Inglewood Mansions

I was a little astonished when I saw the door buzzer that is being installed on one of the two blocks that make up Inglewood Mansions on West End Lane today. There are over 30 bells.

I thought I was seeing funny, but a little research shows that there are 65 studios no less. These are being marketed for immediate occupation (presumably once the buzzers are working, but maybe not).

Turns out that they were 60 units under the old landlord when they were a dreadful eyesore to the area. I hadn't realised until now that the old landlord was eventually convicted of almost 200 offences.

The new blocks look great and are a huge improvement to the street. I hope they stay that way. At the rental price they should do!

Czechoslovak National House, 74 West End Lane

I have been meaning to go here for years. Occasionally when I mention that I live in West Hampstead, someone will say, "Have you been to the Czech place?"

The slight deterrent for me has been the fact that this is a social club. I always think of clubs as places that I visited once when I was a kid for school friends' birthday parties, never to return again, as my parents neither played golf, worked in the local mine nor were expats, and hence I was ineligible to go back.

So I was uncertain how welcome non Czechs would be at the Czech and Slovak national club. I needn't have been. Yes, on a Wednesday night the clientele was largely from mid Europe, but we were made really welcome by an excellent waiter who showed us into the time warp front room/ restaurant.

At the end of the day, this is a house. Like many of the large houses in West Hampstead it has been converted, but you can still see the original features of the house despite the conversion work which presumably was done sometime after 1946 when the club opened (it moved from Holborn as they couldn't serve beer there!).

There is a restaurant in the front room, more relaxed tables and chairs in the back room, a bar in the hallway and the loos are in the back bedroom. Don't let any of this put you off. As I say, our welcome was great. We enjoyed 2 and a half courses, some great Czech beer on tap, coffees and all at less than 20 quid a head.

Two things to note though - they only take cash and the food is exceptionally filling. You feel like you can have your calorie intake for a week in one sitting. That said, the rest of the customers in on Wednesday were very svelte young Czechs. Maybe they also have a gym I don't know about!

Blogging Estate Agents

Everyone has the right to blog. I'm all up for that. Generally, you just find some are a bit more interesting to read than others.

When I first started this blog, I did a bit of research and came up with this blog which was at the foot of the wikipedia page for West Hampstead. 2 days this estate agent seems to have lasted, in what looks like a blatant plug for a certain local agent.

So it wasn't the greatest surprise to find a new estate agent blog on the block. I was slightly more surprised to see one of my photos on the front page on a piece they wrote on Tesco - wee bit cheeky!

I don't think there is anything malicious in this - its just a blog I am not likely to keep reading. Presumably they see the blog as cheap marketing for them, although I am glad they have changed their bloggers name to 'Paramount Investments' from an individual's name which it was yesterday.

I do have one tip though - if they want to get people excited about the area and bring them in from outside, which I guess they do - they need slightly more upbeat topics - not reference to panic amongst small traders re the Tesco development or that the Camden New Journal reckons we are swimming in pizza!

Wax On, Wax Off!

Apologies boys, I drew you in with the Title, but you need to stop reading now...

I haven't done a huge amount of research, but in the last 12 months alone, I have been to 5 different ladies in 2 establishments whilst getting my wax done.

I used to go to Holistic, which was fine (and closest to my flat). I then thought I would try the place I see on the way past the tube, the originally titled, "Hair & Beauty Lounge". Lulled in by the offers that they show on the window, I assumed they were newly opened. Turns out that they have been there years but did a make-over a couple of years ago.

Both salons are hairdressers upstairs with beauty rooms below. This can be slightly disconcerting the first time you go as you are uncertain what is down below. I can report that both are nice, clean salons. The Lounge wins out though, as it is quite large downstairs, looks more beauty salon like and opens out into a garden, so has a nice welcoming feel. It is also marginally cheaper - and on an offer day is really quite good value.

But the real find is Santina. This lady is now my heroine. She does a great (and relatively pain free) job using her own tea tree oil wax special concoction which seems to work very well on my hypersensitive skin. She has also worked at the salon for 7 years, so you get the feeling that a) she must be good, b) she will still be there the next time you go - and I find that heartening - the only reason I have seen 5 in the last year is that the girls keep moving on.

So she really is my hot tip - and I feel I should share her with you.

Thinking about it - boys, if you are still reading - you know those sprouty bits on your shoulders - the bits that scare us and are nothing like as cute as they were on Gizmo - Santina may be able to help you...

Underground, Overground?

A real bonus of living in West Hampstead is the excellent travel links. The downside, this week, has been being on the Jubilee line. The further downside for me has been that I work in Canary Wharf which has rather poorer transport links - and is also on the Jubilee line.

So how do you go when the Jubilee line is down?

There is no consensus. I take the Overland to Stratford, pray that the Jubilee Line is working from that end or take the DLR. There are a number of problems with this (not least that I stray into Zone 3, thereby costing me money as well as time). This Tuesday, I couldn't get on the first Overland train and the next was delayed (and there are only 4 an hour). When on the train, it was jam packed - and generally the Overland customers don't seem to understand how to cram themselves into a carriage the way us tube dwellers do... And it feels so slow. But you do get a fun view of the rear end of people's houses and the Olympic site. I am very supportive of Ken's plans for the Overground (this is the line that I used to name Scarylink), but we will need a lot of patience and that will be hard if the Jubilee line keeps up its 2008 track record. Time to Canary Wharf: 1hr 10.

Returning on Wednesday was even more problematic. With the Jubilee out, the DLR packed to bursting and boiling points, I took a bus. Canary Wharf is actually a great place to get a bus. Noone knows where they are or where they could possibly get to. I bus'ed to Mile End. Took two tubes to Farringdon, then the Thameslink home. Time home: 1hr 20.

OK, so the timings aren't great - but I did it! And my guess is that lots of you did it somehow different.

Choice. No bad thing.

Tesco - Every Little Helps?

Does it bollocks.

So, we are to get a Tesco Express. Having only just blogged about our new delis and their need for local support a few weeks ago, it turns out the big boys are wading into the pine shop site. When I heard, my heart sank. I am trully saddened.

I have to say that it didn't at first dawn on me that the furniture shop was actually closing down. What with the fact that it always seems to have a sale on. Although I was (and still am) suspicious about the temporary Paramount estate agents offices next door that haven't had a 'To Let' sign outside for months now.

Truthfully, I have never liked Tesco at the best of times, not cheap and cheerful enough to really help those on a tight budget and not qualitative enough to appeal to the chattering classes. (I did laugh out loud at Sandi Toksvig's line in the Stephen Fry version of Cinderella: "You do like Tesco. It keeps the chavs out of Waitrose.")

Ham & High reports that "Leader of Camden Council and West Hampstead councillor Keith Moffitt said: 'People who are less well off will probably welcome a shop on their doorstep where they can buy things at a reasonable price.'" Right! Because Tesco's 'Finest' ready meals and bags of rocket salad are just what you need when you are budgeting.

But my dislike of Tesco aside, we do not need another convenience store and we have long liked the fact that we were not another high street. Our shops (if not our coffee ones) are unique and local to our area and what makes West Hampstead what it is. Realistically there will not be enough custom for those shops and the lower prices of a new multi store chain.

I had always thought that there was a reason we were chain free. West End Lane is single carriageway and twisty. Far from ideal for delivery trucks. Have they seen the corner with Lymington Road?

I have come across a Lib Dem blog dealing with the issues arising from the opening of the Belsize Park Express store. Apparently morning deliveries now leave between 7.15 & 8am. Well the photo above was taken at ten past eight and those vans were stationary. Could local politicians not have done something before the store opened?

There is an interesting site out there called 'Tescopoly' that highlights concerns with the negative impacts of supermarket power. Maybe there is hope. I for one, certainly hope so. This will be the end of our high street.