Category: Art and Culture

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Art and Culture Community History Palmers Green Planning and open spaces Uncategorized

£4 million bid to restore Broomfield House

Following our story a few weeks ago, Enfield Council has now formally announced its intention to submit a £4million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to save Broomfield House.

Cllr Del Goddard, Cabinet Member for Regeneration said in a press release on Enfield Council’s website on Monday, “A tremendous amount of effort has gone into producing this HLF bid, particularly from the Broomfield Trust and Friends, but it has been worth it because working together we have produced an exciting vision that we think can work in practice.”

The house has been derelict too long, say the Broomfield House Trust and the Friends of Broomfield Park, who have been working together on the bid with Enfield.

“The current plans represent a real opportunity to save one of Palmers Green’s few remaining heritage properties, and restore it as a much needed community asset for the enjoyment of future generations. Many people have already expressed a wish to become actively involved with the project, and the approach to the HLF is taking this into account.

“If the HLF bid is successful and we are able to deliver the House restoration, then we would want to turn our attention to a Parks for People bid to improve the Park at some point in the future ”

If you are interested in hearing more about the plans, a reminder that the next open meeting of the Friends of Broomfield Park is on Wednesday 17 October at the Ruth Winston Centre. The meeting starts at 7.30.

 

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Art and Culture History

Town Hall of many disguises

First its Sheldrake Hospital

Over the summer it was the Sheldrake Hospital…and now its Cowley Police Station…

Southgate Town Hall in Green Lanes Palmers Green is becoming firmly established as a film location of choice.

Now its Cowley Police Station

The current Cowley Police Station incarnation is part of the filming for Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour (a programme title which forever ends the pub quiz favourite “What was Inspector Morse’s first name”). Starring Shaun Evans, Endeavour is set in 1965, and  follows the early career of the temperamental classical music and real ale loving Morse, originally created by Colin Dexter. A pilot episode was shown on TV in January.

About Sheldrake Hospital, I can regretfully tell you no more. Does anyone know?

Unfortunately yesterday the town hall was in the press for another reason, when confidential social services papers were found on full show in the building. According to the Evening Standard, these included papers from the Climbie child abuse investigation and details of adoption applications. David Burrowes MP has made a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner. For more information see http://www.standard.co.uk/news/secret-council-files-containing-private-personal-data-found-on-morse-set-8195506.html

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Art and Culture Bowes Park History Music Shops

Bizarre Bowes Park for the “interesting and nice”

Bizarre Bowes Park image Peter Berthoud

Award winning tour guide Peter Berthoud of Discovering London repeats his Bizarre Bowes Park walk at the weekend

Peter promises that the tour will take in “Ovi the dinosaur, an odd collection of eagles, London’s most interesting underpants, and a ramshackle “pop-up” church that has recently been saved and  look at some interesting late Victorian and Edwardian architecture.” It will also include a stop off for a drink in one the area’s most interesting bars, an exploration of Bowes Park’s musical links and a chance to view the most disturbing window display in the entire city.

Peter has  introduced an entertaining pricing system for this walk, and that alone is worth clicking through to make a booking.

The walk is on Sunday 30 September from 11-2 and starts at Bowes Green tube station.

Categories
Art and Culture Music

Serpents at the church

One of the recent recordings by the quire Image: LGQ

West Gallery Church Music is what you would have heard in many churches up and down the country before it was common for churches to have their own organs.

There is a rare chance to hear west gallery music played live at Enfield’s St Andrew’s church on 27 October, when the London Gallery Quire give an evening performance.

The event is one in a series to support the restoration of St Andrew’s  C18th organ, which is being taken away to Liverpool in a few months for a complete overhaul.  “So we will be playing music to restore the organ, which was exactly the music that the organ replaced!” laughed David Holliday, one of the church organists showing visitors around the church as part of last weekend’s Open House .

West Gallery Church music is so described because it was often performed by a band of singers and instrumentalists from a gallery at the west end of a church. Explains the Quire’s website.

“It differs markedly from cathedral music, both in style and function. It was written for and in many cases by amateur musicians; professional performance was not usually envisaged. Much of the repertoire consists of settings of the metrical psalms; there are also hymns, anthems and canticles.

The music is often of a very lively and joyful nature; too lively indeed for the reformers of the mid-19th Century Oxford Movement, who sought to replace it with the more staid and solemn repertoire typified by Hymns Ancient and Modern”.

Categories
Art and Culture Palmers Green Uncategorized

Memories of a happy childhood

Born Melanie Ann Skinner, poet, short story writer and painter Melanie Ann Camp lived in Berkshire Gardens from 1957 until the early 80s when she moved to her grandmother’s house in Edmonton. Though she left the area completely when she married, she still has family connections with Palmers Green and is a regular visitor.

In her new book of poems, “A Penny in my Hand (Growing up in Suburbia)”  Melanie captures happy memories of suburban life in Palmers Green during the 60s and 70s.

“The roads and avenues, then, were all lined with trees, shading the pavement from the sun on those long hot summers.  Privet hedges and little walls surrounded each front garden and everyone had a gate,” she recalls.

The book is dedicated to Melanie’s father, Albert “Chick” Skinner (pictured), her mother and her grandparents.

Melanie has kindly allowed us to publish one of the poems in the book. Copies of A Penny in my hand are available at £5 plus £1.50 p&p. If you would like a copy, please email melanie.anne@ntlworld.com

Saturday Morning Shopping
Buying fresh bread at the local shops,
And talking to people in the street.
Watching vans deliver fish from the seas,
And meat from the farms,
Not so far away.
The newsagent and the sweet shop,
Full of children eager for a new comic,
Or a packet of sherbet.
Lazily walking back up the road,
Knocking on friends doors,
And going over to the park.
To feed the ducks.
Or just sit in the shade
Of the old Willow Tree
Beside the small lake
And in front of a beautiful old house.

 

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Art and Culture Comedy Palmers Green

Roscommon erm…London N13

1970s Ireland comes to Palmers Green

Moone Boy is Chris O Dowd’s new comedy series about a 12 year old boy from a small town in Ireland who has an imaginary friend. Filmed in Roscommon, the  series began life as a comedy short as part of the Little Crackers series, and is partly based on O Dowd’s childhood. But the location for this trailer might be a little familiar…

Moone boy trailer