Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
I love Harringay because...
when I wanted to start a family, I could buy a slightly knocked about a bit old house with a patch of garden to call my own and a little bit of history and put a smile back on its lovely old face without having to win the lottery.
of my neighbours, who hail from many places, who welcomed me warmly and made me feel at home.
when I'm hungry, it's a cooks paradise around here with good quality meat and game from Baldwins, all manner of fruit and veg, and the possibilty of buying ingredients/spices for all types of cooking (Indian/chinese/north African/ Italian/Polish/Russian/Turkish etc.) Add to that buying my desserts from the French patisserie or Halepi, my bread from Yasar or Danube and my 80% chocolate from the Russian provision shop to go with my coffee and I am in foodie heaven. Or if I'm feeling idle and don't want to cook, I can pick up some (cheap) delicious Turkish stews and rice or a whole roast chicken and a tube of Harissa from the north African butchers.
if I want to eat out, I'm sure of a wonderful welcome at Bianca, a decent omelette and a latte from Cafe Lemon, or a nice Sunday lunch at the Salisbury. I can indulge my love of oriental food at China City or (babysitter required) Mr E can put his glad rags on and take me out to the Garden Ladder for some Modern British food. I can walk the kids to a friendly Spanish style welcome at La Vina or fill them full of delicious goodies at the Anteplier juice bar.
if I arrive back in Harringay after a night out, I feel safe because the shops are open, people are on the streets and the three lovely bars/pubs are, I know, full of good gentle people enjoying a beer or three.
my children are Londoners, although we are not, and they have the chance to go to a neighbourhood school in a beautiful old Victorian building and be cared for by professional and hardworking staff. They will mix with children from every walk of life and will learn that other viewpoints and cultures exist and that there are parents who care enough to give up their time to make the space green for them or raise money for the little extras.
when I want to take them to out to experience their heritage as citizens of one of the greatest cities on earth, I can take a bus to Trafalgar square for 90p or a train to Ally Pally or tube to the wonderful free museums of London all from the end of my road.
when we want to play, we can walk or ride to wonderful green parks, restored through the efforts of people who said 'no I will not tolerate our green spaces being neglected' and have given them back to the children of Harringay.
when I look up I see beautiful old facades and wonderful detailing on buildings that give me a sense of history.
it has a website where there is a free and fair exchange of views between people who care about where they live and who are willing to get off their behinds and work for change, and through which I have met some great new neighbours to go to the pub with.
when I smile at people here, they smile back...
All this in my backyard.
of my neighbours, who hail from many places, who welcomed me warmly and made me feel at home.
when I'm hungry, it's a cooks paradise around here with good quality meat and game from Baldwins, all manner of fruit and veg, and the possibilty of buying ingredients/spices for all types of cooking (Indian/chinese/north African/ Italian/Polish/Russian/Turkish etc.) Add to that buying my desserts from the French patisserie or Halepi, my bread from Yasar or Danube and my 80% chocolate from the Russian provision shop to go with my coffee and I am in foodie heaven. Or if I'm feeling idle and don't want to cook, I can pick up some (cheap) delicious Turkish stews and rice or a whole roast chicken and a tube of Harissa from the north African butchers.
if I want to eat out, I'm sure of a wonderful welcome at Bianca, a decent omelette and a latte from Cafe Lemon, or a nice Sunday lunch at the Salisbury. I can indulge my love of oriental food at China City or (babysitter required) Mr E can put his glad rags on and take me out to the Garden Ladder for some Modern British food. I can walk the kids to a friendly Spanish style welcome at La Vina or fill them full of delicious goodies at the Anteplier juice bar.
if I arrive back in Harringay after a night out, I feel safe because the shops are open, people are on the streets and the three lovely bars/pubs are, I know, full of good gentle people enjoying a beer or three.
my children are Londoners, although we are not, and they have the chance to go to a neighbourhood school in a beautiful old Victorian building and be cared for by professional and hardworking staff. They will mix with children from every walk of life and will learn that other viewpoints and cultures exist and that there are parents who care enough to give up their time to make the space green for them or raise money for the little extras.
when I want to take them to out to experience their heritage as citizens of one of the greatest cities on earth, I can take a bus to Trafalgar square for 90p or a train to Ally Pally or tube to the wonderful free museums of London all from the end of my road.
when we want to play, we can walk or ride to wonderful green parks, restored through the efforts of people who said 'no I will not tolerate our green spaces being neglected' and have given them back to the children of Harringay.
when I look up I see beautiful old facades and wonderful detailing on buildings that give me a sense of history.
it has a website where there is a free and fair exchange of views between people who care about where they live and who are willing to get off their behinds and work for change, and through which I have met some great new neighbours to go to the pub with.
when I smile at people here, they smile back...
All this in my backyard.
Tags for Forum Posts: what's harringay like?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I love Harringay because when we moved here 25 years ago, everyone we met in our street welcomed us as a gay couple and treated us in the same way they treated all of their neighbours. This might sound a bit trite but in 1983 it was exceptional.
I love Harringay because I can leave my keys with neighbours and not worry when I forget to take mine with me.
I love Harringay because I've met people who will be friends for the rest of my life.
I love Harringay because loads of people will feed our cat when we go away for the weekend.
I love Harringay because when I've been away and come back I feel that sense of home.
I love Harringay because ....where else can you find somewhere like The Salisbury?
I love Harringey because I saw (and heard) swans and their six children crossing my road in the fog earlier this week.
I love Harringay because foxes wake me up at 4:30
I love Harringay becuse I can get a loaf of hot bread on Christmas morning
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Maybe the same family that so entertained me and my two babes this afternoon?
Funny since writing this, the fish shop has gone, Halepi's has closed and the juice bar has shut up shop. I do, however, visit Dolcetti's (which replaced Halepi) nearly every day for bags of goodies. Have also discovered a chocolate from Belarus in the Russian shop the knowledge of which I guess I should keep to myself ! I also love the Sunflowers at the top of our road, (mine all keeled over and died). I love the main hall in South Harringay Infant School which still has the names of all the house captains, prize winners etc from when it was a girls school.
And I can't believe I missed out, from the post above, Railway Fields and all the lovely people who work there.
Hey all you people, take a picture in Harringay next Monday 8th September (the foxes Michael?) and post it to our photo homage to Harringay '898, A life in the day in Harringay' .
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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I saw this little fluffy family in the Finsbury Park end of the New River Village on Tuesday as I cycled past. I had to stop and admire the beauty.
I must buy the Ugly Duckling for my kids : )
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Permalink Reply by DavidJ on
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Liz - thank you that is a lovely post - and I very much agree. I stumbled on Harringay 20 odd years ago now and I have not wanted to live anywhere else. It is so unpretentious and yet so culturally rich.
I think for me it is the mix of people who manage to rub along together that is most important. It is most movingly apparent in the local schools. The kids really do come from all over the world, and just get on with eachother. We know that so much religious and ethnic hatred does exist in so many places, but it is hard to imagine it being on the same planet when watching the children just not caring about all that. I am very happy my kids have grown up with that.
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A morning stroll along the New River Path at the top of Ally Road with my dog. Great time to watch the sun come up and gather your thoughts.
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Permalink Reply by empyrean_aisles on
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I love Harringay because:
- of the energy and vitality of the place
- there's always something new around every corner, and no matter what direction you choose to walk in there will be something interesting to explore
- I can buy six different varieties of halva when I go to get milk
- 90p and a short walk takes me to the British Library
- every time I go into Yasar Halim there is some new delicious pastry-ish thing to try
- the local council is enlightened enough to subsidise cycle training for its residents which will hopefully increase the number of people using their bikes rather than their cars to get around
- the waitress in the cafe at the corner of Hewitt Rd is always friendly & smiling & if I am lucky will give me some tasty just-baked tidbit with my takeaway coffee that costs a third of what I would pay at a chain cafe
- once I have done eating all this delicious food, there is Finsbury Park nearby in which to jog it all off (or at least have good intentions of so doing)
- my neighbours are kind and welcoming, as are the people on this site
- I live in a beautiful terrace house that is over one hundred years old, which may not have everything at right angles but which is nonetheless charming
- it is a small corner of the city I have always dreamed of living in which feels more like home than either of the other two towns I've lived in so far, and in which I've actually been able to afford to buy something.
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Permalink Reply by alistairj on
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A great post and a great thread - I wonder if we can make this a 'favourite' on the main page so that any newcomers to the site can find it easily?
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I had a 'chat' with Hugh about this very theme and he is working on something a bit fab to save this thread and make it a 'feature'.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on
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Loved this post Liz, couldn't agree with you more, Harringay is the most fabulous place to live.
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