UK’s oldest and leading Muslim Community shares Ramadhan through Virtual Iftar

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Blogger

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK is extending a warm invitation to the general public and media to view and participate in a series of five Virtual Big Iftar events to be held in the month of Ramadhan. The next event is being held on Saturday, 2^nd May. The first event was held on Friday, April 25^th.

Those interested should register their interest at:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-big-virtual-iftar-registration-102618797586?aff=eand

Ibrahim Ikhlaf, Director for Outreach & Public Affairs says: ” As proven by research there are many physical and mental health benefits of fasting. During these talks you can learn how fasting can strengthen your resilience in the current crisis, help with self-development, root causes of addictions and domestic abuse. Event participants will also have the opportunity to try our Fasting Challenge and join the live event to break the fast with the Muslim community.”

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Built the largest mosque in the UK, the Baitul Futuh Mosque as well as the first in London, the Fazal Mosque, in 1924.

Come Dine With Me Couples is coming to CLAPHAM

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Blogger

COME DINE WITH ME COUPLES IS BACK AND LOOKING FOR BUDDING CHEFS IN CLAPHAM!

· FILMING DATES 11TH – 15TH MAY 2020

· MUST BE OVER 18

· TO APPLY EITHER EMAIL CDWM@MULTISTORY.TV AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW: https://itvuk.etribez.com/ag/itvmultistory/cdwmcouples6/welcome.html

Think you can and your partner can whip up a food frenzy and host a winning dinner party? Think you’ve got what it takes to walk away with a £1000? If so, you could soon be part of the nations most favourite tea time show.

The only criteria is that you’re in a couple and you both must be over 18 and not working or trained as a professional chef.

The shoot will take place between the 11th – 15th May 2020 but casting starts now!

To apply, please click on this link: https://itvuk.etribez.com/ag/itvmultistory/cdwmcouples6/welcome.html

Advert Phone Booth Company Goes Bust

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Blogger

Firm that puts up UK’s ad-supported phone booths enters administration

Apparently the firm did not achieve the growth it had predicted. Not only were some councils blocking installation on grounds of the additional clutter they would add to public space. They also faced opposition from privacy campaigners, with good reason as Wired.com explains in this article: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/linkuk-bt-google-free-wifi-and-calls-london

They also become notorious for use by drug dealers and other criminals says TheRegister.

It is not clear if the local council will not get these unsightly monsters removed from our streets.

New crime novel set partly in Clapham

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Blogger

Gender Justice by Nicky Charlish shows Clapham as a glitzy place, and includes a number of other London locations.

The truth was, the computer graphics thing was ok, but it wasn’t the most exciting of jobs. I could meet people at FAGS as well as make some extra money with the part-time work. A little voice in the back of my mind continued to say that this might not be a good idea if I really wanted to put the criminal life behind me – clubs and bars always have a degree of dodginess lurking about them. But another part of me thought that I’d give it a try and, if I didn’t like it, make my excuses and leave. Bar staff and office workers come and go, so I doubted there’d be any problems if I left.’

Toni, 20, transgender and raised on a tough south London council estate, is just out of prison after a two-year sentence. Her crime? Attacking her mum’s would-be rapist. Determined to better herself, Toni works in a graphic designer’s office in Clapham whilst awaiting the surgery that – she hopes – will complete her female transformation and help to change her life for the better.

A meeting with an old prison friend leads to Toni also working part-time at a gay bar in Old Compton Street. But that – and a gangland war which leads to the past catching up with her – threatens to destroy Toni’s dream as violence explodes in the streets of Soho and Shoreditch.

Clapham’s Community Christmas Raffle

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Blogger

Venn Street Market (VSM) has held yearly Christmas raffles in support of the local charity Ace of Clubs for several years. Each year the Market has asked for donations from its traders who’ve been very generous in donating a variety of goods, such as bottles of wine, hampers of cheese, vouchers worth £10 to £30 and Christmas trees etc. Ticket sales each year have been very positive and the monies raised have all gone back to the Ace of Clubs.

This year VSM wants to go further by creating a new local community Christmas raffle enabling local businesses and organisations to support this community raffle and event. VSM has applied to administer a Small Society Lottery (raffle) and has invited two charities based in Clapham SW4 to receive proceeds from the raffle – they are Ace of Clubs and Royal Trinity Hospice.

To make the raffle as successful as possible we’d like to ask all Clapham businesses and organisations to donate prizes ranging from meals for two, pedicures, artwork, tickets to a show, bouquets etc. Clapham has such a great variety of businesses and organisations on its doorstep that we’re sure the prizes will be of the highest standard enticing customers to buy many tickets in advance. We also aim to organise an event fitting for a prize-winning raffle in Clapham for local residents just before Christmas to help boost interest and sales.

Overall we’re looking to raise awareness of our charities and boost local interest on the High Street with tickets available directly from local businesses. We had hoped to organise online ticket sales but there’s not enough time this year to do this, so we propose to sell tickets from local shops including Moen & Sons, Clapham Books, Apex Cycles and D Vine Cellars, benefiting all who take part..

Please contact Kate from Venn Street Market if you’d like to donate any prizes towards this year’s Christmas raffle – we aim to advertise as many donations from local businesses and organisations onto the posters to entice our residents to support this important raffle.

As we’re pushed for time please can donations be registered with Kate by the end of next week ie 14th October – just send her an email with any donations you’d like to make.. Her contact details are: kate@vennstreetmarket.co.uk or tel: 0207 622 8259.

Sponsorship to Support Providence House and Shallowford

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Blogger

It’s a long way to Widecombe!
9 cyclists, 2 women, 5 men, 2 young people.
250 miles from Providence House, Battersea to East Shallowford, Widecombe, Devon.
5 days travelling the back roads of southern England, staying overnight in church halls, from Battersea to Odiham, to Salisbury, to Somerset, to Devon, and then the big climb up to Dartmoor.
£20,000 target for sponsorship to support 100 young people and children from the inner city to benefit from a unique residential farm experience on Dartmoor.
£3,500 in so far. Keep it rolling in.
Please sponsor us Donate Here

City to Farm Cycle Ride Fundraiser 2019

The riders from Providence: Phil is a carpenter, Gavin a builder, Christian a music studio technician, and Ashur and Imaan are students in local Battersea Schools.
The riders from Shallowford: Johnny works at Exeter Crown Court, Serena at East Shallowford, Brenda is a nurse and Roger a Bereavement Counselor
If you’ve sponsored us already, thank you so much!
For more information about us visit Shallowford Farm or Providence House

Quote for the ride:
“Shallowford is the home that I did not have growing up. It’s the solid foundation that I believe we all need. The simplicity of life and ways of the farm are very important for the development of the man I am today. The farm gives a very important respite from the city life.
My children have all been brought going to the farm over the years. I believe it has had a big impact on them. They will all hold the memories for years to come, long after the visits have been and gone.
The farm is a unique educational place – food, environment, lifestyle, communication, family, relationships.
I am cycling to keep the experience going.” Phil Dorman

Loneliness Awareness Week

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Blogger

TV broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen is using Loneliness Awareness Week 2019 to make an impassioned plea to people living in London to volunteer for The Silver Line Helpline, which provides vital support for older people living with loneliness and social isolation.
Throughout this week (June 17th – 21st) awareness will be raised of the growing loneliness epidemic which affects around 9 million people across the UK. One of the groups most affected by this debilitating issue is older people, with studies suggesting there around 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the country. On top of the psychological impact of loneliness, it has potentially serious health implications which have been found to be akin to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Dame Esther Rantzen set up the charity The Silver Line after experiencing this crippling loneliness first-hand after the death of her husband. The charity, which has been running for just under 6 years and has its headquarters in Battersea, provides a 24/7 Helpline to older people in need of a friendly, supportive conversation during times of loneliness and despair. Since launching, demand for the Helpline his been overwhelming, with the charity receiving nearly 2.5 million calls already.
Currently, most of these calls are answered by a team of paid staff, but now in an effort to meet the growing demand and ensure the sustainability of the charity for many years to come, the organisation is planning an ambitious drive to recruit volunteers to help answer calls at Volunteer Hubs around the country. One of the first of these Hubs is being launched in the heart of Battersea at The Silver Line’s London Headquarters, and the charity urgently needs volunteers to sign up as it gets ready to launch the exciting new project.
Charity founder Esther Rantzen commented: “We need to create a volunteer force who can answer this tsunami of calls. Therefore, we are now recruiting volunteers, initially in the London area, to help us. We have already piloted this approach. We know volunteers have a huge amount to offer and can be easily trained to provide information, friendship and advice. We need a few daytime hours each week to answer older people most of whom have absolutely nobody else to have a conversation with, to help them feel, as one caller told us “that I am a member of the human race again”.
“We are offering volunteers in London the chance to make a real, tangible difference to the lives of isolated and vulnerable older people, who turn to us, principally because they are suffering loneliness and isolation.
“It’s rewarding, you will make a difference. We will train you. It’s important work and extremely fulfilling as well.”
If you live in Battersea or within commutable distance and are interested in giving your time on a regular basis to help lonely and isolated older people, please email: volunteering@thesilverline.org.uk

Book your FREE Tickets today! Battersea Charities Week

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Blogger

Have you ever wanted to get better at fundraising, recruit and retain volunteers, get your Board of Trustees working more effectively or tell your story more persuasively? Then attend the free events taking place across Battersea Charities Week. Get your free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/battersea-charities-week-batterseatogether-tickets-62249589197 Book them now as places are limited!

Battersea Charities Week (24-29 June) is for anyone who works or volunteers for a charity, social enterprise, faith group or community organisation for the benefit of local people and the communities in Battersea. It’s a week at the end of June to celebrate the amazing work we all do, by strengthening our relationships with each other, sharing our skills and learning from one another. We hope it will build partnerships and raise the profile of charities and community groups working to rebuild the social fabric of the community in Battersea.

Battersea Charities Week has been organised and is being delivered by local community voluntary sector groups and individuals. Together we’re running a variety of fun and engaging activities, events and trainings, across 6 themed days (including partnerships, funding and volunteering), during 24-29th June 2019, at venues across Battersea, culminating in the Falcon Road Festival on Saturday 29^th June

For FREE tickets to the events register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/battersea-charities-week-batterseatogether-tickets-62249589197

If you have any questions or thoughts then please do get in touch with us on batterseacharitiesweek@gmail.com

Real life ‘girl from Clapham’ releases feminist reworking of the Squeeze classic

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Blogger

I, Doris release debut single ‘The Girl From Clapham’ – a feminist reworking of Squeeze’s ‘Up the Junction’ – on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2019

Ever wondered what the story of Squeeze‘s classic ‘Up the Junction’ might look like from her point of view? London’s I, Doris are here to tell you.

The band are releasing, this Friday 8 March 2019 (fittingly, International Women’s Day) their debut single, ‘The Girl From Clapham’ – a loving, fuzzed-up tribute to the original song, with a poignant reminder that women’s experiences are all too often erased from history.

The new song lyrics were written by punk poet Janine Booth, and published in her brilliant anthology ‘Disaffected Middle Aged Women‘. Squeeze’s Chris Difford has given the new lyrics – and the I, Doris version of the song – his personal seal of approval. All profits from the sale of the track on Bandcamp are being donated to domestic violence charity Women’s Aid.

I, Doris are a self-proclaimed “kitchenpunk mummycore” band, consisting four 40-something women, dressed in dinnerlady-esque tabards, and answering to the name of Doris (that’s Doris on guitar, Doris on bass, Doris on drums, and Doris on – wait for it – keytar). Audience members are sworn in to the Doris collective with a group pledge at the start of each gig. Their live set is 60s girl-group style pop with lashings of fuzzy punk and plenty of good-humoured swipes at the patriarchy. At least, we think they’re good-humoured.

Bassist Doris (AKA Cassie Fox, previously of Guttfull and Thee Faction, and founder of the Loud Women festival) takes the lead vocals on ‘The Girl From Clapham’.

“I’ve always loved the song, and feel so honoured to get to sing this version” she says, “I am, legit, a girl from Clapham though. My childhood and teens were spent by/on Clapham Common, mostly trying to stay out of the way of my drunk and violent father. The song strikes a big power chord for me. That feeling at the end – of being trapped in a hopeless situation – it’s painfully familiar to a lot of people I’m sure, particularly women. This is the reason I was keen for the profits from the track to go to Women’s Aid.”

I, Doris are currently blazing a gloriously happy trail through the DIY gigs circuit, and beyond – they’ve played with Mekons in Leeds, the launch of Loud Women NYC in Brooklyn, they’re playing the Royal Albert Hall on 17 March, and Rebellion Festival on 2 August. Keep an eye on the I, Doris Facebook page for news of their continued adventures.
‘The Girl From Clapham’ by I, Doris is out 8 March 2019, available to download from Bandcamp for £1 or more, which will be donated to Women’s Aid.

I, Doris gigs coming up:
10 March – SheFest in Walthamstow
17 March – The Royal Albert Hall, with ILL, Nun Habit and Lilith Ai
11 May – The Hope and Anchor, Islington, with Miss Eaves
16 May – Paper Dress Vintage, with HAVVK, Charmpit and Scrounge
7 June – The Bird’s Nest, Deptford
14 June – The Finsbury, with CLT DRP
15 June – Sistafest in Oxfordshire
2 August – Rebellion Festival, Introducing Stage

Links:
I, Doris on Bandcamp – https://idoris.bandcamp.com/track/the-girl-from-clapham
I, Doris on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IDoris/

Songha Choi & Can Arisoy – Classical Sunday

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Blogger

A violin and piano duo from the world-famous Yehudi Menuhin School will perform at Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre on 10 February. Their programme will include favourites from the classical repertoire including works by Mozart, Brahms, Ravel and Bach.

South Korean violinist SongHa Choi is the Winner of Senior 2nd prize and the Senior Audience prize in the 2016 Menuhin International Violin Competition. Additionally, she has won the 1st prize at the 2015 Jeunesses Musicales International Violin competition and the Grand Prize at the Berliner International Music Competition.
She has performed in Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, the Concertgebouw and the Berliner Philharmonie as a soloist and a chamber musician.
Turkish pianist Can Arisoy gave his first concert at the age of 7 and his first orchestral concert as a soloist at the age of 11 with Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 he won the 2nd prize in the Beethoven Intercolligate Piano Competition in London and Nilüfer International Piano Competition in Turkey. In 2018 he played Beethoven 5th Piano Concerto “Emperor” with The Dorking Chamber Orchestra.
The School was established by Yehudi Menuhin in 1963 to provide the pupils with outstanding teachers, time to practice, frequent opportunities to perform, and a broad musical and academic education, all within a supportive, family community. There are just 86 children aged 8-19 from 28 different backgrounds, learning the stringed instruments and piano to the highest level. School leavers go on to study at top conservatoires
around the globe.

Performance information:

Venue: Clapham Omnibus, 1 Clapham Common Northside, London SW4 0QW
Date and time: Sunday 10 February, 7.30pm
Tickets : GBP 13, 11, 6 (for under 25s) from www.omnibus-clapham.org

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