This Is The Wick

The charming waterfront-terraced bar/restaurant under Schwartz Wharf has been through various short-lived iterations in recent years, despite its enviable setting. But the latest operator looks to have arrived at a perfect time, with a dream team of locals behind it. Gwenda is a craft cocktail bar and community hangout, which will also soon be serving Italian small plates and Sunday roasts, all in the capable hands of Gigi, formerly behind nearby Fish Island’s Pirate’s Hub.

So, Josh Bowles, tell us about you - where are you from, what was family life like when you were growing up? I am one of 5 children and I was brought up as a Mormon until I was 21. I was raised with a very strict structure, with my whole path in life mapped out and decided for me. The Mormon religion almost breeds you to be financially successful in the world, perhaps so then they can insure their 10 per cent from everyone.

The plant-based among us should probably look away now. This weekend sees not one but two ‘biggest of their kind in the UK’ food events happening around here, with both celebrating all things hot sauce-coated, fire-cooked and chicken-based, racking up a prodigious poultry body count in the process, topping a quarter of million birds.

Being amidst the creative synchronicity of Vanya Gostev and George Graham, co-writers of mini-series ‘Last Resort’, is a reminder of how the human mind can sometimes meet its match, and subsequent censor.

Hackney Wick as a wellness hub? Ten years ago, you’d have laughed. Now it’s the destination for London’s stretch and sculpt set. Pilates has well and truly taken over and studios seem to be multiplying by the minute. East London’s former industrial fringe is firmly in its body-toning era. Each space comes with its own rhythm, crowd and cult-like following. With so much choice, finding your studio can feel like a workout in itself.

The Yard is back. After a year of renovation, Hackney Wick’s fortress of subversive theatre has re-opened. And though the DIY architecture of its previous design has been replaced by something more polished, its bold, innovative approach to theatre continues right where it left off with ‘Philosophy of the World’, an absurd, anarchic, punk-rock play that is itself a testament to breaking things and starting again. People should know exactly what they are in for.

This week, the latest online feature in our rolling Nightlife Campaign looks at campaigning organisation Save Our Scene, who are busy making a big impact on helping grassroots live music venues survive in troubled times.

George Fleming launched Save Our Scene during the bleakness of the first Covid lockdown, in a bid to give himself a purpose at a time when all the best bits of life stood still. Furloughed from his dull estate agent job and with little else to do, he channelled his passion for live music into a support initiative - a decision which totally changed his life.

If you’ve been waiting for summer to finally feel like summer, clear your diary. This weekend, the neighbourhood hosts two festivals, with the sounds of east London taking over every corner from the canals to the Olympic Park. Whether you want to dance your socks off or indulge in a calming reset, there is a stage with your name on it - and you don’t have to break the bank to attend.

Tell us about you, where you come from and a little bit about family life when you were younger. I was born and raised in New Zealand, in Auckland. I was raised in a family where my mother was a stay-at-home mum and an incredibly fantastic cook. My dad was an entrepreneur; he set up his own business which designs and developed computer software for hospitals and labs. My mother was very can-do; she would turn her hand to anything.