It’s our tenth birthday this week, as you may have seen elsewhere. Over the years certain topics just seem to send readers wild: some, like the ongoing fight for the cinema, rightfully so; others, like the enduring appeal of Rio’s, we can only guess why. Ahem. So dive into these links to remind yourself of what’s caused the most stir.
1. Top 5 London Clubs. The demise of clubs in King’s Cross and beyond is our all-time most-read feature.
2. Rio’s. Coming up straight behind it (yes, yes) is literally anything and everything we publish on Kentish Town’s famous sauna. There’s the account of a regular, the memoir by a former waitress – and this year’s pre-lockdown account of a 22 year-old local’s first time visit.
3. The fight for a cinema in Kentish Town. By 2017 the dream had collapsed: this feature explains why.
4. Speaking of the movies, back in Xmas 2013, Tufnell Park Film Club founder Nigel Smith and photographer Sam Nightingale took a fascinating walk around Kentish Town’s lost cinemas.
5. The excitement of The Grafton opening. This reborn pub was a game-changer when it opened in July 2012.
6. Kentish Town City Farm. Every story we write on the capital’s oldest city farm is naturally a hit with readers.
7. The truth about the 2017 Camden Market fire. There’s nothing like a blaze in the world-famous destination to get the press talking.
8. Amy Winehouse’s death: Tributes from fans in Camden Square.
9. Telly bloke Giles Coren’s infamous ‘shithole’ comment about Kentish Town. See also his piece on the closure of Pizza East.
10. Author Dolly Alderton’s delightful Love Letter to the #24 Bus.
Please support us if you can
If you enjoyed reading this, perhaps you could help out? In November 2020, Kentishtowner will celebrate its 10th birthday. But with the sad demise of our free independent monthly print titles due to advertising revenues in freefall, we need your support more than ever to continue delivering cultural stories that celebrate our neighbourhood. Every contribution is invaluable in helping the costs of running the website and the time invested in the research and writing of the articles published. Support Kentishtowner here for less than the price of a coffee – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
