Everyone has a story. When Lynne Glover says “ We are Angel Central,” she is referring to herself and her team whose job it is to keep the shopping centre (which includes 24 retailers and eateries, O2 Academy and 10-screen Vue cinema) a place that everyone enjoys visiting. So how does she do it? Interview by Nicola Baird
Lynne Glover, centre manager at Angel Central (c) islington faces
Early in July the lawn and deck chairs are back to Angel Central. Nestled between Upper Street and Sainsbury’, soon the lawn will be the place to go for balloon shows, circus and hula hoop workshops as well as competitions – and Lynne Glover who has run Angel Central for the past six years (since April 2010) is excited.
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“Having the summer lawn makes such a difference. It changes the atmosphere,” she says. “This year we’ve got the biggest summer lawn event calendar we’ve ever had because everyone enjoys it. The first week [the lawn was down] the weather was not on our side but we’ve had kids’ dancing on the grass, people sunbathing in the deckchairs and three scouts playing violins. We love all that!”
Lynne, whose background is in marketing and shop fitting, is a real Angel enthusiast. It’s not just that she freely admits “I love my shopping”, it’s also her passion for the area. “I’m from Eltham, in South London, and I live there still, but most of my days are spent in Islington. I feel very proud of the area and love the vibe. I couldn’t wish to work in a nicer borough, and I want Angel Central to be a nice place to visit, “ she says.
And come they do – around 250,000 people each week, making a grand footfall each year of 10 million.
“Predominantly our customer is local,” says Lynne who has noticed something rather special about us. “People in Islington are willing to enjoy themselves and join in. Take the hula hoop workshop: there were grandmothers giving it a go, children and teenagers. Everyone joined in! When I’m making a booking, I know people in Islington will give it a go.”
It’s this local willingness that makes Lynne’s job booking fun events for Angel Central much easier. That said there’s no rule that forces anyone enjoying the lawn or relaxing in a deckchairs to get up and do something – it’s fine to enjoy lazing in the sun under those iconic Angel wings, designed by public art artists Wolfgang Buttress and Fiona Heron.
Tiger – “you can always find that little extra present”. (c) islington faces
5 places at Angel Central where you might spot Lynne
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CARDS: “I’m always buying cards in Paperchase.”- GIFTS: “My assistant is always in Tiger. You never know what she’s going to come back with! I love Tiger because you can always find that little extra present.”
- STAGE: I love theatre, and recently saw Funny Girl in the West End. But this year Angel Central is also sponsoring Get Into Dance at Sadler’s Wells (a scheme that helps locals see live dance shows with discounted tickets costing just £3) and the Vamos Cuba! show – that’s how I imagine myself dancing, but I know I don’t.”
- DINNER: I love every inch of the décor at Bella Italia and the way you can eat outside. I took my niece there recently. But if you are going to be bad, be GBK bad for their burgers.”
The summer lawn is back at Angel Central (c) Angel Central
What’s Angel Central?
Angel Central has 24 tenants. The first floor is the place to go for a meal, where you’ll find Ed’s Easy Diner, The Glass Works pub, Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) Wagamama and Bella Italia. On the ground floor there are a wealth of shops supplying us with gifts, clothes, storage solutions, perfume and notebooks. “We’re open 24 hours so it’s got to be clean all the time. There’s a 10 screen cinema and the O2 Academy so we’re always busy. No two days are the same,” adds Lynne.
Isledon Wolves football manager, Philip Clothier, with Lucien and Angel Central manager Lynne Glover. (c) Angel Central
The summer activities on the lawn may help bring the community into this shopping hub (previously known as the N1 Centre), but Angel Central also provides practical community support to local businesses and organisations. During 2016 this includes:
- Special Get Into Dance initiative which allows more locals to go and see live dance at discounted prices at Sadler’s Wells
- Sponsorship of a Cuban dance show, Vamos Cuba! running from 26 July – 21 August at Sadler’s Wells
- Support for the Isledon Wolves FC, promising junior footballers, who will enjoy a new branded strip, a website to help promote the club and a year of booked astro turf pitches to help the teams improve. See more here.
- Sponsorship, for the 30th year, of the Angel Canal Festival on 4 September from 11am-5pm
It’s clear Lynne loves her job and is proud of what’s on offer at Angel Central whether it’s learning circus skills or raising funds for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. “The events are free – come and stand or watch from a deckchair. Or dip in and dip out. Enjoy!” says Lynne. “And if you can’t come follow us on social media as we always put up little videos.”
Vamos Cuba! dancers take a break from Sadler’s Wells to try out the Angel Central lawn.
Angel Central isn’t just good for shopping and entertainment. It’s great for giveaways and prizes too – I know this because I won a lovely prize around Valentine’s Day of a film at Vue, plus dinner at Bella Italia, and some goodies from Paperchase. Meeting Lynne Glover, it is clear that her love of Angel Central gives everyone who visits Angel Central a boost – a place where it possible to shop, catch up with friends, learn new skills or just chill in a deckchair.
- Angel Central, 21 Parkfield Street, N1 angelcentral.co.uk Lots of articles about Islington and local people are on Angel Central’s blog, see this link
- Community support, see http://angelcentral.co.uk/community/
- On twitter find competitions, news and videos @Angel_Central
- https://www.facebook.com/AngelCentralIslington
- If you enjoyed this interview, you might like the interview with Lynne’s colleague Anna Harvey, published in 2013.
- Click the link to find interviews around Angel and Camden Passage
Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird.green at gmail.com. Thank you.
If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola
