This is a stub. You may be forgiven for thinking that this place is called The Experiment. That indeed is the name above the door, but that’s from a former life, when it was an empty shop space for artists to display their work.
This Is It! simply moved in from an old stable block next door, sadly now demolished. They’ve stuck the sign to the window.
A place to rummage and find anything from old video tapes to Victorian fireplace surrounds.
This is a stub about the Bricklayers Arms on High Town Road. It is a real ale pub, where fans of Luton Town FC hang out before and after games.
A really friendly place, where some of the town’s more interesting people inhabit, but unless you are a Hatters fan, probably best to avoid when they have a home match.
Visit the Bricklayers Arms website.
“The Bricklayer’s Arms”
16-18 High Town Road
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU2 0DD
01582 611017
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If you think this means ‘jazz hands’, then think again.
Bustin’ Loose is an occasional club night put on in Luton by the town’s own jazz dancers, Perry Louis and Christiane Hennecke. It’s all about freestyle dancing to different forms of uptempo jazz, soul and funk – think a mix of spins, knee drops, splits, breakdance, Salsa, tap and more.
Although the technical level of some of the dancers is very high, it is an extremely friendly scene, with anyone welcome to shuffle their feat, try and compete with the best or simply watch in awe from the sidelines.
It has most recently been on at The Hat Factory on Bute Street and Deja Vu on High Town Road.
Eagerly awaiting the next one, whenever it is. Keep an eye on this web page: http://www.jazzcotech.com/whatson.htm
In the meantime, there are some shots of one of The Hat Factory nights in the middle of this video.
It is often joked that Luton is a good place to get out of… what with the airport, the motorway and the train stations. Never a mention of NR6.
The idea is that you can almost cycle from one end of England to the other on this route (London to Cumbria). I’ve ventured as far as Houghton Regis – the next town.
The bit through Luton may be just one small part, but from one end to the other, you get a good sense of the town. Starting near Luton Airport Parkway train station, it skirts the boundary with the manorial grounds of the Luton Hoo estate, takes you through the town centre, out on to the New Bedford Road, past pretty Wardown Park and the town museum within, then off road along a lengthy ‘urban rural’ stretch of the River Lea, through the eponymous Leagrave Park (supposed source of the river), and then the Lewsey Farm council estate, before you reach a strange strip of wasteland dividing Luton from Houghton Regis.
It is figuratively and literally a ride where you have to take the rough with the smooth: dedicated off-road tarmac cycle paths in good condition, to on-road cycle paths in varying states (but never managing to avoid ‘ironworks’), then back again. A couple of months before I wrote this, there was a longish stretch of off-road cycle path next to the River Lea, between Leagrave and Leagrave Park, which had been torn up by contractors. No signs saying what they were doing, but three friendly cyclists passing by suggested they were widening it. Not sure that is needed. Is this an out-of-London outpost of a Boris superhighway? I suppose we have to see if it turns blue.
Situated at the top of Hitchin Road, near the butcher’s and greengrocer previously mentioned, is a takeaway so popular that queues snake far out of the door on Friday and Saturday evenings: Chicken George.
How do the staff stay so friendly and quick while serving chicken every which way you could imagine? I do not know, but they know many of their customers by name too – a great sign – and unlike their many rivals, they have no need to stuff leaflets through your door every week telling you how good they are.
There is more to say, but we will have to grab a menu first to furnish you with a more detailed description.
And when did this place begin filling the hungry stomachs of Luton? I think the plaque says 1985 or 1986. Long may he reign over us.
“Chicken George”
345 Hitchin Road
Luton LU2 7SW
01582 720 723
A fairly new addition to Luton’s food landscape (est. 2011). Makes a tasty change from the burgeoning rows of chicken shops, although there is at least one of those worth writing about – more of which elsewhere.
This place is a family concern serving cheap snacks and meals from South India. Very different from the usual curries served across much of the town. Mostly veggie, but there is always one chicken dish on the menu. At time of writing, a filling portion of vegetable curry with rice will set you back the princely sum of £2.50. Why not try the ginger tea too? Made with a chunk of real ginger, it’s a perfect pick-me-up in cold weather.
At the moment, the snack bar is doing a roaring trade with South Indians attending the University of Bedfordshire, and a few adventurous souls who don’t have their origins in places such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
But be warned: it’s a mobile unit and the owner has told me that he will move to another town if there isn’t enough custom to sustain him.
Open from 9am to 7.30pm, seven days a week.
Teas from 9am; hot food from 11am; dosas (crackly, savoury pancakes) from 4.30pm.
You can find it on the pedestrian thoroughfare of George Street in the centre of Luton, competing with a range of other mobile food units, most of which I haven’t tried… yet.
Use it or lose it!
…because this building in the Biscot area of Luton was built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Liverpool Cathedral, as well as Battersea Power Station and Bankside Power Station on the banks of the River Thames in London. You may be more familiar with the latter in its new guise as the Tate Modern art gallery.
He was a clever chappy really – being behind the design of the iconic British red telephone box too.
St Andrew's Church, Biscot, Luton
This is a stub about St Mary’s church in the centre of Luton, it is the only Grade 1 listed building in town.
This is a stub about the two wonderful water towers that are visible on the hills north and south of Luton.
The Friends of High Town are a local neighbourhood group in – you guessed it – an area of north Luton that is called High Town. They’re a bunch of people who care about their local patch, with a focus on community activities.
Find out more on the Friends of High Town website.