# What's Hackney like?



## Stigmata (Feb 19, 2009)

I'm a non-Londoner and i'm looking at a work placement in the area (at the Hackney Museum). What sort of a place is it? Has anyone been to the museum? Cheers.


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 19, 2009)

Transport wilderness but you'll like it anyway


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

Hackney is great 

Yes, I have been to the museum, it's actually part of the main library building next to the Town Hall in the centre of Hackney. It's not very big but very interesting on the local history front.


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## Stigmata (Feb 19, 2009)

What's great about the place? Also when you say the museum's not very big, what do you mean? I used to work in a tiny institution with just three staff and one exhibition- I hope it's at least slightly bigger than that! Thanks for the responses btw


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

www.hackney.gov.uk/cm-museum.htm

There you go.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Feb 19, 2009)

hackney rules tings, do it.


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## marty21 (Feb 19, 2009)

keep meaning to go to that museum, is it worth going to?

on the subject of hackney - get used to using buses and trains, no tube yet, although eventually one will come to dalston and haggertson

the museum is on mare street, which has improved in the last 5 or 6 years, but there are better hackney areas, loads of park land, if that is your cup of tea

or loads of m/c activities if that is your cup of tea,   broadway market, victoria park area and stoke newington church street

some decent pubs, some dodgy pubs

some depressing areas - i'd plump for the hackney wick area on that score, although that might improve as a result of the olympics - although that is a matter of debate


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

Stigmata said:


> What's great about the place? Also when you say the museum's not very big, what do you mean? I used to work in a tiny institution with just three staff and one exhibition- I hope it's at least slightly bigger than that! Thanks for the responses btw



It's not that big an area, just on the ground floor level, they have a little shop and a permanent exhibition plus a room for exhibitions that change every few months or so. They also have events (for children and adults).
I think there are probably more than three staff there


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## Stigmata (Feb 19, 2009)

marty21 said:


> keep meaning to go to that museum, is it worth going to?



Well there's a good chance i'll be working there July-September, so YEAH definitely.

Ok, we seem to have established that the place isn't a total dump, which is what I was worried about. It sounds like commuting from elsewhere in the city would be a hassle though.


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

marty21 said:


> keep meaning to go to that museum, is it worth going to?
> 
> on the subject of hackney - get used to using buses and trains, no tube yet, although eventually one will come to dalston and haggertson
> 
> ...



I love Hackney Wick but then I have been to loads of good parties there in the past  I really love derelict buildings and urban decay  find it very interesting. There are still little businesses going on in some of the Victorian buildings and the canal/ river Lea is great to explore. 

Actually, I don't think it will remain that way for much longer, alot of the old property has gone and there are already alot of new flats springing up.


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

Stigmata said:


> Well there's a good chance i'll be working there July-September, so YEAH definitely.
> 
> Ok, we seem to have established that the place isn't a total dump, which is what I was worried about. It sounds like commuting from elsewhere in the city would be a hassle though.



Not necessarily, there are LOADS of bus routes that go through Hackney Central and there is a London Overground station there.


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## marty21 (Feb 19, 2009)

Stigmata said:


> Well there's a good chance i'll be working there July-September, so YEAH definitely.
> 
> Ok, we seem to have established that the place isn't a total dump, which is what I was worried about. It sounds like commuting from elsewhere in the city would be a hassle though.



commuting isn't that bad - regular train services to liverpool street, about 10 minutes from Hackney Downs - which is about 15 minute walk from the museum, or loads of buses from bethnal green tube direct to the museum (about 15-20 minutes) or the Overland from hackney central - about 5 minutes from highbury corner


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## marty21 (Feb 19, 2009)

blossie33 said:


> I love Hackney Wick but then I have been to loads of good parties there in the past  I really love derelict buildings and urban decay  find it very interesting. There are still little businesses going on in some of the Victorian buildings and the canal/ river Lea is great to explore.
> 
> Actually, I don't think it will remain that way for much longer, alot of the old property has gone and there are already alot of new flats springing up.



i was involved last year with some of the new buildings going up there, i get the point about urban decay - but hackney wick is a miserable station to exit from  that said, I quite fancy going on a walk from clapton - the olympic site, taking in some of these little areas which are disappearing fast)


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## 100% masahiko (Feb 19, 2009)

Hackney is great - lived there for many years near Roman Road and then Victoria Park.

I still go to Hoxton now and then as well as Kingsland Road for proper Vietnamese foods (I have a tendency to support the local Vietnamese Chinese Community you see  )


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## blossie33 (Feb 19, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i was involved last year with some of the new buildings going up there, i get the point about urban decay - but hackney wick is a miserable station to exit from  that said, I quite fancy going on a walk from clapton - the olympic site, taking in some of these little areas which are disappearing fast)



Hackney Wick station is far less depressing to exit than Homerton station imo!

I have been meaning to walk along the canal from Clapton to Limehouse for ages, before it gets all opened out for the Olympics but I fear I may have left it too late


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## marty21 (Feb 19, 2009)

blossie33 said:


> Hackney Wick station is far less depressing to exit than Homerton station imo!
> 
> I have been meaning to walk along the canal from Clapton to Limehouse for ages, before it gets all opened out for the Olympics but I fear I may have left it too late



hackney wick v homerton station - it's difficult to decide which is grimmer tbh


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## Paulie Tandoori (Feb 19, 2009)

commuting isn't a problem by bike


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 19, 2009)

While Hackney certainly has its charms, and as you can see, lots of adherents - an awful lot of people think is it is crime ridden dump. 

I'm somewhere in between, I enjoy a visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.


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## marty21 (Feb 19, 2009)

Gavin Bl said:


> While Hackney certainly has its charms, and as you can see, lots of adherents - an awful lot of people think is it is crime ridden dump.
> 
> I'm somewhere in between, I enjoy a visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.



as i have said before, i've lived there for 15 years, and crime has not been a problem for me - apart from that time someone nicked the hubcaps/wheel trims from my motor


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## GarfieldLeChat (Feb 19, 2009)

Hackney is the best area in london because it's go not tubes only at it's corners  it's like a bit the rest of modern london forgot....


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 19, 2009)

Fair enough, just want the OP to have a fuller picture beyond 'Its great' - there are genuine downsides to living there, which are fairly typical for a poor inner city area.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Feb 19, 2009)

if you're working in the museum, you're next to the hackney empire, the ocean (bit of a white elephant admittedly), 5 mins from london fields including the open air lido, there's st martins (?) churchyard at the bottom of the narrow-way, right near sutton house which dates from the 15th C, you're also next to the north london line which goes between richmond and stratford and buses to all sorts of places. there's a few upsides for the sake of balance


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 19, 2009)

Ridley Road market is great, surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Feb 19, 2009)

that's in sunny dalston though, not mare street end of hackney.


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## boohoo (Feb 19, 2009)

Personally, i think that museum is one of the best local history museums I've been to. And it was up for an award the other year. Hackney's nice with interesting history. Just live in the right bit of it!


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## Stigmata (Feb 19, 2009)

No idea if i'd be living in the area. The museum is supposed to suggest places, or I may end up living elsewhere with a friend who's doing a Science Museum placement.

If I A. get the job (which I should) and B. need some living recommendations, i'll be sure to ask here first.


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 19, 2009)

Also you wouldn't _have_ to live in Hackney - Bethnal Green and Whitechapel (Tower Hamlets) are just down the road and good places too. For instance a mile-ish down Mare St from the museum is Bethnal Green and that has a tube station


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## RubyBlue (Feb 19, 2009)

Gavin Bl said:


> Fair enough, just want the OP to have a fuller picture beyond 'Its great' - there are genuine downsides to living there, which are fairly typical for a poor inner city area.



There are downsides to Hackney but like you said they're typical to many poor areas.  In my many years of living here I've never been a crime victim, despite having no tube I have a bus stop 1 minutes walk from my flat with regular buses taking me everywhere I want to go and I live on a small, quiet road - I'm happy here but I'm more dalston though.


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## scifisam (Feb 19, 2009)

boohoo said:


> Personally, i think that museum is one of the best local history museums I've been to. And it was up for an award the other year. Hackney's nice with interesting history. Just live in the right bit of it!



Yeah. Compare it with big museums like the science museum and it's shit, but think of it as a local hstory museum, which it is, and it does very well indeed. It's also in a location that's very well served by PT - Hackney Central, Hackney Downs (each on different train lines), and about a million buses. No tube, but that's not the be-all-and-end-all. Some places that do have a tube station are worse off for PT than Hackney Central is. 

I live at the very top end of Tower Hamlets, so spend more time in Hackney than in TH. It's very lively, lots of arty stuff, decent old-fashioned pubs as well as decent poncy new ones, and it's also still cheaper than most places in London.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Feb 20, 2009)

Gavin Bl said:


> Fair enough, just want the OP to have a fuller picture beyond 'Its great' - there are genuine downsides to living there, which are fairly typical for a poor inner city area.



are there?

really?

you mean to say that shit transport infrastructure is shit or that inner city shitty life can be shitty?

really...


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 20, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> are there?
> 
> really?
> 
> ...



the OP is not a Londoner, don't be so defensive.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Feb 20, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> Transport wilderness but you'll like it anyway



'Transport wilderness' is a bit harsh.  I know it isn't on the tube, but there are loads of other ways for it to link up with the underground.


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## rover07 (Feb 20, 2009)

I used to live in Hackney...right shit hole. Dont know about now...maybe its been tarted up but i wouldnt bet on it.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Feb 20, 2009)

yeh and you live in nirvana now eh?


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## GarfieldLeChat (Feb 21, 2009)

Gavin Bl said:


> the OP is not a Londoner, don't be so defensive.



it's not be so defesnsive you are saying that and entire areas or sub area of a place can be condemed permenantly becuase of a few run down parts or an occasional (comparitively) incident.  or extrapolate that those bad experinces are the normal rather than the rare occurence.

do you thik people would continue to live in an area which was conventionally violent?

is stoke newington or shoreditch shit areas with exorbatent crime rates what about victoria park?  see hackney is a big fucking place and to say it's all shit violent is worst than other areas would be to say that scotland is all shit, based on the krankees...

and f you can find other inner city areas which don't have a similar problem regardless of the city in the uk i'd be suprised...

innercites are charcherised by the high numbers of people living their from all walks of life it stands to reason that if there's going to be a high population desnity that not all of them are going to be law abiding... 

It's typical elietism or tribalism whihc makes others run down an entire area without even thinking about it and has fuck all to do with being a londoner...


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## lighterthief (Feb 21, 2009)

I personally think Hackney is one of the best connected boroughs in London, transport wise.


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 21, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> it's not be so defesnsive you are saying that and entire areas or sub area of a place can be condemed permenantly becuase of a few run down parts or an occasional (comparitively) incident
> or extrapolate that those bad experinces are the normal rather than the rare occurence.
> 
> do you thik people would continue to live in an area which was conventionally violent?
> ...



Garfield,
Where have I said Hackney is shit? I said lots of people don't like it - and think it is a dump (this wasn't code for my opinion), but that I thought it had its own charms as well as downsides. 

If you look at my posts, I haven't said that I hate Hackney or any other inner city area can be 'permanently condemned' - infact I said I quite like visiting  Hackney, but that I wouldn't want to live there. I could say the same about Bath or Harrogate, or my home town, Merthyr Tydfil.

Its also permissible to say there are hassles in inner city areas, without being damned out of hand as some sort of bigot or elitist. 

I explicitly said it had problems similar to other inner city areas, so I clearly didn't single it out for attack.

However, even if I did hate Hackney, its OK to say that isn't it? If someone asked me what it was like? Y'know - in response to the question "Whats Hackney like?"


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## flash (Feb 22, 2009)

I find Hackney a touch like the marmite question "you either love it or hate it" - nobody ever sits on the fence. I spent a year working in and around there and personally it wasn't for me, I know a lot of people like it but I had too many issues with the place and as a life long south londoner it was obvious that I wasn't from round there which caused issues. I've never truly got east London but give it a go.


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## marty21 (Feb 22, 2009)

flash said:


> I know a lot of people like it but I had too many issues with the place and as a life long south londoner it was obvious that I wasn't from round there which caused issues. I've never truly got east London but give it a go.



I'm not from hackney, I'm actually from Bath, but I've never had any issues caused by that fact


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## flash (Feb 22, 2009)

It's when your working on something with a group of other companies and every other company except for yours has had thefts or violent incidents occur during daylight hours on street, and your job requires you to wear high visibility gear from time to time, that pretty much just screams target - that you walk around with eyes out everywhere. It also when you stand at a bus stop on the stretch of road that used to be lovingly referred to as the "murder mile" about three years before and your the only person from your own race. Having said that I got the same kind of looks when I was in Brick Lane a couple of Sunday's ago. It's when local people refer to the laws of the "People's Republic of Homerton" that you know that Hackney is a pretty special place. I'll go as far as Essex Road and that's it........


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## marty21 (Feb 22, 2009)

flash said:


> It's when your working on something with a group of other companies and every other company except for yours has had thefts or violent incidents occur during daylight hours on street, and your job requires you to wear high visibility gear from time to time, that pretty much just screams target - that you walk around with eyes out everywhere. It also when you stand at a bus stop on the stretch of road that used to be lovingly referred to as the "murder mile" about three years before and your the only person from your own race. Having said that I got the same kind of looks when I was in Brick Lane a couple of Sunday's ago. It's when local people refer to the laws of the "People's Republic of Homerton" that you know that Hackney is a pretty special place. I'll go as far as Essex Road and that's it........



i live on murder mile, and often get buses there


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## pengaleng (Feb 23, 2009)

lol the 'museum' is well shit!


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## DRINK? (Feb 23, 2009)

only place in London I really didn't like....sh*t hole though know people who live there who would strongly disagree


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## blossie33 (Feb 23, 2009)

tribal_princess said:


> lol the 'museum' is well shit!




Sorry but I don't agree, it may be small and not have any stunning exhibits but it's certainly not 'shit'

If you take the time to go round properly and read things it's very informative of the social history of the area.


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## Boycey (Feb 23, 2009)

lighterthief said:


> I personally think Hackney is one of the best connected boroughs in London, transport wise.



in spite of the fact it has not one single tube station?


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## rutabowa (Feb 23, 2009)

tribal_princess said:


> lol the 'museum' is well shit!



yeh it's like they've just raided a house clearance skip and put the stuff they 've  got behind glass and called it "history"


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

Boycey said:


> in spite of the fact it has not one single tube station?



i think part of manor house tube is in hackney  maybe one entrance 

buses are pretty good, and there are 3 train lines, two to liverpool st, and the overland, which i believe is now part of the london underground


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## goldenecitrone (Feb 23, 2009)

Hackney is fucking wonderful. I've lived here for seven years and would recommend it to anyone. Had dinner in Gilbert and George's local restaurant last week. George is looking a bit peeky.


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## HackneyE9 (Feb 23, 2009)

Boycey said:


> in spite of the fact it has not one single tube station?



Tubes are a curse, not a blessing. You'll learn that after a while in the smoke...


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

goldenecitrone said:


> Hackney is fucking wonderful. I've lived here for seven years and would recommend it to anyone. Had dinner in Gilbert and George's local restaurant last week. George is looking a bit peeky.



I've been there, nice food


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Tubes are a curse, not a blessing. You'll learn that after a while in the smoke...



i've lived away from a convenient tube station since 1994, not that much hassle to get around tbh


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i've lived away from a convenient tube station since 1994, not that much hassle to get around tbh



Getting used to it is one thing. Now I've moved to Bethnal Green I can, for example, get to Soho in 15 mins instead of pushing an hour from Hackney. That junction at Dalston....Junction is always hell. You know I'm not going to rant at _you_ regarding Hackers but it's like my mate who says that mock-duck made from seitan is just like the real thing where he hasn't actually eaten real duck  for 25 years


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> Getting used to it is one thing. Now I've moved to Bethnal Green I can, for example, get to Soho in 15 mins instead of pushing an hour from Hackney. That junction at Dalston....Junction is always hell. You know I'm not going to rant at _you_ regarding Hackers but it's like my mate who says that mock-duck made from seitan is just like the real thing where he hasn't actually eaten real duck  for 25 years



i'd never get a bus to the west end, train to liverpool st, 10 minutes or so, tube to the west end another 15 or so


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Tubes are a curse, not a blessing. You'll learn that after a while in the smoke...



And that is a nonsense. One of the biggest deals of moving to the Smoke is the Underground.


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i'd never get a bus to the west end, train to liverpool st, 10 minutes or so, tube to the west end another 15 or so



Dunlace Road to Dalston Kingsland is a fair stroll. Not that I have to care anymore, like.


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## lighterthief (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> Dunlace Road to Dalston Kingsland is a fair stroll. Not that I have to care anymore, like.


Why would you be walking to Dalston Kingsland?


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

lighterthief said:


> Why would you be walking to Dalston Kingsland?



Or I might mean Hackney Central, oops. Like I said - I don't need to care


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> And that is a nonsense. One of the biggest deals of moving to the Smoke is the Underground.



i thought that when i moved here, and was happy to live in buckhurst hill as it was on the tube - takes fucking ages to get anywhere by tube from there though

like i said, i'm used to not living near a tube, and even when the hackney tubes are opened in dalston and haggerston, they aren't that close to me, so I won't be using them much


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i thought that when i moved here, and was happy to live in buckhurst hill as it was on the tube - takes fucking ages to get anywhere by tube from there though
> 
> like i said, i'm used to not living near a tube, and even when the hackney tubes are opened in dalston and haggerston, they aren't that close to me, so I won't be using them much



I lived in Hackney for a year and frankly it was as bad as living on the South Coast and having 2-an-hour buses to get anywhere. Defeated the whole object* of being in Ldn.



* an exaggeration for effect but not much.


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> I lived in Hackney for a year and frankly it was as bad as living on the South Coast and having 2-an-hour buses to get anywhere. Defeated the whole object* of being in Ldn.
> 
> 
> 
> * an exaggeration for effect but not much.



we are not going to agree on this are we ?


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

marty21 said:


> we are not going to agree on this are we ?



No :d but it's not really an argument...Hackney does not have a tube: fact*. 



* last little dig


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## HackneyE9 (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> And that is a nonsense. One of the biggest deals of moving to the Smoke is the Underground.



Nah - trap for north Londoners, rat race commuters and plentiful Rymans/Boots etc. 

You can live off-tube in London in cheaper, more interesting areas.


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## Miss-Shelf (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> No :d but it's not really an argument...Hackney does not have a tube: fact*.
> 
> 
> 
> * last little dig



yet.........


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## scifisam (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> I lived in Hackney for a year and frankly it was as bad as living on the South Coast and having 2-an-hour buses to get anywhere. Defeated the whole object* of being in Ldn.
> 
> 
> 
> * an exaggeration for effect but not much.



It depends where in Hackney, but some parts are that difficult to get to, yep. My daughter's drawing class recently moved from the bottom of Mare St to Chat's Palace. It takes us almost an hour and a half to get to Chat's Palace with buses and walking and she misses quite a lot of the class - she's probably going to have to stop going, like a lot of the other kids have already, because it's just too hard to get to. 

Hackney Central, though, where the museum is, is very easy to get to.


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## Melinda (Feb 23, 2009)

rover07 said:


> I used to live in Hackney...right shit hole. Dont know about now...maybe its been tarted up but i wouldnt bet on it.





Paulie Tandoori said:


> yeh and you live in nirvana now eh?


Rover is anti gang-stars. Especially ones that sing.


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## Nanker Phelge (Feb 23, 2009)

As a weekly visitor to Hackney I can say that I quite like the atmosphere over there, despite the smug middle-class twats in daft clothes and no spatial awareness, but I do feel a bit trapped by the transport system at times.

It's also very damp! The canals linger in the air.

It's a fine enough place.


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 23, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Nah - trap for north Londoners, rat race commuters and plentiful Rymans/Boots etc.
> 
> You can live off-tube in London in cheaper, more interesting areas.



You can live cheaply and interestingly near tube stations too. I do. And I'm not a rat race commuter - I just have a job in WC2


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## scifisam (Feb 23, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> You can live cheaply and interestingly near tube stations too. I do. And I'm not a rat race commuter - I just have a job in WC2



You can do, but being near a tube does put the price of a home up a lot.


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## phildwyer (Feb 23, 2009)

I lived there for about six months.  Liked it a lot, but you do end up staying there a lot, cos it's hard to get out of.


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## 19sixtysix (Feb 23, 2009)

Boycey said:


> in spite of the fact it has not one single tube station?



Frankly as a south londoner in crystal palace the lack of shitty tube trains is only a bonus. I have lovely proper sized train not those toothpaste tubes pretending to be public transport. Hackney looks fairly well served by proper trains and loads of buses.


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## marty21 (Feb 23, 2009)

19sixtysix said:


> Frankly as a south londoner in crystal palace the lack of shitty tube trains is only a bonus. I have lovely proper sized train not those toothpaste tubes pretending to be public transport. Hackney looks fairly well served by proper trains and loads of buses.



thank you!!!!


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## lenny101 (Feb 24, 2009)

I like living in Hackney. I work in shoreditch so its very convenient for me. Getting into the West End is a bit of a ball ache but I try to avoid the place anyway.


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## Homeless Mal (Feb 24, 2009)

Let's not pretend - Hackney Central is dire: full of the typical detritus one finds in inner city boroughs such as drunks, obese singletons, poundland fashionistas, and 'the smelly'.  Victoria Park area is nice and Stoke Newington has some nice restaurants, but the Hackney heartland is grim, dark, and menacing, much like Wood Green which is also a hellhole.


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## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> And that is a nonsense. One of the biggest deals of moving to the Smoke is the Underground.



nah it's shit and i know few people who can afford to use it, taking ze bus is much better unless you absolutely have to use the tube...


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## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

scifisam said:


> It depends where in Hackney, but some parts are that difficult to get to, yep. My daughter's drawing class recently moved from the bottom of Mare St to Chat's Palace. It takes us almost an hour and a half to get to Chat's Palace with buses and walking and she misses quite a lot of the class - she's probably going to have to stop going, like a lot of the other kids have already, because it's just too hard to get to.
> 
> Hackney Central, though, where the museum is, is very easy to get to.



it's 15 mins walk max from the bottom of mare street to chat's palace- hence adding 15 mins to your journey


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## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

dwenfish said:


> nah it's shit and i know few people who can afford to use it, taking ze bus is much better unless you absolutely have to use the tube...



it is cheaper getting the monthly bus pass, but millions of people do use the tube so they must be able to afford it


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## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

Homeless Mal said:


> Let's not pretend - Hackney Central is dire: full of the typical detritus one finds in inner city boroughs such as drunks, obese singletons, poundland fashionistas, and 'the smelly'.  Victoria Park area is nice and Stoke Newington has some nice restaurants, but the Hackney heartland is grim, dark, and menacing, much like Wood Green which is also a hellhole.



at least it's got more interesting architecture than wood green- the empire and town hall etc- i'd hardly call it menacing either....


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## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

marty21 said:


> it is cheaper getting the monthly bus pass, but millions of people do use the tube so they must be able to afford it



well sure, but i was just using the example that a lot of people i know (myself included) try to avoid using the tube due to the cost, hence with that in mind hackney with ample bus services is a good place to get into/out of...


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## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

Homeless Mal said:


> Let's not pretend - Hackney Central is dire: full of the typical detritus one finds in inner city boroughs such as drunks, obese singletons, poundland fashionistas, and 'the smelly'.  Victoria Park area is nice and Stoke Newington has some nice restaurants, but the Hackney heartland is grim, dark, and menacing, much like Wood Green which is also a hellhole.



tosh!!!, it's not menacing at all


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## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

marty21 said:


> tosh!!!, it's not menacing at all



heh, me and you marty, we'll defend hackney from these scandalous attacks!


----------



## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

dwenfish said:


> well sure, but i was just using the example that a lot of people i know (myself included) try to avoid using the tube due to the cost, hence with that in mind hackney with ample bus services is a good place to get into/out of...



ok, you're right on the buses, we have them aplenty, although whenever i need a certain bus, it's always the other one that comes along 

if i'm waiting for a 38, loads of 73 buses come along, if i want a 73, then i get all the 38 buses 

it's scientific, the same science that dictates that when i light a cigarette, my bus will suddenly appear


----------



## Homeless Mal (Feb 24, 2009)

The buses in Hackney have the worst of the worst on them: always packed, folk push the bell at every frigging stop, get on for a stop just to cross the road , have tribes of children and buggy's, and are a general pain in the arse 

and, might I add, menacing


----------



## rutabowa (Feb 24, 2009)

basically it's pretty much like the song says


----------



## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

Homeless Mal said:


> The buses in Hackney have the worst of the worst on them: always packed, folk push the bell at every frigging stop, get on for a stop just to cross the road , have tribes of children and buggy's, and are a general pain in the arse
> 
> and, might I add, menacing



i have never been menaced on a hackney bus, in 15 years of travelling on them


----------



## pengaleng (Feb 24, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i have never been menaced on a hackney bus, in 15 years of travelling on them



I've never been menaced on a bus either, I mean there are certainly random drunks etc, but I think it's more entertainment tbh


----------



## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

tribal_princess said:


> I've never been menaced on a bus either, I mean there are certainly random drunks etc, but I think it's more entertainment tbh



and all for the price of a bus ticket


----------



## HackneyE9 (Feb 24, 2009)

Homeless Mal said:


> Let's not pretend - Hackney Central is dire: full of the typical detritus one finds in inner city boroughs such as drunks, obese singletons, poundland fashionistas, and 'the smelly'.  Victoria Park area is nice and Stoke Newington has some nice restaurants, but the Hackney heartland is grim, dark, and menacing, much like Wood Green which is also a hellhole.



Homeless Mal In Talking Shit Shocker


----------



## Homeless Mal (Feb 24, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Homeless Mal In Talking Shit Shocker



What a sweeping generalisation!


----------



## liberty (Feb 24, 2009)

Stigmata said:


> I'm a non-Londoner and i'm looking at a work placement in the area (at the Hackney Museum). What sort of a place is it? Has anyone been to the museum? Cheers.



Lived there for a number of years and liked it.. But I'm happier South of the river.


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

dwenfish said:


> it's 15 mins walk max from the bottom of mare street to chat's palace- hence adding 15 mins to your journey



Fifteen minutes' walk if you're 18 foot tall, perhaps. It's 15 minutes just from the bottom of Mare St to the Hackney Empire.


----------



## Melinda (Feb 24, 2009)

Homeless Mal said:


> The buses in Hackney have the worst of the worst on them: always packed, folk push the bell at every frigging stop, get on for a stop just to cross the road , have tribes of children and buggy's, and are a general pain in the arse
> 
> and, might I add, menacing


Is Hackney just too black/ working class for you Mal?


----------



## rutabowa (Feb 24, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Fifteen minutes' walk if you're 18 foot tall, perhaps. It's 15 minutes just from the bottom of Mare St to the Hackney Empire.



i think they might have meant 15 minutes walk from hackney central station to chats palace maybe? which is about right... or if you were on that line anyway you could get off at homerton then it's only 5 or so minutes walk.

but none of this might be useful to you


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> i think they might have meant 15 minutes walk from hackney central station to chats palace maybe? which is about right... or if you were on that line anyway you could get off at homerton then it's only 5 or so minutes walk.
> 
> but none of this might be useful to you



I'd say it's more than fifteen minutes from Hackney Central, too, but less than half an hour. My line goes to Hackney Downs, whch isn't very useful for Chats Palace really, and the buses take forever to get up Mare St at that time of day.


----------



## rutabowa (Feb 24, 2009)

scifisam said:


> I'd say it's more than fifteen minutes from Hackney Central, too, but less than half an hour. My line goes to Hackney Downs, whch isn't very useful for Chats Palace really, and the buses take forever to get up Mare St at that time of day.


it's not long if you cut through the churchyard and then that estate on the other side of the road but yes its' a bit of a walk from hackney downs and there's no point getting a bus


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> it's not long if you cut through the churchyard and then that estate on the other side of the road but yes its' a bit of a walk from hackney downs and there's no point getting a bus



Yeah, that's the route we take. But we have to get to Hackney Central first.


----------



## rutabowa (Feb 24, 2009)

i have to make just that journey from hackney downs to chatsworth road myself a lot... and i can offer no quick solution.
wait hang on! from hackney downs i walk up dalston lane instead of amhurst road, then median road–clifden road to chatsworth road. that shaves off a few minutes.


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> i have to make just that journey from hackney downs to chatsworth road myself a lot... and i can offer no quick solution.
> wait hang on! from hackney downs i walk up dalston lane instead of amhurst road, then median road–clifden road to chatsworth road. that shaves off a few minutes.



We're not actually coming from Hackney Downs - we're coming from Bethnal Green. I'm trying to work out a better walking route, but I do get lost easily.


----------



## rutabowa (Feb 24, 2009)

oh well i reckon you would probably be quicker getting a train to hackney downs and then walking the way i said, probably... it's worth trying anyway.


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> oh well i reckon you would probably be quicker getting a train to hackney downs and then walking the way i said, probably... it's worth trying anyway.



Possibly. Might be worth a try. Bit expensive, though.


----------



## tarannau (Feb 24, 2009)

Don't mind the place, but it's a pain in the arse to get to. Hate going to gigs at Ocean for example - packed buses back to the centre, fuck all taxis and a dull vibe later on.

To be fair, I don't like sitting in traffic on buses. There's little more frustrating that that.


----------



## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Fifteen minutes' walk if you're 18 foot tall, perhaps. It's 15 minutes just from the bottom of Mare St to the Hackney Empire.



heh, sorry- confusion as to what constitutes bottom here! for me the top of mare street is bethnal green where it turns into cambridge heath road, with the bottom being hackney central!

but chats palace is easily 15 mins max from hackney central hence only 15 minutes away from where your daughter's class used to be...

edit- just read rest of thread, hmm can't think of a better route walking from hackney downs but it can't take an hour and half to get from bethnal green to homerton surely? bus to bottom of mare street= 15mins + 15-20 mins walk= 35, 40 mins max?


----------



## 5t3IIa (Feb 24, 2009)

Doesn't the 106 and 253 or 4 go from Bethnal Green to the bottom of Lower Clapton Road which is near Chat's Palace?


----------



## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> Doesn't the 106 and 253 or 4 go from Bethnal Green to the bottom of Lower Clapton Road which is near Chat's Palace?



they do, which might cut even more time off the journey (though that annoying bit round the station often takes longer by bus than walking), but even if you get any of the other million buses from bethnal green to hack centr its still no more than 15 mins walk...

edit- wtf, that map looks well weird with tube symbols for the silverlink! a change of name doesn't make it a feckin tube stop!!


----------



## hipipol (Feb 24, 2009)

Hackney started to go downhill when I moved out back in '83


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

Those buses go as far as Hackney Baths, and then it's a 15/20 minute walk from there - but the bus is _really_ slow at that time of day. Walking would be quicker.


----------



## 5t3IIa (Feb 24, 2009)

Is that really 15-20 mins?


----------



## HackneyE9 (Feb 24, 2009)

tarannau said:


> Don't mind the place, but it's a pain in the arse to get to. Hate going to gigs at Ocean for example - packed buses back to the centre, fuck all taxis and a dull vibe later on.
> 
> To be fair, I don't like sitting in traffic on buses. There's little more frustrating that that.



Don't think there's been any gigs at Ocean since it shut down in about 2003, there's loads going on in/around Hackney Central - far more than most bits of London - and if you rely on taxis to get around, then, yeah, Hackney might not be for you.


----------



## dwenfish (Feb 24, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Those buses go as far as Hackney Baths, and then it's a 15/20 minute walk from there - but the bus is _really_ slow at that time of day. Walking would be quicker.



i'd say 15 mins absolute maximum, it's only half a mile- fair point about buses taking long at certain times of day though...

sorry i don't know why i'm so interested in your travel arrangements, hope you manage to sort something out anyway


----------



## marty21 (Feb 24, 2009)

56 bus? from hackney downs, to chatsworth road (lea bridge road end) - then maybe 5 min walk


----------



## Herbert Read (Feb 24, 2009)

Melinda said:


> Is Hackney just too black/ working class for you Mal?





Liberal top trumps.


----------



## scifisam (Feb 24, 2009)

marty21 said:


> 56 bus? from hackney downs, to chatsworth road (lea bridge road end) - then maybe 5 min walk



It'd take us quite a while to get to Hackney Downs, unless we happened to be very lucky with the trains (and I don't really want to pay for a train journey for such a short distance anyway) - they're just not all that frequent. 

Of course, these problems wouldn't necessarily be solved by there being more tube stations in Hackney. You still sometimes have the problem of points a and b happening to be really bloody awkward to get between.


----------



## Melinda (Feb 25, 2009)

Herbert Read said:


> Liberal top trumps.



Liberal? You flatter me!  

Having low tolerance/ high sensitivity threshold for low level nuisance behaviour is likely to drive you _mad_ in a big, crowded city. 

It then becomes easier to mis-characterise said nuisance behavior as being more serious than it actually is.


----------



## blossie33 (Feb 25, 2009)

Re Mare Street to Chats Palace the 276 single decker bus stops just outside Homerton Hospital (about 5 mins journey) and Chats is just around the corner.


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## 5t3IIa (Feb 25, 2009)

blossie33 said:


> Re Mare Street to Chats Palace the 276 single decker bus stops just outside Homerton Hospital (about 5 mins journey) and Chats is just around the corner.



Not udeful from Bethnal Green direction though.


----------



## Boycey (Feb 25, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Tubes are a curse, not a blessing. You'll learn that after a while in the smoke...



missed this but 

having to use the tube is shite but the times when it is necessary it makes the bus look pretty silly and don't even get me started on the overground.

bicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicyclebicycle


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## lighterthief (Feb 25, 2009)

Yep, Hackney's great for cycling.  Lots of parks, canals etc.


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## HackneyE9 (Feb 25, 2009)

Boycey said:


> missed this but
> 
> having to use the tube is shite but the times when it is necessary it makes the bus look pretty silly and don't even get me started on the overground.



Use a bike. The number of colleagues I used to have who'd just arrived in London, were skint, but whose sole criteria for somewhere to live was 'gotta be on the tube'.

So instead of living in central, leafy Hackney (when it was still cheap), or somewhere well-connected in south London, they all end up tiny shithole flats in Willesden Green, Manor House, Arnos Grove et al. So they can be "on the tube."


----------



## RubyBlue (Feb 26, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> That junction at Dalston....Junction is always hell.



^ for me that junction is the only downside to the transport where I live, especially right now with the building works, but even before then it was still a nightmare - I wish my flat was just 10 minutes up the road - would save me loads of time, I could probably walk to Highbury then anyway


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 3, 2009)

While Hackney isn't exactly paradise, I think it generally has a much worse image in the national press than it deserves.

Tons of open space (hackney and walthamstow marshes, vicky park, the downs, clissold park, etc)
A few really good pubs (pub on the park, my personal favourite pub in london)
Good 24/7 food shops
Relatively central

It can be rough in parts, but there are worse areas (Hello, newham!) which don't relaly have any of the above things but are just as rough or worse as hackney.


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 3, 2009)

scifisam said:


> It'd take us quite a while to get to Hackney Downs, unless we happened to be very lucky with the trains (and I don't really want to pay for a train journey for such a short distance anyway) - they're just not all that frequent.



(no gates at hackney downs or bethnal green by the way not that i would recommmend that of course)


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## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> (no gates at hackney downs or bethnal green by the way not that i would recommmend that of course)



  the trains are pretty frequent, most trains stop at bethnal green and hackney downs, wouldn't have thought there would be more than a 10 minute wait, it serves two lines, the one to chingford , and the one to enfield

just had an idea, train to clapton, left out of station, left again down Gunton Road, cross the park, cross at the traffic lights - chatsworth road


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## braindancer (Mar 3, 2009)

marty21 said:


> just had an idea, train to clapton, left out of station, left again down Gunton Road, cross the park, cross at the traffic lights - chatsworth road



Quite a trek from Clapton station to Chats Palace though isn't it?  I'd say Hackney Downs station was closer.  Chatsworth Road is pretty long to walk the full length.


----------



## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> Quite a trek from Clapton station to Chats Palace though isn't it?  I'd say Hackney Downs station was closer.  Chatsworth Road is pretty long to walk the full length.



i'd estimate 20 mins, maybe 5 mins on the train to clapton, never walked it from hackney downs, you might be right


----------



## braindancer (Mar 3, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> A few really good pubs (pub on the park, my personal favourite pub in london)



I don't think the Pub on the Park is anything to write home about these days.  When I first moved to Hackney this is where we always used to go, but it seems to have lost it's charm and always has big-screen football which rules it out for me.  

My favourite Hackney boozers are the Pembury, the Englefield and the Chesham Arms.


----------



## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> I don't think the Pub on the Park is anything to write home about these days.  When I first moved to Hackney this is where we always used to go, but it seems to have lost it's charm and always has big-screen football which rules it out for me.
> 
> My favourite Hackney boozers are the Pembury, the Englefield and the Chesham Arms.



i love the chesham arms - we had an urban drink there a few months back, the pembury is ok, lovely beer of course, seems to lack an atmosphere iykwim, the englefield used to be the eclipse, quite like that, it's fairly close to me, but hardly ever go down, if i want a local drink, tend to go to the princess of wales on the canal


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 3, 2009)

you mean the Elderfield I think? i go there, sometimes, it's ok.


----------



## braindancer (Mar 3, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> you mean the Elderfield I think? i go there, sometimes, it's ok.



I do indeed mean the Elderfield.  I think I principally like it because they serve Harvey's Sussex County Bitter which is possibly the most perfect beer in the world.


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> I do indeed mean the Elderfield.  I think I principally like it because they serve Harvey's Sussex County Bitter which is possibly the most perfect beer in the world.



oh do they recently? i never spotted that but i could easily have missed it. they do serve beer well there. it is also the pub where i always  forget and leave my card behind the counter so i have to go and pick it up the next day


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## braindancer (Mar 3, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> oh do they recently? i never spotted that but i could easily have missed it. they do serve beer well there. it is also the pub where i always  forget and leave my card behind the counter so i have to go and pick it up the next day



They've certainly had it for the last year or so. 

Yum.


----------



## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> They've certainly had it for the last year or so.
> 
> Yum.



they serve it in the three crowns, stoke newington church st, as well, it's a lovely beer


----------



## HackneyE9 (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> I don't think the Pub on the Park is anything to write home about these days.  When I first moved to Hackney this is where we always used to go, but it seems to have lost it's charm and always has big-screen football which rules it out for me.



I was thinking _exactly_ this thought on Friday!

Ten years ago, even more recently than that, the Pub on the Park was perfect - right mix of Hackneyite eccentrics, locals, squatters/anarcho dog on string types, artists, and y'know,  just normal punters too.

Now, while it's still mercifully free of the Cat & Mutton wankers, it's definitely gone more upmarket. Still nice for the terrace and the view, just blander and a bit less unique.

Anyone else agree?


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> I don't think the Pub on the Park is anything to write home about these days.  When I first moved to Hackney this is where we always used to go, but it seems to have lost it's charm and always has big-screen football which rules it out for me.
> 
> My favourite Hackney boozers are the Pembury, the Englefield and the Chesham Arms.



Not been to the Pembury since the days when it was a post-squat party haunt one summer.  We won't see the likes of those kinds of days again! 

Never been to Englefield or Chesham.


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 3, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i love the chesham arms - we had an urban drink there a few months back, the pembury is ok, lovely beer of course, seems to lack an atmosphere iykwim, the englefield used to be the eclipse, quite like that, it's fairly close to me, but hardly ever go down, if i want a local drink, tend to go to the princess of wales on the canal



Ah it'/s the eclipse.

My brother lived near that place back when it was the grottiest old men's pub in London.  It used to STINK!


----------



## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> Ah it'/s the eclipse.
> 
> My brother lived near that place back when it was the grottiest old men's pub in London.  It used to STINK!



it is most fragrant now, might pop there at the weekend 



RenegadeDog said:


> Not been to the Pembury since the days when it was a post-squat party haunt one summer.  We won't see the likes of those kinds of days again!
> 
> Never been to Englefield or Chesham.



i went to the pembury a few times about 15 years ago when i lived on navarino road, it was fairly choice back then

the chesham is a lovely boozer, tucked away on a back street, close to Sutton House


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 3, 2009)

Ah actually, now you say that, I think the Chesham is that rarest of things: a pub my dad actually likes (he generally hates them).  I believe I went there for a pint with him after he'd played a classical concert in SH many years ago.


----------



## BarryB (Mar 3, 2009)

braindancer said:


> I don't think the Pub on the Park is anything to write home about these days.  When I first moved to Hackney this is where we always used to go, but it seems to have lost it's charm and always has big-screen football which rules it out for me.
> 
> My favourite Hackney boozers are the Pembury, the Englefield and the Chesham Arms.




I agree with you about the Pub in the Park. Ive been there when they had both the big-screen football and recorded music on at the same time both full blast.

BarryB


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## BarryB (Mar 3, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i love the chesham arms - we had an urban drink there a few months back, the pembury is ok, lovely beer of course, seems to lack an atmosphere iykwim, the englefield used to be the eclipse, quite like that, it's fairly close to me, but hardly ever go down, if i want a local drink, tend to go to the princess of wales on the canal




Yes I quite like the Chesham Arms especially the all day breakfast which they start serving from 5pm. At least thats what the barman told me last time I was there.

BarryB


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## marty21 (Mar 3, 2009)

BarryB said:


> Yes I quite like the Chesham Arms especially the all day breakfast which they start serving from 5pm. At least thats what the barman told me last time I was there.
> 
> BarryB



they tend not to open before 4pm, well that was the case a few years ago... i got them to open early on a friday afternoon for my wedding (got married at sutton house)


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## scifisam (Mar 4, 2009)

marty21 said:


> the trains are pretty frequent, most trains stop at bethnal green and hackney downs, wouldn't have thought there would be more than a 10 minute wait, it serves two lines, the one to chingford , and the one to enfield
> 
> just had an idea, train to clapton, left out of station, left again down Gunton Road, cross the park, cross at the traffic lights - chatsworth road



Bethnal Green train station's about a fifteen minute walk from her school - Cambridge Heath is the nearest. The other thing is, I have to take stairs veeeery sloooowly so that adds quite a bit of time to the journey. Too true about the gates. 

We're just going to have to continue with the bus/walking route, although I'm considering just walking it too. 

The Chesham is a lovely pub, but the Pub on the Park still wins in Summer simply because it has a decent amount of outside space and a pleasant view. I plan to go there next Summer, deposit my daughter in the playground next to the pub and sit where I can keep an eye on her. 

The Hare is another pub we go to now and then; it's nothing special really, I guess, but it's quite friendly and they have a pool table.


----------



## marty21 (Mar 4, 2009)

there a load of stairs at clapton station...ah well back to the drawing board


----------



## braindancer (Mar 5, 2009)

And the borough is officially improving - it's a fact:




			
				Hackney Council said:
			
		

> The Mayor and I are delighted to share excellent news with you. Tomorrow morning the Audit Commission will announce that the Council has received the top score of “improving strongly” and also retained its 3 star rating in the national Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).
> The results really are worth reading in full and you can see the whole statement at the end of this message.  First, here are some headlines:
> 
> Our Value for Money element of the Use of Resources score has risen from 2 to 3, reflecting your hard work and our strong commitment to being an efficient and well run Council. That is of major importance in the current economic climate – in which our position of financial strength has enabled us to keep Council Tax  frozen for four years in a row, without cutting services, while continuing to drive up the quality of our services.
> ...


----------



## marty21 (Mar 5, 2009)

it has improved, mind you they were pretty shite a few years ago, so it was easy to improve from that - i remember when they outsourced the hb service to ITNET, i think they were called, who were rubbish - huge delays in assessing claims - they had to cancel the contract and take it back in house, the whole fiasco must have cost loads

my interaction with them is as a householder - recycling service is excellent, rubbish collection good, street cleaning alright, a lot of work to do on housing -the woodberry down redevelopment seems an almighty mess, i was involved in tha a few years ago, it's been on the boks for years,maybe 10, still loads of boarded up flats, very little building work has been done


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 5, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Bethnal Green train station's about a fifteen minute walk from her school - Cambridge Heath is the nearest. The other thing is, I have to take stairs veeeery sloooowly so that adds quite a bit of time to the journey. Too true about the gates.
> 
> We're just going to have to continue with the bus/walking route, although I'm considering just walking it too.
> 
> ...



The Hare is the new Dolphin. Apparently.

Is run by the former barman from The Approach, when the Approach was fantastic.


----------



## braindancer (Mar 5, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> The Hare is the new Dolphin. Apparently.
> 
> Is run by the former barman from The Approach, when the Approach was fantastic.



Where's the Hare? 

Not that I have any particular desire to go to the new Dolphin.


----------



## marty21 (Mar 5, 2009)

braindancer said:


> Where's the Hare?
> 
> Not that I have any particular desire to go to the new Dolphin.



i'd like to know too, i think i've seen it but can't remember where , i liked the approach (bethnal green?)


----------



## scifisam (Mar 5, 2009)

The Hare's near where Cambridge Heath Rd meets Hackney Rd. It's only just about Hackney. Doesn't seem Hoxton trendy or anything - just an ordinary, pleasant pub.


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 5, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> The Hare is the new Dolphin. Apparently.
> 
> Is run by the former barman from The Approach, when the Approach was fantastic.



the hare's nothing like the Dolphin! anyway the dolphin is getting good again now famous people have stopped going there and attracting the wrong crowd.

as a matter of fact we are putting on a rock and roll night there next thursday evening. so it must be good


----------



## scifisam (Mar 5, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> the hare's nothing like the Dolphin! anyway the dolphin is getting good again now famous people have stopped going there and attracting the wrong crowd.
> 
> as a matter of fact we are putting on a rock and roll night there next thursday evening. so it must be good



Ooh, we might be able to make that.


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 5, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Ooh, we might be able to make that.



oh that would be great!
i did this (awful) flyer:


----------



## HackneyE9 (Mar 5, 2009)

I used to go to the Dolphin and now I've stopped going = Am I famous? 

Actually, seriously - who's been spotted in there? I used to love it 2-3 years ago but it rapidly became a victim of its own success....


----------



## scifisam (Mar 5, 2009)

OK, I've put it in my calendar and will check with my GF later if there was something else I was supposed to have put in there already.


----------



## rutabowa (Mar 5, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> I used to go to the Dolphin and now I've stopped going = Am I famous?
> 
> Actually, seriously - who's been spotted in there? I used to love it 2-3 years ago but it rapidly became a victim of its own success....



sorry, 2-3 years ago it had already got too popular, you were too late. i dunno, kate moss, lilly allen, those kind of people.


----------



## HackneyE9 (Mar 5, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> sorry, 2-3 years ago it had already got too popular, you were too late. i dunno, kate moss, lilly allen, those kind of people.



Oh, "celebs".   

I hoped you meant "famous people" in the sense of having some talent they were famous for.

I started going there in 1999, when I lived opposite, and back then they only people in there were pissed Irish OAP alcoholics and dodgy Vietnamese guys hustling pool and selling shoplifted items out of Tesco bags...


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## rutabowa (Mar 5, 2009)

i think it's always been like that during the day, it's only friday and saturday late that it started getting horrendous, anyway come down on thursday and see what it's like now!


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 5, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> i think it's always been like that during the day, it's only friday and saturday late that it started getting horrendous, anyway come down on thursday and see what it's like now!



I'm in Berlin now - which is itself the new Dolphin in some ways. For good and ill.


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## BarryB (Mar 5, 2009)

scifisam said:


> The Hare's near where Cambridge Heath Rd meets Hackney Rd. It's only just about Hackney. Doesn't seem Hoxton trendy or anything - just an ordinary, pleasant pub.



Its between the Canal and Hackney Road so it must be in Tower Hamlets.

BarryB


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## scifisam (Mar 6, 2009)

BarryB said:


> Its between the Canal and Hackney Road so it must be in Tower Hamlets.
> 
> BarryB



Nope. That side of Hackney Rd is Hackney. The divide is in the middle of Hackney Rd.


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## BarryB (Mar 6, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Nope. That side of Hackney Rd is Hackney. The divide is in the middle of Hackney Rd.



Not clear what you mean. The Hare is in Cambridge Heath Road, Tower Hamlets. All of Hackney Road on the south side is in Tower Hamlets. On the north side of Hackney Road from Cambridge Heath Road to  the old Childrens Hospital at corner of Goldsmiths Row is also in Tower Hamlets. Hackney starts from the other side of Goldsmiths Row (ie Hackney City Farm) and continues to Kingsland Road.

BarryB


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## scifisam (Mar 6, 2009)

Ah yeah, you're right - I was misinformed. Kinda comforting that a Hackney councillor knows the boundaries better than me.  I think the Hare probably is just about Tower Hamlets, then, although, to be honest, it's a bit of an arbitrary distinction. If the boundary changed by just a few feet, Hackney City Farm would have to change its name.


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## BarryB (Mar 6, 2009)

scifisam said:


> Ah yeah, you're right - I was misinformed. Kinda comforting that a Hackney councillor knows the boundaries better than me.  I think the Hare probably is just about Tower Hamlets, then, although, to be honest, it's a bit of an arbitrary distinction. If the boundary changed by just a few feet, Hackney City Farm would have to change its name.



I agree with you that the boundaries are arbitary. I dont know the details but over the years the boundaries have changed. So for instance the old Childrens Hospital was in Hackney. Even a small part of Commercial Street is in Hackney. I had always assumed that the whole of Commercial Street was in Tower Hamlets.

BarryB


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 6, 2009)

BarryB said:


> I agree with you that the boundaries are arbitary. I dont know the details but over the years the boundaries have changed. So for instance the old Childrens Hospital was in Hackney. Even a small part of Commercial Street is in Hackney. I had always assumed that the whole of Commercial Street was in Tower Hamlets.
> 
> BarryB



What, if anything, is happening to the Children's Hospital, do you know? It's been empty for at least 9 years now, which is crazy considering the decade-long housing bubble. 

Knowing Hackney council, they'll probably decide now is the best time to capitalise on its value by selling it. To one of their mates.


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## BarryB (Mar 6, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> What, if anything, is happening to the Children's Hospital, do you know? It's been empty for at least 9 years now, which is crazy considering the decade-long housing bubble.
> 
> Knowing Hackney council, they'll probably decide now is the best time to capitalise on its value by selling it. To one of their mates.



Hackney Council would probably like to sell the Childrens Hospital if they could. Only problem is that Hackney dont own -its not in Hackney. Its in Tower Hamlets. As far as I know its owned by the NHS. Over the years there have been lots of rumours such as Sainsburys wanting the site for a supermarket. Last I heard was that the NHS wanted to bring the original hospital building back into NHS use and demolish the hideous modern bit and sell that land off for housing and retail. 

BarryB


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## scifisam (Mar 6, 2009)

I wonder about this every time I walk past that building. You could get quite a few flats out of the old building (the modern bit really is hideous). I always assumed there must be some practical problems, like the building being in too bad a state of disrepair to be turned into homes, because it is a lot of prime land to leave standing empty. Mind you, there's the old Bethnal Green Town Hall down the road from the hospital which also only gets occasional use in a couple of rooms as a set for one TV show, and lies empty the rest of the time. Maybe Tower Hamlets council just doesn't _want_ to house people!


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## BarryB (Mar 6, 2009)

scifisam said:


> I wonder about this every time I walk past that building. You could get quite a few flats out of the old building (the modern bit really is hideous). I always assumed there must be some practical problems, like the building being in too bad a state of disrepair to be turned into homes, because it is a lot of prime land to leave standing empty. Mind you, there's the old Bethnal Green Town Hall down the road from the hospital which also only gets occasional use in a couple of rooms as a set for one TV show, and lies empty the rest of the time. Maybe Tower Hamlets council just doesn't _want_ to house people!




The Childrens Hospital might be a listed building. That would complicate things.

BarryB


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## scifisam (Mar 6, 2009)

BarryB said:


> The Childrens Hospital might be a listed building. That would complicate things.
> 
> BarryB



It probably is, but it would be sad if that complicated things so much that it couldn't be used - after all, it was used before.


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## BarryB (Mar 6, 2009)

scifisam said:


> It probably is, but it would be sad if that complicated things so much that it couldn't be used - after all, it was used before.



Agreed.

BarryB


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 7, 2009)

I wonder how much money the NHS has wasted by leaving it lying empty for a decade during the biggest property boom in UK history???


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## rutabowa (Mar 9, 2009)

it is MASSIVE that building, i love it. i bet it owudl be well scary to break in and wander round the corridors.


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 9, 2009)

BarryB said:


> Agreed.
> 
> BarryB



Or it could just burn down in a "mystery blaze", like so many other historic buildings in Hackney eyed up by property speculators....


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> I was thinking _exactly_ this thought on Friday!
> 
> Ten years ago, even more recently than that, the Pub on the Park was perfect - right mix of Hackneyite eccentrics, locals, squatters/anarcho dog on string types, artists, and y'know,  just normal punters too.
> 
> ...


 a few rumours circulating the POTP is going to shut .. something about the landlord not being interested??


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

marty21 said:


> .. the princess of wales on the canal


 still the prince of wales to old school locals   tbh i think it is a dingy dreary pub ..


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## marty21 (Mar 9, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Or it could just burn down in a "mystery blaze", like so many other historic buildings in Hackney eyed up by property speculators....



like that department store on amhurst road a few years ago, still an empty plot there


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## marty21 (Mar 9, 2009)

durruti02 said:


> still the prince of wales to old school locals   tbh i think it is a dingy dreary pub ..



i've been there that long   it's nice in the summer, sitting outside on the canal


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

marty21 said:


> like that department store on amhurst road a few years ago, still an empty plot there


that has just been leveled .. anything happenning?


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

marty21 said:


> i've been there that long   it's nice in the summer, sitting outside on the canal


 yep it's nice outside!


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## marty21 (Mar 9, 2009)

durruti02 said:


> that has just been leveled .. anything happenning?



from what i heard there were certain questions from the insurers which were not resolved, hopefully someone has bought it off the previous owners, sadly victim of the mysterious fire  and something will be done about the site


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## BarryB (Mar 9, 2009)

HackneyE9 said:


> Or it could just burn down in a "mystery blaze", like so many other historic buildings in Hackney eyed up by property speculators....



I hope that before it happens someone tells the caretaker/security guard to get out quickly.

BarryB


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## BarryB (Mar 9, 2009)

durruti02 said:


> still the prince of wales to old school locals   tbh i think it is a dingy dreary pub ..



Agreed. But so also is the Ship Aground.

BarryB


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## rutabowa (Mar 9, 2009)

marty21 said:


> from what i heard there were certain questions from the insurers which were not resolved, hopefully someone has bought it off the previous owners, sadly victim of the mysterious fire  and something will be done about the site



some diggers were clearing the site last week


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## marty21 (Mar 9, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> some diggers were clearing the site last week



probably took some clearing, for a while it was a jungle in there


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## BarryB (Mar 12, 2009)

marty21 said:


> like that department store on amhurst road a few years ago, still an empty plot there



Ive tried to find out why the old Gibbons site has been tarmaced but drawn a blank.

BarryB


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## Paulie Tandoori (Mar 13, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> oh that would be great!
> i did this (awful) flyer:


that was a good night. my head is thumping with the remnants of rock and roll (and beer). saw you but didn't say hello. ah well


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## rutabowa (Mar 13, 2009)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> that was a good night. my head is thumping with the remnants of rock and roll (and beer). saw you but didn't say hello. ah well


oh wow were you there? i'm suprised i didn't see you there weren't hundreds of people there! was a bit busy running around though. i'mm glad you enjoyed it, next month's will have a special act on who is just being confirmed


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## rutabowa (Mar 13, 2009)

oh we have a "facebook" group if that's your thing
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=127979215116


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## Paulie Tandoori (Mar 13, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> oh wow were you there? i'm suprised i didn't see you there weren't hundreds of people there! was a bit busy running around though. i'mm glad you enjoyed it, next month's will have a special act on who is just being confirmed


yes, you looked a bit busy (as well as very dapper in your red jumper). we were sat on the comfy chairs just inside the door. the music was rather good we thought so will try and make it along next month too


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## marty21 (Mar 13, 2009)

http://hackneypost.co.uk/

came across this site

hackney news, seems less sensationalist than the hackney gazette, and less corporate mouthpiece that is the hackney council paper


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## BarryB (Mar 17, 2009)

The Gibbons site has now got a car park sign on saying £7.00 a day. Its being checked out to see whether it has planning permission for this use.


BarryB


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## marty21 (Mar 17, 2009)

BarryB said:


> The Gibbons site has now got a car park sign on saying £7.00 a day. Its being checked out to see whether it has planning permission for this use.
> 
> 
> BarryB



so it was burned down to make a car park, ffs


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## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 17, 2009)

Gibbons was one of the icons of my childhood 

Never went in the place, mind, it was just something about the look of the place.


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## rutabowa (Mar 17, 2009)

marty21 said:


> so it was burned down to make a car park, ffs



no, it burned down by a freak accident, and let us never again suggest anything to the contrary


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 17, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> no, it burned down by a freak accident, and let us never again suggest anything to the contrary



In a freak accident just after some new owners had purchased it.  How unlucky can you get?


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## marty21 (Mar 17, 2009)

rutabowa said:


> no, it burned down by a freak accident, and let us never again suggest anything to the contrary



of course!!


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