Rear Window: it’s a 48-hour summer corker
This weekend Hollow Ponds’ rather fabulous Rear Window restaurant is marking the start of the summer hols with a load of offers and one-off events. Firstly, if you’re wfh tomorrow (Friday 26th), there’s a 30% discount on the a la carte menu, with a complimentary wine or prosecco chucked in too. And in the evening (July 26th) is a free jazz concert alfresco in the garden under the stars.
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Then on Saturday there’s a a pop-up Pimm’s and Aperol party in the garden (12 to 4 pm) with drinks from £7.50, while soaking up the sun. And finally, on Sunday it’s – yep – a Dog Talent Show (2-4pm). Bring your furry friends for a day filled with tail-wagging fun and prizes will be awarded for the best-dressed, cutest, and best trick categories. Plus, all dogs will enjoy a free doggy meal – can’t say furry-er than that. Follow @therearwindowrestaurant
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Fly away Paraquet. Hello Leyton Calling
In another – and what owner Danny Saunders promises is the final name-change – classy new cocktail bar The Paraquet, based in the Tilbury Road railway arches opposite Leyton Midland Overground, has become Leyton Calling.
“We’ve rebranded again,” he says. “But my lord can I promise you it’s the last time. No more confusion. Though we loved the original and had a pretty strong link to what it symbolised, luckily this does too. We landed on it for two reasons: 1) It’s a nice little nod to the classic London Calling cocktail and to our signature drink – the Lei-ton Calling and 2) More importantly, we believe we are a Leyton Calling, a bar that this area has wanted and needed, and we have filled that gap and as the latest bar in the area, we are, in essence, your final calling.”
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He promises that “nothing else changes about us. Everything else is the same and though it can be frustrating having to switch, quite frankly, in a month’s time all will be forgotten and Leyton Calling will be as it always has been…unless of course in a few months time we just bin it and do it all again. Anyways, as per usual; apologies for the chaos and thanks for going along with our bat-shit mental ride.” Follow @leytoncalling
Stratford Picturehouse: closing 28th July
Who feels genuinely sad about this institution, which first opened back in 1997 as part of Stratford’s then-fledgling Cultural Quarter, closing this weekend?
Most readers will have been, if not regularly, then at least once or twice – and it’s always preferable over the noisy hell of the Vue in Westfield.
It’s fair to say the Picturehouse was alarmingly quiet on our last visit, although the handful of screaming toddlers on a Saturday matinee kept the audience noise levels lively.
But we do, however, hope the Picturehouse gets a spruce-up, and retains its cinema status in underrated Theatre Square. If not, at least the rebooted Walthamstow Cinema is reopening soon under new operators PDJ, complete with cocktail bar celebrating Leytonstone’s most famous son, Hitchcock.
Finally, it’s Waltham Forest Pride this weekend
From 3pm to 8pm tomorrow (Saturday 27th July) on Fellowship Square there’s a variety of free activities showcasing local LGBTQIA+ talent. You can enjoy music, poetry, and speeches throughout the day while you browse a great range of stalls offering tasty food and drink. It is a free event but will be ticketed, with wristbands given on entry so that it is possible to leave and re-enter. We went last year and it’s a blast.
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