Crystal Palace Food Market

I've mentioned the sense of community and campaigning spirit of Crystal Palace inhabitants before, and last weekend saw the fruition (literally) of one such campaign. The first of what is intended to be a weekly market was held at the bottom of Haynes Lane, and in case you missed it, it was a huge success. Food markets have come and gone in SE19, but this one seems likely to succeed, down to all the commitment and groundwork done by several key participants. The roots of the market stem from an organisation called Crystal Palace Transition Town, which started over a few drinks at The Grape and Grain, if I remember rightly. The Transition Town movement is both local and global. The idea is that local communities work together towards a more sustainable future in a world of "climate change, depleting resources and economic insecurity". Started a few years ago in Kinsale, Ireland, it has since spread to the UK and across the world. Perhaps the best known example in this country is Totnes in Devon which even has its own currency, the Totnes Pound. Back in SE19, the local campaign has been busy with a variety of projects, including the 'Palace Pint', a scheme where anyone in the area can grow hops which when harvested will all go to creating a local ale, and Patchwork Farm, which collects surplus produce from anyone growing food locally in gardens and allotments.  "Food feet not Food Miles" is their mantra. And now, the new food market is a culmination of efforts by members of Transition Town, lead by Karen Jones, with the help of Rachel de Thample and Joe Duggan among others.
As I write, the second weekly market will be getting under way, so why not head over to Haynes Lane. I can recommend the welsh cakes and Bermondsey made Caerphilly cheese from Mootown.

Rachel de Thample & Karen Jones

Karen & The Carrot, aka Joe Duggan

Crystal Palace Food Market every saturday on Haynes Lane

Crystal Eye Centre

You wouldn't go to the butcher's for a pair of glasses would you? Well in Crystal Palace you just might; an ex-butcher's at any rate. Ever since moving into the area I'd been intrigued by No.20 Westow Hill. It's rare in the retail world for old interiors to survive intact, so this one is a bit of a local treasure. From the exterior I'd say the building dates from the twenties or thirties. Beyond the leaded glass shopfront, itself a comparatively rare survivor, lies a simple, utilitarian green tiled interior. Above is an early suspended grid ceiling, and along one side the marble butcher's slab is still in place. 

It's a decade or more since the last sausage was sold here, and since 2007, the building has housed an optician's owned by business partners, Anand Shah & Lucy Uddin. Anand, who was born and bred in Mitcham, and went to school in Croydon, studied to be an optician at Aston University. Since qualifying he always wanted to set up in business as an independent rather than taking on a franchise of a larger company. It just so happened that the opportunity arose on Westow Hill to take over an existing optician's.

Since setting up here, Anand & Lucy have experienced both good and bad aspects of life on the Triangle. Like many others, Anand has particular frustrations with our peculiar position on the fringe of several boroughs. While the premises stand in Croydon, the other side of the street is in Lambeth, where the business rates are apparently lower and the planning rules less strict. Among its services, Crystal Eye Centre does home visits via the NHS, but this is limited to residents in the borough of Croydon, so unavailable to those just across the street. Customers actually come from far and wide to the Eye Centre, so the lack of parking is another of Anand's bugbears.

On the positive side, both Anand & Lucy rate the local community highly. From the friendly local customers who pop in, to the wonderful local restaurants. They were particularly touched by the support of the community during last summer's riots, when locals succeeded in keeping the Triangle relatively trouble free.

Anand Shah

Both business partners come from the world of science and medicine, but Lucy also takes care of the creative side of the business, with regularly changing, themed window displays.

Crystal Eye Centre

20 Westow Hill

0208 766 7476