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Our regular 'Speak Out!' feature provides a platform for those who
are angry, unhappy, fed-up or merely critical of something that exists or has happened in
Stoke Newington. Paranoia, obsession and eccentricity are not barriers to publication. The
views expressed are purely personal and do not reflect those of the magazine. Our readers
can make up their own minds. For those who may feel aggrieved and who are mentioned in any
article, we guarantee the right of reply. Ollie Wilson writes on what he dislikes about
Stoke Newington Church Street (and N16 magazine).
 Perusing this
magazine, it would be easy to think Stoke Newington is a tiny place based around one
street, where residents all enjoy modern jazz, eat out four times a week and while away
their days in trendy cafes a kind of idyllic, sepia-tinted world of passing stilt walkers
and AA-commended cuisine.
Strangely enough, this is not the truth. The N16 postcode area is not restricted to Stoke
Newington Church Street. It may surprise N16 magazine readers to learn there exists a
Stoke Newington High Street, traditionally the heart of Stoke Newington, with shops and
businesses every bit as interesting as those on Church Street and vibrant Kurdish,
Turkish, Cypriot, Irish and other communities. There is also Stamford Hill, rich in Jewish
culture and shops, Green Lanes, with its own impressive array of Turkish and Cypriot
restaurants and cafes, and many other fascinating sectors of the N16 area.
But since N16 magazine is Church Street-fixated, let's take a peek at your so-called
'Heart of Stoke Newington'. When I first lived off Church Street a decade ago, I was
impressed by its sensible balance of factory, building and other trade premises with
restaurants, cafes, shops and public houses. The street had a character of its own,
engagingly free from pub chain branding, over-pricing and pretension.
Now much of this has changed. As property prices have gone through the roof, Church Street
has acquired many of the serious flaws of Islington's Upper Street. Where once regulars
enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of the Magpie and Stump, now they are offered a
corporately-branded and, in my view, overpriced establishment, The Stoke Newington Tup. To
tup, by the way, is to copulate with a ewe.
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