KA Newsletter August 2009

Friday, 14^th August 2009

Dear Neighbours

Kennington Village Fete

The Fete produced significant revenues for the KA funds – over £400 was raised from donations invited for new books (not in perfect condition) towards our Secret Santa scheme. Second-hand books brought in over £130 and Nessie Ramm’s cards raised another £28 for KA funds. Special thanks are due to Marie, Sally, Cathy and Rosemary for staffing the stall and to Kevin and Veronica for shifting the books to and fro. In addition, a very successful raffle was organised by Daniel that raised £550 towards Fete funds for the Tree of Hope lights. The event was opened by Kate Hoey MP; the Mayor of Lambeth was in attendance, members of the KA gave a demonstration of Tai Chi, and members of the newly-opened Kennington ballroom dancing school demonstrated their skills. Special thanks are due to Winkworths Kennington, who sponsored the event and donated so generously to the local Brownies, and to local restaurants – Kennington Tandoori, Amici, The Lobster Pot and Toulouse Lautrec, who not only provided mouth-watering food, but also gave generous donations.

TREE OF HOPE

Fete funds, together with a generous donation from the Ethelred TMO, mean that the Tree of Hope project to light the big tree at Kennington Cross is now complete. There will be a lighting ceremony in the autumn and suggestions are welcome as to who should switch on the lights.

SPORTS AND FITNESS

Tai Chi is going well. Classes are held on Thursdays from 2pm to 3pm (funded by Capital Community Foundation’s Grassroots Grant) and Saturdays from 11am to 12 noon in front of the café in Kennington Park. About twenty people attend each session with new participants joining constantly. Our recent application to Awards for All, for funds to continue the Saturday classes in Kennington Park throughout the summer, has been provisionally confirmed as successful. There is some paperwork to be completed before the money will reach KA’s bank account but it looks very likely that this very popular venture will be able to continue. Sessions are open to all and no previous experience is necessary.

VOLLEYBALL (ECUAVOLLEY): Players are now meeting on Saturdays from 3pm to 9pm and Sundays from 4pm to 8pm. The games go from strength to strength with a European tournament sponsored by the Ecuadorian Movement in the UK (www.movimientoecuador.co.uk)being held at the Old Lilian Baylis School on the weekend of 29^th and 30^th August (from 11am to 9pm each day), with players competing from Italy, England and Scotland. Anyone wanting further details should contact Galo Espin on 07985 603189.

PLANNING

The whole committee has been following proposed developments for managing the Old Lilian Baylis School, with an important intervention by the Chair. In addition a sub-committee under Tim Roe has been tracking what will happen to the old Beaufoy Institute buildings and land, and responding to a number of planning applications for multi-storey developments along the Albert Embankment. A high priority issue will be the plans for 81 Black Prince Road (23 storey building) and the old London Fire Brigade buildings (29 storey building). It has been agreed that the Planning Forum will meet monthly on the first Tuesday in the month. If you are interested in attending and supporting the Forum’s activities please contact Tim at tim.j.roe@mac.com

KA EXECUTIVE Committee

Margarita has resigned as Treasurer, but has agreed to present the Treasurer’s Report at the AGM. We are looking for a new Treasurer and also a Publicity Secretary. If any one wants to volunteer or to recommend someone we can approach, please let us know by e-mail or phone number above.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY

Kennington Business Network

Initial discussions have taken place about the formation of a Kennington Business Network to work for the common good of Kennington businesses, enabling it to speak as one voice to the Council and others and to communicate concerns and issues such as security, waste disposal and rents among members. The idea is to take up any issue that affects one member, so the relevant parties will have to deal with a group on such things as rents rather than individual business owners. So far support has been very good and they are to meet again at 5.30pm on Tuesday 15^th September at the offices of Rolfe Judd Ltd, Old Church Court, Claylands Road, The Oval, SW8 1NZ. The key issues for this first meeting are: street care, refuse and recycling, parking and congestion zone problems, regeneration (with a mind to the state of the unused shop fronts) and improvements to the appearance of Kennington Cross and its surrounding area.

Charity Auction

Every £40 coming from this annual charity auction, which takes place on Thursday 17^th September 6.30 til 8.30pm at City & Guilds of London Art School Cleaver Square SE11, buys ‘Secret Santa’ vouchers for a local family who would otherwise have little to spend on extras at Christmas time. So far the Art School has donated many artworks, including stone carvings that would be ideal for gardens and patios. If any individual has other forms of art, from works on paper to ceramics, jewellery, let us know. If you would like us to pick up your donations, please call 020 7091 0841. We will also be auctioning pledges and promises donated by local businesses. This is an ideal marketing platform for local businesses to attract new customers who live in the neighbourhood. A big thank you to the most recent donations made by Hub Coffee House for lunch for two, Belgrave Hotel has pledged two nights for two bed and breakfast, Oval House Theatre is offering a pair of free theatre tickets and a bottle of wine, and we have a weekday afternoon booking in the China Walk TRA Hall. We are, as ever, very grateful to Red Devil Storage for kindly providing a unit again. The success of previous auctions has owed a great deal to the hard work of Catey Hillier, who will be stepping down as coordinator at the end of this year. We would love to meet someone who is as organised and enthusiastic and who would be willing to take over the auction.

Annual General Meeting

This year’s AGM will take place at 7pm on Monday, 5^th October in The Captain’s Room at Surrey County Cricket Club, which is accessed via the Hobbs Gate, through the main entrance to the lift to the third floor, with fantastic views over the grounds. All KA members are invited.

Bazaar

The regular Bazaars remain one of the main sources of funding for the Association, and the next will take place on Saturday, 7^th November at St Anselm’s Church Hall from 11am to 1pm. As in the past, the kitchen will be open, serving tea and coffee, with cake and sandwiches. Donations of good quality items can be delivered to the hall from 6-8 pm on the evening before or from 9-10 am on the day of the Bazaar, or picked up on Friday evening. If you have items for collection, let us know on kenningtonassociation@gmail.com.