Friday 29 January 2016

Mini Holland Update 29-1-16

MINI HOLLAND

Now no right turn from Shernhall Street into Church Lane



An alternative route is via Barrett Road but that will also be closed off with trees in tubs!


New unused cycle racks by Wood Street Station. Meanwhile Blackhorse Road station is inundated with cycles!


Lethal cycle lane in Blackhorse Road. Cyclists will clash with bus users - even worse by Blackhorse Road station. Fundamental flaw in design as there is a ridge of about 50mm between the two lanes meaning a cycle can be easily tipped over. This happened to me in Orient Way and left me with a fractured pelvis, 2 weeks clogging up a hospital bed and 16 weeks off work!



Is this what we can expect once work starts on Whipps Cross Roundabout and Lea Bridge Road - any benefits are far out weighed by the dis-benefits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Stella Creasy MP

Hello!

I’m writing to apologise to you regarding a recent email you may have received from my email address in error – I wanted to reassure residents that this email which purported to send a query to the local authority (‘to Rosie’) on your behalf was not a computer virus or ‘spambot’, but a simple and direct consequence of human error on my part in using our email system and so not to be alarmed! 

I had in fact intended to share with you, as someone who had previously been in touch with me about the Mini Holland project, the latest information I had received from the Council on this matter. In particular I wanted to update you on their response to the query I raised before Christmas following requests from local residents regarding exemptions for CPZs and the Mini Holland changes around religious institutions during periods of celebration. I have reproduced below the response I have received from them, which states the Council are looking at this matter as part of their evaluation of the scheme. I am also still awaiting details as to when the guide to the changes introduced e.g. Copenhagen crossings, the different road closure formations etc will be available for residents and will update you as and when this is produced. 

I hope this information is of interest and again can only apologise for the error message you received earlier this week, 

with kind regards

Stella 

Dear Stella
 
Happy New Year, and I hope you have had a relaxing Christmas break.
 
Apologies for not getting back to you sooner on this. Further to your email dated 11 December, I would just like to reassure you that our officers are in regular dialogue with local religious organisations. Where they have requested relaxed parking restrictions, for example during religious festivals, we have enabled this wherever it has been appropriate to do so.
 
As part of the 6-month review of the Mini-Holland scheme, we will be looking at the potential impact on movements during religious festivals, so that we can properly assess the impact of the scheme during all periods.
 
We will, of course, keep you up to date as progress is made with the scheme and the plans for the wider review. I apologise that there have been some delays in producing the leaflet setting out Mini Holland in the Village, but that it will be produced and shared with you shortly.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Dan
 
Dan Fryd
Policy & Information Officer to the Chief Executive



97 Lea Bridge Road


Planning Application Search

Search for 153834

The planning application for 97 Lea Bridge Road has been publicised by Waltham Forest. 300 homes are proposed for the site which is east of the new Lea Bridge station on Argall Way overlooking Leyton Marsh. Existing industrial/ commercial buildings are proposed to be demolished to make way for the scheme which incudes 3 x tower blocks of up to 18 storeys. The planning application is listed as No.153834 on WF Council website planning application pages. The letter was issued this week but dated 8th February, and there are 21 days to make objection. At the same time please note the other major development proposals affecting Lea Bridge Road: a) the sale of the Thames Water site with the reported 'done deal' to place a non-local authority school there, none of which has been considered by WF Council, and b) the LVRPA reported options for the ice rink - three of which would impact hugely on Lea Bridge Road.

Claire



HEET Training

HEET teams up with National Energy Action (NEA) to deliver a Fuel Debt Advice Training

HEET is with working with the national energy charity NEA to provide training in fuel debt advice for frontline workers in Waltham Forest and partners in neighbouring boroughs. It is a one day training course leading to a Level 2 City & Guilds qualification. Training will take place on 2nd March 2016 at the Trinity URC, 58 Orford Road, London E17 9QL. There is 20 FREE places available so if you are interested in attending please email Tom ontom@theheetproject.org.uk. It is a great opportunity for you to find out more on how to save money on fuel bills and how to fight fuel poverty. … for more information

Woodhouse Players

Woodhouse Players latest

New buildings of WF


The best and the worst of WF

WF vital Statistics


Some interesting stats

William Morris Big Local Forum

William Morris Big Local Forum 
9th Feb 7 pm 
Priory Court Community Centre

Dear residents,

The date has now been set for the next William Morris Big Local Forum. William Morris Big Local is a locally driven initiative which is very important for our ward. It means that residents have a chance to make decisions about what they want to improve about the community in the next ten years -  deciding how to spend and grow the £1 million pounds we have been awarded. The first WM Big Local plan has now been in place for about 2 years – now is the time to check priorities and decide ambitious steps to improve the area.

The aim for this meeting is to get more residents involved with the Big Local and get more people to join the Partnership when we have our AGM on April 26th. Please come along to this meeting, find out more about where WM big local is at and how you can get involved. The more local people who are involved in the decisions which need to be made in the next few years, the better.

You can find out more about WM Big Local by looking at their website


Stuart, Nadeem and Grace

Councillor Grace Williams
Tel: 07957 680 337

Junior Cabinet Member for Public and Member Engagement

Working for the William Morris ward

My monthly surgery is from 10 am – 11 am on 1st Friday of the month at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop at 434 Forest Road
Our next ward forum meeting is at 6.30 pm – 8.00 pm  on 2nd February 2016 at the William Morris Community Centre, Greenleaf Road.
To join our William Morris ward resident email list please email, letting me know you want to be added.

War Memorials Update

War memorials

High Street Ward Panel

High Street Ward Panel

The Mill 2016

The Mill

Our visual attitude to housing

Please take part in a research study survey on visual attitudes to house design.

There is so much focus on delivering new housing but so little research or debate about what the houses look like.  This survey investigates visual preferences in housing.  Please have tour say and share with friends, colleagues and family to help make this research possible.

The survey is very simple and only takes about 5 minutes to complete.

Click on the Questions of Design link below to find out more or take the direct to the survey.

Thank you! 


Direct link to survey 

African Textiles Today

William Morris Gallery

Free Paint

FRP

Sunday 17 January 2016

New Free School in Lea Bridge Road

The site of the new Barclay Secondary Free School 
opening in 2016!!

The Lion Academy Trust has apparently purchased the site from Thames Water who have now finished with it having completed the replacement of London's water mains.





Lion Academy Trust

1,400 place secondary school





Lea Bridge Station

Lea Bridge Station history

The old Station

Some very good news -  later this year the rebuilt Lea Bridge Station will be open. This will encourage the developers to invest in this area.








As it was:







Mini Holland Update 17-1-16

MINI HOLLAND


Highams Park News

Give a council enough money and they will find ways of frittering it away. Mini Holland is a good example and in particular the new cycle path for Lea Bridge Road. There was a perfectly adequate cycle path in front of the Ice Rink but the real problem was the bridge where the new station is beginning to appear. So what happens - a vast new bridge is provided over the pedestrian path to the marshes and stops just where the road narrows and a cycle lane is needed. There is no space to continue the cycle lane as the station now occupies any land that could have been used.

Trying to use Lea Bridge Road as a cycle route is nonsense as there are perfectly good quiet routes adjacent that just need improving. The path in front of the Ice Rink led round to the Black Path but the railway bridge was a real obstacle. With all this money the bridge could have been replaced with a cycle/pedestrian friendly bridge leading on to the Black Path and giving quiet access to Markhouse Road and up Queens Road. Katy Andrews had been banging on about this route for years but clearly the highway engineers have decided that is not sexy enough for them!

There is also a question as to why the capacity of this bridge is so large when it goes nowhere and if the Ice Rink is re-located then it has no purpose at all!









Pavements

It is time our residential pavements were refurbished. It is probably over 50 years since many of them were completely renewed. There needs to be a rolling programme so that over a period of time they are all renewed. 

The main shopping centre ones get done every 10 years or so, but usually because the council decides they have money to "improve" town centres and local pavements are ignored. I mentioned this to a councillor recently and he did not seem to understand uneven surfaces are difficult for everyone to negotiate and are particularly dangerous for wheel chair users. Get on to your local councillor if you know of pavements needing renewing. Here are some examples of the problems:








This is what they should be like:


If there is money for marking the meridian line and Mini Holland surely the rest of the pavements can be renewed!!



Hackney Marsh User Group

HMUG

Monday 11 January 2016

Mini Holland Update 11-1-16

Mini Holland

The debate rages on

and on

Street closures - your view wanted

Leyton Town Centre consultation

Council stats

Whipps Cross under threat - to achieve what? The spending of millions of pound and a better bus stand but not much else. 



Is this really a benefit? Curiously more pedestrians are using it than cyclists!!




South Grove development progress

Helena Carrie hec@londoncommunications.co.uk

11:59 (9 hours ago)
to me
Dear  Waltham Forest - Our Community,

Land at South Grove update and public consultation starting on our detailed proposals for the site

I am writing to provide an update on our proposals for the underused land at South Grove.

Since we last updated you in November, we have held a series of well-publicised public exhibition events at which we spoke to around 150 local people and received very helpful feedback on our early proposals. We have used this feedback as we have continued to develop our more detailed designs for the site over the last few months.

As a reminder of our proposals, we would like to transform the site into around 450 high quality new homes for Londoners, including affordable housing. The new homes will mainly be aimed at first time buyers and also specifically for private renters, where there is significant unmet demand for professionally-managed rental properties offering security of tenure.

These homes would be surrounded by new landscaped public spaces and there will be new cycling and walking routes as part of a car-free development, except for a limited amount of parking for blue badge holders. We are also proposing a small scale retail space on the site and we are in ongoing discussions with the Council about the possibility of delivering a new health centre for South Grove as well as where this could be most suitably located in the area.

I would now like to invite you to attend a public exhibition of our more detailed proposals before we submit a planning application to the Council next month. These will be held at two separate venues on:

·       Thursday 21 January: 5pm – 8pm - The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, E17 7HA

·       Saturday 23 January: 10am – 3pm - Walthamstow Library, High St, E17 7JN

If you are unable to attend one of the public exhibitions, our consultation website - www.southgrove.co.uk - will also feature all of our consultation materials once the public exhibitions start and you will be able to comment online.

In the meantime, if you would like any further information please feel free to email the consultation team at southgrove@londoncommunications.co.uk or phone 0800 307 7589 to leave a message and a member of the team will get back to you shortly.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Yours sincerely,

 

Waltham Forest Arts Strategy

WF Arts Strategy

Future of Walthamstow Town Centre

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Is this the future of Walthamstow?


Find out at the following exhibitions:

23rd January from 11am to 3pm in Selborne Walk

26th January from 11am to 3pm in Central Library

See WFN for more details  WFN



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Lighting up London

Lumiere London

Queen's Road Station link

|From BGORUG Christmas News Letter

PROMOTING WALTHAMSTOW TOWN CENTRE 

Since the pedestrian link between Walthamstow Central and Walthamstow Queen’s Road stations opened just over a year ago, BGORUG has been amazed by both the numbers of people making use of the link and the growing numbers using Walthamstow Queen’s Road station. “Before TfL put it on the Tube map in 2007, Walthamstow Queens’s Road was always a sleepy little station,” said Glenn Wallis, BGORUG Secretary. “Passenger numbers grew but were still nothing compared to those using the station since the link opened.” 

BGORUG had campaigned for the link since 1990 and so it was named after its chief protagonist, Group member Ray Dudley, who sadly did not live long enough to see it open. “The trouble was no one knew where Walthamstow Queen’s Road station was,” said Glenn Wallis. “It is not even very near Queen’s Road! Since May this year it has been shown as an Out of Station Interchange with Walthamstow Central on the London Overground map[4] which should give some idea as to its location.” “However, there was no such indication to passengers on trains, to show just how close to the town centre and the famous High Street, the station was.” 

Group members noticed that a number of Overground stations have strap-lines added to the platform roundel station name boards advising of a popular destination reached by alighting at that station. Glenn Wallis continued, “Last April we asked TfL to put strap-lines on the platform roundels and were very pleased to see them appear last month. It is hoped that the strap-lines will encourage those who have never alighted at the station before to do so and explore the High Street, the new Empire cinema and the recently opened pop-up pub in the old Granada cinema.” 



Tube Noise

I have noticed odd rumbling sounds in Screen 2 of the Empire - I am wondering if it is the tube noise breaking through into the movie.

Tube Noise

News from Nowhere Club programme

NEWS FROM NOWHERE CLUB
Patron: Peter Hennessy

Founded in 1996, the club challenges the commercialisation & isolation of modern life. 
We meet monthly on Saturday evening.

‘Fellowship is life & the lack of fellowship is death’.  William Morris

PROGRAMME 2016
** 21stANNIVERSARY YEAR!**

At Epicentre, West Street, Leytonstone E11 4LJ  7.30pm Buffet (bring something if you can)   8.00pm Talk & discussion till 10pm

Travel & Access
Stratford stations & 257 bus  Leytonstone tube (exit left) & 257/W14 bus  Overground: Leytonstone High Rd, turn right, short walk

Disabled access, car park, bikes can be brought in, quiet children welcome. You can phone to confirm the talk will be as shown. Meetings open to all - just turn up. Enquiries 0208 555 5248     Free entry: voluntary donations welcome

The club is a real beacon of light.’  Peter Cormack

 

Saturday 9th January 2016       

Hounds Off!: The People’s Campaign against Hunting    Speaker: Joe Hashman

Joe joined the Hunt Saboteurs Association in 1982. He worked for the League Against Cruel Sports & since 2006 has remained part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Enforcement Team. Integral to many groundbreaking investigations, exposés & prosecutions, he has also defended his anti-hunting beliefs successfully in the European Court of Human Rights & various domestic legal arenas. He is the founder of Hounds Off ( www.houndsoff.co.uk ).

Saturday 13 February 2016
Libertarian Social Centres: MayDay Rooms & London Anarchist Resource Centre
Speakers: Georgia Anderson & Howard Slater
MayDay Rooms, an educational charity, was founded as a safe haven for historical material. Rather than being a ring-fenced ‘repository’ it’s an active social resource; a place where, amidst the austerity-driven threats to education & spaces of dissent, groups can gather to activate the historical material & feed these into current struggles. The MD Rooms collections are deliberately eclectic. Whilst we hold larger collections (Greenham Common), most are modest in size & cover themes from counter-educational initiatives (Schooling & Culture), to social protest (Poll Tax Rebellion), counter-culture (Scratch Orchestra) & activist collectives (East London Big Flame). MDR sees history as a constant inspiration & is working on digitalisation platforms to make the inspirational efforts of the past more widely available. A speaker from LARC will tell us about their own way of providing a radical meeting place.

Saturday 12th March 2016
Crisis? What Crisis? Re-Assessing the British ‘Winter of Discontent’ 1978-1979                                               Speaker: Professor John Shepherd                 
On 22 January 1979, 1.5 million workers were on strike - the highest number since the 1926 General Strike. Iconic media images of the industrial unrest that swept Britain in an arctic winter captured mountains of uncollected rubbish in London’s theatre land, militant shop stewards turning patients away from hospitals & a national strike by road hauliers that threatened to bring the country to a standstill. Even corpses were left unburied. Within weeks the beleaguered James Callaghan Government fell from power by a single vote. In the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, beginning 18 years of unbroken Conservative rule. John Shepherd examines the causes, course & consequences of a major turning point in modern British political history.

Saturday 9th April 2016

ABE GIBSON PERFORMANCE POET

Speaker/performer: Abe Gibson

Formerly Poet in Residence at London Transport Museum,Writer in Residence at Feltham Young Offenders Institute & Ronnie Scott Club performer, Abe has a formidable way with words, accents & mannerisms, & delights audiences with his charming, funny, acutely observed characters. As a caretaker on a Hackney Council estate for 25 years, he’s used this opportunity to closely study people from all walks of life & portrays them at least as well as many professional actors. Abe will explain how & why he writes & performs, & treat us to a rendition of some of his favourite poems. His poetry collection ‘Violently Tender’ will be on sale.

Saturday 14th May 2016 WRITERS FORUM

Speakers: Derek Smith, Jenny Matthews, David Gardiner, Irene Rosenfeld
Four London writers discuss why & how they write. Between them, they have vast experience of producing poetry, short stories, plays & novels for children & adults. They have been published by major & smaller publishing houses & have self-published, run writing groups & blogs & given advice about creative writing & creativity in general. They will read out examples of their work. Come & hear their thoughts of what has shaped & helped them, & bring your own questions, preoccupations & short bits of writing to share with them.

Saturday 11th June 2016
"From Grave to Shrine, Poet to Priestess: Witnessing the Evolution of a Poet's Grave into a Pilgrimage Site."
Speaker: Jessica Lawrence
Jessica Lawrence spent three years in the ancient village of Heptonstall, West Yorkshire, observing the grave of Sylvia Plath who is buried in the local cemetery. She interviewed thousands of visitors who flock to Plath's burial site. Her research, which earned her an MSc in Medical Anthropology, demonstrated that Plath serves as posthumous mentor & spiritual guide as well as a literary inspiration to thousands of devotees world wide, who credit her influence as critical in having helped them find the resolve to make pivotal changes in their lives, including prevention of suicide, alleviation from self harm & the decision to pursue a career in literature & poetry. Jessica will discuss this little known, under-appreciated aspect of Plath's legacy & will illustrate her talk with slides of the grave which has become a literary pilgrimage site & a decorated shrine. 


July 9th 2016
NOWHERE ……………. Revelations of a Blue Badge Guide

Speaker: Brian Hicks

When I originally qualified as a professional Blue Badge Guide some 20 years ago, I had no idea where it might take me. Educationally I have become a different person. I always had a fascination with history & now have an excuse to enjoy learning about the subject.  I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, ‘You should make your obsession your profession’. This I have done. So come & learn how you could become a guide & some of the more quirky historical facts I have accumulated. Find out the truth about Henry VIII, about Elizabeth 1st’s bad temper, how the present Queen goes to the theatre incognito & why the Bishop of Durham’s anus is on display in London! Brian lives in Walthamstow.

August 13th 2016
M11 Link Road:
A Community- Based Mass Protest

Speaker: Richard Leighton

Richard, as chair of "The No M11 Link Campaign", was in the midst of the mass protest to stop the M11 Link Road: a road proved to be outdated before being built, which exposed the lengths the Government of the time would go to on smashing down the community in its way.  Richard was born in the area, as were his parents, & grandparents & lived there 45 years. His father had opposed the earlier scheme, so it was natural for Richard to oppose the scheme when it was resurrected.

Saturday September 10th 2016 
**** GALA Evening****!! 21st birthday
of the News from Nowhere Club
All past speakers invited. Food & drink in plenty. Exhibition of 20 years of the Club. Screening of ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ film by Bill Hodgson. Update on setting up local Hitchcock Museum. Readings from ‘News from Nowhere’ utopia by William Morris. Singing of Leon Rosselson’s song ‘Bringing the News from Nowhere.’

*Special EXTRA event to commemorate our 21st birthday*
!! Monday!! September 12th 2016
An evening with Iain Sinclair: ‘I take a walk every morning…’   Speaker: Iain Sinclair
Hackney resident, poet, film maker, essayist, award winning novelist, psychogeographer, ‘avant gardeist’ influenced by the Beat generation… Iain’s prolific, unusual life as a writer, observer and social critic will be the subject of tonight’s special event. You might like to read one or two of his works before the meeting to get the measure of his style. He will tell us what his life is like and answer your questions! The Newham Bookshop will be with us with copies of Iain’s books.

Saturday October 8th 2016
What Does Local Community Action Really Mean?
Speaker: Jude Leighton
What are the possibilities & limitations of trying to transform the local area where you grew up? Jude has lived in Leytonstone all her life & has worked in several organisations, aiming to make a big difference to the quality of life of her neighbours. She has learnt several lessons through her struggles & will let us into her most recent thoughts & revelations, with a chance for the audience to contribute their own experiences & utopian desires.
Saturday 12th November 2016
Screening  of 'The Anarchist Rabbi’ & discussion with filmmaker Adam Kossoff
“On Yom Kippur,” speaks the voice of anarchist Rudolf Rocker, “Jewish anarchists & socialists marched past local synagogues defiantly smoking or brandishing ham sandwiches.” Adam Kossoff’s meditative documentary focuses on German-born Rocker, who campaigned with London's East End Jewish immigrants over 100 years ago. He spoke & wrote in Yiddish, organized garment trade unions & advocated for anarchism as the solution for class inequality. Through the narration of actor Stephen Berkoff, Rocker's ghost comes to life as it haunts the locations where the Yiddish workers’ movement was once vibrant. The Anarchist Rabbi (44 mins) is a reflection on how urban development buries the history of such vital working class movements. Adam Kossoff is an artist-filmmaker & a Reader in the Moving Image at the University of Wolverhampton.   As well as The Anarchist Rabbi (2014) his recent work includes Animal Architecture (2014), Made in Wolverhampton (2011) & Moscow Diary (2010).  His most recent exhibition, Animal Architecture, was at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. His work is distributed by Lux. Adam lives in Leytonstone.

Saturday 10th December 2016
MPs & Government Ministers!
How to Arm-Twist Them  Speaker: Ron Bailey
‘They may act like they're invincible, but they're not. They may think they can ignore you & do what they want willynilly, but you can stop them. They say politics is about power & it can be: NOT their power but the power YOU can have. Are all politicians the same? Well, they can be when they've got their arm twisted behind their back & held damn firmly by YOU.  I can tell you a few methods of doing this.  Things I‘ve done. Things that had one MP's wife on the phone to mine for half an hour begging her to get us to stop our campaign 'against her poor husband/MP.' Things that prevented another MP from referring to me without a hurl of abuse because I organised 50,000 leaflets to be put through every door in his constituency accusing him of actions that helped rape to happen. And most importantly, things that made them back down! Remember - they want you to get fed up & go away. Don't give them what they want!’ Ron is Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Sustainable Energy Assn. Ron used to live in Leytonstone.


Saturday 9th January 2016       

Hounds Off!: The People’s Campaign against Hunting    Speaker: Joe Hashman

Joe joined the Hunt Saboteurs Association in 1982. He worked for the League Against Cruel Sports & since 2006 has remained part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Enforcement Team. Integral to many groundbreaking investigations, exposés & prosecutions, he has also defended his anti-hunting beliefs successfully in the European Court of Human Rights & various domestic legal arenas. He is the founder of Hounds Off ( www.houndsoff.co.uk ).

Saturday 13 February 2016
Libertarian Social Centres: MayDay Rooms & London Anarchist Resource Centre
Speakers: Georgia Anderson & Howard Slater
MayDay Rooms, an educational charity, was founded as a safe haven for historical material. Rather than being a ring-fenced ‘repository’ it’s an active social resource; a place where, amidst the austerity-driven threats to education & spaces of dissent, groups can gather to activate the historical material & feed these into current struggles. The MD Rooms collections are deliberately eclectic. Whilst we hold larger collections (Greenham Common), most are modest in size & cover themes from counter-educational initiatives (Schooling & Culture), to social protest (Poll Tax Rebellion), counter-culture (Scratch Orchestra) & activist collectives (East London Big Flame). MDR sees history as a constant inspiration & is working on digitalisation platforms to make the inspirational efforts of the past more widely available.

Saturday 12th March 2016
Crisis? What Crisis? Re-Assessing the British ‘Winter of Discontent’ 1978-1979                                               Speaker: Professor John Shepherd                 
On 22 January 1979, 1.5 million workers were on strike - the highest number since the 1926 General Strike. Iconic media images of the industrial unrest that swept Britain in an arctic winter captured mountains of uncollected rubbish in London’s theatre land, militant shop stewards turning patients away from hospitals & a national strike by road hauliers that threatened to bring the country to a standstill. Even corpses were left unburied. Within weeks the beleaguered James Callaghan Government fell from power by a single vote. In the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, beginning 18 years of unbroken Conservative rule. John Shepherd examines the causes, course & consequences of a major turning point in modern British political history.

Saturday 9th April 2016

ABE GIBSON PERFORMANCE POET

Speaker/performer: Abe Gibson

Formerly Poet in Residence at London Transport Museum,Writer in Residence at Feltham Young Offenders Institute & Ronnie Scott Club performer, Abe has a formidable way with words, accents & mannerisms, & delights audiences with his charming, funny, acutely observed characters. As a caretaker on a Hackney Council estate for 25 years, he’s used this opportunity to closely study people from all walks of life & portrays them at least as well as many professional actors. Abe will explain how & why he writes & performs, & treat us to a rendition of some of his favourite poems. His poetry collection ‘Violently Tender’ will be on sale.

Saturday 14th May 2016 WRITERS FORUM

Speakers: Derek Smith, Jenny Matthews, David Gardiner, Irene Rosenfeld
Four London writers discuss why & how they write. Between them, they have vast experience of producing poetry, short stories, plays & novels for children & adults. They have been published by major & smaller publishing houses & have self-published, run writing groups & blogs & given advice about creative writing & creativity in general. They will read out examples of their work. Come & hear their thoughts of what has shaped & helped them, & bring your own questions, preoccupations & short bits of writing to share with them.

Saturday 11th June 2016
"From Grave to Shrine, Poet to Priestess: Witnessing the Evolution of a Poet's Grave into a Pilgrimage Site."
Speaker: Jessica Lawrence
Jessica Lawrence spent three years in the ancient village of Heptonstall, West Yorkshire, observing the grave of Sylvia Plath who is buried in the local cemetery. She interviewed thousands of visitors who flock to Plath's burial site. Her research, which earned her an MSc in Medical Anthropology, demonstrated that Plath serves as posthumous mentor & spiritual guide as well as a literary inspiration to thousands of devotees world wide, who credit her influence as critical in having helped them find the resolve to make pivotal changes in their lives, including prevention of suicide, alleviation from self harm & the decision to pursue a career in literature & poetry. Jessica will discuss this little known, under-appreciated aspect of Plath's legacy & will illustrate her talk with slides of the grave which has become a literary pilgrimage site & a decorated shrine. 

July 9th 2016
NOWHERE ……………. Confessions of a Blue Badge Guide

Speaker: Brian Hicks

When I originally qualified as a professional Blue Badge Guide some 20 years ago, I had no idea where it might take me. Educationally I have become a different person. I always had a fascination with history & now have an excuse to enjoy learning about the subject.  I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, ‘You should make your obsession your profession’. This I have done. So come & learn how you could become a guide & some of the more quirky historical facts I have accumulated. Find out the truth about Henry VIII, about Elizabeth 1st’s bad temper, how the present Queen goes to the theatre incognito & why the Bishop of Durham’s anus is on display in London!

August 13th 2016
M11 Link Road:
A Community- Based Mass Protest

Speaker: Richard Leighton

Richard, as chair of "The No M11 Link Campaign", was in the midst of the mass protest to stop the M11 Link Road: a road proved to be outdated before being built, which exposed the lengths the Government of the time would go to on smashing down the community in its way.  Richard was born in the area, as were his parents, & grandparents & lived there 45 years. His father had opposed the earlier scheme, so it was natural for Richard to oppose the scheme when it was resurrected.
Saturday September 10th 2016 
**** GALA Evening****!! 21st birthday
of the News from Nowhere Club
All past speakers invited. Food & drink in plenty. Exhibition of 20 years of the Club. Screening of ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ film by Bill Hodgson. Update on setting up local Hitchcock Museum. Readings from ‘News from Nowhere’ utopia by William Morris. Singing of Leon Rosselson’s song ‘Bringing the News from Nowhere.’

*Special EXTRA event to commemorate our 21st birthday*
!! Monday!! September 12th 2016
An evening with Iain Sinclair: ‘I take a walk every morning…’   Speaker: Iain Sinclair
Hackney resident, poet, film maker, essayist, award winning novelist, psychogeographer, ‘avant gardeist’ influenced by the Beat generation… Iain’s prolific, unusual life as a writer, observer and social critic will be the subject of tonight’s special event. You might like to read one or two of his works before the meeting to get the measure of his style. He will tell us what his life is like and answer your questions! The Newham Bookshop will be with us with copies of Iain’s books.

Saturday October 8th 2016
What Does Local Community Action Really Mean?
Speaker: Jude Leighton
What are the possibilities & limitations of trying to transform the local area where you grew up? Jude has lived in Leytonstone all her life & has worked in several organisations, aiming to make a big difference to the quality of life of her neighbours. She has learnt several lessons through her struggles & will let us into her most recent thoughts & revelations, with a chance for the audience to contribute their own experiences & utopian desires.







Saturday 12th November 2016
Screening  of 'The Anarchist Rabbi’ & discussion with filmmaker Adam Kossoff
“On Yom Kippur,” speaks the voice of anarchist Rudolf Rocker, “Jewish anarchists & socialists marched past local synagogues defiantly smoking or brandishing ham sandwiches.” Adam Kossoff’s meditative documentary focuses on German-born Rocker, who campaigned with London's East End Jewish immigrants over 100 years ago. He spoke & wrote in Yiddish, organized garment trade unions & advocated for anarchism as the solution for class inequality. Through the narration of actor Stephen Berkoff, Rocker's ghost comes to life as it haunts the locations where the Yiddish workers’ movement was once vibrant. The Anarchist Rabbi (44 mins) is a reflection on how urban development buries the history of such vital working class movements. Adam Kossoff is an artist-filmmaker & a Reader in the Moving Image at the University of Wolverhampton.   As well as The Anarchist Rabbi (2014) his recent work includes Animal Architecture (2014), Made in Wolverhampton (2011) & Moscow Diary (2010).  His most recent exhibition, Animal Architecture, was at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. His work is distributed by Lux.

Saturday 10th December 2016
MPs & Government Ministers!
How to Arm-Twist Them  Speaker: Ron Bailey
‘They may act like they're invincible, but they're not. They may think they can ignore you & do what they want willynilly, but you can stop them. They say politics is about power & it can be: NOT their power but the power YOU can have. Are all politicians the same? Well, they can be when they've got their arm twisted behind their back & held damn firmly by YOU.  I can tell you a few methods of doing this.  Things I‘ve done. Things that had one MP's wife on the phone to mine for half an hour begging her to get us to stop our campaign 'against her poor husband/MP.' Things that prevented another MP from referring to me without a hurl of abuse because I organised 50,000 leaflets to be put through every door in his constituency accusing him of actions that helped rape to happen. And most importantly, things that made them back down! Remember - they want you to get fed up & go away. Don't give them what they want!’ Ron is Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Sustainable Energy Assn.
NEWS FROM NOWHERE CLUB
Patron: Peter Hennessy

Founded in 1996, the club challenges the commercialisation & isolation of modern life. 
We meet monthly on Saturday evening.

‘Fellowship is life & the lack of fellowship is death’.  William Morris

PROGRAMME 2016
** 21stANNIVERSARY YEAR!**

At Epicentre, West Street, Leytonstone E11 4LJ
7.30pm Buffet (bring something if you can)
8.00pm Talk & discussion till 10pm

Travel & Access
Stratford stations & 257 bus
Leytonstone tube (exit left) & 257/W14 bus
Overground: Leytonstone High Rd, turn right, short walk

Disabled access, car park, bikes can be brought in, quiet children welcome. You can phone to confirm the talk will be as shown. Meetings open to all - just turn up.

Enquiries 0208 555 5248  

Free entry: voluntary donations welcome

The club is a real beacon of light.’  Peter Cormack