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East life<br />
Photos courtesy of Travis Elborough<br />
Clockwise from top left: Norman Lara; members taking time out; a model boat and her owner; behatted at the regatta<br />
Emily Hollands chats to Norman Lara, chairman of Victoria<br />
Park's model steam boat club<br />
Sitting down with Norman Lara for a pint in The<br />
Little Driver pub in Bow is a complete treat for<br />
anyone with an interest in the East End. Norman<br />
is chairman of the Victoria Model Steam Boat<br />
Club, a position he has held for more than 30<br />
years, and a club that people travel to from across<br />
the globe.<br />
Besides being a member there for 52 years, he<br />
has, for decades, owned a large chain of East<br />
London shops, is treasurer of his local model<br />
planes club and works full time as community<br />
access worker at the Blue Skies Project care<br />
centre in Arnold Road, Bow.<br />
There’s not much he doesn’t know about the area.<br />
Thankfully he doesn’t put my historical knowledge<br />
to the test.<br />
The steam boat club is officially the oldest of its<br />
kind in the world, celebrating its 112th birthday<br />
this year. Launched in 1904, the concept remains<br />
very much the same – turn up on a Sunday<br />
morning at the Boating Hut beside the running<br />
track in Victoria Park, have a chat and a cuppa and<br />
sail a boat (either your own or the club’s) on the<br />
lake. And there’s a wide selection of boats on view<br />
from traditional steam to modern power boats,<br />
some of which are built by Norman himself.<br />
4 LOVEEAST
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