The Lonely Planet guide to Hackney

Cop drama: Jon Hamm makes his mark in The Town but Mad Men is better
12 April 2012

Hackney is not somewhere most school-leavers think of when planning their gap yah. However, it would be a shame if the depressing climate and hostile locals put backpackers off this vibrant destination.

Local chieftain Boris Johnson has this week made efforts to accommodate the ethically-minded traveller, encouraging volunteering in the "urban jungle" of Hackney instead of taking well trodden paths to Africah or Asiah.

With a bit of local knowledge, many will find a year spent in this colourful region is just as fulfilling as taking mushrooms in Koh Phangan and pretending to build a library.

When to Go: Hackney has a maritime climate, with a mean 50mm of rainfall per month. Seeing as it's never going to compare with Tanzaniah, Namibiah or Botswanah, it doesn't really matter when you go, to be honest. Just avoid the winter snows, when poor planning can render the roads impassable.

Getting There & Away: Hackney has no international airport, Tube station or, at the time of writing, "Boris Bikes". Be like the locals and use the bus (a sort of long, flexible, public car). With a bit of practice, you will soon get the hang of "catching" them!

Culture & Society: Hackney is a borough of contrasts. A large middle-class population lives side by side with some of London's poorest, enjoying their "edginess", only without really ever talking to them.

Dangers & Annoyances: Hackney is not nearly as crime-ridden as its reputation would suggest — however, the naïve west London traveller will soon find that exceptions can be made.

Local Customs: Complaining that Dalston nightlife has lost its edge is a popular local pastime, as are posing on London Fields, attending markets, worrying about hoodies, crossing the road.

What to Eat: The traditional diet consists of fried chicken (deep-fried rat) and doner kebabs (spit-roast rat), though upwardly mobile locals head for up-market delis in Stoke Newington to sample the charcuterie (free-range applewood-smoked rat).

Where to Stay (budget): The accommodation situation is not ideal, with little in the way of youth hostels. A popular option is simply to stay at home and "commute". Your Parents' House (see "Directory") is often located in nearby Notting Hill or Islington and offers excellent value, with meals usual included in the price (£0). Try the ritual of Sunday lunch (roast meat, potatoes), though don't be surprised if you have to "muck in" with the washing up!

Where to Stay (luxury): See Where to Stay (budget).

Working & Volunteering: Nice idea but the gap yah student may find it less hassle to do "good deeds" somewhere more picturesque and out of the way.

Stick to that TV day job, Jon

Remarkable how well Ben Affleck has resurrected his career. His latest movie, The Town, is a taut thriller about a group of Boston bank robbers, featuring a compelling central turn from the star of Gigli, who, showing off now, co-wrote and directed it as well.

Jeremy Renner, of The Hurt Locker, is excellent too as one of the criminals — but it's Mad Men's Jon Hamm who makes the biggest mark. He plays a single-minded, single-dimensional cop — and, sad to report, he's no Don Draper. Entertaining though the movie is, it inadvertently proves how far the best television series have eclipsed film as the vehicle for the most absorbing stories.

Gigs need their spiritual homes

So, another iconic music venue is to go. Like the Astoria around the corner, The 100 Club in Oxford Street — birthplace of the London punk scene — looks doomed.

Owner Jeff Horton has to contend with rates of £48,000 a year and rent that has risen to £166,000. Despite being "as popular as ever", the basement venue will close at Christmas unless a buyer or sponsor can be found.

No one would argue that the 100 Club is as vital as it was back in the late Seventies, or that we have to preserve every place with a bit of history. But once these places are gone, that's that. Horton contends that, in America, heritage venues may apply to have their rent frozen. Westminster council should investigate.

Ed's got youth on his side

What to make of new Labour leader Ed Miliband's use of a Vampire Weekend song to introduce his party conference speech yesterday? The chorus to the American band's hit, A-Punk, asks us to "Look outside at the raincoats coming/Oh oh oh".

The rest of the song is no less oblique, referencing "turquoise harmonicas" and "the Hudson River all filled with snow".

No clues there — but in choosing a band of bright, literate, liberal Americans, perhaps he hoped to evoke that sense of youthful optimism that saw Barack Obama elected in 2008.

Since his election, Miliband has been characterised as a backwards-facing Leftie dinosaur. This says far more about his backwards-facing detractors than it does about him, or his real stronghold of support, which will prove not to be the unions but the young. He's no Obama but his speech confirmed he is the politician who best understands that need to face forwards — and he is one of few who could walk on to that song and not look like a div.

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