Spring is Just Around the Corner…

It’s March, the days are getting longer and Spring is almost here… Phew! There are a few interesting things going on for free this weekend, so make the most of  your time and enjoy what’s on offer locally. There are other exhibitions still running, (check out the ‘whats on’ blogs for the past few weeks), and loads of other ideas via the links on the right of our web page. Whatever you do have a great weekend!

The Geffrye Museum First Saturday Family Day on March 3rd has activities for everyone, including  the chance to create a springtime character or flower-shaped photo frame for 5-11 year-olds at 10.30am – 12.30pm, and 11 to 19 year-olds can use lavender from the herb garden and lemon to bake biscuits and create a beautiful box to put them in from 2.00 – 4.00pm.  For full details visit the Geffrye Museum website

This Saturday & Sunday, March 3rd & 4th, sees another great Barbican Weekender on the theme of Urban Stories. From Shakespeare to Grime, London is bursting with urban stories. The Weekender returns with two days of packed full of free art, dance, music, theatre and film for everyone on the Barbican Foyers. For full details of this action-packed weekend visit the Barbican Website

© Jonathan Lucas/Barbican Centre

Brady Arts Centre  hosts an exhibition showcasing a number of banners which date back to 1983 and were created by girls groups across the borough to highlight International Women’s Day. The exhibition is open Monday to Friday 9am until 7pm, and Saturday 9am until 5pm until Thursday March 15th. For full details see the website

The new Royal London Hospital officially opened this week and there are a whole range of events to celebrate this in the Vital Arts Festival, including portrait photographs of Royal London staff by artist Edgar Hoefs, talks on the history of the hospital, interactive artworks and musical events. Check out the Vital Arts Website.

Thursday March 8th is International Women’s Day, and there are a number of free events and exhibitions in Tower Hamlets and Hackney as part of the month-long Wisewords Festival celebrating women writers, artists and performers organised by Alternative Arts. We’ll be highlighting some of the events for the day itself next week, but check out the  Alternative Arts Website for the full programme of events.

Don’t forget that the launderette is open 8am until 7pm and does service washes so you can make the best of your free time. We’re all spruced up and looking gorgeous, we hope you like the new look!

Arty, Party, Spicy…

We’ve found some great free things going on this weekend, with two interesting new exhibitions right on our doorstep. We hope there’s something to tickle your fancy, but as always check out the links on the right of the web page to get some more ideas for places to visit for free in our neighbourhood.

The decoration and repair work started in December will be finished by Friday, and so this weekend you might notice a brighter, shinier launderette when you’re doing your laundry or dropping off a service wash. Thanks go to James and Mark who have done a brilliant job in painting, carpentry and electrical work for several nights after the launderette has closed and into the wee small hours.

Our lovely colleague Mina, who most of you who use the launderette on Thursday and at weekends will know, has been off work for just over a month due to ill health. She underwent surgery on Wednesday and we’re pleased to say that the surgery went well and she’s now recovering. We hope to see Mina fully fit and back at the launderette in around six weeks.

That’s the news from Launderette Towers, here’s the stuff you want to know…

Rich Mix has a new photographic exhibition, ‘The Curry Chefs of Brick Lane’, by Jeremy Freedman in its Mezzanine Gallery. The exhibition is a celebration of these proud chefs – “working away like those engineers below deck on the great steam ships of old, they are the unseen and unsung heroes of Brick Lane’s Curry Mile.”  These are the previously unseen faces and untold stories that reveal the personal narratives of Spitalfields’ Bengali residents. The exhibition is open from 10am until the centre closes and runs until 31st March. For more details visit the Rich Mix website.

Mr Muhammed-Hussiad, The Shampan, by Jeremy Freedman

The Idea Generation Gallery, Chance Street, is hosting another superb photographic exhibition ‘The Half’ by Simon Annand. For over 25 years Simon Annand has been given unprecedented access to the secret backstage world of London’s West End, shooting everything from Chekhov to Panto. This stunning exhibition of his dazzling photographs, includes shots from his 2008 book The Half, as well as a series of new and unseen images of some of the world’s most illustrious stage actors. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 10.00am – 6pm & Sundays 12 – 5pm, and the exhibition runs from 24th February until 8th April. For more details visit the Idea Generation website.

David Tennant © Simon Annand

The Geffrye Museum is hosting a ‘Touch of Spice Family Day‘ on Saturday 25th February, from 12.30 until 4.30pm.  You’ll be able to join in creative craft workshops inspired by spices and flowers and listen to stories and music from across Asia.  There will be bi-lingual (Bengali/English) story-telling and performances at 12.30 – 1.10pm, and 2.30 – 3.10pm in concourse area (no booking required). There are also a South Asian music and dance workshop at 1.15 – 1.45pm, and 3.15 – 3.45pm, and a puppet-making workshop at 12.30 – 2.00pm and 2.30 – 4.00pm that a free but must be booked. This is an event to celebrate the museum’s Asian Women’s Project. For full details and booking information visit the Geffrye Museum website.

© Geffrye Museum

Discover Young Hackney 2012 is holding its closing party at the Arcola Tent on Saturday 25th February from 3 until 9pm. It is a pop-up pit stop celebrating the best of Discover Young Hackney 2012. Over the weekend there’ll be exhibitions, performances and workshops showcasing arts and culture across East London, for young people by young people aged 13 to 19. For full details see the Discover Young Hackney website.

This is the last weekend to catch Simon Schama’s selection from the Government Art Collection at the Whitechapel Gallery. There are some rarely seen paintings, including the iconic portrait of Romantic poet and famous traveller Lord Byron by Thomas Phillips (1814) brought back specially for this display from the British Ambassador’s residence in Athens. The gallery is open from 11am Tuesday to Sunday, and closing time is 6pm every day except Thursday when it closes at 9pm. Two other exhibitions are also closing this weekend at the Whitechapel, Rothko in Britain and Artists in Residence, so it’s well worth a visit! For full details visit the Whitechapel Gallery website.

Lord Byron by Thomas Phillips (1814) © Government Art Collection

A Delia Special…

The launderette is having the final touches of its smartening up this week, with the decorators James and Mark returning for the next few nights. Gaps will be filled in, the lighting sorted out and the sticky front door will be smoothed! As James and Mark will be beavering away mostly after hours disruption will be minimal and their excellent work will appear in daylight as if by magic!

Now, as promised, here’s St. Delia’s blessed pancake recipe – easy, tasty and too good for just one day a year!

Delia Smith’s Pancake Recipe

Equipment: A good solid 7 inch (18 cm) or 8 inch (20 cm) frying pan, some kitchen paper, greaseproof paper, a palette knife or flexible pan slice, and a ladle.

Ingredients: 4oz (110g) Plain Flour; A Pinch of Salt; 2 Large Eggs; 7 Fluid Oz (200ml) Milk mixed with 3 Fluid Oz (75ml) Water; 2oz (50g) Butter.

To Serve: Caster Sugar, Lemon Juice & Lemon Wedges.

Method: First of all sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with the sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs – any sort of whisk or even a fork will do – incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

Next, gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don’t worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the butter in the pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it when needed to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round.

Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tablespoons about right for a 7 inch (18 cm) pan and 3 tablespoons for an 8 inch (20 cm) pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife – the other side will need a few seconds only – then simply slide it out of the pan on to a plate.

Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Quality…

We’ve found a few free things to do this weekend, and although there aren’t too many they’re quality and well worth a look! There are some ongoing events and exhibitions, such as the Imagine Children’s Festival on the Southbank, so if our choices this weekend don’t inspire you check out our recent ‘What’s On’ posts and browse through our links on the right of the web page. Have a great weekend!

The Rich Mix is holding the eighth of its thirteen snapshots festivals on Saturday 18th February – Valentine’s: An East End Love Affair from midday until late. There will be market stalls, exhibitions, free theatrical performances, workshops and lots lots more for everyone from toddlers to the more mature amongst us. Highlights include films from local visual artist Phil Maxwell at midday (booking essential), Scratch Theatre, Storytelling, and ‘The Hunt ‘- a treasure hunt around Shoreditch and an evening of free comedy and cabaret from The Lonely Hearts Comedy Club. For full details and booking information see the Rich Mix website.

Brick Lane Launderette © Phil Maxwell

The Museum of London has more Dickens related activities this weekend. Dickens’ stories frequently  featured London with the city becoming as much of a character as Oliver, Pip, Little Nell and Mr. Pumblechook. On Saturday 18th February at 1, 2 and 3pm ‘Strolling with Dickens’ tells how Dickens walked the streets of London in search of inspiration for his books. Join the museum’s storyteller for an interactive session as she recreates one of his strolls and brings it to life.  On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th February at 12.30pm and 2.30pm ‘Mapping Dickens’ London’ will help you make a map to guide you through Dickens’ London, and the places he visited for inspiration for his stories. See the Museum of London website for more information.

Gustave Doré - Ludgate Hill

Those are our brief but high quality suggestions for this weekend. Don’t forget that it’s pancake day on Tuesday, and we’ll be posting the Delia Smith pancake recipe that so many of you liked last year!

A bit of launderette news for you too. After a slight break the launderette decoration and improvements will be completed next week so all the annoying unfinished bits will finally be tended to. Hurrah!  Many of you will have heard that Mina was taken ill a few weeks ago, and has not been at work since. She’s doing well and although she will be off work for a little while longer we’re sure to be seeing back at work in the spring. We’ve got two new members of the team, Meryem and Cinnamon, who will be working at weekends and covering for their colleagues holidays and other time off. We’re really proud of our team, which also includes Maire our manager, Ali and Tina, who have always worked hard, but especially so in the past few months.

We’d Love Your Unwanted Books…

If you’ve got any books you want to get rid of, please think about donating them to our second-hand bookstall. Every penny raised goes to good causes, from local charities to Disasters Emergency Committee appeals. See our Second-Hand Bookstall page for details of where money raised so far has been donated.