hall-style dining area with street food traders such as Thunderbird, iThai, Biang, Argentinian Grill, Indi-go and Poke House serving up flavours from around the world. This is perfect for families who like a wide variety of dishes and cuisines to choose from.
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta serves up warm bowls of fresh pasta and sauce at its Wood Wharf branch, which overlooks Harbour Quay Gardens. The restaurant will also be hosting a grab-and-go pop-up during the festival for those who don’t wish to sit down.
Located in Cabot Place, Atrium Kitchen offers a selection of casual dining and takeaway restaurants for people after rapid refreshment. Visitors can expect kids to find a warm welcome at the likes of Nando’s, Marugame Udon, Zizzi, Gallio, Burger King and German Doner Kebab.
Pho in Jubilee Place boasts a wealth of plant-based options
for veganuary
Those following a plant-based diet, whether for the first month of the year or on an ongoing basis, will find a wealth of options to delight their tastebuds on the menus of Canary Wharf’s restaurants.
Among our top picks for this section is Mallow, a restaurant that only serves plant-based dishes at its Wood Wharf branch on Water Street. Colourful, sustainable and flavourful, there’s even a Veganuary tasting menu available until January 31, 2025, with four courses promising a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine.
Head to Crossrail Place and you’ll also find plenty of temptations at Sticks’n’Sushi. For group bookings, the restaurant offers its Yasai plant-based menu with five courses, plus loads of a la carte options too.
Our final tip is to visit Vietnamese restaurant Pho in Jubilee Place. This consistently popular spot specialises in the dish it takes its name from, with two vegan versions to choose between. But there’s plenty more on the menu too, including curries and soups made with tofu, plant-based ‘chicken’ or mushrooms.
Find Pergola On The Wharf at Crossrail Place Roof Garden
for groups
One of the best ways to enjoy the festival is to visit in a group. Canary Wharf boasts a wide range of venues that cater for larger bookings to help break up the evening when discovering the installations.
Market Halls, an extensive collection of bars and street food traders located opposite the Elizabeth Line’s western exit, makes an ideal meeting point. While walk-ins are available, bookings are highly advised as this is a popular venue.
Located a little further up the dock is Blacklock in Frobisher Passage. Specialising in chops and roasts, this restaurant offers plenty of sharing options, the venue presents an opportunity to escape the crowds for relaxed dining and drinking beneath the DLR tracks.
If it’s serious size you’re looking for, Pergola On The Wharf, located at Crossrail Place Roof Garden has a maximum capacity of 700 and promises a botanical paradise strewn with flowers, ferns and vines.
For those who prefer a more central location, The Parlour in Park Pavilion offers plenty of room for larger groups, a wide selection of drinks and casual dining options on the edge of Canada Square.
Then there’s MMy Wood Wharf, which in addition to its inside street food market will be curating a series of pop-ups in Harbour Quay Gardens. Booking ahead is especially advised if you’re hoping to secure one of its popular outdoor igloos during Winter Lights or just to ensure plenty of table space for a larger group. This makes a great stop-off point after seeing PORTAL in Union Square.
Chai Guys recently opened in Canada Place
for hot drinks
OK, you can’t exactly book these spots, but one of the essentials for Winter Lights is knowing exactly where to get top quality hot drinks from and there are lots of options…
Recently opened, Chai Guys, brews up fine spiced, warming drinks from its base in Canada Place. In addition to selling takeaway cups, the business also offers tins of its signature blends.
Head down into Canada Place mall and find Joe Blake’s opposite Waitrose for coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
Badiani will also be trading from its three locations in Cabot Place, MMy Wood Wharf and Canada Place, offering hot drinks alongside its speciality Italian gelato for those who enjoy an extra chill.
Well located for installations at both Montgomery Square and Union Square, 640 East offers a range of warming drinks as well as beers, wines and spirits at its two Wharf locations.
Check of The Cube at Wood Wharf
do more…
While drinking and dining are a key part of enjoying Winter Lights, there’s a great deal more to do in the area.
For families with kids, Flip Out offers subterranean entertainment until 8pm each evening.
For 2025, there will be a total of 12 temporary artworks on show, combining with seven permanent pieces making a total of 19 for visitors to discover.
But when the electrons start flowing to create all those photons for our eager eyeballs to absorb, one work in particular will be shining for east London and beyond.
Commissioned by Canary Wharf Group for the festival, Stitching Light is the result of collaboration between Emergency Exit Arts (EEA), artist Ruhul Abdin in Bangladesh and Oitiji-jo.
The piece draws on the stories and experiences of British Bangladeshi women who migrated to the UK early in their adult lives.
The resulting installation will be placed at Wren Landing during Winter Lights.
the genesis of Stitching Light
“We work with hundreds of different arts practitioners and what we’ve noticed with lights festivals is that the pieces featured are often very beautiful but there may not have been participation or much of a story behind them,” said Daniel Bernstein, CEO of EEA.
“Often the artists involved in light pieces are white men, so we’re always interested in bringing in different stories and greater depth to the work.”
With Ruhul in place as creative director, work on the project began with workshops run by freelance artist Shama Kun via the Oitiji-jo Collective at Republic in Blackwall.
running the workshops
“I run a lot of sessions with the Bangladeshi community, dealing with crafts, so I’d bonded with the women locally,” said Shama.
“With this project, I realised that we had never looked into the stories of the mums and aunties.
“So we provided a safe space and invited them to contribute.
“We tried to be relaxed about it, having tea, a conversation, so the process started with that.
“We asked them to bring memorable objects, so the stories could start from there, then we drew maps, starting with their childhoods and what the transition to Britain was like.
“One thing that came out was they described their lifestyles as a rainbow.
“They said that their lives started as colourful, really amazing, and then their transition to here was a rollercoaster, not knowing people – it was a struggle.
“In the community we’ve relied on these women but haven’t looked in depth into their stories.
“They opened up for this project because they felt safe.
“They came here very vulnerable, without any support and talked about many things including being the victims of racism – that trauma is still there.
“After the workshops I realised I am here today because of their sacrifices, that we are resilient because of their resilience.
“This was a platform for them to tell their stories and I hope there will be more spaces like this for them to do that in future.
“We recorded the conversations – lots of discussions about their favourite foods, colours, smells and more – before turning over the material to Ruhul.”
An artist’s impression of how Stitching Light will look at Canary Wharf Winter Lights
a piece for Canary Wharf Winter Lights
That work formed the basis of the finished piece – a series of three metre-high fabric panels with illuminated thread stitched into the design which will be displayed in a 3D structure allowing visitors to walk through and around the work.
“What you see are very beautiful, soft, subtle layers of the stories we were told,” said Ruhul.
“The panels are stitched and painted with a sound piece to accompany them reflecting some of the women’s thoughts and stories, the songs they sang and the songs they like.
“We worked with a folk artist to translate some of these ideas into Bangla-inspired paintings which would then be taken back to London – it was back-and-forth between Bangladesh and the UK.
“For me it’s important to have this piece on display in Canary Wharf because Tower Hamlets has hosted so many generations of Bangladeshis now – there is a need to be visible beyond the brown person walking our streets.
“There is also the multicultural aspect of London and this is a nice way to celebrate something without it being a research project or an academic exercise.
“We’re creating art together and it’s a beautiful way of highlighting who the women were and are, and the potential of art to begin to make some of these nuanced changes as Canary Wharf itself continues to evolve.”
representation at Canary Wharf Winter Lights
Daniel added: “Being part of Winter Lights its really important for the participants in the workshops and for the people making the work.
“From an audience perspective, there are going to be layers.
“Perhaps half of the visitors will walk through the piece and be impressed by the lights and the images – but they may not understand the Bangla script on the panels, although there will be a panel explaining the work.
“Hopefully, anyone from a Bangladeshi background will come to the piece and see themselves represented. It’s quite subtle.”
Shama said one of the most important parts of the project was to celebrate the local community.
“There is so much out there for us to learn from our past generations,” she said.
“These women might not boast that they have done this or that, but they have silently achieved things and we need to carry their flag.”
Ruhul added: “One of the biggest takeaways is the potential to hope that this work will continue.
“I have spoken to a colleague who is a Bangladeshi migrant elsewhere and they said how crucial it was to understand things from the elders.
“It is important to see that Stitching Light is inspiring, so the next generation want to understand more about who they are, where their families have come from – especially those of us who are not white British, but it’s vital for everyone.”
Emergency Exit Arts was founded in 1980 as an artists’ collective aspiring to make a positive difference to people’s lives – especially those who have suffered discrimination or economic exclusion.
It has been based in Greenwich for more than 35 years.
Wave by Squidsoup will be in place at Columbus Courtyard
top tips for the festival
Canary Wharf Winter Lights is set for a blockbuster turn, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the estate over its 12-day run.
We sat down with Canary Wharf Group’s associate curator of Arts And Events, Lowri Harries, and Arts And Events manager, Camilla McGregor, to get a few tips on what to look out for…
LH: Vendel And De Wolf are back in Westferry Circus with Error – an upside down pylon with a tornado of lights around it, 13 metres in the air.
Last year they created a piece called Sign, which looked like a huge fire.
They specialise in taking mass produced materials and using them to depict natural phenomena.
For Error, they’ve used technology to give the piece a random element, reflecting the idea that both nature and machines can go wrong.
CM:I’m looking forward to seeing Portal in the flesh. It will be a 13 metre-high mirrored doorway in Union Square that visitors can walk through.
I think the scale and magnitude of it will make people feel quite small in comparison and also acts as a piece to frame the Wharf with great sight lines though it to other parts of the estate.
It’s one of the largest pieces we’ve ever hosted and it’s definitely something new.
LH: I’m also especially looking forward to seeing Aj Vana Be by Benedikt Tola – it’s essentially a stack of 32 reclaimed bathtubs that have been taken from socialist-era residential buildings by the Czech artist.
It draws attention to the scarcity of water.
Even though washing is an an everyday act, it draws attention to that privilege.
CM: Putting Winter Lights on is essentially a year-long process.
A month after it’s finished, we begin work on the next edition, sending out an open call for artists and organisations to contribute.
Then we start looking for work to feature.
LH: It feels really lovely when we see people enjoying the installations.
I think visitors really treasure a free event in January with people coming from the local community and from further afield.
As with Stitching Light, we’re looking to work with and take inspiration from the local community more and more – we want everyone to feel comfortable coming here.
This is a place for everyone.
Canary Wharf Winter Lights will feature seven permanent installations including The Clew alongside the 12 temporary works
key details: Canary Wharf Winter Lights
Canary Wharf Winter Lights is set to run daily from January 21-February 1, 2025, 5pm-10pm, with 19 installations to discover across the estate.
Speed is of the essence when it comes to the new model with the business laser-focused on delivering food in minutes to suit Londoners’ busy lives.
Dez Amore operates on two sites in Canary Wharf including this kiosk at Reuters Plaza
speeding up the process
“In Italy, when I used to sit down with my grandfather, we started with antipasto, then primo, then secundo, then contorno – the minimum was three hours for a meal,” said Leonardo.
“Now a sit-down meal can be 45 minutes and we want to reduce this to 20. The food culture is completely different now.
“The time to eat is very short.
“Even though the pandemic has made things more difficult for a business like ours, we think there’s a niche there.
“We offer two very popular kinds of food – pasta for the Italian and burger for the American – and we’re about convenience.
“It might be that people coming home from work simply want an easy life so come to us to eat – we want to make life easy for our customers.
“Perhaps a mum with three children will bring them to eat at Dez Amore for some healthy pasta.
“It’s not fast food, but it is good food that is fast. Our customers understand quality and why it’s important.
“We import ingredients from Italy to ensure the quality.
“We make everything from scratch in our central kitchen so that it’s as fresh as possible when we serve it, but also so that we can do it quickly.
“We are only satisfied when our customers are satisfied.
“It’s about reducing the time to finalise the dishes rather than cutting the preparation time.
“With a sauce, for example, we put in the proper time to make it so that it only takes a minute to finish it in the branch.
“We’ve also moved to smash burgers, which are faster to prepare and serve so customers have less waiting.
“People eat our food at different times. Pasta is more of a sit-down dish, but you can eat a burger anywhere, even while you’re working.
“In Canary Wharf, Wood Wharf is more of a sit-down option, while the kiosk is grab and go.
“We actually see an increase in burger sales after 6pm as people like to have them with a beer.
“With both offerings now in our shops, we’re looking ahead to 2025 and we want to open two or three more locations.
“London is the best city in the world and we want to grow here.”
Just as Canary Wharf is evolving, so too are its oldest retailers.
Nicolas has been selling wine on the estate since the 1990s.
Its cosy, bistro-style bar long delivered servings of French flavours and seclusion in the lower level of One Canada Square.
But things move on and 2024 has brought a completely fresh direction for the store.
“The original concept worked well for us back then, but the estate has changed and there are lots of restaurants and bars with outdoor space now,” said Mark Connolly, buyer and training manager at Nicolas UK.
“It was our only bar in London and, with the refurbishment, we wanted to celebrate what we do best – being a wine merchant.
“With the bar gone, it’s really allowed us to open up the store space.
“We’ve got full window displays and there’s plenty of light coming into the branch.
“We’ve changed the way the bottles are displayed – they’re nicely spread out now and it’s really easy to see where everything is.
“For Nicolas it’s a showcase store.
“We’ve been able to increase the range we offer with an improved fine wine selection and more for customers to choose from.”
Nicolas UK’s Mark Connolly
Nicolas: a radical change
As a retail space, it’s a radical change from the previously cramped corner at the entrance to the shop.
Walk in now and a long vista of pale wood awaits. Bottles relax at jaunty angles in plenty of space on the ample shelving.
Recalling wooden wine cases, Nicolas’ logo is burnt into the timber, giving visitors the feeling of entering a cellar in a chateau after a tour of some excellent vineyards.
None of this is happen-stance, it’s by design.
“We’ve certainly gone for a more premium look,” said Mark.
“We’ve dispensed with the dark red and yellow of the old store for a much lighter, airier feel.
“There’s no more dark-stained wood.
“It’s a much more welcoming space with a large entrance and big open windows so passers-by can easily see in.
“The layout has been designed for browsing – there’s freedom to walk around and for our staff to provide advice, guiding customers to the perfect wine.
“The main purpose was to make the bottle the hero, while ensuring we’re just that bit more approachable.
“We are a French wine specialist, so it makes sense to have the best French wines available – people demand that – and this new layout allows us to offer a wide selection.
“Our range is something that evolves all the time and there’s lots of exciting wines we can bring here now.
“The bottles are displayed by region with red, white, rosé and sparkling from a particular area grouped together.
“If you look at Bordeaux, you’ll have your classic red wines, but you’ll also have classic white wines, so customers can explore.
“Things can become a bit regimented if you categorise wine by colour or kind.
“We know that people often come in with a good idea of what they’re looking for – now they can go straight to that region and see the wines laid out in front of them.”
new facilities and more to come
Perhaps the most consequential change for the store’s refit, however is the provision of new facilities and the promise of even more.
Complementing the extended wine offering, a new brightly-lit space has been created.
“The really exciting thing is that we now have a large tasting room with a glass door so customers can see into it from the shop,” said Mark.
“It can be open for people to explore or closed off for private events.
“It will easily hold around 30 guests and we’re planning a full schedule for 2025 with lots of masterclasses, tastings and other events.
“I am thrilled about what we can now offer to our customers with this facility.
“It has a large TV screen on the wall too, so we’ll be able to offer virtual tastings live from winemakers in other locations.
“Further to the tasting room, if our plans work out we’re hoping to have a smoking room as well for customers to try cigars.
“We’ve always sold plenty of cigars, but this is about offering something a bit more special.
“There aren’t many places that offer this kind of service – only one other on the Wharf and not many in the whole country – so it’s a way customers can linger and perhaps try some spirits along with their cigars.
“We’ll also be making that space and the tasting room itself available for hire for private events.”
investment in Canary Wharf
Alongside the likes of long-standing retailers Waitrose and Holland And Barrett, Nicolas sees Canary Wharf as worthy of investment – a result of increasing footfall and interest in the estate.
“We’ve been here historically and have built up a bit of a following within Canary Wharf,” said Mark. “But the other aspect to our decision to refit the store is that we know there is money here.
“There are lots of businesses with people who are looking for something fine, whether that’s gifts or simply a bottle to take home.
“This project is about meeting those expectations and providing something really special for people in Canary Wharf.
“We now need to spread the word to let people know we’ve evolved and are offering something better.
“We’re looking forward to serving everybody who comes in now that we have the ideal store to do it in.”
Mark, who has been with Nicolas for some 13 years, is the man responsible for deciding what goes on the shelves of its UK stores.
“We offer many French wines, of course, but also source some from the UK as well as exciting varieties from the US, Italy and Spain,” he said.
“It’s my job to make sure we’ve got the right range so that customers know they can still come in and pick up a nice Barollo or a Rioja.
“In terms of popularity it’s very much reds from Bordeaux and reds and whites from Burgundy, but we also have some really exciting wines from places like south-west France, the Languedoc and grands cru from Alsace.
“There’s plenty to explore.”
RECOMMENDED FOR CHRISTMAS 2024
Mark’s festive picks from the shelves of Nicolas Canary Wharf
With Christmas fast approaching, we asked Mark to select three wines from Nicolas’ range that would be versatile enough to please everyone on December 25 and handle the traditional feast and trimmings…
“This Pouilly-Fumé has a real mineral clarity to it, plus a little bit more body to match up well with turkey or salmon,” said Mark
Drinkers will find the aroma of dried flowers and salted butter caramel when opening this bottle before experiencing notes of cinnamon, cloves and candied ginger
“There’s a real difference between renting from a private landlord and from a build-to-rent company,” said Amelia Polowyj of Native Residential, the company British Land has engaged to manage its Alma scheme at Aldgate East.
The sharp angles of its triangular tower on the corner of Whitechapel High Street and Commercial Road house some 159 apartments, each available to let for up to 24 months.
Sprinkled with a wealth of amenities, it’s a 24/7 operation with its own bespoke scent and work on its walls from local artists.
“One of the benefits is having a dedicated team on-site you can speak to face-to-face if there are any issues in the property,” said Amelia, Alma’s general manager.
“As build-to-rent becomes a bigger part of the market as it has done in America, it will showcase why it’s a good option.
“For example, we have people moving from overseas who aren’t familiar with London, so having someone on reception who can recommend their favourite restaurant or local service is great.
“That joins up the dots and isn’t something you can find in private rental.”
It’s a topic that Amelia is passionate about having moved from the world of retail to property.
Initially she managed high-end student accommodation and then build-to-rent properties in and around Manchester.
Native Residential’s Amelia Polowyj, general manager at Alma
delivering on customer service at Alma
“It was while I was at Vita Living that a resident handed me a letter on her final day with us,” said Amelia.
“She wanted to convey how much it had meant to her that from her very first week I’d remembered her name and apartment number when she came to talk to us.
“That was so impactful to me – that something I would describe as simply good customer service, had meant so much to her. It demonstrates the kind of service people can expect.”
Amelia said that while people in rental schemes in Manchester were largely waiting to buy, the London market at developments like Alma was different.
“People here are very content to rent as a choice,” she said. “Alma, for instance, is very much at the upper end of the market.
“We provide as much of a tailored experience here as is humanly possible – it’s a premium living product.
“We’re the first operator to launch in Aldgate East and will be 25% occupied by the end of the year. Every apartment comes with a full suite of integrated appliances.
“There are American-style fridge-freezer, wine coolers, comfort cooling, washer-dryers and underfloor heating in the bathrooms.
“All of the appliances are smart so you can control them from your phone – turning on your oven while you’re on your commute so it’s ready to cook when you get home.
“The homes all have either a winter garden or terrace depending on the layout, the former offering tenants the best of both worlds and making the space a genuine extension of the apartment.
“The architects have been careful to ensure all bedrooms are a good size to cater for people who are sharing.
“The furniture, which is included in the price alongside Samsung Smart TVs, has been designed and curated so as not to overwhelm the rooms.
“The designers have really thought about the logistics – how someone’s going to use the space.”
Apartments at Alma feature bedrooms designed to cater for tenants who are sharing the property
residents’ facilities
Beyond each apartment, the development offers a wide selection of facilities for residents to use.
There’s an expansive triangular roof terrace complete with sun loungers and views towards the City and the East End, a lounge for relaxation that doubles as a private kitchen and dining room and a screening room for when the Samsung TV isn’t quite enough.
There’s also a small gym and a shared workspace on the ground floor with bookable pods for those who need privacy.
Alma is pet-friendly, with no extra charges for those who like to live with animals and boasts its own service app with features such as dry cleaning and dog walking.
“Everything’s been thought through in great detail, even if residents won’t necessarily notice immediately,” said Amelia.
“The furniture in the apartments and the communal areas is all sustainable and has been designed to be easily repairable should the need arise.”
Besides the facilities, Alma’s greatest attraction is perhaps its location.
The Monopoly board is looking very much out of date, with Whitechapel an increasingly desirable part of town thanks to its walking-distance proximity to the City, extensive regeneration locally and impressive transport links resulting from the arrival of the Elizabeth Line.
The latter offers a three-minute connection to Canary Wharf after a 10-minute walk and a direct route to much of central London as well as Heathrow Airport.
The scheme is also within walking distance of the Square Mile’s offices, the vibrancy of Shoreditch and the historic sites of Tower Hill.
The development boasts an expansive, shared roof terrace – image Tom Bird
work-life balance at Alma
“More than ever, especially following the pandemic, people are starting to understand the value of work-life balance,” said Amelia.
“Having the ease of a 10-minute walk to and from work is a massive positive.
“And there’s so much to do in the local area – we have a community host who has set up a network of neighbourhood heroes so our residents can get benefits from local businesses.
“Right now it’s about getting the Alma brand out there.
“We have a cap on the number of students we’ll take as tenants at about 20% because we want to ensure a mix with professionals in the building.
“We already have quite a few corporate clients and we’re aiming for a nice balance, with short stays also available on the 11th floor so people can try out life at Alma.”
Part of the communal suite of residents’ facilities at Alma
key details: Alma
Alma is located on the corner of Whitechapel High Street and Commercial Road close to Aldgate East Tube Station.
The build-to-rent development comprises 159 apartments with prices starting at £2,950 per month for a studio.
One-beds start at £3,325, while two and three-beds are £4,172 and £5,488 respectively.
The duplex penthouse is currently on the market for rent at just under £10,000.
From a very young age, it was clear Pauline Suarez would be a teacher.
“Even at three years old, my mum remembers me lining up my teddies and teaching them how to read and write,” she said.
“However, they were very poor achievers.
“It was something in me – I knew what I wanted to do. I’ve always had a passion for nurturing people and I really wanted to help the world.”
Having grown up in “a very small village in Canada”, Pauline studied education at the University Of Saskatchewan before seeking a position overseas.
She interviewed for a role in Mexico, but only found out she’d got it by letter 12 weeks after she’d already started teaching in London.
“I came to be a supply teacher in primary schools,” she said.
“I actually didn’t take it all that seriously.
“I really wanted the Mexican job and I think London was probably the worst interview of my life.
“But I got the job, I loved it and I thrived.
“My first job was at De Beavoir school in Hackney – the toughest, roughest school I had ever seen.
“The kids were on the tables, totally out of control.
“I called my mum in the first week and told her it was awful and that I was moving home.
“But that was in 2000, it’s 2024 now and I’m living and working in Canary Wharf.
“London is like a woman and you either love her or hate her.
“I’m madly in love with her. This is an amazing city – it just has everything.”
born of experience
Working initially in Southwark before moving to Tower Hamlets and a stint in South Africa, Pauline’s career has see her accrue a great deal of experience in inner-city education.
Before embarking on a new venture, she worked extensively at Malmesbury Primary School in Mile End and most recently at Harbinger Primary School on the Isle Of Dogs.
“I was a phenomenal teacher,” said Pauline.
“But teaching 30 children each day and working long hours left me more and more disillusioned with the education system.
“It was about having everything written down rather than adapting to the child’s needs.”
Having initially started tutoring while still teaching, she decided to leave the classroom in 2022 and try something different.
“I wanted a change,” said Pauline.
“It was a time in my life when I couldn’t get assurance of regular work as a teacher – they would just call when they needed someone, a bit like a zero hours contract.
“I felt like a swan – calm on the surface but frantically paddling under the water.
“So I decided to take on a franchise with tutoring company Conexus.
“Only around 16% of businesses in London are owned by women, so that’s one reason I wanted to do this.
“I started the franchise for the Canary Wharf area in January and I’m so grateful for the support I’ve had – everyone has wanted to help.”
Conexus Tuition Canary Wharf: Isle Of Dogs sessions
“It was started by a woman called Sharon Cawley – a teacher who had a breakdown, a broken marriage and was living with two kids in a council flat on benefits.
“She realised she could tutor to make a living and discovered that teaching them in small groups worked really well.
“That’s backed up by the research from the Education Endowment Foundation, which found that this kind of environment allows children to learn more over the course of a year than one-to-one.
“Sharon was teaching English and found out that many of her students were also going to see a maths tutor.
“She decided to hire one herself and that’s where Conexus was born.
“The company provides small group learning from top quality tutors.
“Each knows their subject really well – we only hire specialists because you need that in-depth knowledge.”
Pauline’s franchise offers online sessions from £20 or in-person classes from £23 on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.
the benefits of tuiotion
She said: “I don’t believe there’s a child on the planet who wouldn’t benefit from having a tutor.
“Tutoring embeds learning and allows your child to get to grips with their education.
“The school system is overloaded.
“There’s too little money and, in a traditional classroom, the average student might only be spending three minutes with a teacher during a lesson. Tutoring is an investment.
“If a child is top of their class, they often need a push to achieve their potential.
“Equally, if they’re struggling, then they need support. It’s being able to adapt to the child’s needs.
“One small thing can affect them and a tutor has the time to find out what that is and deal with it.
“Children can be terrified of saying the wrong thing or making a mistake.
“I had a child two weeks ago who had been over-tested in school.
“She came in, started learning and she seemed fine, and then she had a panic attack.
“I got her to breathe so that she could calm her nervous system down and then she cried and cried.
“I asked her why she was so upset and she said she’d failed a test in school. I explained to her that as her tutor it was me that had failed if she didn’t know something.
“Now she has the biggest smile and wants to come to our sessions because she knows there’s no judgment.
“In school there’s an exorbitant amount of pressure on these children, and they’re not handling it well.
“We can take away that pressure and we can help them learn. That’s our promise.
“I’ve had phone calls from parents fearful that their child would fail exams and I’m always confident we can get them through.
“One of the mums cries when she sees us – her daughter was failing but ended up getting fours and fives at GCSE and is now training to be dental nurse.
“It feels amazing when you can really change the course of someone’s life – it’s my true purpose.”
key details: Conexus Tuition Canary Wharf
Conexus Tuition Canary Wharf delivers group tutoring sessions at the Barkantine Community Centre each week.
One-to-one and online sessions are also available in children’s homes by arrangement.
Conexus is a member of the Tutors’ Association and is committed to safeguarding with all staff DBS checked every term.
Pauline is also about to launch specialist 11+ Core Classes aimed at helping children in Years 4 and 5 pass entrance examinations for selective secondary schools.
