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 StephenBln on
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Out of bed? He was probably still laying in bed with his lap-top correctly positioned.. but I did have to chuckle about the elephant legs smelling of chicken... that one was quite good..
By the way.. Liz meant the post after this one...
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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What I love about Harringay;
*Haringey People Magazine
*skip trucks competing to be the noisiest as they bounce over road humps
*the smell & sight of yet another 'elephant leg' roasting, sending delicious wafts of factory chicken out onto Green Lanes
*the competitive spirit of estate agent's signs as one enters Grand Parade
*the welcome message on bus 29
*the creative snarl of traffic as it crawls through shoppers' nostrils as they look for that 'fresh' fruit for a healthy smoothie
*the colourful grey that washes over the pavements
*the mix of estate agents, pound shops, betting shops, 'social' clubs, kebab shops that make Green Lanes so unique
*that comforting sound of the wailing police siren as one falls into bed at the end of another adventurous day in good oldgreygreen lanes
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Matt, you are an absolute bounder...take your cynical post and send it to Councillors Canver and Haley with a cc to David Lammy.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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It is ladder dads on Friday night and around 1am Matt and I will be completely drunk and sitting in a corner somewhere having a good old moan about New Zealand. Maybe we are a couple of bounders.
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> ... completely drunk and sitting in a corner somewhere having a good old moan about New Zealand.
Wasn't it between the 9th & 10th pint that you said you left NZ 'cause of the severe lack of kebab shops .... and (hick) landed at 'eathrow you followed your nose for that chicken licken' smell, finding the Parade of kebab 'eaven ....
:)
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Boo, Hiss, Boo - Take your cynicism to another post, Matt. This isn't the place.
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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Why my pint of London Pride is well and truly half full. Your round Matt?
This site is giving a hell of a lot of well being amongst members / residents which is warmly for the area.
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Thanks for bringing us back to this on another post, Liz. Far too much focus on the grey side of things of late. Time to cultivate our love again!
As Alistair suggested a couple of years ago, I've added a link to this thread on the front page.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hatch on
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Excellent post Liz.
I love Harringay because I grew up around here, went to school around here, and now have my business around here. I feel I know the people really well, and I love getting to know new people and introducing them to others. I am fortunate to have made some very good friends along the way.
The areas architecture and history is something to be proud of, I see it as a legacy that we will have to pass on to others one day. We have a duty to keep a watchful eye and protect it as best we can!
The local speciality shops are superb. We are spoilt for green open spaces nearby, spoilt for transport links. This list could go on, these are just a few things on my very long list.
I am so glad I saw this on the front page (Cheers Hugh). It is so nice to be able to stop and think about all the positives. There are so many.
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Thanks Steve.
Its interesting how quickly things change around here. Every time I update this, I find something has gone but usually to be replaced by something equally as good. I'm looking forward to the new playgrounds proposed for the open spaces in the area (well my kids even more so, I suppose), I really like the Village on Green Lanes, lovely friendly folk and massive portions of yummy food and am also excited about all the work going on in the schools to green the area.
The Harringay Green Lanes festival was a triumph for the area and that too, I hope, will go from strength to strength.
I also continue to love all the little nuggets of history that we mine from the Internet archives and the way people are coming to the site to learn and appreciate that history.
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