28 October 2007
Gridiron action kicks off in the UK when Dolphins and Giants play their Week 8 bout at Wembley. Thousands of US fans are travelling to London, and organisers expect a full house as UK fans rush to snap up the last remaining tickets.

“It’s an honour to have been chosen as the host venue for the first regular-season NFL game outside of North America,” said Wembley’s Managing Director, Alex Horne. “Wembley Stadium is known around the world for having staged some of the biggest and most important events in sport and entertainment history, and it’s great to see American football return here. We hope that this fantastic event will help to bring the drama of the sport to a much wider audience, and showcase London and the magic of Wembley to the US and the rest of the world.”

Kick off time is at 5:00pm local, 1:00pm ET, and a global audience of millions is expected to tune in on TV, on radio and online. If all goes well, it will add weight to the idea of holding the Super Bowl at Wembley, a future scenario suggested by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

16-Oct-2007

Shepherd’s Bush is changing. A huge tract of land starting from the back of Shepherd’s Bush tube station and stretching all the way to White City, is under construction.

Shepherd’s Bush Green (left) to White City (top right)

Generally called the ‘White City development‘ it’s a massive project due to complete in 2008 (to 2010), which can’t come soon enough. The locals have been inconvenienced for years with cranes, grime and endless road works.

Wood Lane

But the ends should justify the means. A new tube station will open on Wood Lane. It’s a Hammersmith & City line extension, and it will go hand-in-hand with a new bus station and multi-storey carpark. There’s also a fat new shopping and leisure centre in the offing called the Westfield.

(vision of) The Westfield

Debenhams, M&S, Next, Primark, H&M and TopShop have already snapped up lots, and more high street favourites are due to be announced. The new center is billed as London‘s biggest indoor shopping arena, set to out trump Brent Cross and Blue Water. And with new low-cost housing, a cinema complex, library and nursery, the Westfield is also meant as a new community hub. According to Transport for London, some 4,000 new jobs will be created, a much needed investment for Shepherd’s Bush.

At the moment, the largest employer in the area is the BBC with its massive HQ at White City. But 90% of the employees travel in from elsewhere, so the locals are largely excluded.

The Westfield will be hungry for new recruits especially part-time staff who live nearby, and there are plenty of suitable candidates.

(part of) White City Estate

———————————————-Cobbold Road

Shepherd’s Bush is a major residential area with big and often hard-pressed estates in Becklow Gardens, Wormholt Park and White City. And there are neighbouring estates in Latimer and Ladbroke Grove. It would great if employers had a points system biased toward applicants from local postcodes – W6, W10, W11, W12 and W14. Most are within easy walking distance to the new centre or just a quick bus ride away.

I was born and raised in Shepherd’s Bush (Cobbold Road) and mum lives just off the Goldhawk Road, so I know how much the new development will mean to the local economy especially if employers draw on the home-grown talent.

Locals be warned: get your applications in early.
- Development Info
- Photos: Shepherd’s Bush
Image credits:
- Rob McMorran, Gis Sibella, Normko,
- Rare Surname, Christophe Bernard

Elistano’s. The restaurant directly below my apartment. It’s popular, always busy and often lively with song – usually the strains of “Happy Birthday to You…” In the summer the frontage opens onto the pavement and the happy sound of chatter curls up through the air as invitingly as the scent of the food. Elistano’s is Italian, the menu rich with freshly cooked fare, and the bill surprisingly slender considering the location. Chelsea isn’t a generous place for the budget conscious.

 

Look to your left, two doors away, and you find another restaurant, Pellicano. It’s also Italian with open frontage and a loyal clientele. But unlike Elistano’s with its homely ‘this could easily be my own kitchen’ feel, Pellicano’s is silver-service with stiff linens and dapper, uniformed staff.

Beyond the secluded entrance is a cosy atmosphere of reverent dining – the menu is superb and the service attentive but discrete. It’s perfect for the dates to impress or to gather with well-behaved children for Sunday lunch.

Walk further on to the left, and you find a branch of Maison Blanc the popular patisserie chain created by Raymond Blanc. The front tables are always taken, and the queues on Sunday mornings are not for the faint-hearted. Pastries are baked on the premises and there’s a heart-melting selection of chocolates and sugar-bound treats on offer – gift wrapped for special occasions.

Step out of Maision Blanc, turn back to Elistano’s and a few doors ahead, you find the exclusive façade of Tom Aikens. On the inside, you’re treated to top-end, mile-high cuisine served with maximum efficiency. It’s easy to move around the airy space designed by Anouska Hempel – the moody textures are soothing on the eye and the staff blend in like chameleons. You can taste the tannin long before you’re handed the wine list, and the weighty menu reads likes a romantic sonnet. It’s well deserved. Tom’s cuisine is delightful, seduction on a plate. Forget the Michelin stars and various awards for excellence. The menu and the meal experience are beyond question. Word gets round without the need for accolades.

Around the corner from Tom Aikens is an off-shoot, Tom’s Kitchen, a busy and cheerful eaterie which opened a year ago. It’s on Cale Street, and if you take the long way round to get there, you’ll pass the Chelsea branch of myHotel on the corner of Elystan and Ixworth. It’s so discretely placed you barely notice. Stop in to sup at the coffee bar. The raised balcony looks out at the glass fronted gardens of Crown Lodge secluded appts (pictured below) reputed to be the most exclusive/expensive in west London.

1. Elistano
2. Pellicano
3. Maison Blanc
4. Tom Aikens
5. Tom’s Kitchen
6. myHotel Chelsea

Image credits: Hypnotic-Aubergine, Camies