Jimmy Burns - Editor Mike Bates - Production - Battersea Park

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THE stretch of Battersea Park Road between Battersea Park Station and the Latchmere, is architecturally not the most seductive street in the neighborhood. But it has its delights and no shortage of variety when it comes to eating and drinking. I’ve counted 42 restaurants and cafes in the mile between Battersea Park Station and the “Little India” tracks. Just a snapshot will confirm that of the Chinese variety, there are two restaurants and 5 take-aways. Then you have one Albanian, two Thai, one Spanish, one Mexican, and three Italian restaurants and one new Italian deli-restaurant. As if that was not enough, there are three pizza parlours, two sandwich bars, five varieties of Indian take-away, four fried food emporia, four cafes with internet access, and two or three good old EnglishBreakfast/Roast Beef lunch cafés, as well as six pub-restaurants along the South side of the road. There is something for every taste, and every Park user, and the purveyors are as varied as the food, coming from all over Europe, the Middle East, and many parts of Asia. I may not be a huge eater but I like this sense of diversity reaching out across green spaces and concrete. So here are some tentative cheap but cheerful recommendations Not far from the station, there is the Chinese NewCity restaurant: friendly and delicious. Across the road it’s the Italian named after the patron saint of Naples San Gennaro: young crowd, excellent food, genuine pizza, cheery atmosphere. The one-time Turkish Adalar, on the corner of Cupar Road, is in the midst of transformation into an Albanian restaurant. That should be interesting. Next on my walk from east to west, there is, do I dare mention it, Battersea’s least best kept secret: Corelli’s . For Italian home-style cooking and best lunchtime neighborhood experience, there is still nothing that comes near it! Also in my good books is the excellent Indian take-away Holy Cow and the two Thais: the posh Chada and more intimate and less expensive Dee. Nearby are The Lighthouse (ex-Clock Tower) pub for garden, wine list and atmosphere and The Latchmere for a traditional pub cum FOOD CORNER Christine Fremantle theatrical experience. The new Mexican Margarita Loca is for those with cast iron palates and a sense of fun. And Il Molino Café for atmosphere and internet. And I am not denigrating the 32 remaining eateries! Chacun a son gout! Salud! & Buen apetito! Above: Cakes at the Friends BBQ The Editors Choice Seasonal Recipe by Editor Jimmy Burns I owe it to my Spanish mother that I’ve been brought up believing that Mediterranean food is not only easy to engage with, but also delicious and healthy. Gazpacho is a supercharged smoothie, easily transportable in a flask or similar container (make sure you keep it cool), and guaranteed to provide both nourishment and refreshment on a hot sultry summer’s day in the park. In the days before electricity, the name Gazpacho was used to refer to any ingredients that could be put together easily and cheaply in a mortar. At its most elemental it became a popular dish with starving peasants and labourers transforming a stale piece of white bread into something worthwhile after pounding and mixing it with water, oil, salt, vinegar, and garlic. Long before the tourist boom, early foreign travellers to Spain left records of their experience of this rustic improvised cooking. Richard Twiss, a wealthy Englishmen who visited Spain in the 1770’s found that the experience of tasting gazpa- 18 cho for the first time more than made up for the inconvenience of having to sleep the night on a shopkeeper’s wooden chest near Algeciras. “This is an excellent soup-maigre,” remarked Twiss, “nothing can be more refreshing during the violent heats.” The Frenchman Theophile Gautier was less impressed, judging gazpacho the sign of a lesser race. “In our country,” hissed Gautier, “no dog with the slightest breeding would deign to put his muzzle in such a mixture.” These days, there will be no shortage of pretentious and loud mouthed cooks who will insist they are licensed to own a unique and perfect haute cuisine recipe for Gazpacho but in so doing they have turned their back on its very soul. For a true Gazpacho, like all good genuine cooking, still requires instinct and improvisation, according to mood and what is available. What follows should provide terms of reference rather than definition for a party of four. Ingredients (preferably organic and local)): 4 slices of ageing white bread with crusts removed and soaked in cold tap water for ten to fifteen minutes; 1 kg of very ripe peeled tomatoes ; 1 green pepper cut in small pieces (you can throw in a red pepper too if you feel like it); half a cucumber peeled and cut in thin slices; 4 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic; 10 tbsp olive-oil (preferably extra-virgin); 3 tbsp white wine vinegar; a few drops of tabasco; a pinch of cumin; salt and pepper. Put the bread with its water and all the other ingredients in a large bowl and squeeze and stir them together with your hands, then pour into a blender and mix, adding water until you’ve reached the consistency that best suits you. My preference is for a thickish soup to which I then add some cubes of ice. But you can of course go for a smoother and/or more refreshing option, pushing the soup through a sieve and chilling further in the fridge or freezer. For the perfect summer tapas in the park, try throwing in some croutons and cut up bits of boiled egg, then follow it with some Spanish Serrano ham, chorizo, and manchego cheese, and a glass or two of Rioja. Jimmy Burns’s A Literary Companion to Spain is published by Santana Books
Below, a summary of the Friends accounts for our last financial year. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2007 Incoming resources Unrestricted Restricted Total Total funds income funds this year last year Voluntary income £ £ £ £ subscriptions 4,117 4,157 4,235 miscellaneous donations 773 773 392 Winter Garden donations 13,385 13,385 13,702 Maple Avenue donations 7,400 7,400 Grant for signs Gift Aid tax refund 9,845 9,845 subscriptions/Winter Garden Activities for generating funds 648 2,058 2,706 423 events 302 2,254 2,556 207 advertising 1,040 1,040 690 sales Investment income 996 996 541 bank interest 906 906 697 Total incoming resources Resources expended Costs of generating funds Costs of generating voluntary income 8,782 34,942 43,724 20,887 Subscriptions paid 90 90 65 Review costs 5,555 5,555 3,327 Bad debt 220 220 400 Event expenditure Fundraising trading costs 153 153 50 Christmas cards expenses Charitable activities 237 237 254 Winter garden 1,069 1,069 21,803 Maple Avenue Goverance costs 7,400 7,400 0 postage 52 52 55 stationery 93 93 85 bank charges 0 0 1 Total resources expended 6,400 8,469 14,869 26,040 Net incoming/(outgoing) resources 2,382 26,473 28,855 (5,153) Total funds brought foward 7,898 0 7,898 13,051 Total funds carried forward 10,280 26,473 36,753 7,898 BALANCE SHEET AT 31ST MARCH 2007 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total funds income funds this year last year £ £ £ £ Current assets Debtors 150 0 150 0 Cash at bank and in hand 10,130 26,473 36,603 7,898 Total current assets 10,280 26,473 36,753 7,898 Creditors 0 0 0 0 Total net assets Capital and Reserves 10,280 26,473 36,753 7,898 Net incoming/(outgoing) resources 2,382 26,473 28,855 (5,153) Total funds brought forward 7,898 0 7,898 13,051 Total funds carried forward 10,280 26,473 36,753 7,898 19
Page 1 and 2: Friends of Battersea Park R E V I E
Page 3 and 4: THE POWER STATION Have we been here
Page 5 and 6: PARKWATCH A charming mid summer reh
Page 7 and 8: Unholy action LARGE chunks of grass
Page 9 and 10: FT in the Park PARKWATCH Foreign co
Page 11 and 12: In the continuing series of Nature
Page 13 and 14: fore breakfast, my father would tak
Page 15 and 16: As a travel journalist, Sophie Camp
Page 17: The rejuvenated Pump House Gallery

Jimmy Burns - Editor Mike Bates - Production - Battersea Park

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