Friday, 29th January 2010
Dear Neighbours,
FROM THE CHAIR
Last year was a busy one for the Kennington Association! Amongst other activities, we continued our support for the tai chi classes and Ecuadorian volleyball, and we provided £40 Tesco vouchers to over 100 local families through our Secret Santa initiative. We also helped lay the plans for two new local ventures: a Kennington Business Forum and a friends group for Lollard Street Adventure Playground. And we welcomed new members to our committee: Matina Gialama is our new treasurer and Nasser Mirza has agreed to help Matina and serve as auditor. We also have an energetic new leader of the Planning Forum, David Boardman.
As many of you know from our AGM in October, the KA is a loosely structured organisation and all work is done by volunteers. And though we have over 100 willing people we can call on as the need arises, we could still use some dedicated help. Most pressing is our need for a membership secretary to track and remind people to renew their memberships and a press secretary. Additional publicity would really pay off by making the most of the tremendous amount of work that goes into our bazaars and charity auction. And we could really use a writer/editor for this quarterly newsletter! You would not work alone, but be part of an active group that works hard and plays too! If you would like to volunteer for any of these posts, please send an email to KA at the above address. Thanks to all for your continuing support.
Anna Tapsell
NEWS
CHARITY AUCTION ASSURES SECRET SANTA SUCCESS
The fifth Charity Auction held at the City and Guilds of London Art School in September was a huge success raising a whopping £4,080 to provide 102 Secret Santa shopping vouchers of £40 each. These were distributed by Charmaine Clarke at the Ethelred Nursery School and Children’s Centre who told us “Many families struggle at this time of year financially and emotionally. This gift gave them an extra lift and the feeling that someone cared for them.” Another £1,720 was donated to the bursary of the art school to assist students needing financial support. Special thanks to all the volunteers, especially our auction coordinator Catey Hillier, and Andrew Connolly who pulled the catalogue together with super speed! Thanks also to those who ran the bar and assisted on the night and to all who donated work to go under the hammer. Our local business pledges and promises were especially welcome! Three figure bids, for example, were made for champagne dinners at local eateries - the new Amici Restaurant and the Lobster Pot, as well as pledges and donations from Cotton Tree Interior Designers, Cam Pharmacy, South London Pacific, Tesco and Alford House Club Members Fund. We are thrilled that Pauline Amphlett has bravely agreed to coordinate the next Charity Auction on Thursday, 16th September sponsored by Belgrave Hotel.
Tree of Hope Lights up!
Several years ago, some members of our community proposed we establish a lighted Tree of Hope in the centre of Kennington to show our concern and sympathy for several local young people who had been involved in or victims of violence. Bringing this dream to fruition led to an incredibly long slog of working with local authorities, TFL and some agencies we hadn’t even heard of! But on the evening of 10th November, the long-awaited tree-lighting ceremony took place outside St Anselm’s Church at Kennington Cross. Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, performed the switch on, Archbishop Sumner Primary School’s brass band did the entertaining, and Kennington Tandoori and Spectrum Radio provided the refreshments. Huge thanks to all involved. And a special salute to the Kennington Village Fete team, Winkworth’s, Princes Ward Purse, Bircham Dyson Bell Charitable Trust and other local organisations who provided funding.
SPORTS AND FITNESS
Tai chi has moved back indoors for the winter. You are welcome to come and join us on either Thursdays at the Kennington Park Community Centre from 2pm to 3pm or Saturdays in the Lambeth Hall at the Brit Oval (entrance through Alec Stewart Gate) from 11am to 12 noon. Classes are open to all. No previous experience is necessary. We have recently received the second tranche of a Grass Roots Grants from the Capital Community Foundation, which we are pleased to say will enable the Thursday tai chi class to continue for the next few months. News is expected shortly from Surrey County Cricket Club regarding future funding for the Saturday class.
Ecuadorian volleyball (Ecuavolley) continues happily in the sports hall at the Old Lilian Baylis School on Friday 6pm to 9pm, Saturday 3pm to 9pm and Sunday 4pm to 9pm. Anyone wanting further details should contact Galo Espin on 07985 603189.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kennington Business Network to kick off
Following on from initial discussions and meetings last year, things are shaping up nicely for the Kennington Business Network with two events organised for next month. The first will be an evening social at 6pm on Wednesday 3rd February at Amici Café, 310-312 Kennington Road to engage in informal discussions about the membership structure, fees and general terms of reference. On the following Wednesday 10th February, there will be a breakfast meeting (7.30am cost £5) at Amici Restaurant 205-209 Kennington Lane to finalise and ratify the decisions made at the previous meeting. There will then be an inaugural general meeting in March to elect the board.
new friends wanted for Lollard Street Adventure Playground
Lollard Street Adventure Playground was created in 1954 on the site of a school that had been bombed during the war years. It provides school-aged children with opportunities to play after school, at weekends and during school holidays, which are difficult to find elsewhere in our area. Fenced and secure, the playground is an oasis where children are supervised by trained, professional playworkers who are always on hand to help out if needed, but also know when to stand back and let children work things out for themselves. LSAP has quiet indoor space where children can do homework or creative arts and outdoor space with unique play structures. Kids love it as a place where they can run about and create games, and parents know there are responsible adults at hand. But unfortunately as government purse strings are tightened, funding for these irreplaceable areas is often the first to go! LSAP is sadly in need of investment, which the council is hesitating to provide.
KA wants make sure Lollard Street Adventure Playground has a secure future and to this end is helping to launch a friends group. An inaugural meeting held this month to discuss a FOLSAP initiative was very fruitful. Both adults and children attended and discussions for the future focused on the children’s ideas for its development. All agreed to set about forming the Friends of Lollard Street Adventure Playground (FOLSAP) with the first public meeting to be held on Monday 10th May at 6pm in the Royal Oak PH, Fitzalan Street SE11 6QU.
Roots and Shoots have already donated a "Cellini", the 'Vauxhall Apple' tree, which will be planted in the Playground with hopes it will form the centre of a tree house which the children have asked for. The tree will have a special meaning for the Playground as it is to commemorate Paul Hendrich, a part-time worker who was knocked off his bike in January 2008 as well as two children who used the playground, Chevlyn and Kharim. Playground staff and children have done a mosaic ‘praying hands’ in memory of these three and it will be dedicated along with the tree planting by Kate Hoey MP at a special ceremony at 4pm on Tuesday 23rd February.
men needed for march BAZAAR!
The KA Bazaar is one of our main sources of funding. We have a grand team (some in their eighties and nineties) and the work is great fun, but very physical and done to a tight schedule. We urgently need male volunteers starting at 6pm on Friday night to set up tables and shift bulky items. We also need strong bodies to dismantle stalls on Saturday afternoon. The November Bazaar took in £750 (50% up on May), raising £560 for our funds. Special thanks to Pimlico Plumbers who provided a van to transport goods. The next Bazaar is on Saturday, 6th March at St Anselm’s Church Hall from 11am to 1 pm. This is a good chance to re-cycle some unexpected Xmas gifts – who needs twenty pairs of socks? Please bring saleable items to the hall from 6pm to 8pm on the evening before or from 9am to 10am on Bazaar day. If you need help collecting goods, please email kenningtonassociation@gmail.
PLANNING
Elizabeth Scott, who has long been the guiding light of our Planning Forum, has recently been joined in leadership by David Boardman who has agreed to chair the subgroup. Last year, in the name of the KA, the planning subgroup submitted opinions to the Council regarding lights at the Oval and crowd control during test matches and 20/20 matches. They also monitored various proposals for the old Lilian Baylis School and helped make sure the Council provides an exchange facility for the Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre whose current venue is being razed for new development. This year will be even more challenging as the council tries to dispose of the Old Lilian Baylis School as quickly as possible and tries to push through a Lambeth Local Development Framework (son of UDP) that currently ignores Kennington altogether. Watch out for fireworks when we make our case at the public enquiry later this year! Our heartfelt thanks to David who has also studied the Mayor’s draft plan for Battersea, Nine Elms and Vauxhall in great detail with a view to forcing it to acknowledge the huge effect riverside development in Battersea, Vauxhall and Albert Embankment will have on the streets and transportation in our neighbourhood.
HAVE A LOOK AT THE NEW KA WEBSITE:
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW FOR THE NEXT
KENNINGTON ASSOCIATION AGM
MONDAY 4TH OCTOBER 2010
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