Interviews - Page 25 of 50

April 19, 2023April 19, 2023

Royal Docks: How The Greenhouse Theatre is set for a run at Thames Barrier Park

Zero waste venue will be a creative hub to house three of the four artistic commissions for Sea Change

The Greenhouse Theatre is set to come to Royal Docks

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There’s about to be a lot going on to the east of Canary Wharf.

The Royal Docks Team (RDT) has officially unveiled its At The Docks programme – an umbrella for numerous events and attractions set to come to fruition in E16 between May and September.

These include the likes of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, the London E-Prix, the Dockyards Summer Series and Newham Heritage Month.

It also includes Sea Change – an RDT collaboration with University College London (UCL) that has seen four new artworks commissioned.

These have been curated by Invisible Dust, which has brought together a quartet of artists with scientists at UCL to respond to the climate crisis.

Finally, after what feels like a blizzard of stakeholders and acronyms, that leads us to May 11-June 4, 2023, when these installations will be available to view for free.

The Greenhouse’s co-founder and artistic director, Oli Savage

Rather than a gallery, however, three of the works will be on show at The Greenhouse Theatre – a zero-waste travelling venue that, even as you read this, is being built at Thames Barrier Park.

Having spent time in Canary Wharf in 2021, it’s a structure typically used as a space for live performances, which has meant a few changes for its latest incarnation.

“We’ll be this really exciting creative hub for those weeks down in Thames Barrier Park – a space where people can engage with the amazing artworks that Invisible Dust has programmed,” said Oli Savage, co-founder and artistic director of The Greenhouse Theatre.

“Physically, this is the same venue – built from recycled materials – but there will also be some new spaces for 2023.

“One of the pieces – Flotilla by Melanie Manchot – will be shown in our new screening space, a very lovely repurposed shed.

“We’re also introducing our first zero waste bar on site where people can come and hang out and stay sustainable while they’re having a drink.

“Our message is that the site is open – we’re encouraging people to come down and enjoy all the things that are on offer.

“We want to make it a space that people really want to come and spend time in.”

The core of Sea Change will be four artworks, with three housed at The Greenhouse.

Biotopes by Simon Faithfull explores habitats with the artist using 3D printed sculptures of his body adapted for other species to reside in.

Power In by Dana Olărescu promises an exploration of energy equity with input from local people.

Manchot’s Flotilla comprises a film of local women afloat on boats on the night time waters of the Royal Docks, inspired by the history of protests for equality in the area.

The fourth artwork – The Waves Are Rising by Raqs Media Collective – will be viewable at Royal Victoria Dock and sees an augmented reality wave superimposed over live video footage of the still waters in front of City Hall. All are free to access.

Sea Change will also include Forecast 2023 on May 19, 2023 – a symposium during which writers, artists, scientists and cultural commentators can explore the nature of stories and how they might shape the planet’s future.

A full schedule of events is set to be announced soon. As part of the overall programme, The Greenhouse will be hosting a free youth festival on May 14, 2023, aimed at people aged 14-30.

“This will be a full day with workshops, events and refreshments available,” said Oli.

“There will be live music too and this is very much by and for people aged 14-30 – we’d love a great crowd of young people along to come and hang out with us.

“In fact we want as many people to come down and see us as possible throughout our time here. It is a lovely, lovely park on the river and right beside the Thames Barrier itself – an iconic piece of architecture, so we’re really lucky to be there.

“There’s also a fantastic community locally, which we’re really excited to engage with and serve.”

The Greenhouse Theatre is also expecting to return to Canary Wharf in June before heading to Battersea in August.

“We’re expecting the Wharf run to go ahead, which will be a return to theatrical programming with a festival feel,” said Oli.

“We’ll have two or three shows each day – a range of different fringe artists – alongside headline show To The Ocean, which will be on at 7pm.

“It’s a modern retelling of the Selkie myth – a musical about how we connect with each other, with family and with the natural world.

“It will feature original music and it’s all about a young girl’s journey to find herself who on her 16th birthday discovers her dad hasn’t been entirely truthful about where she’s from.

“She sets out on a mythical, magical journey to the ocean to meet her mother and discover her roots.

“One of the really exciting things is we’ll be holding open rehearsals people can come to for free while we’re in Royal Docks as well as preview performances at a reduced rate from June 2-4, 2023.”

The Waves Are Rising by Raqs Media Collective

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

April 19, 2023April 19, 2023

Canary Wharf: How One Touch Collective brings something fresh to Cabot Place

Cory Saunders has brought together a community of artists, enthusiasts, designers and retailers

One Touch Collective co-founder Cory Saunders

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Cory Saunders is a singular man, driven, a trailblazer, a one-off.

But the co-founder of One Touch Collective is paradoxically anything but insular.

He’s all about building and growing a community, showcasing and celebrating others’ talents.

That individuality, however, is worn proudly – not least in the Cabot Place unit he took on as a pop-up, now extended due to demand.

“At heart it’s an independent concession store,” he said.

“We source high-end brands but we also specialise in premium sneakers, creative artwork and developing brands.

“We keep it like a hub – it’s more than a store – we’re building a community for the marathon not the sprint.”

Co-founded with his mum’s nephew, Kyle Wynter, One Touch is unquestionably about people – artists, traders, enthusiasts and like-minded folk whose energy and products come together in the space.

It’s a radically different retail experience to shopping at a shiny high street store and Canary Wharf Group deserve recognition for adding a fresh ingredient into its blend of shops.

“It all started from my mother,” said Cory. “I was quite privileged as a child – a lot of my clothing came from Bond Street.

The One Touch Collective store in Cabot Place’s lower level

“So the eye I have today – how I look at things, fashion, clothing and toys – it’s all from what my mother provided for me.

“She was into clothes and before she was pregnant with me, she got into the London College Of Fashion but didn’t end up attending.

“To this day, I bring her with me to get my clothes if I’m going out, she has got that eye, my father too.”

Cory’s journey in fashion began around 2008 when he decided to drop corporate work in favour of customising sneakers – a key component of One Touch in its partnership with trader Hypezeus.

“I don’t class this store as mine, it’s for everyone,” said Cory.

“I curate it. I open the door for each individual brand to do what they need to do.

The store stocks a range of collectibles as well as clothing

“If they don’t want to step on it, then that’s down to them. If people want to embrace it, they can.

“When I first came down to see the space at Canary Wharf I thought there would be a big difference to what was here – a shock. But there has been a good response.

“I’m not surprised because what we’re bringing here is the new pop culture of the streets.

“Since we’ve been here people have embraced it and there’s a demand for what we offer.

“Even the majority of people coming to work in Canary Wharf have trainers on their feet – the bowler hat and the suit are gone.

“Our ultimate aim is to be established, but for all the right reasons – to create something that has longevity that’s authentic.

“Our doors are open for everyone and it’s all positive.

Leather jackets by Exhibit 69, on sale at One Touch Collective

“Moving forward I’ll be working with Hypezeus and that’s the plan for this space.

“It’s taken me 10 years to find someone who’s on the same page as me and that’s Chris Ng – the top sneaker seller on TikTok.

“We clicked just like that – we collaborate and it just works. It’s very important to have the right people around you.

“Another example is Mark Anthony, the artist Exhibit 69.

“His work is on another level and we’re proud to stock his hand-painted leather jackets.

“When people come in here we tell them he’s not a fashion designer but an artist.

“The creativity and energy he puts into his work is amazing – I’ve seen people fall on the floor looking at the jackets.”

And that’s really the message.

To feel the vibe at One Touch, the best thing to do is pop down and check it out.

There’s bound to be someone on hand to guide you around its exclusive selection of products you definitely won’t find elsewhere.

Follow @onetouchcollective on Insta

PART OF THE COLLECTIVE

EXHIBIT 69

Artist Mark Anthony works under the name Exhibit 69 and sells his vibrant painted leather jackets at One Touch.

“I use my art to manage my mental health – it calms me,” said Mark.

“The beautiful part for me is when you know someone is wearing one. That’s a proud moment.

“Fashion and art are related and it’s always fun to do something as a group, so I’m very happy to have my jackets for sale here.

“I paint leather jackets because I’ve always liked punk culture – I remember going to Camden and seeing people there.

“I loved their boldness, the DIY attitude and that they didn’t conform to society. I think there’s something beautiful and brave about that.”

Follow @exhibit69 on Insta

HYPEZEUS

Hypezeus sells limited edition sneakers, streetwear, designer clothes and collectables.

“I founded it while I was doing my PhD in mechanical engineering,” said Chris Ng, who has become a top seller of footwear on TikTok and is a key collaborator for One Touch.

“It’s so hard to get hold of limited edition sneakers, but I wanted it to be accessible for everyone – not just people who have connections.

“Initially I built up my own collection and then a lot of my friends were asking me how they could get these shoes.

“I see sneakers as works of art that you can wear.

“I wanted to help create a community where we share the same vision – Cory, Mark, and so on – artists who have a real talent, and that will offer something for everyone, with all price points covered.

“Then we want people to come in so we can tell them the story behind each brand.

“We believe this is very important, because it’s the designers’ artwork, and you want to share that with the customers.

“We also want them to come in and have fun, and discover new brands which people will like, not just the big corporate names that they will also want to see.

“Getting a new pair of sneakers feels like when you’re a young kid and you get the toy you always wanted.

“It’s a fresh feeling because every pair is different but it’s also a bit like a sticker book because you want to complete your collection.

“I’ve lost count of how many pairs I have personally.

“Now it’s about making them available to everyone else.

“Go back 10 years and people who collected trainers were sneaker-heads.

“But now everyone on the street has a pair – this is how the trend is going.

“I clicked with Cory because we share the same vision and want to work as a team to give people what they want.

“That’s what Hypezeus and One Touch Collective are all about”

Follow @hypezeus on Insta

EXODUS PAS DE CE MONDE

Founder Inder Paul Sandhu created the brand as a response to not being able to afford the clothes he wanted.

He makes hats, jackets and scarves – all for sale at One Touch.

“Exodus is from the bible and the French means ‘not of this world’ so there’s a duality in it,” said Inder.

“There’s a coolness and also my spirituality because God has put me here.

“I’m used to being misunderstood, underestimated, so that’s what the brand is for.

“I wanted it to be the cool kids club, with the caveat that we’re all cool kids.

“I’m London-based and my main background is music, but I couldn’t afford the clothes I wanted so I thought I would go and make them instead.

“I met a couple of tailors and they gave me the time of day.”

Follow @exoduspdcm on Insta

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

Stratford: How Alexa Ryan-Mills’s garden is set to celebrate Sadler’s Wells East

East London-based designer is preparing for her first RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May

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I‘m just looking out at the rain and wondering when it’s going to start warming up,” said Alexa Ryan-Mills.

While idle talk of the weather is ubiquitous in the UK, for the Walthamstow-based garden designer – and all those in her profession – precipitation and temperature are a constant preoccupation.

That’s especially true when there’s a deadline looming and, for Alexa, the 10 days leading up to May 23-27 are fast approaching.

That’s when she and her team will create her first garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show – arguably the biggest stage in British horticulture.

What exactly appears in that garden will, to some extent, be dependent on the weather – although Alexa said she was confident the nurseries she’s working with would have sufficient stock to provide backup options, should the mercury fail to rise to the desired level.

While Wharf Life covers neither Chelsea nor Walthamstow, the reason we are interested in this garden is twofold.

Firstly, Alexa’s design is inspired by the forthcoming opening of Sadler’s Wells East – the fourth venue in the Sadler’s Wells family, which is set to open overlooking Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2024.

But that is still a building site at present, so secondly, there’s a more immediate link – all the plants and materials used in the creation of the garden will be donated to Sadler’s Wells associate institution School 21 in Stratford, where they will be used to improve its outdoor spaces.

“School 21 has been planning and fundraising to do this for a while,” said Alexa.

“I found out about that and we’ve now spent some time going round and identifying areas where we can put the plants after the show.

“There are lots of different play spaces, which at the moment are quite bare, and we can get the kids involved in planting those up.

“The school also has a great design and technology department that will be able to re-use the materials too.

“For the garden we also recently decided to work with Brixton-based artist Benjamin Wachenje, who will be creating a hip hop-themed mural as a backdrop and School 21 will be able to use this as well.”

An artist’s impression of Alexa’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden

Before that happens, though, the garden itself must be created and shown – a project that has its genesis in Alexa’s change of direction from a career in PR and communications.

“I felt like I’d had enough of that industry and I was thinking about what to do next,” she said.

“Around the same time I met a garden designer, having just bought a house in Walthamstow.

“She designed my garden and I really enjoyed the process and thought I’d like to know a bit more about it. Before I did anything crazy and quit my job, I did some initial training.

“That went really well and so I decided to invest more in training and that’s how I wound up starting to build a business in east London.”

Having worked mostly designing private residential gardens in the likes of Waltham Forest, Hackney and Newham, Alexa specialised increasingly in planting design, studying for a diploma in the field and collaborating with landscape architects and other designers on a freelance basis.

“While I was studying at the London College Of Garden Design, I knew I wanted to create a garden for a cultural hub and I used Sadler’s Wells as my imaginary client,” she said.

“I found out Sadler’s Wells East was set to open in Stratford, so I created a design that was related to dance – choosing plants that might have an interesting shape or ones that would self seed and move around the garden like that.

“Then I saw a call out from an organisation called Project Giving Back – a grant making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

“I realised I had an idea and all I had to do was persuade Sadler’s Wells. They said: ‘Go for it’, so I applied and after various rounds, got the funding.

“Then I had to apply to the RHS because you get the funding, but still have to be chosen for a place at the show itself.”

Alexa says she was inspired by the planting at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford

She was successful and is now set to lay out a six-by-eight metre space under cover in the All About Plants category of the show’s main pavilion.

Featured plants will include the nodding blooms of salvia nutans and three trees, namely hionanthus retusus, styrax obassia and acer monspessulanum.

“I really wanted to make the plants the performers – the dancers – and put them centre stage,” said Alexa.

“It’s all about visitors being able to see the planting and the shapes and enjoy them from different places to sit and walk through.

“There’s a pipe-like sculpture inspired by the saw-toothed roof of Sadler’s Wells East – itself a reference to the manufacturing and industrial heritage of Stratford – that frames different views.

“I’ve chosen plants that have interesting shapes with lots of purples and limes as well as oranges. I want it to feel energetic. It’s about dance.

“There has been a fashion at Chelsea for lots of calm, muted planting, but this design is not like that at all.”

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

Canary Wharf: How personal training at Third Space delivers the right results

Eliter personal trainer Tim Hart talks focus, science and goals as he puts our writer through his paces

Third Space Canary Wharf elite personal trainer Tim Hart

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SESSION TEST

Imagine driving your expensive car to a garage, paying a fee and then being let loose on the tools to fettle and prod at your vehicle in the name of maintenance.

Unless you already have a fairly decent body of knowledge, it’s unlikely such activity will yield positive results except in the most basic of jobs.

Now consider how different that is to taking your body – a vehicle you’re born into and will ride in your whole life – to the gym.

Sure, there’s plenty of equipment there, but how well do you really know how to use it? Crucially, will you be doing more harm than good? The logical step is to seek help.

Members at Third Space in Canary Wharf, in addition to an induction session with a trainer, essentially have two avenues to explore in this regard.

There’s an extensive timetable of group classes.

But for those really looking for something bespoke, there are the personal trainers offering one-on-one sessions.

An hour-long session with elite personal trainer Tim Hart was enough to convince me of the benefits of such sessions.

Trained in nutrition and health science, he has a wealth of experience in helping people to reach their goals, tackle physical weaknesses and prepare for intense expeditions.

Consequently, when I told him I wanted to address a bit of knee pain on the right hand side, he was well-qualified to suggest some relevant rehab exercises to improve strength and stability around the joint.

Following a few mobility drills, he soon had me skipping up and down the gym’s track, then leaping sideways from foot to foot, struggling to hold my balance while he watched for signs of instability.

From there, we went to work the core, chest and arms by using moves on a cable machine to ensure all of my body was involved in the exercise.

Then came a series of side-to-side squats with a bar and single leg deadlifts.

During every exercise Tim was constantly keeping an eye on my form, offering corrections and encouragement to ensure I was learning the right movement.

He also explored the range of motion to identify exactly where any discomfort in my knee was occurring – a process that enabled both the modification of the exercises and a far greater awareness of my capabilities than before.

At the end of the session, I left with an arsenal of moves designed to work the affected area without damaging it – a programme that has since seen a big reduction in pain and a great increase in confidence.

That focus, really, is the power of personal training.

It allows, more than any other form of exercise, an ability to address specific issues or goals in detail with the effects multiplied by subsequent, dedicated sessions.

Personal training sessions are charged as extra to membership.

Third Space Canary Wharf is very well-equipped, but how best to use its facilities?

FULL FOCUS – TIM’S THOUGHTS

>> For Tim, who has more than a decade of experience in the health and fitness world, the key to good personal training is putting his clients’ goals front and centre:

>> “From my perspective it’s to provide some science and solid theory behind the process,” he said.

“Your goals will always be your targets, and there may be some worry that a personal trainer is going to hijack what you’re looking for and all of a sudden you’ll be doing exercises you’re not interested in.

“My advice is to find a good personal trainer to start with in an establishment that will have a high calibre of individuals and professionals working in it.

“A client’s aims should always remain the focus and as a customer, you should look for an efficient scientific method being used by the trainer that you feel streamlines the process of really getting to where you want to be.

“For example, if it’s a knee injury and you want to lose weight, then the theory will combine quite nicely by finding exercises that will facilitate a reduction in pain and aid recovery, but will also get you to lose body fat as well.

“Your trainer should not be putting their own goals on you, but be using science and theory to optimise your own goals and help you achieve those results.”

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

Greenwich: How Wizard Works sew a little magic into all their bike packing bags

How co-founders Veronica Lowe and Harry Major run an open-hearted manufacturing business

Harry and Veronica in their workshop at Design District on Greenwich Peninsula

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The author Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen, V For Vendetta and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen maintains magic is very real.

It’s just that it lives in our minds rather than the real world.

A visit to Wizard Works at Design District on Greenwich Peninsula, however, does a little bit to confound that notion.

On the face of it, co-founders Harry Major and Veronica Lowe and their team hand-make a range of bike packing bags for cyclists in a bright and airy ground floor workshop.

Wizard Works is now a team of six at Greenwich Peninsula

But look more closely and there’s a little bit of magic running through the thread on every seam.

That’s because everything this company does has a purpose – design that stems from a real world problem or a lived experience.

When I arrive for our interview, Veronica seems buoyant.

A Crowdfunder prize draw she’s set up is gaining some traction and it’s for a cause close to her heart.

She and Harry had travelled to her native New Zealand at Christmas – the first time she’d been able to see her family for four years, due to the pandemic.

Sadly, not long into their trip, her father died suddenly. The couple extended their stay to be with family before Harry flew back, with Veronica set to follow on.

But then, in February, Cyclone Gabrielle hit, devastating the Esk Valley where she was staying – the floodwater rising so rapidly she and those in the household where she was staying had to take refuge on the second floor, before being rescued by boat the following morning.

In a blog post she wrote: “Eventually the rain eased, the water stopped rising and in the morning I was rescued.

“I cried as I was jet-boated to safety, through the vineyards I worked in as a teenager, the valley Dad spent his whole life cultivating, completely engulfed by the little river we grew up playing in.

“The devastation is heartbreaking, there are people and families that have lost everything, including their lives.

“My dad’s house, with all his special things, that only days before we’d organised and lined up in his hallway to collect – reminders of our lovely father – all totally destroyed.”

I mention this deeply traumatic set of events because Wizard Works’ reaction to it says everything about this small, independent company.

It’s created an AllBlack collection of bags with 50% of net sales donated to the Hawke’s Bay Foundation Cyclone Relief Fund and set up a prize draw to contribute to the relief effort for a disaster that killed at least 11 people, displaced some 10,000 and left homes, businesses and farmland in ruins.

While born of adversity, this latest project is perhaps emblematic of the open-hearted way Harry and Veronica run Wizard Works – a business that grew from a passion for cycle touring adventures, a bout of miserable winter weather and a desire for a creative outlet.

The couple’s business was born of cycling adventures

“We met in London,”said Veronica. “I was on a working holiday and my visa expired in 2011, by which time we’d been dating for a while and so he said he’d come with me when I left.

“We were not strangers to hare-brained schemes, like going round the world with someone you’d only just started dating.”

“We’d been in Melbourne for a few months and we did our first big ride together – maybe one and a half miles from a neighbouring suburb to have brunch in a cafe,” said Harry.

“We realised we’d ridden from there to here – it felt like we could do anything. We thought we might get a rainbow-coloured tandem and cycle round the world.

“Although we prefer two bikes, the feeling of that conversation stuck with us and we planned our first multi-day cycle around Mornington Peninsula.

“It was awesome and my first time camping – Veronica was the outdoors person.”

Hooked, the couple began planning – reading blogs and making lists – as they set their sights on a year-long journey by bike from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur.

Although they didn’t know it, their experiences on that trip were the foundation for what would become Wizard Works.

Wizard Works makes bike packing bags for commuting and adventuring

“After that trip we got holiday visas and moved to Vancouver to stay with a friend we’d met in Melbourne who told me we were going to need an indoor hobby because the winters in Canada are shit,” said art school graduate Harry, who grew up in London.

“He was right, it rained every day that October.

“So, having spent most of our trip around Asia talking about the gear we wish we’d had, we decided to do something about it and we bought a little Singer sewing machine and started making bags.

“I thought it would be easy, but it wasn’t – everything I made was terrible, but it was mesmerising.

“I loved that combination of technical problem solving and creativity. We started off making bags for ourselves and they slowly got better.”

The hobby turned into a side hustle with Harry and Veronica back in London gradually increasing the time they were spending on the business.

Finding success through online sales, they hired staff to cope with demand and took space in Peckham before outgrowing that and moving to Design District.

Today, Wizard Works is a team of six producing a collection of core products as well as custom-made bags.

The bags it makes are inspired by the Bike Packing movement, which aims to place luggage within the frame of the bike rather than having to rely on unwieldy panniers.

But it’s not just about function.

Veronica said: “Something that really felt difficult when we were buying things for the trip was that everything was black or brown.

“You could buy bags that were fun, but they were at the lower end of the quality spectrum.

“We wanted to do something which was more colourful and that fitted with our brand name.”

“Right from the beginning we just wanted to make the bags that we wanted ourselves,” said Harry.

“The name partly comes from Veronica’s older brother who used to say: ‘You’re a wizard, Harry, and a thumping good one at that,’ when he saw me because that’s what a British ‘Harry’ is.

“Wizard Works got a name and went from being a hobby to being a business – but we were always coming at it as the end user.

“We knew what worked, but we wanted it to have an aesthetic that lined up with the kind of bikes we were riding and the stuff we were wearing.

“In about 2017 and 2018 there was a kind of culture around kooky bikes – things people had built themselves. We wanted to be the luggage brand to go with that type of cycling.”

As you might be able to guess, there’s an enormous amount that won’t fit in this article – Wizard Works’ tireless battle to make its Cordura bags more sustainable, for example – but suffice to say it’s a brand well worth checking out.

A SELECTION OF WIZARD WORKS’ BAGS

Shazam Saddle Bag

Ideal for adventurers or commuters who carry larger loads – £195-£205

Alakazam Basket Bag

This bag easily expands and comes with straps for bigger loads – £148-£215

Lil Presto Barrel Bag

Mounts either to saddles or handlebars, ideal for the light packer – £68

All Wizard Works’ bags are made by hand in Greenwich

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

April 5, 2023April 17, 2023

Canary Wharf: How Tony Brien captured the crowning of One Canada Square’s pyramid

Photographer was suspended from a crane to record the topping out of the estate’s iconic tower

A worker drapes the Union Jack over the freshly fixed pyramid – image Tony Brien

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Talk to Tony Brien about his career in photography and there’s always a sense of fun in his anecdotes.

Having begun his career as a photo journalist working on Fleet Street – covering football, rugby at Twickenham and cricket at Lords – a move to Northern Ireland during the Troubles was a stark contrast.

But even here he recalls the humour of the people of Belfast and the grand times enjoyed in nightclubs under hotels despite the violence and the regularity of being stopped on nights out by the army or paramilitary groups.

Returning to London, he set up a studio for an advertising agency before deciding a couple of years later to “take a bet on himself” and go freelance, starting his own business in a mews just off Oxford Street.

“I had a few clients who were using my services and the studio, which had a red filing cabinet and bits of cameras everywhere,” said Tony.

“Looking back, it was fantastic and it worked. I’ve never had a bad day in photography – if I have a big project, I’ll do anything to make it work.”

It was that attitude that would set him on a trajectory to capturing the images featured on these pages – recently rediscovered during a clear out after more than 30 years.

Tony worked extensively for Olympia And York, the company founded by the Reichmann brothers, which undertook the development of Canary Wharf.

In the late 1980s, he captured many images of the scheme as construction progressed, working with the company until it collapsed in 1993.

Workers await the arrival of the pyramid cap in November 1990 – image Tony Brien

“The people running the company were so generous of spirit – they really wanted it to work,” said Tony.

“I think it was Sherlock Holmes who said to Watson that you should always carry a pistol east of Aldgate and that still applied to a certain extent at the time.

“When I was commissioned, I walked all over the East End and went up various tower blocks to see whether I could get a view of the development as it was being built.

“In the end I said we needed to hire a helicopter if they wanted shots of Canary Wharf in relation to the City.

“That was £1,000 a day, which was a lot of money, but I hired a panoramic camera – the only one in the country at the time – and sat in the footwell with the doors off, headset on, which was the only way to do it at the time.

“The clients loved the shots and they were used for promotional booklets that were sent out everywhere.

“They caused quite a stir at the time because of the way they used the panoramic photography.

“Olympia And York had huge plates made up – they were really keen to take ownership of that format as their look.”

The images on these pages were not, however, taken from a helicopter. In fact they almost never happened at all.

The tip of the pyramid comes into view – image Tony Brien

“Nowadays it can be done with drones,” said Tony.

“I’d been asked to capture the topping out of the tallest building in Europe – One Canada Square – telling the story of the regeneration and rebirth of Docklands and, in turn, London itself.

“It was early November 1990 and it wasn’t a great day, it was blustery and they usually stopped lifting anything at a wind speed of 34 knots. That day it was gusting up to 50.

“The only way to get the shots was for me to be lifted up 830ft in a small metal cage on a single chain by a crane.

“Originally the cage didn’t have any walls so they built a sort of tea chest in it to stop both me and my camera equipment falling out.

“So there I was in my ski suit, all ready, and we didn’t know whether it would happen.

“But the wind slowed considerably – the guys at the top radioed to say it was OK and we ought to take a punt at it.

“So I got in, started sorting out my cameras and rose off the ground. About halfway up, the wind started gusting again but we decided to keep going and up we went.

“After my little bucket had passed the half way mark, they started lifting the cap of the pyramid for the top of the building.

“The danger, of course, was that either that structure, or my crate would swing in the wind and hit the tower.

“So there I was, at the top, swaying around and waiting for the pyramid, which had three flags – from the UK, Canada and the USA – in celebration of those backing the project.

“I was committed. I’d said I would do it and I was right there, in position.

“I could see the workers on the building waiting for the pyramid and I had every camera possible there and loaded.

Tony in his makeshift crate at 830ft – image Tony Brien

“But the trouble with the panoramic cameras is you only get four shots so you’re a bit snookered.

“There I was, sitting in my box, changing film and looking up to see where we were. Then the wind really started blowing.

“Well, you know when you’ve got the shot, and I thought I had, but I bent down to load some more film and felt the bucket drop a little.

“I dropped into the foetal position, as though that was going to do anything.

“Then everything was OK, I stood up, got one more shot and then told the workers to get me out of there.

“Going down was fine and I jumped straight in the Range Rover and drove to central London to get to the processing house.

Back in Canary Wharf: Tony at One Canada Square – image Jon Massey

“Then, when the shots were done, I rang the client and said: ‘I think I got it’. Everyone was terribly excited.

“The flags had got knotted up and for that last shot I shouted over to the workers to pull the Union Jack out – they were very accommodating.

“It was quite something to witness their bravery in those dangerous conditions as they guided the pyramid into place.

“Finding the film again was a really nice discovery.

“The people running Olympia And York were a real pleasure to deal with – it’s something I’ll never forget”

Tony continues to work as a photographer and his Canary Wharf images are currently being shown at Ad Lib Gallery in Wimbledon.

For all enquiries regarding the images featured on these pages, please email tony@tonybrien.co.uk or visit his website via this link

Tony’s blockbuster panoramic shot of the topping out – image Tony Brien

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

Bromley-By-Bow: How the House Mill aims to get its waterwheels spinning again

The world’s largest surviving tidal mill is ongoing as it targets the production of electricity from the Lea

The House Mill at Three Mills in Bromley-By-Bow

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“I just think this plucky building really deserves to survive – it’s been through so much,” said Beverley Charters.

We’ve just ascended an ageing wooden staircase and squeezed through a small wooden portal to pop out onto the roof of the House Mill, a Grade I listed structure that straddles the River Lea in Bromley-By-Bow.

To stand on the duckboards in the v-shaped channel that runs between the roof of the building’s twin peaks is a rare privilege.

It’s not on the official tour for various health and safety reasons, but it does provide a place to locate this extraordinary hub of historic industry in east London.

Beverley points out all the areas and activities that the mill would once have supported, including a vast pig farm with the animals fed on waste products from the site.

Today it’s a sea of regeneration with Sugar House Island and many others, all set to bring new homes and businesses to the area as progress marches on.

Under our feet, however, some 247 years of history await.

Today two mills remain standing at Three Mills although the site has a history of tidal milling that dates back to the Domesday Book in 1086 – the earliest recorded examples of such activity.

Originally Three Mills produced flour, notably for the celebrated bakers of Stratford-Atte-Bowe, with the number of mills dropping to two in the 16th century.

The site later pivoted to grind grain that was used to distil alcohol and the area became a major player in the production of London gin.

Today the House Mill, built in 1776 on foundations dating to 1380, and the Clock Mill, rebuilt in the early 19th century, still stand.

While the latter currently houses the Harris Science Academy East London, the former continues on a journey of restoration and preservation that started in the 1970s when this glorious building nearly became a flat expanse of tarmac.

The House Mill’s Beverley Charters, a trustee, and Geoff Cosson, a volunteer

“It could have been destroyed by bombs during the Second World War like the neighbouring Miller’s House or flattened by developers who wanted to turn it into a car park – but it wasn’t,” said Beverley – a trustee of the House Mill Trust, which looks after the building and who – alongside volunteer Geoff Cosson – shows me round.

“What we ultimately want is a working building that offers all manner of opportunities to educate people so they can see the wheels turning again.

“This is the world’s largest tidal mill, it’s an extraordinary building and it’s our dream to make it fully functioning and sustainable – a place with real purpose.”

Even without the waters of the Lea turning the wheels, the building is remarkable.

Filtering down through its levels – following the route that would have been taken by the grains on their way to the grinding stones and the sacks waiting for the flour on the ground floor – Beverley and Geoff release a steady flow of anecdotes and facts about our surroundings.

Mostly constructed from wood, the place is a baffling maze of hoppers, stores and production floors where the grain would have been sorted, cleaned and fed into the whirling stones whenever the tide was providing the power, day or night.

That force was provided by four massive iron waterwheels, harnessing the green energy of the Lea and distributing it through the building via huge drive shafts.

The overall plan is to restore the House Mill to some degree of working order with the waterwheels spinning once more with the tide, although these will be used to generate electricity to power the building and give it an income, rather than to grind grain.

With much work done internally in the 1990s, including the rebuilding of the bombed out Miller’s House as a cafe, visitor and education centre, a substantial amount of work has already been achieved.

Wooden blanks in the mill for making metal machine parts

But the trust faces big bills to keep operating and fundraising for a challenging project to dam the river, so work can be done on the wheels to bring them back into use.

It’s also having to contend with increasingly frequent flooding of the mill’s ground floor, possibly as a consequence of measures upstream to control the level of the waterways in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which prevents the incoming tide flowing as far up the river.

Nevertheless, there’s a sense of fight and optimism, with the next project aimed at weatherproofing and protecting the rear of the building to match the recently renovated facade. We wanted to complete it pre-lockdown, but it’s finished now and we think it looks rather fabulous,” said Beverley.

“Now we’re somehow going to fundraise for the back and repair some storm damage we’ve had to the roof before returning to the main project of getting the building working again. We hope it will be possible and we think we can do it.”

But why bother expending all this effort to conserve and celebrate a historic building at all?

“I just think buildings like this are fantastic,” said Geoff, a former teacher who became involved with the project after moving back to the Isle Of Dogs from Cyprus and visiting the House Mill with his wife.

“There’s also a degree of connection because both my grandparents were from this area – my grandmother lived in Nairn Street just down the river and got married on Christmas Day at the registrar’s office in Bromley-By-Bow, which is still there.

“I wanted to be involved with something that wasn’t just about ogling things, where there was a bit of history.”

The mill contains examples of machinery used in its operation

Alongside that link to the history of the area, there’s also a major part that the mill can play in east London’s ongoing story.

“We have been in a period of recovery following the pandemic, but we were busy pre-lockdown with weddings, quiz nights, gin tastings and other events,” said Beverley.

“They might not relate to the history of the mill directly but once people are here we smuggle the heritage in.

“What we’ve found is that once people come through the door and see the size of the machinery they just love it and we have lots of stories we can tell them.”

The House Mill Trust is currently seeking funding and volunteers to continue its work.

The building will be open on Sundays in summer for guided tours costing £10 (including a guide book and a hot drink).

The House Mill’s next project is to refurbish its rear wooden facade

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

Isle Of Dogs: How Dovetailed London makes vibrant clothes at Craft Central

Owner Adaku Parker on the African wax print fabric business she created after leaving her legal career

Dovetailed London owner Adaku Parker is a former barrister

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Walk into Adaku Parker’s studio at Craft Central on the Isle Of Dogs and it’s impossible to miss the core element of business.

Everywhere there are metal shelves piled high with vibrant African wax print fabrics.

Every glance takes in a rainbow of bright, iridescent hues.

Then there’s Adaku herself, eyes glowing and dressed in a blue and yellow Camille dress from her new ready-to-wear range, set to launch later this year.

Colour is Dovetailed London’s business – an operation with many strands to it.

Adaku imports and sells the fabrics she uses, with pieces available from as little as £3.50, with scrap bags and charm packs also available to minimise waste.

For those inspired to sew for themselves, she produces patterns for crafters to recreate her creations and offers monthly subscription boxes so customers can build their collection of fabrics, thread and haberdashery.

A sequel to her first book Sewing With African Wax Print Fabric is due out in the autumn and she also runs weekend and Monday night workshops, where participants can learn to work with the brightly coloured materials and make some of her designs.

She imports, sells and makes clothes from African wax print fabric

It’s a business that has grown from a chance encounter with an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee in 2016.

“I’d wanted to be a barrister since I was 14 – I went to a school where we were encouraged to aim quite high,” said Adaku.

“Being brought up in a Nigerian home, I was expected to be either a barrister, a doctor, an engineer or an accountant – to enter a profession which was safe, secure, where you were guaranteed an income and you could look after yourself and your family.

“So I started on that route. I went to university to read law, went to law school, entered pupillage and was taken on as a criminal barrister and practised for about 15 years.

“I did a lot of white-collar crime – fraud, confiscation, money-laundering – and I really enjoyed that, because the numbers can never really lie, I liked the certainty in that.

“I have no background in sewing or fashion, but when I went on maternity leave in 2016, I just knew that I wanted to try something new.

“I was channel hopping and there was The Great Pottery Throw Down, but that wasn’t for me, so I kept on going and saw what was literally the final of the Sewing Bee.

“I liked that there were professionals on it – people who worked with their creativity and that was really attractive to me.

“I thought that if they could be interested in sewing, then maybe I might be too.”

So Adaku began dipping her toe into the fashion and textile world, taking courses and experimenting.

She also sells sewing patterns and subscription boxes

“I did about 20 different classes – tailoring, garment alteration and decorative techniques – and I would always take along African wax print fabric.

“I could see the tutors thinking: ‘Oh no,’ because pattern matching and things like that can be quite tricky.

“But I took to sewing really quickly and it didn’t take me long to get quite good at making things I liked – bags and skirts, for example.

“It gave me a real boost. I feel passionately about the fact that a human being can do many different things even though we often narrow ourselves and go down certain paths.

“Many skills are transferable, and I’d always felt that deep down, but I’d never experienced it, even though I knew it to be true.”

Dovetailed as a business emerged incrementally from those beginnings.

“I was making for myself, but then family and friends wanted things, too, and they were commissioning projects and items that they could buy from me,” said Adaku.

“Then I had the idea to take some to a small market to see what would happen.

“It felt amazing and so affirming, that somebody would part with cash for something I’d made by hand.

“I hadn’t grown up in that environment, I’d just bought things in shops never really thinking about who had made it.

“I’d never sewn on a button before I did that first workshop.

“Then in 2018 I was on maternity leave for the second time and was really thinking about doing something other than the law – that’s when I committed to really running the business.

“Now sometimes I have to pinch myself – I do really big fabric shows around the country in London, Birmingham and Surrey.

She designs and makes ready-to-wear clothes as well as bespoke pieces

“I’ve been on shopping television and Dovetailed was featured on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas with Kirstie Allsopp.

“I sell online through my website and I’ve been featured in magazines – it’s really been amazing.

“Appearing on shopping television and telling the story of African fabric was that seminal moment for me – Dovetailed was no longer a hobby.

“Navigating the journey to becoming a business that pays for my lifestyle and employees is exciting and I’m having a great time doing it.

“Dovetailed curates a range of African wax print fabrics that are produced using a very specific process – a mechanised form of batik.

“I buy them from Ghana, Nigeria and Holland with a focus on quality.

“You can get very inexpensive African fabrics but they will look and feel cheap, so I prefer to import and sell really good quality material.

“There’s a density and a weight to it and it looks very different – people just love it.

“The designs make colour very wearable, it’s about finding what suits you and matching the right fabric to the project.

“My designs just come to me. Although I haven’t had a background in fashion, I’ve always been quite fashionable and I love colour and dressing up – I’ve never really stopped.

“Even when I was a barrister I loved passing on what I know.

“I really enjoy encouraging and inspiring people – writing the books is part of demystifying the craft of sewing.”

Adaku also runs weekend and weeknight workshops from her base at Craft Central on the Isle Of Dogs

To that end, Dovetailed is set to launch a series of six-week workshops on Monday evenings, starting on April 10, running until May 15.

Participants can choose from a selection of projects including dresses, tops, trousers and pinafores. See prices online.

As for the future, Adaku has big ambitions for her brand.

“My ultimate dream would be to have my ready-to-wear garments on sale in Selfridge’s,” she said.

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023

Canary Wharf: How The Qube is delivering a quiet revolution with Wood Wharf studios

Co-founder Amin Hamzianpour on creating a membership model for creative content creators

The Qube is set to open 24 studio spaces at Wood Wharf

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The ever increasing numbers of people strolling though Wood Wharf will likely remain mostly unaware that a revolution is taking place on the first floor of a Park Drive office block.

It’s not that Canary Wharf hasn’t welcomed creative endeavours in the past.

It hosted a TV station in the 1990s – Live TV, complete with eponymous show Canary Wharf, a sort of soap opera-meets X-Files affair with a woeful budget and acting to match.

It’s served as a backdrop to numerous films including both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later as well as Welcome To The Punch with James McAvoy and Mark Strong facing off as a grizzled detective with a gammy knee and a notorious, violent criminal respectively.

Its Tube station stood in for the Death Star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with Adams Plaza popping up again in TV show Andor as part of an evil Imperial base.

With the exception of the odd media company, however, what Canary Wharf has never had is a series of spaces dedicated to creative content generation.

Enter Amin Hamzianpour – musician, music producer and former Morgan Stanley analyst, who is bringing The Qube to the estate.

In a nutshell, it offers flexible, plug-and-play studios for rehearsal and recording 24 hours a day. But it’s also much more than that and here’s how it happened.

“I have a bit of an eclectic background,” said Amin.

“I did a degree in human sciences at Oxford and then, encouraged by my parents, I went to work in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, ironically in Canary Wharf.

“I didn’t like it at all. I liked being around hard-working, ambitious, intelligent people, but the work wasn’t what I wanted to do.

“I’d always created things – I was a musician, I played, wrote songs and also made animations when I was young.

“Working in banking felt as though I wasn’t making anything, so I eventually quit to pursue a career as a songwriter.

Qube East offers fully equipped facilities including rehearsal studios

“My parents knew how hard-working I was, so they were very supportive.

“With finance, if you wait around long enough, the money gets so good that it’s difficult to leave and I could see that happening to me.

“I thought that because I was working such long hours in banking, that, if I applied that effort to music, I might get 50% less money, but I would have a much more fulfilling life.

“I was quite naive about how difficult it was to build a career in the music industry.

“I rented a basement room from a friend and tried to soundproof it, but it was a bit of a disaster.

“Still, I started making music every day, emailed every single blogger and every single label, trying to get my name out there.

“After about six months someone very well connected on the blogging scene miraculously reached out and said they really liked my stuff.

“So I met with him, made one house record, he sent it out to the blogs and we made the alias quite anonymous.

Qube East also boasts a bar area, open to non-members on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights

“ The blogs picked it up and it exploded online, and the next thing I knew, I was getting offers from every major record label.

“It went from one day when nobody knew who I was to me having meetings with Universal, Sony, Warner, which was the dream.

“Having now had a career in music for five or six years, I now realise how ridiculously improbable that was, and it was a probably a bad thing, because at the time I thought that was just how easy it was.

“I signed to Spinnin’ Records – a Dutch label – and Polydor picked it up and put it online.

“It got something like a million plays, which at the time was quite good. So I built my career thereafter and became a house artist when electronic music was really flying.

“I released quite a few singles on different labels – Ministry Of Sound, Universal, Polydor – and while nothing was majorly successful, I was making a living.

“Then I started writing and producing for loads of different artists.”

It was at this point Amin discovered how difficult it was to find good studio space at an affordable price with the only offerings seemingly £1,000 a month contracts for a year or substandard dingy basement rooms with non-existent soundproofing.

Then he met co-founder of The Qube, Nick Sonuga, who was building studio spaces that would fill up immediately due to demand.

The studio spaces are plug and play with equipment in place ready to go

“Initially, I thought that if I did one or two studios with him, I could make a base salary and then continue making music,” said Amin.

“One of the most frustrating things about being a musician is the variability in income, which could be 300% either way, with no way of predicting it.

“That was difficult as I was starting to get older.

“So I started talking to Nick about finding solutions to these problems.

“How could we come up with a space that provides everything creative people need, that is affordable, flexible and provides a community?”

The pair came up with the blueprint for The Qube, found a warehouse in west London and put down their joint life savings as a deposit before going out to investors to raise £2million.

Launched in 2020, it houses 40 studios designed for everything from creating music to podcasts and photography.

The spaces come fully furnished with equipment with members paying between £75 and £2,000 a month for varied levels of credits that are translated into studio time.

“It’s open 24 hours a day and it did really well – miraculously it turned a profit within six months, which was quite staggering,” said Amin.

“I think it was a testament to how much people want this product and there’s no-one really doing this apart from us.

“While it is challenging to serve all the different markets – the podcasters, vloggers and musicians – we have a team of really experienced people from all walks of life to look after them.

“Every startup is an experiment. Everyone involved with The Qube is creative and we’re developing products that we would want to use.

“We’re trying to stay true to that. We think there’s a huge opportunity here – already if you’re a YouTuber, a podcaster or a music producer your parents will more likely be telling you to go for it than laughing at you.

“These people will need places to go and create work and wherever they want to do that there should be a Qube in their nearest city.”

On that path to global domination, Amin and Nick selected Canary Wharf as their second site due to the ease of travel in and out and the safety of its environment.

Amin said: “The obvious choice would have been Hackney or Shoreditch but we wanted to give people the best experience possible.

“What we noticed about Canary Wharf is how unbelievably well connected it is, and that makes a huge difference, because people from all over London can get here quite easily.

“We also like the fact that we’re so different to other businesses here and can be an oasis within a totally different culture.

Qube East is open 24 hours a day for content creators to come and go

“Canary Wharf Group has been unbelievable in helping us get to the point where we can offer affordable pricing and build our dream as we wanted.

“While people love our west London warehouse because it feels organic, we’ve spoken to our creators – many of whom are women – and we are aware they can feel genuinely uncomfortable accessing some spaces, especially at night.

“It’s a huge problem, but here it’s so safe.

“A lot of our members are using these facilities at night, starting at 9pm and leaving at 4am.”

It’s perhaps because community is so central to The Qube’s model that this is one of the driving factors in its decision to open in Canary Wharf.

“We are a members club and we curate every single application that comes in,” said Amin.

“At the moment we reject around 70% and we take people purely on the basis of talent – whether we think they have high potential and are creating high quality content.

“It has nothing to do with how many social media followers someone has and it is somewhat subjective – would you be happy being stuck in an airport lounge with them for an hour – but that means membership isn’t just about the value of the studios, it’s about every other person you meet and knowing that they’re going to be doing something really cool.

“We’re trying to filter out all that pretentiousness and bravado in the industry – we hate that.

“It also means our bar will be a great place to be and we’ll be opening that to non-members on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until 11pm, with an open deck policy on Thursdays and a resident DJ on Fridays.”

Applications for memberships at The Qube are open now.

Qube East is set to launch on March 24.

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

March 9, 2023March 11, 2023

Blackwall: How The Gun pub is helping customers discover its wine list

Venue plans regular monthly tastings dubbed The Grape Escape hosted by deputy manager Fabio Scarpa

The Coldharbour pub is set to host more monthly wine tastings

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The Gun is a pub that has long been about bringing people together.

That might be the illicit meetings of Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton (whose trysts remain immortalised with their names on the toilet doors), rugby fans indulging in pints while watching the game or locals catching up around the fire or out on the terrace in the warmer months.

Recently it’s been experimenting with wine tastings – refining and ageing its formula ahead of the launch of a regular series on the last Friday of the month, set to kick off in earnest on March 31, 2023.

Having recently attended one of the warm-up events, I’m happy to confirm that The Grape Escape features no uncomfortable tunnelling beneath the Thames or Steve McQueen impressions.

Rather, it was a snug evening in the company of fellow wine enthusiasts, heated by an open fire and set to the gravelly tones of deputy manager Fabio Scarpa, whose rich drawl proved as deep and rewarding as the notes in a well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon.

We tasted seven wines, nibbled on cheese and took turns to tour the pub from top to bottom – enjoying its views, nooks and cellar to get an appreciation of the place’s history and continuing appeal.

Fabio Scarpa hosts the The Grape Escape at The Gun

Perhaps the most striking thing about the evening, however, was its role as a catalyst for interaction – bringing long standing local residents together with east London newbies, to much merriment.

Lubricated by three reds, three whites and a fizz, the atmosphere was open and welcoming as a diverse group of attendees talked about the wines, themselves and a certain amount of nonsense (me) in good cheer.

Having come through two years where talking freely to strangers was pretty much an impossibility, it was refreshing to see how easily and enjoyably the world has returned to normal.

Looking around at smiling faces, with fast friendships formed, it was also a moment to reflect that people have been enjoying such pleasant evenings at the venue since the 1700s.

With a lazy fire smouldering in the grate and the scent of wood smoke in the nostrils, perhaps some things don’t change so very much.

The final format (and price) of the forthcoming tastings is still in production but will be announced on the venue’s website and social media channels in due course.

WHARF LIFE’S PICK OF THE WINES

Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot, £65

Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wonderful, rich companion should be drunk in leather armchairs by an open fire in fine company.

Eins Zwei Dry (Best Buy)

Riesling, £41

Rheingau, Germany

Crisp and refreshing with a pun in the name, this was the wine of the night as well as being the most modestly priced

Bolney Estate

Bubbly Brut, £50

West Sussex, England

This fizz is a true delight on the tongue and a wonderful way to start an evening. Refreshing and approachable

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com