Movie mecca in East London

Well not really a mecca but I was referring to my last post title. Anyway, in a few days what used to be The Ocean music venue on Mare Street (10 minutes walk from here) is going to open as the brand spanking new Hackney Picturehouse.

This is exciting as despite having two large TVs I still enjoy seeing cinematic films at a cinema. 99% sure I'll become a member too as it seems really good value (£30 per person or £58 for a couple) for the whole year. You can see a list of the membership benefits here actually. And to see if there are any upcoming movies you're keen to see, here's the Hackney Picturehouse What's On page.

In other news - Rob almost had a heart attack on Sunday morning. Proper chest pains, aching arms the whole thing. Turns out it was probably deferred back pain coupled with adrenalin and huge amounts of stress, owing to the incredibly tense Rugby World Cup Final (in case you don't give a toss about sport you may not know that the All Blacks finally won after 24 long years - and we only won by a single point, against France).

A few weeks back when it was announced that our star player Dan Carter couldn't play any of the remaining matches due to his injuries, every New Zealand rugby supporter felt worried. Then there was Piri Weepu. And now there is Stephen Donald - a whitebait fisherman no less. Stephen Donald has gone from being possibly 'the most maligned figure in New Zealand rugby', to a modern day national treasure.

Despite living away from New Zealand for 12+ years I still feel extremely patriotic when it comes to the All Blacks. And I'm so very glad we finally won!!!

Shopping mecca in East London

The most exciting (?) thing to happen in our neck of the woods lately was the opening of Westfield Stratford City. I'm told it's the largest shopping mall in Europe. It's two tube stops from our house and I was a little hesitant as I'm a fan of shopping locally to support independent businesses. Having made a few trips to Westfield for various reasons I'm pleased to say I've spent a similar amount in local shops over the same time period.

During winter we can see the top of the Olympic stadium from our top floor, but it was a fabulous discovery to find the 2012 themed room within John Lewis. Floor to ceiling windows looked out across the site facing west which afforded a really unbeatable view of the stadium taking shape. The kids weren't bothered but that could be due to the post sugar comedown from the Millie's cookies & Krispy Kreme donuts.

I'll probably avoid Westfield in the run up to Christmas but now that it's here I can't see any reason to go shopping in Central London ever again. Woo hoo!