The late Harold Pinter’s charitable spirit lives on.

The portrait of the playwright that hung above the desk on which he wrote his masterpieces is now up for auction to raise money for disadvantaged youth in Hackney.

It captures the Nobel Laureate playing cricket, the game he described as “better than sex” and “God’s greatest creation”.

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By Daniel Igra

A woman peeling and carving up an ox tongue. A man reading erotically charged descriptions of human slaughter. An audience squeaking plastic hamburgers and turkey drumsticks. In the dark underbelly of a pub called the Slaughtered Lamb. This was Hackney at its weirdest and arguably worst – certainly for the vegetarian who accompanied me. But at least there was plenty to laugh at. Continue Reading

The first winner of The Apprentice is bringing his business to Hackney to help aspiring young entrepreneurs.

Tim Campbell, who won the job in Sir Alan Sugar’s company Amstrad in 2005, set up the Bright Ideas Trust last year and is now searching for young people with business ideas that need investment.

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Referees are refusing to supervise children’s football games because of the threat of abuse and intimidation from parents, Sunday league veterans have revealed.

Ted Gore, referee secretary for the Hackney & Leyton Sunday Football League, said: “Trouble tends to come with the kids’ games – that’s why I won’t referee them myself. When some bloke whacks someone else, more often than not it’s a parent getting worked up.”

His comments come after the FA’s launch of an initiative fronted by Hackney-born actor Ray Winstone to try and improve parental behaviour at matches.

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By Daniel Igra

Families from Nigeria and the Caribbean are suffering the effects of the credit crunch as cash-strapped relatives in Hackney are forced to wire less money home.

Money transfer shops in the borough have reported an average fall in business of 10 per cent, with some putting the figure as high as twice that, an investigation by the Hackney Post can reveal. Continue Reading

National youth champion Matthew Chanda has lost his first Amateur Boxing Association championship bout after his opponent used “dirty tactics”, his coach claimed.

Chanda, who trains at the Crown and Manor boxing club in Hackney, was beaten on points by Martin Ward number three in the world. Continue Reading

Children are being unfairly victimised by police forces as they walk to and from an adventure playground, parents and play workers claim.

Shakespeare Ward Adventure Playground has received four complaints from worried parents since a dispersal zone was implemented in the area. They all expressed concerns about the “intimidation tactics” used by police. Continue Reading

Wheelchair users say bus drivers are leaving them stranded at bus stops because they can’t be bothered to pick them up.

Sharon Barnes, a twice-silver-medal-winning disabled sports player from Queensbridge told The Hackney Post that bus drivers simply drive past when they see her wheelchair and those who do stop treat her as an inconvenience. Continue Reading

Boxing star Ian Napa has vowed to bounce back after losing the European bantamweight title in a punishing showdown with Malik Bouziane.

The Hackney hitter struggled through 12 rounds against the French upstart, who used his height and rangy style to build up a huge lead by the halfway point.

Two of the three officials at the Newham Leisure Centre handed the match to Bouziane by convincing margins of 118-110 and 117-111.

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Leyton Orient skipper Stephen Purches is fighting it out for March’s Professional Footballers’ Association Fans’  Player of the Month award.

The 29-year-old defender needs supporters’ votes to claim the crown as their favourite player in League One.

Purches has played in every game this month, helping to inspire the O’s three-match winning run that took them up to 17th in the table.

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