You’ll undoubtedly be aware of this already – but it’s pretty major. Tomorrow (Saturday 21st September) sees a free one-day family-friendly festival take over Leyton’s loveliest thoroughfare. Let’s hope the thunder storms don’t strike.
Run by the rather enterprising Francis Road Collective, this one differs from other Francis Road happenings as its focus is on the arts as well as food & drink. There’s even a main stage with an eclectic line-up of live performances from 1pm.
My musical tip, on stage at 4pm, is glam electro popster Vanity Fairy, who we enjoyed watching perform at Dreamhouse’s recent birthday shenanigans, while from 530pm-645pm there’s also Drag Queen Cabaret, from the Northcote pub’s regular Drag Out the Weekend nights, hosted by Chamonix Aspen.
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It all ends with an outdoor film screening of 2021’s Oscar-winning music documentary ‘Summer of Soul’, while other highlights are world-class breakdancing from Academy Breakin Convention, local South Asian artists Qazi & Qazi at 6.45pm, and kids ceilidh (at 1pm).
There’ll also be live music and DJs in Dreamhouse Records, and DJs in the garden at Yardarm, too. As well as the many Francis Road outlets, Leyton’s fabulous Deeney’s will have a food stall, while Jerk & Juice will be bringing Caribbean cuisine, too. The festival runs from 10am-10pm tomorrow.
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Regular readers will have followed my rediscovered love of fish and chips. And last month you lot (well, 61% of you) firmly voted for Michael’s on Hainault Road as the area’s best.
Now, there’s an upstart. Batter & Co has just opened on Leyton High Road and, to tempt locals in, it had a (now-finished) offer of fish and chips for a ludicrously good-value £4.50.
As the long queue dictated that the cod be continually fried fresh, the flesh was beautifully opaque, silken even: as moist as it could be. The batter was golden and crunchy, while the trio of complimentary sauces also impressed: garlic mayo, chilli sauce and tartare (yes, they may have been from a jar).
The only let-down were slightly anaemic chips, as if the chefs had rushed them through to beat the queue. But despite the £4.50 offer now over, it’s still only £9: cheaper than most. Follow @batternco
Finally, this fantastic new work just near the Overground is by @goodwivesandwarriors (a creative duo of Louise Chappell and Becky Bolton): it was only while stomping up the high street researching the latest openings above that we caught sight of it.
Stop, for a moment, and gawp at another colourful celebration of the area, before a pint of local craft beer at Mammoth taproom.
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