Every now and again, I find myself falling in love with Tottenham, just a tad bit more. It's probably more like a 'rekindling' actually, the effect of the warm fuzzy feeling all over the borough. I had one down moment recently though and I wasn’t oozing 'love for my town' smugness - far from it. 


With that exception, my excitement for the area has become like dating someone new. Imagine you're on date nine or date ten with someone special. You decide you like him and this 'thing' is starting to get serious, maybe. There's a level of euphoria that comes with realising those deep feelings, which by now are obvious to all around you. And it's pure bliss when the seemingly maddening elation keeps climbing after you discover something new and surprising about that person. Then you find you're even more attracted and you can't wait to find out more... Okay, no more mushy stuff. That's how I felt at the Beehive pub reopening last week - I was deliriously happy about going to a 'real launch' close to home and all my non-tottenham friends couldn't really understand it - and how could they? The anticipation was great but in reality, the pub was even better - it was buzzing and packed full of people. There was an open fire, hanging light bulbs out in the back, gorgeous thick oak tables, a large bar, welcoming music, local Redemption beer, home-made burgers, real potato chips (like the kind my mum used to make) and excited bodies!  And like a relatively new boy/girlfriend, the Beehive staff worked very hard on the night to keep punters happy - keeping us all well-fed and well-hydrated.


In the last month, I have been talking about local film screenings, too, to anyone who will listen and then I went on to find out about Film at Karamel. One evening a month, we can head to Karamel for screenings of old and modern classics films (movies without the blockbuster treatment - none of the bright lights and big machine guns), just raw well-written stories, looking at the art of relationships and morality - and it's free. It started in Feb, but you can still catch it this month (20th) and in April. They have even more free stuff to get involved in this spring, check out the Collage Arts blog for info on literary workshops, exhibitions and festivals.


I think it's safe to say I was the last person in the world to know about the Tottenham Takeover at the V&A. Clearly, a long-time coming and so perfectly aligned with the current 'Tottenham fever' going around north-east London. I am impressed with the line-up and I also hope it will deliver on the night. I think the programme is a great compliment to the rich flavour of the area and it rightly highlights some of the local buds, Tottenham Choir and POST. But it will be interesting to see the interpretation of 'Tottenham fashion', to hear and contribute to discussions on the future of the high road. 


My-my we're spoilt for choice! Aren't we all overwhelmed and a little loved up? Let's set another date. Shall we meet on 28th, at the V&A?

This was written in March 2014