Clapton Pond Blog

Who Will Fill 2012 Broadcast Centre?

Olympics blogger Paul Norman writes:

The old chestnut of ITV moving to Hackney Wick's Olympics International Broadcast Centre has reared its head again.

I'm ashamed to say I've not previously encountered the chestnut in question. Good job Paul's around.   

A Day On The Gazette

I must buy a copy of our local paper this week: its small reward for not having a crime story on the front page for a change. Did you see that The Guardian's Tim Dowling recently spent a day working for the Gazette? It was a tough assignment and his account is highly educational.

Hackney's Snow Patrol

How has the Council's gritting and ice-fighting performance seemed to you? I was impressed that the heavily-used pavements around Palm 2 and the Pond were cleared thoroughly and quickly. On the other hand sections of some of the smaller roads - not least in the vicinity of Millfields school - remained like skating rinks (and maybe still are, the thaw being so very gradual). 

The pavements in the residential streets became death traps as usual, though to be fair I did bump into a guy doing a grit-run down Newick Road during those frosty days before the white stuff fell. Too little too soon perhaps, but at least it demonstrated forethought.      

I get a little bored with the media's "snow chaos" frenzies. Extreme weather of the type we've been having recently is unusual and some disruption is inevitable - in some ways it's enjoyable too. Even so, it would be interesting to know if more could be done, not least to help the poor pedestrian.     

Blood And Property

I've been meaning for months to link up to Hackney blog Blood and Property. Under the terms of my many New Year resolutions I have now at last got round to it. And here's an extract from a very interesting recent post:

Hackney Council has confirmed that its legal department has faced a recruitment crisis for the last three years. At least 25% of positions remained unfilled while the department had to deal with the extra work related to the Olympics in addition to its usual tasks.

More here.

A Conversation In Palm 2

 I was looking for cheese and ham. The dialogue was roughly as follows:

Me (shivering): "Hi there, Pablo. How's it going?"

Pablo (helpful shop assistant): "Very well, very well. You are cold, I think!"

Me: "Yeah. The novelty of this weather's wearing off. Mind you, when I was a lad all winters were like this."

Lady shopper: (Asian, wearing headscarf): "Yes, that's what my parents say. They go, 'When we came here 40 years ago every winter was this way'."

Me: "Too right. Youngsters today, they don't know they're born. Why, in my day... (trails off into codger-ish ultra-tedium) 

And that was on Monday, before the snow. (I made up that last line, by the way).  

Hackney Homes In Bike Shed Dispute

A Guardian colleague of mine lives in a flat in Heatherley Court, N16. He uses a bicycle to get to work and keeps it in a shed. He owns his flat, a former Council property, but the freehold is held by Hackney Homes. This means that they are responsible for maintaining the drains - one of the services they are required to perform in return for a charge of £1,200 a year. To the dismay of my colleague, Hackney Homes says that servicing the drains requires demolishing his shed and those belonging to other Heatherley Court residents. This is scheduled to happen next month. My colleague says:

There has been no consultation with the residents...there is nowhere else the bikes can be stored. We have been told that bikes cannot be locked to the stair handrail as this is a health and safety hazard, and when I did it out of necessity once before the bike was stolen. It seems mad that Hackney Homes thinks removing bike storage is a good idea when the council and government are pushing cycling, not to mention Boris Johnson. 

It certainly does seem odd. My colleague says he's been told that an outdoor bicycle storage facility might be provided in 2011, but wonders what's he supposed to do in the meantime. He can't see how the sheds would impair the servicing of the drains. He isn't very pleased that "repeated emails" to the person at Hackney Homes he's been told is responsible have received no reply. He is less than impressed with a letter that he and fellow residents have been sent informing them that any property found in the sheds would demolition day arrives will simply be scrapped. 

I wonder what Hackney Homes has to say about all this. My email link can be found on the right hand margin of this page.

Tea In Clapton Square

 The flyer reveals all. Hope it went well.