Launch Email 6

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Ideas, events, culture and some damn good reads, coming out of London's most creative and innovative neighbourhoods.

> Friday 21 August 2020

Yes, it's Friday morning, so here's your weekly local digest. 

 1. Lookin' Good, Kentish Town  

You'll spot loads of recognisable NW5 locations, all looking their sun-dappled finest in this new video for the single

This Lovely London Summer Time,

by

Kitty Liv.

 Already well known for her music in Kentish Town-based family group, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, this is the artist's first solo release, and comes perfectly timed - in every sense - for the laid back, tail-end of the Hampstead Heath-bound summer of 2020.Also worth checking out is 21-year-old singer-songwriter Isaac Stuart, who's just released dreamy 'bedroom demo' track Camden Town, about falling in love with the city via a rainy date with a girl in a Chalk Farm Road bar.

   2. Museums as Never Before  

Distancing rules are presenting some unique opportunities to enjoy Camden's cultural attractions without the crowds. The British Museum re-opens on Thursday after the longest peacetime closure in its 261-year history. Book a free slot to enjoy a special route through the fabled ground floor galleries, with no jostling elbows at the Rosetta Stone. And while The Postal Museum and its Mail Rail train trips remain on hold, they're guiding very special tunnel walks along the hidden tracks of the Royal Mail's underground railway.

   3. Second Home for Second Hand Bookstore  

Bloomsbury's cherished secondhand book emporium 

Skoob Books

, hasn't been able to re-open since lockdown, on account of its cramped basement setting. The subterranean warren of shelves brimming with well-thumbed tomes may be wonderfully atmospheric, but it makes keeping at a safe distance impossible. Thankfully their landlords at the

Brunswick

have come to the rescue, and offered space in a former branch of Baby Gap, upstairs next to The Curzon cinema. The 

Skoob Pop-Up Shop

, boasts at least 20,000 books, and a one-way system with the usual Covid measures in full effect. Safe browsing.

   4. Blue Plaque Attack  

A series of blue pavement stickers, (for once not just reminders to keep 2-metres apart), have sprung up across

Gospel Oak

and

Haverstock

. They reveal historical facts about this ancient part of the borough that are worthy of a whirlwind discovery tour. Plotted on this interactive map, there's a chance to add your own memories, too, both part of a wider project mapping a vision for the area's future. Locals can get involved via the forthcoming Neighbourhood Assembly 

 5. Free TV Drinks 

Keep an eye on

Channel 4

from 8pm tonight for 

The Telly Ad You Can Drink

, essentially a clever device for local beer bods 

Camden Town Brewery

to dish out 90,000 free cans and bottles of Hells lager to viewers. You'll need to be fast to scan the moving QR codes, although ads will also appear on BT Sport during the Champion's League Semi Final and back on C4 next weekend, so plenty of beer-snaffling potential. It feels like our duty to keep some of the good stuff in the hands of locals, especially in the absence of the Brewery's famous annual Tank Party, but after a 2020 mostly spent locked down on the sofa, this promotion is clearly going to go down well with the Drinking From Home crew.

• Fans of Camden's fleet of dockless fluro-red electric Jump bikes have had a bit of a bumpy ride, as former owner Uber sold up the entire fleet to (fluro-green coloured) rival Lime. Now the handy e-rides are back on the streets, and finally available via both operators apps, while Lime are sponsoring the Council's free summer urban cycle skills courses.

• The large defunct Kentish Town Road Post Office has been transformed into all-day local cafe Neighbourhood Organic. Owner Bora Meral has been speaking to Kentishtowner about his vision for an ethical high street hangout, that's already proving a hit with WFH locals.

• The boss of Camden Square's famous London Irish Centre has given an update on some of the brilliant things they've managed to achieve for the community during lockdown, and the gradual road to reopening their social space safely once more.

• While Glastonbury and the rest have been cancelled, the fourth annual Camden Garden CentreCactus Festival is one summer festi that social distancing rules haven't scuppered. Plentiful prickly specimens are on sale to take your mind off the lack of live music and dancing in fields.

• Carhartt WIP in King's Cross are giving away free coffee today (and indeed every Friday) from 10am-4pm from their King's Boulevard store. Nice work.

• The team behind Mayfair's Benares restaurant are preparing to launch the third in Camden Market's series of internationally-flavoured dining strips. Indian Alley follows the previous arrival of Italian and Asian Alleys, bringing top quality streetfood from the subcontinent to the Grade I listed stables on Chalk Farm Road imminently.

• Camden Giving administrator Hafid Ali has been reflecting on his eventful first few months in the job, which have seen nearly half a million pounds raised for their Covid-19 Emergency Fund, and the 'biggest pandemic mankind has ever faced' - racism - challenged like never before with the BLM movement.

• Local kids aged 11-21 can enjoy a tasty free dinner at Biryani Tuesdays, cooked up by KCBNA Youth Centre on Argyle Street. Just DM them on Instagram and a container will be waiting between 3.30 and 5.30 on the day.

• Want to watch a video about how to brew beer in a  local crypt? St Mary's Church in Primrose Hill has been mashing-up downstairs for the last few years and, as Camden New Journal reported this week, took to delivering beer by bike during the pandemic, a free service that's still available, speeding ales from the crypt to your door.

The Camdenist newsroom is collaborative and transparent. We'd love you to participate, so we've built this form where you can leave your ideas for who or what we should be featuring next. Join in now.

 Well worth following, too...