Happy Shortest Day of the Year!!

Vandals Strike in Leabank Square

There was very bad news today for all the kids who designed the Leabank Square Gardening Club noticeboard (http://leabanksquare.blogspot.com/2010/03/leabank-square-recycled-notice-board.html) when some vandals destroyed it.

Sometime in the afternoon they struck and destroyed the beautifully painted recycled noticeboard. Unfortunately no-one saw who did it - but a few of the younger Gardening Club members told me that they saw it fly-tipped in the domestic bin area.

To rub salt in their wounds - the vandals seem to make their destruction even crueler by throwing the destroyed noticeboard in our own refuse area!! Perhaps they are trying to make some kind of point?

Anyhow - once the spring comes along again we'll do an even better one for the garden.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth visits Leabank Square

The Daily Mail - predictably calls it an immigrant - the rest of us marvel at this incredibly beautiful visitor to Leabank Square.

A couple of these Hummingbird Hawk Moths were sucking nectar from the Verbena in the Purple Garden on the riverbank this morning. Please do yourself a favour and go up to have a look. They are absolutely stunning!!

You can see why they are named after the Hummingbird - they hover above each tiny flower sucking as much nectar from them as possible. The long proboscis even resembles the Hummingbirds beak!

According to the Butterfly Conservation website (http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/Moth/440/Moth.html?MothId=100) they come over from North Africa - and sometimes hibernate here over the winter. Thanks to the kids in the Gardening Club - there are plenty of hidy-holes for them do that this winter - here's hoping!!

I'm not too sure how long they're going to hang about - so get up to the Purple Garden as soon as you can to check them out!!

New Olympic Shops Open!!

There was great excitement today when the brand spanking new Olympic Chicken shack opened in Hackney Wick!!

For months now - every Hackney Wicker has been storing their pennies just for this very day. The extra security laid on was definitely needed to control the crowd as the doors finally opened - and what incredible treats awaited the patient!

Brand new chrome decorations and superbly finished interiors welcomed the throng. Say what you want about the products on sale - but no expense has been spared by the Olympic Chicken people. They really know how to spoil us.

Oh - and some other shops also opened around the corner in Stratford today as well.

Welcome to Leabank Square Iwona & Zibby

A big and warm welcome to our newest neighbours Iwona and Zibby. Not only are they keen gardeners, but as you can see, they are also very keen kayakers! They love the Purple Garden here in Leabank Square and can’t believe how lucky they are to have the canal right on their doorstep!

We’d like to thank them both for choosing our community to make their new home and thank them for helping to spruce up their side of the riverbank.

BBCs Adrian Warner visits Leabank Square

The Olympics today announced that Arena Fields is to change its name to East Wick after the Olympics.

This is another part of the grand plan to make locals feel very disconnected to the playing fields, orchards, nutteries & allotments that used to be here for us all to enjoy. 'Hey - ask the whole of the UK what we should call Arena Fields - without telling them anything about its past - and call it democracy'

Anyhow - the BBC's Adrian Warner paid a visit to Leabank Squares Purple Garden this evening to do his piece. Nice guy - even if his TV voice is a little dull - and he loves Leabank Square.

Thanks to all the kids who made his visit entertaining.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14364485

Leabank Square Swans - The Latest!

Just look at the last remaining cygnet now!! It's almost as big as Mum & Dad!

The swans have left the nest here in Leabank Square - and sleep further downstream - next to Omega Works each night. This was inevitable - as unfortunately - they were getting a load of harassment from a few of the kids. So Mum & Dad packed up & took Junior off to safer pastures.

But they make at least two stop-overs during the day as they sail past going upstream every day. More or less about 8am - and again at about 3pm. As you can see - Dad has gotten a load more chilled now that Junior is getting larger - and is taking food from Nadira's hand now - but Mum & Junior are still a bit too nervous to try this. They do - however - get very close.

It's so sweet to see the parents not rushing in for the food - but allowing Junior to have his fill first. Once they think he's had enough - they then start taking for themselves.

As far as food goes - they seem to prefer wholemeal bread - and ignore white of pitta bread. I've been doing some research - and it seems okay to give them bread - as swans get most of their food from the bottom of the river anyway - and top it up with some of our bread. So feel free to take a few slices up to the riverbank.

Juniors feathers are still a mix of downy & teen shoots - so it will be a few more months before he can fly - but occasionally Mum or Dad flexes their wings and goes for a bit of a flight. Junior gets a bit excited at watching this - stretching his wings and flapping about a bit.

Anyhow - please go up to the riverbank and enjoy our stunning new neighbours - before winter makes them think of maybe heading somewhere warmer.

Olympic Legacy - Leabank Square's Concerns.

A few days ago - Caroline Davies came to Hackney Wick to do a story about our concerns for the future of the Wick a year before the games. She spoke to many people - but concentrated on James in the fabulous Hackney Pearl, the ever entertaining Al in White Post Lane - and me here in Leabank Square.

Of course - no journalist can ever capture the sheer cliff-like monstrosity of the Olympic site that faces us - but I tried to put across what most of us feel about the architecture.

More than anything - I spoke about what we all want after the games. Leabank Square has always had the short straw as far as the construction work is concerned. We were the first to have buildings constructed - pulled down - re-constructed, pulled down again - and now rebuilding yet more temporary buildings directly opposite us - again for them to be demolished.

then - we have about 5 more years of be-designing & building whoever takes over the media centre as well.

There is not one part of the Olympic site that will have had noise, dust & mayhem - only to be left with the most underwhelming architecture for us to stare at for many decades to come!!

I told Caroline all this - and I think she did a very good article on balance. She got over what most of us feel about all the decade of disruption the Olympics have brought to Leabank Square.

For link to the article - see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/25/2012-olympics-hackney

Art for Leabank Square Green

Have you seen the very clever art exhibition on our green?

At 1st glance it might just seem to be an orange plank - until you take a walk around the rest of Hackney Wick & Fish Island.

You will notice a few more orange pieces dotted all around the streets.

They are the work of the brilliant new artist Rowan Durrant. He has identified a few places where something has just been neglected - and has put them right - but in orange.

We all know that PMMS have completely neglected Leabank Square for years - and have left some parts to rot away and decay. For this privilege - we have paid them shedloads of 'service' charge. The bench on the green has been broken for 3 years - and despite several attempts to get them to fix it - it takes an artist who doesn't even live here - to get it done.

He's done the same in a few other spots around our streets. Signs the councils have just left broken - 'street furniture' the authorities have just never bothered to replace, rails etc.
So whether you see our new installation as art, a message to some one in so called authority that they have failed, an audit of how western 'civilisation' is just not bothered - whatever your take is - just get out there and do it!!

Make your own art!


Please see: http://rowandurrant.com/