Cereal killer is embarrased

[Gob]

The cringe-worthy encounter was captured on camera by Channel 4, who spoke to the identical twins on whether local residents could afford to eat at their cafe.

The brothers, from Belfast, opened their venture on Brick Lane - a hipster hotspot and home to a number of quirky cafes. But the east London borough is one of the capital's poorest, where more than two million children grow up living in poverty.

The establishment is heavy on the nostalgia, with limited-edition boxes and collectibles proudly displayed on furniture reminiscent of yesteryear. The eighties and nineties 'vibe', which is also driving trends in fashion and music, continues with the music choices and vintage magazines. The cafe also employs a 'mixologist' - who combines different types of cereal for customers looking for something different. After tasting one of the 120 varieties on offer, priced at £3.20, the journalist asks Gary whether he thought it was a lot to charge for a bowl.


The restaurateur seems surprised by the question, responding, 'I think it is quite cheap for the area'. He is challenged by the interviewer, who points out that the cafe is in one of the poorest parts of London - and asks again whether £3 seemed like a premium price. Mr Keely looks to justify the extraordinary cost, explaining that many of the brands are 'imported from America'. The interviewer then asks what this means for the people who live in the area, where the proportion of children living in poverty has nearly reached 50 per cent. Mr Keely responds: 'This isn't one of the poorest areas, is it?'




The journalist clarifies that it is one of the poorest areas, and asks again whether he thought local people would be able to afford £3.20 cereal. Mr Keely responds, 'Well, if they are poor, probably not then.'
The cafe owner becomes defensive and starts asking to stop the interview because 'he doesn't like the questions'. The interviewer says that he thinks the questions are fair, but the clip ends shortly after.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well there's good and bad news.

The good news is that among London boroughs, Tower Hamlets is 6th in child obesity having been pushed down one place by Barking & Dagenham. Better luck next season, TH!

Good news: Tower Hamlets is 22nd lowest (out of 32) in teen pregnancies and has shown dramatic improvement between 2005 and 2010. Well done, TH!

Bad news: At the local authority level, Tower Hamlets had the highest child poverty rate in the country at 42%.

Good news: However, in the last year of data it also experienced the biggest fall in child poverty. In fact every London borough saw a fall in the level of child poverty, in line with the national trend, but in other parts of England, such as parts of the North East, child poverty rose

Tower Hamlets has one of the largest Bangladeshi communities in the country, at 81,000 or 32% of the population. The proportion of people who describe themselves as White British is 31%, which is low even for London

If 81,000 is 32% of the population, then the population of the borough is 253,125. I wonder where the article got the info that "the east London borough is one of the capital's poorest, where more than two million children grow up living in poverty"

I think rubato must have written that sentence - only he could magic 2 million children in a population of just over 250,000. He'd later explain that there's no difference between saying that Tower Hamlets has that number and all of London has that number.

All serious data from:
http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk ... r-hamlets/

[Lord Jim]

Three pounds fifty...

That's about what, five bucks?

For a bowl of Lucky Charms?

They must really be magically delicious...

ETA:

It may be "one of the poorest parts of London" but I have to say they seem to be doing a brisk business with an artsy looking bunch of 20 somethings who don't appear to be deprived...

If he can get that lot to pay five bucks for a bowl of cereal, I really don't see the harm...(fool/money soon parted...)

[Gob]

The current official estimate from ONS is that Tower Hamlets has a population in 2012 of 263,000 residents.

rubathmatics indeed.

ETA:

Jim, $5.50 US at current exchange rates.

[wesw]

there you go. the obesity cure.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Good point LJ

Good news: Tower Hamlets also has some of the highest paid people in London, working in the financial district of Canary Wharf, which has European headquarters for HSBC, Citibank and Barclays.

Bad news: The proportion of jobs in Tower Hamlets that are low paid is one of the smallest in the capital.

Same source as before

[Lord Jim]

Now that I think back on it, (because I remember being outraged about it at the time) last summer when we spent a few days in Vegas and ordered room service for breakfast, (when you stay in a hotel with kids you have to order room service occasionally; it's part of the experience) they charged $6.50 for Jimmy's little box of Cheerios...

But that was room service...

(And the same point applies; "fool/money soon parted"... )

[wesw]

well, the guys' shop was busy. nothing wrong with making an honest buck.

if the people want to spend their money in an effort to be cool, that s their own fault.

poor people can t afford a lot of London s restaurants, I would assume.

[rubato]

Its a business.

If they want oatmeal at home they are free to exercise that option for pfennig a bowl.

If the business model fails, well then that's what capitalist experimentation is all about.

Not an interesting story.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

If it has no interest to you, then why bother posting, numb nuts? (Oh yeah, so you can just do your usual "be insulting for no reason" bit...sorry, I forgot...)

Do you think anyone really gives a shit to see you say you're not interested in it?

ETA:

I actually agreed with everything you said in that post until you felt the need to toss in that sneering, gratuitous shot. You really find it almost impossible to post anything without doing that, don't you? Even when you have valid points to make you can't seem to stop yourself from shitting all over them...

If you were capable of self examination, (which obviously you aren't) you might try to figure out why you have this uncontrollable compulsion...

[MajGenl.Meade]

I kind of agree with rubato and LJ (except for the insults). I disagree with rubato that the story holds no interest.

Certainly, that poor people don't often eat in restaurants is not news and the vapid insinuations of the journo are hardly worth the effort. But there are interesting nuances in these areas:

Accuracy or lack of in reporting - is it factual error or simply bad grammar to claim that there are 2 million children living in poverty in a borough that has a population of less than 270,000?

What are we to make of people who spend so much money on bowls of cereal they could make at home for less than 10% of the cost - are they stupid, pseuds, poseurs, all of the foregoing?

What is it about society that makes apparently rational humans (although one has decided to let small children use crayons on his arms) even contemplate a "cereal café"?

What is the impact of gentrification on poor neighborhoods and its denizens? The Canary Wharf development: does it prove anything at all about a rising tide lifting all boats?

Why did the journalist not interview local poor children to ask them if they are at all bothered at the price of cereal in the local café? This would need more than usual journalistic care to avoid pre-contaminating the sample. For example, if one asked a child "Is $3.00 too much to pay for a bowl of cereal?", it demands the answer "Yes". It would be more valid to ask if they were at all impacted by the presence of the cereal café. The adults could be asked if the café was preventing them from obtaining jobs and claiming their housing allowances (respectively, reflected in low and very high statistics in Tower Hamlets)

Yes, there are numerous interesting aspects to this story.

[oldr_n_wsr]

If this enterprise stays afloat, one might find that the area they are in will sart attracting "less poor" people and the rents and prices of residences will go up. Similar to what has been happening in "once blighted" parts of brooklyn. My cousin bought a brownstone for $750,000 in one such area and in less than a year she was offered over $1.5million. She has not sold it yet.

[Sue U]

Buy low, sell high. Why does Channel 4 hate capitalism????

What are we to make of people who spend so much money on bowls of cereal they could make at home for less than 10% of the cost - are they stupid, pseuds, poseurs, all of the foregoing?

You can ask the same question about coffee (looking at you, Starbucks) or virtually any sandwich shop. Some of it is convenience, some of it is impulse purchase, some is undoubtedly the social aspect(s).

What is it about society that makes apparently rational humans (although one has decided to let small children use crayons on his arms) even contemplate a "cereal café"?

You could ask these guys. There was a franchise outlet in Philadelphia for a number of years, but I understand it's closed down now. (I always thought it was a dumb idea for a restaurant, but it was just off the Penn campus, so there ya go.)

What is the impact of gentrification on poor neighborhoods and its denizens? The Canary Wharf development: does it prove anything at all about a rising tide lifting all boats?

This is certainly an interesting topic, and one that deserves some broader sociological/urban planning study. (Don't have time to look for it now, tho.)

[Gob]

Buy low, sell high. Why does Channel 4 hate capitalism????

Because Channel Four is so lefty it makes the BBC look like the Ronald Regan Broadcasting Company.

[dgs49]

The (halfway) interesting thing is that the media find this meaningful. What difference does it make if the locals can't afford to eat there? Can everyone near the M - dealer afford to buy one?

[Gob]

A 200-strong mob of anti-capitalists attacked a boutique cafe in London which serves only cereal daubing it in paint.



The 'F*** Parade' organisers claimed the demonstration was designed to protest against unaffordable housing in east London.



According to the Metropolitan Police 'an element' within a group of several hundred people started throwing missiles and caused criminal damage to several shops. One officer was injured when he was struck on the head by a bottle.



The mob caused chaos along Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane after they met outside Shoreditch Overground station.

Inside the cafe, innocent customers and staff members were forced to shelter as the mob, many of whom were masked, shouted outside.

Gary Keery of the Cereal Killer Cafe said: ' It was intense. It wasn't expected. I couldn't believe it was happening. I wasn't there at the time, but I came down as soon as possible to help.
They had pigs heads and torches. They wrote the word 'scum'.

'Luckily it is all external damage. They threw paint bombs at the windows and tried to let off a smoke bomb in the shop. Luckily a manager was able to close the door so it only went off in the foyer.

'The customers and staff were terrified. Imagine if the smoke bomb went off inside the building. There were about a dozen people in the cafe at the time.'

The protesters also broke the window of a nearby estate agent.

According to Mr Keery there was no advanced warning about the attack.

He said: 'They claimed to be protesting about gentrification, but they attacked a small business owned by two working class lads from Belfast. They said we are part of the problem. We pay our taxes. Why not protest outside Canary Wharf or the Houses of Parliament. This is violence for violence's sake.

'These people claim to have their beliefs, but why did they have their faces covered. It is simply bullying tactics and I will not give in to bullies.'

Rk

[MajGenl.Meade]

Thugs is thugs. Jail 'em all. Porridge would suit 'em

[Gob]