Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

Where to,
Parker?
The in-car magazine for Parker Car Service
Take
me
home
LONDON’S
BEST AUTUMN
EXHIBITIONS
DAVID HOCKNEY
LIGHTS UP
TATE BRITAIN
MASKED
WRESTLERS
INVADE the
capital
PLACES, PEOPLE, ARTS, CULTURE IN LONDON
Issue 4 | Autumn 2016

parker cars
London’s premier
company
Smart fixed-price minicabs, minibuses,
chauffeurs, airport shuttles and couriers.
Business or pleasure, let us take the strain
out of your travel plans.
Book online, by app,
by phone or by email.
Saloon | VIP | Chauffeur | Estate | MPV | 5-8 seaters
16-seater minibuses | Wheelchair accessible | Hybrids
Fully electric | Airport shuttle
Parker Car Service
T: 020 8560 0000 | E: admin@parkercarservice.com
www.parkercarservice.co.uk

welcome
On the cover: Noel Fielding is the
focus of a Mighty Boosh-themed
arts event at Shoreditch’s The Book
Club, EC2A 4RH, Oct 20 to Jan 29.
Photo by Dave Brown.
Editorial
Editor: Dominic Bliss
Twitter: @DominicBliss
Welcome
Art editor: Anthony Collins
www.antcollins.com
Printed by: 47g Print Consultants
19 Catherine Place, London SW1E 6DX
It’s been a whole year since we
first started publishing Where to,
Parker? What a great year for the
magazine, and what a great year
for Parker Cars. We now have well
over 500 drivers working for us
(making us the second-biggest
minicab company in London), and
we’re taking our customers on
more journeys than ever before.
More journeys mean more
time to enjoy this magazine. As
ever, we offer you an eclectic mix
with a whole cast of luminaries.
There are features on David
Hockney (soon to have a major
retrospective at Tate Britain),
Bjork (going all virtual reality at
Somerset House), Janet Street-
Porter (never shy of a thing or
two to say), Quentin Blake (the
genius illustrator behind the Roald
Dahl books), some 1960s models
(not fully dressed for some
reason), and some professional
wrestlers (slamming each other
around the ring).
Enjoy your journey with
us today, and please take the
magazine home with you if you
like it.
Joe Polley
Partner, Parker Car Service
parker cars
Partner: Joe Polley
Operations manager: Ian Lowe
Where to, Parker? is published by
Parker Car Service.
Unit 3, Victory Business Centre,
Fleming Way, Isleworth,
Middlesex TW7 6DB
T: 020 8560 0000
E: admin@parkercarservice.com
www.parkercarservice.co.uk
Parker Car Service makes every effort to ensure
that editorial is factually correct at the time of
going to press, but cannot accept responsibility
for any subsequent errors.
Parker Car Service is not responsible for
unsolicited material.
Copyright Parker Car Service. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without the
written permission of the publishers.
Views expressed and products appearing in
Where to, Parker? are not necessarily endorsed
by Parker Car Service.
For more information regarding Parker Car
Service, visit: www.parkercarservice.co.uk
where to, parker? 3

18
In this issue
6 London by day
New shops, shows, galleries and events.
8 London by night
New restaurants, bars, concerts and nightlife.
10 London news
18 The biggest splash
Will a major new retrospective at Tate Britain
cement David Hockney’s reputation as our nation’s
greatest living painter?
22 There will be blood!
Not since the glory days of Big Daddy and Giant
Haystacks has British wrestling been so popular.
Meet some of London’s tougher and more colourful
pugilists.
28 Smile if you’re swinging
And if you want to celebrate the beautiful women of
London in the swinging 60s. Boy, did they swing.
31
36 A cut above
The travel photographer who has created a hybrid
art form that allows him to trot the globe.
4 where to, parker?

Contents
“It’s an art form where any move done wrong
can paralyse you. If I roll you over my shoulder
and put the wrong knee down, your spine lands
on my knee and you’re paralysed.” P.26
11
36
26
38 His nibs
Sir Quentin Blake has spent a lifetime illustrating for
children’s books, most famously in collaboration with
Roald Dahl. He explains his enduring appeal.
42 Bjork in a headset
A new virtual reality exhibition at Somerset House
sees Bjork pushing the boundaries of technology
yet again.
46 London villages
Why is Peckham Rye so fly?
48 Meet the chauffeur
We talk to one of Parker Cars’ lovely drivers.
49 The world according to Janet Street-Porter
Pearls of wisdom from the outspoken journalist and
TV personality.
50 Six of the best…
Independent cinemas in London.
where to, parker? 5

get out more
London by day
All the best stuff to do
during daylight hours.
NW1 4NR
Among the acres of imagination-sparking
contemporary artworks at Frieze London
there are always lots of gems that stand
out. 160 galleries from around the world
are exhibiting in Regent’s Park, Oct 6 to
9. Frieze Masters is nearby.
SW1P 4RG
Expect plenty of tabloid
newspaper-baiting
works at this year’s
Turner Prize, at Tate
Britain, from Sept 27 to
Jan 2. Especially when
it comes to Anthea
Hamilton’s parted
buttocks sculpture.
W8 6AG
The re-homed Design Museum finally
opens its doors on Kensington High St,
Nov 24. Members of the public are being
encouraged to adopt a museum object
to help fund the move.
TW9 3AB
The 17 metre-high
structure at Kew
Gardens known as The
Hive allows visitors to
experience what life is
like inside a honeybee
colony thanks to sound
and light effects which
respond to the realtime
activity of bees
in a nearby beehive. It
creates quite a buzz.
Until late 2017.
Croydon
Late October sees the much-awaited
opening of Boxpark Croydon, a huge
collection of shipping-container shops
inside a roofed atrium in Croydon’s
Ruskin Square where independent
traders will offer casual food and drink.
There will also be festivals, markets, art,
film, theatre and live music.
SW7 2RL
The V&A’s excellent
1960s exhibition
reinforces the already
uber-mythical status
of that favourite of
20th-Century decades.
You Say You Want A
Revolution? Records
and Rebels 1966-1970,
until Feb 26.
6 where to, parker?

london daylife
The City
The Lord Mayor’s Show, Nov 12, kicks off
at 9am with a river pageant, followed by
the procession at 11am and the Thames
fireworks display at 5.15pm.
SE10 0DX
Andy Murray and
his peers will be in
smashing form at the
ATP World Tour Finals,
Nov 13 to 20, at The
O2. Both daytime and
evening matches are
being staged.
E16 1XL
Take the sting out of
the half-term holiday
by entertaining the
kids at Kidtropolis, at
ExCel London, a familyfriendly
exhibition with
over 8,000 square
metres of “toys, games,
tech, gadgets, science,
arts, crafts, books, sport,
fashion and food”. Oct
25 to 27, £13.50.
SE10 8XJ
View images from galaxies far, far away
at the Insight Astronomy Photographer
of the Year exhibition, at the Royal
Observatory in Greenwich, until Dec 23,
free.
SE1 3TQ
Is Antony Gormley
Britain’s most famous
living sculptor? Find
out at the White Cube,
in Bermondsey, where
a major exhibition
runs until Nov 6. The
different chambers
create “a series of
dramatic physiological
encounters in the form
of a labyrinth”.
where to, parker? 7

get out more
London by night
All the best stuff to do after
the sun has gone down.
W2 1LA
Denizens of the thousands of new
apartment blocks in the Paddington
Basin are going to need plenty of feeding
stations. Among the best and newest
is Heist Bank, offering great meats and
wood-fired pizzas amid raw concrete
interiors, some really cool artwork, and a
games room in the basement.
WC2H 9LX
What happened in
1964 when a young
Muhammad Ali (then
Cassius Clay) holed up
in a hotel room with the
singer Sam Cooke, the
activist Malcolm X and
American footballer
Jim Brown? Find out in
One Night in Miami… at
the Donmar Warehouse
theatre, Oct 6 to Dec 3.
HA9 0AA
Bring on the dancing horses. Vienna’s
Spanish Riding School lights up Wembley
Arena from Nov 11 to 13. Lots of lovely
Lipizzaners.
WC2A 2HT
Circus arts, acrobatics, breakdance,
skipping, roller-blading and trials biking
are all melded into one enormous, joyous
and chaotic celebration at Cirque Eloize’s
new show iD, at The Peacock Theatre,
until Oct 8, from £15. Absolutely brilliant.
WC2B 5PW
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
latest musical, at the
New London Theatre,
Oct 24 to Feb 12,
is an adaptation of
Jack Black’s excellent
comedy movie School
of Rock. Make sure you
pledge allegiance to the
band.
SW4 7UL
There’s late-night
dancing, drinking and
dining (the last two with
a Greek twist) at the
re-launched Aquum, in
Clapham.
8 where to, parker?

london nightlife
WC2R 1LA
There’s evening skating at Somerset
House this winter, Nov 17 to Jan 15.
Highlights include club nights when
famous DJs spin tunes from the ringside
booth. From £7.50. Jagermeister
cocktails will be available in the skate
lounge.
W1S 4LD
Latin American food,
cocktails, mezcals, live
music, DJs and lots of
monkey business at
Mayfair’s MNKY HSE.
What more do you need
– apart from a few more
vowels?
SE10 0FL
Farmopolis calls itself “a micro-city of
experiential production”. It’s a green
space that combines farming, food,
arts and culture. And it all takes place
on a floating garden on The Jetty on
Greenwich Peninsula.
SE1 8NB
Glenda Jackson as King
Lear? Brilliant. The Old
Vic, Oct 25 to Dec 2.
“We that are young shall
never see so much, nor
live so long.”
SE1 8XT
The British Film Institute is the focal point
for the 60th BFI London Film Festival,
Oct 5 to 16. Plenty of other venues across
the capital are participating, including
the temporary 780-seat Embankment
Garden Cinema in Victoria Embankment
Gardens.
where to, parker? 9

topical london
Kate Bush is the subject of a new book by Italian
photographer Guido Harari. Featuring more than
300 photos, contact sheets and personal notes
from the singer herself, it has a limited run of just
1,500 copies worldwide.
“Guido’s pictures remind me of classic 18th-
Century portraits or sometimes the glamorous
movie portraits of the 1940s,” says mime artist
Lindsay Kemp who wrote the book’s foreword.
The Kate Inside: Kate Bush Photographed by
Guido Harari 1982-1993.
10 where to, parker?

topical london
My feet hardly touched the
floor and I felt like the luckiest
girl/boy on earth.”
Weird and
wonderful
Yes, it was bewilderingly surreal. And it was cultish,
sometimes impenetrably so. But The Mighty Boosh
was one of the most original comedy troupes
of the Noughties. Now, a venue in Shoreditch is
hosting a winter-long Mighty Boosh-themed arts
event, including a Halloween party, an exhibition of
photos, illustrations and props from the live shows, a
piñata-making afternoon, and even a “catastrophic,
shambolic” attempt to create a brand new Mighty
Boosh show.
The show’s star, Noel Fielding (above), sounds
very excited at the prospect. He describes the
original live shows as “an amazing time in my life
where my feet hardly touched the floor and I felt like
the luckiest girl/boy on earth.”
Smug in Richmond
Richmond has been voted the happiest London
borough to live in after online estate agent
Rightmove quizzed Londoners about their local
community spirit, friendliness of neighbours,
safety, transport, green space, sports facilities etc.
London’s happiest boroughs
1: Richmond upon Thames
2: Kingston upon Thames
3: Bromley
4: Sutton
5: Wandsworth
6: Camden
7: Barnet
8: Ealing
9: Greenwich
10: Havering
where to, parker? 11

feature
Freddie at 70
Freddie Mercury would have been 70 years old
this September. Imagine the party he might have
thrown. To mark the anniversary, photographer
Richard Young is exhibiting images of the great
man, including this one of him with Elton John.
Young quickly gained Mercury’s trust and, over
several years, was given behind-the-scenes access
to music video shoots, backstage parties, even
private parties.
“The parties were always wild, full of laughter
and unique,” Young remembers. “When you were
in Freddie’s inner circle you would always be given
a nickname. Mine was Muriel Young, after the TV
presenter from the 1950s. Freddie would always
say, ‘Come on Muriel!’. I loved it. I felt I was part of
his family.”
A Kind of Magic, Richard Young Gallery, W8 4LT,
free, until Nov 5th.
12 where to, parker?

topical london
The parties were always wild,
full of laughter and unique.”
This photo of a
kingfisher in action,
by Alexander Holden,
was one of the
winners in London
Zoo’s photography
competition, now on
display at the zoo.
Watch your
valuables!
The results are in. King’s Cross St.
Pancras is officially the worst London
Tube station when it comes to pickpockets.
According to the Met, there were 215 personal
thefts there between February 2015 and February
2016 (the latest figures available). Not far behind
was Oxford Circus at 195 thefts and Victoria at 160.
The total value of items stolen (purses, wallets,
phones, laptops, cameras, travel cards etc) was £1.47
million in one year.
London’s top five most pocket-picked Tube stations
King’s Cross St. Pancras: 215 thefts
Oxford Circus: 195
Victoria: 160
Liverpool Street: 107
Stratford: 107
Airport security freaks out
even the bravest of frequent
flyers. All those x-rays. All that
frisking. All that panic over
100mls or less. That’s why
London City Airport is now
trying to alleviate passenger
stress during security checks by
playing “a mixture of ambient
electronica and upbeat acoustic
music” over the loudspeakers.
Featured artists include Adele,
Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Jason
Mraz and Gavin James.
where to, parker? 13

topical london
I was shocked… and I wrote
the f***ing thing”
“I was shocked… and I wrote the f***ing thing,” said
Irvine Welsh after seeing the theatrical adaptation
of his infamous novel Trainspotting which is being
staged at The Vaults, in Waterloo, over the winter. It’s
billed as an “immersive production – the audience
are literally part of the show”, so expect little
distinction between the seating area and the stage.
And yes, you’ve guessed it: there’s lots of violence,
nudity, swearing and “heavy drug and needle use”. It
sounds like even Begbie would be impressed.
Trainspotting, The Vaults, SE1 7AD, Nov 3 to
Jan 15, from £20.
‘Braconid’. That’s the word that propelled
Londoner Brett Smitherham to victory at the
Scrabble World Championships this autumn.
It’s a type of parasitic wasp, in case you were
wondering, and it dealt a stinging blow to
Smitherham’s opponent, winning him 176 points
and clinching the match.
“I’m going to celebrate this win by going out,
buying a bottle of champagne and not playing
Scrabble again for the rest of the year,” said the
37-year-old recruitment consultant from Chingford
after collecting his 7,000 Euro prize at the
tournament in the French city of Lille.
Here’s proof of the lofty levels that these
Scrabblers are competing at. Other words used in
that championship match between Smitherham
and his opponent included periagua (a canoe
made from a hollowed tree trunk), zorinos (skunk
furs), gox (gaseous oxygen), and taraires (a species
of New Zealand tree).
14 where to, parker?

Gangnam
style?
Not quite. London’s festival of Korean
music certainly features an eclectic
mix of styles (classical, jazz, folk, rock,
alternative and dance) but unfortunately
they haven’t managed to persuade the
inimitable Psy (of Gangnam fame) to
perform. Instead you’ll have to satisfy
yourself with the likes of Youn Sun Nah
(pictured), Jambinai, Asian Chairshot, and
Danpyunsun and the Sailors. Don’t knock
it till you’ve tried it.
K-Music, various London venues, until
Oct 25, www.serious.org.uk/k-music
where to, parker? 15

topical london
16 where to, parker?

feature
Some of London’s most intriguing buildings aren’t
necessarily the ones you find in all the guidebooks.
In his new book, London Uncovered, photographer
Peter Dazeley has shone the spotlight on “60
unusual places to explore” across the capital, all
open to the public, some of them for free. There are
historical homes, pubs, cinemas, theatres, sports
clubs, churches, temples, shops, museums and law
courts. Pictured here is Eltham Palace, in southeast
London.
London Uncovered by Peter Dazeley, £30,
(Frances Lincoln).
where to, parker? 17

david hockney
Below: A Bigger Splash
(1967). Right: Portrait
of An Artist (Pool with
Two Figures) (1972).
the biggest
splash
A major new retrospective at Tate Britain will
surely cement David Hockney’s reputation as
our nation’s greatest living painter.
18 where to, parker?

They’re calling it “his most comprehensive exhibition
yet”. Early next year Tate Britain is gathering
together some of David Hockney’s most famous
paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, videos and
digital works. But it’s the man behind the art that is
often most intriguing. Here, we look back at the key
episodes in his life and examine how and why he
constantly reinvented himself as an artist.
Childhood in Bradford
Growing up in Bradford, Hockney was the fourth of
five children. At one time his father Kenneth started
a business restoring prams, often decorating them
intricately with paint – a process that the youngster
loved to watch. “The fascination of the brush
dipping in the paint, putting it on. I loved it,” he told
Christopher Simon Sykes, author of his biography.
This was one of his earliest experiences of the
artistic process.
Bradford College of Art
After signally failing to impress as a scholarship
student at Bradford Grammar School, Hockney was
given a place at Bradford College of Art where most
of the teachers wanted simply to churn out future
employees for the advertising and printing trades. In
order to study pure painting he had to pretend that
he wanted to train as an art teacher. “It meant lying
to get there,” he said.
He used to visit the major art galleries of London
as often as possible. Always hard up for cash, he and
his friends would leave college on a Friday evening
and hitchhike to the capital overnight. Arriving
early morning they would buy a ticket for the
where to, parker? 19

david hockney
Circle Line and do laps of the Tube, sleeping until
the galleries opened. Then, still half-asleep, they
would visit as many exhibitions as possible, before
hitchhiking back to Yorkshire.
Below: A Lawn Being
Sprinkled (1967).
Right: Model with
Unfinished Self-Portrait
(1977).
Royal College of Art
At the RCA in London in the late 1950s, Hockney
finally felt the confidence to come out as a gay man.
His painting blossomed as a result and he managed
to secure his first dealer, John Kasmin.
First New York visit
Hockney flew to New York City for the first time in
1961. A random viewing of a TV advert for a hair dye,
with the catchphrase “Is it true blondes have more
fun?” prompted him to go blonde himself. It was a
look that soon came to define him.
First love
In 1966, while teaching art at UCLA, Hockney fell
in love and moved in with a young student, Peter
Schlesinger. It was during this period that he
produced some of his most famous paintings such
as A Bigger Splash and, later, Portrait of An Artist
(Pool with Two Figures) (both previous page).
Stage design
In 1974 Hockney was asked to work on the stage
design for Stravinsky’s opera The Rake’s Progress,
for the following year’s Glyndebourne Festival.
“When you’re working suddenly in another field, you
are much less afraid of failure,” he told art historian
Marco Livingstone in the 1996 book David Hockney.
“You kind of half expect it. So therefore you take
more risks, which makes it more exciting.”
So began his career-spanning work in set design
for both ballet and opera. Hockney claims that a
neurological condition called synesthesia – which
causes music to trigger the visualisation of colours –
has influenced his work in this area.
Some days were just glorious,
the colour was fantastic. I can
see colour. Other people don’t
see it like me, obviously.”
Relocation to LA
Not long after the death of his father, in 1978,
Hockney decided to make Los Angeles his
permanent home. A year later he was living up in the
Hollywood Hills. The long, twisty roads, the canyons
and the views across the valleys had an obvious
effect on the subject matter of his paintings.
Photography
In 1982 the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris
proposed an exhibition of Hockney’s photography.
The artist started experimenting with composites
using photographic prints, eventually culminating in
his famous photo-collages of the Grand Canyon.
Machined art
The mid-1980s saw Hockney using an office
photocopier to create his first home-made prints.
It was the start of his fascination with the use
of machines in art. He later used fax machines,
computers, digital cameras, laser-jet printers and,
more recently, iPads to create artworks.
Back to Yorkshire
In 1997 Hockney discovered that his old friend
Jonathan Silver was dying of pancreatic cancer. To
be close to him, Hockney moved back to Yorkshire,
to the town of Bridlington, where his mother lived.
During the summer he would regularly drive across
the Yorkshire Wolds to visit Silver. “Going to see my
20 where to, parker?

feature
ailing friend made me see the living aspect of the
landscape,” he told The Observer newspaper. “Some
days were just glorious, the colour was fantastic. I
can see colour. Other people don’t see it like me,
obviously.” The experience of that summer resulted
in a series of richly coloured landscape oil paintings.
Hockney permanently moved back to Bridlington
in 2005.
Large-scale and outdoors
Hockney developed a method for painting
outdoors onto multiple canvases, forming huge
single pictures. This culminated in 2007’s Bigger
Trees Near Warter which comprised 50 canvases
and measured 15 feet by 40 feet. He used digital
photography to observe the entire subject. But it
was already late winter by the time he had chosen
his subject – a copse of trees near the East Yorkshire
village of Warter. He found himself racing against the
oncoming spring to capture the trees in their leafless
winter state.
Death of his assistant
In 2013, Hockney’s assistant Dominic Elliott died
after drinking drain cleaner. He had been upset
at not being included in an official portrait of the
artist’s team. The incident deeply disturbed Hockney
and precipitated a move back to Los Angeles where
he still lives today.
Still grieving, Hockney produced a portrait of
another of his assistants. The work led to a whole
series of quickly painted portraits, many of which
were exhibited at the Royal Academy this past
summer.
David Hockney, Tate Britain, SW1P 4RG, Feb 9 to
May 29 2017, £19.50.
where to, parker? 21

professional wrestling
There
will be
blood!
Not since the glory days of Big Daddy and
Giant Haystacks has British wrestling been
so popular. We meet some of London’s
tougher and more colourful pugilists.
Photos: Alistair Veryard and Insane Championship Wrestling.
22 where to, parker?

professional wrestling
where to, parker? 23

professional wrestling
British wrestlers take
on the South American
luchadores.
Thomas Dawkins is bleeding
profusely. He’s staggering round his
dressing room, half-dazed, like a dog
hit by a passing car. On his top lip, in
an inverted Y shape, is a nasty gash
where, minutes before, his opponent
had knocked him out with a high kick.
Dawkins (stage name, Pure Britannico) is a
professional wrestler. He’s part of an east London
club called Lucha Britannia which tonight is up
against the might of the full-time wrestlers in a
visiting South American promotion known as The
Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre. Performing at
Bethnal Green’s York Hall, both groups practise
a very acrobatic and high camp style of Mexican
wrestling called lucha libre. Spanish for ‘free fight’,
it sees combatants – many of them in colourful
masks – going hell for leather at one another in a
series of choreographed kicks, strikes, jumps, tackles
and take-downs. Like American WWE wrestling, the
action takes place inside (and occasionally outside)
a wrestling ring, and follows some vague storyline
about good versus evil. All in all, it’s a bizarre,
high-octane hybrid of boxing, gymnastics, circus,
slapstick comedy, superheroes and pantomime.
Bruises, cuts and concussion, not to mention
split upper lips, are all part of the job, as Dawkins
discovers to his chagrin.
“I was knocked out three times,” he says, still
mopping blood from his lip. “Twice I was slightly
concussed, and the third time I was out cold.”
Dawkins’ wrestling partners look on with more
than slight concern. They are a glorious mix of
eccentric cartoon characters. Legarto de Plata
wears wrestling pants and a lizard-tongue mask;
Malik is an evil Mesopotamian demi-god; El Nordico
Fuego is some kind of muscle-bound Viking type.
The Glamazon Girls are an eye-catching female
24 where to, parker?

professional wrestling
where to, parker? 25

professional wrestling
Below: Wrestlers from
Insane Championship
Wrestling regularly
appear in London.
Right: Lucha Britannia
stage shows in
Bethnal Green.
duo in skintight plastic body suits. Cassius is all
tassles and camp demeanour.
Professional wrestling is enjoying a comeback
in London. Not since the heyday of Big Daddy and
Giant Haystacks back in the 1970s have we seen so
many grown men thrashing one another around
in the ring. While Lucha Britannia may favour the
lucha libre style, there are plenty of other types of
grappling across the capital. Based in Camberwell
is Progress Wrestling which, in December, is staging
a show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. Out in
the suburbs, in Purley, is the Al Snow Wrestling
Academy where budding pros are trained up for the
American wrestling scene.
One of the highest profile wrestling
promotions to visit London is Scottish outfit Insane
Championship Wrestling, or ICW. Based in Glasgow,
It’s an art form. But an art form
where any move done wrong
can paralyse you. If I roll you
over my shoulder and put the
wrong knee down, your spine
lands on my knee and you’re
f***ing paralysed.”
and mixing WWE-style combat with what’s known
as hardcore wrestling (weapons, furniture and
extreme violence feature prominently!), they tour
the UK and have previously staged shows at the
26 where to, parker?

O2 Academy in Islington and Koko in Camden. This
November they’re at Brooklyn Bowl, at The O2.
ICW boss Mark Dallas says his style of combat is
very much aimed at adults unlike American WWE
“which is aimed at kids”.
“Our shows have elements of all different styles
of professional wrestling but at the same time you
get a lot of stunts, and bumps and comedy,” he
adds. “There’s a bit of something for everybody. If
you don’t like the blood, then you’ll like the jokes.
There’s stuff you’d see on Jackass. There’s car
crash TV you’d see on Jerry Springer. There are
shocking twists and turns in the storylines. Imagine
EastEnders where every episode ends up in a
massive fight.”
Despite the theatricality, Dallas stresses how
dangerous professional wrestling can be if executed
incorrectly. “It’s an art form. But an art form where
any move done wrong can paralyse you. If I roll you
over my shoulder and put the wrong knee down,
your spine lands on my knee and you’re f***ing
paralysed. There’s a million moves, and there’s a
million ways to get hurt. Wrestlers get injuries on a
nightly basis; injuries that if you went to your doctor
you could probably get signed off sick from work
for the rest of your days. People don’t understand
the heartbreak and the pain these performers go
through for their art form.”
Back in Bethnal Green, Dawkins is feeling both
heartbreak and pain as he looks close-up in the
mirror and sees the damage inflicted on his face.
The split lip is bigger than it first seemed. But this
guy is tough. “I think Steri-Strips will do the job,” he
says with a certain bravado.
where to, parker? 27

swinging london
smile if
you’re
swinging
A glorious new photo exhibition and
luscious book celebrate the beautiful
women of London in the swinging 60s.
And, boy, did they swing.
They may look corny and sexist now, but these photos of models and
actresses by John D Green helped the original book they appeared in
to sell more than 60,000 copies. It was called Birds of Britain (Imagine
trying to market that title nowadays) and featured 1960s swingers
such as Julie Christie, Dusty Springfield, Susannah York, Mary Quant,
Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull and Jane Birkin.
Fifty years on and the original book is being republished by
Ormond Yard Press, with an accompanying exhibition at London’s
Snap Galleries. Apparently, some of the original models are attending
the opening. Just you try calling them “birds” nowadays.
Birds of Britain, Snap Galleries, SW1Y 6NH, Oct 1 to Nov 26.
28 where to, parker?

feature
Model Sue Cornwallis
kicks back in a
hammock.
where to, parker? 29

swinging london
Above: Actress Martine
Beswick appeared in
the James Bond films
From Russia With Love
and Thunderball. She
also fought Raquel
Welch on screen in
One Million Years B.C.
Right: Model Ingrid
Hepner stares down
the hangman.
30 where to, parker?

where to, parker? 31

swinging london
Above: Aristocratic
actress Vicki Hodge
appeared in the 1974
film Confessions of a
Sex Maniac, and once
dated Prince Andrew.
Right: Actress Juliet
Harmer appeared in
The Persuaders!, Bless
This House and The
Avengers. In the latter
she had to fight Diana
Rigg.
32 where to, parker?

where to, parker? 33

download
your
freedom!
In this age of technology we can do
almost everything from our smart
phones. Buy groceries, watch videos,
listen to music and even book a minicab.
At Parker Car Service we like to give you as
many options as possible to make your life
easier. You can book by telephone, email,
online via our website or even via our smart
phone apps.
The app is available for both Android
and Iphone. Just scan the QR (left)
and you will be directed to the
download page for your chosen platform.
Once you have downloaded the app, we will
need you to tell us your name, telephone number
and email address. That way we can send you,
your booking confirmations and alerts.
Parker Car Service
Unit 3, Victory Business Centre, Fleming Way, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 6DB
T: 020 8560 0000 | E: admin@parkercarservice.com | www.parkercarservice.co.uk

Now you can start booking. Follow
the simple instructions and build up
your profile. That way, your favourite
destinations are saved so you don’t have to
enter them every time you make a booking.
You can pay by cash, account or even with
your credit card.
Once your booking is made you will
automatically receive a confirmation text.
It is important for us to know that you feel
safe using our services so as soon as your
vehicle has been allocated you will be sent a
text containing information on the vehicle
and driver. You can even see where the
vehicle is at any stage during your journey.

travel photography
Mixing travel
photography and
paper cutting,
Rich McCor (aka
Paperboyo) has
created a hybrid art
form that allows him
to trot the globe.
a cut
above
36 where to, parker?

It all started when Rich McCor posted his photo of
Big Ben on Instagram (top left). Except, as you can
see, it’s not any ordinary photo. He has added his
own special touch.
That was July 2015. A year and a bit later, Rich,
better known online as Paperboyo, has now posted
more than 200 of his paper-cutting photos on
Instagram, garnering a loyal fanbase of 207,000
followers… and counting. Always playful, the
subjects include Tower Bridge as a rollercoaster, St
Paul’s Cathedral as an ice cream, London Eye as a
bicycle, City Hall as a snail, and The O2 as a birthday
cake. Further afield, he has had fun with various
landmarks in Malta, Holland, France, Denmark,
Iceland, USA, China and Singapore.
At first Paperboyo funded his own travel, but
now he is so prolific that he’s starting to earn a
living from his art. Travel editors, tourist boards and
commercial brands are paying him to fly round the
world creating new images. In the coming months,
armed with camera, paper and scissors, he’ll be
visiting Paris, Dubai, Los Angeles and San Francisco,
all courtesy of the respective tourist boards.
He says it’s the instant gratification of his photos
that explain his popularity. “Instagram is such a vast
medium. It’s designed for people with attention
deficit. And if your images don’t immediately stand
out, they’re going to be ignored.”
The light-hearted nature of his work appeals,
too. “It’s the sense of humour,” he adds. “The photos
should make you smile… hopefully.”
www.instagram.com/paperboyo
where to, parker? 37

38 where to, parker?

quentin blake
his nibs
Sir Quentin Blake
has spent a lifetime
illustrating for children’s
books, most famously in
collaboration with Roald
Dahl. Here he explains
to Dominic Bliss his
enduring appeal.
photo: Sean Dempsey/PA Images
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the
Giant Peach, the BFG, Danny the Champion of
the World, Mathilda, Fantastic Mr Fox… Roald Dahl
created some of the most memorable characters in
children’s fiction. As well as through his novels, they
have been brought to life, often immortalised, across
the media of film, theatre, radio, audio books, and
lots and lots of merchandising. But it’s surely thanks
to the drawings of Quentin Blake that they are most
fondly remembered.
Those scratchy, shaky, seemingly effortless
drawings, often looking half-finished, but always
brilliantly animated, have ignited the imaginations
of children all over the world (Dahl’s work has been
translated into 58 languages), especially since
Blake illustrated his first Dahl book, The Enormous
Crocodile, back in 1978.
“There’s a lot of movement and activity in them
which seems to go on working for children,” Blake
explains to this magazine when asked the reasons
for the enduring appeal. “It seems to be a language
they respond to. It’s like a drawing happening in
front of them as they watch. Someone once said to
me: ‘It’s very astute of you to assume that style.’ But
I didn’t. It’s just a kind of handwriting for me.”
Blake, now 83 years old, has illustrated a score or
so of the great man’s books but also other children’s
fiction by the likes of Dr. Seuss, David Walliams, and,
this year, a newly discovered Beatrix Potter story
called The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots. He has written and
illustrated dozens of his own books, too. In 1999 he
was appointed the first ever Children’s Laureate.
Three years ago he was knighted.
Inevitably, much praise has been heaped upon
him. Consider this tribute in the Daily Telegraph:
“Blake is beyond brilliant. He is anarchic, moral,
infinitely subversive, sometimes vicious, socially
acute, sparse when he has to be, exuberantly
lavish in the details when he feels like it. He can tell
wonderful stories without a single word, but his
partnership with Roald Dahl was made in heaven. Or
somewhere. The diabolic ingenuity of Dahl came
where to, parker? 39

quentin blake
Blake is beyond brilliant. He
is anarchic, moral, infinitely
subversive, sometimes vicious,
socially acute, sparse when he
has to be, exuberantly lavish
in the details when he feels
like it.”
into its own only when he wrote for children. In
conjunction with Blake, there was a kind of alchemy.
I’ve never met a child who didn’t love Quentin Blake.”
Born and brought up in southeast London,
he now lives with his wife in a Victorian mansion
block in South Kensington. His studio is on the
second floor, “a large room, all painted white”.
“When I moved in 40 years ago it was empty,” he
remembers. “Now you can hardly move for books,
drawings; absolutely packed with stuff which is
wonderful in a way.”
From the studio window he looks out over one
of those lovely city squares populated by trees.
While working, however, he faces away from the
window to stop himself getting distracted.
“You see the changing seasons, and I’m
constantly looking out of the window but, when I’m
drawing I don’t look at anything except the piece of
paper in front of me.”
For three months a year he relocates to his
house in southwest France.
Having created so many drawings and so many
characters over the years, there must be one that
40 where to, parker?

quentin blake
Blake considers his favourite; one he loves the
most. The BFG, he says, holds a special place in his
heart, especially now, given the recent success of
the Spielberg film. Blake actually had two attempts
at the loveable giant, the first versions rejected by
Dahl “because there weren’t enough of them”, and
the second versions eventually used in the original
book. But as Blake explains, the first versions finally
saw the light of day this year when Waterstones
published them in a new edition of the book. Blake’s
Someone once said to me: ‘It’s
very astute of you to assume
that style.’ But I didn’t. It’s just
a kind of handwriting for me.”
other much-loved character is from a picture book
he created himself called Clown, about a toy that
comes to life.
At an age when most people have long retired,
Blake is still as busy as ever. He says he draws
virtually every day. Currently he’s illustrating a
new book for the Folio Society – part of a series
of classic novels – and doing drawings for Great
Ormond Street Hospital. In the summer he produced
illustrations for West End restaurant J. Sheekey
which ended up gracing menus, napkins, crockery
and coasters.
But surely, even this seasoned artist must
occasionally get illustrator’s block. “What? Like
writer’s block?” he asks. “No, never. Thank God
for writers.”
Thanks to J. Sheekey restaurant, 28-35 St. Martin’s
Court, WC2N 4AL.
where to, parker? 41

feature
42 where to, parker?

jork exhibition
bjork
in a
headset
A new virtual reality exhibition
at Somerset House sees Bjork
pushing the boundaries of
technology yet again.
Virtual reality is still in its infancy. As a visual medium
it can be clunky, confusing for the senses, and of
course you have to wear those annoying headsets.
But in the hands of an artist like pop singer Bjork –
never afraid to embrace new technology – it can also
be very intriguing. Her new exhibition at Somerset
House mines VR for all it’s worth, combining film, art
and technology in one huge bombardment of the
senses. It also happens to plug magnificently the
Icelandic singer’s 2015 album Vulnicura.
Visitors are led through the exhibition in timed
groups so that the headsets in each room can
operate in sync. While some of the technology is
temperamental, the variety of the VR films on offer
is impressive. One room sees the quirky singer
where to, parker? 43

jork exhibition
Visitors to the Bjork
Digital exhibition
engage with the artist
through virtual reality
headsets.
warbling on a remote Icelandic beach. Another
has her transformed into a giant digital moth. Most
arresting (disturbing even) of all is Mouth Mantra
where you enter her very mouth (virtually, of
course), seeing her oral organs close-up as she sings.
Even Bjork’s dentist doesn’t get this much detail.
“I build bridges between tech and the human
things we do,” the 50-year-old told The Guardian
newspaper in advance of the exhibition. “Are we
going to be lazy or let [technology] stimulate us to
be expressive? Are we going to create or destroy?
Doesn’t matter if it was fire, the knife, the gun,
the atom bomb, tech, or whatever. These things
don’t come with humanity or a soul. We have to
put it there.”
Like most of the Icelander’s work, it’s slightly
bonkers, often bewildering, and highly original.
Bjork Digital is at Somerset House, WC2R 1LA,
until Oct 23, £15.
44 where to, parker?

jork exhibition
where to, parker? 45

Why is Peckham Rye so fly?
The bit where we spotlight one of London’s lesser-known but
very wonderful quarters.
Del Boy and Rodney Trotter put Peckham on the
map but hardly gave this south London spot a
good name. That was years ago, though. Nowadays
Peckham Rye, especially, is a thriving, up-andcoming
neighbourhood where white hipsters rub
shoulders with Afro-Caribbean locals to create a
wonderful cultural mix. It’s not gentrified yet but
hang around a while and, as Del Boy himself would
say, “This time next year, we’ll be millionaires!”.
Great streets
Don’t be put off by the cheap markets on Rye
Lane. Head for Blenheim Grove, Bellenden Road
and Choumert Road for great bars, restaurants and
Victorian terraces, some of which wouldn’t look out
of place in bourgeois Clapham.
Great bars
You really shouldn’t visit Peckham Rye without
heading to the top floor of the Bussey Building. Here
you can sip craft beers as the sun goes down over
the Bussey Rooftop Bar. Another (more established)
rooftop drinking hole is Frank’s Cafe, on top of the
disused multi-storey car park. Both close over the
46 where to, parker?

london villages
Top left: Mural in
William Griggs’s
Garden, and market
stall in Peckham Rye
station arcade. Below:
African couriers; Fat
Boy Peckham café and
vintage shop; Rooftop
Film Club. Bottom left:
The Rye pub.
winter. For all-year-round drinks try the Gowlett
Arms on Gowlett Road, the Rye on Peckham
Rye, the Hope on Melon Road, and Bar Story on
Blenheim Grove.
Great restaurants
Turn right and right again out of Peckham Rye
station onto Blenheim Grove and you’ll encounter a
string of eateries including Peckham Refreshment
Rooms and Honest Burgers. Elsewhere there is
seriously good south Indian food at Ganapati,
Persian fare at Persepolis, and Thai at Begging Bowl.
Artusi on Bellenden Road and Pedler on Peckham
Rye are excellent.
Great art galleries
The presence of young artists is one of the reasons
Peckham Rye is indeed so fly. Visit various galleries
including the Sunday Painter, Hannah Barry Gallery,
Peckham Platform, CLF Art Café (in the Bussey
Building), Bold Tendencies (in the disused multistorey
car park), and South London Gallery.
Great park
As you head south down Rye Lane you eventually
reach Peckham Rye Common and Peckham Rye
Park, fanning out to the south. Stroll amongst the
hipsters and young families, and enjoy ornamental
gardens, bubbling streams and a lake.
Great cinemas
Peckhamplex isn’t the prettiest cinema but why
would you complain when it costs just £4.99 for an
all-day ticket? During the summer the top of the
Bussey Building hosts the Rooftop Film Club.
Did you know?
Artist and poet William Blake claimed to have seen
visions in Peckham Rye Park, including “a tree filled
with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every
bough like stars”. Modern-day residents occasionally
report similar sightings. Normally at 3am on a
Sunday morning. During World War II a section of
Peckham Rye Common was a prisoner-of-war camp
for captured Italian soldiers.
where to, parker? 47

parker driver
Meet your chauffeur
The bit where we talk to one of Parker’s lovely drivers.
Manmeet Laghmani has been
driving for Parker Cars since 2015.
She lives in Greenford.
Where do you most love driving
in London?
Richmond is great. I love the
greenery and nature of Richmond
Park. Around Richmond Green is
nice, too. And down by the River
Thames is the best place to wait
for driving jobs.
If money was no object, what car
would you drive?
A Mclaren F1 racing car. I’ve never
actually driven on a racetrack but
it’s an ambition of mine. I’d get a
thrill from the speed.
What qualities do minicab
drivers need?
They should treat every
passenger as a member of their
own family. Passengers really rely
on us.
Favorite radio station while
driving?
Nick Ferrari’s breakfast show on
LBC.
Your top five driving songs?
Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira, Cheap
Thrills by Sia, Right Now (Na Na
Na) by Akon, The Lady in Red by
Chris de Burgh, Hero by Enrique
lglesias.
If you could be a professional
driver in another domain?
I’d love to be a Formula 1 racing
driver. Perhaps one of the first
successful female drivers in
Formula 1. There should be more
women in that sport.
What’s your best advice for new
London drivers?
Don’t just rely on satnav. Learn to
orientate your way around town
without it. Of course, you have to
use it if you’re in a part of London
you don’t know. But the problem
is that so many drivers have lost
their connection with the cities
they live in because they always
use satnav. I personally try to
remember street names wherever
I go, and to discover short cuts.
I’ve learned a lot since I started
working for Parker Cars.
If you were the transport
secretary, what London traffic
rules would you change?
I would allow private hire vehicles
to use bus lanes. I often see bus
lanes empty, especially outside of
rush hour. If black taxi cabs can
use them, why not us too? We
have passengers in the back, just
like them.
The one place in London you’d
avoid driving?
City Airport is terrible. And
around Waterloo Station and
South Bank can be bad.
So many drivers have lost their
connection with the cities they live in
because they always use satnav.”
The most famous person you’ve
had in the back of your minicab?
No one so far. But after this
interview appears I’m sure all the
stars will want me to drive them.
48 where to, parker?

LONDONERS QUOTED
The world according to…
Janet Street-Porter
Full to the brim of character,
opinion and teeth, this
journalist and TV personality
is one of London’s most
outspoken women. Here are
some of her shiniest pearls of
wisdom.
“My friends would not go on Twitter if you shoved
a carrot up their a**e. When I get an email from
someone saying, would I like to be one of their
Facebook friends, I email them back: ‘F*** off!’”
“Forget romantic fiction; a survey has found that
most women would rather read a good book than
go shopping, have sex, or sleep.”
“I’ve owned more sofas than I’ve had husbands. Both
sag in the end, but I generally fall out of love with
the furniture quicker than the men.”
“I grew up in the 1950s, and my parents were
always harping on about the war. I hate nostalgia,
and the worst thing you can do is carry around a
big suitcase of memories that weighs you down.”
“Stress is a designer ailment that many of the
so-called afflicted suffer from with pride.”
“Women spend their entire lives trying to please
too many other people: the boss, the partner, the
children, the family, their mother. In the end you’ve
got to get up, say ‘I’m great’, and end the day
thinking you’ve done one thing for yourself.”
“Sometimes I’ve looked at a plate of food and
wondered if it wouldn’t look better as a hat.”
“Far too many women are hesitant, and remain
trapped in jobs for which they are over-qualified or
paid beneath their worth.”
“I hate reality shows like Big Brother and I’m a
Celebrity. I’d rather watch a goldfish bowl.”
“I’m no fan of Jeremy Clarkson’s. He’s right up
there on my list of five most hated men.”
[on Jimmy Savile, Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris]
“I don’t want any of the television shows made by
this ghastly trio to be wiped. I want them to be
studied for future generations, to try to understand
how none of us spotted what these men were up to.”
“If we are meeting for the first time, I will greet you
with a handshake only. No matter who you are –
pop star or politician, Peter Andre, Boris Johnson
or my bank manager – I don’t want you to invade
my space.”
“I never say TV is crap, or bang on about some
mythical golden era when it was all Tinker, Tailor.
You get the telly you deserve. Turn it off if you don’t
like it.”
“A certain kind of bloke finds me really, really
threatening.”
“I was a completely repulsive child. I was very,
very driven. I was in the Young Conservatives and
then the Young Socialists, more or less one after
the other.”
[On the possibility of retirement]
“Christ, no. What’s the point of that? I like working
too much. If I stood still for long enough I would
just crumble into a pile of dust and there would be
a set of teeth and a pair of glasses on the floor.”
where to, parker? 49

london’s finest
Six of the best
The bit where we bring you the very greatest of London life. Tuck
into popcorn, and enjoy the capital’s best independent cinemas.
Electric Cinema
Dating back to 1910, this gorgeous
Edwardian baroque building in
Notting Hill is one of the oldest
working cinemas in the country.
Leather armchairs, sofas for two,
foot stools, side tables, cashmere
blankets, even reclining beds
on the front row… everything
about this place oozes comfort.
Bizarrely, during World War I,
following a nearby Zeppelin
bombing raid, angry locals
stormed the cinema, believing
that the German-born manager
had signalled to Zeppelin pilots
from the cinema roof.
191 Portobello Rd, W11 2ED
www.electriccinema.co.uk
Olympic Cinema
Bathe your ears in Dolby Atmos
surround sound at the Olympic
Cinema in Barnes, housed inside
what used to be the Olympic
Sound Studios. Former clients
include The Beatles, The Rolling
Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin,
Jimi Hendrix, Queen, David
Bowie, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Prince
and Madonna. Nowadays it’s a
very snuggly picture house with
sofas and “love seats” for more
amorous viewers. There’s a bar
and restaurant, too.
117-123 Church Rd, SW13 9HL
www.olympiccinema.co.uk
Rio Cinema
You won’t see 3D glasses sported
in this particular establishment.
Proudly eschewing commerciality,
Dalston’s Rio Cinema shows
mainly independent and foreign
films in its split-level, Grade
II-listed art deco classic. “We
have plush red velvet seats,
atmospheric music before the
show, and long red curtains
that swish back before the film
starts,” they boast. (But sadly no
usherette selling ice cream during
the intermission.)
107 Kingsland High St, E8 2PB
riocinema.org.uk
Lexi Cinema
“The UK’s first social enterprise
independent boutique digital
cinema,” claim the volunteers who
run this tiny venue in Kensal Rise.
“That ticks quite a few boxes,
doesn’t it?” It certainly does. Here
you can sip pre-movie drinks at
the bar, enjoy a mixture of art
house and mainstream movies,
and rest assured in the knowledge
that all profits go to charity. Huge
letters on the cinema’s exterior
façade display the message, “I AM
A CINEMA. LOVE ME.”
194b Chamberlayne Rd, NW10 3JU
thelexicinema.co.uk
Prince Charles Cinema
Love musicals? This is the place
for you, then. Every couple of
weeks this Soho cinema runs a
“Sing-A-Long-A” film event where
paying punters are encouraged to
offer vocal accompaniment to the
on-screen tunes. Coming up this
autumn are Dirty Dancing, Frozen,
Grease, Moulin Rouge, The Rocky
Horror Picture Show and The Sound
of Music. All gloriously camp.
7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BY
www.princecharlescinema.com
Roxy Bar & Screen
It’s a bit like a speakeasy. Front
of house in this Borough venue is
the bar and restaurant while in the
back room is the cinema where
comfy sofas and table service
await your custom. Both films and
live sport are shown.
128-132 Borough High St, SE1 1LB
www.roxybarandscreen.co.uk
Rio Cinema
Electric CInema
50 where to, parker?

parker cars
airport meet and
greet service
If you are arriving at
Heathrow Airport any time
soon, Parkers are unique in
providing new and improved
personal meet-and-greet staff
at Heathrow.
Our meet-and-greet representatives are
dressed in distinctive green jackets with
black trousers or skirts. They are generally
found by the arrivals barrier where they
will be standing with your designated driver
who will help carry your luggage to the car.
We monitor the status of flights, checking
arrival times to ensure that you are met,
even if your plane is early or running late.
If you require additional time at the airport
to freshen up or for shopping, simply
arrange to meet us at a pre-determined
time after the flight has landed.
Let the Parker meet-and-greet
professionals take the stress out of your
travel, eliminating any queuing, waiting
time or fuss.
Book online, by app,
by phone or by email.
Parker Car Service
T: 020 8560 0000 | E: admin@parkercarservice.com
www.parkercarservice.co.uk

WEST
LONDON
BUSINESS
INSIGHT | VOICE
| CONNECTIONS |
Our mission is to ensure
West London stays the
best place to do business.
To join call 020 8607 2500
or e-mail ryan.smith@westlondon.com
www.westlondon.com