Food, glorious food!

Next Sunday 24th June sees the start of a new weekly local market in Haringey.  We were lucky enough to get a moment with organiser Jessica for a quick chat about what the market will be and how she is bringing a touch of Suriname to North London...

You’re from Suriname originally; it’s a country I know very little about so can you tell me a bit about it?

I just returned from holiday in Suriname so I’m even more excited than ever about it. Suriname is a virtually unknown country in South America, between French and British Guyana. Believe it or not, we were once a British colony! Suriname has a beautiful interior, beautiful nature and Surinamese people are very warm and kind and they’re suckers for food!

The original inhabitants were natives, then came the slaves, and after that the immigrants from China, India and Java. Later on the Jews, Lebanese, Turks, Brazilians and Africans came to Suriname, so Surinamese people are very mixed.

We’ve got all these different cultures and religions living side by side and we have got, in my humble opinion, the best food ever!

People are slowly but surely discovering Suriname, especially Americans because there are quite a lot of Surinamese people living in the States. In Holland we are well known, and the Dutch are also very fond of our food.

How has it influenced your cooking?

I come from a very mixed background. My father’s family is part Jewish, Dutch and English and it all started when a Dutch plantation owner had children with his slave and gave these kids his name.

My mother’s family is from India. This interesting mix of cultures and the fact that I was born in Suriname, and lived in Amsterdam for a while too, has very much influenced my cooking. I make a Surinamese roti one day and a Javanese Surinamese bami (noodles) the next. 

Most of the time I cook Surinamese dishes at home, but I also make English pies or spaghetti. Never a dull moment in my kitchen!

What is your favourite thing about living in Haringey?

Haringey is very diverse. I love the fact that there are so many cultures in one place, a bit like Suriname. I also love the fact that I can buy loads of ingredients for my exotic Surinamese dishes right here in Haringey.

What inspired you to organise a local market on Green Lanes?

The market will be off Green Lanes at North Harringay Primary School, Falkland Road Hornsey, N8 0NU.

However much I love Green Lanes, I had the feeling that something was missing. I love going to markets, buying local produce and food, and I wondered why there wasn’t a market here. I know that Harringay-ites love food, I saw that at the Food Festival last year, so that couldn’t be the reason why there wasn’t a market.

I wanted to organise a market for locals, where they could meet each other once every week, have a chat, a coffee and delicious food. A place for them to shop, eat local and buy local. Harringay Market supports local traders, businesses and local farmers.

How long has it taken for the market to go from an idea to a reality?  How did you go about making it happen? 

I first pitched the idea to Hugh Flouch from local community website Harringay Online. That was at the beginning of March. After that it all went so fast! I must honestly say that Harringay Online has been a big help. It made me able to ask locals for their opinion, to see whether they were interested in attending the market, what they thought of the name ‘Harringay Market’ etc.

After that we were on FaceBook, Twitter and we launched a website, and that has helped too.

I’m oversubscribed at the moment, everyone seems to want a stall. It still surprises me when I see that my inbox is full of emails from people who’d like a stall, most of them heard about Harringay Market through word of mouth.

It’s been hard work, I’m even waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas for the market. I eat, sleep and dream Harringay Market, but in the end I believe it’s all worth it and I look forward to realise the market after months of dreaming about it.

Going back to cooking, what’s your favourite dish to make?  Can you give me a Surinamese recipe to try at home?

That’s a difficult question, I can’t make up my mind.  I love soto ayam, that’s Indonesian for chicken soup. It’s a well known dish in Suriname, we call it saoto.  I make saoto quite a lot, it never gets boring. I’ve written the recipe on my blog www.foxycooks.co.uk. The link is http://www.foxycooks.co.uk/2012/01/12/soto-ayam-chicken-soup/

I love to have it with a few spoons of rice, a boiled egg and loads of hot sambal!

Thanks for talking to us Jessica, I'm sure Harringay Market is going to be a great addition to our community - see you there!

Harringay Market takes place every Sunday 11am - 3pm at North Harringay Primary School.  See the website  http://harringaymarket.co.uk/ for details of traders and latest news.

Free cakes for kids in Haringey

Our friend Christine Hatt is giving kids in Haringey their just desserts....

Tottenham Community Choir members are no strangers to the pleasure of eating home-made cake, as the lengthy queues for refreshments during rehearsal breaks show. A not-for-profit community group just launched in Haringey seeks to bring that pleasure to needy children across the borough by providing personalized, home-baked birthday or other celebration cakes. The group is a branch of Free Cakes for Kids UK, a network whose origins lie in the United States, where a Georgia foster carer launched the equivalent American organization in 2007. The first UK group was established in Oxford in 2008, and the service is now provided in over 40 areas here, where more than 400 cakes have been baked.

The idea behind Free Cakes for Kids is simple. There are many children who would love to have a birthday cake made especially for them, but whose family circumstances make this difficult. Many Tottenham children, for example, live in temporary accommodation where there is no access to proper cooking facilities. Some children are young carers trying to juggle caring responsibilities with schoolwork and do not have the time to make cakes for themselves or their siblings. Some families simply cannot afford to make a special cake, or are caught up in a crisis (for example bereavement or redundancy) that leaves them with neither the inclination nor the energy to bake. In such difficult situations, the small gesture of providing a tailor-made cake can make a huge difference to a child, giving pleasure on their birthday and happy memories for the future.

Each Free Cakes for Kids group has a co-ordinator whose role is to recruit bakers and bring in referrals for suitable children and families, for example from food banks and refugee organizations. As the Haringey co-ordinator (and former TCC member), I would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in baking for the group or supporting it in any other way, for example by delivering cakes or helping with fundraising. Competent home bakers are welcome – there is no need to be a professional cook. However, all Free Cakes for Kids bakers are required to sign the organization’s hygiene and confidentiality policies, and must also be willing to buy their own ingredients and equipment. Once they have signed up, bakers are always free to turn down a referral if they do not feel able to make the type of cake requested, or if they simply do not have the time.    

Please contact me with comments, queries or offers of help via haringeyfreecakesforkids@yahoo.co.uk. 


If you would like to know more about the Free Cakes for Kids UK network in general, you can access the organisation’s website at www.freecakesforkids.org.uk. 

We're on You Tube!

We've now got a You Tube channel!

Three videos from this week's rehearsal are now uploaded for your viewing pleasure!

N'kosi Sikelele Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vige12A8-CQ&feature=plcp

Gloria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO9I-KnPF9w&feature=plcp

Beautiful Day I'll Be There Medley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9QBt3qCDaQ&feature=plcp

Dates for your diaries...

Lots of great events coming up, including....


This Bank Holiday Monday 7th May we are pleased to be performing at All Together Now, a free sport and music festival in Bruce Castle Park organised by Tottenham Hotspur Tennis Club.  There will loads of fun sporting activities for everyone and music from local acts. We're singing at 2pm! 


On Sunday 3rd June we are holding a Big Lunch with food from all different parts of our community and music from the choir and other musicians from the community. The Big Lunch will be from 1 - 4pm at Downhills School.


We have some more exciting events lined up over the summer but we can't say too much yet!  More info asap!


Saturday 22nd September sees the choir performing at the newly refurbished Shell Theatre in Lordship Rec, as part of the 2012 Festival.  We are really proud to have been asked to take part in the festival.


Our Winter Concert will be held on Sunday 11th November, once again at the fabulous Gladesmore School. Keep your eyes peeled for more info and details of tickets!

So you think you can’t sing…? but you really want to…..?

Choir member Lynda J tells us about her singing journey....


Take it from one who spent 40 years not singing (because I was ‘tone-deaf’, ‘couldn’t hold a tune’) that it is 99% certain that you can. I am not tone deaf and I can hold a tune …… and it does make me feel good! 


So what changed and what have I learned along the path from non-singer to singer? In this blog, I will pass on my thoughts and invite others with similar stories to share their experience. 


 My first good singing experience (aged about 40) was at a fortnight of workshops run by the inspirational teacher/folk-singer, Frankie Armstrong. Frankie’s view is that singing is just one part of using our voices to speak, to call and to sing – “if you can talk, you can sing”. She builds confidence through exercises to speak rhythmically and call (as if your cows had wandered away across the fields), and to chant rhythmically to support an activity (as in hauling in nets) using our full-bodied voice rather than our pretty performance voices. She says there is no such thing as a wrong note, only interesting harmonies! 

• From Frankie, I learned that women’s voices can be strong and loud and don’t have to be gentle a high. Also, that how you stand, and most importantly, breathe is absolutely key to making a ‘good’ sound. So singing I discovered is not just a given – there is technique that helps! 

It was a great start – although I was still very, very scared! But I really wanted to sing so I took an enormous leap and joined a women’s choir – very quietly and hoping no-one would notice me at the back – let alone hear me! I was still terrified of ruining the sound and making horrible noises …. but I hung on.

• From this choir, I learned more about women’s voices and solidarity in singing but also – shock – singing is hard work! It is hard physical work – breathing takes effort! More important, few people just pick up a tune and sing it well – it takes time to learn and to practise. I had unthinkingly imagined that everyone but me just sang perfectly with no effort at all. Not true – there is of course a range from those with incredible musicality and great voices to those who can follow a tune and sing along – most important of all, with hard work and technique, everyone can get better! 

 I started to have individual singing lessons with a wonderful teacher and indie rock singer, Gena Dry. Gena knew just how frightening it is to sing on your own in front of even one other person – she was very empathetic, creative, supportive and funny - her approach was very different from Frankie’s and based on releasing the emotional blocks to singing. Her exercises including singing notes as loud as possible before quietening down and thinking about the feelings to be conveyed in a song – communicate the emotion and the notes will look after themselves!

• From Gena, I learned that singing is very emotional! This is double edged – don’t we love being moved to tears or experiencing the joy of singing but many of us are held back by strong emotions. Mainly fear – getting it wrong, being put back in our place, being too loud – our whole self can be tied up with a wrong note so we are terrified to try. Much of this goes back to childhood – how many people (like me) were told not to sing at a very young age or were told off for being too noisy. Gena taught me to stretch myself, get out of my comfort zone and make a lot of noise – I was amazed to discover that I have a very loud voice! She also helped me find the joy in singing and the power of expressing emotions through using my voice. 

Gena also helped me explore my own voice to understand my range and where I am most comfortable singing – again, something I had never thought of and have found that my range is much higher than I would have expected. Women particularly, tend to go for the mid-range ‘alto’ as it seems safest but it is worth trying out the lower and higher ranges – you might be surprised! 

So, where am I now? I joined TCC in September 2011 – and have enjoyed every minute. I wouldn't call myself a great singer but I know I can sing and I know I can get better and more confident the more I work at it. I know the world is not divided into those who magically sing perfectly and those who can’t. I know that technique and work are important and I know that it is mainly fear that holds me back. I know that I love singing … and it really does make me feel good.


So if you think you can’t but you want to – take the first step – join us (or a choir near you) and ask for help – you will find TCC very welcoming, great fun and very supportive. I look forward to meeting you on a Tuesday night. And everyone - don’t forget to give us your stories of learning to sing. 


 Lynda J 


With enormous gratitude to all the people (too numerous to mention here) who have helped me find my voice and especially a great debt to, and very fond memories of, Gena Dry (1964-2010).

Leaving thoughts from a choir member

Our guest blogger this week is Sarah Moore, an alto who has been with us and brightened our rehearsals since she blubbed all the way through our performance at the Green lanes Food festival last year. She is emigrating to Australia in a few short weeks, and last week she left the choir. Those of us who have come to know her will miss her. A lot.

She has published her thoughts on leaving on her own blog at http://madamerrr.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/fat-lady-sang.html (I didn't want to duplicate her post here because Google doesn't like the same text on multiple pages).

See if you can read it without a tear in your eye. I couldn't. It made me sad, and proud.

Jerry

(PS for more thoughts on the choir, see Stuart Waterman's blog at http://www.stuartwaterman.com/tottenham-community-choir-faqs/)

Guest Post: The South London Choir

Grab your passports Tottenhamites, we're heading to South London for the first in a series of guest posts... 

 The South London Choir is a community choir - it's a non-auditioning, groovy choir that sings anything from Mozart to Abba, as well as original compositions.

 Our choir is run by the fabulous MJ Paranzino, an inspired and innovative performer and musical director of 3 commmunity choirs - she is also a professional vocal coach, session musician and successful singer/songwriter. http://www.mjparanzino.co.uk/  MJ also holds vocal workshops, private vocal coaching and corporate team building workshops along with her community choirs.

Choir members meet every Tuesday evening in Ravenstone School in Balham between 7.30pm - 9.30pm, and there's always a visit to the pub after the last rehearsal in the month.

At present we're working on our concert, 'Vocal Gymnastics", part of the Brighton Festival Fringe - every year MJ gives new composers a chance to write a new choral piece for over 200 adult voices, and to hear their music performed for the first time.

The choir also sang at HMP Wandsworth recently, as part of our community outreach programme, which went really well. We have a Songs of Praise Special coming up on 25th March with Mavis Staples - we're part of the congregation, along with our sister choirs, The West London Choir and The Brighton City Singers Choir, also directed by MJ.

The choir is an amazing place to meet new people, and to have fun while singing. Anyone is welcome to come along whatever their singing ability and everyone is always so friendly. We average at 100+ members a week. Our concerts are unique as MJ is always keen on audience participation - new members are always confused when we're stopped halfway through a song because the audience aren't joining in enough. The older members soon put their minds at rest that nothing is wrong - it's all part of the charm of the performance.

One of our favourites is Chatanooga Choo Choo from a charity concert we did last year to raise money for the Pakistan flood victims - it emphasises the fun we have while we sing. Recently we performed a flash mob event in Covent Garden for a Channel 4 programme "The Wedding Proposal" - it was so much fun - you can watch it on our website, along with another flash mob event we did for Citroen, sponsors of the Brighton Festival Fringe 2011. The choir also sings at weddings and other traditional celebrations. Tuesday nights are always the highlight of the week and it's all about the singing!

You can find out more about the choir on our website: http://www.southlondonchoir.co.uk/ or find us on Facebook or Twitter (@slondonchoir).

Thanks Tottenham Community Choir for giving us a guest spot on your blog!

What we're singing!

Fresh from a great performance at Unite 2012 which raised an amazing £2000 for Nightingale Cancer Support Centre, in Enfield, we've now started work on a couple of really diverse pieces, Nkosi Sikelele, the South African National anthem, and Vivaldi's Gloria. It's great learning such contrasting pieces!

Welcome to our new members

We seem to be getting new members every week now, which is nice :-)

Don't forget to keep an eye on the main http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com web site and, if you're a member and don't have a password for the members' area, email Jerry to ask for one.

New term starts this Tuesday at 7.30 pm

All welcome (as usual) - would be great to see some new faces, also some old faces if you feel like coming back! http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com