Summer should be a time for holidays when many people get away. This makes it even more surprising that Camden and Islington Councils chose this period to run their six-week engagement on the Dartmouth Park Healthy Neighbourhood traffic proposal. It has caused a huge amount of concern across the whole area, and we hosted a well-attended information afternoon in 10A South Grove on 3 August. You may have seen our campaign website at www.dphnjointaction.com which gives information on how to respond to the consultation by 18 August. Every voice will count, and if you need inspiration, here is our latest report on the proposal.
Despite this challenge, I hope everybody can get a good break. You can see from the updates below there are plenty of events planned.
Have a great August.
Andrew Sulston, Chair
NEWS
Highgate School workshops update
Following the public meeting in June 2023 in response to Highgate School’s large-scale development plans across a number of their sites, and as a result of the Highgate Society’s request to set up community workshops with the school and local groups, we are pleased to report that the workshops are now underway. There have been 2 workshops so far facilitated by the King’s Foundation and attended by representatives from Highgate School, the Highgate Society, the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum, the Highgate Conservation Area Advisory Committee, as well as representatives from the Southwood Lane, Kingsley Place and Broadlands Road Residents Associations.
The Highgate Society is delighted to have been able to donate a piano to William Ellis School. Al Mobbs, the chair of the school’s parents association, made a very good case for it, writing:
"We have a wonderful head of music - Ollie Singleton - who achieves herculean feats with virtually no budget. In year 7 and 8, all boys are taught piano and guitar and in class to give them foundation skills in music. We have run a program and donated over 10 rehomed guitars and mended another 10 broken instruments to make sure that all boys have access to an instrument for class and extracurricular ventures. Pianos are a little more tricky and Ollie's teaching piano is in desperate need of replacement. WES is not a rich school with around 40% of students as pupil premium. Yet I do not think this need be an obstacle to music making"
Above: Al Mobbs, Chair of William Ellis School Parents’ Association (rear) and Oliver Singleton, Head of Music at William Ellis School are shown trying out the piano.
Guerrilla gardeners hard at work in Archway Road and North Road
In Archway Road our gardeners have been working hard at turning the neglected planters into mini-gardens to delight all who walk along the road from Highgate towards Archway Bridge. Earlier, in May they tackled the green space next to Gonnermann’s shop near the Shepherds Hill junction. A couple of our gardeners tackled the reservation in the middle of North Road during the spring, clearing weeds and sowing wild-flower seeds. For more pictures and details click here.
EVENTS
Highgate Wood Heritage Day Sunday 1st September
11.00 am till 4.00 pm
The annual Highgate Wood Heritage Day will be held this year on Sunday 1st September, on the sports field in the Wood. The Society will be having its usual stand, and Michael Hammerson will once again by putting on his display on the History of Highgate Wood on the same stand. There will also be a display and update on the Roman Pottery Kiln project.
SAVE - its work in preserving our heritage
SAVE campaigned to prevent the demolition of the flagship M&S store in Oxford Street
Wednesday 18th September
7.30 pm (doors open 7.00 pm)
10A South Grove N6 6BS and on Zoom
Entry £7.50 including a glass of wine (£3.00 on Zoom)
Booking through Eventbrite - click here.
Liz Fuller, Buildings at Risk Officer at SAVE Britain’s Heritage, will talk about SAVE’s work and recent campaigns. For more details click here.
Sunday lunchtime concert: Lior Solomons Wise Trio
Sunday 29th September
12 noon (doors open 11.45 am)
10A South Grove N6 6BS
Entry £15 including a glass of Buck's Fizz
Booking through Ticket Tailor - click here.
We are delighted to welcome back Lior (on the piano), Jonah (on drums) and Ed (on bass) for another delightful jam session. You may remember that we first them heard back in January this year. They will be playing old jazz favourites but also some of their own compositions.
More events
●The next meeting of the Poetry Groupwill be on Tuesday 6th August at 6.30 pm at 10A South Grove. Subject prompts are a) death and or decay, b) good riddance and c) stream of consciousness.Admittance £5. For more details contact Richard Downes at r.downes@yahoo.co.uk.
● The next guerilla gardening event will be held on Saturday, 17 August. Meet at 10 am outside 10A South Grove or, if after, in Pond Square, where we will be working on the beds around the toilet block, preparing for seeding with wild flowers. A group of us may also be looking that morning at the green next to Highgate Group Practice. Contact infrastructure@highgatesociety.com for further information.
● Coffee & Computers will have its next session at 10A South Grove on Monday 2nd September at 10.30 to 12.30. To receive notifications of sessions, email highgatecoffeeandcomputers@gmail.com.
● The next French Circle meeting will be on Wednesday 4th September. "We are a group of francophiles who love to meet and talk French together. Some of our language skills are quite rusty but it doesn't matter, talking French is good for the grey cells! We meet on the first Wednesday of every month, from September to May, to enjoy activities ranging from quizzes to presentations to French carol-singing. The 4th September will be devoted to "les retrouvailles" after the summer, a chance to meet once again and share stories about our holidays and anything else of interest. There will be snacks, wine and fruit juice for all. The entrance charge is £10, cash only please, as we don't have our own bank account."
● The next litter picking event will take place on Saturday 7th September. We will meet at the junction of Wood Lane and Queen’s Wood Road.at 9.30 and work for an hour. As usual we will provide tabards, bags, litter pickers and gloves. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you. Any questions please email: infrastructure@highgatesociety.com.
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To access past issues of this newsletter visit the News page of the Highgate Society web site.
Disclaimer:
The Highgate Society is an unincorporated association established for the public benefit. It endeavours to ensure that the information it provides as a free service is correct but does not warrant that it is accurate or complete. Nothing in this correspondence constitutes professional or legal advice and may not be relied on as such. In no event will the Society be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation indirect or consequential loss or damage or any damage whatsoever arising from any objections, criticism, advice and information it provides.
