• FROM JUNE 1, 2006

Kingston’s status as a destination for diners was criticised during a London-wide drive to improve the capital’s food.

Mayor Ken Livingstone launched the London Food strategy, aiming to improve people’s health through a better diet and reduce environmental costs of food such as pollution from pesticides or air miles.

During the campaign the range of food available in Kingston came under criticism and Kingston Council went into negotiations to bring a regular farmers' market to the town with fresh and affordable local produce.

But talks broke down because a venue for the market could not be agreed. A council spokesman said everyone was open to further talks, and that they hoped to improve the town’s “eco-footprint” with sustainable food in the future.

On imported food, the council drew attention to the borough’s status as a “fair trade” town, which was awarded because of the ethically-sourced food available in Kingston.

As well as promoting markets and encouraging more diverse food outlets, the London Food strategy also aimed to encourage London to develop as a food tourism destination.

Research showed that six to eight per cent of tourists seek destinations based on the quality of food or drink in the area.

Mr Livingstone said: “Places like Brick Lane are now tourist destinations in their own right and the strategy seeks to build on our success stories, so that people will be able to access better quality food.”

Kingston’s cafe and restaurant scene had often been criticised as lacking range and being “crammed with chain restaurants”.

Emily and Giovanni Degregorio, from High Street restaurant Rococco, hired a gourmet chef because they saw a gap in the market for top-class cooking.

Mrs Degregorio said: “It is all chains around Kingston, but people do appreciate good food.”

Zoe Nicholls, from Kingston town centre management, said Kingston did have a lot to offer and the group was planning a number of food events to promote the independent cafes and restaurants in Kingston.

She said: “There is more of a lunch culture in Kingston. People come here primarily to shop and food is a second to that.”

She added that chain restaurants such as La Tasca and Carluccio’s did not “actually have many branches” so were more “unique” than people thought.

  • FROM JUNE 2, 2006

Esteemed local historians and meteorological experts were flummoxed by the suggestion a freak wave would flow towards Kingston Bridge. The so-called Kingston Bore, a wave big enough to surf on, was said to occur once every 90 years in the borough. The forecast date was June 10, 2006 and surfers as far away as Barcelona were travelling to Kingston for it.

  • FROM MAY 31, 1991

A campaigning Christian from Chessington was on the verge of an unlikely moral victory over the peddlers of pornography. Helen Mitchell led a two-year campaign to stop softcore porn magazines being sold in the area’s newsagents. The moral crusade inspired councillors to set up a vote on whether magazines, like Playboy and Mayfair, should be banned from Kingston.

  • FROM JUNE 1, 1966

A homeowner who lived near a Kingston youth club had her property rates cuts after complaining about noise from the children. Miss Bischoff, 65, told the Kingston Valuation Court the Cambridge Youth Club had been a “constant source of considerable annoyance” since it opened in 1964 and that the club had 240 members and was growing. Her rates fell by £18.