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I love living off Church Street. There’s nothing quite like
stepping outside your front door on a bright sunny morning, striding out to all those
quirky shops and arriving back home trailing half a ton of canine excrement up your
polished wooden floors. Fair makes my day.
 Walking
round Stokey with my five year old daughter is a pirouetting minefield of enormous
steaming turds and scrabble for used tissues while trying not to throw up outside
Helsinki.
Fact is — the dog owners of Stokey are a disgrace and make living in N16 on the cusp
of the Millennium more like playing a bit part in an 18th century costume drama. It’s
got to stop, as I said to esteemed local Green councillor Chit Chong one rain-lashed
night, as the poor sod was canvassing. ‘But we don’t want to make Stoke
Newington too genteel now do we ?’ was his soothing response as if I mooted
festooning Church Street in Hermes scarves and fake horse brasses.
I know it’s not Tunbridge Wells, God forbid, but Stokey dogs leave their business
cards on people’s doorsteps, outside the schools, in front of shops and restaurants
with absolutely no attempt made by owners to pooper scooper the damn mess up. German
Shepherds and Rottweilers roam freely off lead, left entirely to their own devices, and
create a noxious health and hygiene hazard.
Accosting owners as a lone vigilante, ‘Excuse me Sir/Madam, may I have your address
so that I can return the compliment and defecate on your doorstep’, is usually met
with ribald cackling (Crusties with crossbreeds), sputum and abuse, (shaved heads and pit
bulls), or even the odd promise of physical violence.
I am not a dog hater. Well, I’m not exactly Rolf Harris, but each to his own I say as
long as I don’t have to step in it. And just in case you’re wondering if Doctor
Freud was onto something, I haven’t got a problem with my own waste products. But
then I don’t squat down in Church Street very often.
Chit Chong may think dog shit is all part of Stokey’s wacky alternative charm but I
say let’s sort it out.
Other London boroughs are bristling with notices announcing heavy fines for doggy dumping.
Why not at least try something similar in N16. Anyone out there agree ?
Food Facts
by Jo Coles
If you are what you eat, what are Stoke Newington people? Given
the number and variety of eating places in the area it could mean that not only are we
multi-national and multi-ethnic but also potentially overweight. Fortunately, the latter
can be avoided.
Everyone needs a balanced diet, which literally means a ‘daily intake of food’.
By definition a diet is not something you ‘go on’; if you are not consuming a
diet, then basically you are not eating.
The best diet for the majority of people who do not have specific medical problems is one
that is balanced with a wide variety of different foods. The best diet, in terms of
health, is one that is made up of foods from all five food groups: cereals, meat, fish and
poultry, dairy produce, fruit and vegetables and fats and oils. When you restrict certain
foods or remove them from your diet altogether, there’s a good chance that you may be
missing out on vital nutrients.
There is no such thing as a ‘bad’ food, only a ‘bad’ diet. All foods
have various combinations of the different nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins
and minerals). A bad diet is one that fails to supply all of the nutrients.
How much of each food group?
 Cereals: foods that fall under this heading — bread,
pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals — should make up the major part of every
meal. These foods supply energy in the form of carbohydrate and many of the B vitamins.
Wholemeal varieties increase your fibre intake.
Meat, fish, poultry: try to restrict your red meat intake and increase
the amount of fish (especially oily fish such as trout, salmon, mackerel etc) you eat.
Oily fish is a good source of essential fatty acids.
Dairy produce: milk is probably the easiest way to ensure your daily
intake of calcium. Skimmed milk provides more calcium than full-fat milk. Limit your
intake of hard cheese and substitute with semi-hard (Brie) or soft cheese (cottage). This
will reduce your intake of saturated fat.
 Fruit and veg: you should eat at least five pieces/ portions
of fruit and vegetables. The best vegetables to go for are the dark green and orange
varieties (broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, carrots etc). These will provide essential
vitamins and minerals.
Fats and oils: reduce your intake of saturated fat, substitute butter
with margarine. Use olive oil or vegetable oil for shallow frying and drizzle a little
olive oil over food as a dressing.
Jo Coles BSc Nutrition, is a professional nutritionist who produces fact sheets for
Sunstone Health and Leisure Club where she can be contacted.
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