A long time ago... briefly... but it's true, ABBA alighted in Battersea in 1976, when they were promoting their album Arrival. Back then, I was a teenager in Melbourne, an ABBA fan, and although London was on my radar, I doubt I'd heard of Battersea. There's a photo of me on Christmas morning, delightedly clutching …
Tag: Battersea
Despardmania
There was a flurry of local events in June highlighting and celebrating the life and work of Charlotte Despard, and her lasting impact on Nine Elms and Battersea. As I've written before, she's up there in my pantheon of great women, for her tireless campaigning, her commitment to social justice, and for her very practical …
nice bit of kit
Much as I love nature and spending time in parks and gardens, I also find heavy industry and construction work aesthetically interesting. Stimulating, even! So one of the highlights of my week was being invited to a viewing of the Tunnel Boring Machines at the Northern Line Extension's Battersea site, before the TBMs were lowered …
both ordinary and extraordinary
I went to a talk recently, organised by the Battersea Society, about an unlikely pair of spinster sisters, Ida and Louise Cook, who helped at least 29 Jewish people escape Nazi Germany before the outbreak of the Second World War. The invited speaker was Louise Carpenter. She'd researched the sisters for a potential biography but …
before dawn
I woke before dawn and couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up, made myself a cup of tea and sat on the window ledge in the studio with a blank sheet of paper and my pen. I wrote whatever came into my mind - which was mostly those things which were already in …
writing ‘not yet Eden’
not yet Eden is the title of the poem I wrote for Lucy Cash's film A Song for Nine Elms. I explained how I got involved in Lucy's film in my last blog post. Lucy had asked me if I could write something that was, loosely, from the roof garden's point of view. I wanted …
reflecting on A Song for Nine Elms
We had a busy Saturday in the Doddington & Rollo Community Roof Garden recently. A shared harvest lunch, followed by an inspiring and practical workshop, Growing Edible Plants in the City, led by Sue Sheehan of Incredible Edible. And then, in the community centre downstairs, the first screening of the film A Song for Nine …
farewell, unknown gardener
When did I first notice the magical little world contained in a front garden on Macduff Road? I can't remember exactly, but for years it's been one of my local landmarks, a spot I'll swing past on my way back from the park, wondering what's changed, stopping to gaze in childish delight. The front garden …
busy in a good way
There's not been much let up since my Thrive residency came to an end. On Sunday 26th June I travelled far north (for a south London gal) to perform at Finchley Literary Festival's closing event, the Poetry and Music Palooza hosted by Anna Meryt. The locals were friendly and it was a fun and uplifting evening, …
sharing poems in the park
So, I've done it. I can update my writing CV to say I was Poet in Residence at Thrive Battersea for the Open Garden Squares Weekend 2016. It's been a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience — both the run up to the weekend, spending time in the Herb Garden and the Old English Garden, sitting, …
Hilaire 