Born in KILBURN, NW6

Yeay, after months and years of working for Kilburn here is a tangible expression of how special the local area is...

It's happening on Monday in Kilburn Priory and Mortimer Place.

I'm delighted and proud to confirm that we have Clare Milne, Alan Alexander Milne's grand-daughter coming back to help unveil the plaque.

The plaque is the best expression I can think of that is accessible and achievable about what a special place it is. For too long we were in the Borough of Hampstead and currently in the Borough of Camden and yet in fact we are our own place and identify. I'm not advocating the Borough of Kilburn (yet!) but I am championing some pride in NW6 and Kilburn...

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Sing when you're winning...

Early this morning Linda Chung was elected as the Liberal Democrat councillor for Hampstead Town.

Linda won the seat from the Conservatives with a massive swing and overturned a Tory majority of 549 votes to secure her own majority of 128.

The figures in full:
HAMPSTEAD TOWN WARD (Camden Council)
Liberal Democrat 1242 (44%, +11.5%)
Conservative 1114 (39%, -6.9%)
Labour 289 (10%, -1%)
Green 140 (5%, -3.3%)
BNP 29 (1%, +1%)
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservatives

The result is a huge personal tribute to Linda and I'd like to take this chance to express our sincere gratitude to the voters of Hampstead. Hampstead holds a very special place in my heart and I'm mindful this morning of the sterling work of the late Margaret Little as Hampstead's former councillor. Like Margaret, Linda will be a superb local councillor - passionate, energetic and committed. Thank you Hampstead, well done Linda.

Going overground with our rivers...

Ok - we want to bring the river back overground - it has lain underground since it was piped over 200 years ago and we want to enjoy it again...

Surely that's a daft idea? It hasn't be done elsewhere, has it? and it would cost a fortune and to what benefit?

Well, I think it's a superb idea - it's about restoring our proper environment. Everyone agrees that water flow is a calming influence and is a beautiful environmental feature. I have a picture here is the rive flowing down the High Street in Wells, Somerset and it is just so so special - attractive, helpful, not dangerous and manageable.

The Sustainability Task Force in Camden, led by Cllr Alexis Rowell has already explored this possibility and are actually advocating the opening up of the Rivers Fleet and Kilburn. Surely the Kilburn High Road could be so much better for a river running down it and as can be seen in the picture it adds to the street scene and does not intrude.

So if you go to the Camden website link - Pages 9-14 deal with this particular issue and opportunity - it's seriously interesting reading and worth while.
http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/environment/green-events-and-initiatives/sustainability-task-force/task-force-reports/

What do you think? Who's up for a walk of the overground flow of the Fleet and the Kilburn Rivers so we can explore whether bringing them back into visibility is a runner.. (excuse the pun!).

Ed Fordham

Origins of Platt's and Kidderpore...

By nature of the local government boundaries areas that exist, communities that in fact are part of a whole appear to be split in two by nature of one road - so it is with Platt's Lane.

Platt's Lane sounds really idylic (and it is) - is one of the most attractive street names around - and yet at the far northern border of the London Borough of Camden - or even on the far south of the London Borough of Barnet is slightly isolated from appreciation.

I remember speaking with Peter Cadogan when he blamed a cleric (bishop?) of St Alban's who had the chance to re-unite Kilburn in the 1300's and who didn't, thus sundering the commujnity of Kilburn into two.
http://474towin.blogspot.com/2007/11/part-of-kilburn-has-passed-away.html
Now of course, Kilburn is a commercial shopping area - in a way that Platt's Lane isn't, but it led me to consider the name origin of 'Platt's'.

Perhaps it was predictable: Thomas Platt owned the area and in about 1810 he bought a farmhouse (with the attendant out-buildings) and enlarged it - then on the border of the heath - it was in an area much more woooded than now, and built what was regarded as a very fashionable and pleasant house.

Before this the landowners were thought to be part of the old Templar estate of North West London (sic. Templar House, West Hampstead)

There is then (post 1830's) pretty fast local development:

• T Howard built Kidderpore Hall, for John Teil, an East India merchant which gives the origin of the name http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidderpore. (now Kidderpore Avenue and Kidderpore Gardens)

"One of the oldest parts of Calcutta, Kidderpore has a legend as far as its name is concerned. It is said that the British couldn't pronounce bengali. So when they asked for the directions to the port where ships were harboured, their broken hindi sounded somewhat like 'kidder-port' and hence the name Kidderpore came into existence."

• Two lodges were added, one in 1849 on Finchley road, another in 1867 on Platt's Lane.
• Four houses facing Finchley Road were built in the 1840s in the district called New West End (West End of Hampstead).
• By 1870 the farm buildings at Platt's Lane had been replaced by a house.
• Two cottages were built in Platt's Lane by P. Bell of West End in 1875.
• 13 houses, build/designed by George Pritchard, between 1884 and 1886.

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/03/changing-of-street-names.html
http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/02/one-of-most-frequent-asks-is-where-does.html

Why are old signs better?

I've been noticing just how much better, more attractive, more stylish the old features of the local area are - it's really curious - I saw an old picture of the first Ian Drury and the Blockheads first album cover (apparently taken outside Woolworths on the Kilburn High Road) and even that makes the shop look better than it does now!

So I caught these two images - one is a small label road sign above a road name in Hampstead and the other is a old street frontage from Kilburn Lane, Brent.

The first (first pic) is a stret sign pre 1964 (i.e. before the creation of Camden) when Hampstead was it's own Borough.

The lettering is old fashioned, perhaps it is out of date, but to me there is something that is inherently attractive about it and that adds to a locality. If I recollect correctly it's Rosecroft Avenue (Frognal and Fitzjohn's ward).

The sense of detail and the individual lettering gives residents a real sense of pride, that their Borough matters and that their Council cares. It's good that Camden still repairs and restores these old signs, but perhaps more of a shame that where new signs go in they are the standard metal formulaic signage.

The second is taken at the other end of the constituency on Kilburn Lane (where it meets Chamberlayne Road) in Queen's Park ward. It's an old shop front - lying empty and there is this old mosaic from when the shop was Craven Laundry.

The more I find things like this I can't help but think there should be some kind of historic audit of an area that seeks to save, enhance, promote these sorts of features.

Perhaps this is one of things that residents associations could be mobilised for? I spent much of tonight in a residents association and one of the discussions was about the formal role - maybe there should be a remit of environmental responsibility - identifying features, assets and historic hangovers.

Oh, and just to make my point even better the shop front (albeit closed) has the old mosaic protected by a set of old railings (granted, they are prob post WWII) but they do add character and charm.

Twelfth Night or 2nd February?

In former times people would leave their decorations up until 40 days after Jesus's birth - i.e. 2nd Feb.

It was the Victorian traditions that settled on 12th Night as the definitive end of christmas decor.

Tradition now says twelfth day is the last day for decorations to be taken down. It thought bad luck to take decorations down after this date, though decorations may be kept up until the next Christmas to avoid this bad luck.

Those who forget to take down their decorations before the twelfth day never keep them up all year round.

I spent a slightly sad night taking down our decorations tonight - having a real tree with the lights and baubles has been really good - I realised tonight just how much I love the Christmas celebrations and when the weather is as bright, crisp and clear as it was this morning I realised how much I love the season itself.

To ease the taking down of decorations and in line with the green agenda here in Camden we have places around the borough where you can take your old christmas tree - one such much used and appreciated in on Fortune Green in West Hampstead (pic above left).

It's pretty busy on twelfth night and councillors Russell Eagling (pic left) and Flick Rea are pretty proud of the service...

Libraries - old fashioned, crucial or both?

I have always been a fan of libraries, in fact I'm a lover of books. I have just brought together my whole book collection and it currently occupies more than a square cubit and I can't deny being a little worried for the weight of the floor/flat!

When I was younger libraries were a key part of family life - every wednesday (late night opening to 7.30pm where I grew up) was a trip to the library with my mum and sister and it was just a feature of the week. As a result I have always read a huge amount and just enjoy the book world.

But of course the world has changed and the age of the computer has arrived. So it raises the question - is the age of the library over? Well, judging by the volume of computers in a good modern library then the answer is pretty clear... both live side by side.

There had been some concerns over the future of libraries in both Camden and Brent with the change of political administrations, but it's great to see that in fact there is a rennaissance taking place in Brent. £1.4million in lottery grant for Harlesden Library and a further £300,000 for libraries within the Council budget itself.

http://www.brent.gov.uk/www.nsf/b46bbda67104c5a980256e280052a265/02d674568bba29918025738b00576b5e!OpenDocument

I'm very pleased and my committment at least to libraries, books and of course the requisite computers remains. :-)

http://www.londonlibraries.org/servlets/home