Table Of ContentJan GUIDE.pdf 01/12/2009 11:21:42
January 2010 | Issue 242 | theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
SCREEN
SAVER
High flyers Can Hither Green’s
Park Cinema be revived?
The workout inspired
by Cirque du Soleil
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNN TTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
TToomm MMeerrcceerr,, ffoouunnddeerr ooff mmOOmmaa ffooooddss,, ooffffeerrss aa hheeaalltthhiieerr ooppttiioonn
PLUS: HAPPY NEW YEAR | ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHY | LITTLE ECO WARRIORS
CHAMBEr furniture
The Old Timber Yard, London Road,
Halstead, Kent, TN14 7DZ
t. 01959 532553 w. chamberfurniture.co.uk
To truly appreciate our furniture and service,
please visit our showroom.
Open: Mon-Fri: 09.00-17.30 Sat: 09.00-14.00
JANUARY
Unit F3 Battersea Studios
80 Silverthorne Road SW8 3HE
020 7978 3499
Editorial
EditorVictoria Purcell
ContributorsSuzanne Amos, Guy Awford,
Karl Webster, Shannon Denny, Vicky Smith,
Emma Thomas, Felix Bennet
Sales
Senior Advertising ManagerHeather Jones-Hughes
Senior Advertising ExecutiveNicoletta Iasonidou
Advertising ExecutiveFrank Bloomfield
Classified ExecutiveAmy Braid
Design & Production
Production ManagerRob Edwards
Copy ControllerTamara Russell
28
Editorial DesignIgor Lavrenchuk
DesignersStewart Hyde, Tom Miller
Contents
Archant Life
Commercial ManagerGrant Elgin
Group EditorMark Kebble
Group Production ManagerLesa Melbourne
Group Managing DirectorJeremy Moreton
PA to Group Managing DirectorHayley Tiptaft On the cover Regulars
Finance DirectorIan Fish
Managing DirectorJohnny Hustler 6 Well fed 8 Preview
Breakfast is the most important meal 14 Out & about
Print & Distribution
of the day, so do it the mOma way! 16 Shopfront
PrintingHeadley Brothers DistributionRegal
12 Coming soon... 22 Health & beauty
Enquiries
Get behind the campaign to save 30 Gourmet news
Customer Services Hither Green’s Park Cinema 32 Guy Awford
[email protected]
Subscription020 7605 2204 28 On the wire 38 Family
Advertising020 7978 3480
Classified020 7978 3496 Editorial020 7978 3485 Say no to treadmills and take to the 55 Property
Facsimile020 7978 3498 skies with the Cirque du Soleil workout
[email protected]
Web exclusives
Features
Archant is a community media company active in the fields of
newspaper and magazine publishing,contract printing and internet
communications.The company’s portfolio includes four daily 10 Sky scanner Online this month at
newspapers,around 60 weekly newspaper titles,around 100 monthly
consumer,contract and regional magazines and over 160 websites. Beautiful astronomy photography theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
Archant is the UK’s leading family-owned independent regional
newspAarpcehra onwt nLiefer iins tthhee UlaKrg,ceustr rpeunbtllyis ehmerp olof yrienggi oanraolu mnda g2a,6z0in0e speople. 42 Eco kids • The Blackheath Luncheon Club
in the UK with over 50 titles. celebrates 33 years of good food
© 2009 Archant Life Ltd.All rights reserved. Laugh, sing and save the planet!
and good company
Community numbers 44 History boy
(cid:129) Download and print your voucher
Police Councils The story of a local Jack the Ripper suspect
for 25% off food at all Inc Group
Greenwich (020 8855 1212) Greenwich (020 8854 8888)
Lewisham (020 8297 1212) Lewisham (020 8314 6000) restaurants
Isle of Dogs (020 7515 1212) Tower Hamlets (020 7364 5020)
Hospitals (cid:129) Win one of five Miamoo skincare
GLerweeinshwaimch ((002200 88381544 68080808)) 38 travel packs for babies (worth £20)
Tower Hamlets (020 7364 5020)
(cid:129) Revitalise withan exclusive
ginger detox cocktail recipe
(non alcoholic, of course!)
When you have finished
with this magazine Looking for the perfect property? Try Homes24 www. .co.uk
please recycle it.
theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk January 2010 3
Call now: 020 8308 9286
www.granitetransformations.co.uk/sidcup
Call: 020 8308 9286
FROM THE EDITOR
m
o
bythesheriff.c
w.shot Victoria Purcell
ww [email protected]
G
olly, is it really 2010 already? I’d better get planning
some NNeeww YYeeaarr’’ss rreessoolluuttiioonnss. Undoubtedly they’ll
involve exercise and food, as they tend to be the two
areas I aim to improve most years, with varying results.
Fortunately, we have tips aplenty on these two very subjects.
In fact, I’ve already got a bit of a head start on the exercise front
– I learnt to fly. Not like a bird (that would be daft), but on a trapeze!
JJuukkaarrii FFiitt ttoo FFllyyis a fantastic workout based on moves from Cirque
du Soleil. Great for the core, great for the soul. Read about my
experience inside.
And I know where to start on the food front, too. Local
entrepreneur Tom Mercerlovesaa ggoooodd bbrreeaakkffaassttand, in an
ongoing quest to wean busy Londoners off a rushed, greasy
croissant of a morning, he founded mOma. Discover his story
– and his tasty oatie smoothies – in this issue.
So it looks like I’ll have to put my thinking cap on and come up
with a more challenging resolution. I’ve always fancied being a bit
of a pro with a wide-angle lens (who hasn’t?), and a little birdie
tells me that FFeerrgguuss NNoooonnee PPhhoottooggrraapphhyy is now running training
workshops out and about on the streets of Greenwich. That’s
me sorted then. Marvellous!
Here’s wishing you all the best for the New Year.
On the cover: The dawn of a new year at St Paul’s
Church in Deptford. Captured by Colin Crisford
(www.colincrisford.co.uk)
Launched in 1989, The Guide has an audited average net free distribution to
45,000 selected households and businesses in Blackheath, Brockley, Bromley,
Chislehurst, Eltham, Greenwich, Isle of Dogs, Ladywell, Lee, Lewisham, St Johns
and Westcombe Park. Copies are available in the Greenwich Tourist Information
Office, estate agents as well as selected restaurants and shops.
For subcriptions call Hayley Tiptaft on 020 7605 2204
theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
Find more from your favourite local magazine online
January 2010 5
Top of the morning
For Tom Mercer, morning is the time to eat, drink and be merry.
SHANNON DENNY chats to the Deptford-based entrepreneur
about his belief in the power of brekkie
It is skipped by many of us, bolted rich lunch and dinner options had
by most of us and savoured by no early-morning equivalent. “I found
only a very few. For Tom Mercer, it made a huge difference to me if
however, breakfast is something of an I’d have a decent breakfast in the
obsession. In fact there have been morning, and I used to make
times since he established mOma, his smoothies myself and chuck a load of
healthy breakfast-to-go concept, that it oats in; that was kind of the starting
has kept him busy all day everyday and point,” he remembers.
working right through the night. “Back at the beginning when it
Tom quit his management was a real grassroots start-up company,
consultancy job to craft morning ready we did trials on the streets of Waterloo
meals for commuters in February with old water bottles filled with
Tom Mercer
2006, having noticed that London’s product. Our first stall in Waterloo
6 January 2010 theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
PROFILE
Station was made from a filing cabinet
that had wheels on the bottom and
branding put on the side.” Tom
applied this DIY approach in other
aspects of the business as well. “At the
very beginning I was really hands-on
– I used to make all the products in
the middle of the night, deliver them,
sell them, do all the office work.”
These days the filing cabinets are in
retirement and mOma’s mobile kiosks
– which are now custom made from
slick stainless steel – can be found
at Euston, Charing Cross, London
Bridge, Victoria, Liverpool Street and
Waterloo, with more set to appear at
Vauxhall, Wimbledon and Richmond
Tom in action feeding busy commuters passing through Waterloo station
in 2010. Tom no longer slaves all night
over a blender either. “Our offices and little bit of meaning behind it. up the core mOma range, all of which
kitchens are in Deptford in a railway I was literally searching for gods come in a spectrum of fruity flavours.
arch. We’ve got staff of 25 people, and goddesses on Google and came The Jumble is Tom’s version of Bircher
about 10 of whom work on the stalls.” up with mOma,” he reveals. muesli containing oats, pure-pressed
The mOma machine is so devoted Since turning 30, Tom says he’s Suffolk apple, yoghurt and fruit, and
to the most important meal of the day trying to be more careful about what the Hodgepodge is a layered pot of
that they’ve expanded their offering he eats, but admits to possessing a yoghurt, spiced fruit and granola.
beyond those who pass through “What we’ve done really is taken
London’s larger mainline stations. lots of traditional ingredients and
You can now buy the range in Moma is the name of put them together in a modern format
Waitrose, John Lewis Foodhall, for people, so it’s fantastic for people
a god of harvest and
Selfridges, on Virgin Atlantic flights to grab and go.”
and through online grocer Ocado. fruit, thought to be There are no added flavours, colours
Tom’s idols in the marketplace or preservatives in these low-fat
a giver of life
include pudding purveyors Gu and creations that help commuters on the
chocolate brand Green & Blacks, way to their five-a-day. Probiotics aid
although he encountered his biggest digestion and wholegrain oats help
inspiration much closer to home. deep affinity for fish and chips from control cholesterol, while the low
“Business-wise, I’ve always looked Fiscotheque and Curly Wurly cake GI content means mOma foods are
up to my dad,” he says of his from Konditor & Cook, both located absorbed slowly by the body to help
Staffordshire-based farmer father dangerously near his south London you stay full for longer than any
who raises everything from wheat house. Nutritionists tell us it’s all croissant or muffin.
and barley to chickens and pigs. “It’s about moderation though, so Tom Purchase a selection at one of the
a family farming business that’s been balances out cakes and cod with a stalls and your goods will be piled
passed down several generations, healthy start everyday. When we speak, into carrier bags bearing Adelle Davis’
and it’s still entrepreneurial, very his own morning meal has only famed dietary advice: “Eat breakfast
progressive, very forward-thinking.” recently been consumed on a nearby like a king, lunch like a prince and
This appreciation for farming also station concourse. “I had a mOma dinner like a pauper.” With business
helps explain the brand’s unusual Oatie, which filled me up nicely! booming and further ambitious plans
moniker. “Moma is the name of a god It’s a meal in a bottle effectively.” underway, it’s a precept that no doubt
of harvest and fruit, thought to be a With jumbo oats, probiotic Somerset serves Tom exceptionally well. ●
giver of life. Really, I kind of wanted yoghurt, juice and bananas, the Oatie
something short and catchy with a is one of the three products that make www.momafoods.co.uk
theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk January 2010 7
WHAT’S ON
THE
GREENWICH
Peter Pan GUIDE’S
Until 10 Jan CHOICE
It’s the last chance
to see Peter Panin the
Meridian Gardens at the O2 before he
flies away to America. Starring Ciaran
Kellgren, this breathtaking production
of JM Barrie’s classic children’s story
has enchanted over 150,000 people
this summer in Kensington Gardens.
The unique 360-degree projected
scenic design enhances the magical
atmosphere, absorbing the audience
in the adventure. Tickets £19.50-£55.
See www.visitlondon.com/peterpan
or call 0844 847 2517 to book.
Drawdock Road SE10 0DX
BLACKHEATH
The very best of the month ahead
Art Society Exhibition
Until 19 Dec PPRREEVVIIEEWW
Blackheath Art Society’s annual winter
exhibition is being held at Blackheath
Village Library. With 40 members
contributing to the show, there will be
plenty of variety on display. Paintings,
photographs, jewellery and textiles can
all be bought off the wall, making it the
perfect opportunity to add to your art
collection. Open Tuesday and Thurs-Sat.
Blackheath Grove SE3 0DD
020 8853 2269
GREENWICH
The Importance of
Being Earnest GREENWICH BLACKHEATH
15 Dec-17 Jan SEE through Rose Tinted Glenn Tilbrook
Follow Algernon and Jack as their lives Until 24 Dec 20 Dec
unravel in a hilarious fashion when, The SEE through Rose Tintedexhibition, Glenn Tilbrook calls in at the Blackheath
in pursuit of love, they attempt to curated by local girl Katie Rose Whiting Concert Halls as part of his solo UK
conceal the disastrous truth that neither with Ben Oakley, challenges you to take tour. As one of the legendary band
is named Earnest. Oscar Wilde’s a closer look at the artworks showcased Squeeze, Glenn has enjoyed worldwide
devastating wit and humour are to find their hidden meanings. Held success with top-ten hits including
excellently showcased in the Galleon in a pop up gallery in Greenwich, the Cool for Catsand Tempted. Expect
Theatre Company’s production emerging artists will be in residence at to get involved as Glenn is renowned
of The Importance of Being Earnest. the exhibition to offer exclusive insights for encouraging audience participation!
Tickets £12, £10 concs. into their sculptures and paintings. Tickets £16.50 in advance.
189 Greenwich High Road SE10 8JA 8 College Approach SE10 9HY 23 Lee Road SE3 9RQ; 020 8463 0100
020 8858 9256 www.seeartists.co.uk www.blackheathhalls.com
8 January 2010 theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
BBRROOAADDWWAAYY
THEATRETHEATRE www.brIotsabdocwohkaeoyantph-leeinarettr oe.org.uk
RRuusshheeyyGGrreeeenn,,LLoonnddoonnSSEE6644RRUU
BoxOffice:02086900002
GREENWICH
Car Park: Under Cover
Until 1 Jan
Astrid Schulz’s Car Park:
Under Covercomprises
12 images capturing the
aftermath of a 24-hour
snowstorm in the Czech
Republic. The photographs show us how an unremarkable car
park can be transformed into a mystical scene by excessive
snowfall, yet also serve as a reminder of the challenges climate
change can pose (until 20 Dec). Then, from 22 Dec-1 Jan,
Shop Front Churchesby Kelly McCann documents South
London churches that inhabit ex-commercial, industrial
or residential buildings.
Viewfinder Photography Gallery, Linear House,
Peyton Place (off Royal Hill) SE10 8RS; 020 8858 8351
BLACKHEATH
Skylarks Dance
28 Jan
Acclaimed conductor
and trombonist Christopher
Houlding (professor of
chamber music and trombone
at the Folkwang-Hochschule,
Essen) conducts Trinity
College of Music Wind, Brass
and Percussion students in a
colourful evening of works by
Stravinsky, Thea Musgrave,
Ian Gardiner, Trinity alumnus
Mark Findon and current
Trinity Masters student Alan Taylor. One of the evening’s
highlights – Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Winds– is a 20th-
century masterpiece. 7.30pm start. Tickets £10 (£7 concs).
Blackheath Halls, 23 Lee Road SE3 9RQ; 020 8463 0100
GREENWICH
Christmas Fair at the O2
Until 3 Jan
The O2 has been transformed into a winter fairytale. There
are over 20 fairground rides, including an ice maze, reindeer
express rollercoaster and vintage dodgems, a Santa’s grotto
and a German market. Family dinner packages, office party
packages and passes for unlimited access to the rides are
available. Open daily 12noon-11pm. Free to enter.
See www.christmasfairattheo2.co.uk
theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
WHAT’S ON
Star
struck
EMMA THOMAS gets lost in the night skies
Long winter nights offer the perfect Also on display is Star Trails Blue
opportunity for star gazing. But if Mountain(below right) by Ted Dobosz,
you don’t fancy stepping out into winner of the Earth and Space category,
the cold, head to the Royal Observatory which depicts a dark starry night in
to contemplate striking images from Sydney’s Blue Mountains. As the Earth
the inaugural Astronomy Photographer spins during the 30-minute exposure
Upcoming events at
of the Year competition. of the photograph, the stars make trails
The competition, launched in around the southern celestial pole.
the Royal
celebration of the International Year Another must-see is the moon looming
of Astronomy, received 540 stunning over the eastern horizon in Michael Observatory
entries. The exhibition showcases the O’Connell’s Blue Sky Moon, the
winning and highly commended photos. Our Solar System category winner.
Make sure you catch the overall winner Fourteen-year-old Paul Smith Christmas Stars Planetarium Show
– British photographer Martin Pugh’s completes the winners’ group with his A festive family show exploring the
stunning Horsehead Nebula(below left) photo titled Occultation of Venus (above), December night sky. Viewers may even
from the Deep Space category. Taken which captures Venus emerging from catch a glimpse of Father Christmas…
over 14 nights from his garden shed in a close encounter with the moon. ● 12noon and 2.45pm every weekend
Canberra, the photograph captures the in Dec. Adults £6, kids/concs £4.
swirling clouds of dust and gas that form The exhibition runs until 10 Jan at the
the Horsehead Nebula, approximately Royal Observatory, Blackheath Avenue The Planets: An Inspiration at
1,500 light years away. SE10 8XJ; 020 8858 4422 Christmas – A lecture by Professor
Colin Pillinger, leader of the Beagle2 Y
R
Mars mission, exploring Christmas ATO
V
connections across the Solar System. ER
S
B
7-8.30pm, 10 Dec. £19.50, concs £15. O
AL
Y
O
R
Evening with the Stars– A unique E
H
T
opportunity to see the moon through F
O
Y
the largest refracting telescope in the S
E
T
UK. 5.30pm, 6.10pm, 6.50pm and UR
O
7.30pm. 22 & 26 Jan. £15, concs £11. S C
H
P
A
R
G
All tickets available on 020 8312 6608 O
T
O
or at www.nmm.ac.uk PH
10 January 2010 theguide.greatbritishlife.co.uk
